Microsoft taking a loss on Kinect?
Inside sources close to the matter have said that the build costs of Kinect are near $150. When you add up all the time to write the software and the costs of the hardware, it gets expensive. This has many people at Microsoft concerned.
Usually Microsoft takes a loss on their consoles in hopes of making money on the software and add ons. With Kinect, there is no exception, says a “A highly-positioned, trusted source“. Microsoft is betting that Kinect will have more people running to the stores to buy bundles including a new Xbox.
What are you thinking of doing?
[via 1up]
Verizon Signals the End of the Unlimited Data Plan
The unlimited data plan party could end soon. Verizon Wireless has hinted it is likely to follow AT&T and restrict the amount of data consumers can suck in through their phones.
“We will probably need to change the design of our pricing where it will not be totally unlimited, flat rate,” Verizon’s chief financial officer John Killian told Bloomberg.
For nearly 90 percent of smartphone users, new pricing plans are unlikely to make a big difference in how they use their phones, says Chetan Sharma, who runs a consulting firm focusing on telecom issues. But for super-users, this could signal a change in how smartphones and apps are designed.
It could force developers and entrepreneurs to take a second look at how data is delivered and optimized.
“So far, the ecosystem hasn’t paid attention to delivery efficiency,” says Sharma. “Content developers rarely care how much data is being transferred over their app. Now there’s room for technology that can help change that.”
Wireless service providers’ decision to do away with unlimited data plans plans runs orthogonal to what smartphones makers are doing. Smartphones today are in a race to offer more storage, along with the ability to shoot high-definition videos and photos. And they encourage you to share, uploading those files to YouTube and Flickr. Add to that video chat capability, especially over cellular networks, and there’s more stress than ever on the network.
“It was unsustainable,” says Sharma. “It couldn’t have gone on forever.”
After Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, it unlocked a world where users spend more time surfing on the phones, playing with apps and watching YouTube clips than talking on their phone. A Consumer Reports study found that the average iPhone user consumes 273 MB of data per month. About 4 percent users in that study gobbled an average of 1 GB per month.
Sharma estimates an average iPhone consumer uses about 600 MB a month, while a smartphone user who’s not on the iPhone or using an Android device takes in about 300 MB of data monthly. Unless, something changes, that data consumption will only go up, especially with the introduction of more powerful smartphones, straining the network’s capacity, he says.
With the iPhone, AT&T has been the first to feel the pain. In response, earlier this month, AT&T introduced a tiered pricing structure for data. Instead of a flat monthly fee of about $30 for unlimited data, AT&T users will now pay $15 a month for 200 MB, or $25 a month for $2GB. (See what AT&T’s limited data plans mean for you.)
Verizon is not changing the status quo just yet. The company has hinted it will introduce tiered data pricing plans as it opens up its LTE or 4G network. 4G data cards on the Verizon’s network could be launched later this year, followed by the first 4G smartphone next year, estimates Sharma.
A Verizon spokesperson declined to comment on when the company plans to introduce new data pricing plans.
“Unlimited pricing works well when you are trying to create demand,” says Sharma. “But now carriers are facing the reality that while their data revenue is fixed, their costs keep going up.”
Last year, approximately 70 percent of data traffic on wireless networks came from data cards. This year, smartphones will pretty much account for all data requests, says Sharma.
“The iPhone has catapulted the whole data issue to the forefront.”
See Also:
- 3G iPad’s ‘Unlimited’ Data Plan Survives Torture Test
- AT&T Adds iPhone Tethering, Kills Unlimited Data for iPad
- O2 Cuts Unlimited iPhone Data to Just 1GB in UK
- What AT&T’s Limited Data Plans Mean for You
- Cap My iPhone? Try This Instead, AT&T
Photo: (DJOtaku/Flickr)
All Palm Apps Temporarily 50% Off [Deals]
Woah! From June 18 to July 9, all apps in the Palm App Catalog will be half price. Pretty decent deal. [Pre Central via BGR] More »
Handhelds – Palm OS – PalmPre – Palm App Catalog – WebOS
Lenovo Ideacentre Q150 ships Stateside
The Lenovo Ideacentre Q150 has started to ship in the US, although there was no official announcement on Lenovo’s part which goes to show just how low key the entire affair is. You will be able to opt from a 160GB hard drive model which is going for $220, while the 250GB hard drive option will see the price rise by another $130. This nettop will sport a wireless keyboard and mouse for added convenience if you decide to use it in your living room while seated in your favorite lounge chair, although the Q150 will lack an internal optical drive, IR receiver or remote control. Other specifications include a dual core Atom D510 1.66GHz processor, up to 2GB RAM, NVIDIA’s ION graphics chipset, 5.1-channel audio (making this suitable for a half-decent HTPC), Wi-Fi N connectivity, HDMI output and a VESA wall mount for more flexible installation options within the home. Sounds like a pretty affordable option by any means for a device of its class.
Permalink: Lenovo Ideacentre Q150 ships Stateside from Ubergizmo | Hot: Evo 4G Review, iPad Review
The iPad Under Mouse
Let me tell you a little bit about what I know of world commerce. There’s information, which travels at the speed of light, then there’s product, which travels at the speed of a van, then a boat, then a van, then a train, then a car. It’s slower than light. This causes a bit of annoyance in the world of electronics and multimedia. Why? Because Russia doesn’t have their iPads yet! So what did the folks at DarkDesignGroup (Russian design group) do?
They made the iMousePad.
Simple. Silly. Amazing.
And that’s all there really is to say about that. It’s a mouse pad. It’s clever. It’s excellent.
And I don’t think it’s licensed by Apple. Just a hunch.
Designer: DarkDesignGroup
