Hasta La Gadget!

Following the significant price cut Microsoft’s Surface RT received in the US recently, its cost has begun dropping in other regions, too. In the UK, Redmond’s official online store is selling the 32GB model for £279 (down from £399) and the tablet with 64GB of storage for £359 (reduced from £479) — adding £80 to those prices will get you the Touch Cover bundle. UK retailers John Lewis and PC World are offering the same discounts (although the latter is £0.99 more expensive across the board), and Microsoft’s Australian store is knocking up to 180 Aussie dollars off the tablets and cover bundles. We imagine all countries the RT ships to will follow suit if they haven’t already, so check your local MS store for confirmation. Meanwhile, it’s hard to escape the feeling that RT as a whole has been overtaken by full-fledged Windows 8 machines.

[Thanks, Erik]

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

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Via: TechRadar

Source: MS store (UK), MS store (Australia), PC World, John Lewis

Okay, we’re pronouncing it “ooh-acki”, because that sounds slightly more classy than “wacky”, but you can call this new Rakuten-owned streaming service whatever you like. You can also choose how to pay for it, because the pricing system gives you the option of a monthly subscription for access to a “regularly-refreshed line-up” of movies and TV shows, or a per-item charge to rent or buy the latest Hollywood releases — or you can pay both types of fee if you want it all. Having already attracted 600,000 subscribers in Spain (hence the idioma in the image above), Wuaki.tv is offering a decent introductory discount to give itself a kickstart in the UK: be among the first 75,000 to sign up during the beta phase (and do so before mid-September) and you’ll get a half-price monthly fee of £2.99 for as long as you stay with the no-contract service. The downside to joining early is that, for the time being, you can only stream to a Mac or PC. Support for mobile devices, smart TVs and consoles is due to be added over the coming months, at which point the decision to sign up quickly (via the Source link below) might start to prove its worth.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Wuaki.tv

Sure, the PlayStation 3 is going to be making way for the new generation soon, but something tells us folks won’t complain about having access to more entertainment on Sony’s aging console. To wit, Now TV’s just announced that its video services have reached yet another audience, allowing those in the United Kingdom to watch Sky Movies and Sky Sports via the PS3. While subscribers can currently stream a good amount of live sporting events and some relatively new movies, Now TV has promised that additional content from Sky is “due to be added this year” — such as programs from Sky 1, Sky Arts, Sky Living and US shows.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony

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Source: Now TV

Despite receiving hundreds of millions of pounds in government subsidies, the effort to bring high-speed internet to rural parts of the UK seems to be running seriously behind schedule. The National Audit Office (NAO) says the original goal of providing 90 percent of Brits with access to at least a 25Mbps connection by May 2015 will likely be pushed back to the end of 2016 — and at a cost that’s £207 million ($312 million) more than first anticipated. A big part of the problem, according to the NAO, is a lack of competition among those bidding to help with the project. BT has already been awarded more than half of the local contracts and no other company is in the running to scoop up what’s left. As well as slowing things down, this effective monopoly may also be adding to the financial pain; whereas before the government expected BT to foot 36 percent of the bill, that’s now dropped to just 23 percent. Microsoft’s whitespace idea could avoid all these issues, but in terms of schedules it seems just as remote.

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Source: The Telegraph

There was only one form of bacon present at EE’s breakfast event today, but plenty more to chew on, as the UK 4G provider shed light on its new shared plans and PAYG data-only offerings. The sharing scheme, launching on July 17th, will put up to five devices on one bill and allow them to feed from the same data allowance. Starting with any regular contract, you can add other phones or devices at any time. Snagging another phone SIM for one year costs £12 per month, or £17 if you only need it for 30 days — you can also get handsets to go with those SIMs for additional dinero. Every phone plan you tack on includes unlimited calls and texts, but if you only need a SIM for data, it’ll cost £5 each month on a two-year contract, £8 for a 30-day commitment, and more if you want a USB dongle, MiFi hotspot or tablet on top. EE had plenty more to tell us, so head below the fold if you’re up for the full rundown.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Networking, Internet, Mobile

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