The Geekcast

The Geekcast


The Geekcast #334 - Looper Review

January 09, 2013



News:


 


Walmart and Straight Talk Wireless Now Carrying iPhone 5



Walmart and Straight Talk Wireless are now carrying the iPhone 5, offering a $45 unlimited talk, text and data plan with no contract. It was previously reported by That’s It Guys. Straight Talk is a subsidiary of TracFone, and its iPhone customers will use AT&T’s network. There is no indication of whether the phones will support AT&T’s LTE network or not.



Like other prepaid plans such as Virgin Mobile, users must pay full price for their iPhones without having them subsidized by the carrier. Unlike Virgin Mobile, Walmart is offering holders of the Walmart credit card a no-interest fixed payment plan for $25/month. This allows customers to have a unlimited talk, text and data plan for a total of $70/month before taxes and fees.


 


Walmart and Straight Talk Wireless, America’s largest and top rated no-contract cell phone provider, today put the power back in the hands of customers with an industry game changing offer. Starting on January 11, 2013 in more than 2,000 Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com, customers now have access to the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 on Straight Talk’s $45 no contract unlimited talk, text and data plan. To make this offer even more affordable, Walmart will be offering customers who purchase the phone in the store, a no interest fixed-monthly payments special financing offer for only $25 a month with a Walmart Credit Card.


 


The Straight Talk wireless no contract plan, exclusive to Walmart, saves consumers on average $950 a year when they switch from conventional contract plans with similar unlimited plans. To learn more about how Straight Talk Wireless saves consumers $950 a year, please visit:www.straighttalk.com.


The iPhone 5 is available in black or white for $649 for the 16GB model only, and the iPhone 4 is available in black or white for $449 for the 8GB model.


 


http://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/08/walmart-and-straight-talk-wireless-now-carrying-iphone-5/


 


Prima Cinemas




PRIMA Cinema is a California-based company that can make you a Hollywood insider. PRIMA members can enjoy newly released films at home as soon as they’re released in theaters. All they have to do is download (not stream) the movie for $500 (apiece) from the PRIMA unit, which connects via HDMI. The company promises that PRIMA will deliver much higher quality than Blu-ray disks as well as top-notch sound in lossless PCM or Dolby TrueHD.



For security purposes, the unit even comes with a remote fingerprint reader, so that only the owner can play the movie. PRIMA also supports full HD and 3D films, with a particular focus on opening-weekend releases, and each device comes with 2TB of storage, which allows for 50 full-length films.


 


Todd Lokken, PRIMA’s senior vice president of marketing, says that private screening parties are popular among members. “Many of our clients hold their own ‘premiere’ parties, just like in Hollywood — but with a much smaller audience, obviously,†says Lokken. Red carpet not included.




I should note that it’s not cheap. At a cost of $35,000 for PRIMA alone, the unit is for the early adopters and the elite. And to think I was upset about Netflix jacking its price up a few dollars two years ago. On the bright side, no athlete wants to get caught in public sobbing to “Les Miserables.”


While PRIMA officials say that athletes and team owners have already purchased the system, they’re keeping the names under wraps out of respect for client privacy. Still, I have the perfect spokesperson in mind for the system — none other than former NFL receiver Terrell Owens, who already has his own built-in catchphrase: “PRIMA, get your popcorn ready!â€



Stay tuned daily as I spotlight more noteworthy gadgets from the CES show floor that sports fans and even pro franchises should watch.


 


http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tech/post/_/id/3582/prima-cinema-tricks-out-home-theaters


 


Vizio unveils 10-inch Tegra 4-based tablet

Vizio showed off an impressive 10-inch tablet that features the recently revealed Nvidia Tegra 4 quad-core processor at CES 2013. The Android 4.2 tablet also impresses with its super high-definition 2,560×1,600-pixel resolution.

The 10-inch Vizio tablet still lacks a proper name but is one of the first to house the ultra-fast Nvidia Tegra 4 CPU. Its fast processor and high resolution could compete with the Google Nexus 10, which sports an identical resolution to the Vizio tablet.



The engineering sample shown at CES 2013 was described as attractive, but Vizio has yet to announce pricing or availability so check back to CNET for updates on this Vizio 10-inch Tegra 4 tablet.


 


http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/vizio-10-inch-tegra/4505-3126_7-35567328.html


 


Netflix brings 3D, ‘Super HD’ video to some customers

The video streaming service adds a limited number of 3D movies to its library. The hitch? You can only access them if you’ve got an ISP that uses its Open Connect network.


After months of rumors, Netflix has finally announced a “Super HD” streaming option as well as a handful of 3D additions to its video library. Super HD is Netflix’s higher-quality version of its standard 1080p HD format.


But there’s a catch: Only Netflix customers who are signed up with ISPs that use Netflix’s Open Connect network will have access to both Super HD and the new 3D titles. Netflix debuted Open Connect in June, saying it could lower costs and improve content delivery.


“Leading-edge ISPs around the world such as Cablevision, Virgin Media, British Telecom, Telmex, Telus, TDC, GVT, among many others, are already participating in Open Connect to provide the highest-possible quality Netflix service to consumers,” Netflix Chief Reed Hastings said in a statement. “Our goal is to have all of our members served by Open Connect as soon as possible.”


The company announced the new streaming options at CES today in Las Vegas. The 3D videos, which are only available in the U.S., include “Immortals,” snowboarding documentary “The Art of Flight,” and a variety of titles from 3net Studios.

Netflix said subscribers can check here to find out if their ISP is part of Open Connect.


http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57562849-93/netflix-brings-3d-super-hd-video-to-some-customers/



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Geek This Week:



Aaron:  Doctor Who ringtone for my iPhone: the conversion to Whovian is complete. Getting ready to write more books!


 


Gozer: My House!!


 


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The Geek’s Choice:


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Featured Segment:  Looper movie review *** spoilers ***


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