Eclectic Electronics

Blu-ray player sales, up 72% from last year

Posted: 07 May 2009 06:00 PM PDT

Blu-ray seems to be hitting the right notes lately as player sales increase by 72% compared to last year’s 1st quarter. Blu-ray player sales increase have been attributed to HDTV owners looking for more high definition content and the lowered cost of Blu-ray players.

Consumers have been asked on reasons why they aren’t migrating to Blu-ray. Responses so far have been the following:

DVD is good enough
Blu-ray players and media cost way too much that their DVD counterparts
There is simply no interest in going Blu-ray

Average selling price of Blu-ray players have fell down 34%, but despite these numbers… A healthy 58% of consumers still are not familiar with Blu-ray technology.

Amazon’s Buy 2 get 1 Blu-ray promos are getting scarce these days. It’s definitely going to be a while until Blu-ray media penetrates the below $10 market that DVDs are known to do every week.

[via Gizmodo]

Apple revises policy to accommodate exchange (for $199) of water-damaged iPhones

Posted: 07 May 2009 05:00 PM PDT

Seemingly in preparation to announcing the latest generation iPhone, Apple is continuously liquidating all remaining stock of their current generation iPhone.

Water-damaged iPhones are now eligible for exchange according to the new policy. Previously, you were only allowed to get a replacement iPhone by buying a new one, which meant extending your service plan for another two years.

According to Mactropolis, Apple will be able to confirm that your device has been submerged in liquid via Liquid Submersion Indicators (LSI) that are placed throughout various areas of the phone.

Liquid-damaged iPhones can be exchanged for $199. Do note that you won’t be getting a brand-spanking new one, you will be handed a refurbished device.

[via Buy Me An iPhone]

What’s the Palm Pre Launch Lunch on June 5, 2009?

Posted: 07 May 2009 04:00 PM PDT

Well, look right here. Shown above is what seems to be an internal Sprint memo with Palm Pre-related events. Note that the events, spanning across 3 days, will be culminated by a Launch Lunch!

BGR indicates that Sunday is Sprint’s traditional launch day, but given that this is the super-overly-hyped Palm Pre, they may very well just change their plan and surprise everybody by possibly launching it on June 5th. Many people are waiting for the Pre and Sprint knows it. Sprint better strike before Apple gets its hand into the 2009 mobile phone offering basket!

According to PreThinking, the Palm Pre is possibly looking at a June 7, 2009 release date. Not that far off from the internal Sprint memo’s purported Launch Lunch on June 5, 2009. Sprint has reportedly fired a number of employees in an attempt to keep the Pre hype up and in the dark until possibly close to release.

AT&T myWirelessMobile iPhone application lets you do tons of AT&T-related stuff

Posted: 07 May 2009 03:00 PM PDT

AT&T and Apple have been enjoying an exclusive partnership for a while now. With the multitude of applications available on the Apple App Store, AT&T has failed to offer a useful tool which many would consider extremely helpful.

The AT&T myWireless Mobile iPhone application allows you to monitor and check the important details regarding your account. This includes usage, adding/removing features from your service plan, and paying your bill.

The iPhone Unlocking Blog states, that you must have an AT&T Mobility account registered for online account management, in order to use this application.

You can download the AT&T application via iTunes.

[via MobileCrunch]

RIM CEO vaguely confirms Blackberry Storm 2

Posted: 07 May 2009 02:00 PM PDT

Jim Balsillie, CEO of RIM, indicates that RIM will be conjuring up a followup to its touchscreen handset, the BlackBerry Storm.

The BlackBerry Storm 2 will reportedly incorporate WiFi (unavailability of which, was a big letdown for purchasers of the Storm) and a 5 megapixel camera.

The BlackBerry Storm ranked 3rd among the best-selling smartphones for the 1st quarter of 2009. But that was due to aggressive marketing rather than sheer public appeal (iPhone anyone?)

If RIM wants to do things right with the BlackBerry Storm 2, they should look at what their touchscreen phone competitors are offering. Research, study and possibly add even more useful features that consumers will be able to exploit and not find anywhere else. Hopefully, RIM will listen to consumer complaints and do things right with the second iteration of the Storm. I’ve read negative reviews all over the web, so I’m extremely surprised it was still able to climb up the charts as the 3rd best-selling smartphone last quarter.

BlackBerry handsets are extremely popular due to their push e-mail service capabilities. This allows businessmen and other people on the go to keep track of their e-mail correspondence effectively, no matter where they are.

[via TopTenREVIEWS]

Iron Man 2 still photo showcases Tony Stark’s armor arsenal and futuristic computers

Posted: 07 May 2009 01:00 PM PDT

This still photo from the set of Iron Man 2 has been out for a couple of weeks but I’ve just seen it recently. It showcases Tony Stark’s batcave, in the background are the Mark I, Mark II and Mark III (two of those, one banged up from the previous movie and an all-shiny new one) Iron Man suits that he used in the previous movie. And of course he has those nice looking transparent futuristic computer monitors where he whips out his rocket scientist genius ideas.

Mickey Rourke, who is set to play Russian villain Whiplash, has been ordered by Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau to lose some weight for the role. Scarlet Johansson is also onboard the Iron Man 2 where she’ll be playing the role of Black Widow. Gwyneth Paltrow is set to return as Tony Stark’s assistant, Pepper Potts.

Iron Man 2 is set for an April 2010 release. Filming is set to begin on Summer 2009 (sometime around June) has already started.

[via Daily Contributor and Hamara Photos]

Nokia E71i to sport 5 megapixel camera and S60v3 FP2?

Posted: 07 May 2009 11:00 AM PDT

Rumors are going around that Nokia is working on a minor revision of the Nokia E71 which will possibly be called the Nokia E71i. The E71i is rumored to sport a 5 megapixel camera, an upgrade from the E71’s 3 megapixel, and will be running on Symbian’s Series 60 3rd Edition with Feature Pack 2.

I’m not entirely sure I agree with Nokia on this one, but they did a similar thing with the E61. The rumored megapixel increase is surely to attract some people, thought I still quite don’t get the fuss about having higher megapixel counts because if you truly want good photos, go with a digital camera. The software upgrade to incorporate Feature Pack 2 could very well be offered as a firmware update for E71 owners, if Nokia would only allow it.

I took the liberty of changing the screen of Unwired View’s rendering of the E71i because they were still showing S60v3 FP1.

[via IntoMobile]

Nokia E71x is only one cent from Amazon (when packaged with a qualifying service plan)

Posted: 07 May 2009 09:00 AM PDT

You thought the Nokia E71x is cheap at $99 from AT&T? Amazon is offering is for just one cent when packaged with a qualifying service plan. The Nokia E71x is a feature-packed phone, sporting almost every possible feature and connectivity option possible, but sadly the Symbian platform is not widely accepted in the United States. Could this possibly turn the tide for Nokia USA?

From Amazon:

Free Activation When You Buy the New Nokia E71x

Purchase the new Nokia E71x and receive an activation-fee credit from AT&T for up to $36 for each qualifying line of service activated on an upgrade or new two-year individual or family plan account purchased from Amazon.com between 12:00 a.m. PDT, May 4, 2009, through 11:59 p.m. PDT, May 18, 2009. This offer is sponsored by AT&T and only applies to the Nokia E71x (does not apply to the unlocked Nokia E71). Offer is valid at Amazon.com only and does not apply to in-store purchases. Valid in the United States and Puerto Rico. Activation-fee credit will appear on your bill and may take up to several billing cycles to appear. Standard early-cancellation fee and other up-front and monthly charges and fees may apply.
——————————————————————————–

Conditional $250 Discount

The purchase price listed above reflects a $250 instant discount based on your agreement to maintain service with the selected carrier. Please note that if you deactivate this device, cancel your line of service, or reduce the value of your service plan within 181 days of the activation of your service, you will be subject to a charge of up to $250, plus tax. Read more details here.

Third-party resellers are prohibited from purchasing cell phones or data cards/modems on behalf of customers. **Purchase limit of five (5) devices per household.**

Nokia E63 now also available in black, spotted at Nokia Europe site

Posted: 07 May 2009 07:00 AM PDT

The Nokia E63 is pretty much like its older, slimmer brother, the Nokia E71, sans some features. The E63’s body is made of plastic unlike the E71 which is mostly made of metal. Nokia has certainly dived into the habit of releasing black colored handsets later on (months after initially releasing the device). They did it with the N70. N73, E71, etc. I’m pretty sure they’d do the same to the recently announced E52.

The differences of the E63 from the E71 are as follows:

	Nokia E63	Nokia E71
Dimensions	113 x 59 x 13 mm	114 x 57 x 10 mm
Audio jack size	3.5mm	2.5mm
Body construction	Plastic	Mostly metal
3G	No HSDPA support	Supports HSDPA
Camera	2 megapixels	3 megapixels
Infrared port	No	Yes
Video call camera	No	Yes
GPS	No	Yes

No word on whether the black E63 will arrive in US or Philippine shores.

[via GadgetPaper]

The Amazon Kindle DX features 9.7-inches of screen real estate, a built-in PDF reader and auto-rotating display

Posted: 07 May 2009 05:00 AM PDT

Amazon’s newly announced Kindle DX may be a bigger in size compared to the Kindle 2 but it also boasts an approximately 62% increase in diagonal screen size. The Kindle DX also gets more than twice as much internal memory as the Kindle 2. The DX has 4GB of built-in memory (3.3GB is user-accessible) while the Kindle 2 only has 2GB of built-in memory (and only 1.4GB is user-accessible).

Some notable improvements of the Kindle DX include the auto-rotating display when switching from portrait-to-landscape and vice-versa.

It also includes a built-in PDF reader. The Kindle 2 supported PDF documents but it required to be converted to a format that will be read by the device. With the Kindle DX, no PDF conversions are required.

It should also be noted that the Kindle DX uses a 1200 x 824 resolution screen whereas the Kindle 2 only 600 x 800.

The keyboard input area of the Kindle DX seems to be have made smaller, hopefully without compromising ease-of-typing.

No release date for the Kindle DX has been announced yet. It will be priced at $489, which is significantly higher than the Kindle 2 price tag of $359. But well worth it if you truly desire and need more screen real estate.

The main differences of the Kindle 2 and recently announced Kindle DX are as follows:

	Amazon Kindle DX	Amazon Kindle 2
Screen size	9.7-inch digital e-ink	6-inch digital e-ink
Dimensions	10.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.38″	8″ x 5.3″ x 0.36″
Storage	3,500 books	1,500 books
PDF support	Native	Requires conversion
Auto-rotating display	Yes	No
3G wireless	Yes	Yes
Text-to-speech	Yes	Yes
Whispersync	Yes	Yes
Price	$489	$359
Availability	Pre-order	Released Feb. 24, 2009