Verizon’s tiered data plans hitting October 28, smartphones still getting unlimited option?
October 18, 2010 No Comment
We’d told you back in July that Verizon would migrate away from unlimited data and toward a tiered model very quickly; turns out it wasn’t quite as quickly as we’d thought, but as Ivan Seidenberg said last month , it’s still going down. We’ve now been tipped that the switchover is expected on October 28, and this is how it all shakes out: Smartphone owners will choose between $15 for 150MB with $0.10 / MB overage, or $29.99 for unlimited access. This stands in contrast to AT&T, which offers another 50MB (for a total of 200MB) at the $15 price level or 2GB for $25 with no unlimited option. As we’ve already seen with the MiFi-equipped iPad , there’ll be $20, $35, and $50 tablet plans for 1GB, 3GB, and 5GB, respectively, all with overage of $10 per gigabyte. There will also be a $80 plan for 10GB with the same overage rate. MiFi , FiveSpot , and integrated netbook / notebook modem owners will choose between $50 / 5GB and $80 / 10GB plans. The MiFi and FiveSpot will also have access to the tablet-centric $35 / 3GB plan as part of a 90-day promo. All of these plans have overage priced at 1GB for $10. Feature phones will need to choose between $1.99 “pay as you go” (though it’s not clear what that means — could be unlimited at $1.99 per day, but we really don’t know), $15 for 150MB, or $29.99 for unlimited. The old $9.99 / 25MB option will be killed off. USB modem pricing remains unchanged at $39.99 for 250MB or $59.99 for 5GB. We’d say this means Big Red is strongly discouraging folks from buying these right now. Notably, this is just 3G data pricing — the company says it’ll announce 4G plans closer to the launch of its 4G network. Existing customers can stay grandfathered on their existing plans if they so choose, just as AT&T’s been playing it. Thing is, the fact that Verizon is preserving its unlimited smartphone option is a big deal — it’ll be interesting to see if it twists AT&T’s arm hard enough to bring it back. Follow the break for Verizon’s full internal Q&A. [Thanks, Jay] Update: We’re being told that the $1.99 pay as you go option on feature phones is simply the current $1.99 / MB option. Thanks, anonymous tipster! Continue reading Verizon’s tiered data plans hitting October 28, smartphones still getting unlimited option? Verizon’s tiered data plans hitting October 28, smartphones still getting unlimited option? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Archos swore up and down that this one was set to ship in “mid-October,” which means that the pre-order link at Amazon should switch over in a matter of nanoseconds, minutes or hours. For those in need of a refresher, the Archos 43 is an Android-based portable media player with a 4.3-inch touchpanel, support for a zillion (give or take) file formats, an HDMI output and integrated WiFi. The 16GB model is available to claim for $249.99, so if you’ve been waiting for your chance to hop in the purchase line, this is it. Don’t blow it. [Thanks, Zayne] Android-based Archos 43 PMP up for pre-order, should ship out soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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From the parallel universe known as “you’ve got to be kidding me” comes yet another trinket from New PC Gadgets that’ll undoubtedly sell well despite being about as mindless as a product comes. In a bid to solve a simple problem that every internet addict faces when dining out or simply joining other Earthlings around a dinner table, the aforesaid company has just issued the Smartphone Coaster. That’s a fanciful name for a bent piece of stainless steel. In practice, it holds just about any smartphone (or dumb / featurephone, for that matter) at a 75 degree angle, enabling you to keep a close eye on your display while stuffing your face. We’re surmising that these will be aimed as restaurants more than in-home dinner tables, but hey, if you’d rather enable your tweens to ignore vital family conversations while gathered for supper, more power to you. It’s available now for $3.95 (or less if buying in bulk), and no, we won’t tell anyone that you’re seriously considering a dozen. Continue reading Smartphone Coaster keeps your eyes on the prize, even while you eat Smartphone Coaster keeps your eyes on the prize, even while you eat originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …MakerLegoBot is made of Lego, makes things out of Lego, is so meta it hurts (video)
October 18, 2010 No Comment
Building things out of Lego ? Lots of fun. Building a thing out of Lego that itself builds other things out of Lego? That’s totally mindblowing, and that’s what Mindstorm master Will Gorman managed here with his MakerLegoBot masterpiece. The machine takes input from a PC running MLCAD, a sort of industrial design tool for blocknauts, and then churns out anything you like — so long as it is comprised of 1×2, 2×2, 3×2, 4×2, and 8×2 bricks. These are fed by the machine and methodically placed in exact position, as shown in the video below. If you’re hanging out in The Netherlands this upcoming weekend you can also see the thing in action at LegoWorld in Zwolle, or just build your own with the detailed plans at the source link below. But, before you start assembling, know that you’ll need 2,400 bricks and nine Mindstorms NXT motors. Continue reading MakerLegoBot is made of Lego, makes things out of Lego, is so meta it hurts (video) MakerLegoBot is made of Lego, makes things out of Lego, is so meta it hurts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Come October 21 , European smartphone buyers will be faced with the enviable choice of having to pick between two 4.3-inch handsets from HTC bearing the latest and greatest OS from their respective camps. The HD7 will be one of the flag-bearing Windows Phone 7 devices, whereas the Desire HD — which is already sneaking out into retail in some small quantities — offers the finest Froyo dessert Google has yet cooked up, replete with some extra sprinkles of Sense -ible enhancements. We’ll have full reviews of both in the coming days, but for now, we thought we’d whet your appetite with a tour round their oversized bodies, both in pictorial form below and on video, right after the break. Gallery: HTC HD7 versus Desire HD: size comparison Continue reading HTC HD7 versus Desire HD: battle of the 4.3-inchers HTC HD7 versus Desire HD: battle of the 4.3-inchers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Okay, look, guys — we know putting a satellite into space is a pricey endeavor — just ask Sirius XM — but you literally just launched your first commercial device, the Genus , and we don’t think that “launch a device then immediately declare bankruptcy” is a particularly sound business model. They’re not there yet, but sure enough, the WSJ is claiming that newly-minted satphone operator TerreStar could be just days away from filing for Chapter 11 as it bears the brunt of around $1 billion in debt, possibly in the form of a well-structured and prearranged bankruptcy on the heels of discussions with the company’s creditors. Seeing how restructuring does seem like the most likely scenario here, we wouldn’t necessarily let this scare anyone off from buying a Genus — but at $799, we doubt many of you were planning on running out this week and picking it up anyway. Echoes of Iridium, anyone? TerreStar teetering on bankruptcy? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The iPhone can do many things, but “hypnotize passers-by with a dazzling array of colors” is not typically listed among its strong suits. That’s where the iGlo LED Set comes into play, bundling a WiFi-enabled strip of 120 multi-color LEDs — measuring some five meters in length — with iPhone and iPad apps that can control them. $299 is a small price to pay for this kind of portable party-making power, considering you just spent that much on a bottle of Blue Label for Steve’s birthday party last week… and that didn’t turn you into the most popular guy in the room. Follow the break for a full demo. Continue reading iPhone-controllable LED strip lets you take the rave with you for $300 iPhone-controllable LED strip lets you take the rave with you for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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KDDI may have done its best to bury it amongst the few dozen other phones it announced today (including that eye-catching X-RAY clamshell ), but we’re not about to let the first phone using Sony’s new 16.4 megapixel CMOS sensor slip by. That honor naturally goes to Sony Ericsson itself, which has stuffed the sensor into the otherwise ordinary looking Cyber-shot S006 cellphone. In addition to all those megapxiels, you’ll also get ISO settings up to ISO 12800, and the rest of the camera’s specs aren’t too shabby either, including a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.3-inch screen (said to be VGA, though we’re assuming it’s actually HVGA or WVGA), and built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. Unfortunately, all of that is paired with Sony’s own proprietary non-smartphone OS and it’s, of course, exclusive to KDDI in Japan for the time being (and only being released next spring). Sony Ericsson brings 16 megapixel Cyber-shot S006 cellphone to KDDI originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The Altaz 3.5-inch Internet Clock Radio tells you the weather, ‘provides endless entertainment’
October 18, 2010 No Comment
“Endless entertainment from a clock radio?” you say, cynically sipping on your tea. “Yes, that’s what I said” cries the Altaz press release embedded below, pledging that its new 3.5-inch touchscreen’d Internet Clock Radio will keep you smiling until the end of time. The device will naturally tell you when exactly that is and wake you up before you get there, also showing the weather, streaming internet radio, and sucking down photos from Picasa. You know, pretty much all the stuff a Chumby One can do. But, can it walk ? Unlikely, though the built-in battery, SD card reader, and 802.11g wireless do conspire to make it reasonably independent. All yours for a $99 MSRP, though a little Googling will save you 15 bucks or so. Continue reading The Altaz 3.5-inch Internet Clock Radio tells you the weather, ‘provides endless entertainment’ The Altaz 3.5-inch Internet Clock Radio tells you the weather, ‘provides endless entertainment’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This unassuming black box, the N-Transfer, has one purpose and one alone — to stick Japan’s USB 2.0 storage devices, scanners and printers firmly in the cloud, without the need for a intermediate computer. In that respect the device is much like a certain Pogoplug , but telephony provider NTT Japan’s doing the formula one better, as this box doesn’t just share a pair of USB ports across a web interface. You can transfer up to 500MB files point-to-point across the company’s high-speed fiber optic internet with boxes at either end — each equipped with gigabit ethernet — or upload documents from a Fujitsu ScanSnap or Epson Colorio scanner (and hopefully others) directly to Evernote. If you live in Japan, have access to a fiber optic connection and don’t mind the copious amount of hate regular ol’ DSL users are directing at you right now, you can grab one for ￥7,350 (about $90) at Amazon. NTT Japan builds a USB box for sharing with the cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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