On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

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Bleeding Edge TV 400: Apple iPhone 4S

We give you a look at the white AT&T iPhone 4S, along with the black Verizon iPhone 4S in this episode. As you can see, if you're familiar with the iPhone 4, Apple made some subtle changes in the design of the iPhone 4S, most notably in the antenna, which now has a slick dual-action function. The Verizon model also picks up a SIM card slot, making it (and the others) a world phone device. We also show you the included accessories that Apple throws in as well. Be sure to check out our full iPhone 4S review, and iPhone 4S unboxing gallery as well.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


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iPhone 4S unboxing gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Galleries, Handhelds,

Siri: What Can I Help You With?

After publishing our iPhone 4S review, we got a bunch of you asking what happened to our unboxing photo gallery. We wanted to make sure we had both the white and black models in-hand prior to the photo shoot. We've now published our iPhone 4S unboxing gallery (better late than never!), and we should have the video up shortly as well!

Gallery:


Bleeding Edge TV 398: iPhone 4S launch at Apple Store Alderwood

We were on hand for the launch of the Apple iPhone 4S, where we were first in line at the Alderwood Mall Apple Store in Lynnwood, Washington. In this video we give you a few clips of some of the overnight action, a look at some of the tribute items left at the front of the store in memory of Steve Jobs, as well as the lead up to the opening, and the cheering that occurred once the Apple Store doors were opened.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Bleeding Edge TV 393: Get cash for your old gadgets with Gazelle

In this episode, we introduce you to Gazelle. Gazelle will buy back your used electronics - things like iPads, cellphones, digital cameras, iPhones, and more - and will send you money in exchange for your products. They even send you a box so that shipping is free. We chat with Gazelle about how they work, and also when the best time to sell gadgets happens to be. If you've got old devices that you'd like to trade in for cash, head on over to Gazelle and check out how much you can get for them!

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.

[Camera credit: Taylor Peterson]


Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile models

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Google, Handhelds,

Samsung Galaxy S II

The galaxy has landed. Samsung, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile today announced three Galaxy S II smartphones for the three carriers. We got some time with the AT&T and Sprint models (T-Mobile was playing coy) and even ran some benchmarks.

The Galaxy S II has been Samsung's fastest-selling smartphone so far, with more than five million sold in 85 days, according to Samsung's press release. This model is coming out on fewer carriers than last year's Galaxy S did, with Verizon Wireless the most notable missing piece (Verizon is going with the Nexus Prime.)

But remember, Samsung is the master customizer of phones for carriers; just because a "Galaxy S II" isn't coming out for Verizon (or for Boost, for that matter) doesn't mean another phone won't appear soon with very similar features and a slightly different name on those carriers. The company is just introducing the first three models today.

Just like with the Galaxy S, the three Galaxy S II models are all a little different. The AT&T model looks a lot like the international Galaxy S II to which we gave an Editor's Choice award back in May, although Samsung traded the single home button at the bottom of the phone for the four standard Android action buttons.

Click to continue reading Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile models


Bleeding Edge TV 389: Windows Phone 7 Mango Preview

We give you a look at Windows Phone 7 Mango, technically known as Windows Phone 7.5. Mango introduces a ton of new features into the Windows Phone 7 library, and at GDGT Seattle we were able to chat with Andy Colley from the Microsoft Windows Phone team to get a thorough walkthrough of everything new, like Bing Audio, Bing Vision, Smart DJ, Linked Inbox, and much, much more.

Big thank you to Carbonite and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! Carbonite offers off-site backup of your computer, and you can get a 15-day free trial (no credit card needed!) by visiting Carbonite and using promo code TPN. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Amateur hacker takes credit for cracking BART police Web site

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Internet,

BART's troubles with Anonymous hackers continued Wednesday with the apparent hacking of a BART Police Officers Association website and ensuing publication of private data belonging to more than 100 BART police officers.

A Pastebin posting of data obtained in what appears to have been a "serious security breach" of BARTpoa.com, according to Sophos' NakedSecurity blog, includes the names, home addresses, email addresses, and passwords belonging to officers employed by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).

And the latest attack on BART may have been done by a self-proclaimed first-time hacker.

Late Wednesday, Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous and the campaign against BART began pointing to a purportedly leaked Internet Relay Chat log in which a user called "Lamaline_5mg" claimed to have broken into the BARTpoa.com database, acting alone and using an SQL injection tool, a common means of network intrusion:

Click to continue reading Amateur hacker takes credit for cracking BART police Web site


Here’s how to get free cell phone service

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Editorial, Hot Deals,

Yes, you can get a free cell phone with government assistance. If you make very little money, or you're part of other federal programs such as public housing, food stamps, SSI, or Medicaid, you can get a free mobile phone paid for by a fee on everyone else's phone bills.

This program has been around for years. According to the FCC, the government has been subsidizing landlines since 1984; the program, now called LifeLine, added mobile phones in 1997. LifeLine was enhanced in 2005 during the Bush administration, and TracFone's SafeLink, the first purely free LifeLine phone brand, started disbursing free phones in 2008.

"The telecoms haven't done a very good job promoting LifeLine, and the penetration rates have been dismal," said Jose Fuentes, Tracfone's director of government relations. TracFone operates SafeLink.

LifeLine is funded by the Universal Service Fund, which you see as a surcharge on your phone bill. Established by a 1996 law, the USF makes sure that people who live in rural and low-income areas, as well as schools and libraries can get phone service. It doesn't make a distinction between wired and wireless phones; you can get a subsidy for either, but you have to choose one.

Click to continue reading Here’s how to get free cell phone service


Bleeding Edge TV 384: iPhone 4 iOS 5 over the air update

In this episode we give you a first look at over the air updates in iOS 5! With the release of iOS 5 beta 4, Apple is now testing OTA updates, allowing users to update their iOS devices without connecting them to iTunes. Instead, the update happens right on the device itself, using Wi-Fi or 3G. We give you a look at how the process works on an iPhone 4 running iOS 5 beta 4 on a Wi-Fi network.

Big thank you to Carbonite and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! Carbonite offers off-site backup of your computer, and you can get two free months (no credit card needed!) by visiting Carbonite and using promo code TPN. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Unboxing Live 069: Motorola Droid X2 smartphone

We open up the Motorola Droid X2 in this episode of Unboxing Live, giving you a look a the first dual-core Android device available on Verizon Wireless. This is the follow-up to the original Droid X, and maintains the same form factor and physical buttons, as well as the huge display. This one is actually a qHD display, providing a higher resolution than the original Droid X that launched almost a year ago. One thing missing here, the Droid X2 doesn't have 4G LTE built-in, but that's a minor complaint for this otherwise speedy device.

As always, hit us with any questions you have about the Droid X2 and we'll do our best to answer them in our follow-up review! In the meantime, feel free to check out our Motorola Droid X2 gallery.

Big thanks to our sponsor - be sure and grab a free $5 credit from JackThreads now!


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