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Nexus One: Bad news for international users

1/03/2010 12:40:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

There have been leaks around pricing of the Nexus One — screenshots from the site where you will purchase the phone appears that it’s going to retail for $529 US unlocked, or $179 US with a plan through T-Mobile.

If you’re outside the US though, that $529 turns into ($529 * your exchange rate) plus some pretty crazy taxes and duties if you want to even get it into your country.

Since a plan through T-Mobile isn’t an option for international customers, you have no choice but to pay through the nose. Here’s is what it will likely cost you extra to get a Nexus One into these countries:

Australia - $103
Austria - $168
Brazil - $209
Canada - $82
Czech Republic - $199
Estonia - $190
Finland - $160
France - $156
Germany - $152
Hungary - $192
India - $106
Italy - $148
Japan - $72
Mexico - $115
Netherlands - $150
New Zealand - $150
Northern Ireland - $123
Norway - $184
Poland - $196
Singapore - $154
South Africa - $185
Spain - $142
Sweden - $218
Switzerland - $104
Taiwan - $70
United Kingdom - $132

Apple Mac Sales on Track to Break Records Again

1/03/2010 12:40:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Apple will report selling another record number of Macs in the final quarter of 2009 when it unveils its financial figures later this month, a Wall Street analyst said Thursday in a note to clients.

Brian Marshall, of BroadPoint AmTech, estimated total Mac sales at 3.3 million units for 2009's fourth quarter. If Marshall's calculations are accurate, it would mean Apple broke the record sales of 3.05 million Macs set in the year's third calendar quarter by 249,000 machines, an increase of 8.5%.

Year-over-year, Marshall's estimate of 3.3 million Macs would be a 31% increase from the 2.3 million systems Apple sold in the fourth quarter of 2008. That kind of gain would be a return to Apple sales trends during 2008, when the company racked up impressive year-over-year increases ranging from 21% in the third calendar quarter to a whopping 51% in the first quarter.

Assuming Apple beats the industry average growth again in the fourth quarter of 2009 -- as seems certain, even if Marshall's estimate is on the high side -- Apple's sales will have outpaced the average in 20 out of the last 21 quarters. The one exception: The first quarter of 2009, when Apple failed for the first time since 2003 to boost Mac sales year-over-year.

According to Gartner Research, global computer sales will grow by just 2.3% during 2009.

Marshall also joined other analysts in predicting a resurgence of Apple's desktop sales by pegging the company's sales for the fourth quarter at 865,000 units, a year-over-year increase of 19% and a quarter-over-quarter gain of 10%.

Earlier in December, retail research firm said that sales of Apple's desktops -- the iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro lines -- were up 74% during October and November in the U.S. At the time, analyst Stephen Baker of NPD credited the revamped iMac for the sales surge.

Apple unveiled the new 21.5- and 27-in. iMacs -- the latter available with quad-core Intel processors for the first time -- on Oct. 20. Since then, however, questions have cropped up about the 27-in. iMacs' graphics cards and displays, with large numbers of customers reporting flickering screens , a problem multiple authorized resellers said resulted in Apple's decision to delay shipping the largest, most expensive models.

Apple will issue its official sales numbers for the fourth quarter in the second half of January during an earnings call with financial analysts.

Nick Jonas Gets Back With Selena Gomez ?; His New Video “Who Am I”

1/03/2010 12:39:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Nick Jonas has reportedly rekindled his romance with former flame Selena Gomez.

The pair spent some time together over the holidays in Selena’s home state of Texas, according to Clever TV.

A few months back, Nick, 17, and Selena, also 17, spoke about their first kiss — the Wizards of Waverly Place actress said she doesn’t usually kiss on the first date, but the Jonas Brothers star “broke the rules.”

“While we were slow dancing, my crush and I had our first kiss,” Gomez told Twist magazine in its September issue. “I said, ‘I don’t kiss on the first date.’ Then he said, “Well, I never really play by the rules.”

“On one date, the girl said to me, ‘I don’t kiss on the first date.’ So I said, ‘I don’t follow the rules’,” Jonas told Girl’s Life magazine in its June/July issue. “Ooooh! It was so good!”

Jonas has previously dated Selena’s pal Miley Cyrus.

Watch New Video Nick Jonas & The Administration “Who Am I”



JoBro Nick Jonas has kicked off 2010 by unveiling the official music video premiere for Nick Jonas & The Administration’s debut single, “Who Am I.”

The 17-year-old has branched off from big brothers Kevin and Joe with the introduction of his own “side band,” The Administration. Nick and his new bandmates will be supporting the release of their forthcoming album with a tour which will begin at House of Blues in Dallas tonight!

Nick Jonas & The Administration’s first LP, also titled Who Am I, debuts Feb 2.

Elton John Helps Eminem Fight Drug Use

1/03/2010 12:39:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Elton John says he has been helping rapper Eminen fight drug problems for more than a year. John told BBC Radio Saturday that Eminem is succeeding in his well-publicized battle against substance abuse. "I've been helping Eminem over the last 18 months and he's doing brilliantly," John says, reports the British Press Association. "I'm there if people want my help. If people ask for help you tell them where to go but there's no point advising people if they don't want to do it."

John believes that as a recovered drug abuser, he is happy to help people if they want the assistance but drugs make people so cocky and arrogant that they often reject help.

Eminem, who had been accused of being homophobic, performed with John during the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards on February 21, 2001. The two sang Eminem's song 'Stan' to show the rapper had no hate for the LGBT community. Eminem won three Grammys despite anger over his lyrics, which critics revile as anti-gay and violent.

In May, Eminem admitted he'd suffered from a devastating drug addiction that led to him downing as many as 20 Vicodin, Ambien and Valium in a day. "The numbers got so high," he told Vibe magazine, "I don't even know what I was taking.

Following his first stint in rehab in 2005, the rapper said he nearly overdosed after an acquaintance gave him unidentified blue pills, which a doctor later told him were actually methadone.

Big Bang to release their new Korean album this summer + Big Bang will focus on Japanese activities for the first half of 2010

1/03/2010 12:39:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Big Bang will return this summer to the Kpop music industry.

YG Entertainment’s chief executive/founder, Yang Hyun Suk had a phone call with Star News last December 31st in which he said, “Big Bang will return with a new album in mid-2010, they will release a new full album in Korea this summer.” he said.

It’s been a long time since Big Bang released an album as a whole. Their last album was in November 2008, and ever since they’ve been working in Japan and on their solo activities.

However, Big Bang will focus on Japanese activities for the first half of 2010.

YG said, “On December 30 at the 51st Japan Record Awards, Big Bang won the ‘Best Newcomer Award’ due to this big recognition in Japan, Japanese music officials and fans have a lot of expectations from Big Bang for 2010, for this reason Big Bang will focus on activities in Japan for the first half of 2010.”

Also, “For the Korean fans waiting for Big Bang, Daesung will debut with his solo album next year as well as TOP.” YG said.

According to Yang Hyun Suk early next year, Taeyang’s solo album will be released offline. After that Daesung will release his solo album for which he is currently recording and producing right now. Seungri and TOP will also release a digital single or mini album for the fans.

In addition, Korean fans will be able to enjoy three Big Bang concerts starting January 29th to January 31st at the Seoul’s Olympic Stadium.

2PM will move on to promote their 2nd hit song ‘Tired Of Waiting.

1/03/2010 12:38:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

A JYP Entertainment staff said on 2nd January, “From 1st January, the group has started promotions for ‘Tired Of Waiting’. It is the performance to show that their 1st full length album promotions are ending.”


It is also revealed that, “While they will be promoting this 2nd hit song, they will not be promoting it for a long period of time.”

2PM had their first performance of ‘Tired Of Waiting’ during SBS Gayo DaeJun on 29th December, and has been a much anticipated performances by fans.

They also performed it on KBS Music Bank on 1st January and the song was one of the #1 spot contentants for KChart on the show that day.

Meanwhile, 2PM had previously come back into the Kpop scene with their 1st full length album last November and has been enjoying great love from music fans for their comeback.

Motorola Calgary / DROID Devour gets shot up in silver, new info

1/03/2010 12:38:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Motorola making a device in more that one color? You don’t say… One of our connects sent us the above photo of the Motorola Calgary / DROID Devour / Whatever, and confirmed the specifications we posted a few months back. We also received some more feedback on the device — hit the jump for the goodies!


We’re told the keyboard was “nice” and the phone itself was “easier to use” compared to the Motorola DROID. Obviously that’s personal opinion, and maybe the BLUR OS simplifies things for some people, but the trackpad apparently is killer as a navigational input device. Oh? The device has Wi-Fi, GPS, a 1420mAh battery, but unfortunately no SIM card slot as it is not a global device. Whether the unit will come in multiple colors or not is not confirmed as these are still non-final units, we’re told, but we’d probably bet on it being available in black as well as silver.

Chrome inches ahead of Safari

1/03/2010 12:33:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , , 0 Comments

Google’s Chrome browser’s ascent took its toll on Apple’s Safari as the former surpassed the latter for the first time, ever! Data released by NetApplications revealed an increase in Chrome’s market share in the browser universe as it went ahead of Safari to claim the third position behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox. The current market share statistics peg Chrome’s market share at 4.63%, ahead of Safari’s 4.46% share of the total pie. Internet Explorer continues to lead the table with 62.69% share, while Firefox stands second with a 24.61% market share.

However, data showed almost a percentage point decline in Internet Explorer’s market share, and on an average the browser from software-giant Microsoft lost 0.94% during the each of the last six months of 2009. Internet Explorer’s (IE) performance continues to take a dent amidst new browsers in the market. On the brighter side, December was a good month for the latest installment of the IE, the IE8. It became the most used browser in the entire browser portfolio from Microsoft, in December. As per data, IE 8 captured 37.8 percent share in total IE usage, which includes IE 6 and IE 7.

The 2009 final report published byNetApplications also revealed buoyant growth in iPhone sales, which increased by 50 % during the latest quarter gone by. The report revealed a flattened growth for Mac OS X in December 2009 as compared to November figures.

Plethora of new HP laptops, desktops leak ahead of CES

1/03/2010 12:33:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Holy smokes! A ton of unannounced HP laptops and desktops just came across our desk, in addition to those Envy models we saw just a few days back. Ahead of what we presume will be their formal announcement next week right around CES, we've got some details on 14 new models -- some more interesting than others. Now, before you get too excited, we don't have full specs on any of these, but we do have pricing information, and here are some highlights: the 14-inch HP Pavilion dv4i, a Windows 7 laptop with a flush display and fingerprint reader that should run about $785. Up next is the 10-inch Mini 210 HD Edition, which will come in red, black, silver and blue, boast Intel's brand new Pine Trail platform (a 1.66GHz N450 CPU), plus GMA 3150 graphics. Another goodie here is that this one is expected to ship with Broadcom's Crystal HD video playback chip. The Mini 210 HD is expected to cost around $330. Logic Buy (the point of origin for all this info) is reporting that these models should ship on or around January 7th, though keep in mind that all of this information is extremely unofficial, so don't blame us if it all changes. If you simply can't get enough, hit the gallery for a look at a few of the systems, and check the rest of the story after the break.

  • Mini 210 - a model we've previously seen that 10.1-inches, available in red, black, silver and blue. Featuring Intel Atom N450 CPU, Windows 7 Starter Edition, up to 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, 5-in-1 card reader webcam and 6-cell battery. Expected price is $280.
  • Compaq Mini CQ10 - 10.1 inches, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB DDR2 RAM, an up to 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, and a 6-cell battery for an expected shipping price of $260.
  • HP Pavilion Elite HPE-110t desktop - we're short on specs here, but it's expected to have a red chassis, micro-tower design, a Pocket Media Drive bay, DVI, HDMI and VGA connections, plus MediaSmart 3.0 for $685.
  • HP Pavilion Elite HPE-150t Quad-core desktop - again, no specs, but the price should be around $785.
  • HP Pavilion Elite HPE-170t Quad Core i5/i7 desktop - red chassis, micro-tower design, Core i5/Core i7 CPU, up to 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM, Pocket Media Drive bay, DVI, HDMI, and VGA connections, 460W PSU, MediaSmart 3.0. Expected price of $985.
  • HP Pavilion Elite HPE-180t Quad Core i7 desktop - red chassis, micro-tower design, up to 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM, GeForce GTX 260 1.8GB graphics, Pocket Media Drive bay, DVI, HDMI, and VGA connections, 460W PSU, MediaSmart 3.0, with an expected retail price of $1,085.
  • Other models we have names but little information about are the HP Pavilion p6370t Series, the HP Pavilion Slimline s5300z, Series, the HP Pavilion Slimline s5310t Series, the HP Pavilion Slimline s5370t Series, and the HP Pavilion Slimline s5380t Series.




Read - HP Pavilion dv4i Here
Read - Mini 210 HD Here
Read - Mini 210 Here
Read - Compaq Mini CQ10 Here
Read - HP Pavilion Elite HPE-110t Here
Read - HP Pavilion Elite HPE-150t Here
Read - HP Pavilion Elite HPE-170t Here
Read - HP Pavilion Elite HPE-180t Here

'Avatar' opens new dimension for profits with $745m box office record

1/02/2010 11:57:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Director James Cameron on course to break the $1bn barrier for the second time

At first glance it appears to have the makings more of a low-budget sci-fi flick than of a box-office blockbuster. But Avatar, a film about a mythical planet inhabited by huge blue aliens, is set to become one of the the most successful movies of all time.

In less than two weeks, the ground-breaking 3D film has grossed $745m (£460m) and is already expected to be the most successful movie of 2009-10, overtaking even the latest Harry Potter film. And on New Year's Eve it was given the presidential seal of approval when the Obama family ventured into a shopping mall in Hawaii to watch the movie.

Should it continue its money-making progress at its current rate, the film could become just the fifth in history to gross more than $1bn. The biggest money-spinning movie of all time is Titanic, which made $1.8bn.

Breaking the $1bn barrier would be a particularly remarkable achievement for James Cameron, Avatar's director, seeing as he also directed Titanic. He would be the first film director to gross $1bn twice.

The film's success is, according to industry experts, a payout on a substantial gamble taken by 20th Century Fox. Despite a budget of $237m, the majority did not go on paying the wage bill – the most recognisable film star is Sigourney Weaver and others are relative unknowns. Instead, much of the money was spent developing the technology which would allow the film to be shot in 3D.

Charles Gant, the film editor of Heat magazine, explained: "This film really was a huge risk by 20th Century Fox. They took a movie that has no real stars and one with an ostensibly limited appeal. Sci-fi is typically a geeky genre so for them to make such a success out of a film that is about big blue aliens is very impressive."

The film is set on the fictional planet of Pandora, a mineral-rich world which is being plundered by humans. It tells the story of Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine who decides to take his brother's place on a mission to the distant planet, 4.4 light years from Earth. But Sully becomes engaged in battle when he learns of a plan to eliminate the planet's natives in order to mine for the precious minerals.

In its opening weekend just before Christmas, the film grossed $77m in the USA and Canada, £8.5m in the UK and an estimated $232m worldwide. Here it grossed £18m in its first 10 days and when the final figures for last year are calculated, it could very well top Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which took a total of £50m, as the top-grossing movie released in 2009. As well as its box-office appeal, the film has also won praise from a host of celebrities.

Before its release Ben Stiller, who currently has no films of his own to promote, went on the Tonight Show in the US apparently with the sole intention of sharing his excitement about Avatar. He told host Conan O'Brien: "I'm really excited about it. It's just going to be an amazing movie". And after seeing it, Simon Pegg wrote on his Twitter site: "The movie is a game changer. Still buzzing."

Despite only a handful of films ever achieving it, the suggestion that Avatar could break $1bn is not necessarily a fanciful one. It needs to gross another $250m but it has a number of factors on its side.

Mr Gant added: "It has been released at a particularly clever time. Going into January and February is what is known as the awards corridor. If it wins any of the big Oscars in March, it will create the possibility that a lot of people will go to see it who otherwise would not have.

"Also with it being in 3D, a lot of people are finding it sold out and, rather than watching it in traditional D, they are coming back to see it in 3D. It means that the film's longevity automatically increases.

"I don't think it will beat Titanic, but I'd expect it to break the magical $1bn barrier."

The biggest films of all-time

1 Titanic (1997) $1.84bn

2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1.13bn

3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $1.06bn

4 The Dark Knight (2008) $1bn

5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) $969m

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