Weekly wrapup: Blockbuster STB, iPlayer, Livestation, Nokia N97 and more

Here’s a summary of the last two week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.

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Internet TV

Finally, Blockbuster’s Internet set-top box unveiled

We knew it was coming. First, video rental chain Blockbuster purchased the movie download service MovieLink — originally a joint venture between Hollywood studios Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros. and MGM — and then the company, through a series of leaks to the press, began hinting at related plans to release a set-top box. A few denials later, followed by an outright confirmation, and today the company best known for its bricks and mortar stores finally unveiled the hardware itself.

Dave Zatz: Blockbuster OnDemand not ready for prime time

BBC iPlayer lands on PlayStation 3 – could Hulu be next?

Available in Beta, as of today PS3 owners can now access the Beeb’s seven day TV catchup service (UK-only), joining their Nindendo Wii brethren, along with specific versions for Nokia’s N96 and Apple’s iPhone.

Video: Livestation demos live Internet TV on iPhone and iPod touch

Livestation is currently developing a version of its Internet TV application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. A working prototype already exists that delivers Livestation’s channel lineup of live television news stations on Apple’s device, although this is likely to be supported over WiFi only.

Mobile

Nokia N97 – I want one already

For a long time now Nokia has been telling consumers not to think of its Nseries line of smartphones as phones at all. Instead, they’re ‘multimedia computers’, says the company. With today’s introduction of the N97, that pitch is sounding a lot less lofty.

Zune phone anyone? Windows Mobile partners look away

CNBC’s Jim Goldman claims that a new device from Microsoft, codenamed ‘pink’, is indeed in the works and that it will combine the company’s Zune with technology from Danger, with an end goal to develop a viable competitor to Apple’s iPhone.

Video demo: SkyFire’s S60 mobile web browser accessing Hulu and YouTube

What sets SkyFire apart from other mobile browsers, the company claims, is its ability to display the web in its full desktop glory, including Flash, Quicktime and AJAX-heavy content. To achieve this, web pages are processed by the company’s own proxy servers before being served up on the phone.

Sony’s eBook reader – the numbers are in

While Amazon remains deafeningly silent over how many Kindles it has sold – except to say that new orders won’t be fulfilled for the next eleven to thirteen weeks – Sony, its main competitor in the eBook reader space, isn’t being so shy.

Video demo: Nokia XpressMusic 5800’s media playback features

Nokia’s new touchscreen phone, the XpressMusic 5800, is being pitched as an affordable music and video centric phone. After playing with the device for a few weeks — see my first impressions — here’s a hands-on video I shot walking through the 5800’s media playback features.

Digital Music

Amazon MP3 arrives in the UK

With little or no fanfare, Amazon’s MP3 store has arrived in the UK. And in keeping with the credit crunch spirit of late, there are some real bargains on offer. Albums currently start at £3 (approx. $4.5) and some individual tracks are being offered for as little as 59 pence (87 cents).

Nokia announces Internet radio and music streamer

The new flagship N97 smartphone wasn’t Nokia’s only product announcement this week, with the company unveiling a standalone Internet radio and music streaming device.

That’s a wrap. Thanks for reading.

Bonus wrapup: Zatz Not Funny: Blockbuster, CE surprises, Joost, Neuros LINK, TiVo

last100 is edited by Steve O'Hear. Aside from founding last100, Steve is co-founder and CEO of Beepl and a freelance journalist who has written for numerous publications, including TechCrunch, The Guardian, ZDNet, ReadWriteWeb and Macworld, and also wrote and directed the Silicon Valley documentary, In Search of the Valley. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

One Response to “Weekly wrapup: Blockbuster STB, iPlayer, Livestation, Nokia N97 and more”

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about last100 weekly wrapup.
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