HTC Hero and HTC’s All New Sense UI for Android June 29, 2009
Posted by Nik G. in : Cell Phones, Google , add a commentRecently we ran a search looking for new writers to join us here at TeenTechBlog. And as a product of that search, we are proud to reintroduce Nik back to TTB.
HTC’s All-New Hero
So on June 24th, HTC held a press event in London, England and New York to introduce a new phone– the HTC Hero. There was lots of speculation of it being Android related and as a matter of fact, it was a huge announcement about Android. HTC’s latest adventure into the Android game hardware wise (following the G1 and the new myTouch3G– which we wrote about here) is the Hero. Software wise though, is a different story, and HTC showed off their brand new user interface for Android called Sense. Hit the break for more pics and a breakdown of the new software and hardware.
BlackBerry Tour Release Dates Leak Out– For Verizon AND Sprint (UPDATE: Confirmed by Sprint and Verizon) June 28, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones, Rumors , add a comment
The Verizon version of the BlackBerry Tour (Pic from Boy Genius Report.com)
We really are into the new BlackBerry Tour said to be coming to Verizon and Sprint sometime over the summer, and we know a lot of you are too. Today we got some really good news for those of you interested in the Tour, and it really is awesome news.
Ok, so as we said in the title, this concerns the release dates for the next awesome BlackBerry, and as in our last post we said the news was really great for Sprint users interested in getting the new BB, this has to be a win for Verizon users. Here we go: Boy Genius Report is saying that Verizon will be getting the Tour on July 12th– only 3 weeks away! Even better for Verizon users? Just as we speculated in that previous post, the Tour is said to be coming to Verizon for the same $199 it is said to be coming to Sprint for. Definitely awesome. Speaking of Sprint, you guys also can share in the good news, as your rumored to be getting it only 8 days after your Verizon friends on July 20th.
Now, none of this is confirmed yet by either Verizon, Sprint or RIM (the makers of BlackBerry)– but the rumors are pretty strong. So, you going to get this once it comes out?
UPDATE (7/1): Verizon has announced that they will launch the Tour on the 12th for that $199 price, and you can pre-order it now here. Sprint also has just announced on their Twitter page that they too will be launching the Tour on the 12th for $199.99.
Pre-Order Windows 7– NOW June 26, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Computers , add a comment
As you can see from some over our previous posts (such as this first look of the new OS), we are really loving using Windows 7, and we mean REALLY lovin it. It is 1000x better than Vista (possibly more, I wanna be a little nice to Vista’s failed efforts) and is an actually usable and fast OS. It’s so good that we’re pretty certain that all or a lot of you readers out there with Windows computer (for sure ones with Vista), will probably upgrade to 7 when it comes out later this year (October 22nd as we previously wrote, is the launch date), and as we saw with Vista’s upgrade from XP, buying the new software from Microsoft is not the cheapest thing.
So that’s why we got this post for you today. Microsoft is actually charging you A LOT less if you pre-order the OS now, instead of waiting till October to upgrade. How big of a savings we talkin here? Well, the list price for Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade (the one most of you we assume will upgrade to, and just a sorta for your information, the upgrade means that it is used to install over a previous version of Windows like Vista or XP. If you want to install a full fresh copy there is also a non-upgrade version if you wanna install on a PC without a prior version of Windows, but that costs a lot more) is priced for regular retail at $119.99. Amazon, who is one of the retailers taking pre-orders now, is only charging you $49.99 (yes, $49.99 or a $70 or 58% discount off the cover price), if you pre-order it between now and July 11th. There are similar deals in place as well for the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade (a higher end version of the Home Premium with added features for business users such as being able to run XP as a free download inside 7– using similar tech that is used for running Windows and Mac side by side– something called Virtual PC. Professional is listed at retail for $199.99, but you can snag now for $99.99, or an $100 or 50% discount), and we hope this will go out to other versions like 7 Ultimate (with a couple more features than Professional such as more language support– 35 more– and better Hard Drive encryption using something call BitLocker– things you prob won’t need basically, and which currently is priced at a very expensive $219.99 for both pre-order and retail). The deal runs from now till July 11th or while supplies last, so you better hurry as a lot of people EVERYWHERE are gonna want in on this.
In my opinion, this is looking to be a steal of a deal (albeit not quite the steal Apple is charging for Snow Leopard, the next version of their very good Leopard OS. The price on that by the way is $29 when it drops in September, you can learn more on Snow Leopard in our WWDC wrap up), and we’re really hoping Microsoft just dumps the higher prices and keeps them at these discounted prices for good (as a sorta “sorry for Vista” thing).
Amazon is also not only doing this, but offering FREE release date delivery for Amazon Prime users, and free “Super Saver” shipping for those who don’t have Amazon Prime (info on Amazon Prime here). If for some reason you needed to buy Vista right now in either the Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate flavors, you could upgrade to the 7 version for only $10 when it comes out. There is though a 3 per customer limit we feel we should mention, but how many of you actually plan on buying more than 1-2 copies max?
This is an awesome deal, and you can check it all out at Amazon’s site here (where they even have some solid info on what the difference is between the versions of 7 and help for upgrading). REMEMBER: THIS DEAL ONLY RUNS TILL JULY 11TH.
Oh, and if your looking for a new computer now or sometime before 7 drops in October: like with Vista, computer makers like HP, are already beginning to roll out free upgrades to 7 with purchases, so when buying a new PC make sure to get that.
Meet the T-Mobile myTouch 3G June 26, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones, Google , 2comments
T-Mobile myTouch 3G (shown in white, Merlot (red) and black).
Earlier this week T-Mobile finally let out of the bag something we wrote about a while ago (think January!)– confirming the next version of the first Google Android phone– the G1– with the announcement of the myTouch 3G (some of you may know of this as the G2 or HTC Magic. HTC, who also made the G1, also make this phone). This is actually a much cooler phone that what it looked like in its apparently early stages when we first wrote about it. So buckle up T-Mobile users, and hit the more link, because a lot of awesomeness is about to come your way.
Hedgehog Launch 2 – Review June 22, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, First Look/Reviews, Video Games , 1 comment so far
Hedgehog Launch. Sonic sure doesn’t fly like this.
Last year, around this time, I blogged about a little flash game called Hedgehog Launch. The premise of the game was simple. You have a hedgehog, and a large slingshot, and your goal was to use the slingshot to launch the hedgehog into space. Along the way, you fly into coins, which give you money, and bounce off floating platforms, which propelled you higher and gave you even more money. You then used this money to buy more stuff such as… . Overall, it was an awesome game.
But that was then. This is now, and now is Hedgehog Launch 2. According to the developer, jmtb02 (one of my favorite flash game makers), the game is 6 times as big in terms of height to reach, which is without question awesome. Also, there are more upgrades to buy, and some new gameplay elements as well, such as magnets to collect more coins, a “fuel sucker”– which gives you extra fuel when you hit a platform, and “comrades”, or extra hedgehogs to add weight so you fall faster through the earth, giving you more speed for your attempt to reach the moon and beyond.
The game is just as fun as the first one — the hedgehog looks awesome, the music excellent, managing to convey the sheer joy of hedgehog in flight, and the game, is just plain fun.
Check it out here, and let us know what you think of the new game in the comments.
Safari 4 – Review June 18, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Computers, First Look/Reviews , add a comment
The New Top Sites Interface of Safari 4
About a week ago, in the midst of the Apple announcements at WWDC (which we covered here), something that may have slipped in through the cracks between all the hype around new MacBook Pro’s, Snow Leopard, and a little something called the iPhone 3G S, was the release of the final version of Safari 4. I had been using the beta version of Safari 4 for a while, and now spent the last few weeks using the final build.
So, should this be your go to browser on both Windows and Mac? Read on for the answer.
iPhone OS 3.0– First Take June 18, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews , add a comment
The new iPhone OS 3.0
Ok, as we saw from a lot of comments today, a lot of you are really pumped for iPhone OS 3.0 for the iPhone and iPod Touch that came out today. And you know us by now, we’re ones who hate to disappoint. We got 3.0 up and running (on an iPhone 3G), and we gotta say: in the first couple hours with it– it’s awesome. We got a full first take after the more link, but seeing is really believing, so go on, click here for info on how to get your iPhone update, and here for info on how to get it for the iPod Touch (NOTE: iPod Touch owners– your gonna need to spend the $10 to upgrade– sorry to have to remind you of the bad news).
So, without further adieu, our first take on the all new iPhone OS 3.0
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Verizon and Sprint Announce the BlackBerry Tour June 17, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , 1 comment so far
Verizon’s and Sprint’s respective BlackBerry Tours’. (Note: click on either the Verizon or Sprint BlackBerry to go to their respective “Coming Soon” pages).
We know a lot of you are waiting for the next big BlackBerry to come to Sprint and Verizon, and that you’ve been waiting months for the BlackBerry Tour (aka, BlackBerry Niagara or 9630) to be that device. Well, then get ready, because your wait for both the Verizon AND Sprint versions are on the way and are coming this summer! How we know? Verizon, and then shortly followed by Sprint, each launched coming soon pages on their respective sites the other night (Verizon’s is here, Sprint’s is here, or just click on either the Verizon or Sprint Tour picture above)! This is great news for everyone waiting for this, but we gotta say, the real winners right now look to be Sprint users, as it was said that Verizon was gonna get it months before Sprint, and as we can see now, Sprint’s won’t actually be that far behind (Verizon is said to get it in mid-July, or around July 15th-17th, with Sprint saying they’ll get it later this summer– so yes, technically Sprint could get it in September and Verizon get it in July, which still to carriers is summer, but the fact that both announcements are so close together we’d think otherwise. And even so, it’s much better than the usual wait periods)!
Oh, and for Sprint users the good news doesn’t end there: the price on the Tour is said to be at the not so terrible price of $199.99 on a 2 year contract and after $150 worth of mail-in and instant rebates (the price is something we assume Verizon will mimic as well, though they haven’t said anything yet about it). Oh, and Verizon’s Buy One BlackBerry Get One Free BlackBerry deal is said to be ending later this month or before the Tour drops, so there goes any hopes of getting another Tour free.
We’ve been covering this device in both our upcoming Verizon and upcoming Sprint phone posts, so you can learn more there.
In terms of concrete features, BlackBerry just released a press release officially confirming pretty much all the stuff we’ve been hearing: 3G, a SIM card slot for use overseas (with Europe 3G support), 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and video, high res 2.44 inch screen (at a resolution of 480×360 for those in need of every little detail. In simpler words– an awesome screen), GPS, BlackBerry App World, etc. Full release with all the details can be found at BlackBerry’s site here.
We’ll keep you posted on this, but enjoy your good news of the day!