If your economy isn’t doing so well, just jump into another time zone. This is the strategy pursued by Samoa, for example, which rather dramatically leapt across the International Date Line back in 2011 in order to align its work-week more closely with its Pacific neighbors; and a more local version of this might be the next step for Spain, according to a proposal being kicked around since September.
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We did hear of the BlackBerry 9720 a few days ago, when it was called the BlackBerry Bold 9720 and shown off on a YouTube video. If you love a blast from the past, then the BlackBerry 9720, also known as the Samoa if codenames are part of your interest, is set to keep you excited. Why do we say that? Well, the BlackBerry 9720 Samoa is said to be running on the now obsolete BlackBerry 7 platform, where it will target those who happen to live in emerging markets, instead of mature markets that are always on the lookout for high end devices.
@evleaks are the ones behind the BlackBerry 9720 Samoa press render leak, living up to their name along the way. The press render does seem to jive with the leaked video that we looked at a few days back, where it will feature a QWERTY keypad as well as an optical trackpad, complete with Send, Menu, End and Back keys to keep it company. Apart from that, it does seem as though the BlackBerry 9720 will feature a bunch of dedicated buttons that are located on the sides of the smartphone, while other rumors point to a measly 480 x 360 pixel display.
Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It | BlackBerry 9720 Samoa Press Render Leaked original content from Ubergizmo. 
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“You could argue that there’s some value in it.”
That’s New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking candidly during a recent interview at D10 in California. The topic of conversation? Widespread WiFi, and whether or not the government should be the one thinking about its future ubiquity. More specifically, if WiFi hotspots should be treated like “roads or water supply,” as aptly stated by AllThingsD‘s Kara Swisher.
This obviously isn’t the first time such an idea has crossed the minds of those connected to Washington, D.C. Muni-Fi (municipal wireless networks) projects were all the rage a few years back, but one spectacular failure after another swiftly extinguished that momentum. In more modern times, America (as well as other nations) has sought to solve the “rural broadband” problem, bringing high(er)-speed internet connections to places with a higher bovine population than human.
But bringing broadband to places like rural North Dakota seems like an easy chore to a small, but passionate, group of 60,000 sitting some 4,770 miles from San Diego, California. American Samoa may be an unincorporated US territory located closer to pure bliss than the hustle and bustle of Wall Street, but it’s no doubt being taken into consideration in recent mapping projects aiming to pinpoint the areas most lacking in terms of digital infrastructure. Unbeknownst to most mainlanders, this fragile island chain is home to the most expensive internet in America, and the political issues surrounding it are astonishing. Head on past the break to learn more on what I discovered.
The most expensive internet in America: fighting to bring affordable broadband to American Samoa originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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