Verizon Wireless to issue $90M in refunds to customers

Shane McGlaun | Mobile Devices | Oct 4, 2010 11:02 AM CDT

Back before I had my iPhone years ago, I used a normal flip phone that could get online if I wanted to but had no data plan. I never used the web on the phone because it really sucked for that use. However, on more than one occasion I accidentally launched the browser while trying to do something else. You can't close that browser until it connects and downloads its data and by that point, you are charged for data use even if you don't have a data plan.

Verizon Wireless is in some hot water over just such a practice and has announced that it will be issuing its users up to $90 million in refunds. The refunds will go out to 15 million former and current customers of Verizon. Those eligible for the refunds that are still with Verizon will see credits to their bill in the range of $2 to $6 though some may get bigger refunds.

The refunds are for data charged at the $1.99 per megabyte rate for users not having a data plan. The improper charges for the data have been occurring since 2007 and the FCC has reportedly received hundreds of complaints. Verizon may have to pay penalties as well for the improper billing to its customers.

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Sony Eclipse concept media player uses solar power

Shane McGlaun | Audio, Sound & Speakers | Oct 1, 2010 2:04 PM CDT

One day we won't need an outlet to power or charge our gadgets, the sun will do it for us. Today the average solar cell can't capture enough power from the sun to charge or power most of our gadgets in a reasonable amount of time. A new concept gadget has surfaced with the Sony brand that uses solar power called the Eclipse.

The Eclipse is a media a player that sticks to a window with a suction cup. The backside solar panels are able to capture power from the sun and apparently, the concept only uses solar power. The device would feature Bluetooth for connecting to a smartphone or PC for music streaming and getting other content and weather information.

The concept has integrated speakers and a tray to hold you PMP that pops out like a cassette deck from the 80's. The concept would also have an app for the iPhone or Android according to designers Hoang M Nguyen & Anh Nguyen that would provide screen savers for your smartphone as you listen to the music. I would say with the state of solar panels today this concept is likely to stay in the realm of dreams for a while.

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Sirius XM Radio debuts the XM Snap! satellite radio

Shane McGlaun | Audio, Sound & Speakers | Oct 1, 2010 1:06 PM CDT

When it comes to listening to your favorite music, where you live often has a lot to do with the types of radio stations in your area. For instance, my area has a ton of country music stations, but offers no modern rock station so you can either listen to pop or old 80's rock. For people in this situation, Sirius XM satellite radio is perfect.

Many new vehicles come with the hardware for satellite radio installed, but if you need an add-on radio to tune into the Sirius XM offerings the company has a new one that you might like called the XM Snap! that will sell for under $60. The Snap is set to launch this month and will be able to tune any of the content offered on the network.

The device has a stalk that allows it to be placed in a vehicle and it gets power from the DC outlet in the car. The music is sent to the stereo in the car with simple DIY installation according to Sirius XM. The Snap has a large, high-resolution screen for viewing song and artist information and ships with a magnetic mount antenna and an aux-in cable for cars that have an aux jack available. It's not clear what the "simple DIY installation" entails for putting the thing in yourself without using an AUX cable.

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Windows Live Essential 2011 updates Microsoft consumer S+S offering

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Oct 1, 2010 6:30 AM CDT

Microsoft has released the 2011 version of Windows Live Essentials - the consumer package of it's "software plus services" (S+S) strategy.

Currently, Windows Live Essentials provides the following, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Messenger, Mesh, Mail, Family Safety, Writer, Messenger Companion, Bing Bar, and the Outlook Connector Pack.

New features in Photo Gallery include "Photo Fuse", which is used to combine the best parts of multiple shots (for example, it will choose bits of the picture which are good and ditch the rest - like someone blinking in a picture) and easy retouching. It also incorporates face recognition to help find and organise your photos, also adding integration into Flickr, Facebook and SkyDrive.

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Panasonic unveils Toughbook CF-C1 convertible notebook

Shane McGlaun | Laptops | Sep 30, 2010 2:00 PM CDT

Panasonic is probably best known for its TVs and other home theater gear like Blu-ray players. The company has a line of notebooks that are used in a lot of business settings because they are ruggedized called the Toughbook line. Toughbooks come in a number of models to suit the needs of each user and the latest new machine to be added to the range is the CF-C1.

The CF-C1 is a convertible notebook that can be used as a tablet as well. The machine has a multi-touch resistive touchscreen that supports gestures and can be used by workers that wear gloves. The screen also uses a matte finish so glare is not such a problem as it is on glossy screen notebooks. The machine also has dual batteries that can be hot swapped allowing for up to ten hours of use.

Other features of the notebook include a removable HDD that allows the user to secure their data and the machine has a fingerprint reader and RFID option as well. The OS for the notebook is Windows 7 and the processor inside is a Core i5-520M vPro running at 2.4GHz. The notebook also has WiFi, 3G, and Bluetooth connectivity. The machine sells for £1,709 and is available right now.

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Galaxy outs GTX 460 WHDI edition with wireless TV connectivity

Shane McGlaun | Video Cards & GPUs | Sep 30, 2010 1:06 PM CDT

When it comes to video cards for your computer there are a lot of different brands and models to choose from. Most of them will have the same tech inside and offer the same features. Galaxy has a new NVIDIA GTX 460 video card that is different from the other GTX 460 cards already on the market with a new and very cool feature that will make it easy for you to send content from your PC to the TV.

The video card is called the GTX 460 WHDI edition and it looks a bit like a WiFi expansion card has been grafted to the back of a normal video card. The WHDI edition has five antennas on the rear that stream any content including games and video from your PC directly to your living room TV. A receiver box connects directly to your TV.

The video card uses AMIMON technology inside and will ship in early October. The video-streamed from the video card can be sent at HD resolutions without any compression that might affect frame rates or video quality. The card promises under a millisecond of latency when in use. The card also has wired outputs for HDMI, DVI, and DisplayPort.

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Klipsch unveils new AudioRock outdoor wireless speaker

Shane McGlaun | Audio, Sound & Speakers | Sep 30, 2010 12:08 PM CDT

I am a big fan of Klipsch speakers for many uses. The best surround sound computer speakers I have ever owned came from Klipsch and the company has some fantastic home theater speakers as well. Many of the speakers that come from Klipsch are very expensive, but some of them are not out of the reach of most of us.

The latest offering from Klipsch is a speaker that isn't too expensive at $199.99 and is designed to be used outside with the Klipsch LightSpeaker system. The LightSpeaker system isn't included with the AudioRock speaker though and if you don't have one it will set you back another $600. The AudioRock speaker is weatherproof and rustproof. Inside the speaker are dual 0.75" tweeters and a dual voice coil 5.25" woofer.

It gets power from a removable and rechargeable lithium battery pack that provides eight hours of continuous listening. The battery takes four hours to charge fully. The wireless tech used to connect to the LightSpeaker system is 2.4GHz and the receiver is built into the AudioRock speaker. The outside of the speaker looks like a rock and has a granite color. The drivers are angled up at the listening for improved sound. You can buy the AudioRock right now.

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Verizon Wireless announces new mobile phone trade-in program

Shane McGlaun | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | Sep 30, 2010 11:02 AM CDT

If you are already a Verizon customer or are a customer on another network that is looking to migrate over to Verizon, the wireless provider has a new program you may find interesting. The company has unveiled a new program where you can trade in any mobile phone working or not and get money in the form of a gift card towards a Verizon purchase.

Verizon Wireless announces new mobile phone trade-in program

There is naturally a catch to the new service and that catch is that you get very little money for your phone. I dropped my iPhone 3GS a while back and it works, but the screen cracked. Verizon would give me about $12 for my iPhone. If the iPhone had a screen that was not cracked, I could get a bit more for it.

If you have a new iPhone 4 in 16GB of 32GB varieties and want to trade it in Verizon will give you $212. That is assuming the device has no cracks and still works. The program will send you a pre-paid return shipment box to send the handset in and then the gift card is sent back to you. In most cases, I would bet you could get more money for your device off eBay or Craigslist. The Verizon program will also accept devices and donate them to charity.

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New Apple TV device torn down at iFixit

Shane McGlaun | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Sep 30, 2010 10:04 AM CDT

I have an original Apple TV and the thing sucks so bad that it is virtually useless. Out of all the time I have owned it, I bet I have used the thing three times. Talk about an epic fail of a product. When Apple announced the new Apple TV, I was not interested even a bit in the thing considering how bad the first product was. There are a lot of people excited about the new device though so maybe it won't suck as bad as the original.

If you are interested in the new Apple TV and would like to see what the thing is hiding inside its black case, iFixit has ripped one apart already. The new version is much smaller than the original and comes with a remote control. Should you ever want to repair your device on your own, this tear down could come in handy.

The first step to getting inside the device was to remove the rubber base. Strangely, the thermal pad that you can see as soon as the base is off is conducting heat to the plastic base, not metal. After that some Philips screws and a screwdriver later you get a look at the innards of the little device. One interesting find is that there are solder pads on the side of the new Apple TV that are unused and match perfectly with the dock cable connector.

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Gateway launches new NV59C66U Notebook with integrated WiMax

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Sep 29, 2010 6:52 PM CDT

Gateway have unveiled a new notebook, the NV59C66U with integrated WiMAX wireless connectivity and a deluxe look and feel.

The Gateway NV59C66U uses the Intel 6250 wireless card, which can connect to both WiMAX and Wi-Fi networks. Because of this, the Gateway NV59C66U will be able to be connected to mobile networks on the move - while at home, or on the road (once connected to a WiMAX provider).

The Gateway NV series feature Intel Core i3 and Core i5 as well as the AMD Athlon and AMD Turion processors. Supporting up to 4GB of memory, upgradeable to 8GB total. Storage wise, we have 320 and 500GB.

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