Select Eve gamers, along with those who were part of the Eve Fanfest convention in Iceland earlier this year, will gain entry to the online preview this week. Dust 514, which is slated to be available exclusively on PS3, will be a completely free-to-play affair. CCP had originally planned to charge a nominal price for gamers to download the title from the PlayStation Store, but that plan has been scrapped because, CCP says, it didn’t want to confuse gamers. The experience inside the game itself will not change at all.

Dust 514 was built on the freemium model, which means that players can download and play the game for free, but as they progress and want new items or expanded feature sets, that’s the point at which they’ll need to start forking over some cash. The price that would have been charged, around $10 to $20, would have been immediately converted into in-game currency, so gamers weren’t actually paying for the download but were forced into investing at least some money in the experience.

[via CVG]

Dust 514 gets beta registration is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

That agreement was described as a “main condition” in order to secure approval, a source not authorized to publicly discuss the deal told Reuters. Android has been adopted by many Chinese OEMs, used in everything from phones to tablets to set-top boxes and more, though often in ways that do not validate the devices for Google’s official suite of apps and official branding.

For its part, though not commenting on any allegiance to openness, Google appears to be treating the deal – and its approach to Android – as business as usual. “Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed,” spokesperson Niki Fenwic said in a statement, ”and we look forward to closing the deal.”

Google’s announcement last year that it intended to buy Motorola Mobility in a deal worth $12.5bn prompted no shortage of surprise in the Android ecosystem. Until now, Google – and the Open Handset Alliance, officially the ruling body guiding Android development, of which Google is the most significant member – has generally taken a back seat from too much involvement in the device market itself, content only to give manufacturers a gentle shove with its Nexus range of “pure Android” phones.

With Motorola brought in-house, however, suspicions were raised that Google might take a more aggressive approach and follow in Apple’s footsteps, marginalizing other Android OEMs such as HTC and Samsung in the process. Google execs promised that would not happen, with talk of a “firewall” between the two companies, but have met with no small amount of skepticism in response.

The Chinese drive for openness would seemingly mean that Android will remain available for all who want it, at least for the next half-decade, though without full details of the deal it’s impossible to know under what conditions that will be the case. The acquisition is expected to close early next week, according to a Motorola spokesperson.

Open Android the price for China’s Motorola bid approval is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Well Facebook just seems to be on a roll lately. The Social Network is purchasing companies left and right, with the most recent including Instagram and Lightbox. But now they have decided to acquire Karma, a social gifting app.

Simply put, Karma allows users to connect to Facebook via their app and send people gifts. Why would Facebook want this service? Surely, Facebook could further integrate this service to create more revenue from gift sales. Karma states that the app will continue to run as usual, but now with a stronger backbone.

It seems like the Social Network is trying to get its hands anywhere they can, so we would not be surprised to see Facebook purchasing more services soon. Meanwhile, people are getting upset at the Giant. Interesting concept: We can cry and kick all we want, but we can’t stop using Facebook. And it is spreading its wings to other areas of the inter webs now.

[Source: Karma Via: Engadget]

Sony’s plan to roll out Android 4.0.3 to the Tablet P in April may not have come to fruition, but the Japanese manufacturer is now stating that the Ice Cream Sandwich OTA update will be coming next week, on May 24th.

The Sony Tablet S had its update as promised, soon after Sony issued a press release in Japan. A global roll-out of the Ice Cream Sandwich was seen, and we can assume the same for the Tablet P. There might be some delays if you happen to have the AT&T version, though. The update has to go through the carrier before it hits your device.

Any device without Ice Cream Sandwich is considered outdated for most Android fans. Therefore, it is good to see that manufacturers are updating their products, even if a bit late. If you have been carrying this foldable tablet, let us know when/if the update hits your device!

[Source: Sony Via: Pocketnow]

Google’s acquisition of Motorola has seen a long process since it was first announced last August. The purchase has been given green light by the US and Europe, but China was taking its sweet time considering said acquisition. After a long wait, China has decided to approve said acquisition, but with one condition.

China has asked Google to keep Android free to other manufacturers for at least five years. This is to ensure that Google is not trying to monopolize the Android OS by only allowing Motorola to use the software freely.

Google and Motorola have both stated that there will be no major changes after the acquisition. Both companies will continue to run as they have been, and the main reason for this acquisition is Motorola’s large patent portfolio. According to Google, these patents will aid the Search Giant in protecting Android and its manufacturers from the patent wars.

With this victory, Google is now able to finalize the deal and it is expected to be closed next week. Only time will tell what changes we might see, but let’s hope good conclusions come out of this acquisition.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal Via: The Verge]

The way it will attach is through ribbon cable. The module is of course very small, which the company says makes it ideal for home automation applications or even advance robotics for those willing to take it to that level. Adding camera capabilities to an electronic device is nothing new, but this sort of takes it to the next level.

“We may downgrade the super-duperness of the camera to something with fewer than its current 14 megapixels before release; we need to keep things affordable, and a sensor of that size will end up pricey,” the company wrote in an official post on its website. There has been no announcement regarding a final consumer price or a release date, but things certainly look to be well underway.

[via Raspberry Pi]

Raspberry Pi camera module now in working order is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you like to eat at Chili’s, today might be good day to place an order. The chain is offering a free Android phone (alas, with a new 2-year agreement required) if you spend $25 or more while placing an order online. They have also launched a mobile app, but it’s only available once you get the new phone, at which time they’ll text you the download link.

[Chili's via Android Central]

This hasn’t been the best of weeks for the Android community. First, we had the import ban on the HTC One X and the Evo 4G LTE, then came the news of a ban on Motorola devices, and finally earlier today we were left wondering if the HTC ban is spreading to other devices after the “unforeseen issue” at T-Mobile with the Amaze 4G. To top it all off, Apple is now filing for injunction against Samsung in relation to the two companies’ legal tussle over the original Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The news comes just a couple of days before the May 21 and 22nd meetings between the two companies, which the court ordered to make them come to a settlement. If you want to know what caused this latest legal trouble, it’s related to that funny old design patent that Apple holds on a thin rectangular black screen, with the black bezel (also known as the iPad).

[Pocketnow]

Well, no one saw this coming: GameStop has launched a cellular service in the form of an AT&T MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). Customers will have to bring their own devices, capable of working on AT&T’s bandwidth frequency, and will have pay-as-you-go plans from $5 to $55 upwards to choose from.

Details are a little unclear right now: TechCrunch says the $55 offer includes unlimited voice with limited data, which drops to $20 on a pay-as-you-go plan, while Engadget says all their plans are strictly pay-as-you-go, and that unlimited voice, text and 500 MB will cost $55. As I followed the source links on both their pages, it took me to a GameStop page which required required a username/password combo.

As such, we’ll have to wait to get the full information on this.

[TechCrunch via Engadget]

If the import ban on the HTC One X and the Evo 4G LTE wasn’t already a bitter pill to swallow for HTC, it looks like they’re in a bit more trouble than earlier anticipated. TmoNews were tipped off earlier today that customers who were looking to purchase a new Amaze 4G were being told that the device is unable due to “unforeseen issues”, and the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G was being offered as an alternative.

While there’s no arguing that the patent issue itself is the main problem, and that Apple has taken advantage of that, HTC must still take some blame for the ban. They knew months ago of the ruling, and they said they would remove the infringing features. It seems like they were trying to push their luck. Surely they didn’t just... forget?

[TmoNews via Engadget]