Walmart iPhone for.. $197?
We’ve been hearing rumors of an iPhone at Walmart for a while now, and the only thing that was even mildly interesting about the unlikely pairing was that there was supposedly going to be a $99 4GB model. Well, now we hear that they’ll indeed be selling the phone, but (as the ad above would seem to indicate) it’s going to be a $197 8GB model — about 2 bucks cheaper than you can get them for at an Apple or AT&T store, with no mention of a 4GB version at all. So, you’re telling us we’re going to be able to get this phone for (almost) exactly the same price as before, but now we can buy it at a store where we can also pick up Slim-Fast in bulk and possibly die in a retail trampling? We’ll pass. Read
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Portable CD players see a resurgence in the UK
Unless you have some unexplained obsession with gadgets of yesteryear, you probably haven’t been paying close attention to how many brands of portable CD players your local retailers have been stocking. According to Currys over in the UK, however, it’s being pressured to order up truckloads of ‘em to satisfy the 50 pervent uptick in demand compared to last year. Moreover, John Lewis (a department store) has begun stocking the units again some four years after originally putting them to rest. Analysts are asserting that the lagging economy is leading people to select these devices as stocking stuffers, with their ease-of-use and rock-bottom prices making them highly attractive in the current market. Word to the wise, though — chances are that special someone would much prefer a low-end 1GB DAP over something they probably already have. Or, you know, a Pizza Express gift card. Read
Josh’s Verdict: I’ll actually prefer a 1GB iPod shuffle than a CD player… but that iPod can only fit 2 albums? A CD player has unlimited albums (depending on the number of CD’s really.. but you’ll have to carry 50CD’s around with you). Really, this is just temporary with the economy and everything. People will be loving their iPod touch 32GB soon again, trust me 
By the ways, if you’re wondering, I have an iPod nano 2nd gen 8GB, which is getting too small for my 10GB iTunes Library. Oh wells. Maybe I’ll get a CD Player.
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Microsoft Vista Ultimate gets the (PRODUCT) RED treatment
It’s not like (PRODUCT) RED versions of Windows Vista haven’t been shipping on associated systems for months now, but for those who’d prefer to keep the rig they have and just get a colorful / charitable upgrade to Microsoft’s latest OS, this is for you. Listed on the official (PRODUCT) RED website and up for pre-order now at Amazon, the special edition of Windows Vista Ultimate is slated to ship on December 15th. There’s not too many extras here to make you splurge for a second copy (a few new wallpapers and a big warm, fuzzy feeling are definitely nice, though), but those looking to get a new OS and support the push to end AIDS in Africa can buy in now for $219.95 ($64.95 for students).
Read – (PRODUCT) RED website
Read – Pre-order at Amazon
Read – Pre-order for students
Possible image of next-generation Nokia touchscreen handset revealed
Just days after Nokia dropped a touchscreen bomb and revealed it upcoming flagship N97 handset, we may already be getting a first look at Nokia’s next order of touchscreen business – maybe. The above image is reportedly a marketing slide from Nokia Capital Markets Day in Brooklyn yesterday. It allegedly depicts an upcoming touchscreen-only handset with a UI that looks absolutely nothing like S60 and gesture support complex enough to warrant a notation beside the mock ups. We’re skeptical at best, but we do know that the Finns have some big plans for touchscreen devices in 2009 so it certainly is plausible. If this is in fact a handset we can look forward to in 2009, Nokia apparently has finally recognized Apple as a major competitor and given the mobile industry up-and-comer the best form of flattery. If not, meh, it was fun while it lasted. Read
Josh’s Verdict: Looks too good to be a fake, and that weather User Interface reminds me of HTC’s all too successful TouchFLO 3D Interface. Nice phone in that picture too, reminds me of a HTC Max 4G with that huge screen? We’ll see. I don’t even think the sales of Nokia’s XpressMusic 5800 are doing that well… that iPhone copy..
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Is stripped user agent data pointing to a Google OS?
Here we go again. It seems like just yesterday we heard the first whispers of a Google desktop OS, and products like Chrome stoke suspicions that the Mountain View-based company is setting itself up to invade the PC. Although Google insists that it’s focusing on the cloud, since Android was announced, the feasibility of a Google-branded desktop OS has certainly increased. Now, market research firm Net Applications is reporting that it has seen a third of the traffic from Google’s employees with intentionally blocked identification strings. This could be a real indicator that the big G is hard at work on a desktop OS — or just a sign that folks at Google don’t care to share their OS of choice. Hopefully, we’ll be hearing more sooner rather than later, but feel free to chime in with your Google global domination theories and rabid speculation in the comments. Read
Josh’s Verdict: Hmm, we already know Google uses a modified Linux version internally, so this isn’t new.. or is it? We’ll see. But then, who thought Google would create a browser? They were rumors. Google denied it. But Google Chrome was true. So we’ll see. Patience, my friend, is a virtue.
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Blue & red Zune 120s available just in time for the holidays
It looks like Microsoft’s trying to reel in shoppers not only through price cuts this holiday season, but by introducing some new colors as well. The folks up in Redmond have just made blue and red versions of the socializing little PMP available on its Zune Originals site. Prices start at $249, and the company suggests placing orders by the 19th to ensure delivery by Christmas Eve. Sure, It may not be a Gears of War 2 special-edition, but it’s definitely an alternative to black. So if you’ve been looking for something to give that special someone — and nothing on our guide matches your style — be sure to hit Microsoft’s site to check out all your options. Read
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Microsoft to push cool factor with retro-inspired clothing line
It’s actually kind of amazing how much dough Microsoft has spent over the past little while in an attempt to polish its image in the minds of the general populace, and as if those “I’m proud to be a PC” and completely incomprehensible Gates / Seinfeld spots weren’t enough, the Redmond-based outfit is about to roll out its own clothing line (dubbed “Softwear”) this month. And no, we’re not kidding. Not even a little. Microsoft has purchased the assistance of Crispin Porter & Bogusky in order to ensure the results are actually desirable, and it has also hired rapper Common as a spokesman. We can’t definitively say the shirt you see above is as fly as Pharrell’s Gizmondo Enzo tee, but we’d rock it. We’d rock it hard. Read
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Secret iPhone video-out features hacked, used for video games
Hey, just because using secret undocumented iPhone SDK calls might get you booted from the App Store doesn’t mean it’s not a good time — Ars Technica commissioned Freeverse to mod its Moto Chaser game to use the hidden video-out features in iPhone 2.2, and we have to say the results turned out pretty decent. It’s not perfect — it looks like it only works in landscape mode, and rendering to TV resolutions strains the processor and slows framerates down on all but the faster 2G iPod touch — but it works, and it’s a taste of where iPhone app development could go if Apple ever opens up the gates. Or you could just be Google and do whatever you want, we suppose. Video after the break.
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