Hasta La Gadget!

While precious few in number, game releases for the Xbox One inside of February include some games that have the potential to be real heavy-hitters. We’ve got four games and … Continue reading

If you’re aiming for what might be the smallest package for the largest-definition delivery in a computer this upcoming season, you might want to have a peek at the ASUS … Continue reading

This article was written on June 26, 2007 by CyberNet.

I think we’re going to be all iPhoned out by the time Friday gets here! The news today is that AT&T and Apple have FINALLY announced the service plans for the iPhone, and surprisingly, they’re much more reasonable than I ever expected.

Yesterday the speculation was that prices would run similar to those for BlackBerry users with a price range of $84.98 and $179.98. Fortunately for those of you who plan on getting an iPhone, the BlackBerry pricing isn’t even close to what iPhone users will be offered.

Besides being affordable, they’re also pretty simple because each plan is actually three plans bundled together. It’s simple. They all include unlimited data, visual voicemail, 200 SMS, and the standard roll-over minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling that AT&T offers. So here it is, official prices straight from AT&T and Apple:

• $59.99 for 450 minutes
• $79.99 for 900 minutes
• $99.99 for 1,350 minutes

The only other charge will be a fee of $36 to activate the phone, and family plans will also be an option.

See, I told you it’s affordable! I think that’s by far the best service plan I’ve seen that includes unlimited data (email, web), so way to go Apple and AT&T. While the phone isn’t exactly affordable for the majority, at least service plans are.

Regarding the service plans, Jobs is quoted as saying:

“We want to make choosing a service plan simple and easy, so every plan includes unlimited data with direct Internet access, along with Visual Voicemail and a host of other goodies.We think these three plans give customers the flexibility to experience all of iPhone’s revolutionary features at affordable and competitive prices.” And yes, he did say “Goodies.”

While I still won’t be seen standing in any iPhone line on Friday, I must say that they did a great job of coming up with simple plans and affordable prices. I guess the cheaper plans will help people justify spending so much on the phone itself? Remember, a two year contract is required, and you can activate your phone via iTunes. This ensures that you get the experience of un-boxing the phone instead of some AT&T rep. doing it for you. More info on that here.

Copyright © 2014 CyberNetNews.com

Kickstarter funding will often lead to the more traditional kind, and in the case of Boombotix, that’s exactly what happened. The California startup raised $17,000 for its music syncing app, which allows people to synchronize playback of music across multiple devices using mobile networks, and nearly $130,000 for its Boombot Rex mobile Bluetooth action-ready portable speaker. Now, it has also raised $4 million in venture funding from Social+ Capital, Baseline, Red Hills and many others.

May of its partners in this round are strategic in nature, and Boombotix co-founder Lief Storer says they were chosen for their ability to help build the brand.

“The investors’ interest is vested in amplifying our brand through product development and strategic marketing,” he explained in an interview. “There isn’t a single expense [in terms of using these funds] that stands out, but having key human capital in place to continue building the talent in the organization will be essential to the long-term strategy.”

Boombotix isn’t saying how many speakers it managed to see since its launch back in 2010, but it has seen its sales grow by triple figures since the debut of its Kickstarter campaigns, which also led to deals secured with retailers including Amazon, T-Mobile, Microsoft and Apple.com. The selling point of the Boombot REX is that it can stand up to mud, dust and some water exposure, as well as take spills, while providing quality sound, portability and also speaker phone functions, including the ability to use Siri on the iPhone from the gadget.

Its audio sync tech was designed to be an answer to user requests to broadcast to multiple speakers at once, which isn’t supported with standard Bluetooth. It isn’t perfect, but the app gets around this by allowing multiple devices (i.e. smartphones or tablets) to sync playback of music perfectly over a mobile network, which means that each can output music to their own attached Bluetooth speaker for what is effectively multi-speaker sound. Of course, you need more than one device to make it happen, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Boombot has begun to position its speakers as a wearable play, in part to capitalize on the growing interest in that device category. It’s true that they’re small and clip-mounted, and can be easily attached to clothing, but the key to growth will be holding appeal beyond the current action sports group of core buyers. With fresh funding, perhaps that kind of expansion is exactly what’s in store.

Another source has stepped forward with information about an Xbox One model that may very well be appearing later this year with a price that’s ever-so-slightly less expensive than the … Continue reading