Sprint Drops Instinct Apps Contest February 23, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , 10comments
Yeah, I just became aware of this myself, and it really sucks, I know. Apparently, Sprint decided late last year that they were not interested in following through with their Instinct contest, and decided to just pull it entirely. Yup — no apps nor contest winner. Their reason? Pretty dumb I’d say: (and I quote below)
All,
The Samsung Instinct(tm) Java Developer Contest closed on August 29th, 2008. We appreciate the interest in the contest.
Unfortunately, we are unable to announce contest winner or release any information about the applications submitted. Our objective is to deliver a meaningful opportunity for developers and foster the creation of entertaining and useful applications for our customers.
In the future, we expect to offer additional contests and incorporate the lessons learned from this initial effort.
Again, thanks for your interest and participation.
The Sprint ADP Team
Listen, I’m as annoyed as you probably are: the Instinct was already an awesome phone, and giving it apps and an App Store would’ve made it even better (who knows, apps plus it’s cheaper pricing and more features like TV and radio, it could’ve even matched or beaten the iPhone). I’d understand if the Instinct just couldn’t handle apps, but then again — as commenter Robert pointed out on a previous post on the subject (our initial post on the topic, linked to at the end of this post) — there are unofficial apps out there running perfectly fine on the Instinct.
I don’t know, but I’m gonna try and contact Sprint to try to find exactly what’s up (though I’m not 100% confident they’ll listen to a teenager on this), and I’ll update this post if they answer me back.
To all you Instinct owners looking to get some good apps like your iPhone rivals, I’m sorry; we really didn’t know that Sprint would do this and just cancel it pretty much (from what we currently know) out of the blue. We were only reporting on something we had from Sprint that in retrospect was too good to be true.
We’d like to apologize to those of you who, like us, thought this was accurate information that Sprint would end up following through with this and not canceling it in the end, and we understand the frustration some you are feeling. As bloggers, we try not to post rumors and such without the greatest level of information we can get (and if we ever do post on rumors, we make sure we classify it as such).
Here’s some links:
Sprint’s post on cancellation of Instinct apps contest: Here
Our initial post on Sprint’s possible Instinct “App Store” and apps contest: Here
The first “delay” of Sprint’s Instinct “App Store”: Here
Again, we’re sorry for all of this confusion; feel free to vent in the comments.
Latest on the Add-on Enabled LG Versa February 23, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , 6comments
LG Versa!
We recently wrote about arguably one of the coolest phones EVER (or at least in 2009 
): the completely customizable LG Versa for Verizon.
Today we come to you not only with more info like a list of features, release date (March 1st!), and price (a not too bad $199.99 on a 2 year contract and $50 mail in rebate), but also some more official looking pix of the phone and some of the many add-ons that will be available when the phone comes out.
DSi landing April 5th February 22, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Video Games , add a comment
The DSi, in Random Blue, and Black (Shiny..)
We blogged about it a while ago, and had rumors that it’d be landing around then, but its now official. The Nintendo DSi, the next in Nintendo’s line of handheld game systems, is landing in America on April 5th, for $169.99, in the semi-random colors of blue and black.
Just to recap, the DSi has some new features over the DS/DS Lite: 2 cameras, (one inner, one outer), a built in web browser, internal memory, (to save pictures and put music on), a music player application, as well as being thinner, with larger screens, although that comes at the cost of the GBA slot.
Also, the DSi will remain backwards-compatible with most of the DS games, as well as having its own, newer games that can take advantage of the new features. Finally, similar to the Wii, there will be a DSi marketplace where one can download games to the device over the internet.
We should hopefully have more information and hands on reviews when this lands in early April.
Below is Nintendo’s official promotional video for the DSi, that goes over some of the features. Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSKjZXWdMA]
The Amazon Kindle 2 February 15, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Misc. , 2comments
The Amazon Kindle 2
Some of you may have heard of Amazon’s digital book (called an e-book, and yes people do read books 
). Believe it or not- and we know a lot of you probably won’t believe it , the first Kindle was really popular, and they were constantly sold out on Amazon’s site.
The original Kindle let you read countless books on one small, thin device and let you download new books, magazines and newspapers straight to the Kindle using Sprint’s 3G network– all without charging you a monthly data price.
Now the Kindle, as we said, was really, really popular, and this past week Amazon announced the next generation version of the device, cleverly named the Amazon Kindle 2. So what’s new in the Kindle 2 and why should you care? Well, read on to find out!
Macheist February 9, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Computers , add a comment
Hey everyone: (Or at least everyone who has a Mac). Just wanted to let everyone know that this year’s Macheist has begun, and you can net some free software. Now, before you start shouting at me about the above sentence, let me explain: Macheist is a company that every year does an event. The event is a series of spy-mission like puzzles, that when you complete, you are rewarded with some cool Mac software for FREE! At the end, they do a “Bundle” of several popular Mac apps, which they make available for purchase at a discount. But the real fun is in the puzzles, of which the first went live on Friday. So go on, head over, solve some puzzles (if you’re stuck, solutions can be found online….but c’mon, half the fun’s in doing the puzzles ), and snag some cool Mac stuff…
Garageband 09' – Lesson Review February 7, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, First Look/Reviews, Music , add a comment
Garageband 09′s Lesson system (in shiny HD!)
Had some snow here last week, so I finally got the chance to try out the new iLife stuff. So here’s my take on the new Garageband features, and specifically, the Lessons system.
After installing the update, finding the digital keyboard, plugging it in, and re-acquainting myself with the piano (haven’t played it for a while), I went into the lesson, of which there are two already installed ones: Piano Basics 1 and Guitar Basics 1. Since I play piano, I tried the Piano Lesson.
After being greeted by a friendly person, I was introduced to the basics of piano. My instructor went through basic chord progression, the hold pedal, and, at the end of the lesson, played a simple song with me using the chords we learned. The interface, as you can see above, is nice, with HD video and a visual guide to help you, along with the instructor. While I haven’t had a chance to try the Artist Lessons, I’m assuming they work the same way, just with real musicians teaching you their songs instead of the Apple Instructor teaching piano basics. In theory, one could teach themselves an entire instrument using the system, which is quite cool.
Overall, it’s a cool concept, that works just as well as one would expect. Definitetly a worthwhile feature for anyone who has iLife 09′ to try out.
2 Exciting New Phones Coming to T-Mobile February 4, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones, Rumors , 4comments
So that new rumored G2 we mentioned a couple weeks back wasn’t good enough for you T-Mobile users, not exactly what you were looking for. Don’t worry, that’s ok, and just for you we got so really cool new info on what could be 2 AMAZING phones for T-Mobile in 2009.
What's Your Super Bowl Pick? February 1, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Misc. , add a comment
We here at TeenTechBlog aren’t only bout technology. Believe it or not, we actually are into other things like sports (and quite passionately I may add as I am writing this I’m getting ready to play in a charity basketball tournament. Go MTA Lions!).
So we wanna ask what’s your pick for the Super Bowl tomorrow- you think the Pittsburgh Steelers D and the awesomeness of Ben Roethlisberger will prevail over the “Cinderella story” of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals?
My personal pick? Steelers hold on and lay down the law on the Cards. Yeah, who doesn’t love the underdog (especially after last year’s AMAZING win by my hometown Giants ), but I just gotta believe the Steelers D is too good, and they will be able to contain Fitzgerald and the rest of the Cards (much easier said then done ). Final score: 35-24 Steelers.
So… what’s your pick: do the Steelers dominate, and end the Cards amazing road to the Super Bowl, or do you think the Cards are gonna be like last year’s G-Men and pull off another amazing Super Bowl upset (and end the second longest drought in sports for a professional team without a championship– first are the Chicago Cubs– sorry Cubs fans ).Let us know your picks (and your reasons behind them) in the comments.
Pix from ESPN.com