Apple tracking an issue with defective Monster headphones?

We just received a tip and some screencaps, purportedly from the Apple-verse, with a word of warning about Monster's headphone lineup. Apple is apparently blaming the "conductive flanges" used in many of Monster's earbuds for erratic stopping and starting of playback on Apple devices. The point of this internal memo seems for support staff to recognize that what a consumer might assume is a defect in an Apple product might actually be a Monster problem. Interestingly, Apple's list of problem headphones doesn't mention any of the Beats-labeled products that Apple actually sells, and is limited to Monster headphones that include "ControlTalk" tech for controlling playback with a cable-mounted mic / volume / pause remote, modeled after Apple's own iPhone-bundled earbuds. We're not sure if this means Monster is mis-applying Apple standards or just has a manufacturing defect, and it's also unclear if this problem also extends to the ControlTalk-equipped products in the joint-developed Beats lineup, but if you've been having some trouble with random stop-starts in your music on your $400 pair of Copper Turbines (and you aren't listening to James Blake), perhaps this will clear up some confusion. A full list of the affected 'buds is after the break.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading Apple tracking an issue with defective Monster headphones?

Apple tracking an issue with defective Monster headphones? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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comScore: Q3 E-Commerce Spending Up 9 Percent To $32 Billion

Good news today for online retailers. According to comScore, third quarter e-commerce was up nine percent from the same period last year, to $32.1 billion in spending for the quarter. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth following the drought in spending during the recession. The top-performing online product categories were Books & Magazines (which excludes digital downloads), Computers/Peripherals/PDAs, Computer Software (excl. PC Games) and Consumer Electronics. Retailers continue to use free shipping as an incentive, with 41 percent of online retail transactions for the quarter including free shipping. The top 25 online retailers accounted for 70 percent of dollars spent online, up 5.5 percent from a year ago. Online retailers who sell solely through the web accounted for 58 percent of dollars spent online compared to 42 percent among multichannel retailers.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/vmgw1U3d558/

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T-Mobile Comet sends $9.99 shot across the bow of dumbphones

The argument used to be that carriers' higher pricing for smartphone data plans were what kept them out of the low end, regardless of the upfront on-contract cost -- but now that T-Mobile has rolled out a 200MB / $10 package, phones like the Comet -- a T-Mobile branded version of the Huawei Ideos announced at IFA -- might actually pose a serious threat to the livelihoods of dumbphones everywhere. Why's that? Well, the carrier will be charging a ridiculously low $9.99 on contract after $50 rebate for it, featuring 7.2Mbps HSPA, FM radio, integrated Swype, microSD expansion up to 32GB, and 802.11b / g / n atop Froyo; in fact, the only immediately-obvious downside to it is that it's got just a 2.8-inch QVGA display. As you might recall, Huawei worked closely with Google to design the Ideos as an Android device for the masses, and we came away with a pretty positive impression with it when we checked it out at IFA -- so we're bullish that this thing is going to make some waves in its Comet guise. It launches on November 3 -- and you'll be able to get it in prepaid guise through some third-party retailers for "less than $200."

T-Mobile Comet sends $9.99 shot across the bow of dumbphones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 4.2 goes gold, available now to developers

The iPad's ticket to multitasking freedom -- better known as iOS 4.2 -- has moves past the beta phase and onto GM, which means retail units should be seeing it soon. Besides the iPad, Apple is also providing builds for the second, third, and fourth generations of the iPod touch, along with the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4... so if you've got a friend with an iPhone Developer Program subscription, now would be a great time to get cozy.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iOS 4.2 goes gold, available now to developers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player with Google TV review

We know the feeling of set-top box fatigue as much as anyone, so naturally we were interested in Sony's Internet TV Blu-ray player -- just like the Sony Internet TV, it lets you add Google TV to your system without adding any more boxes. At the same time, we're always wary of combo devices -- they're often a jack of all trades and master of none. And so we set out playing with Sony's second riff on Google TV with the hope that it could serve both duties without sacrificing any features or functionality that we'd expect if we bought two devices. Obviously if you're in the market for both a Blu-ray player and a Google TV device and price is the most important factor it's an easy decision, but you'll have to click through to find out the true cost of having one fewer box under your TV.

This review is primarily of the Sony Internet TV NSZ-GT1 Blu-ray player hardware -- make sure you read our full Google TV review to get a feel for the platform itself!

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Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player with Google TV review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/CFpAq2tVvTs/

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Roku previews UI tweaks on the way

Our friends from ZatzNotFunny and Liliputing spotted Roku at a recent event showing off the next version of software for its media streamers: version 2.8, which should add several UI improvements including the updated Channel Store seen above. Also spotted was a special fall-themed skin and placeholder for the soon-to-arrive Hulu Plus access. The DLNA we've been expecting since our Roku XDS review still hasn't made an official appearance but we'll keep our fingers crossed until the update is official and we have a changelog in our hands.

Roku previews UI tweaks on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Oct 2010 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/31/roku-previews-ui-tweaks-on-the-way/

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Monaco Solar Phone Charger Review

Wirelessground’s Monaco Solar Phone Charger is a small, light, tough unit that can be charged from the sun, from a USB port, or from an AC outlet and works with most phones that use a mini or micro-USB plug right out of the box. … [visit site to read more] Filed in categories: Android related, [...]

Filed in categories: Android related, Blackberry related, Gear, Generic PDA related, iPhone, iPad, iPod related

Tagged: cell phone charger, solar charger

Monaco Solar Phone Charger Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 31, 2010 at 3:44 pm.

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/10/31/monaco-solar-phone-charger/

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Peek 9 Mobile Messaging Device Review

This review is the culmination of a 2 year saga I’ve experienced with a potentially game changing product called Peek.� It�offers unlimited email and text messaging using an always on�cellular network for between $10 and $20 per month with no contract.� Unfortunately, the whole operation may go down in flames because of a total network [...]

Filed in categories: Reviews, Wireless

Tagged: Email, Messaging

Peek 9 Mobile Messaging Device Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 28, 2010 at 10:09 am.

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/10/28/peek-9-mobile-messaging-device-review/

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Apple patent application offers promise of stronger, scratch-proof stainless steel

As with all patent applications, it's a bit early to get too excited about this one, but a recently published filing from Apple dubbed "Nitriding Stainless Steel for Consumer Electronic Products" is one of the more interesting we've seen from the company as of late, especially when you consider its recent acquisition of Liquidmetal's intellectual property. Whereas Liquidmetal promises to let Apple create metal devices that are stronger and not limited to the usual structural or strength limitations found in conventional metals, this new patent application suggests that the company might also be working on a nitride coating for stainless steel that's described as "both scratch and impact resistant." What's more, the application suggests that the coating would not affect the appearance of the underlying stainless steel, and not cause any RF interference either. As pointed out in the application itself, that means it could be used on laptops, portable media players and, yes, even cellphones -- or it could simply be filed away with the countless other applications that haven't seen the light of day. Here's hoping for the former.

Apple patent application offers promise of stronger, scratch-proof stainless steel originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Change? Buy Candy With PayPal, Your Phone and Twitter

A proof-of-concept vending machine shows how we can dispense with cash for everyday purchases, skipping credit and debit cards altogether and going straight to electronic transfer.
The vending machine uses QR codes, PayPal, a smartphone camera and Twitter. And, to complete the geek-buzzword bingo checklist, the hardware is based in part on Arduino, an open source [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/10/no-change-for-the-vending-machine-buy-candy-with-paypal/

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iPhone DST bug causing alarms to fail across Europe

An iPhone bug already seen when Australia switched between Daylight Savings Time and Standard Time a few weeks ago has now hit Europe. Twitter is alight with reports of recurring iPhone alarms going off an hour later than usual. So even though the iOS clock changed correctly over the weekend, the alarm did not. Thing is, according to a ZDNet Australia report from more than three weeks ago, Apple acknowledged the bug with a promise to fix it with a software update. So why wasn't it rolled out in time to avoid this mess in Europe? Let's see if Apple fixes it before North America makes the switch on November 7th, otherwise, you've been warned.

Update: The fix appears to be as simple as removing and re-adding the alarms. You're boss will be thrilled by the news.

[Thanks, David O.]

iPhone DST bug causing alarms to fail across Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 02:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/01/iphone-dst-bug-causing-alarms-to-fail-across-europe/

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Apple sues Motorola right back over six patents

What, you didn't think Apple was just going to sit around and take it after Motorola first sued for patent infringement and then asked to court to declare some 20 of Cupertino's patents weren't applicable to its products, did you? Apple's fired back with two lawsuits claiming that Motorola's Android phones, including but not limited to the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq, Cliq XT, BackFlip, Devour A555, Devour i1, and Charm, infringe a total of six multitouch and OS patents. That would be pretty much par for the course -- you sue me, I sue you -- but there are a couple interesting strategic wrinkles to note:

• We've only seen Apple litigate one of these patents before: #7,479,949, Touch Screen Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Determining Commands by Applying Heuristics. You should remember it well -- it's the patent covering scroll behavior on multitouch screens that was hyped as "the iPhone patent" and triggered a press frenzy over a possible Apple / Palm lawsuit. As we predicted at the time, that hasn't yet materialized, but old '949's gotten pretty popular: Apple's asserting it against Nokia and HTC as well.
• Apple might be suing over six patents in these two cases, but ultimately Apple will claiming Motorola's devices infringe a total of 26 patents -- part of Apple's defense to Motorola's 20-patent lawsuit will be to claim that Moto's in fact infringing each of those patents. That's a lot of patents across a lot of devices, and it'll just take one finding of infringement to cause a lot of pain.
• Apple's filed its two cases in the Western District of Wisconsin, a patent "rocket docket" that tries cases quickly and are often perceived as being plaintiff-friendly. (Part of the Apple / Nokia lawsuit is happening in this same court.) Moto's obvious next move will be to try and consolidate all these cases into a single proceeding at one court, a procedural tactic that will take likely take months. And that's just the first step. Don't expect these cases to be decided for at least a year -- probably many years -- unless Apple and Motorola decide to settle, which is always possible.
• Apple's now seriously engaged in litigation with the two largest Android handset makers (HTC and Motorola), largely over OS-level patents. At some point Google has to get involved, if only to indemnify its partners against further liability for using Android, and we can't help but think Apple and Google are eventually bound to face off directly. Or perhaps not -- by suing Android handset makers, Apple's essentially putting a tax on Android without having to further muddy up its complex competitor / partner relationship with Google by adding in a major lawsuit.

We've added in a list of the patents after the break, if you're interested -- and we know you're interested, right? It's not like it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon or anything.

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Apple sues Motorola right back over six patents originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Oct 2010 15:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/30/apple-sues-motorola-right-back-over-six-patents/

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