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<title>Haaze.com / neoopposition / Published News</title>
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<pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Verizon to start selling Pre 2 on Thursday]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-to-start-selling-pre-2-on-thursday</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-to-start-selling-pre-2-on-thursday</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>neoopposition</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-to-start-selling-pre-2-on-thursday</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Pre 2 (right) sits next to the Pre 3.(Credit:James Martin/CNET)Hewlett-Packard's Pre 2 is finally making its way to Verizon Wireless.The carrier announced today that the WebOS-based smartphone will be available in its stores and online starting Thursday.The Pre 2 is the first device available to consumers that runs WebOS 2.0, Verizon noted. The device comes with a 3.1-inch display, a slide-out keyboard, and a 5-megapixel camera. It supports Wi-Fi and can share its 3G connection with up to five other devices, thanks to its Mobile Hotspot capability. The smartphone's WebOS 2.0 integration means people will also be able to place Skype-to-Skype calls in the U.S. from the handset.HP's timing with the Pre 2 is a tad unfortunate, though. Last week, the company unveiled its plans in the mobile market, revealing the TouchPadtablet and two smartphones, the Veer and the Pre 3. As one might expect from the name, the latter is the successor to the Pre 2 and comes with a 3.6-inch multitouch display and a slide-out physical keyboard. It too will boast Mobile Hotspot functionality and offer video calling, thanks to its front-facing camera.On nearly every front, the Pre 3 seems to be a more attractive option for customers than the Pre 2. And considering that the Pre 3 is launching this summer, the Pre 2 might just be too little, too late from HP.Those interested in getting their hands on the Pre 2, however, can do so for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a two-year agreement.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Five air travel apps for the holiday weekend]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=five-air-travel-apps-for-the-holiday-weekend</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=five-air-travel-apps-for-the-holiday-weekend</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>neoopposition</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=five-air-travel-apps-for-the-holiday-weekend</guid>
<description><![CDATA[America will be on the move this Thanksgiving week as millions crowd airports, highways and trains in search of that tasty turkey or Tofurky meal. Though travel rarely stresses me, I know the prospect of braving the tired masses and the TSA pat-downs can be daunting. So to help you navigate from home to holiday, and complete your journey with as little pain as possible, I've pulled a few must-have smartphone apps. Being the aviation nut that I am I'll focus on air travel, but I'd love to hear your titles for braving the roads and rails. And please tell me about your favorite flying apps as well.FlightTrack(Credit:Screenshot by Kent German/CNET)FlightTrackWhether you're picking Mom up at LAX or flying to O'Hare as I am, a flight-tracker app is essential. There are quite a few options available in both the iTunes App Store and the Android Market, but FlightTrack by Mobiata is one of my favorites. You get a lot of information in a clean and easily digestible format and the maps are the best I've seen. Cheaper titles are available, but I think FlightTrack is worth the money.Before a flight departs you'll see the scheduled departure time and any delay information. And once a flight is in the air FlightTrack shows the airspeed, arrival gate, baggage carousel number, present altitude, a shortcut to the airline's phone number, and the local time and temperature of the departure and arrival cities. Availability:iPhone and AndroidPrice: $4.99Point InsideThough it's not devoted solely to air travel, Point Inside  is the perfect app during a long airport layover or when you're delayed. For most major airports around the country, and a selection in Europe and Asia, it shows maps of everything you'll need, including shops and restaurants, departure gates, baggage claim carousels, ticketing desks, airline lounges, and related services.Other airport map apps exist, but this is the most comprehensive title I've found, and I love its individually designed maps. Also, if you plan to shop on Black Friday, Point Inside includes maps of major shopping malls with all of the relevant shops, restaurants, and attractions.Availability: iPhone and AndroidPrice: FreeTripcase(Credit:Screenshot by Kent German/CNET)TripCaseIf you're trying to keep track of a flight, acar rental, a hotel booking, and a dinner reservation, TripCase can be a great tool. Developed by Sabre, it acts as a diary for all aspects of your itinerary. It can even store a meeting, an event (like a theater date), and plans to go sightseeing. The best thing about TripCase is that as your flight departure time nears, the app will display your airport gate and you'll receive push and e-mail notifications in case of a delay. That feature has saved me a lot of airport waiting on previous trips.Availability: iPhone and AndroidPrice: FreeFAA Airport StatusIf only Thanksgiving were in summer then we wouldn't have to worry about winter weather. But being as it is in late November, delays caused by snow and rain are a very real possibility in the northern half of the country. Though the above apps, and an airline's Web site, can keep you informed about a delay for your specific flight, this app shows you the real conditions affecting many major airports. For example, when I looked at San Francisco International Airport on Monday night, it showed me that all flights destined for Seattle wouldn't be allowed to depart until after 6:30pm. You also get a weather map of the 48 states.Availability: iPhone onlyPrice: FreeKayak(Credit:Screenshot by Kent German/CNET)KayakIf you still haven't made travel plans for turkey day, I wish you all the luck in the world. You'll have to open that wallet pretty wide and be flexible about your schedule, but there are a few apps that can help you on your way. Kayak is a top Web site for finding great fares, and you can get all that functionality on the go.You can search for flights, hotels and rentals cars' book your desired ticket' research luggage fees' organize your itinerary' and track flight status. You can get an ad-supported version for free or you can ditch the ads by shelling out just 99 cents for the Pro version (the features are the same).Availability: iPhone and Android, but Pro version is only on the iPhonePrice: Free to 99 cents<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Xbox used for games only 60 percent of the time]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=xbox-used-for-games-only-60-percent-of-the-time</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=xbox-used-for-games-only-60-percent-of-the-time</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>neoopposition</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=xbox-used-for-games-only-60-percent-of-the-time</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft'sXbox 360 is very clearly a gaming device, but as it turns out, a growing chunk of users are spending time using it for other things.Speaking to attendees of BMO Capital Markets Digital Entertainment Conference in New York, Dennis Durkin, corporate vice president and chief operating and financial officer of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, said that 40 percent of Xbox Live members in the U.S. are spending their time on the console on non-gaming activities. That includes things like watching streaming movies on Netflix, listening to music content on theZune and Last.fm apps, and eyeballing friends on Twitter and Facebook.&quot;What we found is the core gamer might be the person who brought the console into the house, but as you widen the choices of content, it broadens what people can do with the system,&quot; Durkin said.According to Durkin, those same members are also spending an average of three hours online, per day.Microsoft currently has some 25 million Xbox Live subscribers, half of which pay for the premium version of the service, which can be paid for in monthly allotments, or by the year. Microsoft also recently increased the cost of the paid service for the first time since its inception by 20 percent, for what was quoted by Xbox Live's marketing senior director Craig Davison to be tied to increasing costs for infrastructure and securing content. Xbox Live wasn't the only focus of Durkin's presentation though' he also talked up the Xbox's Kinect motion sensor accessory, which hit shelves last week. Durkin did not go into specifics on sales numbers, but did say that the company has seen considerable demand. &quot;Everything we've been shipping has been selling,&quot; he said. Citing reports by retailers like GameStop and Toys &quot;R&quot; Us, Durkin noted that the standalone Kinect accessory has also been sold out at most retailers, unlike the version which ships as part of a console bundle.Durkin also hinted at some of the advertising opportunities the Kinect opens up for Microsoft and its Xbox Live platform--particularly in getting a better breakdown of who is using the console. &quot;It's hard to track though with a controller-based system,&quot; Durkin said. &quot;Kinect brings a really interesting opportunity as it relates to that. Obviously with Kinect, it has facial recognition, so we can cater what content we present based on who you are.&quot;Durkin then offered up a situation where someone in a mixed household comes to use the system and gets a different set of Marketplace content presented to them, with different ads. The same technique could be used to serve up advertisements aimed at groups, when the Kinect could tell that you were in a room full of people, Durkin said. &quot;Those are the kinds of things we can do when you add the sensor to the equation. There's a bunch of experiences in that.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PayNearMe goes mobile, lands $16M to enable online payments with cash]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paynearme-goes-mobile-lands-16m-to-enable-online-payments-with-cash</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paynearme-goes-mobile-lands-16m-to-enable-online-payments-with-cash</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>neoopposition</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paynearme-goes-mobile-lands-16m-to-enable-online-payments-with-cash</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Cash payment service PayNearMe, formerly known as Kwedit, announced today that it has grabbed another $16 million in funding and is launching a new mobile payment option.Directed at consumers who don&amp;'t have access to credit cards, PayNearMe lets users pay cash for online goods and services. PayNearMe&amp;'s new mobile option lets you make online purchases simply by providing your phone number to an e-retailer.After submitting your phone number, you just need to grab a PayNearMe card from a 7-Eleven store, and reply to a text message sent by the service with the card&amp;'s unique identification number. Then you just hand the card to a 7-Eleven cashier and pay for the amount owed with cash.The company says it will be using its funding to add new retailer payment locations as well as new services. PayNearMe also announced that Mark Britto, CEO of mobile payment company Boku, will join its board of directors.The company&amp;'s Kwedit Promise service is also still running. It allows consumers to receive digital goods with a promise to pay for them later with cash at 7 Eleven stores, by mailing cash, or by asking  friends or relatives to pay for them.Just as it was when we initially covered Kwedit, paying cash for virtual services still seems like a compelling choice for many consumers. The company says that over 50 percent of adults in the U.S. would rather pay for purchases using cash, and over a quarter of households don&amp;'t have access to credit cards or bank accounts (which gives you access to debit cards).PayNearMe is based in Mountain View, Calif. The funding round was led by Khosla Ventures, and saw participation from new investor August Capital and current investors True Ventures and Maveron. The company previously raised $6.3 million in funding.Next Story: The many definitions of a VCa4a4s &amp;''no&amp;'' a4&quot; Part One Previous Story: God comes to the smartphone: Bible app YouVersion grabs 10M usersPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: cash, online goods, payments, PayNearMe CardCompanies: Kwedit, PayNearMe          Tags: cash, online goods, payments, PayNearMe CardCompanies: Kwedit, PayNearMeDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Twitter Testing A New &''People&'' Tab: All Your Social Graph Steroids In One&nbsp'Place]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-testing-a-new-8220people8221-tab-all-your-social-graph-steroids-in-onenbspplace</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-testing-a-new-8220people8221-tab-all-your-social-graph-steroids-in-onenbspplace</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>neoopposition</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-testing-a-new-8220people8221-tab-all-your-social-graph-steroids-in-onenbspplace</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Since the launch of New Twitter in September, things have been pretty quiet on the new feature front. Yes, they&amp;'re testing out a new analytics product, but in terms of features that the majority of end users will use, Twitter has mainly been letting people get used to the new layout of things. But now they&amp;'ve started testing something new. A new top nav tab called &amp;''People&amp;''.The area, which Twitter has confirmed their testing among a limited number of users, is basically a way to pull together all of the work they&amp;'ve done with features like &amp;''Who to follow&amp;'' and &amp;''Similar to&amp;''. This new area, which resides to the right of the Messages tab, is all about finding new users to follow.The initial tab on this new page shows you personalized follow suggestions based on who you are already following. This is the same as the &amp;''Who to follow&amp;'' area in the right pane of New Twitter, but it&amp;'s expanded to show more accounts at once (the &amp;''view all&amp;'' link on Who to follow on the main page takes you here as well). And not only can you follow these people, from here you can add them to lists (very nice just in case you don&amp;'t necessarily want to follow all of these people but are interested in seeing their updates sometimes).The next tab is a &amp;''Browse Interests&amp;'' one that is essentially the suggested user list broken down into 20 or so categories like Books, News, Politics, and Technology. The idea here is obviously to pick something you&amp;'re interested in and follow the accounts that Twitter considers to be the most interesting about those topics. This is the same area that new users see when they&amp;'re going through the onboarding experience.The third tab in the People area is for Finding friends via Gmail, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Messenger. This is fairly standard, and basically the same as it has been for some time. But you&amp;'ll note that Facebook is nowhere to be found. There&amp;'s a reason for that.Like New Twitter itself, the People area also features a right pane with other information. Here you&amp;'ll find a pretty cool new feature that shows you who you have recently followed and if you click on their icon, below them are two users that are similar to that user, who you can also follow with the click of a button.You can also invite friends to join Twitter from this side pane, and Twitter recommends related services like Listorious and WeFollow that help you find new users to follow on Twitter.Again, all of these things have existed in some form or another on Twitter before, but now Twitter is testing adding them all in one area front and center in the main top nav. And that makes sense, each of these tools are great for pumping up Twitter&amp;'s social graph and making the service more interesting to users.Update: Others who are reporting seeing the new area note that it&amp;'s called &amp;''Who To Follow&amp;'' or &amp;''Directory&amp;'' in their nav. It looks like Twitter is testing out a bunch of different names. It&amp;'s worth noting that the URL is &amp;''who_to_follow&amp;''. Update 2: And Twitter notes that the area is actually available now to all users now here a4&quot; but the nav is in testing.CrunchBase InformationTwitterInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[FCC chair: Wireless spectrum crunch is a vital economic issue for U.S.]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-chair-wireless-spectrum-crunch-is-a-vital-economic-issue-for-u-s-</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-chair-wireless-spectrum-crunch-is-a-vital-economic-issue-for-u-s-</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>neoopposition</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-chair-wireless-spectrum-crunch-is-a-vital-economic-issue-for-u-s-</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski returned to the Consumer Electronics Show this year to discuss the growing importance of wireless spectrum to the US economy.&amp;''We have to move, and we have to move faster than our global competitors,&amp;'' Genachowski said in reference to the improving wireless network technology. He said that even though US carriers may have a head start on other countries in deploying 4G networks, that lead won&amp;'t last forever without continued innovation.Thanks to massive growth in the popularity of mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets and other connected devices, we&amp;'re quickly using up our limited amount of wireless spectrum.  Unleashing more spectrum and fixing America&amp;'s outdated spectrum policies are among Genachowski&amp;'s goals for the next year.&amp;''Though we can&amp;'t see it, spectrum is becoming increasingly essential to the daily lives of almost every American. This invisible infrastructure is the backbone of a growing percentage of our economy and our lives,&amp;'' Genachowski said. He added that the looming spectrum crunch &amp;''threatens American leadership in mobile and the benefits it can deliver to our economy and our lives.&amp;''Last year at CES, Genachowski also discussed wireless spectrum and what it means for universal broadband in America  &amp;8212' but we found him to be vague on actual goals. This time around, it&amp;'s clear that both Genachowski and the FCC have a plan.In March, the agency announced its long-awaited National Broadband Plan, which details what needs to be done to expand broadband access to all Americans. The FCC also voted to open up empty broadcast TV spectrum to help bring about a next-generation wireless broadband technology it&amp;'s calling &amp;''Super WiFi.&amp;''Genachowski also reiterated that the agency is working on voluntary incentives for broadcasters to auction off their wireless spectrum, something we first caught wind of early last year.Next Story: Groupon will become the Sarah Palin of tech, and other predictions for 2011 Previous Story: Multimedia search startup Qwiki raising $8MPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: CES, CES 2011, National Broadband PlanCompanies: FCCPeople: Julius Genachowski          Tags: CES, CES 2011, National Broadband PlanCompanies: FCCPeople: Julius GenachowskiDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Toyota, Tesla give China&'s rare earths the electric car snub]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=toyota-tesla-give-chinarsquos-rare-earths-the-electric-car-snub</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=toyota-tesla-give-chinarsquos-rare-earths-the-electric-car-snub</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>neoopposition</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=toyota-tesla-give-chinarsquos-rare-earths-the-electric-car-snub</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Looks like one company has had enough of the rare earth shortages.Toyota is in the advanced stages of creating a hybrid car &amp;''induction motor&amp;'' that doesn&amp;'t use rare earths, Bloomberg reported today. Rare-earth minerals are used in a number of clean technologies and consumer electronics. They can be found in magnets that power electric cars and hybrids like Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, as well as cell phones, wind turbines and hard drives.Toyota&amp;'s move feels reminiscent of electric car makers saying &amp;''booyah&amp;'' to oil. It also shows that at least one major automaker is bearish on the prospect of the rare earth shortages lessening any time soon.The article also notes that Toyota&amp;'s electric RAV4 (pictured), which it paid Tesla $60 million to helpdevelop, will use a special Tesla induction motor that is rare earths-free. The motor is similar to the(also rare earths-free) technology in Tesla&amp;'s all-electric Roadster sports car and 2012 Model S sedan.It&amp;'s an interesting tactic. And, if it works, it could put Toyota &amp;8212' and Tesla &amp;8212' ahead of the curve if rare earth prices soar out of control. It also shows that at least one major automaker is actively preparing a contingency plan to keep supply of its green cars stable should things rare earths shortages get worse.In case you&amp;'ve been living under a rock, there&amp;'s been a lot of hubbub about rare earths lately. Namely that they&amp;'ve become &amp;8212' well &amp;8230'really rare.Rare earths are important materials that are mostly controlled byChina, where over 90 percent of the world&amp;'s rare earths are mined.So the global business community didn&amp;'t react well to China&amp;'s announcement that it wants to reduceexports by about 75 percent.The rare earths shortage, which has been brewing for severalmonths now, has set off a lot of talk and speculation and sent U.S. rare earth miningcompany Molycorp&amp;'s stock soaring. It has affected a number of industries, such as the petroleum sector, where the shortage has resulted inincreasing costs for oil refineries.This isn&amp;'t the only cleantech trade brouhaha brewing between the U.S. and China. The U.S. also has plans to bring forth a case to the World Trade Organization &amp;8212' prompted by a complaint from the United Steelworkers Union &amp;8211'that China&amp;'s subsidies of its solar panel manufacturers violate free trade agreements. (Thosesubsidies have allowed Chinese companies to undercut the competition in pricing.)Perhaps Toyota&amp;'s move is all for the best. China hasn&amp;'t been shy about wielding its considerable power over rare earths supply. While it&amp;'s a small move in the grand scheme of all rare-earths-supplied products, Toyota&amp;'s move may well pave the way to reinvented products that wean consumers off a highly sought-after material mostly controlled by a burgeoning and sometimes-cantankerous global superpower. It almost reminds you of oil and electric cars.Previous Story: Venture capital legend Michael Moritz joins LinkedIn boardPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: electric cars, electric vehicles, Leaf, Prius, rare earths, VoltCompanies: Chevrolet, Molycorp, Nissan, Toyota          Tags: electric cars, electric vehicles, Leaf, Prius, rare earths, VoltCompanies: Chevrolet, Molycorp, Nissan, ToyotaIris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you  pronounce her last name).VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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