Rachael Griffin

The new iPhone 3G has made headlines with a price $100 lower than the original 8GB model. A recent study by hardware analysts iSuppli estimates that the manufacturing cost for each phone is $173.00 (the original cost $280.82). Thus, the company ... makes a $26.00 profit on each handset. iSuppli offers two reasons why the profit margin is high, and why the price of the device has dropped by one third. First, mobile phone providers have always lost money on delivering handsets, but made them up via subscriber fees. The analyst firm ballparks Apple will get about $300 per unit from wireless ... (view more)

T-Mobile recently announced a new home phone plan that will eliminate the age-old attachment we have to landlines. The new T-Mobile@Home plan will use a wireless router to send and receive calls: "calls are transmitted from a handset to the Internet ... through the T-Mobile router; then, the call is completed through the use of voice-over-Internet-protocol technology." (Source: enews20.com ) Many cell-phone users prefer to retain their home phone and use their cells merely for convenience. Some also feel safer knowing that they have a fail-safe phone line at home, that won't have the problems of ... (view more)

In a strange but visionary move, the city of Philadelphia re-started a plan to offer free out-of-doors wireless access throughout the city. The project was initially planned for 2005, but stopped production last week after complaints of signal ... weaknesses. The original project, run by EarthLink, also suffered from "cost overruns, spotty coverage, rapidly rising expenses, and unenthusiastic acceptance by paying subscribers." At that time 6,000 of the city's 1.4 million citizens had registered for the service. (Source: wirelessphiladephia.org ) The current project consists of wireless ... (view more)

In the seemingly never-ending search for the smallest, lightest equipment, Toshiba has announced the release of its newest laptop the Portege R500-S5007V. According to the company's website, the new "lightest model" is based on a 1.72 pound notebook ... and boasts a 12.1 inch screen, 64 GB solid state drive (SSD) and 3 cell battery. If consumers opt for the "world's thinnest widescreen," at.77 inches, the notebook comes with an integrated DVD-SuperMulti drive. However, if you want the "world's lightest widescreen" you will have to live without the optical disk drive. (Source: toshibadirect.com ) ... (view more)

The arrival of the iPhone application store in July could signal big profits for the company in 2009. Analyst Gene Munster predicts that once the store is available to customers, 91% of the currently 85 million multi-touch handheld users (61.6 ... million iPhone users and 23.4 iPod touch users) "would at one time or another tap into the App Store during the course of a year." $1.2 billion is the total if each of the 85 million customers spent $15 during 2009 at the apps store The news from analyst Gene Munster is based upon his projected best case scenario for the company. (Source: ... (view more)

Well, it was going to happen eventually, but it seems that space tourism isn't really that far away after all. News agencies are reporting that Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently put a down payment on one such trip with an outfit called Space ... Adventures. BBC news reports that Brin paid a $5 million down payment to reserve his seat on a flight that will take him and one other passenger to the International Space Station in 2011. Said Brin, "I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space ... (view more)

Think regular old spyware is bad? How about government-inspired spyware? Most Americans probably forget the 'liberties' their government takes in intercepting phone and Internet traffic. Across the pond, Sweden is the latest European country whose ... national security worries have made spying on citizens the subject of a contentious bill. The government is debating implementation of a plan similar to an American surveillance program launched in 2001 that would facilitate the Ministry of Defense in 'combating terrorism'. The bill was originally introduced and rejected three years ago, but was ... (view more)

It has long frustrated me that I can't saunter into my local Starbucks, buy my favourite over-priced java, slide into an over-sized comfy chair, and browse the Internet. Well, actually, I could, but I would have to pay around $30/month to get it. ... For most Starbucks customers, myself included, the price of a coffee is high enough. Independent coffee shops have had a long tradition of offering free Internet access to customers. The logic is that, if you give them Internet, they are likely to stay longer and buy more. Plus, independent owners are often less the boardroom, bottom-line driven ... (view more)

When Vista experienced problems on takeoff, it resulted in a huge media debate that continues to this day. However, when Apple launches an update that experiences growing pains of its own, the media jabber is at an all time low. What gives? ... Proponents of the infallibility of Macs might be surprised to know that the new Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard update has a host of problems to combat. From simple issues like USB devises not showing up in the finder (Mac's version of My Computer) to ensuring that the airport wireless detector is reliable, the upgrade has a long list of small to large problems to ... (view more)