Erictric

Laugh of The Day: Google Superbowl Commercial Gets Mocked

During the third quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday, Google aired its very first one-minute TV commercial titled “Parisian Love,” which promoted its search engine. Turns out the ad has already become a target of mockery for The Brig Beta Team at the Upright Citizens Brigade, who have recreated the TV ad to deal with unexpected pregnancy. Their version of the commercial has been properly dubbed “Parisian Oops,” and has been given the following tagline: “Romance, Consequences, Awkwardness. Search on.”

Watch the funny video after the break. More »

Google Starts Offering Phone Support for Nexus One

Just a few days ago on February 3rd, we reported that Google was looking for a Phone Support Program Manager for Android and the Nexus One. The company had actually posted a listing on its Jobs webpage. Well, it appears that the position has already been filled, as Google launched on Monday its very own phone support line for Nexus One. Nexus One owners with technical issues can now call 1-888-48-NEXUS [63987] any day from 7:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST [4:00 AM PST to 7:00 PM PST] to talk to real live Google support representative. More »

BlackBerry Curve Dominates US Smartphone Market in Q4 2009

Market research firm IDC has released its quarterly list of best-selling smartphones in the US for the fourth quarter of 2009. And it looks like the BlackBerry Curve series dominated the last quarter of the year, followed by none other than the very popular and trendy Apple iPhone. RIM managed to grab four other places, while Android-based devices by different manufacturers only got two.

It’s important to take into account that the list represents vendor sales only, which means the number of units sold to third-party retailers are the figures that count. It doesn’t matter if these third-party retailers only managed to sell a fraction of ordered units to consumers.

Click the break to see the full list, and get ready to be surprised by some of the results. More »

“Nintendo working on new hardware,” so says Mario Creator, Shigeru Miyamoto.

With the Xbox Live and PS3, console gamers are routinely spoiled with immersive online game play and breathtaking, realistic graphics. On the Wii gaming front, the graphics are less than stellar and online support is pretty minimal. Though some would argue that isn’t the main focus of Nintendo or the Wii to begin with. Ok, I’ll give you that one…

More »

Microsoft Says Windows 7 Battery Warnings Are Actually Valid Notifications

Last week, we reported that many Windows 7 users were complaining about false battery warnings and fast battery drainage. Microsoft announced they had started investigating the problem, and it seems like the preliminary results of said investigation are in. Microsoft reported on a very lengthy blog post today that they did not find any issues with Windows 7 at all.

What this means is that Microsoft does not believe Windows 7 is to blame. As a matter of fact, the Redmond-based company says that the warnings actually pop-up because the battery does indeed need to be replaced. More »

Google Lowers Nexus One’s Equipment Recovery Fee

Nearly two weeks after the Federal Communications Commission [FCC] sent letters to all major US mobile carriers and Google regarding their early termination fees [ETF] and “Equipment Recovery Fee” respectively, the Mountain View has lowered its Nexus One’s equipment recovery fee. If you remember well, the Nexus One’s equipment recovery fee was initially a whopping $350 on top of T-Mobile’s $200 ETF. Now, it appears like Google has taken $200 off, bringing the equipment recovery fee to just $150.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a Google spokesperson said the company has been working in partnership with T-Mobile to bring down the recovery fee. The change is now reflected in the Nexus One Terms of Sale. So now if you cancel your contract early, you will just have to pay $350 to Google and T-Mobile, which is the same Verizon charges for its high-end smartphones.

[ via Engadget ]

Android 2.1 Update Coming to The Motorola Droid This Week

Just this morning, we reported that Android 2.1 upate for the Motorola Droid was making its way through Verizon Wireless’ testing department along with some of the features it will bring. Now, we learn via the Motorola’s official Facebook fan page that update is set to be rolled out this week. The message on Facebook goes on to say that they will more information regarding future updates for other Android-based devices.

Ever since the Nexus One was released back in January, Android 2.1 has become one of the most anticipated versions of the Android platform. Motorola does not elaborate if the update will be released at once, or gradually. We’re betting our money on the latter one, as that’s the way the last Droid update was released in December 2009.

We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as the update is released.

Possible First Images of Fourth Generation iPhone Surface

iPhone repair company iResQ has released a small set of photographs of the fourth generation iPhone’s faceplate, or at least they claim so. If the photographs are true, it appears as if the fourth generation iPhone will be a bit longer than the iPhones 3G and 3GS. How much longer exactly? According to iResQ, the new iPhone will be one-quarter of an inch longer than its predecessors, and therefore the LCD screen also appears to be a bit longer as well.

iResQ also claims that the new faceplate contains a “reflective, mirror-like surface directly above the speaker,” which no one really know what it is going to be for. iResQ believes it’s for the proximity sensor. If true, it appears as if it will be positioned in a different place than previous models. iResQ notes that the in no way they are saying the photos reflect the final product.

Check out two more images after the break, and judge them yourself. More »

Google Introduces New Google Apps Developer Blog

Google introduced today its new official Google Apps Developer Blog. Now, why is this important? Well, there was a rumor last week suggesting that Google was planning to launch an official online app store for its Google Apps services such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs, et cetera.

Google was quickly to point out that they already have an online app store called Google Solutions Marketplace, and that they had nothing to announced at the moment. Although many believe that an app store could be much more different that the Solutions Marketplace, which is more of a directory. More »

Google Integrating Social Networking Features Into Gmail – Tomorrow?

According to The Wall Street Journal, Google could be integrating new social networking features into the now popular Gmail. These new features could include a stream of status updates from Google’s very own services like YouTube and Picasa in a format similar to that of Facebook and Twitter. Currently, Gmail users have been able to interact socially with contacts only through the built-in chat service.

Although Google has decline to comment on the matter so far. Something points that the search giant could be unveiling these social networking features as soon as tomorrow, as they are holding an event at their Mountain View, California headquarters at 10:00 AM Pacific Time — 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Invites have already been sent out, where Google tells that they will be “unveiling some product innovations in two of [its] most popular products.” We will definitely be covering the event live. More »