Samsung Electronics today announced the launch of Samsung Monte, Model S5620, their new full touch screen device for style-conscious mobile users.

The handset is launched with a host of multimedia features and a sleek, organic design with a sophisticated and glossy look, providing the style and performance of a high-end handset at affordable price. With a stunning design and an intuitive TouchWiz 2.0 Plus User Interface (UI), the Monte is set to become the latest must-have full touch device.

The Samsung Monte has a lot to offer to the social network savvy consumer with a suite of native social networking applications including Facebook and MySpace, allowing users to access their profiles whenever and wherever they choose. This is combined with advanced Twitter and Bebo widgets – and multi-IM capability – to provide users with the opportunity to chat in real-time via their chosen service. In addition, Monte users can enjoy full Internet browsing, with an accelerometer sensor allowing the onscreen image to automatically adjust as you rotate the phone.

And for the connected lifestyle, the Monte includes GPS supported by Google Latitude™, ensuring you know where you are – and can keep your friends updated on your location at all times. This combined with Geo-tagging, allowing users to imprint their photos with geographic tags to share their travels and experiences with friends. Other connectivity features include optional anytime, anywhere Wi-Fi connectivity, Exchange ActiveSync for access to Outlook email accounts, and Google Sync™. This allows users to simultaneously update their social networks schedules and Outlook calendar, without the hassle of accessing each application individually.

To showcase this feature rich and stylish handset, the Monte comes equipped with a 3.0-inch WQVGA LCD screen with 16:9 landscape viewing. It also boasts a 3.2-megapixel camera with many value-added features including smile shot, panorama shot, and face detection. For convenience, the phone also supports Smart Unlock and One finger zoom.

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Atlona Technologies, solutions based manufacturer of Audio Video products, announced new USB Powered VGA to HDMI Scaler/Converter, the AT-HDVieW.

Atlona Technologies has consistently created products that will allow users easy and affordable means of connecting their PC to their HDTV without spending a fortune on new video cards or expensive boxes that perform this task as a secondary function.

Atlona has added to their ever growing product line with their newest Switcher/Scaler, the AT-HDVieW. This new unit designed to take both video and audio signal from a PC or Laptop, and upscale it to a digital HDMI output, was specifically made for the retail market. Users looking to upscale their computer viewing experience through their home entertainment center can now use the HDVieW to easily adapt their VGA outputs into HDMI. Operating this device is as simple as plug and play, due to the units ability to automatically sense the native resolution of the desired display and scale the computer’s output to match it.

The HDVieW offers a wide-range HDTV and PC resolutions, up to 1080p or 1920×1200 and will take audio signal from the computer and embedded it into the HDMI signal output, so that user is able to enjoy both audio and video though one cable. The HDVieW is a scaler-converter, which means that it will always work without any adjustments to the video card software in addition to that the video quality will be dramatically increased due to the built-in high quality scaler. Unlike many other scalers and converters on the market, this product has pigtail extensions attached with VGA, Audio and USB cables as to save the hassle of purchasing more cable. USB powered, this unit does not require additional power supplies. With limitless applications for both consumer and commercial applications, this competitively priced Scaler/Converter will find its way into any home.

The new AT-HDVieW will be available at the end of February with an affordable MRSP or $119.00 and is currently available for pre-order.

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At launch, Google took heat for a number of things related to their Nexus One Android based smartphone, including the fact that customers who canceled service early faced $550 in fees – a $200 ETF from T-Mobile, and a $350 Google “Equipment Recovery Fee”. Which was more than the phone even cost. Responding to these criticisms, sluggish Nexus One sales and the FCC’s recent inquiry into ETFs, Google says they’re lowering the Nexus One “equipment recovery fee” from $350 to $150 and talks about the decision to the Wall Street Journal:

A Google representative said the company had been working with T-Mobile to lower the equipment fee. “Google’s overall financial philosophy with regard to operator service plans remains unchanged: We make no profit from commissions from operators or from equipment recovery fees, and our recovery fees are based on operator charges to Google for early termination of service,” the company said in a statement.

Another criticism of the Nexus One launch was that Google was only offering e-mail support (with turaround response time of up to 24 hours). That’s also changing, with TMO News indicating that Google has officially launched phone support for the Nexus One in the US, 888-48-NEXUS (63987). A third major criticism of the product was that the phone struggled to obtain 3G connectivity, even in markets where T-Mobile 3G service exists. That problem was apparently fixed with a recent firmware update, though some connectivity complaints persist.

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In what appears to be a promotion gone wrong, Cox Communications has accidentally offered free PlayStation 3’s to every Cox customer in Arizona that signs up for service or upgrades existing service. The deal was supposedly intended only to lure in new Cox customers, but Cox’s marketing team accidentally sent the flyers out to all customers.

Yep, they screwed up.

Judging from posts in the Broadbandreports.com’s forums, Cox did try pretty hard to honor the deal, which requires users sign a 12 month contract (and Cox’s ETF is roughly equivalent to the cost of a PS3). Some users who tried to get in on the deal late (and via word of mouth from customers who got flyers) aren’t getting PS3’s, and have complained to the Consumerist about Cox shutting down the promotion.

So, if you’re in Arizona, did you get one?

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Apparently, everybody’s favorite man in black had some doubts as to who was doing what with Queen Amidala way back when he looked like Hayden Christensen and before he talked like James Earl Jones.

Price: $15.95 [ Fashionably Geek ]

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As the broadband stimulus bill was being hashed out, you’ll recall it was stripped of some very lucrative, carrier-lobbied-for tax credits that would have given companies like Verizon billions for doing absolutely nothing differently – after the credits were exposed by the NY Times. With no cash giveaways, fears that taking funds could lead to additional regulations and restrictions requiring that ISPs use the money on under-served areas, last summer found the biggest ISPs saying no thanks to $7.2 billion in stimulus funds. Thousands of companies who actually want to deploy to rural markets wound up applying instead.

Ever since the first round however, the mega-carriers have been lobbying the government to have the restrictions on how they can spend the (your) money removed. Specifically, carriers wanted language removed that required fund recipients to adhere to neutral network principles, and they didn’t want to be restricted to using the funds for rural and/or under-served markets only. Judging from Qwest’s comments to the Denver Business Journal, they’ve been successful in getting those provisions removed. Qwest’s Colorado president seems to indicate that Qwest will apply for the second round of funding:

“The good news is that they seem to have heard us in Washington, D.C.” said Chuck Ward, Qwest’s Colorado president. “It almost gets us able to apply.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture s Rural Utilities Service and Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) adjusted rules for the nearly $3 billion second round of broadband stimulus grants. “We’ll see – we’ve put everybody back to work and dusted off the analysis we did for the first round,” Ward said.

Of course what Ward means by “we’ll see,” is that his lawyers are still digging through the language of the new round of funding, and if Qwest sees anything at all that requires them to actually do anything, they probably won’t apply. History is full of giant corporations that prefer their taxpayer funds with absolutely no accountability, and that is essentially what the biggest ISPs want if they’re going to apply for these funds.

You might recall that Qwest insisted that just $1 billion dollars from taxpayers would help them deploy regular DSL service to 95% of the company’s current footprint. One question is whether a company like Qwest deserves a taxpayer subsidy to deploy service to under-served areas, given the fact that Qwest has a bit of a history with skimping on network upgrades, yet has spent millions of dollars fighting under-served communities’ efforts to wire themselves with broadband. Most notably Qwest spent millions trying to derail municipal fiber efforts in Utah, suing to stop Utopia from using state utility poles, while claiming that municipal fiber to the home service caused “long term harm to consumers“.

Not exactly a bailout, but if these huge carriers can get tax money and not do anything differently, it sounds a lot like AIG to me.

Link to the original article…

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan announced that a limited edition PSP ‘Sweet Limited Package’ will become available on March 4, 2010, to coincide with the release of the new Blossom Pink PSP system.

Produced in collaboration with Jill Stuart, a highly popular women’s fashion brand from Sanei-International, the special package will be a limited offer at a recommended retail price of 21,000 yen.

The Sweet Limited Package comprises the PSP handheld entertainment system (PSP-3000) in an elegant Blossom Pink color, a special pouch and a cleaning cloth both designed specifically for the bundle pack by Jill Stuart and a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo. The special PSP pouch comes in a champagne-gold color with crystal embedded shoulder chain strap, allowing users to coordinate with their outfit and carry around their PSP more fashionably. The glittering silver Jill Stuart logo is printed on the cleaning cloth as well as on the package with pink crystal motif design.

Concurrently with the release of the Sweet Limited Package, SCEJ will also release ‘PSP Value Pack’ comprising the PSP-3000 system in Blossom Pink, Piano Black or Vibrant Blue color, a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, a pouch and a cloth, as a limited offer at a RRP of 19,800 yen.

Link to the original article…

Intel Corporation today unveiled its 2010 Intel Core vPro processor family to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes for PCs with greater, more flexible performance, theft prevention and cost savings in a rapidly changing business computing environment. These and several other capabilities are at the heart of many new Intel-based business laptop and desktop computers beginning to roll out from computer manufacturers worldwide.

The platform based on the 2010 Intel Core vPro processor family includes the new Intel Q57 Express chipset, and new Intel 82577LM Gigabit Network Connection for notebooks and Intel 82578DM Network Connection for desktop PCs.

The processors are based on Intel’s award-winning Nehalem microarchitecture and manufactured on Intel’s groundbreaking new 32-nanometer process. Intel has integrated high-definition graphics in its processors for the first time, and incorporated Intel’s second-generation high-k metal gate transistors that help increase computing speed and battery life.

The 2010 Intel Core i7 processors and Core i5 processors feature Intel Turbo Boost Technology and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology for adaptive, smarter computing. Intel Turbo Boost Technology automatically adjusts the speed of the processor when it senses a workload change – faster when the user, for example, is multitasking or watching a video, and slower, more energy-efficiently when the worker goes for coffee and only background applications are running.

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JVC has added a new high definition camera to its recently-announced 2010 Everio line, giving the series three HD models priced under 0. The new Everio GZ-HM340 features 16GB of internal flash memory plus an SD/SDHC card slot.

The GZ-HM340 includes all of the new features and improvements found throughout the 2010 Everio line, including advancements in low light capabilities and image stabilization, while convenience is enhanced with a new auto recording feature and time lapse recording.

For a steadier picture, JVC this year introduced Advanced Image Stabilizer (A.I.S) that ensures steady images even while walking, and is especially effective when shooting bright scenes from full wide to 5x zoom. Available on all models, Advanced Image Stabilizer uses a wide-angle image sampling area that is four times larger than that of conventional systems. A.I.S delivers powerful compensation for camera shake.

Time-Lapse recording is a sophisticated but easy-to-use feature for time-lapse shooting in one- to 80-second intervals, enabling hours-long segments to be reduced to seconds, such as the continuous recording of changing sky patterns spanning an entire day.

Like all 2010 HD Everio cameras, the new GZ-HM340 features a KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS, currently one of the world’s smallest and slimmest HD lenses. In the GZ-HM340 it offers a 20x optical zoom.

Everio high-definition models automatically switch between two internal media for continuous, uninterrupted recordings. Users can shoot seamless, drop-out-free recordings using dual SD cards or flash memory. HD-model enhancements also include Face Flow Thumbnail, which displays thumbnails from a particular section of a video by automatically selecting and zooming into human faces.

The 2010 Everio series features an all new, slim design that’s fashionable, easy to carry and comfortable to hold. Portability has been further enhanced with a redesigned grip belt that now works in two handy ways, as a conventional handle-style grip when both ends are snapped in place or as a strap when one end of the belt is released.

The new Everio GZ-HM340 is available later this month for $499.95.

Link to the original article…

Vodafone UK announced that they will be offering Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone ‘XPERIA X10′ in April 2010. The XPERIA X10 adopts a new UX platform that will evolve across the product portfolio and expand over time continuously introducing new features and capabilities. The UX platform builds on top of the Open OS and creates a unique Sony Ericsson user experience by combining best-in-class entertainment features with signature applications, unrivaled integration of social media services and a rich graphical user interface.

Equipped with a 4-inch full wide VGA touch screen, the XPERIA X10 features Snapdragon processor, Android 1.6 platform, an 8.1M camera with 16x zoom lens and auto focus function, 8GB microSDHC card, wireless LAN and Bluetooth connectivity.

No words on pricing and specific dates in April in the UK, or how much it might cost in the US either. Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson is expected to bring the latest version of the smartphone to Mobile World Congress 2010.

Link to the original article…

This is the second “One Year Later” review that I’ve done where I feel like a day, a week, or even a month just doesn’t do service to a review about an item(s) that should be used and critiqued over the year to find any and all problems, quirks and hopefully all of the good parts all enough time to come to the surface. Just a bit over a year ago, I purchased one of the Ooma Hub and Scout combo packages and decided I was going to test it. As with all over VoIP platforms, the Ooma Hub depends upon your internet connection. Your connection goes down, so goes your ability to use your phone.

That’s the nature of VoIP.

But just like Vonage, who I have been with for 7 years, or just like magicJack who I’ve kept for 2 years whenever I travel, and now Ooma – which I’ve kept now for slightly over a year. I tend to stick to commercial VoIP solutions because I like the support they give me. And in one year, I’ve had to contact Ooma only once for an outage last April that lasted for about 4 hours. Mind you, I don’t even make that many phone calls, but seeing that little red light just bothered me enough to send them an e-mail. They promptly responded and solved the problem in under a few hours for all users of Ooma. No problems since.

Unlike magicJack, there’s no implicit limit to how long a phone call can last. You can talk for 60, 90, 270 minutes and it will not disconnect you. The voice quality is on par, if not better than an AT&T landline. In fact, people have heard more of what was going on in my background than an AT&T landline. Sometimes, that’s not a good thing… but that’s another post

Ooma does require a hefty price for their equipment. Their newer Ooma Telo hardware just screams out über-sexy with that fingerprint magnet black plastic and smooth corners, while the older (see above) equipment would be just fine in a 1960 retro styled home alongside your childhood Han Solo blaster toy. Call me odd, but I love my older one just fine. Ooma Telo can be purchased from Amazon.com, Best Buy and other retailers starting around $199.99 to about $249.99. Good part though? There are zero monthly bills after that. But you have to hope that Ooma stays in business so you’ll still have the ability to call out and not just have a pricey piece of kit in your house.

So how does Ooma make money? Besides investments by people ranging from Ashton Kutcher, Ooma’s Creative Director, to venture capitalist that have put in as much as $18.3 million in investments just in Summer of 2009; Ooma makes money from Premier Subscribers and from pre-paid overseas phone calls. Mind you, their rates aren’t exactly the best, but I’d venture to say they’re pretty darn close. But the experience of calling overseas is hit or miss. Phone calls to Germany and Britain were flawless. Better than a cellphone in most cases. Phone calls to Japan, China and New Zealand… went badly. I had to call them again in order to be heard in most cases. And I have a 10mb digital cable connection that’s pretty solid most of the time.

Premier Subscriptions cost $9.99 a month, or $119.99 a year – up from $99.99 when I first purchased my Ooma Hub and Scout – and offers quite a few good perks: Instant Second Line™, Three-way Conferencing, Multi-Ring (the ability to ring more than one phone, like your cellphone for instance) and a rollover, Back-up Number when the internet isn’t being friendly.

For all intents and purposes, I didn’t renew my Premier subscription, despite being grand-fathered with a few other perks that are no longer part of the Premier subscriptions, I just didn’t find myself using it. I have call-waiting. I have caller ID. I can call all of the US without a problem. I have voicemail that I can check via the internet – Ooma’s web interface is actually quite decent and easy to use – or I can check directly on the machine itself. The speaker quality on the Ooma Hub is good and loud. I have e911 access that’s accurate to my house street address. And if you’re another Ooma subscriber, wherever you’re at, I can call you for free. Take the machine to China, once you’re plugged in, I can call you like it’s a free call.

To be honest, that’s all I need. I really don’t want nor need a landline, but having a second line in the house is cool to have in case somebody insists on sending a fax, which Ooma supports too.

But the bad parts about Ooma… I seriously can’t tell you how long they will be around. I’ve gotten a year, so I’ve gotten my money’s worth. They’ve secured more money, they have a presence in Best Buy and Radio Shack, as well as an online presence via Buy.com and Amazon. So I know they’re selling quite a few. Despite being extremely easy to set up, setting up the Ooma behind the router really isn’t suggested. I’ve had some quality problems and what I ended up doing was splitting from the modem to the Ooma Hub then to my wireless router. No problems sense.

Is this the telecom killer? Nope. Is it a good for everybody? No. Is it good if you can find an Ooma Telo or Ooma Hub for cheap? Heck yes. If you’re adventurous, I’d say get it – not knowing if Ooma will go all Sunrocket and instantly close shop on you is a serious fear to have. But for the last year, I’m actually impressed with my Ooma Hub. It saves me cellphone minutes per month. Heck, I have my Google Voice account hooked into my Ooma phone number… so I’ve gotten my money’s worth. But I’m hesitant to buy this for my mother, despite the Ooma Telo being sexy as all get out.

Final statement: Easy to set up, pretty kickass barebones without a Premier Subscription, but it’s just too risky to purchase if you’re not used to being on the edge. I’d call this a 3.5 out of 5 (Only If You’re Brave) – oh, and I don’t even use the Ooma Scout since I use only VoIP and not the landline functionality that Ooma supports.

[ Links: Ooma ] [ Related: magicJack "Year Later Review" ]

Last week Verizon informed customers that if they wanted to buy certain types of phones customers had to buy a data plan. Previously, both AT&T and Verizon had only made data mandatory for smartphones. Apparently, neither carrier wants you buying an Internet-enabled phone, then only using free Wi-Fi instead of their pricey 3G networks. From the sound of things, now carriers don’t want you using free IM services instead of SMS, either.

The Boy Genius Report indicates that messaging plans are mandatory for feature phones:

Phones that require a messaging plan at time of purchase include: Pantech Reveal, Pantech Impact, Motorola Karma, Samsung Flight, Samsung Impression, Samsung Magnet, Samsung Solstice, Samsung Mythic, Samsung Propel, LG Xenon, LG Neon, and the LG Vu. It looks like the minimum monthly cost when buying a “Quick Messaging” phone is around $20. That’s a $5 200 SMS/MMS plan and a $15/month unlimited data plan. It doesn’t look like you can walk out of the door without paying less than $20/mo in features in addition to your voice plan.

To add insult to injury, the leaked AT&T leaflet assumes you’re an idiot, informing customers that the decision is being made to bring users the “best possible experience” with their phone. There appears to be two lessons to be learned here. One, don’t try to save money if you’re a Verizon or AT&T customer, because they’ll just outsmart you. Two, don’t try to save money if you’re a Verizon or AT&T customer, because they’ll just outsmart you.

In the wireless industry, it sometimes feels like for every step forward toward openness, there’s a corresponding two steps back in terms of pricing.

Update: AT&T offered this comment to their plan changes:

The requirement is only for our Quick Messaging Devices, not feature phones. Nearly all of these devices now have full Web browsing capabilities, and as such, customers are more likely than ever to surf the Web on them. In light of this increased usage, a data and/or text plan will enable customers to enjoy a plan that does not involve paying as you go charges. We still offer a large number of feature phones – those do not have a data plan requirement.

Broadbandreports.com has asked AT&T for a definition of what exactly distinguishes a “quick messaging device” from a “feature phone.” and inquiring (again) why it’s necessary to force any users into an SMS or 3G plan if they simply want to use Wi-Fi and free IM services. If it’s to simply make additional revenue, it shouldn’t be dressed up as an “experience enhancement.”

Link to the original article…