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Philo cuts its most affordable TV streaming plan
The budget TV streaming service Philo announced it's eliminating its lower-cost subscription. Beginning May 6th, Philo will drop its $16-per-month plan, offering only a $20 monthly subscription. The move puts Philo on a growing list of streaming TV providers that have increased prices in the past few months.
MoviePass is raising the price of its standard plan
MoviePass' money woes seem to have caught up with the company in a big way lately. Last week, the company ran out of money, causing service outages that forced the company to borrow an emergency $5 million. Service issues continued through the weekend and now the company has announced some new measures aimed at keeping its business afloat -- the main one being a price increase.
Tesla's promised $35,000 Model 3 is still a long way off
When Tesla first unveiled the Model 3, it pitched it as an EV for the masses that would have a reasonable $35,000 price. Ten months after the first deliveries, however, the cheapest version costs $49,000, and Tesla just announced a hot rod AWD Model 3 that will cost $78,000 -- more than the Model S 75D. That situation isn't going to change anytime soon, either -- CEO Elon Musk recently tweeted that the $35,000 Model 3 now won't ship until three to six months after Tesla achieves its 5,000 vehicle-per-week production goal.
Tesla's performance Model 3 delivers 3.5 second 0-60 for $78,000
Tesla is almost ready to start shipping Model 3s equipped with an AWD dual-motor option, so CEO Elon Musk announced specs and pricing for the new options on Twitter. The Performance trim Model 3 will sit at the top of the line, with 20-inch wheels, carbon fiber spoiler, black and white interior and specially-selected dual-motor setup available for $78,000 (adding AutoPilot costs extra). Musk said that its cost is "about" the same as BMW's M3 (a base model starts at $66,500), but it's supposedly quicker by 15 percent (3.5 seconds 0-60, 155 MPH top speed, 310 miles of range) and handles well enough to fulfill a promise it will "beat anything in its class on the track." If you're not looking for all of the upgrades, simply adding a second motor for all-wheel-drive (and extra reliability -- Musk said either one can drive the car if the other breaks) is an option that costs an extra $5,000, just like it used to on the Model S. Compared to the standard sedan's 0-60 time of 5.1 - 5.6 seconds and 130 MPH top speed, this one can do it in 4.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 140 MPH.
Samsung's 43-inch Frame TV is now available for $1,300
The 43-inch version of Samsung's 4K TV that can disguise itself as an art piece is now available on Samsung.com and various retailers in the US. It's the latest entry in the Korean conglomerate's "The Frame" series, following the 55- and 65-inch versions' debut back in June. This one will set you back $1,300 -- definitely not cheap, but relatively more affordable than the biggest variant that will cost you $2,799.
Netflix raises prices on two of its most popular plans
Netflix is raising its prices again. Its most popular plan, which costs $10 for HD and viewing on two screens simultaneously, will increase by $1, to $11 per month. The premium plan, which currently is priced at $12 for 4K and streaming on four screens simultaneously, will cost $14 -- a $2 increase. The price of the basic plan, which allows for one screen and SD viewing, remains unchanged at $8 per month.
Nissan's next Leaf will be $5,000 cheaper than the Model 3
If you want a cheap EV and are willing to settle for less range, you might end up with a Nissan Leaf and not a Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model 3. According to a (now pulled) leak on car sales site Autobytel, as seen by our sister site Autoblog, the 2018 Nissan Leaf will cost $29,990 for the base model with a 40 kWh battery -- $5,000 less than either the base Bolt or Model 3. With two-thirds the capacity of either model, however, the incoming Leaf will have a range of around 150-160 miles, significantly less than its rivals.
Samsung's cheaper, cuter Gear 360 cam arrives May 25th
Samsung's updated Gear 360 is almost here -- you'll only have to wait one more day to be able to get it in the US. The 360-degree camera will be available tomorrow, May 25th, in store and online from Best Buy and its website, Amazon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, US Cellular, Samsung's website and through the ShopSamsung app. In addition to being cuter than its predecessor, it can also capture real 4K videos and has the ability to livestream 360-degree footage at 2K resolution through a compatible phone, including newer iPhones. Even better, it's also cheaper at $229 -- the older Gear 360 was priced at $350 when it launched stateside, though you can get one from Amazon these days for around $160.
Verizon's $70 Gigabit internet plan misses both targets
Yesterday Verizon announced the launch of Fios Gigabit Connection, as "the nation's largest deployment of gigabit Internet connection service." It even promised a $70 per month price standalone, however, as people tried to sign up a few shortcomings have become evident. First of all, it's not quite 1Gbps speed, with downloads reaching a maximum 940Mbps and uploads stopped at 880Mbps. Further, its pricing scheme is more complicated than the announcement advertised, with that $70 price (that doesn't include the charge for a modem or other fees) only available to new customers.
Switch owners will wait longer (and pay more) for 'Rime'
If The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has piqued your interest in whimsical open-world adventure games featuring young men solving puzzles, Rime has you covered. It's coming out on May 26th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, developer Tequila Words announced in a tweet. But Nintendo Switch owners are going to have to wait -- and pay $10 more.
ULA justifies pricey space launches with 'RocketBuilder' site
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V is the world's most reliable rocket, with a 100 percent mission success rate over 67 total missions. However, at a base launch rate of $109 million, it's a lot more costly compared to newcomer SpaceX, which has a starting price of $62 million. The raw launch is not the only cost, though, so ULA launched the RocketBuilder website to let potential clients, the press, academics and students configure a rocket like "building a car."
Microsoft to raise some UK prices by up to 22 percent over Brexit
Like it or not, the outcome of the Brexit vote has caused a lot of financial uncertainty in the UK. The government has yet to decide which course to take when it invokes Article 50, effectively triggering an exit from the European Union, but some major tech companies have already moved to reduce the impact of the falling pound. In a recent blog post, Microsoft shared that it too will soon amend prices, confirming that from January 1st, 2017, business software pricing will rise by 13 percent and cloud services will see a 22 percent increase.
PlayStation Plus membership prices rise in September
PlayStation Plus memberships will cost more starting on September 22nd. On that date, a one-year membership in the US will rise from $50 to $60, while three-month memberships will rise from $18 to $25. The price of a monthly plan will remain the same in the US ($10). Existing members will not have to pay the increased amount until their plans renew on or after September 22nd.
The Oculus Rift made you forget what the first iPhone cost
Yesterday, Oculus VR finally announced the price of its first consumer virtual reality headset: $599, plus shipping. Fans reacted quickly, shocked that the price was twice as much as the original developer kit and furious that the company was charging so much. During Palmer Luckey's evening AMA on Reddit, fans were petitioning the company to remove the Rift's audio tech and packaged Xbox One controller to bring the price down. That's denial, anger and bargaining, guys. Let's skip the fourth stage of grief and jump to the end: acceptance. The Oculus Rift's launch price is completely normal.
The Oculus Rift costs $599 and ships in March
Pre-orders are now open for the first Oculus Rift consumer virtual reality headset and the company finally revealed the all-important price: $599 (€699 in Europe and £499 in the UK). Oculus CEO Palmer Luckey knows that the long-term success or failure of the Rift depends a lot on that number, but he appears to have calculated well. The initial ship date was marked as March 28th, but started showing as April soon after, so it appears that the early run sold out after just 15 minutes. While $599 is a considerable chunk of change for most consumers, early adopters appear to have jumped on it, thanks no doubt to the years-long launch buildup.
Toshiba's pixel-packed 4K convertible arrives next week for $1,299
Toshiba has revealed more details about its Satellite Radius 12 Windows 10 convertible, including the price and availability. It looks like a serious contender if you're considering a Lenovo Yoga Pro 3, Microsoft Surface Book or another high-end convertible or Ultrabook, given the claimed all-day battery life, brushed metal case, 0.6-inch thickness and 2.9-pound weight. As for the screen, squeezing 4K into a 12.5-inch screen gives you 352 pixels-per-inch, which is now quaint for a smartphone, but stellar on a laptop (a 1080p option is also available). The screen is also coated with Gorilla glass and Technicolor-certified for color accuracy.
Netflix's most popular streaming plan now costs $10 a month for new customers
Netflix last raised the price of its most popular streaming plan in May of 2014, but it looks like new customers will now have to pay a little bit more. As noted by Bloomberg and confirmed by a quick look at the Netflix sign-up page, the company's standard streaming plan now costs $9.99 a month, up from $8.99 previously. Customers who are currently paying less appear to be grandfathered into their earlier plans -- looking at your account page will show you just how long you're guaranteed to keep your current price for.
Verizon increases the price of unlimited data plans by $20 a month
If you're still on a grandfathered unlimited data plan with Verizon, your bill is about to go up. On November 15th, the carrier confirmed to Engadget that it'll increase rates for those customers by $20 a month. The company says that less than one percent of its customers fall into the category of still having the old unlimited plan and aren't currently under contract. Verizon also says that any user currently under contract with unlimited data will not see the price hike until their agreement is up for renewal. This follows Sprint's recent announcement about an upcoming rate increase. Of course, new customers aren't privy to an unlimited plan on Verizon, as Sprint and T-Mobile are your only two options for that at $70 and $80 per month, respectively. As you might expect, the red-hued carrier is quick to remind that if you don't need all of that data, you could save money by opting for a Verizon monthly plan with a data cap under the current pricing scheme (as this editor can attest). And you're certainly going to see some savings when the new rate kicks in. The company's full statement on the matter resides after the break. [Image credit: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh]
PlayStation 4 drops to $350 in the US
Sony is cutting the base price of its PlayStation 4 from $399.99 to $349.99 including a game. The drop has been heavily rumored following a similar cut in Japan last month. The new prices come into force tomorrow with the release of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, as you'll be able to pick up a PS4 bundled with the game. Following that, the next scheduled $349.99 bundle drops in mid-November with Star Wars Battlefront. The cut also applies in Canada with prices starting from CAD429.99, as the chart below illustrates.
UK PS4 owners will soon pay more for online multiplayer
Some PlayStation Plus subscriptions are getting a little more expensive in the UK. From September 1st, Sony's 30-day option will cost £5.99 instead of £5.49, and the 12 week plan is rising to £14.99, up from £11.99. The annual subscription is staying locked at £39.99, however, so if you haven't taken the plunge just yet -- now might be a good time to reconsider. Sony says the changes are "in line with market conditions" and all part of its push to deliver "an unparalleled experience, featuring the best quality games and features." If you need a reminder, PS Plus nets you some "free" games on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita every month, and is also required to play PS4 games online. Maybe, just maybe this extra cash can be used to stop PSN from going down so often too? We're crossing our fingers.
