Ace

Microsoft, Nokia pour $200M into Windows Phone push, report says

Microsoft and Nokia are ready to back the money truck up for Windows Phone.

That's according to Windows IT Pro, which reported today that the companies are planning to spend $200 million on marketing in the U.S. to promote the upcoming lineup of phones.

The significant surge in spending underscores the importance of making a splash in the market, particularly from a phone brand that has faded over the past few years and a software partner that lacks the cool factor of its younger competitors. While T-Mobile USA has the first Nokia Windows Phone with the mid-tier Lumia … Read more

Samsung announces low-end Galaxy Ace Plus smartphone for global markets

Continuing the Android handset push, this time into the low end of the handset spectrum, Samsung has just unveiled the Galaxy Ace Plus.

Announced in Korea but also targeted at Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, it seems the only region the Ace Plus won't be shipping is right here in the States. Of course I bet not many hearts will be broken since this modest device won't inspire much gadget lust in Android addicts.

Powering the Galaxy Ace Plus is a 1GHz processor, most likely single-core, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. You won't … Read more

Google confirms Chromebooks are for the beautiful people

What do Virgin America and New York's Ace Hotel have in common? They are frequented by the digerati, the beautiful, and the in-the-know.

So it's a shrewd marketing move by Google to announce today that some Virgin America flights this summer and the Ace will be testbeds for the brand new Chromebook.

Chromebooks were a concept initially introduced two years ago, but are just now making their way to retailers.

The laptops are made by Samsung and Acer and boot directly to Google's Chrome browser, which means a Wi-Fi or 3G connection are necessary to get anything done on them. … Read more

Samsung upgrading Galaxy S, Tab to Gingerbread

Owners of Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab tablet will finally receive an upgrade to Android 2.3 Gingerbread starting very soon.

Samsung announced today that the Gingerbread upgrade would also extend to its Galaxy Ace, Gio, Fit, and mini phones.

The company will kick off with an upgrade to the Galaxy S in the U.K. and Nordic countries starting as soon as the middle of this month. The upgrade would then travel through the rest of the world, reaching other European countries, North America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and then other regions.… Read more

The 404 793: Where Wilson's back with a vengeance (podcast)

The Bubble Boy gets released from quarantine and joins us back on today's episode of The 404, where we're chatting about Dish Network grabbing Blockbuster for $228 million; a Canadian service that could mean the end of missed packages; a girl who can't close her mouth; and the end of one of our favorite TV shows: "30 Rock."

The 404 Digest for Episode 793

Dish Network wins bidding war for Blockbuster Video. The BufferBox may signal the end of missed packages. Just for fun, here's the delivery guy spoof scene from "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." Nurse uses Popsicle sticks to reset a jaw in mid-yawn. News anchor falls for Shock Top app prank. "30 Rock" will end next season, according to Alec Baldwin.

Episode 793 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Samsung goes big and small in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain--Samsung usually arrives at a trade show with all guns blazing and Mobile World Congress was no exception. Not only did the company show off its new Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II, but also it displayed some handsets it had announced previously. And these devices came in all sizes.

On the larger side is the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, which T-Mobile and Sammy revealed last month. With a 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen and a slim rectangular shape, it looks very much like the earlier Samsung Vibrant. It certainly was pretty, but it felt rather fragile. … Read more

CES: MSI shows WinPad 100A

LAS VEGAS--MSI was fairly coy about sending out pics of its Android-based tablet, the WinPad 100A. Luckily, the device was on display at the company's CES booth.

The WinPad 100A has a 10.1-inch capacitive touch screen and runs on Android 2.3. It wasn't clear whether the device will be upgradable to Honeycomb when the new OS launches, however.

Other specs and details include an ARM processor, a USB port, Mini-USB, HDMI, an SD card reader, a front-facing camera on the upper-left side, and a headphone jack.

Additionally, the device includes a G-Sensor gravity-detecting device, a GPS … Read more

PSP: I'm not dead yet

It was hard not to be reminded of Monty Python's famous sketch when Sony took the stage Tuesday during its E3 press conference, assuring the public that the PSP platform was still alive, kicking, and very much a viable platform. The company is right, to a degree: millions still play PSP games and own systems, and the platform is far from a failure. On the other hand, the PSP has still never materialized into the superior do-everything portable Sony once dreamed of it becoming.

Though at last year's E3 Sony focused on the expensive and disc-free PSP Go … Read more

Dragon's Lair on iPhone: Fire-blast from the past

Equipped with a great video player and easy touch controls, the iPhone is fast becoming a spot for Laser Disc arcade games of yore to get a second life on the go. First came Space Ace early this year, but for a roll of quarters, iPhone and iPod Touch users can now reach back into their bowling alley/arcade memories and get Dragon's Lair, which was released this week, on the App Store, too. It's a perfect adaptation of the Don Bluth-animated game that I remember all too well from many, many weekends at Chuck E Cheese.

For … Read more

Rivals well-known finance programs

With AceMoney Lite, one can easily organize and track spending, build budgets, track investment performance, set up payment reminders and recurring bill payments, create reports and pie charts, and so much more, for free.

The program has an eye-friendly interface that is also fairly intuitive to use. To begin, just open the application, click on the account button for your one account, and provide all of the particulars as prompted. Once your account is set, you can manage your budget and set up categories from a very long list of possibilities, which is helpful for reporting how you are saving … Read more