Clear, the folks behind the national 4G WiMax rollout, introduced a (rebranded) mobile hotspot today that solely targets the iPhone, iPod, and iPad crowd. “iSpot” is similar in functionality to the MiFi – wirelessly sharing an Internet connection. However, instead of Sprint or Verizon providing connectivity via 3G towers, it’s Clear’s WiMax network. The iSpot … Read more
RockPlayer is the holy grail of video players for Google Android. It’s an app that can handle virtually any video format you can throw at it — provided the video isn’t wrapped up in DRM copy protection. I took RockPlayer for a test drive while it was still in beta, but now the developer has released … Read more
The Consumer Electronics Association announced today that Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg will deliver the opening keynote address at CES 2011. After lamenting the absence of cable and telecom companies at CES 2010, I’m pleased to see a high-profile return with Seidenberg’s keynote. Forget about cell phones for a moment, it’s Verizon as a broadband company … Read more
Roku’s latest partner app comes via Flixster, who many of us probably recognize from our mobile devices. The first cut of the Flixster Roku channel is all about HD movie trailers. And they sure look much better than the lower res and possibly swiped (given the weird resolutions and overlays) trailers provided by Break. Trailers have … Read more
Football season is most definitely upon us, as I’ve hit training camp and received my first fantasy league invite. Outside of the satellites themselves, DirecTV’s most costly investment has got to be their NFL broadcast rights ($700m – $1b/yr!). But it must be paying dividends, as every DTV subscriber I know sticks around for one … Read more
When I was a kid, I had a large and awesome collection of storybook records. You know – those short illustrated stories that came with a 45-RPM record and the charming sound effect of a chime that let you know when to turn the pages in your book. (Yes, I realize I’m dating myself.) Surprisingly, … Read more
The simplest and most expansive iDevice jailbreak was released last night. In the past, and prior to Spirit, most jailbreak solutions required a computer intermediary running software locally to get the job done. It wasn’t difficult, but it did require research and could be somewhat intimidating to the uninitiated. Whereas the new jailbreakme.com website offers jailbreaking … Read more
In honor of the 2010 edition of the Lollapalooza music festival, we’re giving away 5 one year subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus. I’m old enough to remember the early editions of Lolla and am bummed I can’t break free from my rusty cage to catch the (temporarily?) reunited Soundgarden in Chicago next week. However, attendees and non-attendees … Read more