There I was, attempting to load my iPhone with the latest Fergie/Lady GaGa/Cyndi Lauper mashup, when word came down the pipes that the mighty makers from Cupertino had passed down a morsel of mending, a reliquary of repair. In other words, new iPhone software update yo. This latest revision is a minor one, only bumping the version number up a single digit – but that doesn’t mean jailbreakers and unlockers should dive in right away. We’re hearing reports that this new version does bring a baseband modification, which likely means the exploit used by the iPhone Dev Team for the 2.2 yellowsn0w update has been patched up. 2.2.1′s patch notes only promise a less finicky Safari (and boy did it need it) and a bug fix for Camera Roll’s handling of images saved through the Mail application. Chances are other minor changes are lurking – first person to find’em gets a gold star and a box of animal crackers. → Read More
Sure, it’s –65 out right now but it’s never too early to start thinking about golf. Savant GPS knows this and, as such, will unveil the “On Par” GPS unit in Orlando this weekend with retail availability slated for “early February.” → Read More
Matt at Steel Cake Watches is offering his customers a considerable discount on all Steel Cake model, reducing everything to $75. Use the discount code “steel75″ on checkout. → Read More
As if we even need to relay this information, but those PSP 2 rumors from yesterday are completely baseless. Do not get excited, do not lose sleep. Go about your day as if you never heard the rumor. → Read More
Just to get a sense of interest in the Kindle 2, will you buy one if or when Amazon announces them in two weeks? I love the current incarnation only and precisely because it makes it easy to grab ebooks over the air. I consider the form and design to be sub-par at worst and acceptable at best. I, for one, would love to see something a little thinner and a lot more durable.
Poll after the jump. → Read More
Practicing a controversial new “Lets not tell anybody” marketing method, AT&T has quietly slipped the LG CF360 onto store shelves. The demand was overwhelming – at one AT&T spot in Galesburg, Illinois, one whole person waited through the night for the doors to open. Upon questioning, the anxious would-be CF360 owner responded, “Crap, I thought it was a new iPhone.” Though it launched without even the slightest bit of fanfare, the LG CF360 really isn’t too poorly spec’d for a $30 (with contract) flip phone. Its got a 1.3mp camera with video recording, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD support (up to 16 gigs), and AT&T Navigator-ready GPS – if that’s all you’re looking for, the LG CF360 is available now. Just be sure to go early so as to beat the lunch rush. [Via Phonescoop] → Read More
Circuit City Stores have been liquidating for almost two weeks now and hopefully some people have found decent deals at the sales. Most big ticket items are probably still not worth it thanks to shady liquidator tactics, but someone, somewhere hopefully scored something at a bargain basement price. Right? → Read More
Do you live or work in Canada? Do you enjoy LG cell phones? Are you a proud owner of the dead-simple LG 150? Then here’s lookin’ at you kid! Your trusty mobile device is the lucky winner of a 45,000 unit (voluntary – i.e. LG is doing you a “favor”) recall! Apparently the LG 150 is “no longer certified as meeting the Radio Standards Specifications 102 (RSS 102), Radio Frequency Exposure Compliance of Radiocommunication Apparatus.” But have no fear, according to Health Canada, “past and current use of the LG 150 should not pose immediate or long-term health concerns.” Phewww! You have until March 31, 2009 to contact your respective mobile carrier (Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile, MTS Allstream, SaskTel, Aliant Mobility, KMTS, NorthernTel, Sogetel, Télébec or TBayTel) to get a replacement handset at no cost. Or you can visit www.lg.ca/lg150 or call 1-866-940-6580. [via IntoMobile] → Read More
Mobile VoIP and IM service fring, one of the more popular mobile communication services around, is experimenting with porting a bunch of third-party apps to the fring client and will be announcing a number of those in the course of this year. Today, fring is launching a custom mobile-optimized Last.fm music radio add-on that brings a lot of the music recommendation service to the fring client but also integrates with the latter’s social and communication features. Fring users (also referred to as fringsters) are now able to fire up streamed music radio channels, including their own Last.fm library, tag favourites, ban disliked tracks, view album artwork and basically take their Last.fm music account mobile. In addition to getting those features into the client, fringsters can also opt to view in real-time what their contacts are currently listening to, with the help of a friends list embedded into the Last.fm add-on. Read the rest of this entry >> → Read More
Costco members might be pleased to hear that there’s a 28-inch HannsG monitor for $369.99 after a $30 instant discount. Specs include a 1920×1200 resolution, 3ms response time, 500 cd/m2 brightness, 800:1 contrast ratio, HDMI/VGA/DVI connections, and built-in speakers. → Read More
This kind of reminds me of how I was acting last night after my brother-in-law and I finished a bottle of tequila. Unfortunately, my old Game Boy doesn’t have any batteries so I couldn’t recreate this beautiful and touching paean to one of the best games in the whole world.
Video after the jump. → Read More
Japanese gadget companies DO have a strange attitude when it comes to answer the question of how to relieve stress for Nippon’s exhausted salary men and house keepers.
In the past, CrunchGear covered a stress-absorbing vase, a healing headset and a pocket calculator that can help you blow off some steam. And now comes the Sound Accel Pedal [JP]. → Read More
A Kiwi bought an MP3 player in Oklahoma. No, that’s not a setup to a bad joke, but the chilling, real life ordeal that’s currently the long national nightmare of New Zealand. → Read More
Last time Amazon had a press conference they release a little something I like to call the best ebook reader in the whole wide world. Well, we’ve got a seat at another conference on Monday and unless they’re announcing a Bezos-themed amusment park in the Ukraine, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see the Kindle 2. → Read More
After a surprising lack of Android at CES, it looks like everyone’s pulling out their best Android garb for Mobile World Congress next month. Latest on the list of companies purportedly planning an Android announcement is General Mobile who, we’ll admit, we’ve never actually heard of. That’s okay, though – if they actually manage to get the DSTL1 onto the shelves (and if it’s actually running Android – more on that later), this gorgeous little piece might be enough to get their name out there. → Read More
If you’re on your way to an important business meeting, wedding, or award ceremony, the last thing you want to worry about is dribbling chew spittle all over your nicely pressed shirt. But those standard spit cups just can’t be trusted! → Read More
There was a time when 1TB drives seemed huge, but then the 1.25TB and 1.50TB dropped. Now, Western Digital resets the standard at 2TBs with the latest in the Caviar Green lineup. The 3.5-inch drive utilizes 500GB/platter technology along with a 32MB cache for a fast and apparently, eco-friendly operation. The best part? → Read More
I didn’t quite believe it when one of my most trusted sources told me that AOL was seriously considering selling Bebo, the social network it acquired for $850 million only a year ago. But I have now confirmed the rumor with three other sources intimately acquainted with the company. AOL is indeed quietly pondering a sale after watching Bebo perform much worse than it had hoped. That, combined with an advertising market buffeted by the waves of the economic downturn, means Bebo’s days at AOL could be numbered. Selling Bebo after only a year would be an astounding about-face. How did this happen?
[UPDATES: As a result of this story, more sources are coming forward. One I trust says Bebo is being pitched at $200 million. Update 2: Sources inside AOL are denying that it is exploring a sale. Bebo also denies a sale. Update 3: We have been in contact with corp communications at AOL, they say on the record: "There is no truth to this rumor." Four of our sources, including former and current Bebo insiders and a well-placed VC, say otherwise. Last December Gigam published "Is Time Warner Having Second Thoughts About Bebo?". I'm not saying Bebo is formally on the block, but I am saying that a sale is something under consideration].
My sources paint a picture of a startup which cleverly went about wooing advertising agencies, their clients, and – in the end – a media company that was prepared to jump on the social networking bandwagon during late 2007. There is absolutely no suggestion that anyone was dishonest or misrepresented the situation. But a year on it’s clear that AOL itself projected more growth onto Bebo that the network could deliver. → Read More
You may recall the three Lumix point and shoots that Panasonic announced on the 16th and thought that’d be the end of that. Well, those were just a warm up and today Panasonic revealed the rest of their 2009 lineup.
A handful of these cameras are wide-angle and record HD video in a new format called AVCHD Lite. Hit the jump for details on this new format. → Read More
If you want to track the most popular fan pages on Facebook, AllFacebook pushed out a new Facebook Pages Tracker last night that keeps stats on 611,213 fan pages on the social network. Only about 57,000 of those pages have more than 1,000 fans.
The tracker also shows the fastest-growing fan pages. A fan page dedicated to masturbation grew 11,900 percent in the last week and is the No. 8 fastest-growing page. Now we know why social networks are overtaking porn sites in popularity. (I didn’t link to it here, but that fan page on Facebook is NSFW). The top five fan pages are: → Read More
