Hasta La Gadget!

It isn’t exactly a secret that the iPhone is a little on the delicate side, and with so many people across the country using an iPhone, a number of those users are bound to have some accidents from time to time. Of course, Apple will help us get our iPhones repaired when the grim reaper takes them, which begs the question: just how much do we spend on iPhone repairs? A new study from SquareTrade gives us the answer to that question, and it’s safe to say the amount we’ve spent on iPhone repairs is staggering.

Since the release of the first iPhone back in 2007, Americans have spent $5.9 billion dollars on iPhone repairs. SquareTrade’s infographic breaks that number down for us nicely, saying that figure is $100 million more than Mitt Romney and Barack Obama will spend on their presidential campaigns combined. That $5.9 billion figure is 29 times more than we spend on contraceptives each year, and it’s twice the amount Americans spend on toilet paper each year as well.

iPhone users reporting accidental damage is 10 times more common than users reporting lost or stolen phones, and SquareTrade’s study says that 30% of users have their damaged their iPhone in the past twelve months. When it comes to how these phones actually get damaged, by far the most common method is dropping the iPhone while holding it (30%), followed by immersing it in liquid – which we’re going to assume means dropping it in the toilet – at 18%. 13% of users report that their iPhone was damaged when it fell out of their lap, with knocking the iPhone off a table (11%) and spilling liquid on it (9%) rounding out the list.

Of course, not all of these users will pay the fee to get their iPhone repaired, and 12% of respondents said that they just put up with a cracked screen. As if dealing with a cracked screen wasn’t already bad enough, 6% said that they’ve gone as far as taping their iPhone back together. SquareTrade’s study surveyed 2,000 US iPhone users, and then the company – which offers warranties on devices like the iPhone, by the way – extrapolated that data using information on the iPhone market size from comScore. Click the thumbnail below to see SquareTrade’s full infographic, and tell us – what do you think of this data?

iPhone repairs since 2007 top $5.9 billion, survey claims is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The online retail giant Amazon has a huge audience for selling their tablets and Kindle eReaders on the web, but when you don’t have a storefront you’ll take all the help you can get. In terms of brick and mortar stores there’s only a handful of opportunities for Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HD tablet — and today they’re losing a big one.

Today reports are claiming that an even bigger retail giant, Wal-Mart Inc will no longer support or sell any of Amazon’s line of Kindle Fire tablets or eReaders. This is a huge blow considering earlier this year Target removed them from their shelves too.

This marks the second major chain to stop offering Amazon’s products, and you have to wonder why. Are they feeling threatened that Amazon offers so many of the same things they do online, and don’t want to help the competition? This is what good old Wally-World had to say late last night in a memo to store management nationwide:

We have recently made the business decision to not carry Amazon tablets and eReaders beyond our existing inventory and purchase commitments,” “This includes all Amazon Kindle models current and recently announced.”

Obviously Walmart is one of the largest chains across America, but according to Reuters while they lead the charge in sales, their online sales are quite poor and are getting beat out by many — including Amazon. A Walmart spokeswoman said they’ll continue to sell “a broad assortment” of eReaders and tablets in the future. We can’t help but wonder if this is just to cut the helping hand they’ve been giving the competition, or if Walmart is looking to get into hardware themselves. Best Buy has Dynex and Insignia, could Walmart be preparing something of their own too?

[via Reuters]

Amazon’s Kindle readers and tablets booted from Walmart shelves is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tagg, the company behind the Pet Tracker which was released last year, intends to keep their Pet Tracker relevant in this day and age with the introduction of a new tracking feature so that pet owners will have no trouble figuring out just where their pets are, and owners can even be notified should the pet end up lost. The new activity tracking feature will arrive from next month onwards without any additional cost to Tagg users, where it will further enhance the device’s existing location tracking capabilities by offering owners all the relevant information to help them proactively manage their pets’ health and exercise.

Daily Tagg Points will be used to display your pet’s activity over the past 24 hours via an at-a-glance snapshot. Any movement detected by the Tagg tracker will be logged, and points will be assigned depending on the intensity and duration of the activity, and these range from resting to highly active. Humans have pedometers, while your pooch will have the Pet Tracker, how cute is that? I am quite sure that the more active breeds out there who need plenty of exercise each day will be happy if their owner is responsible enough to put the Tagg Pet Tracker to good use.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Tagg Pet Tracker makes sure Fido remains safe, PowerA’s $50 MOGA Bluetooth Android controller landing in October,

Working on your parkour skills?  Going over to the local playground and kangaroo kicking kids off of the monkey bars?  Flying down the slide face first into a diving roll faceplant?

If so, you and me aren’t so different after all.  The thing is, these failed stunt attempts feel much more awesome when you’re sporting a jacket that looks like the one himself Ezio would wear!  Check this out – there’s no way you can resist putting this on your Christmas list!  And this year, we’re finding Santa and giving it to him.  Personally.

The Asssassin’s Creed Jacket is modeled after the one that Connor Kenway’s going to wear in the newest Assassin’s Creed title.  It was designed by Volante Designs, and you can buy it for $320.  Well, actually, he’s had a gigantic influx of orders due to the media attention, and you have three options.  One: whip out the sewing machine and make one yourself.  Two: pay extra and get one of the first jackets.  Three:  fill out an order form and wait an un-specified period of time while he hires more employees to increase production speeds.

You can get this jacket in any color combination you want, but I would probably just go with the classic red and white.  Scratch that – neon green is my favorite.

This is undoubtedly the most awesome jacket I have ever seen, and it is a must have for any serious Assassin’s Creed fan!  Let’s be honest – dressing up like an assassin may be a way to get the whole subdivision to think you’re a freak, but it’s a great way to get in shape and show off your geeky tastes at the same time!  And that’s rare, since my geeky tastes usually just involve bacon.

If you’re not willing to fork out the cash and pick up one of these, then you should take a look at some other awesome Assassin’s Creed stuff!  Take this Hidden Blade Gauntlet Replica, for example, or this Assassin’s Creed Tomahawk Replica!  Both of which are dangerous, but we all know that it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt – then it’s run from the police and blame Todd.  “Seriously, bro?  Pinning it on me?”

[via Geekologie]

Last year’s Sony Tablet S wasn’t perfect, but it was refreshing. It was a sign that Sony could still innovate, and that it wasn’t afraid to try something different. The new Xperia S tablet is an improvement in every way. But it’s still hung up on those same Sony snags. More »