Cusp Archive

  • AT&T prepping MobileProtect insurance program for iPhone?

    AT&T prepping MobileProtect insurance program for iPhone?

    Posted on May 28, 2010 | No Comments
    Shots of some docs over on BGR have us believing that AT&T is on the cusp of launching a program called "MobileProtect," but don't be fooled by the fancy name -- this is basically an Asurion-operated handset insurance plan just like any other, the only real difference being that it's for the iPhone and offered directly by the carrier. Interestingly, it seems that you'll buy the protection through the App Store of all things, automatically billing the credit card that you've got on file with Apple, but you'd better really want the protection because it's going to run $13.99 a month. Oh, and you'll have to pay a $99 deductible to fix an 8GB 3G, scaling up to $199 for a 32GB 3GS. To put that in perspective, that means it'll cost you $367 to replace an insured 32GB 3GS after a year of coverage, at which point you'll say "well, I'd rather have an iPhone 4 anyway" and shell out $200 with an upgrade pull-ahead. Yeah, call us jaded.

    AT&T prepping MobileProtect insurance program for iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Proposed class action settlement would let you unlock almost any AT&T handset — except the iPhone

    Proposed class action settlement would let you unlock almost any AT&T handset — except the iPhone

    Posted on May 24, 2010 | No Comments
    So the good news is that a class action lawsuit out in Cali is on the cusp of coming to a resolution, and the resolution will require AT&T to provide an unlock code for just about any phone it has sold since March 12, 1999 -- in other words, you'll be able to take the phone and use it on any GSM carrier of your choice. We say "just about" because there's one big exception -- any phone for which AT&T secured an exclusivity period of at least ten months -- which naturally includes the iPhone (in fact, it's called out by name in the settlement). There are some stipulations, too; if you're postpaid, you have to have been a customer for at least 90 days, and even devices with exclusivity periods of less than ten months can't be unlocked until the period is over (which admittedly makes good sense). Taking a Backflip somewhere else might not seem like a particularly appealing option, but who knows -- maybe you're a T-Mobile customer with a thing for backward hinges and a disdain for 3G.

    Proposed class action settlement would let you unlock almost any AT&T handset -- except the iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • HTC Hero spied with Cox firmware?

    HTC Hero spied with Cox firmware?

    Posted on May 17, 2010 | No Comments
    We've known for some time that Cox -- a name traditionally associated with cable television -- is on the cusp of turning over its trial CDMA networks in a handful of markets to the public as it marches towards LTE on a swath of 700MHz bandwidth, but what we don't know is the kind of hardware selection we can expect once these guys go live. Take it for what you will, but it seems that an unbranded CDMA HTC Hero that looks suspiciously like Sprint's version of the handset has just changed hands on Craigslist, and -- you guessed it -- it's got a Cox splash screen when you power it on. Cox's strategy boss said just last week in an interview with Light Reading Cable that there'd be Android devices in the mix for the launch, but he played coy when pressed on details; the Hero could certainly be on the short list, but doesn't it seem a little long in the tooth to kick off a brand new network launch? Of course, this could be a hoax or a cobbled-together prototype to help test the trial network, so we'll just have to hang tight and see how this cookie crumbles; in the meantime, follow the break for the damning video evidence of the Cox Hero in the wild.

    Continue reading HTC Hero spied with Cox firmware?

    HTC Hero spied with Cox firmware? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Gadgets of days gone by: The Game Boy

    Gadgets of days gone by: The Game Boy

    Posted on May 7, 2010 | No Comments
    This week at CrunchGear, we’re looking back at some of our favorite gadgets from the not-so-distant past — old phones, computers, media players, toys… those devices that still stand out in our memories despite their obsolescence. Feel free to contribute some of your own nostalgia. My Grandma Sadie bought me my Nintendo Game Boy in the [...]

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  • Editorial: What happened to the US-spec Motorola MOTOROI?

    Editorial: What happened to the US-spec Motorola MOTOROI?

    Posted on May 7, 2010 | No Comments
    Motorola, in case you haven't noticed, hasn't done much in the way of high-spec gear since the announcement of the original Droid way back in October of last year -- and, well, that's a problem for a company that's in the midst of trying to kick-start a recovery to get its corporate split off on the right foot. The so-called Sholes Tablet -- alternatively known as the XT720 or the MOTOROI -- had seemed destined to become Moto's next volley thanks to comments by SK Telecom and Motorola execs at the phone's Korean launch, even going so far as to call out a March launch window, but March has come and gone and the phone is nowhere to be found. Heck, we even found FCC evidence that the phone would be hitching up with T-Mobile, but that was way back in January and we're on the cusp of Summer now.

    We understand that delays happen in this business -- in fact, delays always happen -- but these protracted, phased roll-outs around the globe are never good for a product's image since the last markets to get the product have been exposed to it (thanks in part to yours truly) for months. This would be a killer high-end device for T-Mobile USA, but it's got to launch immediately; the Nexus One's been out there since January, and we can pretty much guarantee that Google doesn't intend to back down with the superphone assault. We suppose it's possible that the Sholes Tablet will actually reemerge as the "Nexus Two" -- Sanjay Jha wants to offer a Nexus-branded phone, after all -- but however it comes out, it's got to happen right now. Trust us, Motorola -- you've got a golden opportunity to learn from Sony Ericsson's mistakes on this one.

    Editorial: What happened to the US-spec Motorola MOTOROI? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 07 May 2010 00:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • The Newton Messagepad that got away

    The Newton Messagepad that got away

    Posted on May 5, 2010 | No Comments
    This week at CrunchGear, we’re looking back at some of our favorite gadgets from the not-so-distant past — old phones, computers, media players, toys… those devices that still stand out in our memories despite their obsolescence. Feel free to contribute some of your own nostalgia. Back in college there was this guy Joel who was always [...]

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  • Publishers in a tizzy over new iPad revenue possibilities

    Publishers in a tizzy over new iPad revenue possibilities

    Posted on March 25, 2010 | No Comments
    If there's one thing putting a spring in the step of publishers this summer and giving them just a little more impetus to initiate summer hours and "get away from the hustle and bustle of the city" by having their driver take them to their house on the Hamptons, it's the iPad. Is there anything this thing can't do? Absolutely not, because publishers are flocking to it in droves in an effort to save their falling circulation numbers. To wit, the nut of this story is that the Wall Street Journal will cost $17.99 a month on the iPad, considerable savings over the $2 cover price. This subscription will presumably include all of the graphics and layouts that make the Journal famous as well as ads - lots of expensive, sweet ads. For example, "Unilever, Toyota Motor , Fidelity Investments" is paying Time magazine $200,000 for eight display ads in the iPages of Time magazine. That's for eight issues, mind you, which breaks down to $25,000 an issue. $25,000 was probably the haircut budget for the ad staff at Time Inc. How can they buy a Ski-doo for their next Vail trip with that kind of money?

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  • Hey, look: It’s the Jaybird Sportsband. It’s a Bluetooth headset dontcha know?

    Hey, look: It’s the Jaybird Sportsband. It’s a Bluetooth headset dontcha know?

    Posted on December 31, 2009 | No Comments
    This snazzy Bluetooth headset comes to us by way of Jaybird, which specializes in all things Bluetooth. It's called the Sportsband. Presumably it's for sports enthusiasts.

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  • Huawei U8230 (in other words, the one that isn’t the Pulse) gets reviewed

    Huawei U8230 (in other words, the one that isn’t the Pulse) gets reviewed

    Posted on November 18, 2009 | No Comments

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    Huawei's on the cusp of making a pretty serious Android push in Europe with the recent introduction of its Pulse on T-Mobile and this little puppy, the U8230, which -- let's be honest, is shaping up to be little more than a Pulse remix for countries where T-Mobile doesn't do business. In fact, it seems to be the same thing from a hardware perspective (right down to the 3.5-inch HVGA display and unfortunate 2.5mm headphone jack), so you can almost look at as a prime application of HTC's classic strategy of re-skinning devices for different carriers and markets around the world. Anyhow, PointGPhone has had a chance to screw around with a proper U8230, coming away with the conclusions you might expect -- it's an interesting play at the right price point, but with that sluggish 528MHz performance, limited on-board storage, and inexplicably missing 3.5mm jack, you might be better off looking elsewhere. Not to say we have an option in the States, anyhow.

    Huawei U8230 (in other words, the one that isn't the Pulse) gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • T-Mobile myTouch gets lopped down to $149.99

    T-Mobile myTouch gets lopped down to $149.99

    Posted on September 24, 2009 | No Comments
    (With the image above, close your eyes and pretend that instead of bottles of shampoo, the price cut signs are point at a shelf full of MyTouches. Our photoshop talents only go so far. And by “so far”, we mean not very.) If you were on the cusp of buying a T-Mobile myTouch but just felt [...]

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  • If Jason Calacanis is against Apple, who can be for it?

    If Jason Calacanis is against Apple, who can be for it?

    Posted on August 9, 2009 | No Comments
    It is the end. Jason “The Animal” Calacanis is thinking about maybe quitting using Apple products, reporting that the company has gone all corporate and mainstream and that Steve has lost his hippie, dippy LSD edge. Look at this language, people: Years and years after Microsoft’s antitrust headlines, Apple is now the anti-competitive monster that Jobs [...]

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  • WTF: GameStop selling Nintendo Wii bundles with rubber ducks, water guns

    WTF: GameStop selling Nintendo Wii bundles with rubber ducks, water guns

    Posted on July 3, 2009 | No Comments
    This has to be a viral campaign of some sort, but seeing as though we're on the cusp of a three-day weekend I'll bite. GameStop is selling three unusual Nintendo Wii bundles that, I don't know, belie all logic. There's the “Take a Bath With a Buddy” bundle, the “Pirate Tattoo” bundle, and the “Summer Fun” bundle. Yeah.

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  • Retro-Styled Olympus Camera Photos Leaked

    Retro-Styled Olympus Camera Photos Leaked

    Posted on June 8, 2009 | No Comments
    It looks like Olympus is on the cusp of releasing the hot Micro Four Thirds (MFT) compact camera shown in prototype form in September last year. This photo, leaked onto the Japanese site OM User. The styling certainly fits in with the retro mockup, and also looks a lot like an old half-frame 35mm camera from Olympus, [...]

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