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Electronic Arts is hoping to convince folks to covet thy neighbor's wife. Or that co-worker you've always lunched with. Or your college sweetheart.

Virtually, of course.

At E3, a show that caters to hardcore gamers who stand in long lines to get the first chance to play soon-to-be-released action titles, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Assassins Creed: Revelations, EA's new title in The Sims franchise has gone a bit below the radar. But The Sims Social, which will launch this summer on Facebook in five languages, would seem to have all the prurient … Read more

Stephane Richard knows a thing or two about the iPhone.

In addition to carrying one of Apple's iconic smartphones, Richard is also the CEO of France Telecom, whose networks carry traffic from more iPhones than any other carrier except AT&T. France Telecom, with its Orange brands, sells the iPhone in 15 countries.

"They just created smartphones with the iPhone," Richard said during an hour-long chat over breakfast at the W Hotel in San Francisco last week. "Everybody should be grateful to them to have put such a product in our market."

But, while … Read more

The micro-SIM card found in Apple's iPhone 4, both generations of the iPad, and an increasing number of mobile devices could be going on a diet once again.

Reuters reported today that Apple has put forth plans to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) for a smaller version of micro-SIM that could bring extra space-saving advantages to mobile gadgets.

"We were quite happy to see last week that Apple has submitted a new requirement to ETSI for a smaller SIM form factor--smaller than the one that goes in iPhone 4 and iPad," Anne Bouverot, Orange's head … Read more

An Australian woman was reportedly sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing a SIM card from a utility meter and racking up more than $190,000 in charges.

Kylie Maree Monks, 33, pleaded guilty to computer-related fraud, receiving stolen property, and one count of making a false declaration, according to a report in Australian newspaper The Mercury. Monks reportedly stole a SIM card from a power meter that had a wireless data connection to Telstra's wireless broadband network.

Aurora Energy, the power company that owned the meter, became aware that the SIM (subscriber identity module) card had been … Read more

Japanese electric car developer SIM-Drive says its SIM LEI prototype EV can travel 206 miles on a single charge in general urban traffic conditions, and 190 miles while going 62 mph.

"The prototype achieved...333 km of range per charge by JC-08 mode, which represents general urban traffic condition in Japan," the Kawasaki-based firm said in a release (PDF).

SIM-Drive's prototype was built with the cooperation of 34 groups and companies, including Mitsubishi Motors. The four-wheel drive SIM LEI has in-wheel motors.

The body design has low drag to reduce efficiency, and a top speed of about … Read more

Calendar and to-do list applications are incredibly common, so a program of this type has to be really special to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, SimBust Calendar Manager Lite doesn't do much to distinguish itself. The program works just fine, but there's nothing about it that really impressed us.

The program's interface is plain and a little dated, with standard-issue menus and icons across the top. The main pane displays a calendar view. Another pane displays a to-do list, and a third lists folders that to-do items are stored in. The only thing remotely useful or … Read more

First off, you can't exactly start driving with the Playseat F1 race game simulator right out of the box. It's actually an awfully pricey $1,320 racing bucket seat on a F1 car-styled nose with built-in mounting provisions for your steering wheel and pedals, which are not included in the package.

The high cost is probably due to its Red Bull Racing livery, which is officially licensed from the Formula One team. Still, users will get durable vinyl leather upholstery and universal compatibility with all brands of steering wheel kits for PCs and game consoles. The Playseat F1 race game simulator is expected to launch in June.

Need a stronger reason to get one? Here's the sales pitch from Fernando Smit, the company's founder: "The user feels every bump in the road surface. People will experience the race as if they are real racing drivers."

(Source: Crave Asia) … Read more

It may sound like one of those jokes that makes everyone groan, but here's a question anyway: what would happen if The Sims and Spore creator Will Wright walked into a bar?

If it was the watering hole at the end of the universe featured in "Bar Karma," Wright's new interactive TV series, it might well be a reflection on his illustrious career.

"Bar Karma," which premieres Friday night on Current TV--which also just scored former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann--centers around a timeless bar where figures from throughout history come and face the question &… Read more

Strange Rain is pretty hard to describe without actually playing with it, but we'll give it a shot. The primary function of the app is to give you a break from your hectic life by displaying a mesmerizing scene of rain falling from the sky. The iPhone screen acts as a skylight, so you're looking straight up as rain drops fall and hit the screen. You can slightly affect the raindrops as they fall by touching the screen and moving your iPhone, and tinkly music from a haunting melody plays amid soothing storm sounds, every time you touch … Read more