Goes PSP

I can’t resist anymore. With the flock of excellent new RPG game running toward PSP — and since I’m a hardcore RPG fans — I finally end up spent my Rp 2.000.000,- (about $215 with the current conversion) to buy PSP a.k.a Playstation Portable. Then, not want to miss any single PSP titles, I bought a package of 20 (yes, TWENTY) DVD discs full of PSP game ISO. Now I’m ready to beat those huge list of PSP’s RPG titles :)

If you want to read my daily experience and review for PSP games, hardware, and accessories (if I bought one), go here.

First Atom-based MID gets prices, specs

The first Mobile Internet Device based on Intel's new Atom architecture has been put up for pre-order today and reveals the feature set of the device itself and others to come. A listing by electronics shop Tegatech Australia reveals that the GigaByte M528 will be based on Intel's base 800MHz Atom chip and is being targeted at mobile data users: the QWERTY keyboard slider design will have both Wi-Fi and a 3G cellular module, and will have similarly have both back and front video cameras for snapping photos and making video calls.

The device should also have a 4.8-inch, 800x480 resolution touchscreen, built-in GPS navigation, and an 8GB flash drive for its permanent storage, according to the early listing. The system is equipped with just 512MB of RAM but isn't expected to be affected by performance, as the M528 will use a custom variant on Linux rather than Windows.

Tegatech is pricing the phone at $1,199 Australian dollars, or about $1,134; the cost includes local tax and is likely to dip significantly with a release in the US, which is anticipated once GigaByte formally announces ship dates for the M528. Intel formally rolls out Atom in June.

Philips unveils two touchscreen phones

Philips is preparing to launch two high-end touchscreen phones - the X800 and Xenium X-Connect - which feature large color screens and several luxury features. The X800 offers users a tri-band GSM/GPRS platform, which uses a 2.9 inch touch screen to display information, with a screen resolution of 240 by 400 pixels. It also features handwriting recognition, a 2MP autofocus camera, a MicroSD slot, Bluetooth, and an office document reader. Battery life for the unit sits at 850 hours standby, and 8 hours of talk time.

The Xenium X-Connect features Windows Mobile 6, and offers a larger 3-inch display. It will not feature WiFi, but will connect to GPRS, UMTS, and HSDPA networks. A built-in GPS receiver is also included, as well as Bluetooth, USB, and a MicroSD card slot.

AT&T plans 20-megabit 3G by 2009

AT&T's cellular Internet access will be more than five times faster in 2009 than it is this year, the company's mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said today at Morgan Stanley's annual Communications Conference. The executive says that the company's HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network will be improved from the theoretical peak downloads of 3.6 megabits per second common across most of the network today to about 20 megabits per second in 2009.

In spite of the increase in speed, the improvement won't require a major reworking of AT&T's existing cell tower infrastructure and will primarily involve a software upgrade for the network, de la Vega explains. He adds that an interim HSPA upgrade to 7.2 megabits per second is already "in the labs" and that the company's Option network cards are already capable of the 7.2Mbps speed.

This quick ramp-up in speed is why AT&T isn't concerned about the expansion of Sprint's Xohm and the unified Clearwire WiMAX service, he says. Although WiMAX will be available this year and is considered 4G, AT&T's time-to-market for its upgraded 3G will allow it to offer competitive speeds across a wider area sooner than the new challenger.

The company official also reiterated AT&T's plans to offer 700MHz 4G access through the Long Term Evolution standard by approximately 2010, when peak downloads should near the 100-megabit mark. Verizon also plans 700MHz LTE of its own but plans to launch slightly earlier, unveiling an early network in late 2009.

Both the improved 3G as well as 4G are considered essential by most experts for broadband-level services on cellular networks, including two-way video calling, permanent video downloads, and real-time online apps such as multiplayer games. De la Vega acknowledged that AT&T would have to shift its emphasis from traditional calls to Internet features in the process.

"The future is all about data," according to the AT&T senior official.

LG, Samsung join for US mobile TV standard

LG and Samsung this morning jointly said they would team up to promote a new standard for digital mobile TV in the US. Already submitted to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) that governs HDTV, the unnamed format would use the existing wireless spectrum already in place for digital over-the-air broadcasts to conventional tuners. The choice would not only make adding portable TV simple for existing providers but would do so without impacting the bandwidth available for full-size digital broadcasts, the companies say.

The format should be tested this year by a group of interested broadcasters known as Open Mobile Video Coalition, the Korean firms say. Actual devices and services using the new mobile TV technology should be in place by early 2009.

An adoption of a more universal mobile TV standard is considered crucial for bringing the US up to par with Korea, Japan, and other regions in the world which already offer unprotected mobile TV formats for phones and portable media players. AT&T and Verizon already offer mobile TV for their cellphones but do so using the encrypted MediaFLO format, which prevents users from tuning in without getting permission from their cellular carrier or a similar provider.

Verizon joins LiMo group, vows open Linux phones

Verizon today took further steps to promote its image as an open carrier by announcing it would join the LiMo Foundation, an industry group dedicated to developing and promoting Linux on cellphones. The US cell provider takes the last seat on the Foundation's board of directors alongside handset makers such as Motorola and Samsung as well as NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone, and claims to be a "champion" of openness in the process.

Verizon will push open development as a whole and Linux in particular as its means of reducing development costs, according to the statement. The LiMo group doesn't dictate a unified standard for the 39 involved companies but hopes for a "transparent" self-governing model which pushes mobile Linux forward.

LiMo today also added a number of hardware and provider companies to the group, including Firefox developer Mozilla, French phone designer Sagem, and Korean cell service giant SK Telecom.

The move reinforces past gestures made by Verizon to establish its image as a more open carrier than other American providers. The company was the winning bidder for a block of spectrum in the Federal Communications Commision's recent wireless auction that mandates opening access to any device and any software. After revealing its win, Verizon said it would offer 4G cellular data using the Long Term Evolution standard.

The telecoms company has also recently joined the Google-backed Open Handset Alliance that promotes open software development for cellphones, including for future devices based on Google's own Android mobile platform. However, Google has accused Verizon in an FCC petition of being insincere and intending to violate the open access rules on the 700MHz band by locking phones sold from the carrier itself.

Virgin confirms talks with SK Telecom

Virgin Mobile USA today confirmed that it was in the early stages of talks with SK Telecom to investigate "strategic opportunities" between the two companies. The revelation partly rebuffs denials by SKT of involvement with Virgin but doesn't provide more details as to the nature of the talks beyond the statement. There are no guarantees that anything will result from negotiations, Virgin claims. The company adds that it has no plans to add more detail unless any deal is struck.

While unconfirmed and officially dismissed, SK Telecom has been reported by multiple sources as considering a merger of Helio and Virgin in an attempt to improve Helio's welfare in the US, where it struggles versus incumbent carriers such as AT&T and Sprint. Virgin itself has been struggling since the collapse of its stock over the past several months and has previously said it was investigating options that would help turn around its fortunes.

Virgin currently outranks Helio as the largest American "virtual" cellphone network operator, and like most of its kind in the country is dependent on airtime it purchases from Sprint.