iPhone Goes White, Hits Retailers Worldwide

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Apple confirmed that their the white iPhone 4 is finally releasing in the U.S. and 27 other countries. Originally set to release in June 2010, the device was delayed for months due to manufacturing issues.

“The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it’s beautiful,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing. “We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right.”

The white iPhone will retail for $199/$299 for the 16GB/32GB models with a two-year service contract.

Apple Addresses iPhone Tracking Issue

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Apple has come under some heat for recording iPhone and iPad users location data on their devices. Apple has released a Q&A denying that personal locations were being tracked in response.

“Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone,” said Apple in a statement. “Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so. Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite. Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology (including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date.”

The information saved by iOS devices is what Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular towers are nearby, which is backed up by iTunes. While Apple says that the company can’t locate users with this info, they will stop backing up the iTunes database.

The next major iOS update by Apple will reduce the size of this database cached on the iPhone, and will delete the cache when Location Services is turned off. In the next major iOS software release the cache will also be encrypted on the iPhone, said the company.

Source: Apple.com

Xbox Live Reportedly Getting Hulu

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According to the Official Xbox Magazine, Hulu Plus will roll out for Xbox Live on April 29. Available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers, the first month of service will be available for free; it’s subscription options on PC are $7.99 a month.

There will also be a sweepstakes running during the first month of availability for Hulu. Those that download and use Hulu will be entered into a weekly drawing; first prize winners can receive a vacation at a Beaches resort while second prize winners will get a Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Bundle and a year’s subscription to Xbox Live.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops DLC Gets Star Talent

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Call of Duty: Black Ops upcoming Escalation DLC will have a zombie level called Call of the Dead. Inspired by director George A. Romero (who will also star in the content) it will also feature the appearance and voices of Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) and Danny Trejo (Machete).

“Our latest zombie creation, Call of the Dead, is unreal”, says Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia. “We set out to create an exciting new zombie experience for fans of the genre that takes Zombies to an insane new level.”

“This is Treyarch’s tribute to the legendary George Romero, who truly defined the zombie genre and whose incredible work has been such an inspiration to our team,” added Black Ops director Dave Anthony. “It was an absolute honor to work with such an amazing and talented cast whose passion and energy brought their characters instantly to life. Fans are going to love this.”

Escalation will release on May 3 for Xbox Live.

Xbox Live Issues Service Alert

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PSN is experiencing its own issues at the moment, but it appears that Xbox Live is not immune from similar difficulties. Microsoft has issued a service alert about matchmaking for their online gaming network.

“Users may receive potential phishing attempts via title specific messaging while playing Modern Warfare 2,” warns Microsoft. “We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience.”

Source: Support.xbox.com

Portal 2: Turret Song!

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Anyone who’s played Portal or its sequel remembers those deadly but cute turrets with their oddly soothing voices. Here’s a small secret showing some of the Turrets showing their harmonization with Turret Wife Serenade.

 

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Episode 3 – Let’s Get Caged

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As the Mortal Kombat: Legacy series continues, the focus shifts from Sonya, Jax and Kano to Johnny Cage. This backstory for the actor/martial artist makes him seem more like the Power Rangers actor Jason David Frank than Jean-Claude Van Damme from the original games.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sqlaU5OMsks

 

Celebrate Seven Years Of City Of Heroes

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To celebrate, NCSoft and Paragon Studios have released information about their in-game plan so everyone can help celebrate and so no one missed out on the fun! Starting Thursday, April 28, fans will be able to hang out with developers at various locations across different servers. On the Paragon Studios USTREAM channel fans are invited to live video chat with the Community team and join hundreds of players to ask questions and have them answered live. Throughout the month of May, all available troops, heroes and villains are being called to mobilize in-game for a very challenging month on Primal Earth. Information will be released on official City of Heroes websites and forums in the next few days as scientists in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles discover and realize the imminent threat our universe will soon be facing!

PSN User Data Compromised, Says Sony

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Sony has officially revealed that sometime between April 17 and April 19, 2011, PSN and Qriocity service user account information was stolen by an unauthorized intruder into the network. They confirmed that is the reason the services were shut down.

“We are currently working to send a similar message to the one below via email to all of our registered account holders regarding a compromise of personal information as a result of an illegal intrusion on our systems,” said Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media. “These malicious actions have also had an impact on your ability to enjoy the services provided by PlayStation Network and Qriocity including online gaming and online access to music, movies, sports and TV shows.”

“We have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online, and expect to restore some services within a week”, he added.

As for why nearly a week took place between this revelation and the shut down of the network, Seybold explained, “There’s a difference in timing between when we identified there was an intrusion and when we learned of consumers’ data being compromised. We learned there was an intrusion April 19 and subsequently shut the services down.”

We then brought in outside experts to help us learn how the intrusion occurred and to conduct an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the incident, he added. “It was necessary to conduct several days of forensic analysis, and it took our experts until yesterday [Monday, April 25] to understand the scope of the breach. We then shared that information with our consumers and announced it publicly this afternoon.”

Source: PlayStation Blog