Cox Communications has announced that the company is now offering faster, DOCSIS 3.0 based service to businesses and residential customers in Connecticut. That of course includes the company’s fastest Ultimate Internet tier, which offers 50 Mbps downstream (55 Mbps when Powerboost kicks in) and 5 Mbps upstream for $99 a month. According to the Cox press release, the tier comes with three unique IP addresses, 10 e-mail addresses, and 50 hours per month of remote dial access (that last one being something you’ll enjoy for less than a month, since Cox is killing off backup dial-up starting in September).

Link to the original article…

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.

Link to the original article…

While I love the detail that my 10.2 megapixel Sony DSLR can output, it lacks that soft focus and warmth that my 30 year old Canon 35mm camera tends to introduce into each picture. Sure, I can open up Adobe Photoshop – and often do – to alter my photos, but not everybody has either a Lomo camera or Polaroid or the money and/or patience to alter the levels, colors, brightness and contrast via Adobe Photoshop.

What to do? There are other applications out there, some are even for the Apple iPhone, like ToyCamera for instance, but even those can be somewhat harder to use because they have sliders and options that can become confusing if you’re just dragging and playing with their values. Enter Rollip with a set of online “filters” that make your photos look like they’ve been taken on an older camera, or they enhance the contrast or even make your colors pop out among other filters.

After playing with a couple of photos, I’d consider Rollip almost dummy proof (read: even I had no problems with it). You start by selecting your desired effect, then upload the image via the browser, Rollip.com does some magic, and then sends you your image back to your e-mail or you can download it immediately. No sliders, no confusion, and pretty darn quick. And it works if you’re on a PC, a Mac or Linux too it seems.

And for a limited time, Rollip.com and Remove The Labels are offering the first 15 people a FREE Pro account with 30 credits (about $6.00 worth of credit) by using this link: http://www.rollip.com/pro?coupon=removethelabels348 and signing up.

What do you have to lose? It’s free, give it a twirl.

[ Links: Rollip ]

Samsung Electronics today unveiled ‘Samsung M5650′, a music-focused addition to its popular lineup of full touch screen handsets for young mobile users. Following on the launch of the Corby (S3650), the Samsung M5650 further strengthens Samsung’s offering for digitally savvy young users who seek colorful and bold designs, easy connectivity and great functionality.

Tailored for music lovers, the Samsung M5650 is equipped with a one-touch key for listening to your favorite tunes on top of all the diverse features of the Corby, which swept the global market with sales of 3.5 million units within two months of its launch in September.

The Samsung M5650′s bold design emphasizes the same contoured exterior as seen in the Corby, adding curved edges on its reverse side to maximizing its smooth and sophisticated feel. In addition, the Samsung M5650 offers enhanced social networking features for those who are actively digitally connected through means such as e-mail, instant messaging and blogs. Additionally, the Samsung M5650 allows quick access to MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, and the ability to easily upload photos and videos.

Offering 3G connectivity, the Samsung M5650 comes with a full range of features such as WiFi, a 3-megapixel camera, FM radio, MP3 player, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, One Finger Zoom and a Cartoon UI. Samsung M5650 is currently available in Portugal and soon expand to other Europe markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, India and China. The battery cover is available in blue or black.

Link to the original article…

Chevrolet has finally added an option to their SUV’s, trucks and vans that I would consider a “must-have” for all of us constantly connected to the internet types. Chevrolet Motors has introduced a dealer-installed Wi-Fi internet system by Autonet Mobile that acts as an internet hub whilst traveling around with your family or if you’re in a remote location offering internet access on your way to your destination.

Autonet Mobile is the world’s first Internet service provider designed exclusively for vehicles. As a GM Officially Licensed Product, Chevrolet Wi-Fi by Autonet Mobile is certified to work with the following new Chevrolet models:

• Equinox
• Traverse
• Silverado
• Tahoe
• Suburban
• Avalanche
• Express

Chevrolet Wi-Fi reflects the trend of increased Internet access on the go. According to JiWire’s Mobile Audience Insights Report, eight percent of all public Wi-Fi users log-in while traveling on subways (three percent) and ferries or cruise ships (five percent). In addition, JiWire reports that total public Wi-Fi users jumped 18 percent in just seven months, from December 2008 to June 2009.

Right now Chevrolet is offering the Wi-Fi option for $199 ($399 retail price, less $200 mail-in rebate with two-year service agreement) until December 31, 2009. Hit up GMextras for more information.

[ Related: Chevrolet Media, Chevrolet, GMextras ]

Well, today Google announced the upcoming Google Chrome OS. I never thought I’d say this, but this is a good thing for the casual user that use their netbooks or lower powered computers that only need to access the Internet for mail, communication and other web related items.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Now… let’s see how advertising works it way into this.

[ Google Chrome OS Announcement ]

Ever wanted to know what your friends are listening to, even the ones with the ultra odd taste in music that tend to be up on some bands that either could be ultra-cool… or ultra-bad? Are you also a twitter [ site here ] fan sharing way too much your wisdom and information of the day?

Well, Swift.fm [ site here ] allows you to simply share what music has your interest with your friends without having to messily locate, send via e-mail, or worse… break a few DRM rules by sharing some bought music. Instead, via your browser, you just log into Swift.fm using your twitter account, upload or link to the music that has your attention and then tweet it effortlessly and your friends can hear it via the browser. Yeah… it’s that simple.

Sign up is free, sharing your music might make you cool… and if you’re an indie band, this is a very quick way to spread your music too. Check it out.

And with users like Lindsay Lohan and Alyssa Milano – whom I’ve had a killer crush on for the last decade – it’s gaining popularity. And as one of the beta testers… I was Swift.fm’ing it before Swift.fm was cool. I’ve been introduced to some cool stuff via Swift.fm.

[ Swift.fm ] [ Swift.fm: Press Release ]