In what could be a glimpse of the future, Sony announced last week that it would offer its hoped-for summer blockbuster, Hancock, as an Internet download to Web-enabled Sony Bravia TVs before distributing it on cable, satellite, DVD, or Blu-ray discs. The company hasn’t revealed some important details, such as whether the download will be […]
Month: July 2008
Since it’s little more than a week before the upgraded iPhone hits stores, it’s hard not to measure the Samsung Instinct, a new Sprint-Nextel phone with multimedia features and a touch screen, against Apple’s second-generation multimedia, touch-screen smartphone. (Click on the images for closer looks at the Instinct.) Some comparisons are impossible until we actually […]
Just how fast is the Nikon subcompact Coolpix S600? According to the company’s magazine ad featuring Ashton Kutcher, one of Hollywood’s slick young actors, the S600 is the "fastest starting camera of its kind." (Mr. Kutcher can also be seen snapping away with a Nikon at www.ashtonscoolpix.com, along with Nikon’s claims that the $300, 10-megapixel […]
The EchoStar TR-40, a DTV converter box announced by Dish Network six months ago, sparked a lot of interest among consumers because of its long list of wanted features and proposed $40 price tag. But the TR-40 still hasn’t hit the market. And consumers (myself, included) who were the first to request the government’s $40 […]
T-Mobile has just weighed in with particulars on how it will pro-rate its early termination fee, the penalty of up to $200 it charges when subscribers cancel their service before the end of a new 12- or 24-month service contract starting June 28. T-Mobile brings to three the number of major cell carriers who are […]
In conjunction with retail partner Wal-Mart, Vizio—a company whose sets have typically fared well in our Ratings of plasma TVs (available to subscribers)—is now offering 32- and 42-inch 720p plasma models at prices of $600 and $800, respectively. The 32-inch screen size for plasma, popular in Asia, is new to the U.S. and will enable […]
The confusing conversion from analog to digital TV broadcasts is ripe for consumer deception—which is exactly what one company is practicing in a nationwide advertising campaign, according to the Better Business Bureau. A BBB investigation found that Universal TechTronics is peddling "five-year warranties" for $59 that must be purchased with their "free" digital TV converter […]
AT&T will be offering various breaks to current iPhone owners to induce them to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G, which debuts July 11. The new models will cost $200 less than comparable first-generation iPhones—potentially leaving those who recently bought the older model stuck with a fairly new, already outmoded phone. Anyone who bought the […]
Our guide to DTV converter boxes, including Ratings and model recommendations, is now available on ConsumerReports.org. This section expands on all the information we’ve previously posted about these set-top boxes, including: Ratings of 14 DTV converter boxes (no online subscription required!). We’ll continue to update these Ratings as we buy and test more models over […]
After a 5-month stay of execution, the end is nigh for Windows XP. Tomorrow, June 18, will be the last day you can purchase a Dell computer with XP pre-installed. Dell has announced this in order to meet Microsoft’s June 30 deadline for ceasing sales of XP. I spot-checked other manufacturers’ sites and found limited […]