TMCnet News
Browser: BlackBerry Storm sales on horizon(Omaha World-Herald (NE) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 16--At last, Research In Motion's answer to the iPhone is on its way. The touchscreen BlackBerry Storm smartphone will be available through Verizon Wireless on Nov. 21 for $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate. A two-year contract is required upon activation, as is a monthly data plan. The Storm is RIM's first full-touchscreen phone and features a clickable screen. Unlike the iPhone, which is essentially an immobile glass sheet on top of sensors, the Storm's whole screen clicks, much like a mouse button. The Storm's release will be key for RIM in the coming months. The iPhone is the top-selling phone in the United States, ending the three-year run of the Motorola Razr. Also, RIM fell to third in smartphone sales worldwide, supplanted by the iPhone. Nokia remains on top. A report by Square Trade, which sells extended warranty plans for electronics, put the iPhone's failure rate among 15,000 handsets tested at 5.6 percent. BlackBerry models failed at an 11.9 percent rate. Flip video camera now comes in HD Pure Digital Technologies, the company behind the Flip handheld video camera line, introduced a high-definition model last week. The Flip MinoHD records up to 60 minutes of video in 720p resolution, good enough for viewing on HD television. The camera is PC and Mac compatible, and comes with basic video editing software for both platforms. It retails for $229.99. Prices to fall for early shoppers Black Friday -- a name that could take a different meaning this year -- is a couple of weeks away, but advertisements have been popping up online steadily over the last month or so. For those interested in camping in a parking lot and then rushing the doors well before dawn, Best Buy is expected to offer a 50-inch Panasonic plasma HDTV for $899.99, two Toshiba notebook computers for under $500 and a seven-megapixel digital camera for $59.99, among other items. At Radio Shack, a Motorola Bluetooth headset will sell for $9.99, and wireless PlayStation 3 controllers will be $29.99, down from $54.99. Sears will offer a number of early electronics deals, including a Memorex DVD player for $15 and a Sony Blu-ray disc player for $179.99. Almost two dozen HD televisions will be discounted as well, though the early discounts will be bigger. According to AppleInsider, technology analyst Ben Reitzes believes Apple may jump into the Black Friday fray with more aggressive pricing than normal. The company typically offers a $100 discount on some Mac models. Reitzes believes the discount will continue but be joined by others for iPods and possibly iPhones. French mobile phone carrier Orange will probably cut its iPhone price to 99 euros from 149 euros, and AT&T and Apple may follow suit, according to Reitzes. Game offers fitness drills Game maker Electronic Arts has jumped into the Nintendo Wii exercise-game pool. The company, best known for its Madden NFL games, will offer EA Sports Active in early 2009 as an alternative to the Nintendo-made Wii Fit. But while the Nintendo game has peripherals and activities based on electronics, the EA systems uses resistance bands to add difficulty to exercises. Output is measured by a band laced with sensors, which wraps around the user's thigh. The game features more than 20 exercises and drills, and can help create a personalized fitness plan. Bob Greene, Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer, helped design the game, which will retail for $59.99. --Contact the writer: 444-1387, [email protected] To see more of the Omaha World-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.omaha.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Omaha World-Herald, Neb. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |