i Phone BUY

In marketing materials for its new $150 in-ear headphones, Monster headlines its package with the question, “The world’s best-sounding earphones?” I’m not sure if we should take this as a declaration or an actual question, but so far the answer from Amazon reviewers and some blogs is a …

Looks like the Midwest isn’t the only thing that’s freezing up this holiday season: many people are reporting that their 30GB Zunes are spontaneously going on the fritz as well.

Microsoft's Zune MP3 player.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The symptom is being reported widely on discussion boards about …

Originally posted at News - Microsoft

Could we soon be seeing a beefed-up iPod with a bigger screen?

(Credit: Apple)

Apple is expected to release an iPod Touch device with a 7- to 9-inch screen in the fall of 2009, according to a report on TechCrunch that cites three independent sources.

One of TechCrunch’s sources

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Originally posted at News - Apple

The International Consumer Electronics Show kicks off next week, and premature product news releases and apparent leaks have already been rolling in.

While there’s of course a certain amount of surprise in store at the year’s biggest tech showcase, there likely won’t be anything too unexpected. But …

HP MediaSmart Server

(Credit: HP)

Hewlett-Packard announced Monday that it is upgrading its MediaSmart server lineup with new, more powerful hardware and, more importantly, with software support for Macs and improved over-the-Net streaming of users’ media files. (A software update will allow users of existing MediaSmart boxes to access some …

Originally posted at Webware

Owing to, as Tom Lehrer would say, nepotism and intrigue, I found myself in the small town of Brenham, Texas, this Sunday on the very day that Apple’s iPhone was to go on sale at the Wal-Mart mega-chain (an outfit that I, as a native New Yorker, have had very little experience with).

Popping in to check out the action and snag some photos, I found a single iPhone display — it would be generous to call it a kiosk — with an activated iPhone and a handful of brochures. The price tags on display gave both the new customer/upgrade price, as well as the full retail price. A small paper sign taped to the wall announced that iPhone sales would commence at 9:00 am, and that customers should line up for access to limited stock.

I asked a sales clerk about first-day sales, and she said as far as she knew they hadn’t sold a single unit so far, “but maybe if they had started selling it before Christmas…” There was, however, a steady stream of gawkers checking out the display unit in the 10 or so minutes I spent in the electronics department.

Herewith some photos of the in-store Wal-Mart display:
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Originally posted at Digital City Podcast

Speculation that Wal-Mart Stores would sell a $99 iPhone was put to rest on Friday when the official announcement came out sans the double digits.

However, all hope is not lost.

AT&T is selling a refurbished 8GB iPhone 3G in black for $…

Originally posted at News - Wireless

This post was updated at 9:41 a.m. PST with more details from Wal-Mart.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

Wal-Mart on Friday confirmed that it will be selling Apple’s iPhone 3G, beginning Sunday at about 2,500 stores. The price, with a new two-year service agreement with AT&#…

Originally posted at News - Apple

With Macworld coming up in just two weeks, the parade of Apple-flavored rumors, wishes, and murmurings continues.

Guess which one is the rumored iPhone Nano?

(Credit: MacRumors.com)

The latest to surface–or resurface–involves a purported concept photo of what’s said to be an “iPhone Nano,” a more or less …

I Love Katamari is the iPhone/iPod Touch version of the popular Katamari Damacy game.

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)

Last Monday, I Love Katamari for the iPhone and iPod Touch was released, and iPhone/iPod Touch owners everywhere rejoiced. OK, only Katamari Damacy fans would rejoice, but c’mon, who isn’t a fan of a game where you can roll up pretty much anything and everything into a giant ball?

When I heard the news, I immediately went to the App Store and plunked down $7.99 of my own money for the game. I absolutely loved playing Katamari Damacy as well as its sequel, We Love Katamari on the PlayStation 2, and looked forward to see how the iPhone/iPod Touch version would fare.

As I expected, it’s absolutely stunning, and the music is as addictive as ever (”NA-NAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA The Katamari Damacy” is stuck in my head at the moment). The story part of Katamari is usually a fun little quirk of the game, and it’s no different here. It starts out with the King of All Cosmos losing his memory of Earthly objects, and wants the Prince to roll them up so he can remember them. And as always, you’re asked to roll the katamari ball over all sorts of objects of varying sizes, and as you roll up more things, your ball grows in size, making it possible to roll up larger objects–even animals and people.

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Verizon Wireless has offered prepaid plans for a long time, but last week the carrier announced that it was expanding its services. Maybe it’s the economy, or maybe Verizon is just getting in the holiday spirit.

Customers can choose from three plans, each with a different daily access fee …

A couple weeks after Garmin signed up as a member of Google’s Open Handset Alliance comes word that the company has plans for an Android phone next year.

(Credit: Open Handset Alliance)

Details, however, are scant. Here’s the extent of the report from DigiTimes, citing Tony An, Asia-Pacific …

Editor’s note: From now through the end of December, various Crave experts will be sharing their top five (mostly) tech-related wishes for the holiday season. See what we crave, and maybe you’ll get some ideas!

Eric's video game skills are MIA. And he wants them back.

1. iRobot Roomba. Yeah sure, these things have been around for years now, but I’m not the type of person who jumps all over new technology as soon as it’s available. For me, there needs to be a necessity. Case in point, my new DVR. I mean, look at my face in that pic. It’s the kind of face that causes you to think, “How could someone over the age of 20 and under the age of 60 be that excited about a DVR in 2008?” And yet, there I am. It wasn’t until I determined that a DVR was necessary for me to feel better about myself as a human that I got one.

Recently, my girlfriend and I got two black cats that shed. A lot. They also track tons of litter around the house. I’d prefer not to vacuum. I thought, “Do I have any young desperate relatives that I could pay 5 cents a week to come clean my house?” When that fell through, I thought, “Robots.”

2. A Men’s Health subscription that doesn’t suck. Not exactly tech related, but it needs to be said. I love reading this magazine. Sure, they recycle a lot of the stories and workouts from previous issues, but I can always find one or two things in each issue that are useful.

If you’ve ever had a subscription to Men’s Health, you know it does not come without strings attached. These strings assume the form of “free” books that they send you. Now, there is sometimes some new and useful information in them. That’s not the problem. The problem is that they send you these at their own discretion and usually accompanied by a letter telling you how excited you should be that you have access to this free book for the next 10 days. If you’re unsatisfied, send it back within the 10 days at no charge and you’re done. If you keep it beyond the trial, you’ll be charged.

This is a trap, plain and simple. They know most guys aren’t going to bother going through the trouble of sending this thing back. They’ll either keep it out of laziness (like me) or actually find a reason inside the book–probably a flimsy one–to justify keeping it. So yes, my Men’s Health subscription sucks because I am lazy.

3. Video card upgrade. OK, I currently own an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS.
While a year or so ago this would have been pushing the cutting edge, it’s now yesterday’s news, a card that drops as low as 10 frames per second at peak times in Dalaran in Wrath of the Lich King. That is unacceptable. I’m not even sure the last time I’ve seen anything near a steady 60 fps.

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On the heels of Google revealing enhancements to its Android mobile platform, rumors are circulating that we may soon be seeing a new Android device.

The original Android phone: T-Mobile's G1.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The T-Mobile G2, as the device will reportedly be called, will debut on January

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Originally posted at News - Wireless