Hasta La Gadget!

The way Sprint’s been going lately, we’re wondering if there’s going to be anything left to announce at its October 7th strategy update. Another screenshot has surfaced, detailing the Now Network’s intentions to launch its CDMA-based (read: no more iDEN) Direct Connect service on October 2nd, with “increased coverage” coming early next year. We’ve been expecting to see it at some point this winter, which means the Nextel alternative is getting pushed out ahead of schedule. With this, we should be hearing news in the near future concerning compatible handsets like the Motorola Admiral or Kyocera DuraMax / DuraCore duo.

Unfortunately, October 2nd will be filled with both happy news and bad, as it looks like the leaked memo detailing Sprint’s plan to cap the mobile hotspot add-on was right on target. The carrier made its intentions official this morning, confirming that it indeed will be putting a 5GB-per-month leash on the tethering done from your phone, complete with overage charges of $.05 per additional MB used. Grandfathered add-ons aren’t an option here, so every tetherer already shelling out $30 for the privilege will find themselves restricted as well. But look at the bright side: tablets need not apply to the data cap, and on-phone data plans and dedicated mobile broadband packages will remain unaffected… for now, at least.

Sprint to launch Direct Connect October 2nd, confirms mobile hotspot capping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, after less than a year on the job as HP’s top dog Leo Apotheker is out, and former eBay CEO and one time candidate for California governor Meg Whitman is in. The move was hardly unexpected, but it very quickly evolved from quiet mumblings and rumors to full-fledged fact this afternoon. It was initially expected that Whitman would only be stepping in as an interim solution — just another person passing through the revolving door at the entrance to the CEO’s office. But, Whitman, a current board member, is in for the long haul. She’s stepping in at a crucial and somewhat difficult time for the company that has seen its stock price plummet 47 percent, its $1.2 billion mobile OS flounder and is considering spinning off its PC business. She is no stranger to controversy (simply refer to her short tenure with Goldman Sachs) and was an integral part in growing eBay from a startup with just a couple of dozen staff members to one of the most popular destinations on the internet — so, at least she’s accustomed to having a few curve balls thrown her way.

In a statement, Whitman said, “I am honored and excited to lead HP. I believe HP matters – it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world.” The company also announced today that Ray Lane is moving from a non-executive chairman role to executive chairman of the board of directors, and that the board intends to appoint a lead independent director “promptly.” HP’s press release and some information from the company’s investor call announcing the decision are right after the break.

Continue reading HP names Meg Whitman new President and CEO, gives Leo Apotheker the boot

HP names Meg Whitman new President and CEO, gives Leo Apotheker the boot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Lala and Color founder Bill Nguyen

The Engadget Interview: Lala and Color founder Bill Nguyen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on June 11, 2008 by CyberNet.

With the announcement of the iPhone 3G has come some confusion over who qualifies for an upgrade. This time around the phones are being subsidized by AT&T which means they have control over who gets upgraded pricing and who doesn’t. Some current 2G iPhone owners have been confused thinking that they won’t be able to get the phones priced at $199 and $299. Thankfully an internal memo to AT&T employees explains the upgrade process and who qualifies. Assuming this is a legitimate memo, here are the answers to your upgrade questions.

I own a 2G iPhone, will I be eligible for the $199 and $299 pricing for the iPhone 3G?

The short answer is yes (big sign of relief). The long answer, from the memo says: “When the 3G device launches, all active postpaid customers in good standing with a 2G iPhone will be eligible to receive the qualified upgrade pricing for a 3G device regardless of service tenure. Customers that would not otherwise be eligible due to tenure will be made eligible at launch.

Just keep in mind that you will have to re-sign a 2-year contract and you’ll also be forced to change your current plan to one that includes the increased price for faster 3G speeds.

I’m an AT&T subscriber but I don’t have a 2G iPhone. Will I be able to get the iPhone 3G for upgrade pricing?

The short answer is maybe. The long answer is that it will depend on when it was that you signed your contract, and possibly when (or if) it was that you upgraded to your current phone. AT&T hasn’t outlined the specifics here yet, and they haven’t said what the non-upgrade pricing will be. Our guess is that it will be about $100 more for each model.

What if I sign-up for AT&T and get an iPhone 3G when it launches and I don’t like it. Can I return it?

Certainly you can return it and cancel your service, just as long as it’s within 30 days from when you bought it in the first place. Some people thought this might be the way that they’d be able to purchase phones to unlock and re-sell, but as it turns out, it won’t be. If you take advantage of their return policy, the customer will have to return the device within the 30 day time period after initially buying it.

So what am I to do if I want an unlocked phone?

The only way we can see that you’ll be able to get an unlocked phone is to go into AT&T and purchase the phone, sign-up for a 2-year contract, and then cancel the service and pay the early termination fee of $175. This would mean you could get a phone for about $375 and then unlock it or do whatever you choose to do with it, assuming the software will be available right away to do so.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Proving it’s not all about edu-mah-cation, a group of casual star-gazers has stumbled upon what might well be a pair of new planets. Following on from gamers’ success with complicated medical puzzles, an army of 40,000 online volunteer astronomy nerds signed up to the Planet Hunters project to help mine through NASA data. One of the possible planets they discovered is roughly two and a half times the size of Earth, while the other a whopping eight times bigger than this revolving ball of blue and green we call home. The project uses data from NASA’s Keppler telescope, which registers fluctuations in brightness as objects pass in front of distant stars — a setup that’s helped scientists discover 1,235 potential alien planets in its first four months. Obviously, though, the technology isn’t perfect, which is where the project’s muggle volunteers (assisted by Oxford and University of Chicago researchers) come in. They’ve been combing through NASA’s readings and are now sifting through the next 90 days of Keppler observations.

[Image credit: NASA]

Volunteer scientists discover two possible planets, tell NASA it missed a spot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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