Buckets Archive

  • Sony Ericsson spends some marketing bucks, christens its accessories ‘Extras’

    Sony Ericsson spends some marketing bucks, christens its accessories ‘Extras’

    Posted on June 4, 2010 | No Comments
    Long gone are the simple times when accessories were just accessories, apparently, because Sony Ericsson is making a pretty big deal that they all fall under the umbrella of an actual brand now: "Extras." Yes, "Extras" with a capital "E," as opposed to saying "hey, I'm going to buy some extras with my phone." Totally different animal here, you see. To commemorate the occasion, Sony Ericsson is kicking off the Extras brand on the right foot with the VH110 and VH410 Bluetooth headsets (pictured left and right, respectively), both of which will be available in August; both fall into the "Talk" subcategory. Oh, we forgot to mention those? Yes, Extras will be divided into four buckets depending on the accessory type: Talk, Play, Listen, and Go. We imagine we can expect announcements to fill up those other categories shortly. Follow the break for Sony Ericsson's release.

    Continue reading Sony Ericsson spends some marketing bucks, christens its accessories 'Extras'

    Sony Ericsson spends some marketing bucks, christens its accessories 'Extras' originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Verizon looking at non-unlimited plans for 4G data, will use LTE for voice by 2012

    Verizon looking at non-unlimited plans for 4G data, will use LTE for voice by 2012

    Posted on May 27, 2010 | No Comments
    We'd not-so-secretly hoped that carriers would be looking to dispense with those troublesome 5GB caps on so-called "unlimited" 3G data plans, but there's a big problem with that: spectrum is still limited, and even though 4G technologies help use it more efficiently, it's still a constraint that the FCC is going to need many years to solve. We're not sure how much the spectrum crunch really factors in here, but in addition to his comments on Droid Incredible inventory problems, Verizon Wireless boss Lowell McAdam mentioned at a Barclays Capital conference this week that he hopes to move away from unlimited plans altogether for the company's LTE network, instead charging for "buckets" of megabytes, just like in the olden days -- despite the fact that it'll cost it a half to a third of what it costs today to transmit the same amount of data.

    On a happier note, McAdam said that the company expects to be using its LTE network for voice by 2012, which comes just after its first volley of LTE-capable handsets in early 2011. He also mentioned that at least some of those devices will be shown off at CES 2011, and naturally, we'll be there -- not just to check out the phones, but to raise some hell at the notion that unlimited data is a thing of the past. At this rate, how are we ever going to run the Engadget servers on a wireless connection?

    Verizon looking at non-unlimited plans for 4G data, will use LTE for voice by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Virgin Mobile increases value for prepaid broadband data buckets — $60 for 5GB

    Virgin Mobile increases value for prepaid broadband data buckets — $60 for 5GB

    Posted on March 3, 2010 | No Comments
    Virgin Mobile’s Broadband2Go prepaid 3G data service made a splash last summer by offering no-contract plans that came close to competing with two-year offerings from the likes of Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. The major drawback was that the top plan, at $60, only allowed for 1GB of data usage, whereas you’d get 5GB on a contract plan.

    Full Story

  • AT&T’s Nation with Canada plans make border runs a little cheaper

    AT&T’s Nation with Canada plans make border runs a little cheaper

    Posted on November 9, 2009 | No Comments

    Filed under:

    Right on cue, AT&T has announced new Canada-friendly plans today that make the occasional trip to Whistler, Yellowknife, or Fredericton just a little more bearable. The packages range from $59.99 up to $219.99 a month with anytime minute buckets of 450, 1,350, 2,000, 4,000, and 6,000 and include compatible rollover and an extra 1,000 night / weekend minutes for good measure. Though the plans don't include data, you pay $2 a megabyte, which is the same rate as domestic (and is still plenty high enough to get you into serious trouble with a smartphone or tethering setup). Those on family plans can look into the action starting at $89.99 a month, so get on your snowshoes -- we're headed to Banff.

    AT&T's Nation with Canada plans make border runs a little cheaper originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Yes, Ron from Ron and Fez is in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony

    Yes, Ron from Ron and Fez is in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony

    Posted on October 29, 2009 | No Comments
    That's right, I'm going to be that guy since CrunchGear is maybe one notch above a random message board. As I suspected, Ron from <Ron and Fez, is in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony. (Apparently East Side Dave is in another upcoming Rockstar game. Let's speculate which one!) His voice is in the game (continuing the trend of XM 202 guys being in the GTA games), and I'm going to spend my evening tonight trying to find it. The sad part is that I'm not even lying. I literally have nothing better to do with my time

    Full Story

  • CrunchDeals: It’s Bricktober!

    CrunchDeals: It’s Bricktober!

    Posted on October 4, 2009 | No Comments
    The boy woke us up this morning with a flyer from Toys 'r' Us informing the world that this was Bricktober and that all Lego kits are 30%. What does this mean? Well, some crazy pirate ship now costs $70, down from $100. Isn't that still really expensive? Back when I was a kid Lego was free because you always inherited a huge bucket of it from someone. There was so much of it around you found it in your spoor. Sadly, this appears to be no longer the case.

    Full Story

  • Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer On “Moving The Needle”

    Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer On “Moving The Needle”

    Posted on September 28, 2009 | No Comments
    Last week we showed the highlights and 10+ minutes of video footage of an exclusive hour-long TechCrunch interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Now for the rest of that interview. The video was just a teaser. I spoke with Ballmer for another 50 minutes on the record, doing a deeper dive into five key areas of Microsoft’s product strategy: Big Opportunities, Operating Systems/Browsers, Mobile, Search and Developers. This post is about big opportunities at Microsoft beyond their dual cash cows of Windows and Office. Microsoft generates around $20 billion a year in pre-tax profit, and spends nearly $10 billion on research and development. When Microsoft thinks about increasing (or sustaining) those profits, they have to think big. And they have to think long term. Ballmer says he thinks about new business opportunities in three buckets: expanding current businesses (short run), building things from scratch (long run), and big aquisitions (short cuts).

    Full Story

  • Pageonce’s updated iPhone app brilliantly combines all your online accounts into one app

    Pageonce’s updated iPhone app brilliantly combines all your online accounts into one app

    Posted on June 22, 2009 | No Comments
    Step aside, Mint. Pageonce just launched a major update to its iPhone application, and it blows you out of the water. Pageonce’s v3 update is absolutely fantastic, and Mint’s app pales in comparison. Pageonce’s premium app, A Personal Assistant Premium, allows you to connect all of your online accounts to one login (and one application). [...]

    Full Story