Gus over at Lifehacker has the details: the government’s freed up a spot of spectrum for community stations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, as well as $2.6 million to help with the transition. Although as Gus notes, there doesn’t seem to be a timeline for the switch to happen.

[Lifehacker]

Not only that, but there were reports earlier this week on Gamespot AU that stated a firmware update for UK versions of the device have enabled some of the extra digital channels not previously available to Aussie importers of the product.

Which all seems to point towards the notion that it might actually happen. So, the next question is, how many of you will buy one?

[Playstation 3 and Gamespot - Thanks Mark]

Despite contacting the network, Mediaspy didn’t actually get confirmation that this is the name for Seven’s second channel, so this remains in the rumour camp for now. After all, it could be some new type of universal remote or something, or some TiVo related gadget. But if it is the name of the second channel, am I alone in thinking it’s the stupidest TV channel name ever?

[Mediaspy via AVHub]

AU: For the record, this isn’t available here in Australia. _-EH

The Gadget

Verizon’s HTC Imagio is a touchscreen Windows Mobile 6.5 handset, or “Windows Phone”, with a healthy, if expected, spec set, iiiiinnncluding!: a 3.6-inch WVGA screen, Wi-Fi, GPS, 5MP camera, 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD storage expansion (but sadly, no included card). It’s also the first smartphone with V CAST Mobile TV, which is a Flo TV-based live streaming TV service that looks and feels a bit like digital cable, phone-ised. Accordingly, it has an adorable kickstand, for laid-back video viewing.

The Price

$US200 on contract with Verizon, after a $US100 rebate

The Hardware

HTC is the Taco Bell of the handset world — they’ve only got a few ingredients that they put into their long menu of products, but the results are consistently pretty good, if not all that varied. Of the bulging ranks of 528MHz-Qualcomm-based touchscreen handsets, this is one of my favourite permutations. For its size, the Imagio is respectably thin—about as thick as an iPhone, but with a noticeably larger screen—and pleasantly rounded in the rear, with a subdued two-tone backplate accented with a shiny camera bezel and a chrome kickstand.

The front of the device is framed by a perforated grille, which looks and feels pleasantly knobbly, giving the handset a feeling of security in your hand. The bottom row of buttons—call, V CAST, Windows Start Menu, back and end call—are placed a little low to be comfortable to press, but anyone who’s used to HTC handset designs won’t have any trouble figuring this one out.

Performance is adequate, but since this is the same Qualcomm processor we’ve been complaining about for months now, and the 256MB of RAM isn’t overly generous, it’s nothing better than what we’ve already seen in the likes of the HTC Touch Pro2. HTC’s done plenty of work to making TouchFLO run nice’n’smooth, sure, but it really wouldn’t hurt not just make a handset with speedier hardware, but to actually release it in the US.

The Software

I was pretty hard on Windows Mobile 6.5 in my review, but guess what? HTC likes it even less. TouchFLO 3D reaches deeper into the operating system than ever before, to the point that during casual use you can’t even tell you’re using a Windows Mobile phone. The Titanium homescreen? Replaced. The new, larger contextual menus? How about prettier HTC versions instead? Virtually every other piece of software that HTC had time to revamp or cover up? Out of sight, out of mind. And for one final kick in the nuts, the new Start Menu, which Microsoft even went so far as to require 6.5 phones to have a dedicated button for? Replaced with a slightly better HTC variant. That, right there, is a better review of Windows Mobile 6.5 than I could ever write.

V CAST TV

Based on FLO TV, which probably doesn’t mean much to most people, V CAST is a categorically impressive technology. The best way to describe it is that it’s like having a digital cable box, complete with live broadcasts of familiar basic cable stations (Comedy Central, CNN, the like), and a familiar program guide interface. Video quality is fair, but definitely watchable, and the experience of flipping through live channel is, well, pretty novel.

As interesting as the technology is, there are a few serious problems. Watching TV is neat and all, but on a mobile device, video on demand would be infinitely more useful. And at $US12 or $US15 a month, I don’t think people will be satisfied with the somewhat anaemic channel selection (full listings here).

Moreover, I don’t really understand how Verizon expects people to use this. You can’t use it on a plane or a subway, so what, trains? During your lunch break at work? There centre part in the Venn diagram of times where you might want to watch video content but don’t have a computer or TV and times when you can realistically use V CAST is small, as far as I can tell. But if live, basic-cable-esque TV on your phone is something you can see yourself using, this implementation is actually pretty good.

The (Mild) Tragedy

This has been the story for a few years now, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to change with Windows Mobile 6.5: Handset manufacturers will continue to make the OS bearable to use, and carrier will occasionally grant handsets interesting—if not always useful—services to keep customers’ attention. That’s exactly what the Imagio does, bonding pleasant hardware design with a heroic salvaging of the phone’s interface. At $US200 after rebate, it’s not a best value by a long shot, but in Verizon’s sickly smartphone line, it’s not a horrible choice.

I would’ve liked to end this review on that happy note, but while I was writing it Verizon sabotaged my plan, those scoundrels: Two Android phones will be announced for the network “within weeks”, which means that unless you’re bound to Windows Mobile, either by software, your employer, or serious loyalty, you’d be best advised to wait. [Verizon]

It’s got an appealing design, large screen and minimal branding

Kickstand! Ha!

HTC’s done a hell of a job sprucing up Windows Mobile, as always

V CAST TV is technologically interesting, but it’s expensive and I’m not really sure how people will use it

Windows Mobile 6.5, y’all

Specs could use a bump; namely the aging 528MHz processor and included storage

$US200 isn’t a great bargain, and Verizon’s got some Android handsets coming down the pike.

But just because it’s better doesn’t mean people are doing it. Even though Foxtel’s SD channels are sub SD quality a lot of the time, I don’t spring for Fox Sports HD just so I can watch the Wallabies lose in HD. Our question today: Do you watch your sport in HD?

Playing with balls is Gizmodo AU’s week-long look at the technology behind the sports we love, from the jerseys to the balls and everything in between. Go the Socceroos!

Obviously, the ball has already started rolling in this direction with the ABC announcing a special version of iView for the PS3 scheduled for later this year. But the idea that all the free-to-air networks will also begin offering their content through a single portal.

Mr Dalton reckons that we should have these kinds of services in Australia next year. But as much as I like the sound of that, I think the reality will be a bit further away. Considering you’ve got both Nine and Seven starting to push their own VOD through their respective MSN and Yahoo! portals, not to mention iView on the PS3, Seven’s TiVo and its VOD offering… the logistics of getting all the networks to agree on a singular format will be a real challenge.

On top of that, there’s also the question of who will pay for this content. Will it be subscription based, advertiser driven, or some horrible combination of the two? Knowing the FTA networks, they’ll probably push for intrusive ads every 5 minutes of a show, which will completely take away the appeal.

Still, if the networks are even thinking about this kind of way to give us punters the entertainment we want when we want it, then maybe they’re not as out of touch as we always thought…

[The Age]

This leak is all according to an unnamed source, so don’t get too worked up, but supposedly Sony is set to announce the product at next week’s IFA in Berlin. Panasonic has already committed to work on 3D TVs, but Sony could still be the first to get a product out the door. We’ll have to wait until next week to find out if there’s any truth to the rumour. [Wall Street Journal]

FLO TV, which broadcasts live terrestrial digital TV, has become a staple on a bunch of multimedia mobile phones from AT&T and Verizon, including LG’s Vu and Samsung Access, but with this FLO TV Personal Television (PTV) you’ll get a standalone viewing gadget.

The device will have a capacitive touchscreen supporting swipes and gestures, 4GB of memory for storing other media, a built-in speaker, and apparently a battery that allows for five hours of TV viewing. I’d love to see an HDMI or video out option on this thing.

Not sure people are interested in a device solely for watching mobile TV especially when you will probably have a monthly subscription fee, but throw some Wi-Fi and a browser in there and maybe. No idea of when the PTV will drop, though Gdgt says CES or earlier could be likely. [GDGT]

Here’s the letter that was sent to anyone who harassed casting director Scott Muller:

Dear Futurama Fan,

Thank you for voicing your strong support for Futurama and the original voice cast. We appreciate the time you took to fire off a thoughtful and/or concerned and/or homicidal e-mail message to our casting director, Scott Muller. (Rest assured, not a single one of these e-mails reached the actual decision-makers at 20th Century Fox Television. For future reference, please note that Scott Muller is in fact one of Futurama’s biggest fans, and was instrumental in bringing about the return of the cast. Please hoist a bottle of Olde Fortran for Scott!)

Speaking of the cast returning… good news, everyone! The cast is returning! All of our series regulars are back in action for Season 6. Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman are all on board and have already begun delivering their customary virtuoso performances. The all-new Futurama episodes are slated to air on Comedy Central beginning in June, 2010.

We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support for the series. Your loyalty over the years has kept the show going through its original four seasons on FOX, its subsequent reincarnations on Adult Swim and DVD, and now its Bendiferous return to life on Comedy Central. See you in the (near) future!

Sincerely,

David X. Cohen & Matt Groening

The deal was sealed about three weeks ago, but somehow we missed it because of our myopic, obsessive focus on gadgets and only gadgets. Who won that election everyone was talking about last fall, anyways? [Thanks, Ivan!]