HTC Trophy hits Verizon Wireless on May 26 for $149, includes free Xbox 360 game

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Microsoft,

Verizon's first Windows Phone 7 device, the HTC Trophy, goes on sale at Verizon's online store on May 26 and in retail locations on June 2.

The 3G device costs $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. If you buy one before July 15, Verizon will throw in a free Xbox 360 game: either Halo: Reach, Kinect Sports, or Lode Runner.

The media-centric device features a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, surround sound through SRS WOW HD, 3.8-inch WVGA touch screen, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and 720p HD video capture, 16 GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g/n). It's also quad-band and will work in more than 200 countries, Verizon said in a press release.

Click to continue reading HTC Trophy hits Verizon Wireless on May 26 for $149, includes free Xbox 360 game

Steve Englehart: The Plain Man

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

Summer's coming up and you know who's got a new book coming out? My old Ultraverse pal Steve Englehart, who's perhaps best known in comics for acclaimed runs on Batman, The Avengers, Captain America and dozens of other titles.

Years ago, he wrote a book called The Point Man. It was reprinted in 2010 by Tor Books and quickly followed by the sequel later that year called The Long Man.

He's got a new one coming out called The Plain Man – and the growing line is now called the Timeless Series - and it ships next month, June 21. There's a follow-up book already in the hopper called The Arena Man, so there appear to be plenty of stories left to tell.

Bonus for comic book fans, in The Plain Man Steve's bringing in some of his creator-owned characters, Coyote and Scorpio Rose to name just two, to join in the action. And they won't be the only ones popping up either.

Click to continue reading Steve Englehart: The Plain Man

Deal of the Day: 84% off Monster iCarPlay FM transmitter for Apple

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Hot Deals, Portable Audio / Video, Transportation,

This Deal of the Day from eBay offers 84% off the Monster iCarPlay FM Transmitter for Apple devices. These let you play tracks from your iPod, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad right through your car stereo. These usually sell for $119.95, and this deal brings it down to just $19, saving you a full $100.95. That's a discount of 84%. Even better? Shipping is free. If you're interested, head on over:

Save 84% on Monster iCarPlay

Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals, or you can Like TechPromos on Facebook.

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Motorola Droid X2 unboxing gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds,

The Droid X2 is the follow-up to the popular (and large) Motorola Droid X. What's changed? Well, the big thing here is that the Droid X2 is the first dual-core Android smartphone available on Verizon. That means that this thing is fast, but we'll talk more about that in our Droid X2 review. For now, though, we've put together a Droid X2 unboxing gallery for you to feast your eyes on. We figured while you waited for our review, you might at least wanna get a look at what the thing looks like, y'know? As you can see, the display is still large (it's a 4.3-inch qHD screen,) and it's also pretty thin. Jump over to the gallery for all the details.

Gallery:

Apple signs up EMI Music to be part of cloud music service

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Music,

Apple has reportedly secured a licensing agreement with EMI Music, adding to an earlier deal with Warner Music Group in its alleged efforts to launch a cloud-based music locker for iTunes users.

If the CNET report is true, Apple only needs to close deals with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group now before it secures unprecedented, legitimate access to music from all "Big Four" labels.

In March, Amazon launched its cloud music locker without such rights and faced threats of legal action; it is now reportedly in talks with the labels to secure licensing agreements. Google launched Google Music at its Google I/O event a couple weeks ago.

In April, CNET reported that Apple had inked a deal with Warner Music and "at least one of the remaining three" major music labels. Apple has not officially acknowledged the development of a cloud-based music storage service, but speculation is rife after reports "confirming" the development with unnamed sources. Furthermore, the company recently built a massive data center in North Carolina, reportedly meant to host a video streaming service.

Click to continue reading Apple signs up EMI Music to be part of cloud music service

BlackBerry PlayBook selling moderately well, so who is buying them?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,

It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for the BlackBerry PlayBook since its April debut, but according to financial analysts, the tablet might not be a complete disaster for Research in Motion.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky estimates that RIM has sold about 250,000 PlayBooks to date, and could sell about 500,000 in the quarter. Abramsky and his team checked out PlayBook stock at 180 Best Buy stores and found that 14 percent of the 16GB versions were sold out, 71 percent of the 32GB PlayBooks were gone, and 84 percent of the 64GB tablets had been purchased. He cautioned, however, that the sell-outs on the 32GB and 64GB "appear allocation related."

Abramsky found that returns for the PlayBook are "nominal," despite setbacks that include a recall of 1,000 tablets and the lack of a native email client.

This comes about a month after Peter Misek, an equity analyst with Jefferies, speculated that RIM possibly sold 45,000 PlayBooks in the first few days.

Click to continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook selling moderately well, so who is buying them?

Microsoft sending upgraded Xbox 360 consoles to users with disc issues

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Microsoft is offering a small number of Xbox 360 owners replacement consoles and a free year of Xbox Live as compensation for a firmware glitch, according to a report.

According to Kotaku, some customers have received emails stating that consumers can trade in their defective consoles in return for an upgrade.

Microsoft also confirmed the report via Twitter, in response to the posting of a screenshot of the letter by user Avery Penn.

However, the email from Microsoft appears to anticipate problems with the console, as Penn told Kotaku that his console is still able to read the discs. "The email was most likely referring to the Xbox LIVE update which is being phased in between May 19 and May 30 – an update which reflashes the DVD drives to a new stock firmware, and adds support for new XGD3 disk format," Kotaku added. "It's this update that allows an extra GB of usable storage on game discs."

Click to continue reading Microsoft sending upgraded Xbox 360 consoles to users with disc issues

Comic Book Colorist Moose Baumann Could Use A Hand

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

Years ago, I worked in the same office at comic book colorist Moose Baumann.

I used to watch him color Malibu Comics' Ultraverse titles the old-fashioned way before computers took over.

He was a great colorist then and he's kicked it up a notch or four in the years since.

Like many freelancers recently, he's run afoul of the health care system and could use a helping hand related to medical bills from his wife's recent illness.

Moose is selling off some nifty prints and such to stay afloat. Blog @ Newsarama has the details.

If you can help out, please do, and if you want to buy some cool coloring for yourself or as a gift, do that too.

[Artwork: Green Lantern #177, with its innards colored by Moose and © DC Comics]

DC’s 99¢ Batman: Arkham City #1

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Video Games, DC Comics,

Want to know a comic you could be reading for just 99¢?

DC’s got one: Batman: Arkham City #1 by Paul Dini & Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen.

The first chapter in this multi-chapter storyline pits Batman against Hugo Strange who's pitching Arkham City as "Gotham's ultimate solution to crime."

Click to continue reading DC’s 99¢ Batman: Arkham City #1

Deal of the Day: 50% off JVC Everio GZ-MS110 camcorder

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Hot Deals, Portable Audio / Video,

This Deal of the Day from eBay offers 50% off the JVC Everio GZ-MS110 camcorder. This camera sports a 39x optical zoom, can uploads videos directly to YouTube, and is an all around good buy at full price. These usually sell for $199, and this deal brings it down to $99, saving you a full $100. That's a discount of 50%. Even better? Shipping is free. If you're interested, head on over:

Save 50% on JVC Everio GZ-MS110 camcorder

Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals, or you can Like TechPromos on Facebook.

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