Cyber Monday shoppers who can’t wait until Monday to snap up popular tech items online at special prices need not worry. Some retailers were making deals available Sunday.
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Have you been on the fence about the Nexus S? Maybe this will get you to take the plunge. Best Buy will be offering any version of the Nexus S (for T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint) for free. The catch? You have to sign a two year agreement (new line or upgrade) with the respective carrier. The offer is good specifically from tonight at 11:00pm CST and August 3rd at 11:59pm CT. Plenty of time to make your decision, right?
Source: Best Buy
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View full post on Android Central – Android Forums, News, and Help
Satellite-LTE startup LightSquared has made a deal for national electronics retailer Best Buy to resell its service, LightSquared CEO and Chairman Sanjiv Ahuja said on Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless trade show.
The companies will begin trials in the first quarter of next year, Ahuja said. The deal appears to be the biggest yet for LightSquared, which plans to operate entirely as a wholesale provider of network services. On Tuesday, the company announced a resale and roaming partnership with Leap Wireless, provider of the Cricket mobile service.
LightSquared already has satellites in place and plans to build a terrestrial LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network with coverage complemented by the satellite service. Its customers will be able to resell either or both services. Ahuja did not specify which types of service Best Buy would offer.
The bold vision of a wholesale-only national carrier with two types of infrastructure faces both regulatory and competitive challenges. After warnings by GPS (Global Positioning System) vendors that LightSquared’s LTE network will interfere with the GPS system, the company had to launch a series of tests along with the GPS vendors that are due to conclude in June. Meanwhile, analysts believe consolidation of carriers, such as AT&T’s planned buyout of T-Mobile USA, will hurt LightSquared’s prospects by reducing the number of potential resellers for its wholesale service.
LightSquared’s service will be sold in Best Buy retail stores through Best Buy’s mobile data service, Best Buy Connect. Best Buy already has a reseller deal with WiMax operator Clearwire. The chain could give LightSquared a wide reach across the U.S. if it sells the service in all its locations.
To date, LightSquared’s partners have been minor players in the national mobile industry. Cricket has approximately 300,000 subscribers on a network that reaches 95 million U.S. residents, or 260 million including a roaming agreement with Sprint Nextel. Cricket sells all its devices, ranging in price from $29.99 to $299.99, on a no-contract basis.
Earlier this year, LightSquared announced a partnership with Open Range, a service provider to rural communities, in which the companies would work together to build out the LTE network. Open Range would also lease spectrum from LightSquared and resell its satellite service.
The provision of broadband to rural areas of the U.S. has become a hot-button issue, with the Federal Communications Commission pushing to get rural residents online through its National Broadband Plan. President Barack Obama set a goal of bringing 4G wireless service to 98 percent of the U.S. population in his 2011 State of the Union Address.
We’ve seen a number of rumored launch dates come and go for the HTC ThunderBolt — the upcoming LTE Android smartphone on Verizon. But rumor after rumor has offered little in the way of proof. But we now have some evidence that appears to connect a few dots — dots that we’ve been discussing in the Android Central Forums for a day or so now. Check this out:
We were sent the screen shot you see above earlier this week. Note that it’s a Verizon device, with an in-stock date of Feb. 14 (1). Now note that the model is listed as BBY60LD (2). Best Buy does that so we can’t (easily) know what device is listed ahead of time. That doesn’t tell us much, now does it? But don’t worry about it. It’s a red herring.
Now look at the number we’ve circled at the top left (3) — 044476816574 — With us so far?
Later Friday, a video hands-on of the Thunderbolt appeared on YouTube, purportedly made by someone at HTC. The video has since been removed, but not before Android Central Forums member paulmike3 noticed that number — 44476816574 — on the proof of purchase attached to the box from which the ThunderBolt was pulled. It’s grainy. It’s blurry. But it’s definitely there. And it’s more than a coincidence.
So you’ve got the number on the Best Buy leak. And you’ve got it on the ThunderBolt box proof of purchase. We’ve connected some major dots here, and it indeed looks as if Best Buy plans to have the HTC ThunderBolt in stock on Feb. 14. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Some questions still remain. When will it be available on Verizon? (Feb. 11 has been rumored in the forums.) And is that Best Buy date real, or another placeholder? And how much is the phone going to cost? Big questions, all. And if you’ve got the answer, you know where to find us. Thanks, Paul, and Fire Dude!
Screen shot, leaked (and pulled) video point to possible Feb. 14 Best Buy launch of the HTC ThunderBolt posted originally by Android Central
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With these 13 terrific Websites and online services, you can make travel arrangements, dig up discounts and unusual gifts, decide on a great restaurant, or whip up amazing meals of your own.
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Google rolled out a number of cool products this year, but not all of them can be home runs. Here’s a look at the best and worst of Google this year.
Home-theater enthusiasts have a lot to play with this year, as top-quality HDTVs, media streamers, headphones, and music players from Apple, Samsung, Sonos, and Western Digital, among others, make our list.
Samsung UN55C8000
LCD HDTV; $2900 Slim and sexy, this LED-backlit TV has it all–slick design, lots of features, and excellent image quality. Did we mention that this 55-inch TV is less than an inch thick? (#11 in the PCWorld 100)
Samsung UN55C8000 review | samsung.com
Samsung LN46C650
LCD HDTV; $1100 The LN46C650, an inexpensive HDTV set that lacks the LED backlighting and 240Hz refresh rates of rivals, nonetheless clobbers them in image quality. It’s a better TV, yet it costs about $2000 less than its nearest competitors. (#20)
Samsung LN46C650 review | samsung.com
Apple TV
Media streamer; $99 Want to stream your iTunes library–including your home movies and iPhoto pics–to your TV? The Apple TV does all that and streams Netflix,too, with typical Apple flair. (#21)
Western Digital WD TV Live Plus
Media streamer; $150 The WD TV Live Plus network media player edges out the better-known Roku with its mix of online streaming services and its ability to stream your content via a network or a USB drive. (#22)
Western Digital WD TV Live Plus review | wdc.com
Sonos ZonePlayer S5
Networked audio player; $399 The S5–an affordable version of the impeccable Sonos audio system–looks a bit like a high-end iPod dock but can also play music from your hard drive, as well as from online services such as Pandora and Rhapsody. The sound is fabulous. (#30)
Sonos ZonePlayer S5 review | sonos.com
SlingPlayer Mobile
Mobile app; $30 per month This app plays the live cable TV you get at home on your mobile device. In the past year Sling Media has dramatically improved the SlingPlayer app, which runs on cellular and Wi-Fi networks. (#48)
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Posted originally at Android Central
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Buying a laptop for school requires us to take into consideration a few simple facts. They are:
With these things in mind, we now have to find a laptop that is low-priced yet high in quality. This rules out a number of very cheap models and every expensive, bulky models. In short, students need a laptop that will still look good after two years and will still work after six months. A tall order indeed.
But never fear: I’ve been looking at laptops for almost a decade now and there are a few I’ve seen that particularly catch my eye. These are laptops I’d buy my own kids.
Low
ASUS Eee PC 1215N – about $500 – This, the latest in the ASUS Eee line, has Optimus graphics and a high-powered Atom processor. This 3.2-pound notebook is thin enough to slip into a backpack but lacks an optical drive – a minor concern for some students. Yes, it’s a netbook, but ASUS built their recently fortune on netbooks so I’m willing to give this a pass. It’s definitely not for games or video editing, but it will work just fine as a text editing, web surfing, IMing machine. It also has HD video playback on the 12.1-inch screen. [Product Page]
Samsung N150 – About $350 – If you’re a literature major eating Ramen or you want a little notebook to use in class, the N150 is a safe bet. The 10.5-inch laptop runs Windows 7 Starter (you’re probably going to want to upgrade) and it will run most office applications without any problems. Just don’t plan on doing any high-resolution image editing and you’ll be fine. [Product Page]
Middle
Dell XPS 16 – $949 – If there’s a laptop line suited for students it’s the Dell’s Studio brand. These small laptops are designed for a few simple purposes – multimedia, video, etc. – but the XPS 16 is the only one designed for (ssssshhhhh) gaming. The 15.6-inch screen displays full HD graphics powered by an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 565v graphics chip. Whether you’re going to be dropping heavy duty science in Chemistry class or dropping rockets in Modern Warfare, this is the laptop for you. [Product Page]
MacBook – $999 – Call us fanbois all you want but a MacBook is the perfect laptop for most students. Thanks to lots of battery life, plenty of power, and compatibility with almost anything you can throw at it, a standard MacBook is fast becoming the de facto notebook on many campuses. While Windows 7 is a great OS, I suspect the average computer user will have very little trouble switching and as long as you maintain regular back ups there is little that you can do to this thing that will fold, mutilate, or spindle your data. [Product Page]
High
Alienware M11x – $1150 – A few years ago, Alienware laptops were so expensive – and so large – that it was ludicrous to consider them as viable school computers. However, with the advent of cheaper chip technologies and a number of improvements to portability, I’m pleased to report the M11x is a great smaller notebook with lots of staying power. Devin reviewed this laptop in April so check out his comments. This is a “heavy hitter” with lots of processor power but it’s a bit on the heavier side. We’re big fans, but check it out in the store before committing to a purchase. [Product Page]
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