Hasta La Gadget!

Just when you thought it was safe to get out your soldering irons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants you to know that its agents are still out there, on the lookout for for even more mod chip-wielding nogoodniks and their non-DMCA compliant consoles. According to the AP, a 27-year-old CSU student named Matthew Crippen was recently arrested for “modifying Xbox, PlayStation and Wii consoles in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act” and released Monday on $5,000 bond. The dime was dropped on this perp by the Entertainment Software Association, and the raid conducted by Customs agents sometime in May. He will be arraigned on August 10th, and if convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. Let this be a lesson to you: while the ICE may have its hands full with human slavery, drug trafficking, transnational gangs, and stolen artifacts, there is always time to make an example out of a man that knows his way around the inside of a Playstation.

Filed under: Gaming

Console hacker arrested, faces up to ten years in jail originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The old adage goes “be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.” After years of bellyaching (we’re as guilty of it as anyone) that Nokia was giving Europe first dibs on its hottest handsets over North America, we’re now seeing perhaps the most dramatic, positive shift in North American strategy in the company’s history — in fact, they’re straight-up saying that they want to push all the way to number 1 in the local market. But is it enough of a shift to fend off aggressive moves from Samsung, LG, Apple, and the rest of the gang across every conceivable market segment?

Nokia’s product portfolio manager for the region, Ira Frimere, sat down with Computerworld recently to discuss the renewed push, admitting that the company has had to rethink some fundamental things about its products and its business model to help its cause in the States; one small example is the fact that the Surge is launching without the typical four-digit model number or Nseries / Eseries code that is found on virtually every Nokia sold worldwide, ostensibly because Americans apparently prefer names to numbers (it’ll launch as the Surge 6790 internationally, it turns out). Additionally, the company has dedicated a facility in San Diego to working with its North American carrier partners — AT&T and Verizon, most prominently. It’s still early on, but the labor there seems to already be bearing fruit, considering that AT&T will be stocking three S60 devices once the Surge launches — a record — and Verizon’s rumored to have some interesting stuff in the pipeline.

Frimere adds that Nokia believes services are key to winning American hearts and minds, an area the company has been putting extensive R&D into lately with its Ovi line (unfortunately, so is everyone else — and getting to iTunes and App Store-level acceptance with Nokia Music and the Ovi Store is going to be an uphill battle, to say the least). Ultimately, the conclusion seems to be Nokia’s reluctant admittance that breaking into the US market requires a willingness to give carriers far, far more respect than they deserve by bending and breaking to their somewhat odd demands — and that’s going to be an ongoing problem for consumers, whether you’re a Nokia fan or not.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia talks shop about its revised US strategy, but is it enough? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Check it, big spenders. If you just can’t get enough of that swipe-to-buy action seen prominently at most modern fuel pumps and McDonald’s restaurants, why not bring the action back to your home turf? Available now in the wondrous United States of America, NetSecure’s $99.95 SmartSwipe is a USB-enabled device that literally allows you to swipe your credit card in order to make online purchases. Reportedly, this device “scrambles and encrypts the user’s credit card data before it reaches the user’s computer or internet,” thus making online shopping safe once and for all. If you’re still confused, hop on past the break for a dead-serious infomercial. Trust us, it’s a must-watch.

Continue reading SmartSwipe helps you max out your Diners Club card without leaving the house

Filed under: Peripherals

SmartSwipe helps you max out your Diners Club card without leaving the house originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scene from last year’s iPhone 3G launch in NYC

Didja hear the news? There’s a new iPhone coming out tomorrow! Okay, snark aside, we know there’s still a good number of you who want to brave the weather and grab yourself a brand spanking new 3G S, but for whatever reason didn’t pre-order ahead of time. Not to worry, we’re here to help!

United States

If you pre-ordered the phone in-store from AT&T, you can pick it up tomorrow at 7:00AM from that same retail outlet. Everyone else will have to wait until the normal business hours, and from there it’s first come, first serve. If you’re wanting to head to an Apple store, be sure to set your alarms for the right time: each one is opening at 7:00AM local time. Apple’s online site has a field to let you complete pre-authorization ahead of time, but that won’t guarantee you availability so still plan on waiting outside before sunrise. You can also try your luck at Best Buy and Walmart, which should be receiving some stock for each store. As for online pre-orders from either AT&T or Apple, well, just go with whatever the shipping date currently says.

United Kingdom

O2 customers can get their 3G S starting at 8:02AM — yes, that’s the official time, and not a minute sooner, we suspect — from O2, Apple, and Carphone Warehouse stores. Prices vary based on a variety of 18 and 24 month plans, as well as Pay & Go plans.

Canada

Unsurprisingly, Rogers and subsidiary Fido will be handling your iPhone fix. Also, for the first time, you can also drop by an Apple retail store, which should open around 8:00AM local time. From what we can tell, the Rogers / Fido stores aren’t opening early, but just to be safe, you might wanna call tonight or plan on showing up an hour before the usual time.

Obviously, there’s more than a few countries we’re not covering here, so hit up the read link to check out Apple’s official site for details by region, and feel free to share your own tips in the comments below!

Filed under: Cellphones

How to get an iPhone 3G S tomorrow in US, UK, and Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI’s traditional Wind Top AE1900 — you know, the one with the white and clear frame — started shipping here in the US just over a month ago, but now two new family members are joining in. The AE1900 Black and Dual Core models have just landed down in a handful of respected e-tailers for right around $600, so if you’ve managed to hold off this long and prefer darker shades of most anything — well, what are you waiting for? Full release is post-break.

Continue reading MSI now shipping Wind Top AE1900 Black / Dual Core

Filed under: Desktops

MSI now shipping Wind Top AE1900 Black / Dual Core originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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