Daily News Brief: Apple's iPhone Getting Touch Feely

Posted 04/28/2008 at 2:06pm | by

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Apple Tactile Feedback Rumor

Citing an anonymous Apple employee, Palluxo.com claims iPhone owners will soon enjoy tactile feedback. The source said senior executives from Apple and Immersion Corporation are currently in discussions over licensing Haptic technology and potential implementation issues. It's been speculated that Nokia's upcoming 5800 - dubbed the 'iPhone killer' - will also sport vibration feedback courtesy of Immersion Corp.

HDTV Adoption on the Rise

Just as gamers help drive the market for faster computers, that same influence has started to extend into the living room. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners now account for 18 percent of HDTV purchases, and according to research firm Frank N. Magid Associates, 25 percent of U.S. households have at least one HDTV set, up from 20 percent just seven months ago. Quick, someone send Comedy Central and SciFi Channel the memo!

Samsung Sails Past Scandal

Analysts expecting a financial tremor in the wake of a scandal brought forth by Samsung's former head Lee Kun-Hee were proven wrong on Friday, as the chip-maker posted first quarter results that beat expectations. Flat-screen TVs and cellular phones helped pick up the slack from a slumping semiconductor market, with first quarter profits soaring 37.5 percent. More here.

Your Password is Weak

Ever get annoyed when a site insists you amend your password with at least one digit? Pshaw! Just be happy you don't have to memorize a 18K+ long password! "Your password must be at least 18770 characters and cannot repeat any of your previous 30689 passwords." Thanks for the giggle, Microsoft Knowledgebase article 276304!

Nintendo: No Price Cuts for You!

Those hoping for a price cut for the hard-to-find Wii console or still popular DS handheld system can stop holding their breath: They're not coming, Nintendo's president said on Friday. Satoru Iwata fears that early adopters might feel ripped off by introducing lower prices on hardware. Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have received numerous price cuts since launch. More on Nintendo's current outlook and future plans here.

Laptop Orchestra

Forget the image of geeks surrounded by pizza pocket wrappers and empty Mountain Dew bottles, we're a cultured bunch. And to prove it, Stanford University played their first public concert on Saturday with an orchestra consisting of laptops instead of instruments. Twenty stations each contained a laptop and a speaker array, and each speaker array could output 6 channels of sound for 120 channels in all, plus 4 subwoofers. Take THAT, New York Philharmonic!

Oh Hai!

I can has nap now?