Here’s an update to the story about the FCC versus Comcast that we posted on Wednesday. The FCC has officially ruled this day and it turns out that Comcast won’t be fined for throttling peer-to-peer network traffic, but it will have to cease discriminating against certain world wide web traffic until the company comes up with a compliance plan “to fully disclose its practices” to customers.

Bloomberg reports that the five-member FCC panel voted 3-2 against Comcast. Critics of Comcast’s traffic-regulating activities are calling the ruling a “bellwether case”. It’s important to note that even though Comcast has been ordered to stop throttling traffic, it appears that the reasoning behind the ruling has more to do with the fact that the throttling wasn’t being disclosed to customers, not that the throttling was actually taken place. So it appears that bandwidth management can and will continue, it’ll just have to be more transparent.

Via [crunchgear]

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It’s not just iPhone users who can listen to the radio while toolin’ about their fine city. A just-released (well, re-released, kinda) application for the BlackBerry called the Mobiola xPlayer lets you listen to Internet radio (that includes live news and the like) and MP3s (and AACs and WMAs, etc.) Listening to MP3s and the like won’t cost you anything, but to hear Internet radio you’ll have to pay a one-time fee of $19.95.

If I had bothered brining my BlackBerry 8800 with me, I’d be downloading this ASAP. But of course, being a total numpty, I forgot it. Oh well.

via BerryReviews.com

Via [crunchgear]

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Though it’s in no way official, I happen to care about Google Blogoscoped’s analysis of the Google Chrome logo and agree with the influences listed. In addition to the hodge podge of handheld Simons, Pokeballs, Firefox, webcams and Google logos, Neatorama also throws in the Sal-9000 eye from 2010 for good measure. It also kinda looks like that robot lamp from yesterday (obviously, they’re not remotely related). Anything else this reminds you of? [Google Blogoscoped via Neatorama]

Via [Gizmodo]

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Bummed out because the N78 doesn’t offer VoIP compatability right out of the box? Fear not - Fring has got you covered. Apparently using their own VoIP client rather than the Nokia-made client (which Nokia decided not to build into the latest N-series devices) required by other services, Fring has added support for both the N78 and the N96.

If you’ve got an N78 or by some sort of trickery already own an N96, you can grab Fring here.

Via Mobilecrunch

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Anybody hedging bets on Nokia’s Q3 market share results at the local mobile market gambling hall based off of the company’s previous predictions might want to see if they have the ability to weasel their way out. Where as Nokia previously predicted that their third quarter sales would be right on par with those of the second, they’re now warning folks that it may come in a bit lower than expected.

With just about every huge name offering or having announced powerhouse handsets in the past few months, it’s not too surprising that Nokia might be feeling the heat. We’ll see just how well they did when the full numbers come through next month.

Via Mobilecrunch

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The Gadget: Microsoft’s SideWinder X6, their first ever bona fide SideWinder gaming keyboard, designed especially for Sith Lords with red adjustable backlighting, a pisston of macros and a hot swappable number/macro keypad.

The Price: $80

The Verdict: A really fabulous effort.

Since coming back from the dead, Microsoft’s SideWinder has been making some bold, unique design choices with its gaming hardware—and we’re not just talking about the obvious Darth Vader overtones that we seriously dig—they’ve been toying with conventional ergonomic designs and layouts. I love that they’re trying to do something genuinely new—the switchable keypad in the X6, the steel vertical thumb buttons on the first (new) Sidewinder mouse.

The problem is that some of the conventions they buck impact usability occasionally—the vertical thumb buttons on the Sidewinder mice, for instance, is a cramped, inferior setup to the standard horizontal layout. The X6 has a couple of similar issues—the space bar is longer than on most keyboards, running from the tip of the X key all the way to the question mark, so when reaching for right Alt, I’d smack the space bar eight times out of 10, even after a week with the keyboard.

The other major issue, versus other gaming keyboards, is that it doesn’t have built-in USB or audio ports, like ones from Razer, SteelSeries or Logitech (though it doesn’t have audio), for simple swapping of mice, headsets or other peripherals.

I still like this keyboard a lot—the punchiness of the keys is perfect, and has a very Logitech-y feel to it, actually. Dial controls for volume and backlighting are vastly better to stupid buttons, and add to the “this fully armed and operational battle station” vibe. The removable keyboard is held in place with surprising strength by the magnets, so you won’t worry about it coming apart in the middle of a frantic fragfest. And macros, macros, macros—there are lots of them, although I’m more of an FPS gamer, so they’re less important to me—thought that might change when Starcraft 2 hits.

Eighty bucks puts it at the same price as Logitech’s G15 and Razer’s Lycosa (to which it’s the most similar in style/build quality), but it’s not better than either of those. Spring for this one if you’re trying to complete your SideWinder set, need a ridiculous number of macros, or having a detachable keypad would be the bee’s knees for you. Since this is only their first effort, I’m pretty excited to see what they do next with the feedback on the X6. [Microsoft]

Via [Gizmodo]

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Oh, hey! It’s the SE TM506, that pretty little green 3G flip we mentioned a few weeks back. Last anybody knew, it was set to launch sometime in early September - turns out, that meant this day.

You can nab T-mobile’s first HSDPA handset at any of the normal T-Mo outlets for a cent short of $80 after a 2-year blood pact and a $50 dollar rebate. If you’re itchin’ for more, check out the full specs after the jump.

• Weight: 3.4 ounces, including battery (approx.)
• Size: 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.69 inches (approx.)
• Speak Time: Up to 9.5 hours GSM; up to 3.5 hours UMTS (approx.)
• Standby Time: Up to 250 hours GSM, up to 250 hours UMTS (approx.)
• 2.0 Megapixel Camera
• Media Center
• aGPS Built-in
• TeleNav® Navigator
• RSS Feeds
• MyFaves-enabled
• Audio Postcard
• Quicksend
• Mobile Backup (T-Mobile Address Book)
• Bluetooth® 2.0 / A2DP / Stereo streaming
• Tri-Band GSM (850/1800/1900)
• Dual-Band UMTS (1700/2100 & 2100)
• GSM/GRPS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA

Via Mobilecrunch

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Tatango, the ad-supported group SMS service previously known as networkText, spent the last few months in a private beta following a functional and visual overhaul and a round of funding by Bellingham Angel Organization. Now everyone is free to get in on the group texting good times; they’ve opened the doors to the public.

The service is dead simple to use, as it should be. I made the jump from accountless bum to en masse messaging mogul in all of about 2 minutes. Sign up, invite some friends (they have to opt-in, else this thing would be a spam machine), and you (or anybody you dub as a group admin) are able to SMS the entire group at once, either from the browser or right off your mobile handset.

The basic service is free, supported by 30 character advertisements strapped to the bottom of each message (Don’t worry - Tatango keeps a close tab on who they let advertise, so any messages you send to your Sunday Choir group won’t end with “Reply HAWT for girl-on-girl action”.) Ad-free messaging is available along with a few other pay-per-option premium features but, at just under $35 bucks a month, such novelties might be a bit out of range for the hockey mother just tryin’ to keep the weekly carpool organized. For Joe McAdvert using it as an alternative to mailing lists for peddling his product to thousands of fans, however, it’s probably worth it.

I didn’t think I’d have much of a use for Tatango when I first got wind of it. After playing with it for a bit, I’m thinking of using it as means of keeping the rest of the CrunchGear team updated of news breaking on the trade show floor without having to break out the laptop. Would I pay for that convenience? Probably not. But if all it costs me is around 30 characters at the tail end of a message, I don’t mind dropping a vowel or two to get the message out swift.

Check it out at Tatango.com

Via Mobilecrunch

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Further confirming the existence of a PRADA II, BGR has managed to get their hands on the full tentative specs:

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE, dual-band HSDPA (850MHz/2100MHz)
• 950mAh battery
• 240×400 3.0″ screen
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash and VGA recording
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Wi-Fi b,g
• Infineon MP-EH + M180 chipset
• Motion sensor
• FM Radio
• 104.5 x 54 x 16.8 mm

It’s certainly a powerful handset, but it’ll have some stiff competition (even from within the LG camp) by the time it hits the shelves. We’ll have to wait and see where this one settles on the price-point scale.

Via Mobilecrunch

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