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US posts

Verizon looking to bump early termination fee to $350 on 'advanced' devices

by Darren Murph posted Nov 4th 2009 at 8:42AM

You know what's worse than showing your Bitter Beer Face to the world after you passed on Apple's iPhone and let AT&T enjoy the spoils? Raising your early termination fee to stratospheric heights. Just over a year ago, we honestly though this whole ETF thing was headed in the right direction, as most of the major carriers (VZW included) sought to prorate contracts in order to lessen the charge as one's contract drew closer to an end. Now, however, Big Red is evidently gearing up to pull a 180, with the slide above showing a $350 ETF for "advanced" devices (read: probably anything deemed a smartphone). The newly hiked rate will go into effect on November 15th, and while that $350 will decrease by $10 per month over the life of the agreement, this pretty much guarantees that you won't be adding a line, disconnecting and then flipping that phone on eBay.

Nintendo DSi XL coming to America in Q1 2010

by Ross Miller posted Oct 29th 2009 at 8:04PM

Since Europe and Japan can't have all the fun -- unless, of course, it's a black Nintendo Wii -- the super-sized DSi XL is also due out in the US sometime in Q1 2010, according to a spokesperson speaking with Joystiq. Still no word on price, but we wouldn't be surprised if it parallel the slight markup for the ¥20,000 / US $221 Japanese version. Looks like that smaller-screen version isn't looking so hot for Grandma's Christmas present anymore.

US government lays out cash for wall-based, in-home 'smart meters'

by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2009 at 4:47PM

Google has its PowerMeter, Microsoft has its Hohm and Obama has his "smart meters." Got it? Good. Around two years after UK taxpayers began footing the bill for in-home energy monitors, it seems as if America's current administration is looking to follow suit. While visiting the now-open solar facility in Arcadia, Florida today, the Pres announced that $3.4 billion in cash that the US doesn't actually have has just been set aside for a number of things, namely an intelligent power grid and a whole bundle of smart power meters. Aside from boring apparatuses like new digital transformers and grid sensors (both of which are designed to modernize the nation's "dilapidated" electric network), 18 million smart meters and 1 million "other in-home devices" will be installed in select abodes. The idea here is to give individuals a better way to monitor their electricity usage, with the eventual goal set at 40 million installed meters over the next few years. Great idea, guys -- or you know, you could just advise people to turn stuff off when they aren't using it, or not use energy they can't afford. Just sayin'.

Sony's S-Frame DPP-F700 digiframe / printer hybrid hitting America in January for $200

by Darren Murph posted Oct 24th 2009 at 3:02AM

Need a digital photo frame? Need a printer? Need them to happen within the same enclosure? If you're one of the oddballs who curiously answered yes -- and you don't actually need it until after the holiday shopping season -- Sony's got you covered. The DPP-F700 digital picture frame with one-touch printing that we saw pop up internationally just last month has finally been blessed with a US ship date and price, and if you've paid any attention whatsoever to the headline, you're probably well aware of what those two data points are. The frame itself will boast a 7-inch display (800 x 480 resolution), 1GB of memory, a multicard reader and will print out "professional quality" 4- x 6-inch photos at 300 x 300 dpi. There's also a nifty "screen capture" mode that prints out exactly what's displayed during a slide show, though there's literally no telling how pricey those refills will be.

[Via Slashgear]

Samsung develops first chip for US mobile digital TV transmission, provides no release date

by Darren Murph posted Oct 19th 2009 at 9:33AM

Mmm, nothing like a pinch of predictability to wake us in the morning. Just days after the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) finally announced that a North American mobile DTV standard was struck, Samsung has jumped in with what it's calling the planet's first single chip solution designed to handle those very transmissions. All we're told is that the solution combines RF and "digital chip components" into one 65 nanometer chip, making it ideal for smaller devices such as smartphones, car-mounted televisions and portable media players. Of course, Sammy doesn't even bother to mention a mass production date, so we're guessing we all just rise awkwardly and start a roaring slow clap to celebrate the accomplishment.

MSI retools Wind Box DE200 and DC200, puts 'em up for pre-order

by Darren Murph posted Oct 17th 2009 at 6:03PM

Well, what do you know? Last we saw MSI's Wind Box DE200, it was sittin' pretty at a booth at CeBIT. Evidently it has seen quite the makeover since that debut, with the latest imagery showing it (alongside the DC200) with far edgier enclosures. We have to say we dig the new digs, but we're most excited about the US pricing and pre-order pages. Both units are still (under)powered by a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, and predictably, both feature 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and Windows XP Home running the show. No firm release date has been nailed down for the US market, but Amazon has 'em both up for pre-order right now at $249.99 (DC200) / $299.99 (DE200).

[Via iTechNews]

Read - MSI press release
Read - Wind Box DC200 pre-order page
Read - Wind Box DE200 pre-order page

HTC HD2 to arrive Stateside in early 2010 -- huzzah!

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 6th 2009 at 1:24PM

Snap, looks like that painful feeling in our gut was just from that late-night Mickey's sesh after all. HTC's Peter Chou told SlashGear today that the monstrous, amazing HTC HD2 will be coming to the United States of America sometime in Q1 of 2010. That's not too far off, but let's be honest -- it's gonna be a long wait.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Viliv's WinXP-powered X70EX MID now on sale in America

by Darren Murph posted Sep 21st 2009 at 9:58PM

We're still not exactly sure who among us is buying MIDs, but as with those mysterious video glasses, it's abundantly clear that someone, somewhere definitely is. Take Viliv's X70, for instance. This thing's been around the world a time or two in more than one iteration, but at long last, the E70EX has departed Hong Kong and landed on US soil. Over at NewEgg, the X70EX Express P, X70EX Premium P and X70EX Premium 3GP are available for immediate shipment, though you'll still have to justify the $599.99, $729.99 and $879.99 (respectively) price tags. Good luck with that, and be sure to let us all know how it turns out.

[Via Laptoping]

Read - Viliv X70EX Express P
Read - Viliv X70EX Premium P
Read - Viliv X70EX Premium 3GP

FCC to propose new net neutrality rules disallowing data discrimination

by Darren Murph posted Sep 18th 2009 at 4:42PM

Based on what we're hearing, a slate of soon-to-be-proposed FCC rules may stop the likes of Comcast from discriminating against P2P applications on their networks, and AT&T sure will have a tougher time justifying why it won't let the iPhone's version of SlingPlayer run on 3G while giving WinMo and BlackBerry users all the bandwidth they can handle. Julius Genachowski, the new chairman of the entity, is slated to discuss the new rules on Monday, though he isn't expected to dig too deep into the minutiae. Essentially, the guidelines will "prevent wireless companies from blocking internet applications and prevent them from discriminating (or acting as gatekeepers) [against] web content and services." We know what you're thinking: "Huzzah!" And in general, that's probably the right reaction to have as a consumer, but one has to wonder how network quality for all will be affected if everyone is cut loose to, well, cut loose. Oh, and if this forces telecoms to deploy more cell sites to handle the influx in traffic, you can rest assured that the bill will be passed on to you. Ain't nuthin' free, kids.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola looking to bring Android to 'all the US operators'

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 15th 2009 at 12:13PM

T-Mobile doesn't get to have all the fun with the CLIQ -- we know with some certainty that the Sholes is destined to bring Motorola's Android push to Verizon, and if CEO Sanjay Jha has anything to say about it, the fun doesn't stop there. Speaking at an analyst conference, Jha mentioned yesterday that his company is "in talks with all large operators in the US," meaning that Cellular South and Cincinnati Bell are probably out of luck in the short term -- but AT&T and Sprint are likely getting the full-court press to sign up for a MOTOBLUR-powered phone or two as we speak. The US (and really, the entire world) is still fairly Android-starved with only a small handful of big-name models actually circulating in retail, so another manufacturer actively trying to get carriers on board isn't going to hurt -- and considering Moto's impetus to turn big profits on the double, we bet these guys are putting on some slick, convincing, promise-filled presentations in the boardrooms.

Dell 24-inch U2410 IPS monitor sneaks out for $599 US retail

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 14th 2009 at 6:02AM

Already seen in Japan, the 24-inch UltraSharp U2410 professional monitor is up for retail on Dell's US store. The IPS-panel features a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, 6-ms response, 178-degree viewing angles, 1000:1 typical contrast, and 12-bit internal processing (1.07 billion colors), and 96% AdobeRGB and 100% of sRGB color space coverage. Connectivity options are vast with jacks for DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, component, composite, and VGA. That's a lot of rig for $599. Hit the link below if you just have to have it since you won't find it promoted on the Dell US monitor pages just yet.

[Thanks, Sheldon]

NTT DoCoMo might just enter the US cellphone market, MVNO graveyard wishes it luck

by Darren Murph posted Sep 6th 2009 at 10:08AM

If you've paid any attention whatsoever to the goings-on in the American cellphone market, you'd know that ponying up the dough to start an MVNO here is probably not your best shot at striking it rich. One after another has fallen flat, even ones that had millions (and millions) in marketing dollars behind 'em. That said, Japan's own NTT DoCoMo is mulling the possibility of fully entering the US cell market next year, offering up smartphones and "other high-performance handsets with its i-mode mobile internet service." We're told that the operator may start as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), leasing capacity from T-Mobile USA or AT&T until it decides on its next move. Call us crazy, but we're guessing it just might have a shot here on US soil if it snags the iPhone, enables all those 3G services that have been running for years on other platforms and only charges one (as opposed to three or four) human limbs for a monthly plan.

[Thanks, shinbunboi]

Walmart expands Durabrand DVD player recall to 4.2 million

by Laura June posted Sep 1st 2009 at 2:33PM

You know what they say about getting what you pay for? Well, the adage has turned out to be truer than normal in this case. Walmart, which sold some uber-cheap (like, $18 - $29 cheap) Durabrand DVD players in the US and the UK, recently issued a recall in the US for 1.5 million of the units due to 12 reported cases of overheating. The malfunctions caused various degrees of property damage, but no injuries, and now, as a result of several more reported cases of the same issue, the recall has been upped to cover 4.2 million devices. The recall, which originally covered only the silver units sold, has now been expanded to cover both the pink and purple DVD players which were sold between January 2006 and July 2009 exclusively at Walmart stores in the US ~~and Walmart-owned ASDA stores in the UK~~ -- Wallmart reached out to let us know that the players sold in the UK were actually a different spec, and thus not a part of the recall. Seriously, this just leaves us wondering: how many of these bad boys did they sell?

Nokia Comes with Music US launch smartly pushed back to 2010

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 1st 2009 at 4:58AM

Not that most Americans could care, but Nokia is pushing back the US launch of its DRM-laden Comes with Music service into 2010. CWM, you'll recall, is Nokia's "free" all-you-can-eat music service that bundles the 12-18 month music subscription cost into the inflated handset price -- although like any DRM music scheme, solutions already exist to break the CWM shackles. The delay is probably a wise move considering the weak state of Nokia's US partnerships required to offset consumer costs, lukewarm response to its latest handsets, and the fact that most US consumers share a broad distaste for DRM music. We'd rather see Nokia launch late but with a compelling proposition than launch now in blind adherence to a timeline.

Unsolicited laptops sent to state governments never get used, now under investigation

by Ross Miller posted Aug 30th 2009 at 12:09PM

Tempting though it may be, shipments of HP and Compaq (another HP brand) laptops sent to various US state governments have been sent either back to the manufacturer or to local investigators with nary even a game of Spider Solitaire in its account logs. As it turns out, the packages of three to five machines sent to each state -- West Virginia, Vermont, Wyoming, and Washington -- were never ordered, and in at least three of the cases were purchased with fraudulent credit cards of unknown origin. Even with the shipments apparently coming from HP directly, officials are playing it safe and working under the guise of the machines possibly having malicious code running through its circuitry. You know who the biggest victim in all this is? That guy in Human Resources who legitimately bought a Mini 1000 and had it shipped to the state's office for pickup. Worst. Timing. Ever.