Expect a marketing blitz in the markets named above to start next Friday, including TV ads during the Olympics, print, and radio spots.

Read More | Comcast Voices ]]> 2010-02-04T01:01:03+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q110-verizon-fios-symmetrical-35mbps-internet-speeds/ Broadband, Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment

This morning we got word that Verizon was bolstering their FiOS packages, with the big news (from where we sit) being that the company is now offering a new symmetrical 35/35 Mbps Internet package as part of their “Best” bundle, which also brings an expansion of offerings in their FiOS TV HD package. For those who just want the blazing Internet goodness without the HD, they are also offering a 25/25 Mbps service, and they still offer the 50/20 Mbps service as well, which is a bit odd. They seem to have updated all of their Internet packages, and now the highest tier has the slowest upload speed out of them all. Hopefully that’ll change fairly quickly, because things appear to be a bit off-balance there. Nevertheless, FiOS is now in a position where they don’t have any competitor in the US that matches their upload speed, regardless of cost.

It’s not all fun and games, though. There is also a higher early-termination fee that comes alongside the new services. Formerly, it would cost $179 to terminate the two-year contract, but now it’s up to as much as $360. Again, that’s only if you cancel, and we think that once you get a look at the uncompressed HD and feel for the speedy Internet, you’ll decide that you’re in for the long haul.

Since Gear Live HQ is located smack-dab in the middle of the enhanced coverage area, we’ll be giving things a try, and we will let you know if the use of 850 MHz spectrum truly helps the dire situation that is AT&T coverage. Seattle iPhone 3GS and 3G users, give it your best!

Read More | AT&T News Room ]]> 2009-11-17T18:07:14+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q309-data-robotics-answers-common-iscsi-questions/ Broadband, PC / Laptop, Storage, Videos

Data Robotics, the peeps behind the Drobo and DroboPro, have put up a video answering some common questions about the DroboPro’s iSCSI interface. If you’ve been considering a DroboPro, and were wondering about this spec (which, by all accounts, is fantastic,) check out the video above.

As always, you can find all sorts of Newegg promo codes and deals on our forums.

Read More | Newegg: Linksys WRT54GL ]]> 2009-06-09T18:07:55+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q209-exclusive-upcoming-verizon-fios-tv-features/ Broadband, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet

As most of you know, we are big fans of Verizon FiOS here at Gear Live. The actual Internet and television services are stellar, and it’s pretty hard to find fault with things, especially since downtime is almost nonexistent.  Sure, we’ve had our issues, but those are all fixed, and at this point it is pretty much smooth sailing.

Today we were inviting to a media briefing at the main hub in Everett, WA, to get a look at some of the current and upcoming features of the Verizon FiOS TV service. We were able to sit down with Eric Rabe, Senior VP of Media Relations for Verizon to get the full scoop. Of course, being who we are, we had to make sure we got questions answered about FiOS Internet and phone services as well, just to be thorough. We will just go through these in no particular order - some of this you already know, while other parts are definitely new:

HD Content: FiOS TV is completely uncompressed through Verizon. They get the signal, and pass it straight through to the subscribers box the way they received it from one of two providers (depending on where you are located.) Every market has a minimum of 100 dedicated HD channels. The caveat here (and it’s a small one) is that the cable box does not have a mode that simply passes through the content to your receiver or television the way it comes in. This means you have to set the FiOS TV cable box to display either 1080i or 720p, and it will either up-convert or down-convert depending on what you choose. I let them know it would be nice to have boxes that just passed through the resolution without any conversion taking place. Of course, if you have a TiVo Series3 or TiVo HD with a FiOS CableCARD, you don’t have this issue.

I also asked about 1080p content, since satellite is currently offering HD content in 1080p. Unfortunately, their answer is that they are a couple of software revisions away from being able to offer that, so no timeline there.

Read More | Consumer Affairs ]]> 2009-04-20T18:08:04+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-sprint-simply-everything-mb-plan/ Broadband, Cell Phones, Corporate News, USB Sprint’s Simply Everything $99.99 deal has grown to + Mobile Broadband plan. For $149.99 a month, the company includes EV-DO service as well as the previously offered unlimited text, picture and video messaging, GPS, email and surfing with 5 GB of Internet access. If you switch over there is no contract extension but if you are a newbie you will need a two-year agreement per line. Jump at the deal now and you also get a free Sierra Wireless 598U USB modem. Find more details on their “no wires” site.

Read More | Sprint No Wires ]]> 2009-02-19T18:00:29+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-mobile-connections-hits-4-billion-mark/ Broadband, Cell Phones, Internet The first cellular network was launched in Japan in 1979 by NTT. Twenty three years later the planet passed its 4th billion mobile connection. Mobile broadband accounts for about a quarter of that figure. Other connections in such countries as China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan added to unconnected devices gives us an estimate that by 2013, this figure will hit 6 billion. Considering there only 6.7 billion humans on the planet now, this definitely proves it’s a mobile world out there.

Read More | Gizmag ]]> 2009-02-13T18:29:33+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-netflix-streaming-hits-vizio-connected-hdtv/ Broadband, CES, CES 2009, Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies VIZIO is launching a new platform that they’re calling “Conneced HDTV,” and with it comes confirmation of the second Netflix direct-to-TV partnership. VIZIO’s Connected HDTV platform is designed to compliment traditional television viewing. You just connect the television to your home network, and if there’s nothing good on, you can go into Netflix, and I am sure there will be other services (YouTube? Hulu?) that you’ll be able to pull up as well. This is a trend we are definitely liking, let’s eliminate set-top boxes while providing more viewing options for the consumer.

EDIT: Okay, we just got more details on this. Aside from Netflix, the VIZIO Connected HDTV platform also brings Amazon Video on Demand, Pandora, Flickr, Blockbuster OnDemand, Rhapsody, Adobe Flash content, games from Accedo Broadband, and the Yahoo! widget engine. Very, very interesting!

Read More | MarketWatch ]]> 2009-01-08T00:19:04+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-bug-labs-announces-five-new-bugmodules-at-ces/ Accessories, Broadband, CES, CES 2009, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video, Science, Wireless / WiFi

We are big fans of BUG Labs, so we are naturally excited about the news this morning coming out of CES that they are set to release a total of five new BUGmodules. If you are unfamiliar with what BUG Labs and the BUGbase is all about, check out our video from last year’s CES after the break. Anyhow, here’s a list of the new BUGmodules:

• BUG3g: Gives you phone and/or data connectivity
• BUGwifi: Give you 802.11b/g Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR capabilities
• BUGbee: An 802.15.4 antenna to be used with ZigBee home automation setups
• BUGsound: Give you a 20mm speaker jack, four 3.5mm jacks, and an omnidirectional microphone
• BUGprojector: An integrated DLP Pico projector which outputs at 480x320 resolution

None of these have been priced, or have even been stamped with a specific release date, but you can expect them to ship before the end of the quarter.

Read More | PR Newswire ]]> 2009-01-07T21:01:56+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-att-iphone-tethering-plan-to-launch-this-week/ Apple, Broadband, Cell Phones, Rumors, Wireless / WiFi

It seems that the days of silly iPhone tethering workarounds may be coming to an end (for those who are willing to pay for it.) Rumor has it that AT&T might finally launch an iPhone tethering plan, which would allow owners of the iPhone 3G to use the phone as an Internet access point. Now, we know that MacWorld 2009 kicks off tomorrow, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the tethering plan will be announced there, but as our friends at Ars bring up, the functionality would likely require an iPhone OS update, and that in and of itself might be newsworthy enough to be mentioned tomorrow morning, if all of this comes to fruition.

The costs may outweigh the benefits, depending on your travel schedule and how much you’d plan on using the tethering option, as we are expecting the cost to be at or around $30 per month. A little spendy, we think, unless you plan on using it frequently - but then the issue of the iPhone battery comes in to play. Sure, you can plug it in to a USB port, but unless your notebook is plugged in to a power source, then you are using up extra notebook battery life. Or, you could just use a Mophie Juice Pack.

The fact that there was never an official tethering plan for the iPhone has always been odd to us, since other AT&T smart phones have those plans ready from the get go. Let’s hope this rumor rings true.

Read More | TUAW ]]> 2009-01-05T21:45:43+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-verizon-rolling-out-4g-lte-mobile-broadband-in-2009/ Broadband, Cell Phones, Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi Verizon Wireless is taking a stand - in the race to deploy 4G LTE mobile broadband service, they don’t want to come in second to AT&T or Japan’s NTT DoCoMo, the latter of which said it would offer such a network commercially in 2010. According to executive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon Communications, Dick Lynch, they plan to begin rolling the enhanced network capabilities out by about this time next year, ahead of the original 2010 timetable.

The original plan called for initial rollouts in 2010, with a wide commercial launch in 2011 and true mass availability coming shortly after. But according to an IDC analyst, Verizon’s new, more aggressive deployment schedule was likely inspired by the threat of launching after another company. Verizon wants to be first! Can you blame them? They don’t have the iPhone...

If you’re wondering what LTE is, it’s a fourth-generation wireless data system expected to be the next step up in speed and capacity for carriers using the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) platform, which is dominant in most of the world. Like Sprint Nextel’s already deployed (in one city) WiMax, it should deliver multiple megabits per second of throughput.

After introducing LTE, Verizon plans to offer subscribers small in-home base stations known as femtocells, which will extend the signal indoors - likely including built-in Wi-Fi, which will allow newer personal electronics such as cameras to automatically exchange information over the air. Imagine getting home from a trip and having your pictures automatically upload to the internet once you walk through the door. This may be a reality sooner than you think.

Read More | Yahoo! ]]> 2008-12-10T21:49:59+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-novatel-mifi-gives-you-a-personal-3g-wi-fi-hotspot/ Broadband, Cell Phones, PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi

Novatel has just announced the future release of their new MiFi 3G portable hotspot, and we are officially excited. Using the MiFi, you’ll be able to grab the signal from your EV-DO Rev. A or HSPA account, and share it over Wi-Fi to a group. For example, you can hit up Starbucks with two buddies, break out the MiFi, and all three of you can hit the Internet without paying for Starbucks Wi-Fi three times. The MiFi device itself looks just as awesome as its usage scenarios, as it just as long and wide as a credit card, and isn’t really that tall. Novatel is also touting that the battery will last for 4 hours when used actively, and 40 hours when on standby. Nice.

Mark our words - we are going to be keeping an eye on the news leading up to the Novatel MiFi official release. Expect to see if available for purchase in for first half of 2009.

Read More | Novatel Wireless ]]> 2008-12-09T18:59:19+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-netflix-hd-streaming-now-available-on-tivo/ Broadband, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous, because Netflix is just making Blockbuster look downright silly. Hot on the heels of debuting Netflix HD streaming on the Xbox 360, today TiVo and Netflix have announced the availability of Netflix HD streaming on all TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs. All you need to get this working is the free TiVo Fall Update (which you should already have) and a Netflix subscription. From there, just head into the new Video on Demand menu item on TiVo, and choose Netflix. Once selected, you’ll see a 4-character alphanumeric code. Plug that in over at www.netflix.com/activate, and you are in.

Our early tests even show that Netflix streaming on TiVo looks just a smidge better than the product on the Xbox 360 when a movie is playing (though, we like the interface more on the 360.) We eagerly await the next step in the home theater component domination that is the TiVo Watch Instantly service. If you’re interested, we’ve got the full press release, straight from TiVo, after the break.

Read More | Technologizer ]]> 2008-11-06T18:53:55+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-att-testing-bandwidth-caps-verizon-says-no-plans-to-cap-fios-or-dsl/ Broadband, Corporate News, Internet If you’re in Reno and you use AT&T as your broadband Internet provider, you’re now unfortunately the latest victim of this whole capped bandwidth nonsense that seems to be taking hold across the US. It started when Comcast implemented a 250GB per month cap on October 1. Now word has hit that metered billing of between 20-150GB per month is going to be tested in Reno on AT&T’s DSL network. If you are a new customer who’ll be apart of the trial, depending on the speed tier you choose, you’ll get a cap somewhere between 20 and 150 gigabytes per month. If you’re an existing customer, you’ll be chosen to be a part of the trial if your monthly bandwidth happens to exceed 150GB in a month.

The trend is something we are vehemently against, so I figured I’d ask one of the Verizon PR reps that I know on Twitter, Kevin Laverty, if we should expect a similar announcement from Verizon, after another Verizon rep said no. His answer:

That’s an affirmative - Verizon has no plans to cap bandwidth on either its FiOS or High Speed Internet/DSL services.

It doesn’t get much clearer than that. It’ll be a nice bullet-point for Verizon if they can say that FiOS is not only faster, but also is completely uncapped as far as usage goes.

This morning I opened mail from Comcast, which, to my surprise, showed that I was two months late on paying up. I thought that was odd, since I kicked Comcast to the curb for Verizon FiOS two months ago. I called and got it taken care of, to find that I was owed $72 and that it would arrive in 6-8 weeks. Kind of annoying, but no big deal. Then they called me back, to tell me that I had another active account that has been auto-debiting from one of my accounts. That one was to have been cancelled back in May. Once that was straightened out, the damage was that Comcast owes me a cool $772. I asked when I’d receive it, and they said 6-8 weeks. I thought that was fairly crappy, being that when I cancelled the services, I also revoked Comcast’s right to take any money from my private accounts. I threw up a gripe on Twitter, and a few minutes later, Comcast’s Twitter customer service went into full effect. Gotta give them props for that. They asked me to email them the details, so they could look into it. You can read the email I sent them, after the break. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts. We will update with any progress made on this, let’s see how customer service on these Web 2.0 Internets works. [Photo Credit]

Read More | ABI Research ]]> 2008-10-24T18:02:52+00:00 http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-vudu-hdx-1080p-movie-downloads-are-insanely-sharp/ Broadband, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies

Yesterday, VUDU went live with their new HDX 1080p movie downloads, and word on the street (or, at least, from Pogue at the Times) is that they are the best thing available as it pertains to the digital download movie game. Now, VUDU promised “Blu-ray quality” movies, and I don’t think that’s what we are seeing here. After all, that would mean some people would have to spend the better part of a day downloading a flick - that would make for an awkward evening when inviting the girl over. However, the quality is decidedly sharper than DVD, and looks better than high definition downloads from other services, like iTunes through Apple TV. So, how do they achieve this goodness? Well, the bit rate for the videos hovers around 9Mbps, and goes as high as 20Mbps during fast-moving action scenes. Nothing else touches that, including your cable company with their On Demand, seriously.

VUDU currently has 65 movies available to rent in their HDX format, and all new releases will be available in HDX as well. A VUDU box will run you $299, but if you buy it before the end of the year, you get a $200 movie credit, which seems to make it worth the price of admission - especially since those who own HDTVs have such a hard time finding great content to take advantage of their screens on a consistent basis. You can get one online, or at your local Best Buy.

Read More | New York Times ]]> 2008-10-02T23:35:16+00:00