HTC Thunderbolt (Verizon Wireless)

The first 4G LTE cell phone for Verizon Wireless, the HTC Thunderbolt, lands with a bang, scorching the landscape and sending mere 3G phones fleeing for cover. This is the fastest Internet phone ever, and it wins our Editors’ Choice for the top touch-screen smartphone on Verizon Wireless. But that scorching speed has a price: it burns up the phone’s battery, so you’ll need to bring a spare.
The HTC Thunderbolt looks and feels huge. It’s classy looking, though, in all-gray with a glass front and a soft-touch back.
There’s a small 1.3-megapixel camera next to the earpiece, and a larger 8-megapixel shooter on the back, along with a kickstand, so you can prop the phone up on a table or a desk. The 4.3-inch, 800-by-480 screen looks unusually rich. But at 6.4 ounces, the Thunderbolt will weigh down any pocket, and at 4.8 by 2.6 by 0.5 inches (HWD), it won’t fit in some of them. That’s the price you pay for being an early LTE adopter.

LTE Internet Access and Speeds
Let’s get to the most important thing first: this smartphone has the fastest Internet access, ever. It sets the Web on fire.

Verizon’s LTE network currently runs in about 40 metro areas, give or take a few, and it’s constantly expanding. The carrier doesn’t charge extra for LTE: the $30/month smartphone data plan costs the same as a 3G data plan does. And for now, you get unlimited data. An extra $20/month buys you 2GB of data for a laptop or other device to use via USB or Wi-Fi tethering. The phone’s hotspot mode supports eight devices rather than the usual five (the faster to use up your 2GB allotment with.)

Phone Performance and Battery Life
Hey, remember all those AT&T ads where they complained you can’t talk and surf at the same time on Verizon? No longer. The Thunderbolt allows simultaneous talking and Internet access on both 3G and 4G networks. I tried it, and it worked well.

As a voice phone, the Thunderbolt is just fine. RF reception is on the good side of average. Voice quality is strong; the earpiece is loud and there’s an unusual amount of side-tone, the reflection of your own voice in your ear that prevents you from yelling. I like that, because it makes you talk more quietly into the phone and should help make Thunderbolt users more socially acceptable in public places. The speakerphone isn’t very loud, but it’s just loud enough to be usable outdoors. Voices transmitted through the mic are totally intelligible but sound a bit computerized; the speakerphone lets through a bit more background noise than I’d like, but it isn’t awful. The phone paired easily with my Aliph Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset ($129, 4.5 stars) and activated the voice dialing system.

Battery life here is an interesting issue. On 3G, it’s great. I got nearly eight hours of talk time on the surprisingly small 1400 mAh battery. In another test, I watched a local video file with the phone connected to the LTE network, but not downloading. I got about six hours of video playback.

Heavy LTE use, on the other hand, totally nukes the battery. I tapped out the battery in only two hours and 20 minutes of LTE streaming using Bitbop and YouTube. If you intend to do a lot of 4G surfing, you’ll have trouble lasting a day. Since there’s no way to turn off 4G, use Wi-Fi when you can to save battery life.

Another option is to buy a second battery. Verizon offers a second standard battery for $39.99 and a gigantic 2750 mAh “extended” battery for $49.99. Two batteries, or one extended battery, would probably give this phone a full day of life.

Processor, Android and Apps
The Thunderbolt runs on a 1GHz, second-generation Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon processor and runs Android 2.2 with HTC’s attractive Sense overlay. On our benchmarks, it performed as well as any high-end smartphone that doesn’t have Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 chipset. Unless you’re an avid gamer, there’s no reason to skip this and wait for a for Tegra 2.

HTC and Verizon have baked a ton of extra software into this phone. Much of it is bloatware, stubs for apps that charge you every month. Verizon has actually taken bloatware to a new level, installing an entire alternative app store called “V Cast Apps” that is sluggish and ugly, but has one big advantage: you can charge app purchases to your phone bill. Of course, you also have access to the 100,000-plus apps in the standard Android Market, along with whatever you sideload from other sources.
Verizon LTE Family
Here are three of the new Verizon LTE phones next to each other: the unnamed Samsung phone, the Motorola Droid Bionic and the HTC Thunderbolt.

AmazonWireless $174.99

Warner Bros. Starts renting movies via Facebook

Warner Bros. will now offer movies for rent on Facebook, starting with Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and will reportedly roll out more films in the coming months.

“The Dark Knight” will rent for $3 or 30 Facebook credits, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Viewers who rent the film will be given 48 hours to watch it and still have full Facebook functionality. The 2008 film starring Christian Bale as Batman is considered a test for the Hollywood studio — and its first attempt at direct-to-Facebook rentals.

“Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people,” Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, told THR. “Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world’s largest social network.”

If the rental is a success, Warner Bros. plans on rolling out other titles along with direct movie sales on Facebook.

It makes sense that the next step for Facebook is actual goods — it’s already done well with virtual ones. While I’m not sure a three-year-old movie is the best choice for a test market on Facebook, at least it signifies a change in how movie studios and social media will do business.

Source: Warner Bros. to Start Facebook Movie Rentals? | NBC San Diego

ROCK OUT (with me)!

Keenan Cahill YouTube sensation!

15-year-old Chicago native Keenan Cahill has come to after becoming an Internet sensation through his YouTube channel that features videos of the teen mouthing the words to the top hits.

“I started three years ago, when I got my Mac with a webcam in it,” Cahill, who is a sophomore in high school, told ABCNews.com. “I did it to put myself out there and to see what would happen and where it would go.”

Where it has gone is viral. Cahill’s YouTube channel boasts nearly 200,000 subscribers and has been viewed tens of millions of times. The teen has even appeared on E!’s program “Chelsea Lately” and his taping of 50 Cent’s new song “Down on Me” featured a cameo of none other than the famed rapper himself.

“It was a total surprise,” said Cahill of 50 Cent’s drop-in. “Now this is what I’m known for.”

Cahill is also know for a rare genetic disorder that affects the way he looks.

He credits his rise to stardom to pop singer Katy Perry, whose song “Teenage Dream” he featured on his site. Few people had seen the video before Perry herself tweeted, “I heart you” to the teen’s Twitter handle in September.

“The numbers started boosting up and up and up,” Cahill said.

The video has been viewed more than 18 million times since its Aug. 28 posting. His most recent recording, a lip-sync performance of Will Smith’s daughter Willow’s hit “Whip My Hair,” was viewed more than 200,000 times in one day.

But Cahill has garnered attention not only for his eccentric performances but also because of his unique appearance.

Cahill has a rare genetic disorder known as Maroteaux Lamy Syndrome, which in some cases, including this teen’s, results in individuals developing a dwarf-like appearance.
(By EMILY FRIEDMAN ABC NEWS)

Keenan Cahill’s YouTube channel

2011 SuperBowl XLV BEPs Half Time Show

The Black Eyed Peas performed at the Super Bowl halftime show and while the sound malfunctioned, the entertainment quality was amazing.

Black Eyed Peas

Fergie, Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, and Taboo came down on platforms from the ceiling. They started on a circular stage with “groupies” on the field who were in white light up jumpsuits. They did a medley of their most popular songs including I Got a Feeling, Boom, Boom, Pow, and Let’s Get it Started. They were joined by legendary guitarist Slash and by recording artist, Usher, for portions of the show.

Fergie & Slash

The Black Eyed Peas did not disappoint, if you can get over the over produced, robotic sound, and the fact that they shouldn’t have performed live (it’s one time people were begging for lipsynching!). Their round stage ended up being the “O” in the word “Love,” and the light up body suits looked cool in the dark stadium.

Will i Am

The whole point of the half time show is to break up the game and to provide entertainment. Apparently robotic voices and a slaying of Sweet Child of Mine (thanks, Fergie), is good enough for the Super Bowl. What did you think?

Homeboy Industries Launches New Products at Ralphs

Homeboy Chips N Salsa

Who knew a salsa could make such a difference?
Homeboy Industries, a non-profit founded by L.A. native Father Greg Boyle in an effort to address the the growing problems and of gang-involved youth, has had its hand in creating a safer Downtown neighborhood. Now Homeboy hopes that Ralphs customers will quite literally lend a hand by scooping some of their namesake chips into their first ever mass-produced line of salsas.

The non-profit for at-risk youths, Homeboy Industries, has been a successful endeavor in many ways for founder Father Gregory Boyle. But is it financially profitable? Not quite. After a difficult year for the 19-year-old organization, Boyle decided it was time to launch a food product that could be mass distributed and create additional revenue for the company. Perhaps Homeboy chips and salsa will do the trick. Sold in Ralphs markets throughout L.A. and Southern California, “the launch of the salsa is part of the turnaround effort to make Homeboy Industries financially sustainable,” says a company press release.
All proceeds will benefit Homeboy programs and Ralphs is donating an additional $50,000 to the organization. Recipes for the salsa, including flavors such as morita, mango, salsa verde, pico de gallo, and mole were created by chef Pati Zarate of Homegirl.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa approves the salsa

On Wednesday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was on hand to announce that Homeboy’s products, which have grown to include tortilla chips, would be expanding to 256 Ralphs locations across Southern California.

Profits from the sales of the salsa and chips will help support the organization. Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle said that “with each tub of salsa you buy, we’re offering these young people a sense of hope.”

“This is a happy story about young men and women who have had hurdles in their lives,” Villaraigosa said. He praised the employees at Homeboy, “who may have fallen down once or twice, but have gotten up and chosen to take another path.”

Packages of Homeboy Tortilla Strips feature the slogan, “Jobs Not Jails,” referring to the organization’s mission of deterring youth from gangs by providing job training and placement assistance, among other programs. Since opening in 1992, Homeboy Industries has been credited with rehabilitating 12,000 gang members in the L.A. area. Backdrops at the event also included another Homeboy slogan, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.”

Mural of Homeboy Industries

Two individuals spoke at the event describing the impact Homeboy Industries has had on their lives. Alicia Ruiz, 23, credited the organization with saving her from the streets, and providing her with work at the Homegirl Cafe and a certificate in culinary arts. After living half his life in prison, Kyle Shoaf, 31, said that something drew him into Homeboy’s headquarters, where he’s since become part of their leadership council. He kidded with Villaraigosa that he’d be aiming for his job next.

Ralphs customers will be able to choose from a variety of salsas like Morita, Mango, Salsa Verde, Pico de Gallo, and Mole, all inspired by recipes from Chef Pati Zarate of Homegirl Cafe.

In addition to being available at local Ralphs grocery stores, samples of Homeboy’s salsas and tortillas will be handed out around Los Angeles through the Homeboy Food Truck, which, of course, has a Twitter feed.
The organization has other new ventures in the works as well. It hopes to open an eatery at LAX, and this fall won a bid to operate the cafe on the second floor of City Hall. The eatery, to be called the Homeboy General Store, would offer breakfast and lunch as well as drinks and sundries.
Homeboy Industries on Twitter: http://twitter.com/homeboyind

HTC Launches 3 new 4g smartphones!!!!!

HTC Brings 4G Speed to the People

HTC EVO shift 4G™ at Sprint

Earlier this month, Sprint and HTC unveiled the new HTC EVO Shift 4G, a 4G phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The smash-hit HTC EVO 4G introduced the world to the possibilities of 4G, and with the introduction of the HTC EVO Shift 4G, Sprint and HTC have created the first true portfolio of 4G smartphones in the industry. With a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, compact size, and a price point of $149.99, the HTC EVO Shift 4G is a strong choice for mass-market smartphone users looking to explore the speed of 4G.

HTC ThunderBolt™ at Verizon

Unveiled also was, HTC ThunderBolt on Verizon is one of the world’s first LTE smartphones, spearheading Verizon Wireless’ push into the world of 4G. Embedded deeply within the HTC Sense experience is Skype connectivity, allowing people to connect to other Skype users from virtually anywhere, and between mobile devices and from mobile to PC. This connectivity makes HTC ThunderBolt the ultimate device to connect by both voice and video, enabling the more than 100 million active Skype users to connect across networks and devices. With a 4.3 inch screen, front and rear cameras, integrated DLNA support, Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon™ processor and the latest version of HTC Sense, the HTC ThunderBolt is a cutting edge multimedia powerhouse.

The HTC ThunderBolt delivers the speed of 4G LTE by combining HTC innovation with the power of a Qualcomm LTE chipset solution. “Qualcomm is providing chipsets that can switch seamlessly between 3G and the next generation LTE networks that are coming on line,” said Steve Mollenkopf,

executive vice president and group president, Qualcomm. “These multi-mode solutions are catalyzing the creation of advanced new devices – ones that truly unleash the power of mobile broadband and provide consumers a differentiated and unique experience. Our chipset roadmap enables innovative companies such as HTC to lead the charge, and we are very pleased to work with them.”

HTC Inspire 4G™ at at&t

Additionally, HTC is joining forces with AT&T to launch one of the first 4G smartphones on AT&T’s HSPA+ network, the HTC Inspire 4G. The HTC Inspire 4G is the first device in the US to enhance the HTC Sense experience with htcsense.com, an online service that extends the HTC Sense experience beyond the handset. This allows people to find a lost phone on a map, send a command to make the phone sound an alert – even while on “silent” mode, and if needed, remotely wipe all of the phone’s data with a single command. Along with 4G HSPA+ connectivity, the HTC Inspire 4G boasts an impressive list of features, including an 8 megapixel camera, Dolby and SRS surround sound, active noise cancellation and a sleek unibody design machined from a single block of aluminum.

The HTC EVO Shift 4G, HTC ThunderBolt and HTC Inspire 4G join the most diverse and exciting lineup of 4G devices on the market, while also strengthening HTC’s leadership in 4G device development and deployment.

Continuing to Build the HTC Brand

HTC is continuing to build awareness by kicking off the next phase of its brand building growth with a campaign evolution, which was unveiled for the first time at CES. This campaign focuses on how HTC puts people at the center of everything it does, and the HTC innovations that have been inspired by listening to consumers, and responding to their needs.

“At HTC, our long-standing focus has been to find new ways to make the mobile experience simpler for customers. We don’t believe in innovating for innovation’s sake, but rather to first gain a deep understanding of our customers to ensure that every HTC innovation creates a real customer benefit,” said John Wang, chief marketing officer for HTC Corporation. “This way of thinking about innovation is the inspiration behind the latest evolution of our brand advertising campaign.”

HTC launched its first global brand campaign at the end of 2009, with global brand awareness around 16 percent. Today, in the wake of HTC’s market success and brand campaign, HTC’s brand awareness is reaching 60 percent.

For additional information about HTC and these devices, please visit http://www.htc.com. You can also follow HTC on Facebook or on Twitter .

For Serious Android Users!

Best Android Security Apps for 2011

CLICK HERE

Android introduces various apps but here I arranged top 5 best android security apps. Because internet is full of virus alerts, phishing scams, worms and Trojans, but the threats have been slow to infect our phones. They can in principle (there are worms in jaibroken iPhones), but as of yet Android phones are not subject to attack. There have been some horror stories about the potential use of third party software for Android phones, but it is still a topic of much debate.

If you are android user, obviously you need android privacy applications.

This program monitors all applications and scans on a daily or weekly basis.

Must have android apps for 2011

Best Android Tethering Apps!