Tech Tidbits: SlingPlayer Mobile, ‘Frontline’ Digital Nation, Loopt, 3D Blu-Ray

Tech stories of the week that are worth a look from the digital content world.

Society’s changing digital lifestyle was the focus of PBS’s award-winning series, Frontline, this week. The episode, “Digital Nation,” explores how our favorite technologies and gadgets can lead to addiction and impact our brain’s ability to think and learn. [Watch it above or on PBS.org.]

Amazon has some touch screen-action in mind for its popular Kindle e-reader with the reported purchase of Touchco, a start-up that began as a project at the Media Research Lab at New York University. As Apple has proven with the iPhone and new iPad, touch screens are a key ingredient for cool devices. [VentureBeat]

Get ready for LIVE TV on the iPhone. After months of wrangling, AT&T has finally approved the use of Sling Media’s SlingPlayer Mobile app over its 3G network. App users can now stream live and recorded television content from their Slingbox home entertainment system to their iPhone (as soon as Apple approves the newly updated $29 app). [TheAtlantic]

Looking for a second opinion before purchasing an Internet-connected TV? Then check out the Annual TV issue of Consumer Reports. (Fee) They rate over 20 TV sets starting at a list price of $1,000 that can stream online movies. Lab tests showed that setting up the devices and using them to access online content was easy, and that “picture quality was decent if not quite up to the claimed resolution. [Broadcasting & Cable]

“Checking in” for Charity – Location-based mobile social network Loopt is putting mobile check-ins to philanthropic use. For every check-in you make at a Chipotle, Panera Bread, or Whole Foods location around the country, Loopt will donate $1 towards the Haiti earthquake relief. Half of the proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross and the other half will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. [TechCrunch]

3D News Update: Sony is busy converting its extensive archive of movies into 3D to watch on Blu-ray. Titles may be released starting next year. Sony will also start selling nine new 3D-ready Bravia televisions this summer. And for you gamers, PlayStation 3 consoles will be able to run games in 3D by summer as well, after downloading required updates (when available). [Bloomberg/New Zealand Herald]