What is it with tablets and ship date shenanigans ? After getting some tips from Kno pre-orderers (who should’ve started receiving this monstrosity last year ) that their shipments had been delayed, we pinged Kno and got some ultra-vague confirmation of that fact: Things at Kno are going well. However, as you noted below, there has been a shipment delay. As soon as Kno has new information, we will share that with customers and can certainly give you a heads up if that is helpful. There’s no mention of any of this on Kno’s website, and typically with this sort of a delay there’s at least some sort of reasoning — “the boxes we got are the wrong size,” or “our Lego testing robot broke down,” or something smooth like that. Of course, we’re sure there’s some sort of explanation forthcoming. This is no cause to believe Kno is in serious danger of not shipping its tablet, or that it’s trying to pull a fast one, but Kno has unfortunately happened upon a disturbing trend in the tablet space that we’d love to be well rid of by now. [Thanks, Chris] Kno shipments delayed, no word on why or for how long originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Admit it, you know you want one of those wild N-Control Avenger controller attachments : there’s no shame in that, we want one too! The so-called “Exo-Suit” — which we checked out at CES — gives your Xbox controller an overhaul, and it is now officially shipping. The little unit will run you $39.99, so you can hit up the source link if that’s what you’re into. N-Control Avenger Xbox 360 controller attachment now shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
We hate to say it, but we could see this coming a mile down the road: After Myspace (or, as the kids say, my[_____] ) relaunched itself as an entertainment portal to little effect late last year, and then the company went and laid off fifty percent of its staff, what’s the next step? Tears — a flood of bitter, bitter tears. And after that? Well, it looks like News Corp. is considering a couple options. As COO Chase Carey said on a recent earnings call, “The new MySpace has been very well received by the market and we have some very encouraging metrics. But the plan to allow MySpace to reach it’s full potential may be best achieved under a new owner.” Continuing with the theme, he told Paid Content the following: “There’s been a lot of interest, because there’s been some indication we’re pursuing this path. We’ll consider all options… it could be a sale, it could be an investor coming in to it, it could be us staying in with a restructured ownership structure with management.” Now, that’s a whole bunch of “corporate speak” there, and while the future is up in the air, we’re fairly sure that if you called our man Chase and offered him cold, hard cash, you could probably take Myspace off his hands at a fairly reasonable price. Make sure you ask him to throw in the Blingees for free. News Corp. set to unload Myspace? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Canadian goverment vows to reverse CRTC decision on usage-based internet billing
February 3, 2011 No Comment
It’s happened before when Canadian government overturned the CRTC’s decision and allowed Globalive to enter the Canadian cellphone market, and it looks like Ottawa is about to again weigh in and reverse an even more controversial ruling by the regulatory agency. As confirmed by Industry Minister Tony Clement on Twitter, the government plans to reverse the recent CRTC decision that effectively imposed usage-based internet billing if the agency doesn’t back down and “go back to the drawing board.” Citing a senior government official, The Toronto Star further reports that the reversal could come as early as next week. As any Canadians reading this may well be aware, the issue of usage-based internet billing has been simmering for some time, but it reached a tipping point with the CRTC’s decision last week that affected smaller internet service providers who rely on the major telecom companies’ networks. Under the new ruling, those companies would be have been faced with increased costs that would drastically limit the amount of bandwidth they’re able to offer to customers — one such ISP, Teksavvy, had in fact already sent out notices to customers informing them that their current 200GB bandwidth cap would be dropping to just 25GB on March 1st, with any additional data use to be charged by the gigabyte. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Canadian goverment vows to reverse CRTC decision on usage-based internet billing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola’s Atrix 4G coming to AT&T on March 6th for $200, bundled with Laptop Dock for $500
February 3, 2011 No Comment
Don’t ever say Ma Bell lacks cahones. On the same day that existing Verizon customers began pre-ordering the CDMA’d iPhone 4 , AT&T has come clean with what’s next on America’s largest GSM network. While announced at CES 2011, pricing and release information had eluded the luscious Atrix 4G … until now, that is. AT&T will begin pre-sales for the Froyo-powered Motorola Atrix 4G Android superphone on February 13th, with the standard $199.99 + two-year contract ( $50 more than we were led to believe , mind you) getting one into your grubby mitts. We’re told to expect general availability on March 6th “or earlier,” putting it just about in line with the date we’d heard rumored . Moreover, those looking to buy will should have a difficult time laying off of the Laptop Dock bundle, which nets you an Atrix 4G as well as a $499.99 dock for the grand total of $499.99 on contract. You heard right — those who opt to buy the dock at a later time will be asked to shell out five Benjamins, whereas that same tally on day one will also include the phone. It should be noted, however, that the bundle only applies if you also sign your name to a Data Pro plan and tethering add-on, so be sure you’re down for that monthly hit before committing in haste. Oh, and just in case you simply can’t stop spending, the carrier is also offering an Entertainment Access Kit for Atrix 4G customers which includes the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock , a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and a remote control for $189.99. Continue reading Motorola’s Atrix 4G coming to AT&T on March 6th for $200, bundled with Laptop Dock for $500 Motorola’s Atrix 4G coming to AT&T on March 6th for $200, bundled with Laptop Dock for $500 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Sony had quite a good holiday during its third quarter for fiscal year 2010, posting a
Continue reading …
I don’t smoke and I never have. I can’t say as I’ve felt the temptation to ever try that particular vice, especially given the cost these days. 50 years ago my avoiding that lifestyle choice would have put me in the minority, and if I’d dared asked a smoker to step outside or made any implications about what their habit was doing to my lungs… well, that wouldn’t have gone over well. Today, of course, such questions and expectations are the norm, with legislation forcing smokers into the cold and science showing that what comes out of their mouths isn’t great for passers by. But why am I talking about cigarette smoking on a gadget blog? In a few decades this is what it’s going to be like to drive a car with internal combustion, a life full of exorbitant taxes, constant inconveniences, and state-sponsored attempts at inducing shame among those who would dare putter around with an engine that casts off 70 percent (or more) of its energy as waste. Continue reading Suck, squeeze, bang, bust: the death of internal combustion Suck, squeeze, bang, bust: the death of internal combustion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Verizon can now throttle top five percent of bandwidth hogs, downres multimedia transfers
February 3, 2011 No Comment
Nice timing, Verizon. Just as thousands — possibly zillions — of smartphone users are pondering the switch to Big Red for Apple’s iPhone 4 , the carrier has slipped in two critical policy changes that are apparently effective immediately. Tucked within loads of fine print in a new PDF that surfaced on the company’s site, there’s this: “Verizon Wireless strives to provide customers the best experience when using our network, a shared resource among tens of millions of customers. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5 percent of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand. Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95 percent of data customers aren’t negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users.” To our knowledge, this is the first time that VZW has taken a notable position on throttling, and the link to its stance on net neutrality (as it applies to wireless, anyway) is fairly obvious. What’s most interesting to us is the five percent of data users figure; the top one or two percent isn’t a huge amount, and there’s a good chance that bandwidth abusers are up in that echelon. But we’re guessing that quite a few business travelers will fall within this particular range, and given that VZW now holds the right to throttle data for your existing billing cycle and the next one… well, good luck gritting your teeth and lasting through that two-year contract. In related news, the company is also implementing optimization and transcoding technologies in its network, which is a politically correct way of explaining that it can downres any multimedia you try to send through Verizon’s pipes. Head on past the break for the full quote. Continue reading Verizon can now throttle top five percent of bandwidth hogs, downres multimedia transfers Verizon can now throttle top five percent of bandwidth hogs, downres multimedia transfers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
In Easton, Mass., Triton Technologies employees heard cracking and metal bending and escaped before their building collapsed under the weight of heavy snow. Everyone got out safely. (Feb. 3)
Continue reading …
Poor Samsung can’t catch a break. First executive Lee Young-hee was misunderstood, saying that sales of the Galaxy Tab were ” quite smooth ” but the transcript of that conversation saying that they were instead ” quite small .” Now the company is refuting another claim, that return rates for the Tab are near 16 percent . The company did so in a statement so tersely worded we can feature its entirety right here: The return rate of the Galaxy Tab in the US as claimed by an North American market research firm is incorrect. According to Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Business the return rate is below 2 percent. So, there you have it. Below two percent, and right on par with what we’ve heard for the iPad . Samsung refutes high Galaxy Tab returns, says rate is ‘below 2 percent’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …