Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Hope you’re eager to break into that Halloween candy early, because you’ve got some (re)celebrating to do. If you’ll recall, we first heard that laptops accounted for over half of US retail computer sales back in 2003, and in June of 2005, we found that it was somehow worth getting jazzed over once more when it happened again. Here we are in the latter half of 2008 shaking our heads in disappointment, as IDC has amazingly discovered that notebook shipments into the US market have exceeded the 50% threshold for the first time evar. Go ahead and stock up on rave supplies early — we get this weird feeling that we’ll be doing this same song and dance in 2010 or so.

[Image courtesy of DayLife]

Laptop shipments exceed desktops in US for the not-exactly-first time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Networking

Alright Minneapolis, you’ve had your fun. Now it’s time for another swath of Comcast markets to indulge in the lavish joys that only DOCSIS 3.0 can provide. For those unaware, the aforesaid technology enables 50Mbps internet to be delivered over the cable company’s infrastructure, which brings it up to speed (ahem) with offerings by fiber-based carriers Verizon and AT&T. In the next few weeks, the DOCSIS 3.0-based “Extreme 50″ option will bring 50Mbps down / 5Mbps up to subscribers in parts of New England, Philadelphia and New Jersey. Better still, the company announced its intentions to bring the $139.95 per month service to ten other big markets where it will reach “about 10 million homes and businesses in the next few months.” Oh, and if that’s just too much intarwebz for you to handle, an “Ultra” 22Mbps downstream service will be available for $62.95 per month.

[Via Reuters, image courtesy of TheRedWoodMotel]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets, Household

We already know that a solid chunk of Britons use mobile internet while in the throes of passion, and now Captain Obvious (today known as Nokia) has awkwardly landed to tell the world that Americans do too. A recent survey, which we can only imagine was absolutely thrilling to conduct, found that some 53% of working Americans “have been interrupted by a work-related phone call or e-mail while in the bathroom.” Furthermore, some 23% have allowed a call / e-mail to interrupt them while on a date, but that’s probably because 59% of those polled never, ever turn off their mobile. Just think — the next time your buddy answers with a hint of stress in his / her voice, there’s a statistically significant chance that you’re barging in on some seriously personal business.

[Image courtesy of fletchy182]

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Filed under: Cellphones

No need to defog your spectacles, what you just read there in the headline is the truth. Astoundingly enough, Motorola’s nearly archaic (in cellphone years, anyway) RAZR V3 is still the top-selling handset in the United States. Of course, it helps that it’s highly subsidized on practically every carrier from coast to coast, but we’re still a little stunned that it’s selling this well nearly 2.5 years after Moto moved its 50 millionth unit. The rest of the top five isn’t nearly as shocking, with Apple’s iPhone snagging the silver, RIM’s BlackBerry Curve grabbing the bronze, LG’s Chocolate at number four and the BlackBerry Pearl at five. With the original RAZR still selling so well, one would think Motorola could just tweak it slightly and issue a second iteration for even more windfall profits. Er, wait.

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Filed under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets

Contrary to popular belief, the world as we know it didn’t implode after the Large Hadron Collider was flipped on. Sure — someone, somewhere is growing a ninth arm and trying desperately to land a cameo on Fringe, but the planet at large is still humming along just fine. Now, the world’s most ginormous computing grid (the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, or WLCG) has gone live, and the gurus behind it are celebrating the beginning of its momentous data challenge: to analyze and manage over 15 million gigabytes of data each year. The Grid combines the IT power of over 140 computer centers, 100,000 processors and the collaborative efforts of 33 countries. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when the official WLCG-based Call of Duty 4 server will be green-lit for action, but we hear it’s pretty high on the priorities list.

[Via China View]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

digg_url = ‘http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/23/t-mobile-soft-capping-3g-data-at-1gb-per-month/’; Caps are nothing new to the world’s 3G networks, but T-Mobile’s being particularly stingy with the bytes — 1GB is all you get. Well, technically you can get more than that, but our friends in magenta are reserving the right to throttle you back to a stifling 50Kbps — virtually useless by smartphone standards, and less than what even a good EDGE network is capable of providing. That’s going to be sour news to heavy G1 users, especially as Android touts its stellar connectivity, world-class browser, and a full suite of data-gorging apps. For now, we’re going to cut T-Mob some slack on this since the threat is purely theoretical, but if they start enforcing this little stipulation with a heavy hand, the G1 is going to have to stay in the pocket a little more than we’d like.

[Thanks, Emmanuel C.]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

digg_url = ‘http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/23/t-mobile-soft-capping-3g-data-at-1gb-per-month/’; Caps are nothing new to the world’s 3G networks, but T-Mobile’s being particularly stingy with the bytes — 1GB is all you get. Well, technically you can get more than that, but our friends in magenta are reserving the right to throttle you back to a stifling 50Kbps — virtually useless by smartphone standards, and less than what even a good EDGE network is capable of providing. That’s going to be sour news to heavy G1 users, especially as Android touts its stellar connectivity, world-class browser, and a full suite of data-gorging apps. For now, we’re going to cut T-Mob some slack on this since the threat is purely theoretical, but if they start enforcing this little stipulation with a heavy hand, the G1 is going to have to stay in the pocket a little more than we’d like.

[Thanks, Emmanuel C.]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Following new plans geared to the decidedly less fruity phones in AT&T’s lineup earlier this month, the carrier has announced a pair of international data packages geared specifically toward the iPhone and iPhone 3G. The bad news is that they still cost more than the average subscriber’s entire monthly bill; the good news, though, is that they should still manage to save globetrotters a buck or two (or a thousand) who insist on keeping data roaming enabled while out in the field. 100MB of global data is going to set you back $119.99 on top of your regular package, while 200MB runs $199.99 — certainly not enough to go crazy in the App Store, but probably enough of a meager allowance to take care of email and stay on the grid. The new plans are available starting tomorrow.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Uh oh, Moto. Go ‘head with your bad self. Just days after posting a meager profit (but a profit nonetheless) and maintaining your position in third in worldwide mobile market share, along comes a report claiming that you’re still numero uno in the United States. While handset sales overall shot up 5.3% here in Q2, Motorola maintained a 26% share and managed to stare down at least a few naysayers. In related news, LG held tight to the silver with 22%, while RIM gained a double-digit market share increase thanks to sales of its oh-so-hot BlackBerry handset. Number nerds, feel free to tap the read link for even more fractions and decimals.

[Via RCRWireless]

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Filed under: HDTV, Storage

Now here’s a rate of progress we could get used to. Nary a month after Pioneer trumpeted a 400GB Blu-ray Disc, out pops another press release from the firm boasting about a 500 gigger with a score of layers. Based on research at its Tokyo headquarters, specifications have been drafted for an incredibly capacious 500GB BD. Granted, this very company already had plans for a 500GB optical disc nearly four years ago, but there’s no time like the present to make this stuff a reality, right?

[Via TrustedReviews, thanks xdragon]

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Filed under: Storage

Psst… hey you. Yeah, you. Tired of having to sleep with one eye on your HDD? Enter Raidon’s STARAY S3 Series Data Encryption Box, which enables the drive within to be partitioned into public and private parts. There’s also talk of S-Codes and X-Codes in order to ratchet up security, and the keypad-based password entry ensures that data snatchers will have to extract strings of thought from your brain before they can tap into your collection of 1980s-era R&B videos. Get yours sent to an undisclosed underground location for just $69, but don’t forget to order up a hard drive while you’re at it.

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Filed under: Cellphones

At first, we figured our Instinct here at Engadget HQ had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed, but we’re now receiving a flood of tips from individuals nationwide having the same issues. Put simply, it seems that certain data services are thoroughly borked, with our Weather app being unable to refresh for at least the past 18 hours (some are reporting even longer). Additionally, we’re hearing that folks are having to manually refresh their email and deal with all sorts of error messages when attempting to use any of the data services. So, what gives? Are you having data-related issues with your Instinct? C’mon Sprint, this is your best-selling EV-DO device of all time — it’d be nice to have it working for the weekend. Oh, and great job showing all those angered iPhone 3G users that your network doesn’t have issues, too.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Cellphones

According to the overactive internet rumor party line, T-Mobile is planning to take its currently limited 3G service nationwide come October. TmoNews claims — thanks to an anonymous tipster, of course — that on October 1st, the telco will bring speedy service to 27 of its top markets, including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and Miami, amongst others. Of course, right now this is pure speculation and hearsay, until we get confirmation from T-Mobile (or at least some hard evidence), we’ll just have to keep our fingers and toes crossed.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Filed under: Cellphones

According to the overactive internet rumor party line, T-Mobile is planning to take its currently limited 3G service nationwide come October. TmoNews claims — thanks to an anonymous tipster, of course — that on October 1st, the telco will bring speedy service to 27 of its top markets, including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and Miami, amongst others. Of course, right now this is pure speculation and hearsay, until we get confirmation from T-Mobile (or at least some hard evidence), we’ll just have to keep our fingers and toes crossed.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Worldwide_PCs_in_use_surpass_1_billion’; So, we hear that Planet Earth is home to four billion phone lines. Now it can claim to house over one billion installed PCs — what do those neighboring planets have on that, huh? According to research firm Gartner, the number of “installed PCs worldwide has surpassed 1 billion units,” and it estimates that said figure is growing at around 12-percent annually. Should this trend continue, we’ll be reporting on 2 billion sometime during 2014. It should be noted that this figure accounts for computers in use rather than units shipped, and while the current ratio remains slanted towards mature markets, Gartner expects emerging markets to (expectedly) account for a larger share as we climb to 2 billion. Unsurprisingly, the firm also suggests that around 180 million PCs will be replaced this year, with around 35 million of those hitting landfills “with little or no regard for their toxic content.” Kind of puts a damper on things, wouldn’t you say?

[Via Reuters, image courtesy of Wikimedia]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Great news, T-Mobile USA fans — the roller coaster ride is finally over. After we thought T-Mobile’s 3G network was but moments away from launching, we soon found that data may be left out. Oddly enough, a few reports hailing from the Big Apple claimed that data actually was included. At long last, the carrier is coming clean and announcing its official 3G rollout in the States. Unfortunately, the UMTS / HSDPA network is initially launching in New York City alone, but the good news is that data will be included and the operator expects the high-speed data network to “be available in cities where a majority of its subscribers currently use data services” by the year’s end. Yeah, it’s safe to celebrate now, we promise it’s not a(nother) false alarm. Full release posted after the jump.

Continue reading T-Mobile clears everything up: 3G rollout (with data) is on in NYC

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

For those of you who keep your iPhone connected via WiFi entirely more often than through EDGE, listen up. As of now, it appears that iPhone users can login to their AT&T myAccount page, surf on over to the “Add / Manage Features” section and opt out of the (previously required) monthly data plan. Making the change will save you a whole $20 per month — or $240 per year, if you prefer that perspective. Granted, you’ll also lose visual voicemail in the process, but at least you’re now being presented the option, right?

[Via TUAW]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

After Verizon’s ambiguousness ended up hitting it right where it hurts (read: the wallet), the carrier cleaned up its act a bit and redefined “unlimited” in a hot-off-the-press version of its Terms & Conditions. While perusing through the legalese, you’ll notice that checking out “continuous web camera posts or broadcasts / automatic data feeds (RSS)” are strictly prohibited, right along with P2P sharing or using your BroadbandAccess as a “substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections.” Moving on, you’ll also see that exceeding 5GB of usage during any single billing period gives Verizon the right to “reduce throughput speeds of any application that would otherwise exceed such speed to a maximum of approximately 200Kbps.” It gets worse — these speeds are (unsurprisingly) “subject to change,” so it sounds like your connection can be throttled right on down to a crawl should you pass the 5GB barrier. Have fun!*

[Via jkOnTheRun]

*…just keep it under 5GB if you know what’s good for you.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

They’re still miles away from T-Mobile’s ridiculously cheap $10 for unlimited BlackBerry email, but Verizon’s trying to reach out to a more personal, consumer-based audience as it preps to launch its own Pearl with a new data pricing structure of its own. Unlimited web and email will run you $29.99 when purchased with a voice plan, $34.99 without, offering support for up to ten POP3 and IMAP accounts. Again, T-Mobile’s got these cats beat hands-down if saving dinero is the priority — but then again, Verizon takes the cake for total coverage area and, of course, 3G speed. Pick your poison.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!