This is getting out of hand. Hulu—the popular online video site, where more than 40 million surfers a month go to watch such popular shows as The Daily Show and Family Guy with the click of a mouse—seems to be deathly afraid of consumers’ viewing the same content with a remote control or mobile phone. It has blocked access to its site from software such as Boxee, which runs on the desktop and on Apple TV; the PlayStation 3’s Web browser; and, now, the smart phone browser Skyfire. Not only is this behavior unfair to those who use the above products, it gives a good service a bad name.

Well, at least the company is apologetic about its shady business practices. This is the message you now see when you attempt to access Hulu from a smart phone with the Skyfire browser installed: “Unfortunately, this video is not available on your platform. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Excuse me? You’re causing the inconvenience! Read the rest of this entry »

When Windows 7’s pricing was announced last week, it sparked a bit of a controversy. Some felt that the price tag was too high, others felt it was quite reasonable. Regardless of where you stand, a family pack would be a welcomed addition as it would allow you to install Microsoft’s new OS on multiple systems–and it appears that it may be coming. Tucked away in Windows 7 Home Premium’s licensing agreement is a line that proves most curious:

“If you are a ‘Qualified Family Pack User’, you may install one copy of the software marked as ‘Family Pack’ on three computers in your household for use by people who reside there.”

If this comes to pass, it would be terrific news as several homes have multiple computers (including myself and I live alone). A dollar amount isn’t mentioned, but how much would you pay for a Windows 7 family pack?

[Hat tip:  JKontheRun]

Those tech companies seem to be taking the approach of America’s Independence Day pretty seriously with announcements of bringing new products to the old US of A. Not only did Samsung reveal that it will land its Ion based N510 and Go netbook on U.S. soil in the coming months, but it will be joined by the Archos 9.

Announced a month ago out of France, the Archos 9 tablet PC features a 9-inch touchscreen with virtual keyboard provided by Microsoft Windows 7.  However, for those that prefer to navigate with a mouse, the right edge of the device has an optical trackball and buttons.  Taking the shape of a Mobile Internet device (and less of a netbook), the Archos 9 is equipped with a new Intel Atom processor (Z515), 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive. And because it would make no sense without it - it has 802.11bgn wireless.

The Archos 9 PC Tablet is scheduled to be in stores this Fall. No word on pricing, but if we had to guess we would say this guy should be in the $500 to $700 price range.

We just posted our full review of the BlackBerry Tour, and I have to say my BlackBerry Curve 8330 is looking mighty ancient right about now. At $199, this smart phone isn’t cheap (and that’s after a $70 mail-in rebate), but you get a more pocket-friendly design than the Bold, a fast processor, comfortable keyboard, and 3.2-MP camera in a sleek and sturdy design.

What don’t we like about this device? The lack of Wi-Fi is a turn-off, especially for those who want faster browsing speeds at home, work, or at hotspots. Then again, the browser isn’t exactly stellar either, because the high-res display makes zooming in on Web pages pretty much necessary.

Nevertheless, I would snatch up this phone in a second if I were a Verizon Wireless customer with an itch to upgrade. Be sure to check out the full review and let us know if you plan on getting the Tour or maybe waiting for the Storm 2.

No one will argue with the fact that Amazon has been on to something with its Kindle family, so it doesn’t surprise us to hear that Borders Books is playing copycat.

UK Company Elonex has partnered with Borders in the UK to launch a 6-inch eBook Reader. But the new device sure doesn’t get points for originality: it is called the eBook and to get books on the device you have to go to the Borders eBook Download Store on your PC and then sync it with the device.

On the spec front, it uses eInk technology and has 512MB of on board memory (enough for approximately 1,000 eBooks). The 4GB SD card available in the accessory pack can hold 8,000 titles. Brits can pick up the eBook for £189 ($311) which includes an additional 100 free ebooks.

Though the eBook is available only from Borders UK stores now, Elonex told us that the possibility of bringing it to the U.S. hasn’t been ruled out and that initial sales show that it is doing better than expected. Borders in the U.S. currently carries Sony’s eReader but the Sony isn’t exclusively available at the book retailer.

Verizon Wireless’ new BlackBerry device, the Tour, will be available on July 12th for $199 with a 2-year contract and after a $70 mail-in-rebate.

You can think of the Tour as a Curve on steroids: It has a better 3.2MP camera, a newer operating system, a high resolution display, and a larger more spacious keyboard.

Also, if you’re a world traveler, you can take advantage of the phone’s world-phone support for access to GSM networks in 220 countries using its built-in SIM slot.

We’ve had a few chances to play with the new Tour and have loved what we’ve seen so far. While we’d love to see Verizon Wireless announce a next-generation device, we can’t complain when we see a BlackBerry that has a beefy spec list.

The Tour will also be available on Sprint. Stay tuned for full reviews of both.

Yesterday we heard news out of Europe of an Nvidia Ion powered Samsung notebook. The Samsung N510 with an 11.6-inch display will be making its way to the U.S., according to a company representative. Though the timing is up in the air, our contact expects it to hit the market during the Fall or between the Q3 and Q4 time frame.

The N510 will not replace the 12-inch Via Nano-powered Samsung NC20. According to the company, the NC20 has been selling above expectations and will be sold at other e-tailers in the coming months. Currently it is only available at NewEgg.com.

But before Samsung drops the Nvidia Ion goodness on the land of the home and the brave, it will be releasing its Samsung N310, now renamed the Samsung Go, on July 15.  The Samsung Go will be priced at $479 but the comapny will replace the lower capacity battery which our review unit had with a higher-capacity a 8800 mAH pack. Samsung expects the battery, which protrudes slightly from the bottom of the netbook, to last over 10 hours. Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t heard of Tegra yet, you will. This system on a chip, which packs in powerful graphics and video capabilities, is the guts inside the upcoming Zune HD from Microsoft and a host of mobile Internet devices, like the Mobinova elan we played with at Computex. And now MobileCrunch and others are reporting that we will see a phone from a top-five manufacturer by the fourth quarter of this year powered by Tegra for $199.

So why all the hype around Tegra? The technology promises a first-class Flash experience, console-quality gaming, and up to 1080p video playback (depending on the device). Plus, Nvidia boasts that Tegra offers five times the battery life of current netbooks.

We sat down with Michael Rayfield, general manager of mobile business at Nvidia, to find out more about Tegra’s potential and how it compares with competing technologies vying for a bigger slice of the smartbook/smart phone market.
Here are the quick highlights:

• Nvidia claims that Tegra is superior to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and Freescale’s technology because it’s working with Adobe to accelerate Flash using the GPU.
• Tegra will initially support only Windows CE smartbooks, but the company is already working on bringing Tegra to Android phones and will embrace the platform for larger screen devices once it’s mature enough.
• Nvidia believes that Tegra is superior to the latest iPhone 3GS when it comes to gaming. “Tegra has more graphics and 3D capability than any device that’s shipping in a mobile handset today.” Whether or not this capability will be leveraged on the Zune HD or later devices remains to be seen.

Read on for the full interview and all the juicy Tegra details.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dell seems to have picked up on a trend: shoppers really like the idea of low-cost, small-screened notebooks. Dell’s dabbled in this category already with its Studio 14z.

Now, the company has expanded its small business-oriented Vostro line to include the 1220, a 12.1-inch ultraportable starting at $799, a price that, before this year, would have been unheard of for a notebook this size, particularly in the business category.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today, Yoggie Security Systems announced the launch of the Yoggie Data Keeper line of secure flash drives, which pack high-end features designed to keep your portable storage free from all manner of nasty malware and prying eyeballs. Packing 2GB or 4GB storage capacities (as well as 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption), Yoggie Data Keeper  is available in three models, each containing an unique feature set.

• Yoggie Data Keeper (online firmware update capability)
• Yoggie Data Keeper Pro (built-in security features such as file-scanning anti-virus software and password protection for up to two users)
• Yoggie Data Keeper Personal Ed. (online firmware update capability; secure and non-secure partitions)

The flash sticks will be availble for purchase in August, but if you want to lay claim to one now, pre-orders are now being taken at www.yoggie.com.