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True, it’s just an ordinary netbook from an ordinary company, but the Gateway LT2106u is now official and brings with it a contractual obligation to Verizon Wireless in return for a discount off the claimed $500 retail price. Just don’t get too excited about your new found frugality since you’ll still be forking over monthly access fees as high as $60 per month for 5GB of data. The netbook itself packs 3G data (presumably via Qualcomm’s world-wide Gobi) and the usual N270 Atom proc, 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 display, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, WiFi, and up to 6 hours of battery life if you shut everything down but the 3-in-1 memory card reader. Available October 4th for $150 after mail-in rebate.

Filed under: Laptops

Verizon’s Gateway LT2106u 3G netbook is working for the weekend originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Toronto Raptors really face an uphill battle getting and keeping their talent. There are so many excuses for this team, Toronto is cold, the money is funny looking, and it is in a foreign country. However the fact that this team just isn’t that good should always factor into the discussion. The truth here is Toronto is a great city, a multi cultural city where half of the residents hail from a country other than Canada. While they face a battle to get talent, if they won more often it wouldn’t be an issue.

A lot of people say that same thing about my hometown, Detroit Michigan. Detroit is a pretty crappy place to live, and the weather is terrible. While all that is true NHL players stand in line, and often take less money to play for the Detroit Red Wings because they are an elite team. If The Raptors could build themselves into that via the draft then all the excuses could get thrown out of the window.

Of course this discussion is all about the black cloud hanging over this team. Franchise player Chris Bosh can opt out of his deal after this season, and it seems likely that he will play his ball elsewhere. So the Raptors have a big decision to make, should they try to resign Bosh and failing that trade him away, or try to resign him and keep him with the risk they could end up with nothing?

That question is likely to define the Raptors season, even though the addition of Hedo Turkoglu fixes a lot of the problems on this team, they still have the cloud hanging over them. The Raptors must find one guy in Bosh, Turkoglu or Andrea Bargnani to be their full time center and they could be an eight seed playoff team.

Call it a cool idea, call it ridiculous, call it a one-off novelty — whatever the case, Verizon’s unique Razzle will be hitting stores next week. The PCD-sourced handset is Verizon’s branded version of the TXT8030 and features a totally unique twisting bottom half with stereo speakers and music controls on one side and a full QWERTY keyboard on the other. This is a truly low-end handset on account of its 1.3 megapixel camera and forgettable 2.2-inch display, but on the plus side, it’s got microSD expansion and GPS — and there’s the nice little bit about the price, too, which comes in at $69.99 on contract. It’ll be available to order from Verizon’s web store starting the 6th, while brick-and-mortar locations pick it up “later this month.”

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Verizon Razzle starts twisting on October 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it comes to free media streaming, the United States is flush with premium content from great sites like Hulu and MySpace Music. But aside from a handful of exceptions, the rest of the world is out of luck. Today, the balance changes a bit: MySpace has just launched its hugely popular MySpace Music service in Australia and New Zealand, bringing those regions unlimited streaming of songs and albums from all four major music labels, as well as many indies.

AU/NZ users will have access to the same features as the US site, including shareable playlists, artist activity feeds, and other social functionality. But there is at least one notable difference: while MySpace Music launched in the United States with Amazon as its partner for purchasing digital downloads, the AU/NZ version has teamed with Apple’s iTunes. MySpace wouldn’t comment on whether this is foreshadowing a larger partnership, but we may well see the Apple deal extend stateside. MySpace likely had an exclusive partnership with Amazon for the US launch, but it’s been a year (which may well have been the length of the deal), so it may soon be free to explore other options.

Since launching last fall, MySpace Music has been something of a bright spot for the otherwise faltering social network. The site has seen a tenfold growth in traffic since launching, with the US portal drawing 18.95 million users (it’s also the #1 site in time spent for the all important 18-34 demographic, though some of this can be attributed to the fact that users can leave it playing in the background). MySpace Music also recently rolled out a much improved homepage and has seen a number of exclusive releases.

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Apple bought its own mapping company, Placebase, in July, according to an article in Computer World. Apparently that’s part of Apple’s plan to put some distance between it and its one-time buddy, Google.

The deal wasn’t announced, evidently because the purchase price was so small that it wasn’t a financially material event for Apple. Writer Seth Weintraub figured it out because he saw that chief executive of Placebase, Jaron Waldman, is now head of the Geo Team at Apple. Placebase had mapping software that was similar to Google Maps.

Fortunately for Apple, it didn’t have to pay billions for Placebase, as Nokia did for Navteq. But Apple is smart to believe that mapping technology could be critical for its future as it offers services where location-based information is increasingly relevant. And since Google is the primary backer of the Android operating system, it’s better for Apple not to be dependent on Google Maps.

Those Imagio rumors have proven to be deliciously correct, with Verizon officially announcing the beastly Windows Mobile 6.5 set for availability on October 6 — the first day 6.5 devices will officially be available anywhere. HTC’s latest CDMA device features a spacious wide VGA display clocking in at 3.6 inches, a 5 megapixel autofocus cam, quadband EDGE plus HSPA 2100 for when you’re looking for a little connectivity abroad, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the very latest iteration of TouchFLO 3D featuring social network integration, but the most interesting feature might be its support for MediaFLO-based VCAST TV — a first for HTC and Windows Mobile. Interest parties need only wait until next Tuesday to latch onto an Imagio online, while retail stores will be taking delivery on the 20th of the month — either way, you’ll be paying $199.99 on contract after rebate.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC Imagio launches on Verizon: WinMo 6.5 and VCAST TV on October 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is totally out of left field, but TmoNews (which tends to have a pretty solid track record when it comes to all things T-Mobile) is claiming that “select” G1s will be receiving Android 1.6 “Donut” starting… well, right about now. So much for any lingering worries that the first retail Android device was being left high and dry, eh? If everything goes well, the rumor goes on to say that myTouch 3Gs would be getting their own over-the-air upgrade in about 24 hours — and like the 1.5 update before it, it’d likely be a staggered rollout to make sure that T-Mobile doesn’t brick a bazillion phones in one fell swoop. Any G1 owners out there seeing anything yet? This sounds awfully quick, especially considering that the Dev Phone 1 just took delivery of 1.6 a handful of hours ago — but hey, if it’s true, we like T-Mobile’s hustle.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Android 1.6 getting pushed to G1s starting tonight, myTouch 3Gs in a day? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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They say to the victors go the spoils, but in the NHL Northwest Division this off-season we could change that to the victors go a stay of execution. While many of the teams in this division spent the off season replacing General Managers or Head Coaches, the Canucks and GM Mike Gillis and Bench boss Alain Vigneault spent the off season plotting on how to defend their division title.

In the first year of the Gillis era, the Canucks were able to stay healthy enough to run down the injury depleted Calgary Flames to win their third division title in the past five years. However, as usual the Canucks disappointed in the post season. They were one minute away from a 3-1 series lead in the second round versus Chicago, but managed to lose that series. The main difference, this season is these Canucks should not regress.

The Canucks return all the key pieces of their core, and given the turmoil their divisional foes went through this past off season they should be the favorites for yet another division title. While the initial hiring of Gillis was criticized by many, it seems the Canucks found the right guy. While Mats Sundin turned into an 8 million dollar bust, Gillis was wise enough to maintain his core and added grit and speed to his roster in the off season. Sundin will not be back as he announced his retirement earlier today.

Additions- D Christian Ehrhoff, D Michael Funk, W Tanner Glass, D Brad Lukowhich, D Lawrence Nycholat, G Andrew Raycroft, D Aaron Rome, RW Mikael Samuelson, D Mathieu Schneider

Subtractions- C Mark Cullen, D Zack Fitzgerald, D Shaun Heshka, RW Jason Jaffray, C Jason Krog, G Jason LaBarbera, D Mattias Ohlund, and G Curtis Sanford

They say to the victors go the spoils, but in the NHL Northwest Division this off-season we could change that to the victors go a stay of execution. While many of the teams in this division spent the off season replacing General Managers or Head Coaches, the Canucks and GM Mike Gillis and Bench boss Alain Vigneault spent the off season plotting on how to defend their division title.

In the first year of the Gillis era, the Canucks were able to stay healthy enough to run down the injury depleted Calgary Flames to win their third division title in the past five years. However, as usual the Canucks disappointed in the post season. They were one minute away from a 3-1 series lead in the second round versus Chicago, but managed to lose that series. The main difference, this season is these Canucks should not regress.

The Canucks return all the key pieces of their core, and given the turmoil their divisional foes went through this past off season they should be the favorites for yet another division title. While the initial hiring of Gillis was criticized by many, it seems the Canucks found the right guy. While Mats Sundin turned into an 8 million dollar bust, Gillis was wise enough to maintain his core and added grit and speed to his roster in the off season. Sundin will not be back as he announced his retirement earlier today.

Additions- D Christian Ehrhoff, D Michael Funk, W Tanner Glass, D Brad Lukowhich, D Lawrence Nycholat, G Andrew Raycroft, D Aaron Rome, RW Mikael Samuelson, D Mathieu Schneider

Subtractions- C Mark Cullen, D Zack Fitzgerald, D Shaun Heshka, RW Jason Jaffray, C Jason Krog, G Jason LaBarbera, D Mattias Ohlund, and G Curtis Sanford

American blogs, including leading consumer blog The Consumerist have published a memo (above) that allegedly shows that McDonalds Australia has a policy of short changing customers at drive thru’s, or what the Consumerist calls “New Profit Center For Australian McDonald’s: Fraud.”

At first glance the content of the letter does look like McDonald’s is commuting fraud, but even the most basic bit of testing shows that the only fraud is the letter itself.

Lets look past the fact that the memo is signed by Robert Trugabe, and the signature clearly shows that it’s a spoof on Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. Lets look past a perfectly public page available on the McDonald’s Australia website that lists their entire executive team, including zero mention of a Robert Trugabe.

No, the easier parts to prove come with the address and alleged company name. First, the address is a suburban McDonald’s in Adelaide, as confirmed by Google Maps Street View here, no McDonald’s corporate head quarters (which for a the record is in Sydney.) Then there’s the alleged name: McDonald’s Australia Pty Ltd. Anyone with a basic understanding of Australian company structures knows that a Pty Ltd company is a designation for a company restricted by a small number of share holders, and is not typically used for big multinational corporations (it’s usually just a Ltd company). All registered companies in Australia can be searched via the website of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the ASIC records show that there is NO company in Australia registered under the name of McDonald’s Australia Pty Ltd, only McDonald’s Australia Ltd.

My guess: someone got their hands on some letterhead from the Frewview store and decided to have some online fun, end of story. I wouldn’t want to be on the end of the lawyers that will shortly descend on the likes of the Consumerist and other sites claiming the letter is proof of fraud.