Cell Phone Accessories

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile

It seems AT&T is still inching their way to finally announcing the BlackBerry Bold availability.  While we still have not seen an official release date, we have already seen plenty of information that looks like it will be available in late October.  Further confirmation of that time frame goes along with those recently leaked Best Buy screenshots showing an availability of October 26.

These launch party dates seem to further confirm that time frame as AT&T has scheduled six events with dates ranging from October 15 through October 30.  We can only hope that the Bold gets moved to an available status soon. This release has been nothing more than a long series of rumors and delays.  Strangely, AT&T will be one of the last to actually release the Bold after being one of the first to officially announce it.  How frustrating is that?

Via [CrackBerry]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile

Hit by hard times?  Financial markets got you worried about dropping bucks on a shiny new phone?  LG feels your pain and wants to reach out to all those folks who want the sexy touchscreen-type phone with the aptly named KP500.  KP as in “Kitchen Pass,” as in you won’t need to check with your significant other to buy it thanks to its super low retail price.  Unfortunately, I suspect LG did not name it the KP for that reason.

But what LG did do on purpose is make this phone interesting.  It is a GSM phone that will first drop in Europe at the end of October, then the KP500 (I can hear you say “Kitchen Pass” in your head every time you read that name) goes on to conquer the rest of the world.  Its screen features auto-rotation and an on screen keyboard, just like the big boys.  There is also a stylus for all you folks worried about typing on a screen as well as handwriting recognition software on board to help decipher your chicken scratches.  Using the styles you can write texts and emails in your own handwriting, which is a bit different.

Offered in black (which needs no marketing help), Vandyke brown, Anodizing silver, and Elegant gold.  Brown, LG really?  I’ll see you at the end of the week I suspect in my Who’s on crack column.  I’ll move past it for now.  LG says this phone is slim and benefits from other LG models such as the Viewty and Prada phones.

LG expects to ship the phone with games and photo-editing software.  Depending on how much work goes into the applications, this could be a great little phone.  I am on the edge of my seat already.

The price will be announced at launch and will be at an “affordable introduction price never offered before” according to LG.

Release [LG]

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Section: Web, Websites

About a week ago, there was an announcement that there would be an auction in NYC, called the T.R.A.F.F.I.C auction, auctioning off the rights to a few “.me” domains.  Right now, most domains end in .com, .org., or .edu.

I didn’t think that having .me at the end of a URL would fetch so much money at an auction.  However, there have been a lot of clever URL names incorporating .me. Take a look below to see which domains sold for the highest at the auction.

The highest-priced domain sold was “Date.Me” which sold for $70,000.  As you can imagine, this site will probably be another online dating service.  The next was “Love.Me” which sold for $32,500.  Again, this is probably another online dating service.  Next, we have “Kiss.Me” which sold for $20,000.  That’s right—another dating service.

“Buy.Me” came in at $17,500; expect an online store selling a variety of things.  The next few include “Loan.Me” for $15,000, “Marry.Me” for $12,000, “Show.Me” for $10,000, and “Watch.Me” and “Play.Me” sold for the same price - $7,500.  Last but not least, “Rent.Me” sold for $6,000.  All of these domains totaled about $218,000; people must really like their .Me.

Predrag Lesic, the registry’s executive director, was especially proud with the way the auction went:

“We are thrilled with the success of dot-ME. The buzz was tremendous during the auction. Clearly the TLD [Top Level Domain] is connecting with people in a big way.”

If you want to buy a “.Me” domain, then head here to purchase one.  If you do, let us know what domain you purchased. 

Read [Domain.Me] Via [Business Wire]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Section: News, Computers, Web, Google

Yesterday’s stock tumble has hit tech businesses hard. Nasdaq, which is primarily tech businesses, fell nearly 200 points, and several big tech businesses saw similar drops.  Apple fell 18%, AMD nearly 17%, and Intel over 10%. Similarly, Google saw its stock fall over $50 to $381 a share. That’s nearly a 12% drop.

“Apple’s business is driven by the consumer, and the consumer is getting hurt because of higher oil prices” that leave less money for cool gadgets, said Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research in San Francisco. Large enterprises, such as airlines and shipping-dependent retailers, also have less money to invest in IT, he added.

The current crisis has consumers wary of doing any discretionary spending, something that is causing great concern among retailers and manufacturers.  They are already facing the possibility that holiday orders may be severely restricted if the bailout currently being battled over in Congress doesn’t go through.  With no bailout, credit lines will be hard to come by, and retailers rely on credit to acquire their inventory.  With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, this could be disastrous.

In a prime example of the domino effect, if consumers stop buying gadgets and tech products, manufacturers will be forced to cut back on advertising, causing a possible fallout in that industry, which could then affect newspapers, magazines and other media outlets that rely on advertising to make money.  According to a report by RBC Capital Markets, 40% of consumers plan on spending less money on electronics in the next 90 days.  With the holiday season being the prime time for tech companies to roll out new products and make big profits, this year’s season could be far from jolly.

Read[PCWorld]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Section: Web, Web 2.0, Websites

Millions of disgruntled Facebook users are calling for a boycott. The reason is the popular social networking site’s new design, which changed user profiles from an all in one page to a tabbed interface.

Several Facebook groups have sprung up to protest the change. One, called “1,000,000 Against the New Facebook Layout,” has nearly 3 million members, while two others, “Petition Against the New Facebook” and “I Hate The New Facebook” have over a million members each.  Even though it’s extremely likely that the memberships of all three groups overlap, the numbers are still impressive.

“The goal is to send a strong signal to Facebook. For every person that takes the time to join this group, there are more out there who are upset,” said Jessica Fishbein, one of the administrators of the “1,000,000 Users Against the New Facebook Layout” group and a Facebook user for about two years.

Users say they dislike the new tabbed interface because it’s clunky and forces people to click around to find the information they’re looking for.  They also prefer the former interface’s more discreet feel and subdued presentation.

Facebook claims it has been monitoring the groups and tracking the complaints, but some group administrators say they haven’t heard a word from the site.  Facebook also claims it is receptive to member feedback.  Whether they get the message about the new layout remains to be seen.  Similar boycotts by eBay sellers, irate over the auction site’s new policies which they claim are anti-seller, were unsuccessful in bringing about any change.

Read[PCWord]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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For realz, y’all. October 2nd was about as concrete as we were going to get, but the powers that be (RIM’s lack of focus on the OS) have interjected. We’ve been working on this story over the past couple days, and here is a quick rundown on what we’ve heard… The Bold, while originally set for a launch on October 2nd is still having OS issues and it’s been up to RIM to fix them. Normally BlackBerrys can glide through AT&T’s testing labs in a pretty short time frame. Something like 2-3 weeks. As you are all aware, not this time. Regardless of what the problem is, there’s no excuse for having probably the most botched launch in device history. Device training was supposed to start October 7th, but that has been pushed back now, and then there’s the launch parties coming up starting mid-month. We’re not going to give another predicted launch date until we can fully confirm it, so we’ll get back to you on that. Any RIM PR reps want to give us a ring and still tell us the device was never delayed? Suckaz. Hit the jump for an email explaining the delay and the postponed device training sessions!

Thanks, CrunkBerry!

As you are aware, with the anticipated launch of the 3G AT&T BlackBerry Bold, RIM has committed to hold training sessions in over 40 cities.  A large number of these sessions were to take place this and next week.  Due to the continued uncertainty of the device launch date, we will work with RIM to reschedule these sessions to a later date.

Any representatives that have registered will be informed by email of the schedule change. No action is required from your part.

Rescheduling the training to align with a final technical acceptance for BlackBerry Bold launch will ensure that:

a) the training material can cover all the feature functionality that will be on this device at launch (at this time we don’t have clarity on the status of all features).

b) handouts can be given to Dealers to reinforce the material covered

c) we will be able to provide attendees with a general availability date

c) the delivery of the material will be within one - two weeks of launch to ensure content retention and ability to practice what they learn in the field

d) the desired 30 person per session registration/attendance is achieved (training in the last week of a sales month at the end of a sales quarter should be avoided if possible)

Please let me know if any questions.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Email edited to protect our ninja.

In a move to halt RealNetworks from selling its RealDVD software the Motion Picture Association of America is suing the company asking a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order to stop RealDVD from being distributed. The MPAA...

Looking remarkably like a Renoir Lite, LG has just announced its upcoming KP500 entry-level handset. Initial details are somewhat limited but we have to say, we like where LG is going with this. Sure, including a stylus in the first official press images probably isn’t going to do LG any favors but it’s the thought that counts, right? LG will be positioning the KP500 as a low-cost touchscreen handset and if the price point is in fact as low as the press release might indicate, it should drum up a fair amount of interest among consumers who aren’t willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for a handset with this form factor. At the same time, LG is definitely not skimping on features as the KP500 has plenty of functionality that will attract new blood:

• Quad-band GSM
• 3-inch touchscreen display
• 3 megapixel camera
• Active Flash UI - screen switching similar to the TouchFLO cube
• Accelerometer-based screen rotation and motion-triggered gaming
• Finger or stylus operation
• Available in black, brown, silver and gold

Pricing has yet to be covered but the KP500 will launch near the end of October in Europe and throughout the rest of the world shortly thereafter. Will this sleek entry-level touchscreen ever make it to US shores with a cute nickname? Only time will tell but our magic 8-ball is telling us “Signs point to yes”.

[Via Unwired View]

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