Section: Computers, Hardware, Peripherals, Storage Who really wants to worry about dropping their laptops and losing the past five years worth of pictures and other important files? Fortunately, companies like Other World Computing are kicking out high capacity solid state drives to save us the agony. Unfortunately, these pretty little things don’t come cheap. For all rational consumers, I’d say wait out another few years until these babies are more reasonably priced. Early adopters however get a kick out of OWC’s newest lineup of SSD’s. You can currently pre-order the four models which are priced at $219.99 (60GB), $379.99 (120GB), $699.99 (240GB) and $1,579.99 (480GB) in PC and Apple versions.These drives are also compatible with desktops by way of an adapter. Expensive? Maybe. That satisfaction of knowing that you are the only one amongst your friends with enormous flash memory? Priceless Trendy. Read [OWC] Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile
Sprint has unveiled their latest pre-paid mobile offering, its called Common Cents Mobile and it will be offered exclusively by Walmart. The new service will go live as of May 15th and will be available in over 700 Walmart locations across the US. Goodies include the ability to purchase 565 minutes of talk time for $20 and 848 minutes of talk time for $30. Or breaking that down a little bit, you will be paying 7 cents for each minute of talk time, as well as 7 cents for each text message. Those interested can also purchase an unlimited messaging plan for $20 per month, and get data access for $1 per megabyte per day. All in all, it seems pretty cut and dry. One nice perk here is the ability to “round down” your minutes, which means you can actually talk for up to 1 minute and 59 seconds and still be charged for just one minute. Hence the rounding down. Or alternatively, you can end all of you calls at 59 seconds and never pay for minutes. As for phones, remember these are per-paid offerings. In other words they are not going to be the hottest latest and greatest. Still, you can pick up models such as the LG101 for $19.77, the Samsung M340 for $39.77 and the Kyocera S2300 for $69.77. Once you have your phone, you will then just purchase the minutes you need. No mess and no contract to worry about. As far as making the purchase, that can be done at Walmart locations as well as by visiting CommonSenseMobile.com. Keep reading to check out the full press release… NEW COMMON CENTS MOBILE ANSWERS THE CALL FOR PAY-AS-YOU-GO INNOVATION WITH UNIQUE ROUND DOWN™ MINUTES Sprint and Walmart launch no nonsense prepaid service with industry-leading 7-cent minutes and 7-cent text messages ideal for budget-conscious, no-frills customers WARREN, N.J. (May [13], 2010) – Now more than ever, Americans are searching for smart and simple ways to cut unnecessary costs. Sprint (NYSE:S) and Walmart [NASDAQ:WMT] today announced the launch of Common Cents Mobile, the newest member of Sprint's powerhouse prepaid portfolio with 7-cent minutes that Round Down and 7-cent text messages to provide the greatest value for budget-conscious consumers. The new brand, part of Sprint's prepaid multi-brand strategy, debuts May 15 exclusively in more than 700 Walmart stores in markets such as Birmingham, Ala., Detroit, Houston, Orlando, Fla., and more. "In recent months, consumers seeking no-frills, pay-by-the-minute plans have been somewhat overlooked with the popularity of unlimited plans in the market," said Dan Schulman, president of Sprint's prepaid group. "These customers want to stay connected — to a point — but don't want to waste time or money on services they don't use. The addition of Common Cents combines easy-to-use handsets with a simple pay-by-the-minute service that can save them money." Unlimited monthly plans without contracts helped re-energize the prepaid business last year but pay-by-the-minute customers still represent the majority [63 percent] of prepaid market share, and almost half [49 percent] of prepaid gross adds. Unique new features
Round Down – Exclusive to Common Cents Mobile, Round Down minutes offer straight-forward pricing as consumers pay only for what they use – or less. The concept is simple: other carriers round up to the nearest whole minute; if you talk, for example, for 1 minute and 46 seconds, you will pay for 2 minutes for the call. But Common Cents will "Round Down" your call of 1:46 minutes to 1 minute, allowing consumers to pay for less than what they actually use. With minutes that Round Down after the first minute, not up, consumers get more minutes for their money. Handsets – Common Cents Mobile offers handsets with simple, basic functions – voicemail, text messaging, caller ID – that appeal to cost-conscious consumers. The easy-to-use, affordable and stylish units are priced to highlight the 7-cent-minute pricing and include the LG101® priced at just $19.77, the Samsung® M340 at $39.77, and the Kyocera® S2300 for $69.77. Offers – Developed for consumers who seek ease and simplicity, Common Cents Mobile lets customers activate and add money to their account with two service options:
$20 Refill card = 30 days of service, up to 565 minutes of talk
$30 Refill card = 60 days of service, up to 848 minutes of talk Consumers may also add unlimited messaging for $20 per month and data access for $1/megabyte per day. Adding to monthly balances is accomplished by buying Refill cards or by registering a credit or debit card or PayPal account online at CommonCentsMobile.com. With Common Cents Mobile, there are no activation or termination fees and no long-term contracts. As part of the launch, Common Cents Mobile will introduce a new regional ad campaign and "jingle" that speaks to turning back to a simpler time, like the Common Cents Mobile plans. Handsets and Refill cards will be available beginning May 15 at select Walmart locations. For more information or to locate a Walmart store that carries Common Cents Mobile, please visit the store locator.
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Websites 
We love to have a high opinion of how much we geeks matter don’t we? In the past weeks (months for some) Facebook has gone from vital part of re-connecting to our social circle to uncool leper of the Internet. Just last week, I saw this tweet above. Fine, that was my tweet, but the soured sentiment continues across the net. Today, Nick O’Neill over at All Facebook says Facebook announces that they are having an all-hands on deck meeting about privacy. This seems to be Facebooks modus operandi (MO): make an aggressive move and beg for forgiveness later. They’ve been pulling this for too long. That’s why A-List bloggers (if there is really such a category) like Peter Rojas have bailed. Just deactivated my Facebook account.
9:57 AM May 6th via TweetDeck
Ooozes coolness right? Is it time to rise up and take Facebook down a few notches? We helped build it, it stands to reason we should be able to knock it down again. Solidarity! Can we? Today you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting something referring to Facebook. Radio ads, press releases, TV commercials, newspapers, likes, dislikes, friends, stupid Farming, they all are tightly related to Facebook. My family, my fav brands, even kids sports teams are all on Facebook. Can we really extract ourselves that easily? Then there are kooks (used lovingly) like Robert Scoble, who says “If I don't want you to read something I don't put it on a computer. Period.” He wants even less privacy than is currently afforded by Facebook. “Here's the deal: I wish Facebook had NO PRIVACY AT ALL! That's called the open web. I wish Google could index every word I write on Facebook. Hint, it can't.” He makes a very valid point: if what you have is so private, perhaps the computer isn’t the place for it? Perhaps the hipster bail is nothing more than the typical (and quite predictable) cycle of early adopters bailing once it becomes mainstream. Is this really about privacy? Is it about who owns the data? Or is it just about the “cool kids” moving on to New Coke? Read: [All Facebook] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Computers, Netbooks The FCC has recently offered up some details on two new Sony netbooks. The models are the PCG-51311L and the PCG-51411L and they are both highlighting build-in 3G support. Or more accurately, they are touting support for CDMA/EVDO 850/1900 connectivity. Of course, there is also the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth thrown in for good measure. Nothing official from Sony as of yet, which means these may or may not be fitting in with the current VAIO lineup. That said, Wireless Goodness did point out that these two models were shown by the FCC listing as using a VGP-AC19V39 power adapter, which ” is the same adapter used by Vaio W Series netbooks”. So maybe we will see two new additions land in the Sony VAIO W netbook lineup. Read [wireless goodness] Via [Liliputing] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Computers, Mobile Computers, Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Transportation 
Get it, auto-tweeting? That’s right, Ford’s created a Fiesta that will tweet it’s mood, location and other car info as it journeys from Michigan to California. The trip, sponsored by Ford and University of Michigan, kicked off yesterday and includes winners of an application contest that will be used in the car during the trip. I think it is safe to say, Ford has become web-hip. How web-hip? The cars will automatically check in to Foursquare based on location. An app called Virtual Road Rally allows users to map out fun drives, points of interest and local favorites that can be shared with others. And the winning app from the students? That’s Caravan Track, an app that keeps track of cars traveling together, something I think many drivers would find helpful. How is Ford creating a personality for the car? Using car telemetry, Engineers set parameters to define emotion. For example, input from the power train sensors, suspension, steering input, indicate the car is being driven in a fun way, the car can tweet or blog about the fun it is having. The vehicle can even take a photo and post it, rejoicing in the revelry. Or data like zero mph, wipers on, heat on might suggest it is a downer of a day and relay that information to the drivers social circle. As ever, Ford is injecting emotion in cars traditionally designed to elicit emotion from it’s users. “The car is the ultimate mobile device,” claims Venkatesh Prasad, group and technical leader of the Infotronics team in Ford Research & Advanced Engineering. “Ford has led the convergence of the auto and consumer electronics industries, and now we’re researching how to responsibly and safely harness the Internet to enhance drivers’ time behind the wheel.”
It is clear Ford is pioneering how the Internet and American’s love for the road can live together harmoniously. There is plenty the Internet can bring to our cars, but how much is enough? How much is too much? How much is dangerous? Ford continues to walk further down this path hoping we’ll follow. Read: [AmericanJourney 2] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Computers, Netbooks Back in December of 2009 we saw a company called CherryPal unveil a $99 netbook, and more recently they have updated that netbook. The update—they added Android. Or more accurately, the removed the previous OS, which was either Linux or Windows CE and added in a build of Android. Sadly the hardware specs have remained the same. But on the positive side, the pricing has also remained the same at $99. Feature wise, the $99 CherryPal netbook has a 7-inch 800 x 480 display, 533Mhz processor, 256MB RAM, 2GB of storage and three USB 2.0 ports. As far as the version of Android, that is 1.6. Additionally, CherryPal also took this time in the spotlight to share their plans of bringing another netbook to market—this one with a much more useable 10 inch display. No word on when that will come available, however it was noted as also adding in a 1.3 megapixel webcam and coming with a price tag of $148. Read [rushpr News] Via [Android Community] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Sprint has finally given the EVO 4G, the Android phone we’ve been waiting for, a release date and price. The phone will be out on June 4, for $299 after a $100 mail-in rebate. The phone will use Sprint’s Every Data plans with an added $10 for Premium Data which will provide “a richer data experience than ever before.”
The announcement also comes with details saying that the EVO 4G will, in fact, be able to use voice and data at the same time thanks to the dual 3G and 4G connections. Other details are about as we heard when the phone was first announced. Sprint is preloading Qik onto the EVO 4G to show off the screen, cameras and network capabilities with two-way video chat. It is also touting the built in hotspot functionality which will allow for up to 8 devices to connect to the EVO 4G via WiFi. The mobile hotspot will add $29.99 per month to the bill. The minimum plan with 4G/3G hotspot sharing will come to just about $110. Of course, we don’t know all there is to know about the EVO 4G yet, like how well the battery and the OS perform in day-to-day use. Hopefully they can both live up to the specs and everything else about the phone. The other problems include the fact that it is launching just days before Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference, which is usually where Apple announces and dates the new iPhone. If what we’ve seen and heard about the new iPhone is true, the EVO 4G might look like old news before it even gets much of a chance to sell, with 4G being the only thing it will have better (in terms of specs only). There’s also that looming Froyo update which may be coming soon, and there’d be no telling when the EVO 4G will get that particular upgrade given the track record of current Android phones. Read [Sprint] Read [Sprint] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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