Microsoft Shows Off Windows 8– What You Need To Know
Jun 5th
As we slowly approach back to school season we know a lot of you are debating between getting a new computer or perhaps continuing to use your current one and looking at the thinner, more portable tablets (like the iPad 2, Xoom, Galaxy Tab, PlayBook etc.) instead. Microsoft hasn’t really had a good tablet OS to answer to the iPad and those other tablets, and while they won’t have an answer for those looking for a Windows tablet for this back to school season, last week they showed off the first glimpses of Windows 8, the next generation of Windows and the first version of Windows to really focus on being completely used by touch.
So what exactly is Windows 8 and what does this mean for anyone buying a new Windows 7 PC today? Read on.
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T-Mobile Launching HTC Sensation 4G On June 15th, Coming To Walmart On June 12th (UPDATE: Price Confirmed)
May 31st
We know a lot of you have been waiting for more information on T-Mobile’s upcoming 4G superphone, the HTC Sensation 4G, and we’ve got some good news for you. T-Mobile and HTC have just revealed a little bit more information on T-Mobile’s upcoming fastest and most powerful 4G phone yet, the launch date. The Sensation 4G will be available online and in T-Mobile stores starting June 15th, and if you can’t wait for June 15th, you can head to your local Walmart as soon as June 12th. No price has been announced just yet but if we had to guess it would be in the $200 on two-year contract with data plan range.
For those who don’t know, the Sensation 4G is loaded with features like a speedy 1.2 GHZ dual-core processor, 8 megapixel back camera with 1.3 megapixel camera on the front for video chat, 4.3 inch qHD high-res screen with aluminum unibody design (so things look good on the phone and off it), and the latest and greatest version of Android for phones, version 2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense 3.0. Basically, it’s not just T-Mobile’s most powerful 4G phone, but one of the most powerful phones ever released in the US. For full details on the Sensation 4G see our previous post here.
So T-Mobile users, who’s looking forward to June 15th?
UPDATE: And just like that the price is official. Just as we guessed it’s $200 with 2 year contract, data plan and $50 mail-in rebate.
Is This Nintendo’s Wii 2?
May 23rd
Is this the Wii 2?
With the big video game conference E3 only a few weeks away the rumors on what’s next in the video game world are beginning to spread like fire. Obviously we expect to learn a lot more about Sony’s forthcoming NGP (aka the PSP 2– hopefully this will include a price and release date) and what Microsoft has planned for the future of the Xbox 360 and Kinect (which has been surprisingly quiet since its big launch last year. In the past 6 months since its been out we’ve hardly seen any new games that take advantage of its awesome controller free gameplay). In Nintendo’s case however things look to be going a whole ‘nother level with a preview of the next generation of the Wii currently code-named “Project Cafe.” Nintendo has even confirmed that this E3 they will talk about the Wii’s successor.
So what are the latest rumors saying we can expect in the Wii 2? Well, if they are anywhere near true, Nintendo is back in the hard-core gaming market– and in a big way.
Looking For A New PC For College? How About A Free New Xbox 360 To Go With It? (UPDATE: It Will Also Work For High School Students)
May 20th
Thought Apple’s usual back to school deal of a free iPod Touch with a new Mac was a good deal if you were looking for a new computer for college? Well this year we think you’re gonna wanna hear what Microsoft’s offering first. Beginning this Sunday, May 22nd, and running through September 3rd Microsoft will be giving away free 4 GB Xbox 360s with all new PC purchases of $699 or higher. All you gotta do to get this offer is show your Student ID if your buying in a store or a enter your .edu email address if you’re buying online (this is the email address your college gives you once you enroll). What? As we all know school, particularly college, is very stressful and there are many educational benefits to video games.
Sadly this deal looks to be for college students only so anyone looking for a new PC for high school won’t be able to take advantage of this offer (unless of course you have a college bound friend or sibling with the proper ID that’s willing to help you out). We’ve reached out to Microsoft to see if there are any deals for high school students and will update if we hear anything back.
So, what’s it gonna be for your new college computer– Mac and iTouch or PC and Xbox 360?
UPDATE: As Katie pointed out in the comments, this deal will work for high school students as well. If you are buying in a store (like at a Best Buy) all you have to do show your student ID and you should be ok (though to be on the safe side give your local store a call before you go in to make sure they are doing this deal and will accept a high school ID). If you’re buying online (like at Dell.com, HP.com etc.), and you don’t have a .edu email address, you should try chatting with an online sales rep or calling the company’s sales line (the phone numbers are usually listed at the top of the sites) to get the proper account numbers and links for where to buy your new PC and get your free Xbox.
[Thanks Katie!]
Via the Windows Blog
It’s Official– Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Coming To Verizon May 26th
May 17th
For all of you on Verizon waiting to get your hands on the Xperia Play (aka the PlayStation Phone) your lucky day is almost here. The final piece to this long, leaked puzzle is finally in place with Sony Ericsson and Verizon today finally confirming the release date and price for this gaming beast: next Thursday, May 26th, for the as expected $200 on 2 year contract and data plan.
Sony Ericsson also confirmed that each Xperia Play will be shipping with 7 full games pre-loaded on the phone– Madden NFL 11, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, The Sims 3, Star Battalion, Crash Bandicoot, and Tetris– with an additional 50+ games available at launch via the V Cast App Store. And yes, it’s also a full Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone so you can also get any apps available in the regular Android Market. On top of all that you also get a high-res 4 inch screen, 1 GHZ processor with 512 MB of RAM (so your games will look and play great), and a 5 megapixel back camera (with flash and HD video recording) with a second front camera for video chat.
Pre-orders for the Xperia Play will begin on Verizon’s site starting this Thursday, May 19th, and for more details on the Xperia Play make sure to check out our first look from CTIA.
The Teen Review: HTC ThunderBolt
May 16th
Verizon’s first few months of 2011 have been very impressive– the iPhone, expansion of the 4G LTE network and the launch of their first two 4G LTE phones– the HTC ThunderBolt and Samsung Droid Charge. For the past couple of weeks we had to a chance to test out Verizon’s first 4G phone, the ThunderBolt, with its killer 4.3 inch screen, 8 megapixel back camera with 1.3 megapixel front for video chat, fast 1 GHZ processor and of course, that blazing fast 4G LTE (spoiler: it’s ridiculously fast). To say this phone is loaded would be a dramatic understatement. But how do these impressive specs hold up in real life, and more importantly, if your on Verizon is it worth being your next phone?
For all that and more read on for our full teen review! More >
Microsoft Buys Skype– What This Means To You
May 10th
While this deal isn’t as mind-blowing as AT&T planning to buy T-Mobile, it’s still pretty insane. What you’ve read above in the title is correct– Microsoft has just bought Skype for a crazy $8.5 billion (yes, that’s billion with a “B”). With the amount of people who use Skype constantly it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out just how huge this deal could be on a whole bunch of levels, but let’s focus on what you really care about: what exactly this all means for you.
On The Microsoft Side
It seems that every big company has their own video chatting service– Apple has FaceTime, Google has Google Talk, and even Microsoft has had one with Windows Live Messenger– with all these companies investing a whole lot to make sure that when you and your friends video chat it’s on their service. This Skype deal will give Microsoft a significant advantage in this game. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Microsoft announce a whole bunch of new Skype apps for Windows Phone 7 (which was already said to be getting a Skype app pretty soon) and Xbox 360 Kinect that makes video chatting from your phone or couch a whole lot easier and better (and yes we know that means that Microsoft will need some new Windows Phone 7 phones with front cameras for video chatting– they also announced yesterday that the next version of Windows Phone 7 will be shown off at the end of the month, and we expect more on this there).
This is great news for anyone with a Kinect or wants a Windows Phone.
For Mac, Android, iPhone and Everyone Else
While this looks to be a great move for Microsoft users, the biggest concern with all of this is for anyone using or planning to use Skype on something like Mac OS X, iPhone/iPad/iTouch or Android. If you’re concerned about all of a sudden losing access to Skype (or Qik, which Skype bought a few months back), don’t be. For this Skype deal to be successful Microsoft will want you to be using their service over the competition (FaceTime, Google Talk etc.) particularly when your on a non-Microsoft product. Sure if we had to guess Microsoft will add certain features to the Windows Phone and Windows PC Skypes before making them available on the other platforms, but rest assured– Microsoft has said that they “will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.”
This mobile video chatting game is getting very intense very quickly– and we can’t wait to see what Apple, Google and all the other competitors come up with next to fight off this new powerful MicroSkype. Stay tuned!
Samsung Infuse 4G Price and Release Date Now Official: AT&T’s Fastest 4G Phone Coming May 15th For $200
May 5th
We had a feeling we’d get more information on AT&T’s 3rd big 4G phone– the Samsung Infuse 4G– this week, and at an AT&T/Samsung event this afternoon more details is just what we got. Coming May 15th, for $200 (with the expected new 2 year contract and data plan), if you’re looking for a blazing fast 4G phone on AT&T this is for you.
And when we say blazing fast 4G we mean blazing fast 4G as the Infuse is the first AT&T 4G phone to support the highest speeds available on their current 4G HSPA+ network (up to 21 Mbps or fast enough to stream YouTube in HD without any buffering). The Infuse 4G is also not just fast on the 4G side, under the hood it’s also incredibly powerful AND it’s also ridiculously thin too. Here are the specs:
- 4.5 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen– Basically, its awesome and should make everything you view on it look incredibly nice and clear.
- 1.2 GHZ processor– For making sure apps and games run quickly as well.
- Android 2.2 with Samsung TouchWiz UI– The Infuse also comes pre-loaded with a special version of Angry Birds with a level exclusive to Infuse 4G owners!
- 8 megapixel back camera with HD video recording on the back with a second 1.3 megapixel one on the front for video chat
- Ridiculously thin design– At 8.99 mm thin (9.24 mm at its thickest part along the bottom) you won’t have any problems putting this in even the tightest of pockets.
- 2 GB microSD card included with support for up to 32 GB– In case you need more storage for your music, movies, pictures and apps.
Samsung and AT&T are also bundling in a $25 Samsung Media Hub (Samsung’s version of the iTunes movie store) gift card with each purchase so you can buy new movies or TV shows to watch on that awesome screen right out of the box (for this we’d recommend looking for a bigger memory card). So yeah, if you’ve got an upgrade on AT&T coming up we’d definitely recommend waiting a few more days for this beast to come out.
For more info on the Infuse 4G check out AT&T’s site here.
Amazon Goes After iTunes, Lowers Pricing For New Bestselling Songs To $0.69
May 3rd
Hate iTunes and it’s extremely expensive price for singles at $1.29? Wish you had a cheaper and still fully legal alternative that offered you all the same music at almost half the price? Then allow me to introduce you to Amazon’s long running Amazon Mp3 music store which has now made iTunes look like the one that’s stealing from you with their ridiculously high music pricing.
First introduced over the weekend, Amazon has lowered the pricing for the bestselling songs (the ones you’ll probably wanna buy) to a much more affordable $0.69. That’s right, 69 cents or almost half the price of what iTunes charges for the same songs. And downloading from Amazon’s online store will even import the songs into iTunes for you so you can still easily transfer them to your iDevice.
Personally, while I now will look to Amazon when I wanna buy a song, most of the music I listen to I get from either Pandora, iHeartRadio, Slacker or YouTube (or when I’m driving, the radio) so this doesn’t really affect me too much. But what about you– how do you get your music? Do you buy from iTunes and are excited by this news of a much cheaper, yet equally reliable and legal alternative? Do you go online or use an app to listen to new songs like I do, or did you just read this and go ” what? who still buys music?” while downloading the latest changes on the Billboard Hot 100 from, well, not as “legal” sources? Let us know in the comments.
Full info at Amazon’s Mp3 Store
Samsung Infuse 4G Makes Appearance in Walmart Ad– Release Coming This Week?
May 2nd
We know a lot of you are very eager to learn more about AT&T’s third 4G phone, the Samsung Infuse 4G, and we’ve got some good news for you: it’s almost here. That pic you see above? That’s Walmart advertising the Infuse 4G for a very solid $178.88 on two-year contract with data plan alongside a nice little sticker saying it’s coming May 2011 (click on pic to enlarge). Clicking on the pic of the Infuse 4G on Walmart’s site (it’s on page 9 in the ad) brings up a pop-up– shown below– listing the already familiar specs of the Infuse 4G (8 megapixel camera, 4.5 inch Super AMOLED screen and 1.2 GHZ processor) and a note that it’s available in most stores. Well, we called up a couple of local Walmarts and while they told us they don’t currently have the Infuse 4G in stock, they said they should have them in by the end of this week.
And just to add a little more fuel to the fire here, AT&T and Samsung have sent out invites today for an event this Thursday, May 5th in New York City (though what exactly will be announced at this event is still unknown). Unfortunately we won’t be able to make it out to this event in person, but don’t worry, we’ll have whatever is announced covered for you right here.
So hang tight Infuse 4G fans, it’s almost here.
