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Amazon Kindle Fire HD (7-inch) unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Galleries, Handhelds,
Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD is now available, sporting its 1280x800 display and stereo speaker goodness. We've got one in-hand, and are preparing our full Kindle Fire HD (7-inch) review as we speak, but in the meantime, we've put together a gallery of images showing off the hardware. As you'll see, even just on the outside, it's a nice upgrade from the original Kindle Fire hardware. Also, the Special Offers aren't anywhere near as bad as people made them out to be. Go ahead and check out our Amazon Kindle Fire HD (7-inch) unboxing gallery, and stay tuned for our review.
Gallery:
Fitbit introduces two new trackers: Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Wearables,
Fitbit has just announced its new fitness trackers in the Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip. Following up its popular Fitbit Ultra tracker, the Fitbit One takes its place at the top of the lineup, and brings some welcome changes. A new silent vibrating alarm is added to wake you in the morning as well as remind you when to move, and Bluetooth 4.0 connects to your iPhone to save your data automatically. It's also got a smaller profile and splash-resistant, while also continuing to do its main job of counting steps, calories burned, stairs climbed, sleep quality, etc. The Fitbit One ships in October and will cost $100.
Click to continue reading Fitbit introduces two new trackers: Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip
Read More 
| Fitbit One
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Apple sold over 2 million iPhone 5 units in first 24 hours, doubles iPhone 4S
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
If there were any lingering doubts about the success and popularity of the iPhone brand, then allow Apple's announcement of 2 million iPhone 5 pre-orders in the first 24 hours of availability put all of them to rest. Like gangbusters, it shattered last year's previous record holder set by the iPhone 4S, which clocked in at 1 million pre-orders. Yes, the iPhone 5 doubled the previous record. As noted by Gear Live over the weekend, pre-orders slipped to two-week shipping times after just 56 minutes after going live at 12.01AM PST on September 14th. Analysts are expecting 10 million units to be sold by the end of the September month and about 40-50 million more units by the end of the holiday quarter. So the message is clear, customers want iPhone 5. Full Apple press release after the break.
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iPhone 5 GeekBench results: A6 chip is a screamer
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds,
It appears that MacRumors has received word from PrimateLabs about the GeekBench scores for the iPhone 5. Apple's new smartphones will be available to the public when it launches on September 21st. In the words of late Steve Jobs, "It's a screamer!"
Clearly, iPhone 5 has more than doubled expected performance when compared to the iPhone 4S. It blows the doors off previous marks set by all previous iOS devices before it. Also, it remains at the top of the pack even when you include all current Android devices; that includes tablets like Google's Nexus 7, the quad-core ASUS Transformer Prime, and Samsung's new smartphone iteration, the Samsung Galaxy S III (also quad-core.)
Click to continue reading iPhone 5 GeekBench results: A6 chip is a screamer
Read More | MacRumors
Apple iPhone 5 blueprint schematics offered to case manufacturers
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Accessories, Apple, Smartphones, Design,
Apple is offering third-party case manufacturers precise blueprint schematics of the iPhone 5 to ensure they are able to make well-fitting cases and accessories. However, antsy case makers went ahead and made them based on leaked information obtained from iPhone distributors and manufacturers; some going as far as using 3D mockups of speculated designs. We are not sure if this is the first time that Apple has gone out of its way to accommodate case makers, but it sure is welcoming to see that users can play dress up without having to ask "does this case make my iPhone's butt look big?".
Read More | Apple (PDF)
Chevy and GM agree to replace our faulty 2012 Volt with new 2013 model!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Transportation,
Remember our 2012 Chevy Volt that failed while driving and almost got me in an accident? We updated the story with the details about trying to work with Chevy and GM to get a replacement Volt since we no longer felt safe driving the one we had. After all, it had been in the shop for repairs every two weeks since we had picked it up the first time. Well, we are please to report that Chevrolet and General Motors did right by us, and agreed to replace our 2012 Volt with a newer, similarly-equipped 2013 model. Since this was a lease, it was a bit more complicated than a simple trade. Instead, we did what's called a VIN swap. The result? We keep the same lease terms and paperwork, with the VIN being the only change on the documents. It took a while since the 2013 Chevy Volt wasn't available until very recently, and once it arrived, we needed to wait for all the paperwork to be completed. Still, it was worth the wait. Stay tuned for our 2013 Chevy Volt review.
OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 looking to be a substantial update, here’s the feature list
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
Apple is set to release OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 soon, and it's shaping up to be a pretty substantial update. Sure, there will be the typical bug fixes and optimizations, but we can also expect the long-awaited Facebook single sign on functionality, bringing sharing to (and notifications from) the social network built right in to OS X. The update will also bring the Power Nap feature to Late 2010 MacBook Air notebooks, phone number support to Messages, shared Reminders lists, the ability to add cards to iOS Passbook from your Mac, and plenty more. We've got the list right here:
- Single sign on for Facebook
- Facebook as an option when sharing links and photos
- Facebook friends' contact information and profile pictures in Contacts
- Facebook notifications in Notification Center
There's plenty more, so hit the jump for the rest of the updates!
Apple discontinues the iPhone 3GS, moves iPhone 4 into free spot
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
The iPhone 3GS is no more. With the announcement of the iPhone 5 came the information that the iPhone 4S would move down the line and sell for $99 with two-year contract, while the iPhone 4 takes the spot previously held by the 3GS, making it free with two-year contract. Don't count the 3GS out just yet though, as its final trick will occur on September 19, when iOS 6 is released with support for the discontinued smartphone.
The iPhone 5 bill of materials estimated to be $167.50
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors,
Analysts from TechInsights are estimating that the bill of hardware materials and electronic components of the iPhone 5 is around $167.50. That's a $35.00 jump from the iPhone 4S from last year, and a significant leap of $55.50 from the iPhone 4. If true, the increase in build costs isn't reflected in the MSRP of the iPhone 4, as Apple has kept the same price points every year since 2010 (with the excepton of the 64GB model, which wasn't available until 2011.)
This goes to the credit of Apple's market leading logistics, which locks in deals for mass supply parts of raw material and components from manufactures purchased years in advance.
Read More | UBM TechInsights
Conan O’Brien’s iPhone 5 exclusive preview
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Videos,
Apple was nice enough to give Conan an "exclusive sneak peak" of the iPhone 5. True story. Check it out after the break.
Click to continue reading Conan O’Brien’s iPhone 5 exclusive preview
