Mar 04

Russia’s major mobile operators join hands for unified LTE rollout

Posted in: 4G, deal, industry, lte, mobile broadband, mobile internet, MobileBroadband, MobileInternet, partnership, Today's Chili, wwan

Ringo and co. said it best, and now Beeline, Megafon, MTS and Rostelekom are getting a little help from their friends. Er, friend. Or maybe it’s the other way around? At any rate, the first four have just signed a deal with Yota to build out a nationwide LTE network that’ll work across the board. Rather than forcing each operator to do their own thing, the four in question will now have the option to buy 25 percent stakes in Yota; according to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, this unified effort will enable Russia’s economy to reap the benefits of a widespread 4G network while other nations (ahem, America) fight to see whether it’ll be WiMAX or LTE taking the lead. If you’ll recall, Yota was actually one of the first carriers on the planet to serve up commercial 4G, but last year it decided to make the switch from WiMAX to the suddenly popular LTE. The goal here is to have LTE in 180 cities with a total population of more than 70 million citizens by 2014, and we’re told that those situated on Little Diomede may actually be the first to get LTE in Alaska. Kidding. Maybe.

Continue reading Russia’s major mobile operators join hands for unified LTE rollout

Russia’s major mobile operators join hands for unified LTE rollout originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 01:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 28

AT&T ShopAlerts: first location-based ads from a US carrier kick off in four markets

Posted in: att, deal, sale, sales, Today's Chili

A few third-party apps have been going after this market for a while now, but AT&T has just become the first American carrier to throw its weight behind location-based ads in teaming up with Placecast to launch the so-called AT&T ShopAlerts service in four markets. Residents of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco will be the first to experience the mind-bending future of advertising — presumably because they’re densely-populated enough to make a location-based trial worthwhile — with seven inaugural partners: HP, Kmart, JetBlue, SC Johnson, Kibbles ‘n Bits (‘n Bits ‘n Bits), Nature’s Recipe, and the “got milk?” people. Fortunately, the system is opt-in, not out. Follow the break for AT&T’s full press release.

Continue reading AT&T ShopAlerts: first location-based ads from a US carrier kick off in four markets

AT&T ShopAlerts: first location-based ads from a US carrier kick off in four markets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 27

OnLive offering free MicroConsole with Homefront game purchase

Posted in: deal, free, Today's Chili

Considering nabbing a $99 OnLive Game System to connect your TV to the company’s game streaming cloud? Here’s another thought — pre-order THQ’s Homefront on OnLive instead for $50, and get a voucher for a free MicroConsole (and a free game) in the bargain. That’s the deal OnLive announced the other day, which runs through March 14th, though the fine print says supplies are limited, shipping costs extra, and you won’t actually receive the hardware until after the deal expires no matter when you pre-order the game. We’re not sure what it says for OnLive’s ongoing viability that the company finds itself having to give hardware away for less than half its worth, but we won’t look a gift horse in the mouth!

OnLive offering free MicroConsole with Homefront game purchase originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 26

Windows Phone’s new UI and Xbox games are most exciting aspects of Microsoft deal, says Nokia poll

Posted in: deal, Microsoft, nokia, partnership, Today's Chili, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

In search for feedback on its momentous decision to dump Symbian in favor of Windows Phone, Nokia has put up the above poll on its Conversations website canvassing opinions about what users anticipate most out of the new deal. There’s no consensus choice, with the equivocation of reactions being underlined by the fact that the “Other” option was the modal response, however of the given categories, a UI refresh and Xbox-related gaming boons turned out to be most important. No surprises there, Symbian’s touchscreen UI shortcomings are well known about while the Xbox tie-up has been one of Microsoft’s big selling points for Windows Phone 7 since its start. We’d just ask Nokia to be quick about delivering on these things — spending too long in anticipation mode won’t be good for our health.

Windows Phone’s new UI and Xbox games are most exciting aspects of Microsoft deal, says Nokia poll originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 09:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Inquirer  |  sourceNokia Conversations  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 14

Apple said to be in talks with Samsung to buy $7.8 billion worth of components

Posted in: Apple, deal, Displays, flash, ipad, iPhone, LCD, samsung, Today's Chili
It’s not clear if it’s related to that mysterious $3.9 billion “strategic investment” or not, but it looks like Apple could be about to throw some serious cash in Samsung’s direction. According to a report published in the Korea Economic Daily, Apple is expected to purchase some $7.8 billion worth of components from Samsung this year, including displays, applications processors, and NAND flash chips — all intended for use in iPhones and iPads. As the paper notes, Apple would become Samsung’s single biggest customer if the deal goes through, although the two obviously aren’t strangers to massive deals — Apple has already famously run Samsung’s flash memory supplies dry a few times.

Apple said to be in talks with Samsung to buy $7.8 billion worth of components originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 09

Bloomberg: Nokia definitely in talks with Microsoft, partnership likely (update: WSJ, too)

Posted in: Android, business, deal, Google, Microsoft, nokia, partnership, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone7

Nokia will jump from the burning platform this Friday, but whither will it dive? Towards Microsoft and Windows Phone 7, as continually rumored, or towards Google and Android? Two turkeys told us the latter isn’t likely, and Bloomberg‘s anonymous sources seem to agree, saying that Nokia is indeed in the final stages of talks with Microsoft, and is “close to announcing a software partnership.” These spooks also say that Google was also in the running, but is no longer favored for the job, and as such we’re very likely to see Windows Phone 7 running on Nokia devices soon. We’re sure you’ll have some very strong opinions about that — we had a few ourselves — but please keep it clean in comments below!

Update: The Wall Street Journal just published a report of its own, by and large saying pretty much the same thing as BW. “If an agreement can be reached in time… Elop likely would announce the deal Friday.” The report also said an executive shakeup might be in the works, with “several senior members of the executive board expected to leave.” Show of hands, who all’s excited for Friday’s announcement?

Bloomberg: Nokia definitely in talks with Microsoft, partnership likely (update: WSJ, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 05

Alienware M11x starting at just $599, but not for long

Posted in: deal, intel, sale, Today's Chili

Alienware’s M11x was never outrageously priced — at least not in comparison to Dell’s Adamo XPS — but there’s just something beautiful about sneaking in under that magical $600 mark. Right around a year after it was first introduced, the world’s most potent ultraportable is stooping to just $599 in a presumed effort to clear out inventory. Dell makes no bones about this being a “limited quantity sale,” with the baseline model sporting 2GB of DDR3-800 memory, a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, 160GB 5400RPM hard drive, an overclockable 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300, 11.6-inch WLED panel (1366 x 768), 1.3 megapixel webcam, an integrated 10/100 NIC and a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M GPU. Naturally, the Core 2011 models will cost you more, but if you’re kosher with buying yesterday’s best, that source link is where you need to head, STAT.

[Thanks, Benson]

Alienware M11x starting at just $599, but not for long originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31

Totally blow out the big game! Super Bowl XLV

Posted in: Android, Apple, apps, deal, hdtv, ios, LCD, Panasonic, phone, plasma, samsung, tablet, Today's Chili, vizio

It’s been confirmed, Super Bowl XLV will not be the first one with a full HD 3D broadcast (no gimmicky 3D commercials this year either, you can put the paper glasses away) despite featuring a halftime show by James Cameron’s BFFs, the Black Eyed Peas. Still, considering what happened the last time they tried 3D at the House That Jerry Jones Built it’s probably for the best. Still, just because you don’t have one of Cowboys Stadium’s record breaking HD screens you should still enjoy the game in style. In 2011 that means going beyond just the screen, the sounds and the seats — we’ll tell you how after the break.

Continue reading Totally blow out the big game! Super Bowl XLV

Totally blow out the big game! Super Bowl XLV originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31

Verizon drops Samsung Fascinate, Droid Incredible, Droid R2-D2 to $100

Posted in: Android, deal, droid, HTC, motorola, sale, samsung, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

You can call it a Valentine’s sale or a pre-iPhone 4 blow out, but any way you slice it there’s some pretty good deals on Android phones available from Verizon right now. That includes the Samsung Fascinate and Continuum, as well as the HTC Droid Incredible and Motorola Droid R2-D2, which are all now available for just $100 on the usual two-year contract (the Fascinate deal is apparently today-only). Unfortunately, the sale doesn’t include the Droid X, Droid Pro or Droid 2 Global, but Verizon is promising some additional one-day only sales during its “ten days of sweet deals” from now until February 10th, so folks interested in one of those might not be out of luck just yet.

Verizon drops Samsung Fascinate, Droid Incredible, Droid R2-D2 to $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  sourceVerizon  | Email this | Comments

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Jan 14

Skype’s acquisition of Qik is now complete

Posted in: deal, merger, skype, Today's Chili

Huh, that was fast. Barely one week has passed since Skype announced plans to acquire rival Qik, and now the buyout is complete. Skype celebrated with a blog post announcing the deal and reaffirms that its teams will be “working together… to make our mobile video products even better.” Not to worry, Qik faithful, we doubt you’re world will change much — not yet, at least.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Skype’s acquisition of Qik is now complete originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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