The first rule of being Siri is do not talk about being Siri — but Jon Briggs, the voice of the iPhone helper’s British version, has, fittingly, has bucked that trend. Apple’s preference for mystery surrounding the matter hasn’t silenced the one-time tech journalist turned voice over actor who discovered that he was the voice of the 4S’s assistant upon hearing his “flat and even” readings played back on a commercial for the handset. Briggs told The Telegraph that he recorded the basis for the British Siri five or six years ago, speaking some 5,000 sentences over the course of three weeks for “a decent sum.”

SOURCE via Telegraph UK

When Sony mentioned that the Vita wouldn’t support the PSP’s existing UMD library, we had to wonder what would become of the little discs. Sony hinted that something was on the way for physical media aficionados at TGS, but wasn’t ready to go into detail yet. Today, however, SCEJ announced the UMD Passport program — a service that will let Japanese PSP owners register UMD games through a PSP app to secure discounts for repurchasing titles on the new console. The discounted games average between ¥500-1,000 (about $6 and $13, respectively) a pop, but can go for as high as ¥2,400. The UMD registration app hits the Japanese PlayStation store on December 6th, and Sony hopes to make the system compatible with roughly 200 titles. Hit the source links below for Sony’s official press release and an initial list of Passport compatible games, in Japanese, of course.

SOURCE via SCEI.JP(1), (2)

Has a Windows Phone app just popped the cork on a new Nokia handset? It very well may have, based on the above image. Extracted from the “I’m a WP7″ app and first identified by the folks over at WP Central, this screenshot purports to reveal a Nokia device codenamed “Champagne” — a rather delectable moniker that, until now, wasn’t even on our radar. At this point, little else is known about this mystery phone, though according to WP Central, it’s running Windows Phone 7.10.8711 — suggesting, perhaps, the presence of Tango, the Mango successor for low-end devices. Could this be a mythical, LTE-equipped Lumia 900 / Ace handset for Verizon Wireless? Could we see it at this year’s CES? Only time will tell, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.

SOURCE via Wp Central

Local news outlets are reporting that Nokia is in trouble with the Romanian government over unpaid debts amounting to $10 million. The outstanding sum supposedly relates to customs bills racked up by trucks removing Nokia’s equipment from its abandoned Cluj factory. A Nokia spokesperson just confirmed to us that the company is experiencing some kind of problem in that country, but is “engaging with the local authority to ensure it will be resolved satisfactorily.”

SOURCE via Mediafax (Romanian)

It’s become a rite of passage for any major smartphone — a few hours under the knife (read: dozuki saw!), for the good ‘ol iFixit teardown. Today’s victim is the Motorola Droid RAZR. The teardown revealed that most of the key components are on one side of the motherboard, where you’ll find the Toshiba THGBM4G7D2GBAIE 16GB EMMC flash memory module, Samsung K3PE7E700M-XGC1 4GB LPDDR2 RAM, Qualcomm MDM6600 dual-mode baseband/RF transceiver, Motorola T6VP0XBG-0001 LTE processor and other goodies like the combo Bluetooth/WiFi/GPS receiver. Wondering what else Motorola was able to pack neatly below that 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display? Hit up the source link for the full iFixit teardown.

SOURCE via iFixit

Aside from the Mirage compact, Mitsubishi will be premiering the Concept PX-MiEV in Tokyo. It’s the company’s take on a mid-size plug-in hybrid PHEV model offering a long cruising range, as demanded by such mid-sized vehicles.

The 4.66 metre long concept – which rides on 18-inch wheels and 235/55 rubbers – features a plug-in hybrid system that fuses EV technology derived from the i-MiEV with a 2.0 litre MIVEC engine, and the drivetrain is a newly-developed twin-motor four-wheel-drive system mated to Mitsubishi’s S-AWC (Super-All Wheel Control) traction control system.

The front and rear permanent magnet synchronous motors on the PX-MiEV offer 60 KW output each, and the petrol mill is good for 94 hp (70 kW). Mitsubishi says that as far as performance goes, it’s all good enough to offer acceleration comparable to that of a 3.0 litre V6 engine.

The plug-in hybrid system uses high-capacity batteries that allow the vehicle to cover over 50 km in all-electric mode alone, allowing it to be driven solely as an EV for most daily use situations. Elsewhere, the combined cruising range for the vehicle is 800 km, and a 60 km per litre fuel efficiency is quoted for the SUV.

A socket fitted to the vehicle allows the electricity stored in the drive batteries to be used to power electric appliances when camping or in other outdoor pursuits, or to provide an emergency power source. In addition, the quick-charge port is vehicle-to-home (V2H) compatible.

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) originally launched the subscription-based DC Universe Online MMORPG on Windows PC and the PlayStation 3 console back on January 11, 2011. However as of November 2, the company introduced a free-to-play model (F2P) in addition to Premium and Legendary memberships, allowing casual gamers to enter DC’s comic book universe with an option to upgrade to the other memberships.

Three days later on November 5, SOE president John Smedley said via Twitter that the MMORPG saw a 900-percent concurrent increase since the launch of the F2P model. The next day, Smedley claimed that the number was well over 1000-percent of DC Universe Online’s pre-F2P concurrent numbers. “We’re very aware of the long queues and other issues,” he added, addressing lag issues stemming from the new model. “We’re on it.”

As indicated, the sudden influx of new users has bogged down the game’s network. SOE reports that servers are currently being added to the DCUO infrastructure, and that actual paying subscribers — those enrolled in the $14.99/m Legendary memberships, will be pushed to the front of log-in queues.

As for the actual increase in DCUO active members, Develop reports that 330,000 new players have joined since the switch to the free model, suggesting that perhaps as little as 30,000 active subscribers were running around in their virtual tights before the doors were thrown open to non-paying gamers. SOE previously stated that the decision to go F2P had nothing to do with falling subscriber numbers despite the seemingly low count.

“We are confident that going free-to-play will expand the action combat experience of DC Universe Online by making the game more accessible to every type of player so they can choose to play the game their way,” said John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment. “With a portfolio that includes three successful free-to-play games – EverQuest II: Extended, Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures – we have extensive knowledge and experience to apply to DCUO and are thrilled to be taking the game free-to-play today.”

According to SOE, free access allows gamers to play the base game including Gotham City, Metropolis, and all current raids and alerts outside of DLC packs. Making an in-game purchase of $5 or more automatically upgrades the player’s account to Premium status which provides additional benefits like additional character slots, additional inventory slots and higher cash limits. Naturally the full-blown Legendary monthly subscription offers everything the game can dish out. However Free level players can purchase DLC packs, additional character slots, and more in-game.

To learn more about what all three plans have to offer, head here. SOE also provides instructions on how to download the game on the PlayStation 3 right here although console owners will need at least 25 GB free to install the game.