Category Archives: BreakingNews

Acer Aspire One goes official on AT&T’s 3G network

Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Posted by Joshua Topolsky from Engadget.

Hey, remember that Acer Aspire One equipped with on-board 3G we spied in a Radio Shack ad the other day? Well guess what? It’s real — and we’ve got the PR to prove it. Just as expected, the netbook is being offered for the teensy price of $99.99 (coupled with a lengthy and expensive contract with AT&T). The diminutive laptop comes equipped with a single mind-blowing gigabyte of memory and a decently sizeable 160GB hard drive. Besides doing its mobile broadband thing, it also sports 802.11b/g, weighs in at 2.44 lbs., and will never, ever seem worth it in the long run.

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Acer Aspire One goes official on AT&T’s 3G network originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:56:00 EST.

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T-Mobile produces official statement regarding international G1 data roaming

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
Posted by Darren Murph from Engadget.

Okay G1 owners, so here’s the end-all answer to your data roaming quandaries. For those not caught up, there has been quite the hubbub going around about the G1’s inability to not suck down data whilst traveling aboard. Allegedly, the handset would continue to digest pricey bits and bytes overseas even after users had selected that data roaming be disabled. Now, T-Mobile has issued an official response (posted in full after the break) to clear things up, and the gist of it is this: for users with a bone stock G1, the “Off” selection in data roaming should work fine, but third-party applications can essentially override this command and wreak havoc on one’s phone bill.

Click here to read more.

Filed in BreakingNews, Computers, DataRoaming, Google, T-mobileG1, android, breaking news, data roaming, dream, g1, htc, roam, roaming, t-mobile, t-mobile g1 | | Link inside C.I.A.G. | Comments Off

FTC clears Verizon acquisition of Alltel, last hurdle crossed


Posted by Donald Melanson from Engadget.

It’s already made it past the Department of Justice and the FCC after making a few concessions, and Verizon has now cleared the last major hurdle blocking its acquisition of Alltel, with the Federal Trade Commission today giving the deal its all-important stamp of approval. Unlike the other regulatory agencies, the FTC apparently didn’t require that Verizon make any further concessions, and instead simply approved an early termination of their antitrust review and indicated that they had “no objections.” For those keeping track, the deal easily pushes Verizon past AT&T to become the largest wireless carrier in the United States and, as we have heard, it’ll also likely have the side effect of some job cuts from the Alltel benches.

[Via RCR Wireless]

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FTC clears Verizon acquisition of Alltel, last hurdle crossed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed in Breaking, BreakingNews, Computers, FederalTradeComission, Merger, VerizonWireless, acquistion, alltel, breaking news, federal trade comission, ftc, verizon, verizon wireless | | Link inside C.I.A.G. | Comments Off

PlayStation Home launching globally tomorrow, December 11th


Posted by Thomas Ricker from Engadget.

We knew it was coming this month, now we have the day: tomorrow. Yup, PlayStation Home will launch globally on December 11th. The 3D virtual on-line community is like Second Life, only with the risk of rootkit. Hot. All kidding aside, the new service gives PS3 owners a customizable place to chat (voice or text) and play games with other PlayStation Home users through personalized avatars. Just like real life except without acne and all your social shortcomings. Home will be available to download and “experience basic features” for free — some services (like creating a “club”) will require cash though, so be prepared.

Update: Added video of Red Bull’s PlayStation Home Air Race game after the break.

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Filed in BreakingNews, Computers, Home, PS3, PlayStation 3, Playstation3, PlaystationHome, breaking news, playstation, playstation home, sony | | Link inside C.I.A.G. | Comments Off

DirecTV “suspends development” on HDPC-20 tuner

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Posted by Darren Murph from Engadget.

File this one in the category of “Oh, no they didn’t!” Sadly, it seems they really have. DirecTV has sent out an email stating the following: “DirecTV has suspended the development of the HDPC-20 tuner project that was designed to integrate DirecTV service into Windows Media Center after assessing the impact of missing the August 2008 release of Windows Media Center update and considering timing of the next release.” The note goes on to say that both the satcaster and Microsoft understand that folks are clamoring for an easy way to get DirecTV content on the PC, and that both companies are “continuing to explore ways to integrate DirecTV service with Windows-based PCs in the future.” And to think, that hands-on we got late last month just might be the last you ever see of this promising little box.

Click here to read more.

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Open Handset Alliance signs up 14 more Android-lovers, including Sony Ericsson, ASUS and Garmin


Posted by Paul Miller from Engadget.

The Open Handset Alliance just made a major score with 14 more members: AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUSTek Computer Inc. (previously rumored), Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International Inc., Huawei Technologies, Omron Software Co. Ltd, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Sony Ericsson, Teleca AB, Toshiba Corporation and Vodafone. That’s not quite everyone that matters, but pretty darn close. Were we to climb not-very-far onto the limb of conjecture, we might posit that Garmin might be looking at Andoid for its much-delayed nuviföne, or some sort of followup, while the emergence of an ASUS “Eee Phone” or a XPERIA X1 running Android (Sony Ericsson may very well be the biggest win here, consumer-wise) would be welcome moves from those manufacturers.

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LG tests world’s first LTE cellphone chip: 60Mbps downloads are go


Posted by Thomas Ricker from Engadget.

As mobile service providers ramp-up for the WiMAX vs. LTE battle, LG just announced a significant milestone: the world’s first 3GPP LTE chip for cellphones and data cards. While theoretically capable of 100Mbps/50Mbps download/upload speeds, LG’s 13 x 13-mm chip was able to demonstrate 60Mbps down and 20Mbps up, under what we can only assume to be controlled (read: optimum) conditions — easily besting existing 7.6Mbps HSDPA networks. Great, too bad this isn’t the year 2010 else we’d have a national LTE infrastructure (right!) and we’d all be driving plug-in hybrids (sure).

P.S. We don’t know what those thin handsets are flanking the chips, but we doubt those are functional LTE devices.

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Contract-laden 3G Acer Aspire One hitting US at just $99?

Monday, December 8th, 2008
Posted by Tim Stevens from Engadget.
Contract-laden 3G Acer Aspire One hitting US at just $99?

These days most people wouldn’t think of buying a new phone without getting a couple hundies off in exchange for their wireless free will. But netbooks? Internationally such deals aren’t altogether uncommon, but we haven’t seen one here yet. That changes next week if the above image turns out to be legit (and we kinda think it is), with Radio Shack set to offer an Acer Aspire One for just $99 so long as you sign up for a $60/month (or more) data plan through AT&T. (If you squint you can see it’s a rather less enticing $499 without.) That comes to something north of $1,500 over the life of the contract, which is hardly a steal — but then again your average sub-$200 smartphone doesn’t seem like such a bargain after two years of $35/month, either.

[Thanks, A RadioShack Guy]

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Contract-laden 3G Acer Aspire One hitting US at just $99? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed in 2-year contract, 2-yearContract, AcerAspireOne, AspireOne, BreakingNews, Computers, RadioShack, TwoYearContract, WirelessPlan, acer, acer aspire one, aspire one, att, breaking news, contract, radio shack, two year contract, wireless plan | | Link inside C.I.A.G. | Comments Off

SIM / hardware-unlocked Android Dev Phone 1 surfaces for $399

Friday, December 5th, 2008
Posted by Darren Murph from Engadget.

Oh, snap! Out of seemingly nowhere, Google has revealed the Android Dev Phone 1, a SIM- and hardware-unlocked G1 designed to be sold exclusively to hard working developers. The handset ships with a system image that’s fully compatible with Android 1.0, and obviously, it complies with any SIM card and can “flash custom Android builds that will work with the unlocked bootloader.” In other words, the mobile should seriously appeal to devs who live far, far away from areas blanketed with T-Mobile coverage. In order to get one, you must first register as an Android developer on the Android Market site (which involves a one-time $25 setup fee); once you’re in, you simply surf over and nail the “Purchase” link.

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Verizon posts its first BlackBerry Storm firmware update


Posted by Chris Ziegler from Engadget.

Lo and behold, Verizon’s taken a break from releasing low-end Nokias for just long enough to officially release its first Storm update — which just happens to be the same one that’s been floating around on the interwebs for a few days now, 4.7.0.75. Anyone unwilling or unable to connect to their PC to nab the update can wait until 9:30 Pacific this evening, when it’s said that an over-the-air version of the same software will hit the airwaves. Best of luck, upgraders!

[Via CNET]

Update: We’ve given the update a shot, and Mac users should be warned that there doesn’t seem to be a good way of shoehorning the goods on to the phone at this point — probably better off to wait for the OTA.

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Verizon posts its first BlackBerry Storm firmware update originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed in BreakingNews, Computers, Firmware, VerizonWireless, blackberry, breaking news, rim, storm, update, upgrade, verizon, verizon wireless, vzw | | Link inside C.I.A.G. | Comments Off