Par Archive

  • FCC task force seeks to squash ‘bill shock,’ give you the 411 on impending overages

    FCC task force seeks to squash ‘bill shock,’ give you the 411 on impending overages

    Posted on May 11, 2010 | No Comments
    Call us crazy, but it seems as if the FCC has been earning its keep of late, and the toiling continues today with an effort meant to address "bill shock." For those unaware, bill shock is a phenomena on par with bitter beer face in terms of significance, and it typically occurs when you accidentally roam internationally, text well beyond your monthly limit or burn through your minutes within the first week of your billing period. 'Course, some would argue that you -- as a functioning human being -- should keep tabs on how often you use your own mobile, but we wouldn't kvetch with a heads-up here and there so long as these alerts are cheap and easy to implement. As of today, the Consumer Task Force is listening for solutions, and while some carriers already ping you when you leave the country and are about to incur severe roaming charges, that practice is far from uniform. Too bad such a service would essentially nix your ability to play the ignorance card when you get back from that jaunt to Mexico, eh?

    Continue reading FCC task force seeks to squash 'bill shock,' give you the 411 on impending overages

    FCC task force seeks to squash 'bill shock,' give you the 411 on impending overages originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Yet another so-called iPad killer surfaces, brings a 1Ghz CPU and Android 2.1

    Yet another so-called iPad killer surfaces, brings a 1Ghz CPU and Android 2.1

    Posted on May 6, 2010 | No Comments
    Note to manufacturers and the Internet: Just because a tablet has the latest hardware, can run Flash, and rocks Android, doesn't mean it's going to take over the world. Like this Mastone Lifespad 3G. Technology-wise it's on par with the iPad with it's 1Ghz Freescale CPU, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, and 3G module. Then the Android 2.1 install somewhat tops the iPhone OS with multitasking and the works. But that doesn't mean it's an iPad killer.

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  • Transcend StoreJet 25D3 does the USB 3.0 dance

    Transcend StoreJet 25D3 does the USB 3.0 dance

    Posted on April 14, 2010 | No Comments
    USB 3.0 might not hit mass consumption until 2011, but that isn’t stopping companies from outing USB 3.0 drives and accessories left and right. Transcend just announced the 500GB StoreJet 25D3 drive that boosts not only the faster interface, but a host of other features that sets this one apart from the few other drives [...]

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  • Maybe it’s horrible customer service that’s hobbling Palm?

    Maybe it’s horrible customer service that’s hobbling Palm?

    Posted on March 3, 2010 | No Comments
    Dwight “The Houston Tiger” Silverman, like so many tech dudes, likes the Palm Pre and Pixi and, in a way, doesn’t understand why Palm is on the rocks. However, he got an email from a reader who described her Verizon experience as sub-par at best. It began poorly: My original salesperson, upon hearing me say I [...]

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  • I Am Legend: How the HTC Legend stacks up to a Hero

    I Am Legend: How the HTC Legend stacks up to a Hero

    Posted on February 16, 2010 | No Comments
    The HTC Hero, available in the US from Sprint, is less than a year old but that doesn't mean HTC can't up the ante. The Legend, a 3G GSM phone not currently available, has a slightly faster processor and a few interesting - and telling - details that are worth a second look. First, the processor has jumped from 528 MHz to 600, a bump that puts it on par with the Palm Pre in terms of speed. The screen is AMOLED, a brighter, more vibrant display technology and the Legend has an optical trackpad rather than a small ball.

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  • Logitech MK710 Wireless Desktop: Really nice and lasts a long time

    Logitech MK710 Wireless Desktop: Really nice and lasts a long time

    Posted on February 10, 2010 | No Comments
    I’m a big fan of Logitech. I’ve used the MX mouse for nigh on most of a year and now I’m typing on a DiNovo Edge. That said, I think I’ll just pitch my old input devices and get me one of these. This is a large, full keyboard and mouse set with a mini-LCD [...]

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  • 5 Things The iPhone Could Learn From The iPad

    5 Things The iPhone Could Learn From The iPad

    Posted on January 28, 2010 | No Comments
    As is to be expected of any device that the masses get excited about prior to it actually existing, the iPad has torn the Internet in two. Some love it, seeing it as the first iteration of an eventually world-changing device; others just don’t see a point. “It’s just a big iPhone,” they say, “and [...]

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  • Sad-Eyed TiVo of the Low Subscriber Rate

    Sad-Eyed TiVo of the Low Subscriber Rate

    Posted on November 25, 2009 | No Comments
    Tivo-Subscribers-1009-590x472And… it's… outta here. TiVo is down to less than three million subscribers and they sold about 500 DVRs a day last quarter, giving it 8% of the 38 million US DVR market. That's not much. TVByTheNumbers has the numbers. They're down 314,000 subscribers to 2.76 million and lost 146,000 last quarter. Rough stuff.

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  • Modern Warfare 2 for Xbox 360 leaked all over the Internet (a full week before its official release)

    Modern Warfare 2 for Xbox 360 leaked all over the Internet (a full week before its official release)

    Posted on November 3, 2009 | No Comments
    As I cleverly remarked in the official CrunchGear chat room, that a video game leaks a few days before its release is par for the course. When the biggest video game of the year leaks a full week before its release date, it's worth noting. So that's what I'm doing right now: Activision's Modern Warfare 2 has leaked. It's available where you usually find such things.

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  • Lil Jon gets an iPhone App: On par with Snoop Dogg’s, shadowed by T-Pain’s

    Lil Jon gets an iPhone App: On par with Snoop Dogg’s, shadowed by T-Pain’s

    Posted on October 13, 2009 | No Comments
    Screen shot 2009-10-13 at [ October 13 ] 9.16.28 AM You know that guy who's still running around shouting "YEAAAAAAAH" and "OOOOOKAY" 3 years after that Dave Chappelle bit stopped being funny? No longer will he have to rely on his not-quite-accurate impression - as long as he's got an iPhone. Earlier this morning, the Official Lil Jon Soundboard found its way to the iPhone. All of the classics are here, like "Yeah!" and "Okay!", plus a bunch of new family favorites, such as "Bend over!" and "Lets do it!". Imagine how much better every conversation will be now that you've got Lil Jon in your pocket!

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  • Review: Jabra Halo Bluetooth stereo headphones

    Review: Jabra Halo Bluetooth stereo headphones

    Posted on October 1, 2009 | No Comments
    I love wireless technology and will write-off a lot of its downfalls for the advantages. For instance, it doesn’t bother me that the audio quality of the Jabra Halo is sub-par, because they are wireless and very comfortable. Plus, I can deal with a lot of connection issues if I can eventually get it to [...]

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  • Top Gear to finally be shot and produced in HD

    Top Gear to finally be shot and produced in HD

    Posted on September 23, 2009 | No Comments
    Top Gear is a CrunchGear staff favorite. Even Nicholas who always proclaims he knows nothing about cars and Devin, our resident, van-driving hipster, watches the show regularly. High definition was the only thing missing from the broadcast. But that's set to change for season 14

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  • The Viliv S7, everyone

    The Viliv S7, everyone

    Posted on July 7, 2009 | No Comments
    Viliv is back again with yet another UMPC for the Korean market. Inside, the hardware is about on par with the X70 that I just reviewed with 1024 x 600 touchscreen, an Intel Atom Z520, 1GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD hard drive, and Windows XP. The S7 is equipped with a physical keyboard which should make it a tad easier to tweet. There is a chance though that by the time Viliv imports the UMPC to the States, we might get a slightly better model.

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