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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.

Archos 9 up for pre-order in America for $50 more than anticipated

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 1:33PM

Uh, Archos? You do remember telling us that your Archos 9 media tablet would ship on October 22nd for $499 back in late September, right? 'Cause if our eyes are being truthful to us, that's not at all what's happening here. The outfit's official web store has the 8.9-inch device listed (complete with Windows 7 Starter, WiFi, Bluetooth and a 1.3 megapixel camera) for $549.99, and worse still, it's only up for "pre-order." You know what happens after the second strike, right guys?

[Thanks, Trini]

International Kindle ships October 19 to over 100 countries for $279, 'US' edition falls to $259

by Darren Murph posted Oct 7th 2009 at 12:29AM

We can't say that we never saw this day coming, but we definitely didn't it see it coming today. After months of forcing us to twiddle our thumbs (and a good bit of pressure from other e-reader players), Amazon has finally taken the Kindle international. Aside from being able to wirelessly download content in over 100 countries and territories, the 6-inch device is the same as it ever was. The $279 price tag on the Kindle U.S. & International Wireless now represents a $20 premium over the standard Kindle, which simultaneously fell from $299 to $259 in price and picked up a new label ("Kindle U.S. Wireless"). The extra Jackson is evidently there to cover the inevitable roaming charges that'll occur when downloading new content overseas, but given AT&T's extensive global roaming footprint (yeah, the global reader is tied to AT&T, not Sprint), you should be covered in most every nation fit to visit. Feel free to place your pre-order now, and get ready for a new life as a globetrotting digital bookworm come October 19th.

Update: Just saw this in the fine print: "When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items for a fee of $1.99."

[Thanks, Tom]

Read - Kindle goes international
Read - US Kindle falls to $259

Wii price drop confirmed: $199 starting this weekend

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 11:20PM

The rumors were true, and Nintendo's knight in shining armor is finally about to see its first-ever price drop. For nearly three years now, the console has sold briskly at $249.99, but beginning on September 27th at Best Buy (and everywhere else, naturally), the happy-go-lucky machine will be offered for just $199.99. Interestingly, it appears that suits at BB expect Nintendo to make an official announcement on the drop this Friday, yet retail stores won't begin selling at the discounted rate until Sunday. Something tells us that won't go over well, but we guess we've but a few days left 'til we find out exactly how the Big N plans to play this.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Update: Thanks to yet another anonymous source, we've even more proof that a $199.99 Wii is coming. A crystal clear Toys 'R Us flyer confirms the price after the break, though what's curious is the confirmation that the new price won't go into effect until Sunday, September 27th. It should be interesting to see if Nintendo really announces a price drop two days before retailers actually axe the MSRP, but with this free t-shirt that you get from TRU, we'd suggest just holding off. We mean, it's a Nintendo t-shirt!

Continue reading Wii price drop confirmed: $199 starting this weekend

Motorola CLIQ listed for free on contract at T-Mobile, $400 straight-up

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

We'll caution you -- this could all just be one big misunderstanding (or a case of the fat fingered admin), but Motorola's newly launched CLIQ is currently listed for $0.00 on contract over at T-Mobile (and $399.99 with no strings attached). Available in both Winter White and Midnight Titanium, the outfit's first-ever Android phone can't actually be added to one's cart (trust us, we tried... repeatedly), but if these figures are right, we can surely say that the barrier to entry on higher-end smartphones will soon be demolished. Giddy yet?

Update: Aw, seems like someone on the other end already caught wind of the slip-up and yanked it. So, can we take that as confirmation?

Gallery: Motorola CLIQ listed for free on contract at T-Mobile, $400 straight-up

Windows 7 will cost half as much in the UK as in the US, crikey!

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 19th 2009 at 6:28AM

Happy news for our British readers today -- Microsoft is selling Windows 7 Home Premium in the UK at the bargain price of £65 for the full (non-upgrade) version. Converted to $107, that's less than Americans have to shell out just for an upgrade ($120) and about half the price of the full thing ($200). The Professional and Ultimate varieties are also cheaper by about $40 each. With Windows 7 E now out of the picture (though seemingly still available for pre-order from the MS online store), it looks like Microsoft has chosen to match its lower price (listed with an £80 MSRP) with the new SKUs that will actually see retail shelves -- a price online retailers are now undercutting. Jolly good. CNET was first to the story and was told by an Amazon UK rep that the current pricing is expected to be indefinite, but previous intel on the matter has indicated that Microsoft will be hiking UK prices from January 1, 2010. So if you wanna be safe, better get that brand spanking new OS before Christmas rolls around.

[Via Pocket lint]

Read - CNET article
Read - Microsoft UK online store
Read - Windows 7 Home Premium at Amazon UK for £65

Sony finally hacks $100 from 'old' PlayStation 3 price, starting today

by Darren Murph posted Aug 18th 2009 at 1:31PM

After begging, pleading and imploring Sony for months on end to lower the barrier to entry on its PlayStation 3 console, the company has at long last relented. Starting today (supposedly, anyway), all existing PS3 consoles will retail for $100 less than they did yesterday, though it looks as if most e-tailers have yet to ratchet their tags down to reflect the change. Of course, you could wait just a few more days and snag a PS3 Slim for the low, low price of $299, but the question is -- will you? Do tell in comments below.

Best Buy lists Zune HD at $220 for 16GB, $290 for 32GB, coming September 8th

by Ross Miller posted Aug 10th 2009 at 6:48PM

It hasn't been long at all since we saw Zune HD make its FCC debut, and now Gizmodo's gotten ahold of what looks to be screenshots from Best Buy's inventory system listing 16GB and 32GB Zune HD models going on sale September 8th for $220 and $290, respectively. Retailers don't necessarily have the best track record for release dates or pricing, and while Best Buy's inventory pricing is in fact notoriously wrong prior to release, it's usually way high. As for the date, it certainly falls within the Fall 2009 window we've heard before, but if it's really less than a month away, rest assured Microsoft will be flexing some advertising muscle in the not-too-distant future.

Update: Looks like Amazon now has its listing up as well, albeit a non-functional one. [Via ZuneSpring]

Continue reading Best Buy lists Zune HD at $220 for 16GB, $290 for 32GB, coming September 8th

iRex readying wireless e-reader while Plastic Logic's own snags $299 price point

by Darren Murph posted Aug 7th 2009 at 6:39AM

Who says the world stopped reading decades ago? With CES 2010 looming ever closer, it looks as if 2010 may end up being the year of the e-book reader. Amazon's got a few Kindles out, Sony's now vying to compete on price, Hearst is doing whatever it's doing, Plastic Logic is jumping in early next year and even iRex is purportedly hoping to issue a consumer-centric alternative. Speaking of those last two, we're hearing that Plastic Logic's long-awaited entrant into the e-book reading world will "be launched in the US at the beginning of next year at a similar price to the Kindle, which starts at $299," while a UK launch is expected in late 2010 or early 2011. As for iRex, the mockup you see above portrays a wireless device with an expansive 8.1-inch display, inbuitl 3G, a full touchscreen and a fall 2009 release date. 'Course, we're also hearing that this one will hover well above the $300 mark, so it's certainly not aimed at the budget-minded bookworms. So many syllables, so little time...

[Thanks, Tom]

Read - iRex reader
Read - Plastic Logic pricing

Samsung's Ion-infused N510 netbook steeply priced across the pond

by Darren Murph posted Aug 5th 2009 at 7:02AM

€499. $717. Or three easy payments of €171 ($246). That's the price folks in Europe are being asked to pony up for Samsung's admittedly svelte 11.6-inch N510 netbook. As one of the largest netbooks in its class, this machine -- which can purportedly last for around 6.5 hours under ideal circumstances -- also packs NVIDIA's Ion technology, but a sluggish Atom N280 is still manning the ship. If you'll recall, we actually heard that this here rig would surface sometime this summer, but it looks as if those orders may end up pushed to September. Anyone care to place a pre-order? Or are you more interested in those "real laptops" for just north of seven Benjamins?

[Via Blogeee]

Sony's PlayStation 3 Slim to debut August 18th at Cologne gamescom?

by Darren Murph posted Aug 4th 2009 at 6:10AM

Whoa, Nelly! No sooner than we hear that Sony is informing Japanese retailers that the 80GB PS3 model won't be shipping any longer after August 8th, along comes this to stoke the raging rumor fires once more. In a one-two punch that just can't be coincidental, Sony has also hacked $50 off of its 160GB PlayStation 3 bundle from Amazon. But really, it's the report from RTLinfo that has us most excited. According to it, the Sony elite are informing European retailers of an impending €100 price slashing on the 80GB console, which will dovetail nicely into the sudden and not-at-all unexpected debut of the PS3 Slim at the gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany. Reportedly, the willowy unit -- which shouldn't differ much in terms of specifications and features -- will be properly introduced to the world during Sony's pre-event press conference on August 18th. Obviously we've no way to confirm or deny just yet, but given everything else that has transpired over the past few months, we'd say an official reveal is definitely due. What say you, rumormongers?

Read - Sony PS3 Slim to be revealed at gamescom [Thanks, Dominic]
Read - 160GB PS3 price cut [Via GamesIndustry]

HTC sees revenue falling due to "delays in product launches"

by Darren Murph posted Aug 3rd 2009 at 2:28AM

HTC's been on somewhat of a hot streak here lately, but word on the street has it that the aforesaid outfit may not be able to ship all of its forthcoming handsets on time. A new Wall Street Journal report on falling revenue in the HTC camp notes that an undisclosed amount of delays, a larger-than-anticipated drop in contract orders and lower-than-expected sales in China could lead to drooping income in the short term, and some analysts are pointing out that the company's average selling price per phone is sliding due to looming Android competition from the likes of Motorola and Sony Ericsson. Aside from the Touch Pro2 that'll probably never, ever land on Sprint, HTC has about a gazillion other rumored handsets on the horizon, but it's hard to know for sure which "product launches" are expected to be stalled. So, is HTC secretly retooling a smattering of its handsets in order to stay one step ahead of SE and Moto? Or are old fashioned supply chain inefficiencies to blame?

Amazon's Kindle 2 gets a $60 price cut, now at $299

by Darren Murph posted Jul 8th 2009 at 1:47PM

Nearly five months to the day after Amazon introduced its Kindle 2 e-reader, the company has decided to hack a full $60 off of the price tag in order to offer it to US consumers for $299. Sneaking under that magical $300 mark could allow the outfit to move an awful lot more of these buggers, and with the competition finally heating up, we'd say it's probably a solid defensive move as well. So, are you interested in pulling the trigger now that the Kindle 2 is under three bills? Or is that e-book app on your smartphone doing just fine?

[Thanks, Michael]

JMicron NAND flash controller could lead to significantly lower SSD prices

by Darren Murph posted May 31st 2009 at 8:22AM

Truth be told, SSD prices have been declining at a noticeable tick since way back in 2007, but the reality is that the average consumer still can't afford one -- or, at least they aren't willing to pay the lofty premium for the decent increase in speed. If a bold claim from JMicron is to be believed, all that could change in the run-up to CES 2010. A new report has it that the aforesaid company will be demonstrating its new NAND flash controller next week at Computex, with the JMF612 aimed specifically at a "new generation of NAND flash chips built using smaller process geometries that will be entering the market soon." If all goes well, the cheap single-chip controller could lead to SSD prices falling by around 50 percent by Christmas, but after years of waiting for these things to really get priced for Joe Sixpack and his gaggle of siblings, we're still cautiously skeptical. Not that we wouldn't love to be proven wrong or anything.

[Image courtesy of HotHardware]

BeBook mini and BeBook 2 priced, 3G added to the latter

by Darren Murph posted May 14th 2009 at 10:15AM

Slowly but surely, those oh-so-juicy details are leaking out about Endless Ideas' upcoming duo of e-readers. We've now learned that the BeBook mini will boast the same specifications as the original BeBook, save for the much more compact 5-inch display; if all goes well, it should be available for purchase this summer for €199 ($270). Moving on to the BeBook 2, we've learned that it will include both WiFi and 3G access right out of the box, and the company is currently working with mobile operators in Germany and France in hopes of providing Kindle-like data access for on-the-go book downloads. Unfortunately, it looks like the asking price of that one will hover in the €350 ($476) to €400 ($544) range, but you can check out a Dutch interview with the new announcements just past the break.

[Via Slashgear]

Continue reading BeBook mini and BeBook 2 priced, 3G added to the latter