Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

After plenty of rumors, hope and speculation, the official details for the BlackBerry Storm have been announced.  The Storm will be priced at $199.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and along with a two-year agreement.  As for availability, November 21 will be the day when it will be both online and in stores.

The Storm, as noted in the short and to the point, press release will be the “first touch screen BlackBerry smartphone with the world’s first “‘clickable’ touch screen.“  Which despite the price not coming in quite as low as we would have hoped for, (lower than the iPhone 3G) should still be low enough to sell more than a few.

A few interesting tidbits from the Verizon Wireless announcement show that the Storm will be running software version 4.7, that it will be shipping with an 8GB microSD card and also that it will be able to function as a wireless modem for your notebook.  Of course, Verizon does not specify the extra cost for the tethering, simply stating that the Storm has “3G modem support.“

Keep reading to check out the full (and short) press release below…

MORE »

After what seemed like it would be an endless delay, AT&T and RIM have officially announced the upcoming availability of the BlackBerry Bold.  It almost seems strange to be able to post this, but those looking to score a Bold will not have much longer to wait, the Bold will be available beginning November 4, 2008.

As for pricing, the Bold will be “as low as” $299.99, which means that in order to see that price you should be willing to sign that two-year agreement as well.

Finally, just to refresh our memory, the Bold will feature a half-VGA 480 x 320 display as well as 3G, Wi-Fi, built-in GPS, a 2-megapixel camera with flash, zoom and video recording and 1GB of internal memory with a microSD card slot that supports up to 16GB of additional storage.  Nothing left to do now, except maybe mark your calendar and hope that any last minute delays stay away.

Read [PR Newswire]

• iPhone is number 1 in mobile ads
• Who’s On Crack in tech: 11.21.08 edition
• Verizon employees suspended for accessing Obama’s call records

A specific release date still has not been announced, but based on confirmation from none other than Dell and Box.net we should be seeing the Inspiron 910 within just a few days.

To begin with, Dell has confirmed that they would be unveiling their Inspiron 910 netbook this week, with an announcement possibly coming as early as Thursday September 4. Of course the spokeswoman from Dell has also stated that the current leaked specs are “pretty much rumor and speculation.“ While that may be accurate statement, it seems to me like a last ditch effort to keep something special and perhaps try to make the official announcement a little more exciting.

Those rumored specs include an 8.9-inch display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and also SSD based drives with storage options up to 16GB in size.

Of course that storage option seems to make a little more sense when you hear that Dell has partnered with Box.net to provide online storage, and that their services will “come pre-installed on the Dell Mini.“

Further evidence of the launch comes from the WSJ, who are reporting that the September 4 launch date has been confirmed by an email that was received from Box.net. The good news is that the announcement should be coming within a few days now, not to mention that a “person familiar with the matter” is calling for a price tag of “less than $400.“ Of course we all know that means $399, but it still sounds like a good price point.

Read [Information Week] Read [Wall Street Journal]

• Dell Inspiron Mini 12 now available in the US, priced from $549
• Dell rolls out 32GB SSD equipped pink, red Inspiron Mini 9’s in Japan
• Dell quietly adds artwork options to the Mini 9, Mini 12 lineup, also adds pink, red

The latest potential launch date for the AT&T BlackBerry Bold is now expected to come in just about a month, on October 2. I wish we were able to say this has been confirmed, but sadly it is just based on a tip that is being considered “pretty solid.“ Of course we have seen these situations go either way when it come to reliable sources, so keep your credit card safely in your wallet for now. In the meantime it looks like October 2 is the date for AT&T to announce the Bold, with full availability coming on Monday October 6. All in all, the release seems to make sense timing wise now that Rogers has finally gotten theirs ready and out.

Via [BGR]

• iPhone is number 1 in mobile ads
• Verizon employees suspended for accessing Obama’s call records
• Who’s On Crack in tech: 11.21.08 edition

It was a launch that at times seemed like it was never going to happen, and now that it has officially been confirmed by Rogers, potential customers have just about 24 hours left to wait before they are able to purchase a BlackBerry Bold of their own.

Sadly Rogers has not released any pricing details, I guess they are intent on making everyone wait to the very last minute for everything. However, according to RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie it will be priced between $300 and $400 and will be aimed at business users, which seems to fit in nicely with the rumored price of $399. Of course, I can imagine most potential customers are hoping it will come in a little less expensive, possibly something a little closer to the pricing of the 16GB iPhone.

Now we just have to wait for AT&T to finally gets things in order and release the Bold for the rest of us here in the US, which hopefully will not be that much longer.

Read [Reuters]

• iPhone is number 1 in mobile ads
• Who’s On Crack in tech: 11.21.08 edition
• Verizon employees suspended for accessing Obama’s call records

Some good news has come for Rogers users waiting for the BlackBerry Bold, thanks to a recently surfaced invitation, we now know that the Bold will be officially unveiled on August 21, which should mean that it will be available on that day, if not very soon afterward.

In addition to the release date, we also have some more pricing information for you. We recently saw the promo flyer with the $399 three year agreement pricing, however it has also come to light that the Bold will be available contract free. Of course it is significantly more expensive, but sometimes the lack of contract may be worth the extra money. However, personally at $649.99, I would much rather have the contract.

Via [MobileSyrup] Via [CrackBerry]

• iPhone is number 1 in mobile ads
• Who’s On Crack in tech: 11.21.08 edition
• Verizon employees suspended for accessing Obama’s call records

Vudu first began showing up in Best Buy locations back in late-March and at the time it was just 24 locations, all of which were located in California. The limited availability was thought to be a testing period to make sure the devices would be able to sell as expected.

Well, jump forward a little over a month and it looks like it must have been successful because Vudu and Best Buy have just announced a little more widespread availability, however it is still not nationwide.

They have remained in California, but also expanded to Arizona and Illinois, all in all it looks like they are now available in almost 70 Best Buy locations. In addition to the move into Best Buy locations in other states, Vudu has also recently added 35 new movies to own and 30 new movies to rent.

Via [CrunchGear]

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/07/02/vudu-continues-to-infiltrate-best-buy/

• YouTube testing HD video and improved audio
• Bring the net to your TV: Sony Bravia leads the way
• Gadgetell Roundup:  HDTV sales on Black Friday

Vudu, while maybe not attracting quite as much attention as originally hoped, are proving they are still alive in the small but welcomed movie set-top-box market. The Vudu box was originally launched back in the Fall of 2007, but sales may have been slow because of the limited availability, up till now it could only be found directly with Vudu or with Amazon.com.

However customers can now purchase the Vudu box in one of 24 Best Buy outlets in California, which should help overall sales and awareness of the product. While the management from Vudu would not comment on the strategy behind the limited availability of Best Buy locations, its safe to assume that they are most likely looking to see just how well they will sell.

MORE »

It looks like June is going to be another big month for the ultra-mobile PC market. In addition to the MSI Wind dropping on June 3, we will also be getting the Eee PC 901.

The Eee PC 901 will retain most of the same styling and features as the 900, except the 901 will feature an Intel Atom processor, built-in Bluetooth and have some metal allow parts added to the keyboard and hinge. The touchpad will also receive a metallic border. It was also confirmed, as we noted from the last images that the 901 will loss the Asus logo in favor of an Eee logo.

DigiTimes is also reporting that the notebook will be “at a price below” $650. Which would mean its pretty safe to say that it will retail for $649.99.

Via [DigiTimes]

• Asus unveils the brushed-metal Eee PC 1002HA
• Asus gets official with the Eee Top all-in-one PC
• Asus rumored to launch Eee Top all-in-one PC tomorrow, beginning at $499