Virgin Mobile Brings Pre-pay to Air Cards

Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM) today announced the launch of Broadband2Go, a 3G nationwide wireless Internet service without an annual contract, monthly subscription or activation fee.

Operating on the Sprint Nationwide Network and developed in conjunction with Novatel Wireless (NASDAQ: NVTL), the MC760 Broadband2Go device carries the distinction of being the world's smallest EV-DO Rev. A modem.

'Forget the long-term contracts, monthly bills or desperately seeking a local coffee shop for Wi-Fi. Prepaid mobile broadband is ideal for students, families on the go, freelancers, anyone who needs wireless Internet access...and wants to pay only when they use it,' said Bob Stohrer, CMO, Virgin Mobile USA. 'We've already demonstrated the benefit of no annual contracts and the ability to tailor spending to individual needs. Broadband2Go is another way to give consumers value, flexibility and convenience.'

Like Virgin Mobile USA's mobile phone service, activation is simple and megabytes can be added as often as needed with credit/debit cards or Virgin Mobile Top-Up cards. Top-Up cards can be used to purchase data usage from 100MB to 1 gigabyte on the pay-as-you-go model. A new Broadband2Go-branded Top-Up card for $20, which customers may use to purchase 250MB good for 30 days, translating roughly into 12 hours of web browsing. Other data plans are available at $10, $40 and $60, and any VMU Top-Up card can be used.

Virgin Mobile USA's Broadband2Go requires no activation fee and there are no roaming charges. Customers have a real-time usage meter to monitor and check 'Remaining Megabytes of Use' at any time. From the Broadband2Go My Account page, customers are provided with approximate estimates for how many hours of web-browsing, video-viewing and number of emails each plan will generally handle.

The package will be available exclusively at Best Buy Mobile starting in late June for $149.99, and is the first prepaid broadband product Best Buy Mobile is offering.

Capcom Mobile Launches KENKEN for iPhone

Capcom Mobile, a leading developer and publisher of mobile games, and NEXTOY today announced the launch of the hit puzzle game KENKEN on the Apple App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. KENKEN: Train Your Brain!, features stunning graphics, intuitive controls and 250 new puzzles to challenge puzzle masters and casual gamers alike.

KENKEN has become a certified phenomenon with more that 1.5 million puzzle books sold and regular puzzles appearing in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Detroit Free Press, Readers Digest and on NYTimes.com.

The brainchild of Japanese Math teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto and made famous by puzzle master Will Shortz, KENKEN requires simple arithmetic calculations and logic to decipher the ingenious puzzles. Translated as 'wisdom squared' in Japanese, KENKEN involves addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

With difficulty levels from beginner to advanced, KENKEN puzzles improve logical thinking, concentration and perseverance.

If you've never played KENKEN it is in the same category as Sudoku but with a different twist. You can try it out online here and see what you think, or you can watch a how to play video here.

KENKEN: Train Your Brain is available from iTunes for $4.99.

Self-Healing Plastic

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have developed a nanotechnology polymer that can 'heal' itself by filling in cracks and tears automatically. Although self-healing plastic is not an entirely new concept, the UIUC material is different because it can repair itself multiple times without any intervention.

The material could have important uses where making repairs is difficult, where materials are under enormous stress and/or where material failure would be catastrophic -- such as in implanted medical devices, airplane and spacecraft components, and microprocessors. The UIUC researchers emphasize, however, that practical applications are years away, and that initial products will be highly expensive.

Source: MIT Technology Review

Apple le gana a Samsung el puesto como primer fabricante de smartphones del mundo

Hoy Samsung bien puede lucir como la "Blancanieves" del mundo móvil: rodeada de fabricantes "enanos" que le acompañan y compiten en la aventura de Android, la coreana se ha visto "envenenada" por la manzana que desde Cupertino le arrebató el primer lugar como fabricante de teléfonos inteligentes en el mundo. Así es: Apple encabeza la lista por muy poco, con la venta de 37 millones de teléfonos en diciembre, mientras que Samsung tuvo que conformarse con el segundo lugar al lograr la nada despreciable cifra de 36,5 millones de equipos vendidos en el mismo período.

Así, con una mínima diferencia, Samsung mantiene su honor pero no el primer lugar que otrora le pertenecía. Sin embargo, la victoria de Apple aún no da para que la fabricante del iPhone 4S se acomode en el trono a descansar. Recordemos que cuando Samsung desplazó a Apple lo hizo con 27,8 millones de terminales vendidos frente a 17,1 millones de iPhone: diez millones de diferencia que pudieron ser derrotados.

A pesar de estos números, si no se considera el último trimestre de 2011 sino el año completo, Samsung sigue quedando de primero. Según la consultora Strategy Analytics, el envío de smartphones y otros dispositivos aumentó 14% este año y la tendencia se mantiene en ascenso, así que ahora es cuando nos quedan reyes ungidos y derrocados por conocer.

De este modo, las expectativas para el Mobile World Congress 2012 se crecen más y más: con rumores infinitos sobre lo que Apple podría presentar para competir con el resto de los fabricantes, los ojos del mundo se centran en el Galaxy Nexus como principal arma de Samsung y hasta en un incierto Galaxy S III.

Remote-Controlled Pigeons

Chinese scientists have reportedly been able to control a pigeon's flight remotely through electrodes that stimulated different parts of the bird's brain. Scientists at the Robot Engineering Technology Research Center at Shandong University were able to send the pigeon commands to fly left, right, up and down. It is reportedly the first such successful experiment in the world, and could have important implications for neurology and even remote mind control.

Source: MSNBC

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PocketPcLive/~3/xgcalpbEacA/windows-metro-ui-for-desktop.html

Now, you can setup an entirely personalized Windows Phone 7 theme. A  theme that could clutter a desktop looks great on a dual display, with the information in the middle and plenty of space for graphics on sides.

Britain Piloting First Biofueled Train

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group has embarked on yet another venture -- Virgin Trains, which seeks to replace traditional diesel trains with models run on biofuel.

Virgin Trains' pilot project will test a train running on 20% biological material (typically a type of vegetable oil) in Britain for six months. If the test is successful, Virgin Trains will use the 20% mix full-time, with an eye toward engines run purely on biofuel. Virgin Trains says that switching to biodiesel could cut emissions by 14%.

Source: MSNBC