Netflix’s streaming video application for the iPhone allows users to access their streaming instant queue from anywhere and works surprisingly well whether the user is connected via Wi-Fi or AT&T’s 3G network. The same application was recently announced for Windows 7 Phones, and according to a post on the Netflix blog, it will also launch on Android devices early next year.

The hold up according to Netflix? DRM. The delay was due to “the lack of a generic and complete platform security and content protection mechanism available for Android.” “The same security issues that have led to piracy concerns on the Android platform have made it difficult for us to secure a common Digital Rights Management (DRM) system on these devices,” says the company.

Link to the original article…

At launch, Google took heat for a number of things related to their Nexus One Android based smartphone, including the fact that customers who canceled service early faced $550 in fees – a $200 ETF from T-Mobile, and a $350 Google “Equipment Recovery Fee”. Which was more than the phone even cost. Responding to these criticisms, sluggish Nexus One sales and the FCC’s recent inquiry into ETFs, Google says they’re lowering the Nexus One “equipment recovery fee” from $350 to $150 and talks about the decision to the Wall Street Journal:

A Google representative said the company had been working with T-Mobile to lower the equipment fee. “Google’s overall financial philosophy with regard to operator service plans remains unchanged: We make no profit from commissions from operators or from equipment recovery fees, and our recovery fees are based on operator charges to Google for early termination of service,” the company said in a statement.

Another criticism of the Nexus One launch was that Google was only offering e-mail support (with turaround response time of up to 24 hours). That’s also changing, with TMO News indicating that Google has officially launched phone support for the Nexus One in the US, 888-48-NEXUS (63987). A third major criticism of the product was that the phone struggled to obtain 3G connectivity, even in markets where T-Mobile 3G service exists. That problem was apparently fixed with a recent firmware update, though some connectivity complaints persist.

Link to the original article…

mSpot already offers the ability to find song lyrics and download ringtones of popular music; they’ve now added the ability to view movie rentals through their website for $4.99 for each movie with no application needed. Point your browser to http://m.mspot.com and go from there with no application download necessary.

mSpot’s Mobile Movies are available on over 30 different cell phone models, including the iPhone, smartphones and some high-end feature phones, and across all major carriers. In the coming months, the service will be available on over a hundred different phone models.

“The launch of Mobile Movies makes mSpot the first company to give movie lovers what they want, when they want it,” said mSpot CEO Daren Tsui, whose favorite movies include “Mission Impossible” and “Airplane!” “Whether you’re lounging on the beach, taking the train, or just relaxing at home, we’re making movies instantly accessible to consumers everywhere.”

mSpot has inked partnerships with major studios, including Paramount Studios and Universal Studios Home Entertainment, giving mSpot customers direct access to the movies they love the most. Soon, mSpot expects to announce additional studio partnerships, giving its fans access to thousands of movies across over a hundred different mobile phones.

And before you ask, yes it does support the iPhone too. Thanks to Margaret for the tip!

[ mSpot ]

I can remember my IBM PS/2 Model 20 having an Intel 286 processor and a massive 20mb hard drive. And yes… I also walked to school in the snow, uphill both ways in the cold wintery month of July- we didn’t even have summer off during those dark days called pre-USB.

Okay, I do remember those days, but I thought I was hot stuff taking around 8gb in my pocket. That’s bigger than a DVD, right?

Well, Kingston just takes what’s out there, even the recently announced 128gb USB Flash drive and shoves that aside with their newer, over $900 256gb USB Flash drive. That’s 54 DVD’s worth of storage. That’s 10 whole Blu-Ray movies worth of space… wow.

Kingston Technology Europe Ltd, a subsidiary of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, has launched the world’s first 256GB USB flash drive, the Kingston Technology DataTraveler® 300. It is the highest capacity available for a USB in the market. With this launch, Kingston Technology has positioned itself to be a leader in this high-capacity USB arena.

Yeah… still over $900 bucks though. Ouch.

Via [ t-break ] and [ Kingston Technology ]

Hey, looks like LightScribe has come out with an even cooler way to label your disks.

LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling today announced the launch of the LightScribe Design Center, a free resource available on www.lightscribe.com offering more than 400 CD/DVD labeling designs with themes such as weddings, music, gifts, travel, photography and business. Anyone owning a LightScribe-enabled computer or external CD or DVD burner can visit the LightScribe Design Center, explore free designs by theme and immediately create visually striking full disc designs – complete with personalized photos and text.

In addition to offering hundreds of designs free of charge, the LightScribe Design Center has the following CD/DVD labeling resources:

Photo Labeling Center: Customer can combine digital photos with text to create personalized and one-of-a-kind disc designs.

Disc Sleeve Designer: With this easy to use tool, customers create vibrant customized designs for jewel cases and disc sleeves by choosing a background, dragging art, adding text, and printing.

Creative Extras: Customers can design labels with themes that include creative extras like matching mailers and custom cards. Users can create printable mailers in minutes.

Find out more over at LightScribe’s website.

Originally released for the Apple iPhone; FlyCast has released their FlyCast Mobile Network application for the BlackBerry smartphone platform.

FlyCast today announced at the BlackBerry® Developer Conference, where the company is a finalist in the BlackBerry Developer Challenge, that on November 1st, its mobile broadcast network will be ready for the BlackBerry® Curve, BlackBerry® Bold™ and BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) . FlyCast’s mobile broadcast network is one of the first of its kind to be available for BlackBerry smartphones. It will be available as a free download from the FlyCast mobile website (mobile.flycast.fm) beginning November 1st.

The FlyCast network is the first specifically designed application to deliver radio, video and podcasts over mobile broadband and Wi-Fi networks to mobile devices. As a compelling free alternative to satellite radio, the FlyCast network has experienced explosive growth in users and content since its launch in January 2008.

Find out more and (future) download from FlyCast Mobile’s website.