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iPad 2 available in 25 more countries this Friday
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds,
Apple said Tuesday that it is "experiencing amazing demand" for the iPad 2 in the U.S., and will move forward with plans to release the tablet in 25 additional countries on Friday, March 25.
Similar to the U.S. launch, the iPad 2 will go on sale abroad at 5pm local time, and will be available online at 1am.
"While competitors are still struggling to catch up with our first iPad, we've changed the game again with iPad 2," Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, said in a statement. "We're experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the U.S., and customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get their hands on it. We appreciate everyone's patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone."
In total, the iPad 2 will be available in 25 additional countries on Friday, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Click to continue reading iPad 2 available in 25 more countries this Friday
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Verizon 4G LTE network to reach 59 more cities by end of 2011
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi,
Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced an additional 59 markets that will have access to its 4G LTE network by year's end, including Tuscon, Sacramento, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Portland.
Verizon launched its LTE network in December with 39 markets, and unveiled 49 more at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, so Tuesday's announcement will bring the total number of cities with LTE access to 147 by the end of the year.
"Aggressively expanding this powerful network beyond major metro areas reflects the reality that the 4G LTE ecosystem is growing quickly," David Small, chief technical officer for Verizon, said in a statement. "Our commitment to reach deep into medium-sized cities and smaller communities by the end of 2011 means the power of 4G LTE can be harnessed and provide advanced services to law enforcement, healthcare workers, educators, and other professionals, as well as to individual consumers, sooner than many thought possible."
Click to continue reading Verizon 4G LTE network to reach 59 more cities by end of 2011
Abrams ComicArts, the graphic novel portion of the mighty Abrams company, is looking for an Editorial Assistant to help nudge their books along.
You have to be an “organized, detail-minded individual with a demonstrated interest in graphic novels or illustrated books to provide administrative and editorial assistance to an editorial director and publishing director.” Got all that?
It really means trafficking, filing, collating proofreading and any task the editor doesn’t want to do or doesn’t have time to do.
You’ll need a bachelor’s degree and 1-2 years of publishing and/or office experience, and the usual publishing software skills.
Abrams ComicArts does some really nice books, so this’ll certainly look good on your resume.
Salary is in the low $30s, so you’d pretty much have to already be living in NYC to make this happen.
Good luck, job seekers!
[Artwork: Shazam by Chip Kidd, one of the books from Abrams ComicArts]
Read More 
| Abrams ComicArts (via Publishers Market Place)
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HTC Thunderbolt 4G smartphone unboxing
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds,
We just got our hands on the HTC Thunderbolt, the very first 4G LTE smartphone, offered by Verizon Wireless, and we're currently testing the thing out. Our review and videos will be coming soon, but let's just say, 4G mobile hotspot on this thing is absolutely amazing. Anyhow, while we finish all that up, we figured we'd hit you with our HTC Thunderbolt unboxing gallery. We put a grip of images together to give you a look at this fantastic device.
Gallery:
Sure, Mac OS X Lion is getting all the hype, but Apple isn't resting on its Snow Leopard laurels, having just released 10.6.7. The update focuses on improving Back to My Mac, fixing some Mac App Store bugs, FaceTime improvements, and also takes care of that Thunderbolt Cinema Display issue as well. Grab the goods by launching Software Update now.
MacBook Pro purchasers reporting problems with Thunderbolt and Cinema Displays
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop,
A series of rainclouds has descended over Apple. Purchasers of the company's latest Macbook Pros—featuring Intel's brand-new Thunderbolt ports—are reporting issues when they go to hook up their Apple Cinema Displays to their laptops via a Displayport-to-Thunderbolt connection.
"I have a new MBP with a thunderbolt port, which is connected to an Apple 24" cinema display, using the new thunderbolt port," writes user "Streitz" on Apple's support forums. "I am experiencing one second black outs every few minutes, and fairly regular jitters once the computer starts warming up and crunching some numbers. The shift never occurs on the 15" monitor, only the external. I also still have my old MBP with a mini-display port, and the external monitor works perfect with it."
The display flickering issue allegedly affects all editions of the latest Thunderbolt-laden MacBook Pros. And as the above comment illustrates, it seems to be a problem involving the combined Thunderbolt/DisplayPort connection. The only fix, so far, appears to be the time-honored tradition of waiting it out.
AT&T Buys T-Mobile: Good for AT&T, Bad for Customers
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Features, Wireless / WiFi,
AT&T just announced it will buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. If the transaction gets approved by the government and closes in a year as planned, it will create the nation's largest wireless carrier by far.
While this is great news for both companies, it's an awful idea for consumers - and I desperately hope the US antitrust authorities rake this merger over the coals.
An AT&T/T-Mobile merger at least makes more sense than the silly T-Mobile/Sprint idea which was being bandied about. Both carriers use the same technologies: GSM, HSPA+ and LTE. While they're on different frequency bands, radios which use all of the relevant bands are becoming easier to build.
The merger neatly solves T-Mobile's long-term problem of not having enough spectrum for LTE, the 4G technology which will soon be a global standard. It gives T-Mobile's struggling parent, Deutsche Telekom, a gigantic cash infusion. And it lets AT&T once again position itself as the number-one carrier against Verizon Wireless, which leapfrogged AT&T technologically this year with Verizon's 4G LTE launch.
AT&T is ahead of T-Mobile on building LTE. T-Mobile is far ahead of AT&T on building HSPA+, a intermediate 4G technology that fits right between the carriers' existing 3G networks and LTE. Together, they could have a smooth and powerful nationwide network.
AT&T's press release for the merger backs this up. The combined carrier will be able to build out much more LTE Than AT&T could alone, by combining AT&T's 700 Mhz spectrum with T-Mobile's AWS spectrum.
For stockholders, this all sounds great. With reduced competition and the efficiencies of a combined network, the new company will probably be quite profitable.
For phone owners, tech lovers, and American consumers, this is a total disaster.
Click to continue reading AT&T Buys T-Mobile: Good for AT&T, Bad for Customers
AT&T slashes price of first-gen iPad 3G by $200-$300
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Hot Deals,
It's the hardest decision an Apple fan can make: Pick up a discounted iPad or splurge for its slightly more expensive successor, the iPad 2. And it's not like Apple's made the dilemma any easier: The company discounted its original iPad models by a cool $100 upon the announcement of the iPad 2, adding an even greater incentive for those looking to score a tablet on the cheap.
And now, that decision just got a whole lot harder.
Not content to let Apple be the only tease on the block, AT&T has since followed up with a price discount of its very own. Customers looking to purchase a first-generation iPad can now do so via the mobile carrier, which will slap an extra $100 discount on top of Apple's.
The $200 reduction, in total, drops the final price of the original iPad (3G) to $429 and $529 for the 16GB and 32GB versions respectively. In addition, AT&T has slashed the price of the 64-gigabyte version of the iPad 3G to $529, a $300 savings beyond its original purchase price, which you can pick that up via AT&T's official website.
Click to continue reading AT&T slashes price of first-gen iPad 3G by $200-$300
Rumor has it, Apple is planning to launch a revamped version of its MobileMe service next month, iLounge has reported.
Citing a "trusted" source that "works for a major educational institution," iLounge said that "the current version of MobileMe is no longer available, and that Apple is suggesting new students sign up for the 60-day trial to cover the gap between the final MobileMe shipment and the launch of the new version."
The report could have some truth to it. A 60-day free trial with the option to sign up for the paid service at its conclusion is available on MobileMe page on Apple's site. However, the option to sign up for the year-long paid service without first test-driving it for 60 days is not advertised.
iLounge said that Apple will only support the existing service for another year, to cover those who might have recently subscribed to MobileMe. This means the retooled version of MobileMe could be very different.
Click to continue reading Apple unveiling revamped MobileMe soon
Former HP CEO Mark Hurd fighting to keep accuser letter sealed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News,
If you're looking to get your hands on the juicy details that prompted the eventual resignation of ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd, keep waiting. A Delaware judge ordered late Thursday night for the key letter from Jodie Fisher to Hurd to be unsealed—which would give HP ten days to release a public version of the letter in which Fisher first accused Hurd of sexual harassment.
Although Delaware Chancery Court Judge Donald Parsons Jr. ruled that Hurd's lawyers had not shown good cause as to why the letter should remain sealed, Hurd's legal team is nevertheless appealing the decision to release the letter's contents to the public. And even if the letter is eventually released, don't expect to see the entire contents—parts of the message, sent on behalf of Fisher by her lawyer, Gloria Allred, in June of 2009—will remain sealed.
"In summary, I find that the Allred Letter and its contents have social value, the Letter would not cause an intrusion into Hurd's private affairs disproportionate to its social value, and Hurd's accession to public notoriety by the time he left HP, if he was not already in the public's eye, bears a direct relationship with the Letter's contents and the events that reportedly gave rise to his departure," writes Parsons in his decision, released Thursday.
Click to continue reading Former HP CEO Mark Hurd fighting to keep accuser letter sealed
