Section: Audio To Roku players are already known for having a good selection of services to choose from, and today users will have another choice for music streaming. Today Roku has announced that it’s bringing Rdio to all Roku players. Rdio, in case you haven’t heard of it, is a paid music subscription service with a social aspect built in. Users can find out what music they’re friends are listening to,and create and share playlists with anybody else who uses the service. Those who don’t already subscribe to Rdio can try the service out for free for one week, though that’s the same deal offered to anyone. To use Rdio on your Roku player, you need to pay for the $10 a month subscription (the $5 subscription only offers playback on a computer). Using the system on the Roku box can be done using the remote if all you want to do is select and play music. Managing your queue on the service apparently needs a web browser, or maybe you could manage it all from your smartphone as well. Read [Electronista] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Computers, Software / Applications We’ve already heard that the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook would theoretically be able to run Android apps in addition to BlackBerry apps. Now we have news that seems to indicate that RIM is testing out Android apps on other BlackBerry devices. ShopSavvy, creators of the popular shopping assistant app of the same name, noticed that a few people in Waterloo, Ontario were using their Android app on decidedly non-Android devices. Specifically, the app was being use on BlackBerry 8300, 8520, and 8600 models throughout January and February. You may remember that RIM is based in Waterloo, so it stands to reason that a someone at RIM HQ has been testing Android apps on BlackBerry devices. It’s unlikely that Google would approve of having the Android Market on BlackBerry devices, but this is still promising. If nothing else, it could make it much, much easier for Android developers to get their apps to BlackBerry users without having to completely rewrite the code. Of course, the experience would work best on touchscreen BlackBerrys like the Torch, but these are Curves that were used, so there is hope for traditional BlackBerry users. Hopefully RIM will have something to say about this soon. Read [ShopSavvy] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Apple, Computers, Laptops The new MacBook Pros are finally here, confirming at least a few of the rumors from the past few weeks. There’s no drastic change to the industrial design of the laptops, but plenty has been changed on the inside. The MacBook Pros mark the first time Thunderbolt has been included in a laptop. Thunderbolt, which you may also know as Light Peak, marries high speed data connections and display output. It is capable of connection speeds up to 10 Gbps. To put that into perspective, USB 2.0 is capable of 480 Mbps, while USB 3.0 can do 5 Mbps. Thunderbolt will let you daisy chain up to six peripherals with any combination of storage and displays you can imagine. Powering the ne MacBook Pros is Intel’s Sandy Bridge chips which were just announced at CES. The new chips are super fast and have integrated graphics right on the CPU. All versions of the 15- and 17-inch models have Core i7 CPUs with four cores. the 13-inch model has dual core Core i5 or i7 chips available. In the two larger models you also get AMD GPUs for even better graphics performance. The last big improvement is the FaceTime HD camera. Now you’ll be abe to make FaceTime calls in full 720p. Right now that only includes others who but the new MacBoork Pros, but maybe we’ll see FaceTime HD cameras in the next iPad? One can only hope. If there’s one unfortunate thing with these new MacBook Pros it’s the lack of better displays. We still have the same high-resolution options as before on the 15- and 17-inch models. There’s no option on the 13-inch, which is strange considering the 13-inch model MacBook Air has the same resolution as the baseline 15-inch Pro. I guess for that we’ll have to wait until the full refresh of the line. Read [Apple] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Sprint has officially announced its first Windows Phone 7 offering and it happens to be an HTC phone called - Arrive. The HTC Arrive boasts of a sliding full QWERTY keyboard, tilt-up display and the usual Microsoft services such as Microsoft Mobile Office, Zune and Xbox Live. The phone also features Windows Phone 7 HUBS which for the uninitiated actually provides quick and easy access to the user’s most valuable content such as People, Pictures, Games, Music and Video, Office and Marketplace. Additionally, the HTC Arrive’s start screen is highly customizable using Live Tiles with real-time updates including pending messages and appointements, news and weather, or game and friend status. For Android users, this is simply what you call as “widgets.” For its technical specs, the HTC Arrive has a Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon Processor, 3.6-inch capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch display, full HTML web browser with Bing search, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, a 5MP camera with flash, autofocus and digital zoom, 720p HD video camcorder, SRS WOW HD surround sound, media player with 3.5mm stereo headset jack, and Bluetooth 2.1. The phone is also loaded with Sprint Zone, Sprint TV and Movies, and NASCAR Sprint Cup MobileSM. The HTC Arrive is scheduled to be available on Sprint by March 20, 2011 for $199.99 with a two-year service contract. Read [Sprint] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile 
How much do you love your smartphone? If you’re an iPhone owner, that answer is a bit more than other types of devices, according to a new study by Crowd Science. iPhone owners were more likely to chase the phone into a public toilet as compared to other device makers. Overall, 57% of smartphone owners would go fishing for a fallen device.
A whopping 65% of iPhone owners would reach into a toilet to retrieve it while only 49% of Blackberry users. But that’s not the only area that helps define iPhone users. More than 25% of iPhone users admit to being addicted to their device. The Crowd Science study was ” survey technology and use random sampling of visitors across a network of over 5,500 websites.” The sample size is only 800 respondents, so take the results with a grain of salt. What say you Gadgetell readers, would you fish your phone out? Read: [Crowd Science] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Software / Applications While some are still waiting to see how things shake out for The Daily in terms of a stable iPad app, it looks like there are now confirmed plans for the paper to come to Android. The details are rather sparse at this point, however it was noted that The Daily should arrive later this year. According to Peter Kafka from All Things D; “Sources tell me The Daily is prepping for an Android tablet launch in the second quarter of this year”
That said, lets just hope the version they release for Android comes as a more stable app. Via [All Things D] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Websites, Google YouTube is currently in negotiations with the NBA, NHL and some European soccer leagues to stream sporting events live. The video-sharing juggernaut is trying to build on the momentum that was created by last year’s popular Indian Premier League But how successful will major American leagues be on a site like YouTube? I mean, why would American’s make the jump to watching their favorite sports games on a 10” tablet when they can bask in the glory that is a 60” 3D HDTV? Although we probably won’t be receiving a steady dose of live streamed games until the second half of the year, advertisers everywhere should be rejoicing in blissful delight. Now, as opposed to having 1 to 3 minutes of our undivided attention, YouTube ads will be commanding two hour time slots in order to drill multiple messages into our feeble little minds. While the NBA has been quite receptive of negotiations with YouTube, the NHL has been a tad bit more hesitant with signing on. Why the NHL wouldn’t want to jump on the bandwagon in its early stages is beyond me. YouTube has been stocking up on ancient movies/TV shows over the past several months. Now it looks like they’re ready to take their game to the next level and give Hulu a run for its money. "It's fair to say that there will be a lot more appealing sports content you'll see on YouTube," said Google's Director of Content Partnerships, Gautam Anand. "We have ongoing conversations with pretty much everyone."
Does this mean the NFL and MLB might be interested in this little deal? My fingers are crossed. Read [Bloomberg] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Audio, Computers, Mobile Computers, Software / Applications While we have yet to be able to confirm this, there are reports that the free trial for The Daily are going to be extended once again. “The first update came with extensions—and now Publisher Greg Clayman tells paidContent the free trial extensions will continue for several more weeks, at least.”
Of course, the first thing we did was grab our iPad and launch the app, however it looks like our trial period has ended—at least for now. That said, its been a nice (and frustrating) run with The Daily. On one hand, the layout and the content were nice, however given the app crashed every time we ran it, we cannot commit—even for just $1 per week. Still, if the trial is extended we are more than willing to come back for a second look and will hope the crashing stops. Via [paidContent] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers When Motorola announced the Xoom at CES it was announced that early adopters would be able to upgrade to LTE sometime after launch. Since then there hasn’t ben much talk about how or when those free upgrades would come. Now, thanks to some leaked documents we have an idea of what might be happening. Droid-Life has found an image that claims the 4G LTE upgrade will be available 90 days after the 3G launch of the Xoom. That would mean that users will have to wait until May to get the increased speeds. The upgrades will require owners to send their Xoom back to Motorola. Motorola will take about six days to complete the hardware and software upgrade. So, you’ll be out one Xoom for about a week. According to the image, the upgrade isn’t mandatory, and will be available for six months, so there will be plenty of time for planning it out. Possibly the best part about the plan is that users will not have to change their data plans with the upgrade. So, the data will cost the same, though if you stick with the 1GB for $20 a month plan getting 4G might not even make a huge difference. Verizon would recommend that users consider their plans when upgrading. Given the prices of the plans ($50 for 5GB and $80 for 10GB), changing plans might not be the best idea for everyone. But, if you plan on video calling or watching HD content over the 4G connection the 1GB limit will come up quickly. But, there’s at least a total of 9 months to decide what to do, assuming you plan on getting the Xoom at launch. Read [Droid-Life] via [Electronista] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers Those who were hoping to see Verizon lower the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab are in luck. Well, they are in luck as long as they are willing to sign a two-year agreement. That said, the Galaxy Tab is now priced at $299.99 with Verizon. Of course, that means a monthly cost of at least $20 (1GB of data). Otherwise, the price of the tablet without the agreement remained at $499.99. Bottom line here, is $200 worth a two-year commitment? Via [Verizon Wireless] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers, Hardware As promised, Verizon Wireless has just put the cat out, by cat we mean the new Motorola XOOM Android tablet. If you’re ready to depart with your $599.99 and will be more than willing to get tied up under a two-year data plan from Verizon, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be hitting the “Buy Now” button from the Verizon XOOM product site. As a reminder, you can also score the Motorola XOOM without the two-year data plan service provided you are more than willing to spend more for the said Android tablet. If you’re still having second thoughts, you might want to look for early reviews of several major tech blogs. Although, the tenacity of their reviews might confused you even more. But if you insist, you’ll find several Motorola XOOM reviews published a couple of hours ago. There are good, full, comprehensive reviews covering every minute details of the Motorola XOOM when put into actual use. But, if you’d rather take the risk and explore what the Motorola XOOM is capable of - then buy it. Product [Motorola XOOM] Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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