Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones 
The last rumor we heard about the Epic 4G was that it is going to launch tomorrow, August 11. Since it is already the tenth and Sprint still hasn’t announced the official pricing or availability, I doubt the phone is going to launch tomorrow. So let’s keep the rumor mill going and check out the latest launch rumor coming from the Android Central Forum where user powrman811 says it will launch August 21. Straight from the man himself: What I am saying is that MY GO TO SPRINT PEOPLE told me that I can order my store inventory on August 16th and sell on the 21st. MY PEOPLE also told me to that they are expecting Sprint to announce it today.
If you check out the image above, it looks like powrman811 is already sporting a brand new Epic 4G to play around with. On the phone itself, he offers: I was surprised how thin the phone is… it is actually thinner than my EVO when it has the Seidio case on it.
Will Sprint announce the Epic 4G today (the same day Verizon announced the Motorola Droid 2)? Will the Epic 4G launch August 21? Only time will tell. Read [Android Central Forum] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones 
Yesterday, RIM officially announced the BlackBerry Curve 3G and that carriers would begin to sell the latest BlackBerry shortly. Also yesterday, Julie Smithers from Bell tweeted that Bell would begin to sell the BlackBerry Curve 3G Thursday, August 12. According to leaked pricing figures, the device will be available for $49.95 on a three year contract, $199.95 on a two year contract, $299.95 on a one year contract, and $349.95 off contract. For BlackBerry enthusiasts in Canada, the rumored pricing seems pretty affordable and fair. We’ll have to wait until August 12 to see how accurate these prices are. Read [Twitter] Via [MobileSyrup] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones Just yesterday, an image of a demo Motorola Charm unit surfaced with a price tag of $189 on a two year contract and $309 off contract. To most people, the on contract price sounded a little too high, considering the Charm’s mid-range specs and the fact that top notch Android devices usually retail for $10 more on contract. Today, another image has surfaced in which the demo unit shows a price of $114.99 on contract and $309 off contract. I don’t know about you, but both contract prices sound a little off, but the lower one sounds a little more plausible. In addition, the “Midlevel T-Mobile source” says the Charm will launch on August 24 or August 25, which does line up with the latest availability rumor. Hopefully T-Mobile offers the actual price soon, so we can put these rumors to rest. Via [TheDroidGuy] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Computers, Wireless 
Sam’s Club is one of the more popular warehouse stores around America and it looks like the giant company is going to offer in-store WiFi access to all its customers. In an effort to showcase WiFi enabled TVs, Sam’s Club hopes its customers will utilize the Internet functions on the TV with the in-store WiFi. Expect new 3D TVs to be on demonstration in the coming weeks across all stores as well. Sam’s Club is encouraging prospective TV customers to use Pandora, Facebook, and other web apps on the TV. In addition, the WiFi will allow customers to compare prices, and since Sam’s Club prides itself on low prices, it feels the price comparison will sway in its favor. Starting in November, the in-store WiFi will be rolled out to its 500 stores across the United States. Sam’s Club plans to train its Tech Experts in order to provide 24/7 complimentary service to its customers. Lastly, in September, Sam’s Club will launch an app for each major mobile OS: Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone. The Sam’s Club app would allow users to read up on product reviews, search for products in the store, and receive exclusive member discounts. Via [CNet] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones Just two days before the launch of the Motorola Droid 2, Verizon Wireless issued a press release confirming the device and its rumored specs. First things first, the device will be available for pre-order starting tomorrow, and will officially be available for purchase starting August 12. In terms of pricing, the phone will be available for $199 after a $100 MIR. Just as most rumors indicated, the Droid 2 will launch with Android 2.2 and Adobe Flash 10.1 onboard. Verizon wanted to continue the legacy of the original Droid, which was the main motivation behind Motorola revamping the original Droid in terms of hardware and software. In case you prefer to use a virtual to physical keyboard, you’ll be pleased to know the Droid 2 comes pre-loaded with Swype. Additionally, it looks like the R2-D2 Star Wars special edition Droid 2 also came to fruition. In September, Verizon Wireless will launch a limited edition online-only version of the Droid 2. The phone will be designed differently to replicate the Droid from the film series. I’m sure the special edition smartphone will be a hit for all Star Wars junkies. Via [Verizon Motorola Droid 2 Press Release] Full Press Release below: BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and LIBERTYVILLE, IL — Verizon Wireless, the company with the nation's largest and most reliable wireless 3G network, and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a pioneer in the mobile industry, today announced that DROID™ 2 by Motorola will be available for pre-sale on August 11. Hitting all the right keys, DROID 2 is a feature-packed device that helps manage work and social life with an enhanced QWERTY keyboard, ultra high-speed Web browsing, 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities, full push corporate e-mail, intuitive social messaging and Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 for access to the full web – all built on Android 2.2. "When we announced DROID X last month, we reaffirmed our commitment to continue to bring unique Android experiences to the Verizon Wireless network," said Jeffrey Dietel, vice president – wireless device, marketing and development for Verizon Wireless. "The DROID by Motorola was our first Android device, so it is important for us to include the successor to that phone in our portfolio. DROID 2 is not only a continuation of our commitment to Android but offers customers the features and form-factor they crave on the Verizon Wireless network." "With the new DROID 2, we've taken a big leap forward from the original DROID," said Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home Business. "We listened to consumers and are providing an even more robust experience built on Android 2.2 that includes a new keyboard, increased processing power, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities to send, access and share information even quicker than before." DROID 2's super-slim design helps customers e-mail, text and tweet with ease. DROID 2 offers a redesigned symmetrical keyboard with raised keys for more responsive typing to push out notes and status updates. Speech-to-text input and the virtual multi-touch keyboard allow for quick messaging; or customers can also use Swype for even easier text input. In addition, full push corporate e-mail delivers enhanced features such as remote wipe and password enforcement so that information remains secure. DROID 2 packs power and speed. Customers can enjoy the freedom of wireless with the 3G Mobile HotSpot and the ability to connect up to five compatible Wi-Fi® devices, and watch content on the full multi-touch 3.7-inch brilliant display, or share content captured on the 5-megapixel camera with enhanced functionality and DVD-quality video capture with DLNA connectivity to share on compatible devices. Customers can also download favorite apps from Android Market™, which has more than 70,000 applications, and store them on 8 GB of preloaded on-board memory and the 8 GB microSD™ card, which can be upgraded to a 32 GB SD card for a total cargo capacity of 40 GB. Popular apps available on DROID 2 include NFL Mobile (downloadable), Skype mobile(™) and BLOCKBUSTER On Demand® presented by V CAST Video. Customers can even manage their wireless accounts or their contacts from their phones with My Verizon and with Backup Assistant(SM). "It's great to see amazing new smartphones like the DROID 2 come pre-installed with Flash Player 10.1," said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Creative and Interactive Solution Business Unit at Adobe. "With the completely redesigned and hardware accelerated Flash Player 10.1, DROID 2 users will be able to experience the full Web on the go." Adobe Flash Player 10.1 lets mobile users experience millions of websites the way they were meant to be seen – with rich Internet applications (RIAs), content inside the browser, including games, animations, data presentations and visualizations, e-commerce, music, video, audio and more. R2-D2 DROID 2
In honor of the iconic Astromech Droid from the Star Wars™ Saga, Verizon Wireless will offer a limited-edition R2-D2 version of the DROID 2, available only online in September. The special version of the phone will feature exclusive Star Wars content and external hardware designed to look like the trusty Droid from the film saga. Visitors to the upcoming Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, Fla., can see a preview of the limited edition phone and sign up to receive alerts when the phone is ready for sale. Pricing and Availability
DROID 2 by Motorola will be available at www.verizonwireless.com on August 11, and it will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning August 12 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. In addition to subscribing to a Nationwide Talk plan or a Nationwide Talk & Text plan, customers will also need to subscribe to an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access. Email and Web for Smartphone plans start at $29.99 for unlimited monthly access. Customers can add the optional 3G Mobile HotSpot service to their DROID 2 smartphones for $20 per month. The 3G Mobile HotSpot allows customers to turn their phones into a wireless modem for up to five compatible Wi-Fi® devices. In addition, current Verizon Wireless customers who have contracts ending by December 31, 2010, can upgrade to any smartphone, including DROID 2, without penalty. For more information on DROID 2 by Motorola, go to www.droiddoes.com. For information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Video, Video Providers 
The Netflix instant streaming experience received a major boost through the just announced deal reached between Netflix and EPIX. The “multi-year deal” will enable Netflix customers to instantly stream titles in the EPIX library, granting subscribers access to movies from Lionsgate, MGM, and Paramount.
EPIX will permit Netflix to stream movies 90 days after they debut through television on-demand options. That will still leave Netflix behind the curve of physical DVD purchases and rentals, but it will open the service up to a large library of content that members can stream to compatible devices. The Netflix/EPIX partnership will spell out more viewing choices as early as next month. September 1, 2010 will be the day when the deal goes into effect and Netflix can begin streaming eligible films from the EPIX catalogue. Read [Marketwatch] Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Features  Facebook is ripe with scams and spams these days. Ever since Facebook opened up it’s “Like” feature things really exploded. It’s not surprising. Cybercriminals go where the audiences go. They started with “Make Money Now!” chain letter scams on USENET back in the day, moved on to crude phishing scams on AOL and then to our inboxes. Now, with over 500 million people using Facebook, they’ve followed us there too, and they are everywhere. Even if you don’t realize it. you’ve seen their scams in your newsfeed everyday. Here are some examples:
“OMG! The Shocking Hidden Message in Google’s Logo They DON’T Want You To See!”
“OMG! A Mom Went to Jail For Taking This Picture!”
“I am shocked!!! I'm NEVER texting AGAIN since I found this out.”
“Teacher Nearly Killed This Boy! Shocking video!”
“I am part of the 98.0% of people that are NEVER gonna drink Coca Cola again after this HORRIFIC video!”
“OMG the worlds worst mcdonalds customer (shocking video must see)”
“OMG!! McDonald’s might soon shut down because of this! Warning: Your jaw will drop to the floor!”
“If you can read this, click like” (usually shown upside down or as a mirror image
“Click like to get a free Subway (or Starbucks) gift card!”
“Hey (insert your name here) *url deleted* is this right?? I scored 102! Try it plz, plz I wanna know what you get!!”
“Hey! You have got to see yourself as a cartoon character! Check it out and get back to me! *url deleted* These scams are vary from simple “like spam” to outright phishing. Lets take a look at them in more detail starting with like spam. These show up in your newsfeed from friends, showing they’ve liked everything from the above mentioned “If you can read this, click like” to “I may look calm but I want to punch your lights out” and more. They invite you to click on them too. When you do, one of several things may happen. You’ll usually find yourself on a page full of ads and invites to take quizzes and play games. Click on an interesting looking quiz or game and you’ll just get sent to more and more pages of ads. Scammers use fake likes to lure people to these pages because they get paid for every view and click. It’s there way of manipulating the ad revenue system in the program they are in to make as much money as they can, and sadly it works a lot of the time. Why? When you clicked like the fake like link shows up in your newsfeed for all your friends to see. Since they trust you they’re likely to click on it too. The link then goes to their friends, and so on. The wave of “OMG Shocking!” videos is more dangerous. Click on them and you’ll be taken to a site that sometimes asks you log in with your Facebook account and almost always asks you to take a survey before you can see the video. If you do, then you’re asked to take another and another until you’ve unwittingly handed over a lot of your personal information. Some of them, like the McDonalds one, install a rogue Facebook app that does nothing but send spam to all your friends. This is usually weight loss spam involving Acai Berry and sometimes colon cleansing (which itself is a scam, but I digress). It will also post the same fake video link on your newsfeed so that your friends can fall for it, install the app and get their friends list spammed too. The final scams on the list are pretty creepy. They show up as a chat window pop up that looks like its from one of your friends asking you to check out an IQ test site or a site that lets you make yourself into a cartoon character. The IQ one is a variation of the old IQ Test scam that was on Facebook forever. You take the test and at the end are told to enter your cell phone number so your results can be texted to you. When you do you get signed up for a premium texting service for a whopping $20 a month. The chat version appears to at least warn you of the cost before you sign up but the creepy part is the automated chats it sends to your friends. It apparently installs an rogue app that lets it do this when you click the link to check out the test. The cartoon one works much the same way although to be fair there does appear to be a legit cartoon character app on Facebook as well. If you recognize any of these scams as ones you’ve clicked on, or you’ve got a bunch of pissed off friends who want to know why you posted spam to their wall, here’s what to do. First, change your Facebook password right away. Second, click on Account in the upper right hand corner of the screen, then on the dropdown menu pick Application Settings and delete any apps that you’re not familiar with. If you haven’t fallen for any of these scams yet, congratulations! To continue staying safe, be cautious about what you click “like” on and about what apps you install. If you see any of the things on the scam list in your newsfeed, alert the friend who appears to have posted it. If you see a weird link from a friend in your newsfeed, ask them about it before you click. To their credit, Facebook is shutting down these apps and killing the links as they find out about them but the scammers are just as quick to replace them with new ones. It’s important to be careful and think before you click! Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking 
TweetDeck fans listen up. Well, those of you who are using an Android smartphone anyway. The official TweetDeck Blog has announced that their Android app is “nearing completion” and they are going to be opening it up this week. The catch here is that it will not be the final version, but instead this will be a public beta that will allow “for some serious device testing.” So whether you just want TweetDeck on your Android smartphone and cannot deal with your current Twitter app any longer, or you actually want to help them test the app, you should be able to have TweetDeck on your device soon enough. As far as the app itself, it appears as this is a complete re-build. First off, we’ve built Android TweetDeck from the ground up to be true multi-stream, laser focused on showing you all your friends’ cross-service activity in one app. Multi-column is still the order of the day but now columns are blended based on the type of activity rather than the service. And all this whilst retaining the most powerful functionality from each included service. We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time making the app silky smooth from the column scrolling to the custom views - so much so that one of Google’s Android Developer Advocates recently described it as “a thing of beauty”. So look out for the beta test later this week and please do get involved.
Read [TweetDeck Blog] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Transportation  Google has a good thing going with Android in that they have lots of available apps of their own, one of which includes a fairly nice GPS app with turn-by-turn directions. And perhaps the nicest part here is the app is free. Of course, that is not to say it is perfect. In fact, there is one item that could cause some issue—the maps are not automatically downloaded and stored on your phone. Thankfully that is where some of the paid GPS apps in the Market come into play, one of which is called CoPilot Live—they store the maps on your phone. The catch here is that you need to have a 2GB (or larger) microSD card in your phone, but otherwise, you can travel and navigate without having to worry about hitting a deadspot and losing your way. That said, you can now (for the month of August) do so for a little less. ALK Technologies is currently offering the North American version of CoPilot Live for $19.99, which is a nice discount over the regular price of $29.99. Via [Android Tapp] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks  Investors say that Amazon is the most logical choice to buy Barnes & Noble should the bookseller put themselves up for sales as they’ve been hinting they might. The two companies have been locked in a digital battle between their competing e-readers, the Kindle and the Nook. When Barnes & Noble announced they were cutting the price of the Nook from $269 to $199 in June, Amazon responded by slashing the price of the Kindle to $189 and then a month later announcing the release of the next generation of the devices which includes a $139 WiFi only version, making it the lowest priced e-reader among the major brands.
Amazon has been mum on whether it’s actually interested in buying Barnes & Noble but the thought of being able to wipe out their biggest competitor must be mighty tempting! Read [The Street] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones  Security experts have issued a warning to BlackBerry users in the UAE. Since Etisalat, the main mobile provider in the UAE was ordered to shut down all BlackBerry services until RIM agrees with the government’s demands to give them access to all user data, they have decided to offer all BlackBerry users a free replacement smartphone. Experts say customers should treat the replacements with caution and do a full wipe before using. They have reason to be wary. Last year Etisalat pushed a “software upgrade” to customers which turned out to be a nasty piece of spyware. It forward all of the users emails to a central server. The poorly written app was busted because it was killing users battery life in as little as 30 minutes.
Read [PCWorld] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Communications, Cellphones, Mobile  HP may have purchased Palm for its best asset, the WebOS operating system, but the company isn’t doing much to stem the departure of people involved in its creation. Palm has lost several high profile members this year, including the lead of the user interface design team, the man responsible for its webOS notification system, and the VP of software. Now its VP of Design is joining the conga line out the door.
TechCrunch reportsthat Peter Skillman, VP of Design prior to HP’s purchase of Palm last month, is leaving the company, though there’s no word on where his next job will be. Skillman was heavily involved with the design of the Palm Pre, a device that was critically praised but not commercially viable enough to make Palm rebound the way it had hoped. In the run up to and since HP purchased Palm for $1 billion, HP hasn’t managed to make much of Palm’s key team members stick around. Then again, there’s no guarantee if the company wants them to. Is this a wise strategy? Say what you will about the Pre’s struggles to compete in the mobile phone market, webOS was definitely not the issue. As HP prepares to strengthen the operating system and extend its capabilities on tablets, you’d think that the company would keep a few folks around to ease the transition. Maybe HP’s focus has been pulled to other, shall we say,more pressing matters? Read [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Desktops, Hardware It’s about time they started firing back. I can’t imagine that there were too many of you out that weren’t getting sick of those stupid Mac vs PC ads with Justin Long. And seriously, if those commercials actually swayed your purchasing decision between a Mac and a PC, you might as well let a political ad choose who you vote for. Had Microsoft been a tad bit more daring from the get-go and actually fought fire with fire, the Mac vs PC ads might not have had a profound impact upon the minds of consumers. Over at Microsoft, you can find a list of qualities that PC’s retain that the world of Mac does not offer. I’m not trying to start a flame war or anything, but reading through their points makes me wonder why anyone would seriously want to purchase a Mac. For example: with $1,200, you can purchase an iMac with an i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD. I custom built my own computer for $1,100 with an i7 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. ... Before I get really carried away, here is a little snippet of what MS has listed in their anti-Mac section: Loaded with features. You can’t get a Mac with a Blu-ray player, TV tuner, Memory Stick reader, or built-in 3G wireless. PCs running Windows 7 often come with features that aren’t available on even the highest end Macs, including Blu-ray, eSATA, multi-format card readers, Touch, and mobile broadband.
Available in your favorite color. Macs only come in white or silver. PCs are available in a full spectrum of colors across a range of price points.
More digital media. With PCs running Windows 7, you can play the videos and music stored on your home PC while you’re on the go, for free. Apple charges $99/year for its online service.
What’s left to argue? The most widely used counter-argument I receive from Mac users is that their computers are better for “art” and “videos” and I’m sure you’ve heard that one too. What really matters is what kind of horsepower you’re packing under that hood kiddies. According to the specs, my computer would blow away any of the iMac models currently available for a hell of a lot cheaper. Read [Microsoft] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Computers Lawrence J. Ellison, CEO of Oracle and close friend of Mark Hurd, recently emailed his opinion on the HP situation to the New York Times in which he condemned the forced resignation of the long-time HP CEO. Despite the accusations of sexual harassment of a female contractor being false, Hurd was found guilty of tampering with expense accounts - which ultimately lead to his forced resignation. The interesting part of this saga is the fact that Hurd was a successful CEO for HP, an internationally renowned company known for its manufacturing of computer parts. Here is what Ellison’s email to the NYT stated: The H.P. board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago…that decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn’t come back and saved them.
In losing Mark Hurd, the H.P. board failed to act in the best interest of H.P.‘s employees, shareholders, customers and partners…The H.P. board admits that it fully investigated the sexual harassment claims against Mark and found them to be utterly false.
In some sense I can understand why the HP Board acted the way it did, but the argument can certainly be made for Mark Hurd to remain CEO of HP. Read [NYT] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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