Bang out Morse code distress messages from your Sprint EVO MC.

There’s been quite a dust up regarding the National Association of Broadcasters’ proposed federal legislation which would require a FM tuner in each and every mobile phone. Despite your perceived music royalty focus of the “Performance Act,” which some have called the last gasp of a dying industry, the NAB’s primary and patriotic focus is actually national security – contributing to the safety of all US citizens:

From a public safety perspective, it is critically important to have broadcast radio’s unparalleled lifeline service available instantaneously in times of emergency.

We, too, here at ZNF are security-focused patriots. And don’t believe the proposed legislation goes far enough in covering all possible manner of calamity. So we’ve mocked up a few other mobile enhancements using what you might have (incorrectly) assumed were antiquated technologies.

Tune into NOAA weather alerts with the iPhone 6 Shortwave.

Playback low fidelity ransom messages on the Retrograde Galaxy S.

Within a few days of Redbox announcing Blu-ray rental availability from their nationwide network of kiosks, I swung by for confirmation. And, as it turned out, their press release was overly optimistic — neither Blu-ray title availability or even a category in the UI was found at my closest outpost (MickeyD’s). But when Engadget was tipped that Blu-ray rentals have started turning up (for real), I once again braved smells of the worst hamburgers in America to discover the truth. Low and behold, this particular Redbox now contains three lonely Blu-ray titles renting at the expected $1.50/nt rate.

While I’m not much into physical media rentals these days, there’s no question a lot of people appreciate movie rental kiosks. With their growing retal footprint (CVS is next) and absence of a surly staff, I quite imagine their success has been hastening the end of the brick & mortar video store.

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Blockbuster as we know it may or may not survive 2010, but that hasn’t prevented them from re-enabling mail order game rentals. As I’m currently on a Gamefly hiatus, a company that I’ve had a like/hate relationship with, I figured I’d check out Blockbuster’s combined DVD+gaming snail mail service which starts at a low $8.99/mo — about 45% less than Gamefly’s single disc plan. And, of course, you’re not limited to games.

I sold my copy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 months ago, after clocking way too many multiplayer hours and growing bored. But figured it might be time to brush up my skills a bit in preparation for Black Ops (11/10). Not to mention, a pal’s pre-teen thinks he can take me. And, while he probably can, I’m easily baited. Bring it, punk. So I added CoD: MW2 to my queue.

Unfortunately, the game was initially listed as having up to a 2 week wait due to low inventory. Upon checking my queue the next day, the delay had grown to 2-4 weeks. Which exceeded Blockbuster’s 2-week free trial – I fully expected to cancel service before anything arrived, due to my need for instant gratification and short attention span. Fortunately, the game showed only about a week after requesting it. For comparison, at its best, Gamefly took about a week to get a disc out to me.

Interestingly, not only is Blockbuster’s mailer smaller than Gamefly’s cardboard sleeve (which has been problematic), they’re also more compact than Netflix’s.

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I’ve been thinking about the rapid move towards eBooks we’re witnessing right now and came across a pretty interesting related graphic/chart by Newsweek.

Here’s a few snippets from the comparison:

• $4.05 average production cost for $26 hardcover
• $0.50 average production cost for $9.99 eBook download

• $3.90 average author royalty per paper book
• $2.12 average author royalty per eBook download

There is plenty of additional, interesting statistics. Head over to Newsweek to see the complete comparison.

I don’t see traditional paper books ever going away completely, but I do see a continuation of this shift towards eBooks for many purposes as the cost of eReaders continues to decline.

This post republished from GeekTonic.

Microsoft is pushing Windows Phone 7′s gaming capabilities pretty hard. While Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch have made a name for themselves as portable gaming machines, the truth is that people have been playing games on mobile devices running Windows Mobile, PalmOS, and other aging operating systems for ages. What’s new in Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s focus on gaming as a key part of the phone experience — complete with Xbox Live integration, allowing you to see gamerscores and other achievements for yourself and your friends. There will also be multiplayer capabilities, Xbox Live messageboards, and other features.

The company has announced some of the game titles that will be available when Windows Phone 7 launches later this year. They include titles from big names in the field including Gameloft, Glu Mobile, PopCap, and Konami. There are also some familiar titles including Bejeweled LIVE, Castlevania, Earthworm Jim, Guitar Hero 5, Uno, and several Star Wars titles. Read the rest of this entry »

Back at CES, Mari and I both came away impressed with Kodak’s new 7″ WiFi digital photo frame. In fact, when their PR agency failed to deliver the promised goods for review, we felt positive enough to purchase our own. And the Pulse delivered — it’s simple yet effective, with a nice look and reasonable price point (~$130).

Mari’s been pining for a larger version since her family acquired the original 7″ model. Heck, she recently fired off a tweet stating as much:

Rumors of a 7″ iPad, and all I can think about is whether Kodak will come out with its 10″ version of the Pulse.

Well, I’ve got some good news for her this AM. While searching the FCC for something, I came across Kodak’s new 10″ Pulse regulatory filing (due to that WiFi chip). Given the date and short 45 day confidentiality request, it’s clear the new WiFi frame (model W1030) will debut in plenty of time for holiday shopping.

UPDATE: Turns out the new Pulse is also listed on Amazon UK, with a 10.4″ 800×600 resolution touchscreen, 512MB of internal memory, and a 9/6 release date @ £170.

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