Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

I think I can give you one thing most people like and one thing most people hate.  Beer and waiting (in that order of course!).  There are been novelty gadgets for beer ever since novelty gadgets have been invented, but this is something new, innovative and something you could see in bars and stadiums before long.  I give you, the TRUfil from Scotsman Beverages Systems: the gadget to provide beer without the waiting.
Let me give you important information first: this machine can give you 10 pints in 10 seconds.  That’s right, a pint in one second.  Keep reading for more details.

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We all know the iPhone has become quite popular.  Just look around next time you’re in a place with a lot of people—whether it be a subway, train station, airport, city street or college campus, chances are you’ll see at least one person with an iPhone walking around.  They almost seem to mock those of us who are stuck with Verizon or other carriers that aren’t AT&T (well, until the Storm, that is).  There are actual numbers to prove that the iPhone is popular: mobile ad traffic.

According to AdMob, an ad network for mobile websites and apps, the iPhone is the leader in ad traffic for mobile devices.  It holds 4.1 percent of ad requests for October.  That doesn’t sound like much, but it comes out to 236 million requests in one month.  In July, it was only 28 million requests.  Of those 236 million requests, 62.8 percent were from the U.S.  That’s pretty impressive considering the iPhone is still the number 2 phone in the U.S., behind the Motorola RAZR.  5 percent of the requests came from the UK, with another 8 percent coming from all of Asia.  Continued after the break.

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Sections: Apple, Communications, Cellphones, Mobile, Web

We first saw details on the Eee PC 1002HA back in late-October.  Asus has recently shown the netbook off at a media event and with that comes a nice image. 

Feature wise, this model is nothing to get overly excited by.  Most of the features are the same as we have come to see as “normal” for a netbook.  To begin with, the Eee PC 1002HA will have a 10-inch display, as well as an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.1n and it will be running Windows XP.  Otherwise, the 1002HA will also have a few available options for storage including both SSD and standard hard drives.

Moving on from the specs, the exterior casing is what makes this particular model stand out.  The exterior is sporting a pretty nice looking brushed metal.  It was also noted as being “a sturdy, upscale-looking chassis.“  In addition to the brushed metal on the exterior, the wrist rest also includes the brushed metal.

As for pricing and availability, the Eee PC 1000HA is expected to begin shipping in early-December and start at $499 and go up depending on configuration.

Read [CNET]

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FROM GAMERTELL - Several sites are reporting that the Toys R Us Black Friday 2008 ad listing has been leaked.  An ad scan isn’t available for confirmation, but if the leaked list is real there will be plenty of electronic, mp3 player and game deals for kids and “big kids.” MORE »

FROM APPLETELL - Just as rumored, Apple has released the 2.2 firmware update to the iPhone.  The update includes all of the rumored features and more. MORE »

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady has announced he is teaming up with the One Laptop Per Child project and buying 1,500 of them to send to children in Uganda.  They will be shipped to his sister Nancy who works with the Infectious Diseases Institute there.  Continued after the break.

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Verizon Wireless has suspended several employees it says accessed call records belonging to a now inactive phone owned by President-Elect Barack Obama.  The employees will not be paid during their suspension and are under investigation.

“We apologize to President-elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day,“ according to a statement attributed to Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam. “Those who have accessed the account improperly and without legitimate business justification will face appropriate disciplinary action.“

Sources say the phone in question has been inactive for several months.  More after the break.

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This is for the folks who had their hearts set on grabbing an Inspiron Mini 9 or Mini 12 netbook from Dell, but were not really feeling the black or white options.  Rest easy, because Dell has announced some new design options as well as the pink and red colors for both the Mini 9 and Mini 12. 

The new colors are officially being called “Cherry Red” and “Pretty Pink” and sadly they are both coming with a $25 premium.  Hopefully, Dell will have a change of heart on that added cost.  If you remember back, the Apline White originally had that same premium, but it was quickly removed.

As for the artwork options, there are five designs available, all of which are from artist Tristan Eaton.  As for that extra cost involved with the artwork, these designs add an additional $50 to the purchase price.  Keep reading to check out some images of the five available artwork designs…

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This is where we call out the tech moves that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin’ crack.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity. 

This close to the holidays, everyone is hoping what is bolted down to the table withstands the storm.  (No, not that Storm). Here is what caught my eye this week:

Crazy texts from AT&T Marketing
Music sold on media
Apple’s lacking 2.2 update
BB Storms underwhelming intro
Touch on HP’s laptop

Follow me into the madness.

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Alltel has joined the ranks of Sprint and AT&T and have added the HTC Touch Pro to its smartphone lineup.  The Touch Pro will set you back $379.99, however there is a $100 mail-in-rebate available, which assuming you get that back, will bring your final cost down to $279.99.  In addition, in order to get that pricing you will also need to sign a 2-year agreement.

As for the specs, the Touch Pro is running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with a customized version of the TouchFLO 3D user interface.  Otherwise, the handset has a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen display, GPS, Wi-Fi, a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, stereo Bluetooth and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The HTC Touch Pro can be purchased directly from the Alltel website, as well as in-store.

Product [Alltel]

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