HD News: According to London-based analysts FutureSource, the predicted demise of the high definition DVD format Blu-ray has been exaggerated.

Two trends have emerged which place the success of Blu-ray in doubt. Firstly, many of us appreciate the quality of Blu-ray but are quite happy to hang on to our collection of DVD’s and Secondly, a growing number of manufacturers have long appreciated the potential for ‘upscaling’ technology as an intermediate solution - a solution which many consumers have adopted.

However, in a new report, FutureSource predicts that 1.8million BD players will ship into the UK and Europe by the close of 2009, a figure that does not include Sony’s PS3 games console which has a built-in Blu-ray drive. They believe that Blu-ray will benefit from the change in consumer spending habits as a result of the recent credit crunch; that they will opt to spend more of their disposable income on home entertainment.

Blu ray Futuresource

Eurogamer: Sony development bigwig George Bain has said the PlayStation 2 is “effectively an open platform” in Europe.

“You no longer have to submit a game for content approval,” Bain told a throng of Euro developers, according to GameDaily.

The idea behind the move is to encourage regional developers to be able to make “low-development cost titles and release them in their market”, he said, using India and Russia as examples.

And while development kits can be costly, Sony has often been known to loan them for the duration of a project.

PS2 Sony

Electronista: Kenwood on Tuesday announced the introduction of its new mini audio system, the Prodino, or CORE-A55.

The 20W system does not have an optical drive or an FM tuner, relying on a wide range of external connections for its source files. Digital audio files stored on an SDHC, miniSDHC or microSDHC memory cards up to 32GB in capacity, where applicable, can be played back thanks to the Prodino’s front-mounted SD card slot, while the back panel has a USB connection.

A digital optical input allows users to connect a digital tuner or other PCM digital signal to the Prodino. For a connection that nets CD-quality playback, there is an auxiliary input made up of a 3.5mm stereo jack that is compatible with any device with a similar headphone jack.

kenwood mini audio system Prodino

ZDNet UK: T-Mobile started selling its G1 phone, which runs on Google’s Android platform, throughout the UK on Thursday.

G1, which is a rebranding of HTC’s Dream handset, has touchscreen functionality and a Qwerty keyboard. It uses the open-source Android platform, a full mobile stack including operating system and applications.

As a result, the G1 also provides access to Android Market, where customers can find and download applications for the phone, including mashups. Developers are free to create their own programs for the Android platform and upload them to the Android Market, where they will get 70 percent of revenue for their software.

Daniel Meredith, T-Mobile’s UK head of handset and device marketing, told ZDNet UK on Thursday that the launch was “incredibly exciting” for the mobile service provider.

“Today marks a step change in where we are going as an industry,” Meredith said. “Android opens up communication on a platform that is truly open. The Android community will deliver unique services and applications.”

Android G1 google HTC Dream T mobile

Register Hardware: Pioneer has prevailed in its legal battle with Samsung over who owns key plasma display technologies. 
  
Samsung will have to cough up €47m to Pioneer after the US District Court for Eastern Texas ruled that its display division, Samsung SDI, had flouted Pioneer’s intellectual property rights, specifically a pair of patents for a surface-discharge plasma display and a brighter-than-usual plasma screen.

Pioneer took Samsung to court in September 2006 after, it claimed at the time, 18 months of unsuccessful negotiations that centred on persuading Samsung to license the technology.

pioneer plasma Samsung

Trusted Reviews: If you spotted Microsoft’s offer of an Xbox storage upgrade for Aracde and core console owners and thought “sure, that’s great, but I need a bit more than 20GB of hard drive space,” then Microsoft has the package for you.

Available in the US only at the moment the bundle comprises a 60GB hard drive, wired headset, Ethernet cable and a three month Live Gold subscription.

Oddly enough, exactly what marks the difference in package between the Arcade and 60GB system bundles.

Microsoft Xbox 360 Live Pack