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Filed under: Cellphones

Unless you’ve been camped out under a Rhode Island-sized boulder for the past few weeks, you know that Verizon has announced its intentions to acquire Alltel. During a recent interview with CEO Scott Ford, Talk Business host Roby Brock was able to get a few talking points out of the exec that didn’t involve the most recent transaction. More specifically, Mr. Ford noted that prior to Alltel becoming a private company, it had “tried to buy Sprint three times, tried to buy AT&T Wireless [and] tried to buy T-Mobile.” He continued by saying that “some of those times it went with partners, [while] some of those times it didn’t.” Essentially, Alltel was “doing everything it could to get to a national platform.” Believe it or not, those quotes really are just the tip of the iceberg, but the full spill is entirely too detailed for this space. If you’re curious to know what might have been, break out the reading glasses and hit the link below.

[Via mocoNews]

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Source: Darren Murph

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/xbox/Xbox_360_HD_DVD_drives_going_for_e9_99_in_Ireland’; And you thought $49.99 was cheap. Word on the street has it that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, which has been seen as slightly less valuable since Toshiba pulled the plug on the once mighty red format, has stooped to €9.99 across the pond at GameStop (among other locales). For those not savvy on the absurd depreciation of the US dollar, we’re talking $15.47 — and that’s with a Media Center remote bundled in, too. We’re totally straight-faced when we say that’s actually not a half bad deal if you’re a fan of the media already out there, but the parsimonious among us are definitely waiting for these to come bundled with our favorite cereals before pulling the trigger.

[Thanks, Conor]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Truthfully, we reckon this moment is inevitable. With HD DVD hung out to dry by everyone and their long lost cousin, it’s simply a matter of time before players are being traded for rides on the carousel. Nevertheless, reports are already circulating that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 add-on drive could sink to $49.99 in the not-too-distant future, which may actually make it worth grabbing for the very respectable library of HD DVD titles already out there. Whatever you do, don’t pay full price for this thing.

[Thanks, Steve]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Truthfully, we reckon this moment is inevitable. With HD DVD hung out to dry by everyone and their long lost cousin, it’s simply a matter of time before players are being traded for rides on the carousel. Nevertheless, reports are already circulating that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 add-on drive could sink to $49.99 in the not-too-distant future, which may actually make it worth grabbing for the very respectable library of HD DVD titles already out there. Whatever you do, don’t pay full price for this thing.

[Thanks, Steve]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

It’s not like there has been any shortage of deals on HD DVD hardware over the past few months or anything, but now that Toshiba (and almost everyone else on the planet) has officially yanked support for the format, prices are beginning to plummet en masse. First on the docket is the HD-A3 at Circuit City, which now sits at just $99.99 and comes with seven free titles, two of which are 300 and Bourne Identity. So yeah, if you’ve been waiting for this moment to snap up the failed format for cheap, hop on in — but if we were betting souls, we’d say holding out just a wee bit longer would actually be in your wallet’s best interest.

[Thanks, Dustin]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

It seems that Sprint and Clearwire have been hooking up and breaking it off for nearly as long as Qualcomm and Nokia have been brawling, but just weeks after hearing that the two were on speaking terms once again, we’re now learning that a deal may be closer than ever. Reportedly, both firms are “close to announcing the formation of a WiMAX joint venture funded in part by a $2 billion injection from Intel,” and if the agreement is indeed landed within the next few days, it would “create a new company that combines Sprint’s licenses in the 2.5GHz wireless spectrum and Clearwire’s spectrum in the same and adjoining air waves.” On paper, the deal seems to make sense for all parties involved, but at this point, we aren’t about to assume that’s enough to actually see this thing through.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Announced today, Starbucks is gearing up to transition its WiFi relationship from T-Mobile to AT&T in over 7,000 of its locations in the US. For T-Mobile HotSpot customers feelin’ a bit like day old espresso right about now, fret not, as the coffee giant has assured us all that you folks “will be able to continue to access WiFi services at no additional cost through an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile.” Starting “sometime this Spring,” Starbucks card holders will be treated to two hours of free WiFi access per day, while more than 12 million “qualifying AT&T broadband and U-verse internet customers will have unlimited free access.” For whatever it’s worth, the press release also notes that the carrier will “soon extend the benefits of WiFi at Starbucks to its wireless customers,” but it (sadly) fails to elaborate. For those of you out there without any ties to AT&T, expect to pony up $3.99 for a two hour session or $19.99 for monthly access.

[Via mocoNews]
Read - Starbucks to expand technology relationship with AT&T
Read - More than 12 million AT&T, Starbucks customers to get free WiFi access

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Transportation

There’s been no shortage of news surrounding Toyota and its hybrid plans of late, so it makes perfect sense to hear that the automaker may be on the verge of inking a deal to “develop recharging points for plug-in hybrid electric cars.” Reportedly, Toyota and Electricite de France are set to “announce a deal next week to develop electricity infrastructure for the plug-in cars Toyota plans to launch in a few years.” Notably, the agreement is only expected to cover France initially, but neighboring countries could be pursued shortly thereafter.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

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Source: Darren Murph

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