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The fourth edition of the video game “Grand Theft Auto” goes on sale today and will likely break sales records.

GTA 4 is just what gamers love about it — loud violent and racy. Many whom will take the day off just to get their hands on the game. It is estimated that Grand Theft Auto IV will sell around 6 million copies and make about $400 million in sales worldwide. That’s just in it’s first week on sale! some say GTA 4 will break the record held by the current all-time sales champion, Halo 3.

One of the biggest reasons for the expected sales record is that GTA 4 is able to be played on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 as well as Sony’s PlayStation 3.

GTA 4 has a “Mature” rating, meaning it is intended for users 17 years old or older. The game’s label warns of blood, intense violence, partial nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of alcohol, and use of drugs.

That mature rating, however, stopped parents groups from blasting Grand Theft Auto and its creator, Rockstar Games.

Grand Theft Auto 4 is so controversial that ads for GTA 4 have been removed from buses and trains in Chicago.

Where to buy: Amazon.com — Buy Grand Theft Auto IV Now!

Sony on Thursday said the next firmware update for the PlayStation 3 video-game console will add Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0. The update is due out late this month. Known as BD-Live, the update will offer PS3 players interactive features, such as downloadable video content, ringtones and games. Beyond BD-Live, the update will make room for photo and music playlists on PS3 to be copied to a PSP handheld device. It’s all part of Sony’s attempts to evolve the PS3 as a home entertainment hub.

Has it been 74 days already? This weekend Apple sold it’s one-millionth iPhone, a few days after they slashed the price by a third to jolt sales.

With this news Apple shares went up $4.94, or 3.8 percent to 136.71. Apple thought they would hit the one million iPhone mark by the end of September, so they are ahead of what they had predicted. By comparison, it took two years for Apple to sell one million iPods.

Apple knocked $200 off the price of the 8-gigabyte iPhone last week bringing its price to $399. Apple also discontinued the 4-gigabyte version.

The price cut angered Apple customers who bought the iPhone for the full price. Price slashing is common in the cell phone industry, but not common for Apple. Jobs issued an apology the next day and offered customers $100 credits if they bought their iPhone within 14 days of the price cut.

The same day Apple slashed the iPhone price to $399, it unveiled a new iPod, also $399 and called the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch is essentially the same as the iPhone but without the cell phone capability.

The New Jersey 17-year-old who hacked the iPhone to work with other cell carriers traded a hacked iPhone for a new Nissan 350Z and three brand new 8GB iPhones. The car and the three phones came from CertiCell, a Louisville, Ky.-based mobile phone repair company.

“This has been a great end to a great summer,” Hotz wrote.

Hotz said he will be sending the three new iPhones to the three online callaborators who helped him get the Apple iPHones to work with other carriers. Since iPhone’s launch, Hotz and his online friends took about 500 hours, or around 8 hours each day.

The 17-year-old Hotz made a deal with Terry Daidone, co-founder of CertiCell and has promised him a paid consulting job.

I’d say that is a very good ending to a great summer!

Photo credit: Y! News 

Automated data backup just got more affordable and interesting for the mainstream user. Meet Drobo - The world’s first storage robot.

Drobo keeps your data safe by automatically monitoring and reparing problems that could put your data to risk. Drobo also automatically controls all aspects of your storage management. There’s no configuration or management consoles — Essentially, Drobo does all the work for you, handling any complex storage management. Data Robotics, who created Drobo, claims Drobo beats RAID hands down.

Since our hard drives are getting filled up with a whole lot of rich media (photos, video, movies, music, etc.), our storage needs are growing. That’s the cool thing about Drobo, you can set it up with just a couple of hard drives and grow from there. You can upgrade your capacity on-the-fly and add drives to Drobo at any time. You can even mix ‘n match capacities, brands or speeds. This allows you to have no downtime, data migration or waiting to access new capacity.

At $499 USD (at the time of this article), you get security - non-stop data protection - if the status lights are green, your data is safe. Drobo has a simple LED management that are as simple as a traffic light. In addition to the green (safe) lights, you have yellow which means Drobo is 85% full and red, which means your data is not safe so you should add or replace a drive immediately.

Drobo Specs:

• 3.5″ SATA I or SATA II hard disk drives
• Full or half-height, no carriers required
• Choose the drive manufacturer, capacity (mixed capacities ok), and spindle speed or cache that fits your current storage needs

Drobo’s Size: Width Height Length
inches 6.3 6.3 10.7
mm 152.4 160.02 271.78

Power

• Idle system (standby, drives off) = 5 watts
• Typical idle system - idle, drive spin down mode (one drive) = 12 watts
• Typical busy system (four drives) = 40 watts

Input
100-240V AC, 50/60 Hz

Box Content

• Drobo storage robot
• External power supply with U.S. 110V AC power cord
• 6′ USB 2.0 cable
• User Guide and Quick Start Instructions
• Drobo Resource CD includes:

° Drobo Dashboard Software
° Help files
° How-to Videos
° Electronic Documentation

Operating System Support

• Windows 2000 (Professional, Server, Advanced Server)
• Windows 2003 Server
• Windows XP (Home, Professional, Media Center Edition)
• Windows Vista (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate)
• Apple OS-X 10.4 and later

File System Support

• NTFS
• HFS+

Certification: Emissions
FCC Part 15 Class B and Safety: UL, cUL

System Management

• Automatic (No software required)
• Optional Drobo Dashboard Software Included

Security
Kensington lock port (lock not included)

Warranty
1 Year Limited Warranty

The HDC-SD7 measures 52 millimeters by 110mm by 87mm, which gives a volume of 330 cubic centimeters. The HD video camcorder weighs 350 grams with the battery and memory card compared to 400 grams for the SD5.

One of the secrets of making the HDC-SD7 so small is the use of an SD memory card to record on. The electronics and socket needed for a flash card takes up so much less space than a DVD or hard-disk drive thus contributes to the size and weight savings over other high-def models.

Panisonic’s HDC-SD7 records full HD (1,920 pixel by 1,080 pixel) MPEG4 AVC/H.264 video at a range of quality levels. The camcorder will only be available in Japan and will launch on September 8.

As suspected, Microsoft mentioned this morning that they will lower the price of the high-definition DVD player for its Xbox 360 console. Microsoft said they will reduce the console from $199 to $179, plus add five free movies to anyone who purchases the machine in August or September.

Read the rest of this entry »

Being a very patient Sprint customer has finally paid off! There’s a new smartphone available for Sprint customers called Mogul by HTC replacing the over 2-year-old PPC-6700 (which has been marked down to $99 by the way).

So as a gadget freak and of course a Sprint customer I had to get my hands on one of these babies. So far I haven’t tested it out since I just got it programmed last night with my new number, but I did have a chance to peek around Windows Mobile 6 a bit.

Along with Microsoft Mobile 6, it also offers high speed data. Some of the key features include: Bluetooth wireless technology, Sprint Music Store enabled, Speakerphone, Built in 2.0 megapixel camera (I remember when digital cameras were only 2 megapixels), Integrated QWERTY keyboard, large, full color touchscreen, thumb wheel and integrated antenna, external MicroSD card slot, plus 512MB memory card among many other features. Here’s the breakdown:

Windows Mobile 6 Software
With great productivity tools for mobile professionals, Windows Mobile 6 provides several features allowing you to stay connected to your business and personal data on the go. Windows Mobile 6 provides supports many forms of email, Mobile versions of Microsoft Applications including editing capabilities, and the ability to easily transfer your digital multimedia from your Windows-based PC to your device. It also supports HTML based emails, and includes popular services such as Windows Live Search.

Wireless High–Speed Data Capable
Where coverage is available, experience broadband–like download speeds using EV-DO technology. The average download speeds range from 400 to 700 Kbps with peak rates up to 2 Mbps. EV-DO Rev. A upgradeable for even faster speeds.

Integrated QWERTY Keyboard
The sliding keyboard provides a familiar interface and allows for quick and efficient input of information. The slide-to-hide form factor eliminates bulkiness for a sleek and stylish design.

2.0 Megapixel Camera and Camcorder
Shoot digital pictures with the embedded 2.0 megapixel camera with built-in flash and 8x digital zoom lens; use the built-in camcorder to record 30 second video clips and play them on the LCD screen.

Bluetooth Wireless Technology Enabled
Built-in radio technology for short-range wireless communication. When used with your Sprint PCS Smart Device and select accessories (headset, car kit, etc), Bluetooth allows fast, secure transmission without cables or wires, even though the two devices are not in line-of-sight. Bluetooth wireless accessories sold separately.

Sprint Music StoreSM Enabled
Download stereo-quality, digital tracks instantly to your phone. Choose from hundreds of thousands of full-length songs from virtually every genre. Select songs directly from your wireless phone and listen to them wherever you go, even download them to your PC.

Large, Full-Color Touchscreen, Thumb Wheel and Integrated Antenna
Featuring a vivid 2.8″ 64k color touch screen, a thumbwheel for one handed navigation, and an integrated antenna resulting in a sleek design.

External MicroSD Card Slot, Plus 512MB Memory Card
Included with the device is a 512MB MicroSD memory card. Add memory and selected peripherals or load additional games, applications, and music or video clips.

Java Support
Enables users to view Java based websites.

Built-In Wi-Fi Capability
High-speed data connection between the device and nearby Wi-Fi access points for the ultimate in mobile connectivity.

Attachment Viewing
Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® Mobile application enables viewing of presentations while on-the-go, while Microsoft® Office Excel® Mobile™ now offers chart support that improves the email attachment viewing experience.

Two-Way SMS Messaging
Instantly send and receive SMS Text Messages across the room or across the country. It’s the coolest way to talk, without the talk.

Microsoft ActiveSync®
Updated ActiveSync® technology (version 4.0) offers one of the best PC to mobile device sync experiences, making it easier to configure with faster data transfer and sync accuracy.

Phone As Modem Compatibility
Use the included USB cable or Bluetooth with a Phone As Modem Service Plan to connect your PC to the Internet.

Downloadable Applications
Includes an on-device link to the Sprint PCS Software Store provided by Handango™. Customers can find, download and buy software, games, ringtones, graphics and other Windows Mobile Pocket PC applications simply and securely. Additional software titles are available from your desktop PC at http://softwarestore.sprint.com.

Built-in Speakerphone
Hands-free operation of your phone is made easy with the built-in speakerphone, allowing you to take a conference call virtually anywhere!

Stereo Headset
Stereo Headset jack for handsfree operation.

Dell, Inc is launching a whole new line of notebooks and desktop personal computers named “Vostro” which are aimed to market small business of 25 or less employees.

One great feature of the Vostro systems is that they will not be shipped with “trialware” to clutter up the machine. It will however be available with either Windows XP or Vista.

Dell has dedicated 6,500 employees to handle tech support just for Vostro customers.

Price ranges for the Vostro systems were $449 - $799 for notebooks (three notebooks ranging from 14 to 17 inches) and the desktop systems will start at around $319.

Here is a photo from Dell’s website to show you what the Vostro line looks like.

From the looks of my last few posts, you would have thought this was an iPhone blogging site. Sorry about that folks. Let’s get back into the groove with another subject shall we?

For those of us smart people who have stuck it out and waited for a price drop, this is our time to shine! Sony is dropping it’s price of it’s current 60 GB PlayStation 3 by $100 in the U.S.

PS3 still costs twice as much as the Nintendo Wii console which is around $250 at the current time.

To throw salt in the wounds of Sony, Microsoft is expected to respond by cutting for the first time, the price of the Xbox 360.

Sony is introducing a new version of the PS3 featuring an 80-gigabyte hard drive and a copy of “Motorstorm,” an off-road racing game that has already sold over a million copies. The new model will sell for $600 and is aimed at gamers who expect to download a lot of games and other content from Sony’s online network.