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Deal of the Day: iPod touch 8 GB for $184 shipped
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Hot Deals, Portable Audio / Video,
If you're in the market for a 4th gen iPod touch, you'll wanna run over to eBay with the quickness right now - for the next 20 minutes, they are selling them for $184, shipping included. That's $45 off the normal price, and these are brand new units. 1 per customer!
Be sure to keep an eye on our Deal of the Day posts for more awesome stuff, and also check out our Newegg Promo Code thread for even more hotness.
Read More 
| eBay iPod touch deal
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The Blank Screen: How Apple Outsmarts Competitors
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Editorial, Features, Home Entertainment, Software,
When the iPhone was launched in 2007, I met with Phil Schiller, SVP of World Wide marketing for Apple, and Greg Joswiak, the Apple VP in charge of marketing the iPods and iPhones. During the meeting they showed me the iPhone's many features and shared their goals for the device, which has now become a major business for Apple.
During that meeting, they made a comment that I believe is really the heart of Apple's secret sauce and the cornerstone of how it continues to outsmart its competitors. They laid the iPhone on the table, with it turned off, and asked me what I saw. I told them I saw a 3.5 inch blank screen. They said that from Apples point of view, the "magic" of the iPhone is strictly in the software. And, they de-emphasized the hardware.
Yes, the iPhone was a slick smartphone with a great screen and, at the time, it broke new ground in smartphone design, and Apple was very proud of that. However, with the iPhone turned off, it had very little value. But once it was turned on, the iPhone's OS and apps turned it into a completely different device. While it was a phone, the software made it much more—it became a vehicle for applications. It also had another component that really made it sing and dance; it was also an iPod and was tied directly to iTunes. Now it morphed into a much broader multi-purpose device. It was a phone, a vehicle for apps, and an iPod, which made it a great personal mobile entertainment system.
Click to continue reading The Blank Screen: How Apple Outsmarts Competitors
Samsung planning dual-core 2 GHz smartphones for 2012
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors,
Samsung may be developing phones that run so fast, they'll leave today's most cutting-edge dual-core phones in the dust. The company apparently has dual-core 2GHz smartphones in the works, which would theoretically be capable of 4GHz speeds, says Korea's Maeli Business Newspaper.
"We are planning to release a 2GHz dual-core CPU-equipped smartphone by next year," the paper reports a "high-ranking official" from Samsung said. "This product will have the data processing capacities of a regular PC."
The report comes as dual-core 1GHz phones such as the Motorola Atrix and LG Optimus 2X, which was the world's first dual-core phone, are just beginning to become available. A phone running with two 2GHz chips would technically be capable of running at speeds up to 4GHz, though real-world tests almost never match specs.
Click to continue reading Samsung planning dual-core 2 GHz smartphones for 2012
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New Apple TV units for 20% off on eBay
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals,
Just a quick public service announcement for anyone interested in the second-generation Apple TV--we noticed this morning that a bunch of them are on eBay starting at $79 brand new (20% off) with Buy It Now prices of $89 (which is still 10% off.) With all the new AirPlay-enabled apps that have been dropping lately, we're finding that the Apple TV is becoming a must-have device for anyone who owns an iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone. Check out the Apple TV on eBay for some great deals.
Read More | Apple TV 2nd Gen on eBay
Angry Birds Seasons brings the Easter goodness
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Games, App Updates, $0.99,
Rovio on Monday launched an Easter version of Angry Birds Seasons, available now for iOS, Android, Symbian, and Palm devices.
"Spring is upon us and the time is ripe for some chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies! So shed the winter gear and get in—Easter Eggs have never been this delicious!" Rovio said in its update notice. "If you think St. Patrick's Day was a blast, well, you ain't seen nothing yet! This episode will again prove that Angry Birds is the most generous update giver of them all!"
The Easter update includes 15 new springtime levels. Rovio also promised that it "will soon launch the biggest alternate reality game with Angry Birds ever—be prepared to seek for clues around the world to discover the secrets hidden in Angry Birds Seasons!"
Angry Birds Seasons is available for $0.99 on the App Store and free from Android app stores and the Ovi Store. Players who have already downloaded Angry Birds Seasons will get the Easter version as a free upgrade.
Click to continue reading Angry Birds Seasons brings the Easter goodness
HP to tie in music and movie service to TouchPad?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Rumors,
Hewlett-Packard is reportedly preparing a movie and music service that would be tied to the upcoming HP TouchPad, according to a report.
According to PreCentral, HP sent out a PowerPoint presentation to some people who signed up for email notices about the HP TouchPad. That presentation included details about an upcoming HP Music Store and HP Movie Store.
The presentation included two mockups that showed, well, movies and music. A copy of the slide that PreCentral published, however, did not include any pricing.
The presentation apparently included one interesting feature, however, a sort of predictive caching.
"According to that slide, the TouchPad will come with a music syncing solution built-in that utilizes cloud servers to sync and remotely store your music," the site wrote. "More than that, it will leverage a 'smart algorithm' to ensure that the music the user is most likely to listen to is cached locally on the device. This service will also allow TouchPad owners to stream music that they don't yet own. There's also mention that this service will allow you to stream music to HP smartphones, presumably once they too are updated to webOS 3.0 like the TouchPad."
Click to continue reading HP to tie in music and movie service to TouchPad?
Newegg Deal: $25 off $100 for new customers
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Internet,
Newegg‘s got a nice deal to entice new customers to give them a try with a $25 off coupon on orders of $100 or more. If you're unfamiliar with Newegg, we love them as our default place to order electronics, games, and computer accessories. They've got things that even Amazon doesn't have, and their prices are fantastic. We had to share the coupon with those who've never ordered from Newegg before, because they're that good. Use Newegg promo code NEWTAX25 when checking out.
As always, you can find all sorts of Newegg promo code and deals on our forums.
Read More | Newegg $25 off $100
What a difference a month makes. In March, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) was pushing for the federal government to provide every student in the U.S. with an Apple iPad. This week, Rep. Jackson complained that iPads were "probably responsible for eliminating thousands of jobs."
Somewhere along the line, he seems to have discovered that iPads are manufactured in China, not in the U.S.—a;nd; it had him hopping mad (see video below). Here's what Rep. Jackson said Friday afternoon on the House floor:
"In the 112th congress, unemployment is at 9 percent. And not a single piece of legislation considered by the 112th congress has done anything to address 13 million unemployed Americans.
"A few short weeks ago I came to the House floor after having purchased an iPad and said that I happened to believe, Mr. Speaker, that at some point in time this new device, which is now probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs ... now Borders is closing stores because, why do you need to go to Borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes & Noble? Buy an iPad and download your book, download your newspaper, download your magazine.
Click to continue reading Jesse Jackson Jr. calls iPad a job-killer
Weekend Reading: Dark Horse, Tokyopop, Borders, Glut & Apes
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Dark Horse Comics, TokyoPop,
So, not a great week for comic book publishers as Tokyopop finally called it quits. If you have a project over there, it's a good time to get a lawyer to look over your contract and see about rights reversion when the publisher goes away without declaring bankruptcy (yet) or getting sold.
Then Dark Horse laid off a bunch of employees, many of them beloved and had been there a long time.
But at least the US Government is stepping in to try to stop Borders executives from looting the stores they’ve already ruined.
Rise: I love the way the new Planet of the Apes comic book from Boom! is looking. The Scoop has a sneak preview of the first issue, on sale April 27.
Victor: Here’s a great interview with writer Don Glut that’s mostly about Frankensten. “Why don't I do a series of Frankenstein novels that would be based on the movies and all of these other things? In each one I would bring in some other character from fiction or whatever. I would create this whole Frankenstein universe.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Dark Horse, Tokyopop, Borders, Glut & Apes
Bleeding Edge TV 379: HTC Thunderbolt review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Cell Phones, Features, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos,
The HTC Thunderbolt is the world's first 4G LTE smartphone. It's available on Verizon Wireless in the US, and also acts as a 4G mobile hotspot, allowing you to connect up to 5 Wi-Fi devices to the 4G signal. It ships with Android 2.2, sports a 4.3-inch display, and even has a kickstand around back. In this video we give you a look at the Thunderbolt, perform a speed test, and also do a speed test comparison with an iPhone 4 on AT&T.
As you'll see, the device is ridiculously fast, especially when compared against an AT&T 3G smartphone like the iPhone 4. The screen looks great, and the phone feels good in your hand. If you're a Verizon Wireless customer, this is definitely one to consider, as long as you have a charger in the car and/or at the office, as this thing will eat through a battery like it's nothing. Check the video for the full scoop.
Big thank you to JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.
Here's how to get the show:[Download] - iPod-formatted H.264
[Download] - 720p HD
[Download] - 1080p MP4
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