Sure, you've seen the alpha SDK, and you've even seen it in pre-alpha, but if you're really serious about your Maemo 5 development you gotta check out the beta release. This should be music to the ears of all you crazy kids who are hard at work developing software for Nokia's next-gen Internet tablets. And "Maemo 5 Beta SDK" is not only fun to say, but it also brings several new features to the table, including: support for widget development, a new version of the Modest open-source email app, OMAP3 support, HSPA data connectivity, hi-def camera support, and hardware-based graphics acceleration. Lastly (though certainly not leastly) you'll finally be able to get your hands on a Maemo 5 Development Manual. We hear that one's a real page-turner. Hit that read link and get to work.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/29/m...rly-waiting-w/ ...

Apparently as of right now, this stunning piece of high art is just a foam model mock-up, but listen to us, mouse manufacturers of the world: if you build this, we will give you every penny we have to own it. Our only gripe? The D-pad should definitely be up top for navigation duties. Still... where's the waiting list?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/30/n...strial-design/ ...

Ready for some totally prototypical corporate non-answers regarding the alleged release of Android 1.5 on T-Mobile USA's G1s? Good. Here you go:
"T-Mobile USA will confirm details of Android 1.5 availability for our T-Mobile G1 customers in the near future."
Doesn't mean much to us -- and it's hard to tell from that alone whether 1.5's actually begun over-the-air distribution -- but at any rate, it seems like they're not ready to talk about it yet. Don't keep us waiting long, guys.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/30/t...ailability-fo/ ...

The United States has for the first time identified neighboring country Canada as being amongst the worst offenders of copyright piracy, according to the US Trade Representatives (USTR) office.

In a statement issued today, the USTR announced that it has placed Canada on the Priority Watch List of offending nations for the first time.

"In this time of economic uncertainty, we need to redouble our efforts to work with all of our trading partners - even our closest allies and neighbors such as Canada - to enhance protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights," said Ron Kirk of the USTR.

The Entertainment Software Association has applauded the move, with CEO Michael D Gallagher saying that "Canada's weak laws and enforcement practicies foster game piracy in the Canadian market and pave the way for unlawful imports into the US."

The ESA has called on Canada to strengthen what it calls "legal and enforcement deficiencies," specifically asking the nation to outlaw game circumvention devices and mod chips, create legal incentives for ISPs to combat online piracy, provide Customs officials with the authority to seize counterfeit products on the Canadian border, and to provide resources to make the prosecution of pirates a high priority.

"Canada contributes significantly to the development of today’s leading games - creating thousands of high-paying jobs along the way," Gallagher said. "We are eager to see Canada become a full partner in protecting these products on the way to market."

The Priority Watch List, issued annually by the USTR, binds Washington to put diplomatic pressure on trade partner nations to improve their copyright and patent regimes.

Canada joins eleven other nations on the Priority Watch List, including China, India, Thailand, and Russia, which Reuters reports has been on the list for at least seven consecutive years. Algeria and Indonesia have also been elevated to the list

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-piracy-target ...

Sony's PlayStation 3 shooter Killzone 2 has entered the Japanese charts at number three on its first week of release.

The Guerilla Games title sold 41,000 units according to data from Media Create, and is the only PlayStation 3 title in the top ten.

However, the big new entry for the week ended April 26 was Capcom's Monster Hunter G for the Wii, which shifted 132,000 units.

There were also two top ten hits for Microsoft's Xbox 360, with Cave's Death Smiles at number six selling 20,000 copies, and Ubisoft's H.A.W.X. at ten with 10,000 units sold.

The full top ten follows:

01 Monster Hunter G (Wii)
02 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky (DS)
03 Killzone 2 (PS3)
04 Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3: The Collapsing City and the Girl's Song (PSP)
05 Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (PSP)
06 Death Smiles (Xbox 360)
07 Sengoku Basara: Battle Heroes (PSP)
08 Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (DS)
09 Wii Fit (Wii)
10 H.A.W.X. (Xbox 360)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...one-2-in-japan

2 xbox360 games in jap top 10, who would have thought it. ...

Ubisoft's latest financial release reveals that the Nintendo DS was the company's most successful platform in the last fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2009.

The publisher noted that 29 per cent of sales across the year were for its DS titles, including the hugely popular Imagine and Petz ranges, followed by 20 per cent on the PlayStation 3.

The Xbox 360 was third, with 19 per cent of sales, while the Wii took 18 per cent and the PC platform 9 per cent.

The PlayStation Portable's influence on Ubisoft sales was negligible at 3 per cent, although the company has body textannounced plans to release Assassin's Creed for the platform this year.

In terms of the geographical split in sales, Europe accounted for 54 per cent for the full year while the US took 40 per cent, with the remaining 6 per cent spread across the rest of the world.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...on-ds-platform ...

Outgoing Sony Europe president David Reeves has said that the PlayStation 3 still has a long way to go before it can overtake Microsoft's Xbox 360 on the market, with the exec predicting it could take up to five more years for the console to become the market leader.

Speaking just days before he's due to retire, Reeves said that despite leaving the company after 15 years, he still believes in Sony and its gaming products,

"I don't think it will be next year, but in three to five years it will become dominant on the market," said Reeves, talking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz.

"The legacy will be that people will see a tortoise and hare situation. In a way, in the end it will be a dead heat. People will say PS3 took a while to get going but it really caught up very quickly and confounded many of the critics from the first year," he said of the consoles position on the market.

"When I see the line-up ahead, when I see what's lined up on the new product side, I'm very, very optimistic for what I see for PlayStation's future in the PAL territories," he added.

Reeves retires from Sony Europe tomorrow. He joined Sony in 1995 managing the regional offices of SCEE Germany, Austria and Switzerland, before moving to the UK. In 2003 he was appointed president and COO, and CEO of Sony Europe two years later.

"The lasting legacy is that I took Sony Computer Entertainment through the harder years but still managed to keep PlayStation as a very prominent brand in all PAL territories, both for PlayStation 2, PSP and PlayStation 3," he said.

Reeves is well aware of the recurring criticisms that have dogged all PlayStation formats in the European markets, particularly the high-priced PlayStation 3, yet despite this, the brand has made an indelible mark in the region, he said.

"Europe and PAL markets normally have to launch last and that stirs up a lot of criticism," noted Reeves. "And normally we have to launch with a currency that's quite strong and therefore the price is quite high, and again we get a lot of criticism for that. And we have to maintain that. And that, in the last three to four years, has made it extremely difficult. But even so, we as a PAL market are the leading region for all of those formats, despite those difficulties."

Reeves' role will be taken by Andrew House, former marketing exec for Sony across all regions, who is expected to make the position his own.

"I'm not really giving him any advice at all," offered Reeves. "He's a very seasoned and professional person and I've worked with him in Sony Computer Entertainment before, both in Tokyo and the US. He knows Sony very well. He's going to do it his own way, so I'll just make sure he knows how good the people are in Europe."

After laughing off rumours that he was to join Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds, Reeves said that he may continue to work in the industry, but he has no immediate plans.

"I'm actually retiring and my ambition is over the next couple of months is to get some rest because it's been a very tough year.

"And then I'm just going to try and do some things that I've always wanted to do in the past. Some of those might be in the games industry, but what I'm saying is I'll try and do several things. I honestly don't have any concrete plans, I'm not going anywhere. You won't see me on May 1 with a new company."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...rs-says-reeves ...

Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, has acknowledged that while the pre-owned videogame market is a challenge for publishers, the onus is on publishers to find a way to monetise the second-sale consumer.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz he also stated his belief that the sale of second-hand games - a practice which key specialist retailers in the West, including GAME and GameStop, rely upon - is "their perfect right," echoing comments made earlier this year by SEGA Europe boss Mike Hayes.

"It's their prerogative to do that," said Moore on the pre-owned market. "What we have to do as publishers is find ways of taking advantage of that.

"How do we monetise that second-sale consumer? I think online is the key to that, and finding ways of innovating with that consumer, because they still log-on, and we get access to them, so how do we sell them stuff?

"You like to think you make compulsive game experiences and people won't want to trade them in, but that's their perfect right.

"Again, our point as publisher would be that the business exists, it's a multi-billion dollar business - our job would be to figure out how we treat them as any other customer, how we monetise that consumer."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...n-to-pre-owned ...

New Tellme speech control tool to be built into upcoming Windows Mobile handsets.
Microsoft is looking to trump the iPhone's touchscreen UI with voice activated commands for all kinds of handset functions.

The Tellme technology will be built into Windows Mobile 6.5-powered devices due to hit the market this autumn.

Microsoft reckons research shows people prefer voice over touch, pointing out that one verbal command can do what usually requires four touches.


Perhaps the software giant is missing the point slightly here in that speed doesn't necessarily trump tactile interaction, but it will be interesting to see if the concept takes hold.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/33196...uch-with-voice ...