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Perrelet Turbine XL Watch Review

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:53 AM PST

If it is fun and you play with, then it is a toy right? call the novel spinning turbine style disc in this watch what you like - but this is a man's toy of the highest caliber. Does being akin to a toy degrade the feeling of luxury and high-end prestige that Perrelet is going for? No. At least I don't think so. Wealthy guys who stand around with nice watches talking about cars and boats are often looked at by their female companions who simply sigh and say "men and their toys." Most of the high-end stuff we like are actually toys. You know that ultra fast super car you've been eying since before you can drive? The one that goes a lot faster than you can ever legally or practically go? Everything about that car that is above and beyond getting from point A to point B in comfort, is a toy.


Video: Mobile, Post-Apocalypse Mini Robot House EDV-01

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:20 AM PST


If you’re scared of being homeless and cut off after an apocalypse, major Japanese home builder Daiwa House has a solution for you: the EDV-01 (Emergency Disaster Vehicle) [JP], a robotic mobile mini house designed help people after disaster strikes.

Daiwa says that it just needs the push of a button to set up the house. According to the company, the EDV-01 is in standby mode after 4 minutes. Each unit is sized at 6058mm×H2591mm×D2438mm and weighs 10 tons.

The house has two floors and offers a restroom, a small kitchen, beds, a shower, a fridge, LED lights and satellite-powered data transfer so you can keep on using your cell phone and PC in a serious emergency situation.

As you could expect, solar panels are placed on the roof, and those panels (plus a battery and a fuel cell) provide enough energy for about a month.

The video embedded below is in Japanese but has an (intentionally) cheesy and over-the-top introduction sequence in English – worth watching.

Via Wired Italy [IT]

This 15.6-inch LCD Display Is Powered By USB Alone

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:03 AM PST

If you currently look for a large sub display for your computer, Japanese accessory maker Green House has a pretty interesting solution in its pipeline: the GH-USD16K [JP] is a 15.6-inch LCD screen that boasts a power consumption of just 5W and requires only a USB 2.0 connection to work.

Spec-wise, you can expect 1,366 x 768 resolution, 400:1 contrast ratio, and 220cd/m2 brightness. The display is sized at 377.7×141.8×287.8mm and weighs 1.2kg. If you want to go wild, you can connect up to six of the devices to a single machine.

Green House will be selling the GH-USD16K on its Japanese website by the end of this month (price: $215).

Daily Crunch: Mammoth Hunter Edition

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

Get Ready To Tap That App With T-Pain’s New App, Booty Symphony

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 09:01 PM PST

I don’t usually use PR lines in headlines, but “Get ready to tap that app,” only seemed fitting. What we got here is a new Android app from T-Pain’s label, Nappy Boy Entertainment, called Booty Symphony. What is it? Why would anyone want it? Well, it’s kind of a music video creation / soundboard thingamajig. Does that answer it?

Capitalizing on our love for heinys, T-Pain, the software developer, helps us get our fix with the new app. You see, you just slap some booties, and in what ever order you do it, it creates a 30-second clip. Then, you show all your home boys and girls your masterful creation; its got YouTube, Facebook, Twatter and Email sharing capabilities. Just don’t accidentally send it to Susan B.

Contest

Oh and BTW, the first person to auto-tune the T-Pain interview with Greg, will win cans of the very rare energy drink, Booty Sweat. Email it, or a link to here.

Here is a video made by the app.

Product Site

Press Release

GET READY TO TAP THAT APP WITH

NAPPY BOY ENTERTAINMENT'S NEW ANDROID APP – BOOTY SYMPHONY

Available Free Exclusively on GetJar,

App Allows Users to Create, Share and Remix Music Videos by Orchestrating Booties

Nappy Boy To Deliver The Last 1,000 Cans of "Booty Sweat" Energy Drink on Earth to

Whoever's Booty Symphony Video Gets The Most Views

New York, NY (January 13, 2011) – Tapping that app has never felt this good.  Introducing Booty Symphony, the new app powered by T-Pain's label Nappy Boy Entertainment.  The app lets users conduct 30-second music videos from "Booty Soundboards" based on songs from the Nappy Boy catalogue including Tay Dizm's "Point Em Out" and Young Cash's "I'm a Freak" and "I Support Single Mothers."  Every time you tap a booty, a new sound and rump-shaking visual is added to the mix.   And just in case you want additional "assets", Booty Symphony lets users upload their own juicy videos to the soundboard.

Since it takes a lot of energy to shake all these booties, Nappy Boy will reward the most popular Booty Symphony video with the ultimate prize – 1,000 cans of "Booty Sweat" energy drink. Making the pot even sweeter is the fact that these 1,000 cans are some of the last "Booty Sweat" energy drinks slated for production, ever!   Turn Earth's loss into your gain by following the contest details located at http://bootysymphony.com.

"Smartphones have given people an incredible amount of computing power, but until now, this power has been wasted," says creator and choreographer of Booty Symphony, Sakinah LeStage. "America is thirsty for an app that finally does something useful.   If Booty Symphony doesn't satiate that thirst, 1,000 cans of Booty Sweat sure will." An Atlanta native, LeStage has collaborated with T-Pain and Nappy Boy Entertainment since 2005 as a choreographer and creative director. Through their shared appreciation of music and dance, Booty Symphony was born.

Only the world's largest open app store could "back that app up", which is why the free version is available exclusively at GetJar.  For the free Android version, give GetJar a spank at http://getjar.com/Booty-Symphony. The premium version is available on the Android Market for $2.99. To get more information on the app, hit up www.bootysymphony.com.

# # #

About Nappy Boy Digital / Entertainment / Publishing
Nappy Boy Digital is the first digital-only label launched by mega-platinum-selling, multi-Grammy winning artist and producer T-Pain. The label's artist roster includes Tay Dizm and Young Cash. T-Pain also founded Nappy Boy Entertainment, a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records. Nappy Boy Entertainment recently released the debut solo album from Travie McCoy, whose single “Billionaire” hit No. 1 and has sold over 2.6 million copies to date. T-Pain also recently launched Nappy Boy Publishing, which currently publishes Tha Bizness (who produced Young Money's "Every Girl In The World" and Chris Brown's current single, "No BS," currently Top 20 on the Urban Chart and climbing quickly), David Balfour (who wrote on T-Pain's "Can't Believe It" and "Chopped And Skrewed") and Young Fyre (who produced T-Pain's "Rap Song" featuring Rick Ross).

About GetJar

GetJar is the world's largest open app store with over 1 billion downloads to date. The company's key point of difference is its open market approach, which allows it to deliver applications for both feature phones and smartphones across all major platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, iPhone and Symbian among others. The company provides more than 75,000 mobile applications to consumers in more than 200 countries. GetJar has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer for 2011 for its innovative approach to technology and its deep impact on business and society on a global scale.  GetJar is backed by Accel Partners and is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in the UK and Lithuania. For more information: www.getjar.com and follow us on Twitter @getjar.

Netflix Removes A Single Feature, Instantly Pisses Off Customers

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 04:09 PM PST

Today, Netflix posted on their blog that the “Add to DVD Queue” will be removed from streaming devices. It makes sense, right? If you can watch the content on a streaming device, then what’s the point of adding it to a DVD queue? Well, that just doesn’t sit right for some of Netflix’s customers. And some of their reasoning just doesn’t make sense.

One commenter says,

“You’re just killing off DVD subscriptions one step at a time. First the price hike, Blu-Ray surcharge, and now this. When optical media goes, so do I.”

I think someone may be on to Netflix’s ultimate plans of getting rid of optical media. Many people are already using the Streaming-only option and ditching disc entirely. So it makes sense for Netflix to follow the trend with their customers, keeping up with physical media is expensive, and we already know how some of their competition is faring. As long as Netflix keeps striking up content delivery deals, we’ll all be happy.

Another commenter writes,

“This is a bad idea. If I search for a movie and it’s not available to watch instantly I do not want to have to get up and log into my computer to add it to my queue, if I’m even at home. Why not just add it from there?”

Here we have another great point. Why should anyone have to get off the couch that has been sat in comfortably for hours? Hopefully, there is a point. The director of product management, Jamie Odell, says,

“We're doing this so we can concentrate on offering you the titles that are available to watch instantly. Further, providing the option to add a DVD to your Queue from a streaming device complicates the instant watching experience and ties up resources that are better used to improve the overall streaming functionality.”

What we hope this means, is that all of their content is coming to watch instantly; because we agree, the precious time we have when browsing through titles should go towards getting the content, whether by physical media or watch it now. While it is inevitable for a digital-only Netflix, they must be careful to not upset their core customers — the ones that have been in it since the beginning.

Metroid On 3DS? TV Presenter May Have Spilled Beans

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 03:30 PM PST

I don’t think any of us is surprised to hear that Metroid will be making its way to Nintendo’s new platform, but it’s good to know that it could be a launch title. Wednesday will be a big reveal for the system, showing off a number of games and so on. And when someone tweeted that they they were hoping for Metroid to make a showing, the show’s host, Jonathan Ross, responded “I think you’re going to be pleased then…”

That sounds like confirmation to me. Unfortunately, that’s all she wrote. We’ll know more soon.

iPad 2 Rumor Roundup

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 02:55 PM PST

The next version of the iPad is, if timing and supply line rumors are to be believed, just around the corner. Although unexpected delays may follow in the wake of Jobs’ medical leave, the design must be finalized, and the factories in China are at this moment preparing to pump out five or six million of these things over the next few months.

There have been a few purported leaks, but Apple security has been competent this time around and the actual feature set of the new iPad is still somewhat of a mystery. That said, there are a number of rumors that have gained traction (or failed to), and here we attempt to bring them all together for your convenience, along with arguments for and against.

More compact form factor

Argument:

  • Case makers have received measurements differing from current iPad by small, but noticeable amounts, mainly in depth
  • Nearly every Apple product gets thinner generation by generation
  • iPhone 5 rumored to be getting full redesign; iPad presaged iPhone 4 design and would likely do so for iPhone 5

Objection:

  • Old cases won’t fit

Judgment: A thinner, perhaps more easily gripped form factor is almost guaranteed. Apple doesn’t want the old cases to fit.

New size and/or aspect ratio

Argument:

  • Many media-centric tablets are adopting a widescreen format
  • A 7″ iPad would be more portable, have a sharper screen, and be more conducive to video calling
  • Most other Apple products come in small, medium, and large sizes

Objection:

  • Steve himself ridiculed 7″ tablets as “tweeners”
  • Too many iPad applications are already formatted for 4:3
  • The hardware metaphor for the iPad isn’t a “tiny computer screen” but a “magical notepad,” and the 4:3 size more closely resembles that metaphor
  • No other iOS devices come in multiple aspect ratios or sizes

Judgment: Extremely unlikely. Apple will keep their product simple and familiar while the rest of the industry experiments with relatively unproven sizes and form factors.

SD card slot

Argument:

  • Mockups show a mysterious port that is SD-card sized
  • Major customer demand
  • New market for white, Apple-branded SD media

Objection:

  • No other iOS device has an SD slot
  • SD would interrupt storage-based price tiering on the device (why pay for SSD?)
  • Opening door to upgrading to SDXC would exacerbate the previous poiint
  • Disruptive to Apple’s PC-centric hub system of managing media (iTunes, iPhoto)
  • Arbitrary limitations to SD card capabilities may baffle users

Judgment: I personally have a lot of trouble believing Apple would do something so calculated to disrupt their device ecosystem, but Engadget says their source is “near certain,” so maybe old dog Apple can learn new tricks.

New multi-core “A5″ processor based on Cortex A9

Argument:

  • iPhone 5 and other new Apple mobile devices moving to this new chipset
  • Move from Infineon to Qualcomm
  • Unification of CDMA and GSM signal operation
  • Necessary to support new graphics and on-device media management (following from SD card)
  • Year-over year improvements to iOS devices have always improved CPU
  • New graphics core known, CPU and chipset will upgrade with

Objection:

  • None, sounds pretty solid

Judgment: Almost guaranteed.

Dual cameras with flash

Argument:

  • Code shipped with original iPad suggests camera was close to being integrated even then
  • Newer code refers to flash and front and rear cameras
  • Case mockups already show holes for cameras
  • Apple wants to integrate Facetime with their entire lineup from iPod touch up to Mac Pros

Objection:

  • Who wants to take a picture with their iPad?

Judgment: Very likely.

Very high-resolution display (2048×1536)

Argument:

  • Leaked developer assets suggest a second resolution increase like that from the iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4
  • Apple has successfully kept a similarly high-profile display technology under wraps for a year or more with the original retina display for iPhone 4
  • It’s the logical next step for iPad resolution
  • 2x stretching wouldn’t be very destructive at such a high resolution
  • Hypothetically a major selling point against competing tablets, none of which are even close to this resolution

Objection:

  • Some say this quality of display simply doesn’t exist yet
  • There’s no content built to fit such a resolution; even 1080p content would be “windowed”
  • Significant increases in RAM or GPU power would be required to drive display
  • Could be extremely costly

Judgment: Likely. I think they’re going to go for it. The objections are easily surmountable and if Apple is pushing media and photography, a high-quality screen like this will be a key advantage.

Marginally increased resolution (1280×960)

Argument:

  • Would enable 720p content to be played back at native resolution
  • Much more in line with existing display tech

Objection:

  • Resizing 1024×768 assets to this resolution would be awkward
  • Not much of a functional advantage other than the movie playback, and the iPad is already only a marginal movie machine due to its 4:3 form factor

Judgment: Very unlikely; I just don’t see this “evolutionary” step happening. Either Apple will stay with 1024×768 or they’ll quadruple the pixel count, but anything in between would be seen as a pointless compromise.

Secondary port on side

Argument:

  • Side port allows for docking while in landscape mode
  • Able to use accessories while charging

Objection:

  • Apple would never, ever do this
  • Give me a break

Judgment: No chance. Superfluous design elements are anathema to Apple.

Improved speakers

Argument:

  • The iPad speaker is just awful
  • Improving it is cheap and a no-brainer

Objection:

  • There’s very little space for speakers in there
  • You’re supposed to use headphones anyway

Judgment: Almost certain. That tinny speaker is one of the iPad’s most easily-mockable weak points.

iLife for iPad

Argument:

  • Improved processor, storage, and so on make real iPad iLife no longer an impossibility
  • New iLife and Lion-based apps have fullscreen interfaces that could more easily be transferred to iPad (or be indirectly controlled by one)

Objection:

  • iLife apps, like many mouse-and-keyboard apps, simply aren’t built for tablets
  • Potential fragmentation of the iLife platform, backup complications, and so on
  • Storage issues (potentially mitigated by SD storage)

Judgment: Good chance. Apple’s bringing of iOS to OS X is likely a two-way street, but the original iPad just didn’t have the guts for full-featured movie and photo editing, or at the very least it wasn’t up to Apple’s standards. That could be about to change.

Intelligent bezel/hot-pants device

Argument:

Objection:

  • Apple wants you to touch the screen, that’s the whole point of the iPad
  • This will likely be included in another, lower-profile product first
  • Don’t you hold it by the bezel?
  • Many cases obscure rear and corners of bezel

Judgment: Not likely. It’d be gilding the lily this year. Maybe next time around.

The final tally seems to give an iPad with two cameras, a vastly improved screen and graphics processor, a thinner form factor at the same aspect ratio, better speakers, and possibly an SD card slot. My own guess would be that the original iPad will stick around at $399, and the new iPad (iPad Pro?) will start at $599.

Timing seems to be creeping away from the January announcement/March shipment guesses, though. Perhaps the delay is similar to that holding back the Daily, and Apple is getting the software infrastructure in place to support the new subscription models and media capabilities (involving the SD card and possibly iLife cloud syncing). I’d guess an early-February launch, pre-orders in the 1.5-2 million range, and shipment in late March or early April (once they’ve pressed enough new iPads to support a simultaneous shipping and retail debut).

New rumors will doubtless be swirling around the net right up until the day of the announcement, and we’ll cover those separately. Did we miss any, or do you find our reasoning defective? Let us know in the comments.

This Nerf Gun Remix Looks Dangerous

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 02:52 PM PST


The original Nerf AR-15 is a Nerf revolver with attitude. The update, created by a New Zealand-based Maker, reduces the size of the original and improves on the garish color scheme, resulting in something that looks more like the gun from In The Line Of Fire than a child’s toy.

The pistol is made from 32mm ID PVC pipe, some aluminium extrusion and aluminium pipe, wood for the grip and various pieces of metal and plastic. The main spring is one I got from Bunnings warehouse. This gun should be able to take a cut down AR-15 spring as used in the Boltsniper weapons but these aren’t that easy to come by in New Zealand. I believe I am legally allowed to buy one but by the time I found that out I already had the Bunnings spring. I may still get one to play with. The idea of a toy gun using a part from a real one appeals to me for some odd reason…

via


A Deep Look At The Notion Ink Adam Tablet And Where It’s Going

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 12:35 PM PST


The Notion Ink Adam might be the best tablet you’ve never heard of — but there’s a good reason for that. This kit isn’t coming from a high-profile outlet with deep distribution channels. It’s coming from a start-up fueled by nothing but raw passion. For us at CrunchGear, the Adam isn’t the fascinating part of the story; it’s the wide-eyed company and its crazy fanboys.

The tablet itself though has a rich, but short history. The Bangalore-based company took the Adam from rendering to production in just over one year and thanks to the company’s vocal CEO, Rohan Sharvan, constantly granted fans a look at the development process. It’s quite a story.

Backstory

The Adam is the brainchild of the Notion Ink design firm. According to the about page on the official website, “Notion Ink is young at heart, and proud to wear it on its sleeve. Youth gives us that extra edge in bringing a whole new realm of concepts to reality.” Notion Ink is new at the consumer electronics game. The Adam tablet is their first go in the market and the road so far has been rocky. We’ve watched the company move through a rigorous learning curves and vocal trolls (mainly us) have caused a good deal of public agony.

It all started back in December 2009 when we got a little message from Notion Ink’s founder, Rohan Shravan, who wanted to show TechCrunch his little project that would be unveiled at CES 2010. You may recall the timeline: This message about a start-up doing a tablet came just days after another notable tablet died. This one was set to come out in June complete with Tegra chipset and Pixel Qi screen. We were excited.

CES 2010 arrived and we somehow missed the Adam. SlashGear didn’t. The tablet was a hit of the show with a novel form factor and fancy UI concept art. After seeing the CES pics and videos, a June release schedule seemed just about right.

But the June date was soon replaced with November, but then switched back to late summer — and then to January 2011. It’s now said to be shipping later this week since the FCC just gave it their approval.

A few things happened from January 2010 to now, though. The iPad launched in April, the Samsung Galaxy Tab hit in the fall, and RIM, Motorola, LG, Asus, and HP all announced their tablet plans. Suddenly, the Adam’s massive potential market was distracted with products from the big boys causing those still interested in the tablet to turn rabid and dedicated to the company even more so than Apple loyalists.

Now these are fans

Apple fanbois, grab your notepads. You’ve got some learning to do. The Adam-ites are out-doing you on fanboards and forums Internet-wide. You think you’re serious about your tech?

These people are nuts. Look at Notion Ink Adam blog comments. It’s like a common meeting place where they gather, pool ideas, and then go out into the World Wide Web to preach the good word of the Adam. This blog post will probably be littered with Adam trolls within minutes of its posting; our other Adam posts certainly are. (example 1, 2, 3, & 4) I’m actually fearful to do our official Adam review. If we deem the Adam anything less than the best thing since penicillin, the Adamites will burn down our houses and steal our iPads.

You cannot understand the Adam without looking into their fans. The Adam is nothing without them. Click over to the blog and read the comments. They love the Adam and want nothing more than for it — and its creators — to succeed.

Growing pains

Part of the reason the Adam is still just an Internet love child is that Notion Ink doesn’t seem to market or promote the device. The only communciation we’ve received has been directly from the CEO and not a PR flack. While that’s a bit refreshing for us, it doesn’t bode well for the product’s future — and the fans seem to be catching on.

The comments on Notion Ink’s CES blog posts have a common theme: Where’s the mainstream media coverage? No one picked up the Adam in their CES coverage even though tablets were the product of the show. It was just us, SlashGear, Engadget, and a couple of smaller blogs. Notion Ink seems to exist in a fantasy world of fanboys and blogs.

This is mainly because the company didn’t hold an event or have a booth at CES 2011. Instead they partnered up with screen-designer Pixel Qi, who refused us access to the tablet and instead told me to read Joanna Stern’s Engadget coverage of the device. We were able to only see it after emailing the CEO directly, who then meet us outside the convention center’s Starbucks for an impromptu meeting. Yes, CES is damn expensive for a start-up, but preaching to the choir only works for so long.

And that’s too bad, too. Spec-to-spec, the Adam can stand on its own against every tablet currently on the market.

Features

The Adam got everyone’s attention last year with its specs, not the start-up company’s story. Tegra and Pixel Qi were buzzwords then. The Nvidia platform promised 1080p video playback while the fancy screen would allow for outside usage. Sounded great to everyone in the last days of 2009.

Those features are still part of the Adam’s appeal along with 3G wireless, dual-core Cortex A9 CPU on a Tegra T250, micro-SD card slot, 3.2MP swivel camera, FM radio, GPS, digital compass and most every I/O port available. The tablet is specced-out. Only the internal 8GB storage leaves something to be desired.

Plus, the Adam is priced competitively with base, non-Pixel Qi model starting out less than the iPad. For better or worse, the Adam carries the same price worldwide which simplifies things for the company, but leaves some consumers paying more (or less).

Best of luck, Notion Ink

The Notion Ink Adam isn’t an iPad killer. It won’t outsell the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Motorola Xoom will be the Android tablet of 2011. But that’s not to say the Adam won’t be loved by many. It seems like quality kit and we give Notion Ink all the props in the world for at least trying. They stuck in there and moved their product from concept to production. That’s awesome.

My only fear is that they are following their Indian counterpart, Tata Motors, down a road to obscurity. Just like with the Tata Nano, the first round of Adam pre-orders were quickly snatched up. But pre-orders are easy thanks to loyal fans. Keeping up the same pace two, three, ten months from now is not. Tata is now suffering after the initial hype died and only sold 509 cars in November.

Notion Ink thankfully doesn’t have to worry so much about the manufacturing as the car company as the Adam is built in an outsourced Chinese factory. The company has also been uniquely transparent throughout the Adam’s development process, which is something Tata simply couldn’t do. But the Adam has the same sort of Indian national savior hype surrounding it as the Nano and Notion Ink is seemingly living within the dream. Such excitement can result in rushed decisions and unrealistic expectations. The company’s past marketing blunders, including a pre-order launch day that was marred with sudden terms of service changes and shoddy website planning, all adds to the picture of a young and inexperienced company.

The Adam isn’t on the market yet. The first round of pre-orders were held up by the FCC, but shipping should start shortly now that the government suits approved it. Notion Ink also just announced a second set will be available to order in the coming days.

The isn’t an endorsement for the Adam. John and I only touched the device for a few quick minutes at CES and actually walked away a bit underwhelmed. The Pixel Qi screen is about as vibrant as LCD screens from the mid-’90s and the whole interface had a noticeable amount of lag. It’s rather heavy, and it’s still not clear if the tablet will be able to run Honeycomb. But maybe it’s something you need to use to truly appreciate, which is why we ordered a unit the first day it was available and are eager to try it out.

Even if the Adam fails in the marketplace, Notion Ink doesn’t seem like a company that will simply fade away. These boys seem to have staying power. Hopefully they paid attention to their past mistakes because ’round here, we’re all for smaller companies making their mark and Notion Ink will probably do just that.

Is Consumer Reports Right In Warning Against The Verizon iPhone?

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 12:21 PM PST

It seems we aren't the only ones to think it’s wise to hold off buying the Verizon iPhone. Consumer Reports recently made a recommendation against buying the highly anticipated device. Apple can't seem to get any slack from the CR guys; when iPhone 4 first came out, CR finally made the recommendation against buying it, though after a few tries.

It comes as no surprise that Consumer Reports recommends against buying the Verizon iPhone, but maybe for different reasons than you think. But first, lets talk about why you would buy the Verizon iPhone.

Why to buy:

  • Verizon is a very good carrier (among the most satisfying for coverage)
  • Wifi Hotspot (though there are rumors suggesting AT&T's willingness to add this)

Why to hold off next month:

  • Verizon has adjusted its early upgrade terms (you must now be with Verizon for at least 20 months, more on that below)
  • Still unsure if antenna problem is fixed (Verizon essentially gets the same phone; bumpers are no longer free)
  • iPhone 4 is no longer cutting edge (why people are excited about last years tech, we cannot say)
  • It's not 4G (again, more on that below)
  • Not a worldly traveler (CDMA phones are not able to be used many places outside of the US)
  • No simultaneous use of data and voice (actually a bigger deal than one would think)
  • Paying top dollar for almost a year old tech (sadly, no price breaks)

As you can see from above, there are a lot of reasons against buying the "new" Verizon iPhone. And none of the above bring up the point that this summer we will get another iPhone.

The next iPhone is rumored to be a complete redesign, and will be have some impressive improvements under the hood. Consumer Reports points out that Apple will likely upgrade to the iPhone 5 this summer, leaving early Verizon customers out of the upgrade circle for another 13-14 months. Assuming Apple sticks to their 12-month product cycle Verizon iPhone virgins won't be able to purchase iPhone 6 on day one.

Now, will iPhone 5 even be worth purchasing? If we don't see 4G, then what could really be so good about it? It's that very point that could have Verizon customers getting into the iPhone 4 next month. It's a very competent device that satisfies most of its users. Plus, many simply don't care—they've been waiting almost 4 years to call iPhone their device of choice.

While Consumer Reports may think the iPhone's 3.5-inch screen is passé, remember Apple isn't going for a big screen (that’s what iPad is for), they are going for a usable product with great battery life—tell that to the EVO 4G.

So what is the iPhone 4 doing on Verizon's network and is it okay to not buy it? Well, I think it's safe to say that this is just a test. A test of Verizon's network strength and a test of how loyal AT&T customers are. Consumer Reports put it best when they said, “This is a transitional phone to tide Verizon through until the summer.”

So let's wait. Let us watch these two giants fight it out, so that come summer, we can enjoy lower prices and better service. As Verizon COO Lowell McAdam puts it "If the press writes something long enough, eventually it becomes true."

Scientists Hope To Resurrect The Mammoth Within 5 Years

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 11:15 AM PST

Flickr’d

Some odd science news for you on this fine Monday. Scientists in Japan are hard at work trying to resurrect the long-extinct mammoth by inserting mammoth nuclei cells into an elephant’s egg cell. This would then be inserted into the womb of an elephant, and, after the requisite gestation period, out will pop a mammoth. From start to finish the process should take about five years.

Scientists are able to do this because around 80 percent of all discovered mammoths have been found in Siberia, the cold having preserved just enough genetic information to make all of this possible, at least theoretically.

Sure, you can ask why scientists need to be doing this, but that’s kinda the point of experimentation: to mess about with stuff in the hopes of finding out new information. You don’t research something where you already know the outcome, do you? What would the point of that be? Perhaps if scientists are able to resurrect a mammoth, they could study it in order to figure out why they went extinct in the first place, then apply those lessons to life in the present day? Seems reasonable.

Florida County Trying To Force Magic Jack To Collect 911 Fees

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 10:35 AM PST

Magic Jack, the broadband telephony service famous for its kooky late-night TV adverts, is in a bit of hot water in Florida. A county there wants to know why Magic Jack hasn’t collected 911 fees from its customers, and has taken the company to court to demand payment. Magic Jack, of course, claims that it shouldn’t have to collect such fees, even if its customers have the same access to 911 services as other, paying citizens.

Kanawha County says that Magic Jack has refused to collect 911 fees from its customers despite being, in its opinion, no different than any other telephone service. (Telephony companies collect nominal fees, mostly around the $3 per month range, then send this money off to the county, with which it uses to pay for 911 services—a roundabout tax, if you will.) Magic Jack says it shouldn’t have to collect the fee because of a technicality: it’s not a telephony company, per se, but rather a company that just so happens to provide a separate incoming and outgoing telephone service.

When Kanawha Count’s commissioner took issue with that argument—one can’t subscribe to Magic Jack’s outgoing service while subscribing to a different company’s incoming service, for example—Magic Jack quickly broke out the ol’ "no comment" defense.

Most readers should be familiar with Magic Jack.

For $39.95 per year users get unlimited local and long-distance calls, along with call waiting, voicemail, Caller ID, and so on. It all runs through a USB dongle that plugs into your PC or Mac.

It’s unclear why Magic Jack would be so reluctant to collect the 911 fees, as it’s not like the company itself would have to pay; it’d merely collect the fees from its users, than pass them onto the county. Magic Jack would have to raise the price of its service, sure, but it’s hardly an astronomical fee the county is looking for here.

Further hearings on the matter are scheduled for March 1 and 2.


Jailbreaking Your PS3: All Fun & Games Until Your Online Gaming Is Ruined

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 09:35 AM PST

Flickr’d

Sony’s trying its hardest to erase the PS3 Jailbreak hack from the Internet, but we all know that’s folly. Two seconds on YouTube turns up not only links to all the necessary files, but detailed, how-to videos describing how to hack the system. The scary thing for Sony is that we’re long past the point where hacking a video game console requires soldering knowledge and a hard-to-find modchip. Today all you need is a small USB flash drive and the ability to follow along with a low-res instructional video, and even our most attention deficit disordered youth can pull that trick off.

The worst part about this hack—again, I err on the side of being able to do what you like with hardware you’ve purchased, but not at the expense of community integrity nor just so you can pirate Cool New Game—is that it appears to be hurting legitimate gamers more than anyone else.

A quick YouTube or Google search turns page after page of results on how, after having Jailbroken a PS3, you can then hop online with games like Call of Duty: Black Ops and basically run amok, ruining legitimate gamers’ fun in the process. Aim-bots, super jumping, infinite running, you name it.

As someone who’s been on the wrong end of many a Halo match ruined by hacking (this was during the Halo 2 days, mind you), I can tell you there’s nothing quite as discouraging as having your game ruined by hackers. Phantasy Star Online, back in the Dreamcast days, also had its problems with hackers, and there was no quicker way to get me to stop playing than to run across a Pelican Code Breaker-using hacker.

In short, hackers in online games ruin everything.

Given that it takes next to no effort to hack a PS3, and then to start pirating and hacking games left and right (full game rips are hardly difficult to find online; so much for that "piracy is only a problem on the PC" yarn), perhaps Sony should frame the debate like this:

hacked PS3s endanger your ability to legitimately enjoy your favorite games, hence our efforts to mitigate the damage caused by Jailbreaking.

DMCA finger-wagging may be sufficient as far as the law is concerned, but why not reach out to gamers and explain to them why they should care about Jailbreaking? A sort of, "We’d just thought you’d like to know that your hobby is at risk." Don’t tell gamers that Jailbreaking their PS3 will cause the Sun to explode or anything silly like that, but rather be honest with them.

Be honest? What a novel concept!

All of that said, there will always be anti-social degenerates online who derive pleasure from ruining other people’s good time, and there’s but so much Sony can do to change their mentality outside of permabans and the like.

To think that all of this could have been avoided had Sony not decided to remove the Install Other OS option. Oops.

Shock Study: Sitting In Front Of A Screen All Day Is Hazardous To Your Health

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 09:00 AM PST

How about that, all of this technology is killing us. That’s what researchers at University College London have said, in so many words, in a recent study that tracked screen users’ health ("screen users" being a catch-all term for people who do anything screen-based, that is, use a computer, watch TV, fiddle with their iPhone, etc.). It turns out that people who sit in front of a computer (and the like) all day are 125 percent more likely to suffer from a heart-related death. That’s nice.

"Surely that can’t happen to me. Yes, I spend all day in front of my computer, but I also jog for an hour every other day. I’m cool, right?"

No~!

The data shows that exercise made no difference in users’ health; people who exercise are just as likely to have health problems—death is a pretty big health problem—as people who don’t exercise.

And what can we blame, and then outlaw, for this massive health crisis?

Sitting down. It’s high time we all write our congressmen to ask them to legislate against sitting down too long.

It’s the "leaning forward" position that’s particularly nefarious. You do this whenever you frag fellow fools in Call of Duty on Xbox Live, whenever you watch The Office on Hulu.

T-Mobile Posts G-Slate’s Promo Page, Wants Your Email Addy

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 08:31 AM PST


The LG G-Slate was one of the many tablets outed at CES 2011 that caused many to simply say, “eh.” Just another tablet, right? Sure, but this might be the T-Mobile tablet so fans of the network should probably jump over to this just-launched promo page to sign up for the latest product news. (and spam)

This promo page is void of anything new per se. It simple bullet points the G-Slate’s three main features: 4G, Honeycomb, and Google Apps. Eventually though, the mobile carrier will have to announce the price, release date, and post a bunch of pretty glamor shots. Presumable this sign-up page will get you those as soon as possible. That is of course if the Internet doesn’t ruin Tmo’s fun and out the data before hand.

How Is This An RPG Anyway

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 07:53 AM PST

This review of Super PSTW Action RPG, an innocuous bit of satire that forces you to press the space bar to do everything including fight, buy potions, and level up. The game, clearly, isn’t for the sarcasm-deprived.

This video offers a staged reading of the review. Like the literary classic “HOW IS BABBY FORMED”, this review is destined to go down in history as a classic of the genre.

i reley dont wan to say this, but i have to now. this game is so esey. i mean, all you do is hit the spacebar. thats it! how is this an RPG anyway? you cant contrail anything but what it says on the screen! what if i didnt want to buy the potion? what apout quests? all you can upgrade is stranth? there is no way you can lose to the boss at the end! this game is crap! its not even an RPG at all! i mean look at it! in what way is this supposed to be an RPG if you can do quests and stuff? all you do is press one butten the entier time! explain to me! the athore coments al totol lies! is it supposed to be stick dudes? i dont even know how this damn game got the daily 3rd prize, or a rating of 4.26! pepole think this review is worthles. go ahead! say it! i dont care! im just trying to make a point here! blam this piece of crap!!!!
P.S the only reson im giving this a 1 is beacuase the voices where pretty good. but thats it!

Direct2Drive Gets The Sims, Puts Them On Sale

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 07:30 AM PST

Vanity, thy name is Farnsworth!

We talk about Steam seemingly every 18 seconds here, so it’s only fair that we pay attention to some of the other digital download services that are out there. Direct2Drive, the IGN-owned download service, has added The Sims to its existing catalog of "more than" 2,500 games. That means one thing for y’all: there’s a big sale!

All of the Sims games available are 40 percent off this week. (Note that doesn’t mean that all Sims games are available, just that the ones that are are 40 percent off.) The Sims 3 is normally $39.95, but this weeks it’s $23.95.

The latest Sims 3 expansion, Late Night, is normally $39.95, too, but this week it’s $23.95.

And on and on.

So if you were hankering for some Sims action of late, then you might want to investigate Direct2Drive.

CrunchDeals: HTC Evo 4G For $99

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 06:59 AM PST


The Evo 4G is a beautiful, if large, phone, and it just got better: Amazon is selling it for $99 with contract on Sprint where it happens to be the retailer’s top-selling phone.

Wild-Eyed iPad 2 Retina Display Speculation Ignores One Thing: There’s No Content

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 06:41 AM PST

Apple can do a lot of things, but it can’t push through a new video standard. All of this iPad 2 speculation – that the new iPad will have a Retina display to show 2048×1536 content, a considerable step up from the 1024×768 of the previous iPad – is pretty much a pipe dream. Perhaps you’ll have a slightly higher resolution display this year, but forget about a Retina display.

Why? Because there’s no content that will look good on it. Jack Deneut writes:

Forget about DVD (Standard Definition) video, which if displayed at native resolution would be little bigger than a postage stamp on this new display. 720p HD video (the highest resolution sold on iTunes) would fill only a quarter of the screen, and 1080p video would have black bars not only along the top and bottom, but also along the sides of the screen. Of course, Apple will scale up these videos to fill the screen, but most people don’t expect pixel-doubling when watching HD video.

Essentially the only thing you can view natively on this screen without distortion or letter-boxing, then, is the output of a RED camera. While the tech exists to offer this display density, there is little proof it will ever appear in a 2011 product.

I’m all for pushing the state of the art, but we all know that Apple, in general, tends to nudge it more than tip it off a cliff. As Gruber notes processing power, memory, and price difference in a Retina-display iPad would create a situation that could prohibitively price the iPad 2 out of the range of even a Macbook Air or even a small island fortress off the coast of Portugal.

Dare to dream, friends, when it comes to Apple rumors, but just remember that reality is often a harsh mistress.
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