2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Kinect Sesame Street TV

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Video Games, Family, Kids, Under $100, Under $250, Under $50, Under $500,

Next up in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide is Kinect Sesame Street TV, an educational title for the Xbox 360 geared towards young children. In the game kids are invited to experience the world of Sesame Street alongside their favorite characters, such as Big Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster and Elmo, like never before. With Kinect players to share in the experience through visual and physical interactions with characters of Sesame Street, placing them right in the Sesame Street experience.

Children can interact with their favorite Sesame Street characters on screen to help them with tasks, play in their world, and learn together. Full-body gestures and voice recognition are used to move from experience to experience, and go from passive watching to active participation, and the game even includes hundreds of clips from the Sesame Street archive. You can pick up Kinect Sesame Street TV for about $30 on Amazon.

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Skype patches recovery password vulnerability

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Software,

Microsoft, the parent company of Skype, has patched a password recovery tool bug that Russian hackers utilized to exploit and gain access to user's accounts with nothing more than their account name and email. According to The Next of Web, they independently verified the five step process and confirmed that it works. Skype made this announcement on its website blog:

Early this morning we were notified of user concerns surrounding the security of the password reset feature on our website. This issue affected some users where multiple Skype accounts were registered to the same email address. We suspended the password reset feature temporarily this morning as a precaution and have made updates to the password reset process today so that it is now working properly. We are reaching out to a small number of users who may have been impacted to assist as necessary. Skype is committed to providing a safe and secure communications experience to our users and we apologize for the inconvenience.

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Western Digital My Net AC1300 brings 802.11ac Wi-Fi to the home for $189

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wireless / WiFi,

Western Digital is following up on its recent entry into the home router market with its new AC1300, bringing the new 802.11ac standard into the fold. While a lot of router companies are releasing 802.11ac hardware, there are still no computers that come with the standard built-in, but that isn't stopping Western Digital from proclaiming that the AC1300 outperforms competing routers, thanks to the unique 3-by-3 antenna layout. It's got 4 Ethernet ports (we were hoping for 7, like the WD N900 has!) and 2 USB ports for connecting things like external hard drives and printers. You can pick up the Western Digital AC1300 router now for $190, and the company has also released the My Net AC Bridge for $150, which will allow you to connect up to four Ethernet-enabled devices and get them operating at 802.11ac speeds.

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AT&T expands 4G LTE coverage in Seattle, launches in Tacoma

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Wireless / WiFi,

After launching its new 4G LTE service in Seattle days before the iPhone 5 launch, AT&T is now launching its faster data service in Tacoma, Washington, as well as Federal Way, Lakewood, Puyallup, and Auburn. Additionally, LTE expansion upgrades are now live in Seattle, Bothell, Bellevue, Kirkland, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Renton, Redmond, Tukwila, and Woodinville. AT&T plans to officially announce the enhancements tomorrow. Of course, you'll need an LTE-compatable AT&T device to take advantage of the faster speeds.

Xbox 360 gets custom design marking 10 years of Xbox Live

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Microsoft has put together another custom-designed Xbox 360 console, this one celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Xbox Live. As you can see in the image above, it's a dark gray console with green and orange accents, and an "X" design papered all over the hardware. It's a great looking device to our eyes. It was announced on Twitter by Major Nelson, who confirmed that the company is giving these out to a number of Xbox Live members who've stuck around since the beginning.

I can confirm we’re surprising some of the #Xbox LIVE members that have been with us the longest with one of these mjr.mn/THwudE

— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) November 13, 2012

Click to continue reading Xbox 360 gets custom design marking 10 years of Xbox Live

HTC Droid DNA: The best smartphone display ever for $199 on Verizon

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

If having a smartphone that has the best specs on paper is your thing, you're gonna wanna sit up and pay attention to the HTC Droid DNA smartphone. The Droid DNA will launch on November 21st on Verizon Wireless, and pre-orders start today. What makes the Droid DNA the undisputed champion of the spec race? Well, for starters, it has what is unquestionably the best display ever seen on a smartphone to date. It's a 1080p 1280 x 1080 display, packing the same number of pixels into it's 5-inch LCD panel that you'd find on your HDTV at home. That equates to 440 pixels-per-inch, blowing away Apple's 326ppi found on its iPhone Retina display.

The Droid DNA will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean when it launches in ten days, and will be powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 2GB RAM. Naturally, being part of Verizon's flagship Droid line, it'll be a 4G LTE smartphone. Beats Audio with HTC Sense 4+, wireless charging, and a new Super LCD 3 panel round things out here. You can pre-order your Droid DNA today while we work on getting a review unit in-house.

Nexus 4 Bumper case available in Google Play store for $19.99

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

Google has just put its new Nexus 4 Bumper Case up in its Google Play Store. The Nexus 4 Bumper is apparently a totally original case that protects just the sides of the Nexus 4 smartphone, leaving the entire front and back of the device open. Perhaps Apple should look into making a product with the same name, that does the same thing, for it's old iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S line of devices. Oh, wait.

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Fender Squier Strat with iOS and USB integration available at Apple Online Store

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Accessories, USB, Apple, Music, Videos,

Iconic electric guitar maker, Fender, has announced the new Squier Strat. It includes USB and iOS integration and is now available in the Apple Online Store for $199.95. The Squier Strat goes perfectly with music apps like GarageBand for iOS and also works with OS X. Check out some of the features, and a video, after the break.

Click to continue reading Fender Squier Strat with iOS and USB integration available at Apple Online Store

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2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Amazon Kindle Fire

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Women, Men, Techies, Teens, Under $250, Under $500,

We continue our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet. Why the Fire, and not the Kindle Fire HD? While the HD is a fine tablet in its own right, the price of the regular Kindle Fire is just right--especially if you buy quickly! As it turns out, Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire at a 20% discount for the next 3 hours (or until it runs out of stock, whichever comes first!) Amazon's looking to disrupt the tablet landscape with the Fire, and is pricing the Fire aggressively at $129 during this sale.

Purchasers of the Kindle Fire also get a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, which'll let you get a nice sampling of what the company's Video on Demand service offers. Other services you can access from the Fire include Amazon's Android Appstore, Kindle books, a host of magazines, Cloud Drive, Cloud Player, and the Amazon MP3 service.

You can pick up a Kindle Fire now for $129 on Amazon. If you miss the sale, it's still a good deal at its regular $159 price.

Honorable Mention: Kindle Fire HD - $199

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RIM Sets Blackberry 10 launch date for January 30th

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Software,

Remember RIM? You know, the maker of the BlackBerry, once so famous it was dubbed CrackBerry? Well, don't count them out just yet. It's made an official announcement regarding the launch of BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system and new smartphone hardware for January 30, 2013. 

Click to continue reading RIM Sets Blackberry 10 launch date for January 30th

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