Category: News (Page 88 of 130)

13 year-old racks up over $21,000 in wireless charges

December 14, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

It’s hard to say who to blame for this one. On the one hand, I want to scream at Ted Estarija for not explaining the idea of data charges to his 13 year-old son. Not everyone is as tech savvy as you and me, though. On the other, you have to wonder why no one at Verizon noticed the sudden surge on the account – from zero data to 1.4GB in a month.

Whoever you blame, Ted Estarija still got slapped with a $21,917 bill for the server traffic. In a rare show of understanding, Verizon waived the entire bill. The lesson in all of this? Buy a data plan. That $15/month looks pretty great next to $21,917.

Source: AP

Mobile, News

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Google dogfood testing the Google Phone

December 13, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Earlier this weekend, tweets started showing up from Google employees about a new phone. The new phone. The Google Phone. I wrote about it last month, based on a report from TechCrunch that claimed we’d see it in early 2010. Google has given the phone, which is made by HTC, to wide array of workers to field test it, or as the Google blog calls it, dogfooding.

From what few pics are available, the phone looks great. It’s got a sizable OLED screen, runs on a Snapdragon, and thankfully has no hardware keyboard. I’m not just excited about the hardware, though. Google has designed the entire experience here, something I’ve waited for them to do since Android launched. Sure, they’ve contributed on the UI for the G1 and the Droid, but this is the whole package, all from Google. They’ll be selling the device directly as an unlocked GSM device. That means T-Mobile or AT&T, to be released some time in early (likely January) 2010.

One of the earliest tweets says this: “Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android.” Is this really comparable to the iPhone, or is it something completely different?

iPhone, Mobile, News

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Classic authors fight for their ebook rights

December 13, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

The NY Times published an interesting article today that details the struggle between classic authors and their respective publishing houses for ebook rights. The article is focused on William Styron, author of great books like Sophie’s Choice and Darkness Visible and his family’s struggle to maintain rights to the digital versions of those books.

It’s not that no one saw ebooks coming. They did. In fact, most titles published after 1994 have the rights for ebooks laid out in full detail. But there were a whole lot of books published before 1994, Styron’s books among them. As much as Styron’s family may want control of those titles for the digital age, the publishers are doing everything they legally can to maintain control. Random House recently sent out letters to authors and literary agents claiming control of the works, arguing that ebooks fall under the same category as books, so the rights extend to digital works.

It gets messier from there. In 2002 a judge in Manhattan ruled in the authors’ favor, but that’s probably not going to stop big publishing. In the mean time Styron’s family, like many others, have turned to third parties with the rights, trying to get things published before publishing houses can get a hold of the work.

Source: New York Times

Digital Media, News

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CrunchPad/JooJoo lawsuits have been filed

December 12, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Arrington and TechCrunch have officially filed suit against Fusion Garage for the tablet formerly known as the CrunchPad. Arrington is confident in his position, and seemingly for good reason. He’s the only side we’ve seen hard evidence from so far, and it’s looking like Fusion Garage may have really screwed the pooch here.

If you’re interested in the manufacturer’s many missteps, you can check out Arrington’s latest over on TechCrunch. The short version is this: Fusion Garage is funded by a chiropractor (read: they’re broke). They don’t have money to both make the device and hire an attorney for defense of this suit. Bearing that in mind, pre-order cash is likely going to pay for an attorney, so you won’t be getting your tablet any time soon. Fusion Garage may also be looking at further lawsuits from other partners, as the company probably had to give away IP to get this thing out on time. That’s not good.

As I mentioned before, any kind of investment in this device is a waste of money. It’s already so messy I can’t imagine anyone would actually want to be involved with it.

Source: TechCrunch

Computers, News

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Nokia closing flagship stores in Chicago and NYC

December 9, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

We’ll probably be seeing a lot more announcements like this one from Nokia in the coming months. The company confirmed today that it will be closing flagship stores in NYC and Chicago in early 2010, instead relying on third-party retailers for handset distribution.

This is really no surprise. The company has relatively small market penetration in the US compared to places like the UK, where it is also closing stores. The retail locations were really meant to educate consumers about Nokia products and give them a chance to see a different kind of handset. From the sound of things, the costs far outweigh the benefits, especially in a part of the world where most handsets are sold by carriers.

This was Nokia’s official statement:

“In North America, over 90 percent of consumer purchases are made through carriers – Nokia continues to support our relationship with carriers in this market, as well as the continued expansion of our retail partner network with the likes of Amazon and Best Buy (for example), in line with our strategy. As we continue to expand our services and solutions offerings across these various channels, we have decided to close the NY and Chicago stores to allow more concentration on our other channels.
The Flagship stores were originally conceived to inspire and educate consumers to the benefits of mobility through an innovative retail experience, and to broaden the appeal of the Nokia brand. Since opening the stores in NY and Chicago (2006), consumer awareness in the U.S. has grown substantially. Weighing those dynamics with Nokia’s clear strategy in North America, and our well-established retail channel with third parties, we will close these two stores (New York and Chicago) in early 2010.
This decision was made to create clear alignment with our local market strategy and, in addition, as part of a global realignment of our retail strategy in overall.”

Source: Engadget