Nintendo unveiled a highly-sensitive motion controller add-on for its Wii system as it seeks to capitalise on its position as the global console leader.

At the E3 games conference in Los Angeles, the firm showed off its Wii MotionPlus, which it promised would add more realism and depth to games.

The company has sold more than 10 million Wii consoles and 70 million DS handheld machines worldwide.

Rival Sony has announced a larger capacity version of its PlayStation 3.

At a later press conference, Sony unveiled a film download service and an 80-gigabyte hard drive version of PS3 for gamers in North America.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Nintendo shows off new Wii add-on.

Apple has scrapped plans to cut the price of music downloads on its iTunes service in the UK.

Six months ago, the company said it would lower the price of songs in the UK to bring British fees into line with those on its other European services.

A song costs 79p in the UK and 0.99 euros elsewhere. At the time of Apple’s announcement, that worked out at 74p.

But exchange rate changes since January mean 0.99 euros now equals 79p, meaning no price cut is necessary, Apple said.

On 9 January, an Apple statement said: “Within six months it will lower the prices it charges for music on its UK iTunes store to match the already standardised pricing on iTunes across Europe.”

That announcement came after the European Union investigated price differences between the UK and the rest of the continent.

Wiped out

But since then, the value of the euro has risen against the pound, wiping out the difference.

“The announcement was that we would match the UK price to that of other lower priced European countries,” an Apple spokesman said.

“This is no longer necessary as exchange rates have effectively done it for us.”

The spokesman was unable to confirm what would happen when the exchange rate changed again, or whether British fans could end up paying more than 79p.

But he said the company wanted to keep the pan-European prices “standardised”.

Music fans in Europe still pay much more than those in the US, where each song costs $0.99 (49p or 0.62 euros).

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | UK iTunes shelves music price cut.

The current number of mobile phones subscriptions in the United States is over 420,000,000, the equivalent of 1.39 phones for every man, woman and child in the country. One guess is as high as 80% of these devices will be dropped, lost or stolen within the first 120-days of use. Herein was the inspiration for the newest cell phone accessory, the Panda Leash.

Panda is a leash fastening system that safeguards cell phones, iPods, BlackBerrys, Palms, almost any PDA. It is ideally suited for digital cameras as well. A small, spring-lock appliance secures the leash to the phone, releasing it instantly with the push of a button. It adheres strongly with a 3M adhesive pad that peels off cleanly by hand. Panda’s micro-thin coil leash is designed for ease-of-use and non-interference when making or receiving calls. It is a mere 5” in length, fitting easily into purse or pocket, but stretches easily to arm’s length use without restraint or pulling. If dropped, the attached phone or device is stopped short of impact by the length of the leash.

“Clip-on/Clip-off” jewelry attachment is a novel feature of the product, and a Panda exclusive. Attachment clips allow a favorite bracelet, chain or piece of jewelry to be clipped on the leash in moments for any look or style that fits the mood or occasion.

The novelty and appeal of the Panda Leash™ were featured at the April CTIA Wireless 2008 expo in Las Vegas at the show’s “Fashion in Motion” program, which presented the most innovative and creative products in the wearable, wireless design industry.

Panda Leash cell phone accessory kits are available in two leash styles and multiple colors, and retail from Panda for $17.95 and $19.95 each according to style.

Contact Panda International, 24681 La Plaza, Suite 260, Dana Point, CA 92629. Phone: 949-661-2893; Fax: 949-218-9750. sales@pandaleash.com; www.pandaleash.com.

New Cell Phone Accessory Safeguards Cell Phones, iPods and PDAs

Viacom has “backed off” from demands to divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched a video on YouTube, the website has claimed.

Google had been ordered to provide personal details of millions of YouTube users to help Viacom prepare its case on alleged copyright infringement.

Google, owners of YouTube, will now hand over the database but without data that could identify users.

Viacom has a $1bn (£497m) copyright infringement lawsuit against Google.

A class action by other organisations including the English Premier League has also agreed to the new terms.

“We are pleased to report that Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for all users’ viewing histories and we will not be providing that information,” said a statement on the YouTube blog.

The decision will be welcomed by privacy activists, many of whom expressed concern over a US judge’s order for Google to provide the data in early July.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Viacom ‘backs off’ YouTube demand.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Video game debut for Roses track

The first official track to be taken from Guns N’ Roses’ new album will be released through video game Rock Band 2, along with a Bob Dylan number.

Shackler’s Revenge, taken from Guns’ long-awaited album Chinese Democracy, will feature on the game, to be launched in the US in September.

Dylan’s Tangled Up In Blue is also going to appear.

It is the second version of the game in which competitors play along to songs with instrument controllers.

A release date for the new album from Guns N’ Roses - who no longer feature original guitarist Slash - has yet to be announced.

The band’s last album The Spaghetti Incident? was released in 1993.

By Darren Waters
Technology editor, BBC News website

The giants of the video games industry gather in Los Angeles this week for the E3 conference, and all sights are set on the mass market.

Microsoft and Sony are both expected to follow the Nintendo Wii’s lead and push into social gaming.

Observers say the recent cut for the Xbox 360 is Microsoft’s bid to make the console more appealing.

“There is a strong move to pull in women, young girls and older people,” said analyst Piers Harding-Rolls.

“It’s not just about the traditional gamer anymore. More casual, lifestyle and family-orientated products are going to appeal to a wider demographic,” said the Screen Digest analyst.

READ MORE AT THE BBC

Dotcom-Monitor announced today that it has opened a new web monitoring station in Tel Aviv, Israel, that allows its customers to measure the performance of their websites in this significant Middle East market. Using Dotcom-Monitor’s service, companies on the Internet can proactively monitor how well their websites and web applications respond to various user actions, such as page viewing, online shopping and online form usage, from an external user’s perspective.

The new Tel Aviv monitoring station joins a growing list of Dotcom-Monitor stations worldwide, and was added in response to growing customer demand for improved website monitoring in the Middle East. Other Dotcom-Monitor monitoring stations are located in major international business hubs that include Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London and Sydney, as well as in major North American markets.

DigitalMediaStocks.com, an investor and industry portal for the digital media sector within Investorideas.com, reports on industry developments in the digital media sector. As attention shifts to focusing on the impact of digital downloads of movies and TV, comparable to the dramatic shift in the music industry, how is the industry reacting? From analyst downgrades to new legislation, to shifts in spending in security, the industry is in transition.

Lehman analyst Anthony DiClemente shook up the industry with his recent downgrades and comments, “Shifts from physical to digital will disrupt the marginal economics of the TV and movie businesses, just as it did for music.”

Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice recently introduced new federal copyright legislation in the House of Commons, stating, “With this bill, we have introduced important measures to support industries whose success depends on copyright — software companies and filmmakers, for example. We are providing stronger protection of digital locks online so that companies that choose to use them in their business models will have the support of the law. We have also introduced stronger provisions to address Internet piracy.”

Leading expert on IT spending, purchases, budgeting trends, and tech sector economics, Andy Bartels at Forrester, recently noted,” Many products, such as security software, are viewed as essential by corporate tech buyers.

In a previous DigitalMediaStocks.com interview, Patrick Gregston of USA Video Interactive Corp. (OTCBB: USVO) (CDNX: US.V) provides listeners with the significance of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s implementation of MediaEscort(TM). MediaEscort(TM) is currently being deployed to protect the Studio’s filmed entertainment content that is streamed via the Internet to its various trade business partners in advance of DVD availability.

To Listen to Podcast/Audio Interview: http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.investorideas.com/podcasts/2008/041008a.mp3

Vianix announced today that it has executed an OEM License Agreement with Yap, an early mover in the rapidly growing mobile voice services market. Yap has introduced a state-of-the-art free-form Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) platform that makes mobile applications easier and faster to use. Yap’s first deployments offer dictation into text messaging and search, to support accessibility and safety initiatives, as well as the natural convenience compared to tapping on small form factor devices. Vianix’ MASC enhances the Yap platform with improved performance and more accurate ASR results. The combination of Vianix’ MASC speech processing technology and Yap’s platform will command an important position in the mobile voice services market, with the voice search component valued at $11B alone.

Yap’s platform is differentiated from its competitors with technology that eliminates the need for human intervention, increasing speed and scalability while addressing privacy concerns. With compelling value propositions for end users, carriers, device makers and web portals, Yap’s award winning platform has the potential to change the way devices are used. The adoption of MASC for management of voice file bandwidth and storage requirements while maintaining high ASR accuracy is a critical enabler for Yap’s platform.

Bernard Brafman, Vianix’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing said, “We have been following mobile voice services for some time now and are thrilled to make our first licensing announcement in the space. Yap’s outstanding team is well positioned to stake out an early leadership position, and Vianix’ contribution to performance and accuracy of their platform plays a strategic role.”

“As we accelerate our research and development activities, we are leaving no element unexplored to ensure the most pristine experience for our end users,” confided Igor Jablokov, CEO of Yap. “We appreciate the work the Vianix team has performed to date in support of our mission and are looking forward to servicing our mutual customers.”