| T-Mobile Accused of Bait-and-Switch Tactic Posted: 09 Dec 2015 12:00 PM PST 
T-Mobile is in hot water again thanks to its "un-carrier" ad campaign, which promises to eliminate both service contracts and hidden fees. This campaign has helped T-Mobile propel past Sprint as the nation's third-largest wireless carrier. Now the company is under investigation thanks to its alleged misleading ads. According to USA Today, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is currently conducting an investigation regarding T-Mobile's promises. There's also a letter (PDF) fired off to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that accuses the wireless carrier of "deceptive marketing and abusive debt collection practices." The backlash is understandable. The company promises no service contracts, but doesn't advertise the fact that customers are locked into two-year loans for the hardware. While the customer can leave T-Mobile at any time, they're still obligated to either continue making the payments or pay the remainder in a lump sum. The complaint alleges that customers are usually left with a larger total than if they went through the typical two-year contract. "We stand by our ads!" says T-Mobile CEO John Legere regarding USA Today's article. "Contrary to the click-bait headline, we haven't been accused of false advertising by any regulatory body." The 12-page letter, spearheaded by Change to Win, a federation of labor unions, also accuses T-Mobile of "abusive" debt collection practices, which includes providing third-party debt collectors with "inaccurate information" and customers with little or no notice of the debt. "According to CtW's analysis, 70% of consumers faced with collection issues said that TMobile gave the third party debt collection agencies incorrect information. And 49% of consumers with collection issues reported little or no notice of the debt before it was referred to a collection agency," the letter states. The letter goes on to state that T-Mobile's use of an arbitration clause in its wireless contracts indicates that customers that are hurt by the alleged misleading ads will face barriers when seeking out compensation. Because customers don't typically read the fine print when signing contracts, they have no idea that there is an arbitration clause and therefore do not take advantage of the opt-out provision. The company's terms and conditions bans class actions. Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, told USA Today that the overall main concern is the bait-and-switch: customers are told one thing but are given something completely different. Robinson added that the group plans to circulate a petition on Tuesday to get the public to demand that the CFPB investigate the wireless carrier's practices. Is T-Mobile guilty of the bait-and-switch tactic? VIA: USA Today |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Asus ROG G751JY Gaming Laptop, Toshiba 2TB HDD, and More! Posted: 09 Dec 2015 11:05 AM PST |
| EVGA Gives GeForce GTX 970 the Hybrid Cooling Treatment Posted: 09 Dec 2015 10:56 AM PST Best of both worlds  You can count on EVGA to offer several SKUs and cooling options for most models of graphics cards. Case in point, it's now offering a "Hybrid Gaming" version of the GeForce GTX 970, which brings the total number of GTX 970 graphics cards in its lineup to one shy of a dozen. What's different about the Hybrid Gaming version is it adds an all-in-one liquid cooling setup. It's a self-contained water cooler with a 120mm radiator and fan that needs to be mounted to your case. There's no filling for maintenance required, as the tubing is already connected. Just plug the card in like any other, mount the cooler to a 120mm fan slot, and you're good to go. EVGA took the liberty of goosing the base and boost clockspeeds to 1,140MHz and 1,279MHz, respectively, on the GeForce GTX 970 Hybrid Gaming. A reference card comes clocked at 1,050MHz (base) / 1,178MHz (boost). We suspect there's probably headroom to push things even further, though as always when overclocking, your mileage will vary. One thing that should work in your favor is lower temps -- according to EVGA, its GTX 970 Hybrid would run just shy of 50C in situations where where a standard GTX 970 would ramp up to nearly 90C. That's a significant difference, assuming the claim is true. The additional cooling doesn't come free. EVGA set the MSRP for the GeForce GTX 970 Hybrid Gaming at $400, making it the most expensive GTX 970 card in its lineup. It's a tough sell next to custom air-cooled cards that are easily found for $320 ($300 after mail-in-rebate) on Newegg. Nevertheless, if the hybrid cooling solution is what you're after, the card is available now direct from EVGA. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Microsoft's Cortana App Heads to Android and iOS Devices Posted: 09 Dec 2015 10:27 AM PST Crossing the border  Microsoft today announced that its Cortana digital assistant is now officially available for select iPhone and Android devices, including some that are running Cyangon OS. This is an important step for Microsoft, which is making its services available on multiple platforms. It's especially important in mobile where Microsoft's share of the market is a drop in the bucket compared to Android and iOS, which together account for around 9 out of every 10 smartphone devices. "Cortana was created to be a truly personal digital assistant – available on the go, no matter where or when you need help, and on whatever device you carry. That's why it's important to us that we bring Cortana to not only the Windows 10 ecosystem, but to other platforms," Microsoft stated in a blog post. Like Siri and Google Now, Cortana allows users to perform voice activated functions and helps with various tasks, like setting reminders and looking up the weather. As for what can be done through Cortana on Android and iOS, Microsoft highlights the following features: - Reminders that Travel with You:Set a location-based reminder on one device and have it pop up on your smartphone when you arrive at the location. This time of year means keeping track of holiday gift lists and to-dos. You can set a reminder on your PC to pick up a bottle of wine the next time you are near the grocery store and Cortana will remind you on your phone the next time you are at that location.
- Never Miss a Phone Call: In a meeting and can't answer your phone? With the Cortana app, get a missed call alert on your Windows 10 PC and let Cortana send a text back letting them know you'll call them later – all without leaving your PC.
- Convenient Tracking:This holiday season, you'll be able to track flights, packages and more using Cortana on both your phone and your PC, and get the updates on the device that you're on so you don't miss a thing.
Cortana can also do things like look up information on the web and offer suggestions, though some of the features you might be used to doing on Windows Phones aren't available in Android and iOS. For example, Cortana can't open apps or toggle settings on Android and iOS devices. In many cases, users aren't able to wake the digital assistant up by saying "Hey Cortana," though it does work in the Android app store version if the user is in the Cortana app or in the Android home screen. These aren't arbitrary limitations, but ones imposed by not having deeper access to the OS on competing platforms. That said, things are a little more flexible with Cyanogen OS. "As a result of our close partnership with Cyanogen, we created a more integrated experience to enable Cortana's voice activation 'Hey Cortana' on Cyanogen devices so you can call on her while on any screen or when you're immersed in an app," Microsoft explains. "The custom integration includes the ability to ask Cortana to toggle network modes, power down your phone, and turn on Quiet Mode amongst other features. With Quiet Mode enabled, all notifications, calls and alarms will be silenced." Microsoft has found an ally in Cyanogen and plans to leverage that relationship by adding more features and functionality in the future. You can grab Cortana for iPhones here and for Android devices here. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Cougar Launches Attack X3 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Posted: 09 Dec 2015 09:42 AM PST Choose your Cherry MX key switch  It wasn't too terribly long ago when the field of mechanical keyboards was pretty sparse. Not anymore. There are lots of options out there, the newest of which is the Attack X3 from Cougar. Cougar says the Attack X3 will appeal to "purist gamers," ones who want a high-quality mechanical plank that's both durable and elegant. To deliver those traits, Cougar gave the Attack X3 a brushed aluminum frame around a set of original Cherry MX key switches. Buyers can choose between Cherry MX Blue, Brown, Red, and Black key switches, each of which offers a different tactile and audible response. I tend to prefer Cherry MX Blue switches for its punchy response and audible clicks, though there are definitely quieter options available (see here for a basic primer on the different Cherry MX key switches). The Attack X3 covers the essentials, like a 1,000Hz polling rate (1ms response time) and N-Key rollover in USB mode. It also has dedicated media keys, full-key backlighting with five steps of brightness, 10 programmable keys, and onboard memory to store up to three profiles inside the keyboard. The benefit of doing that is you can bring the keyboard to a LAN party or switch PCs and still have access to your profiles. Cougar says the Attack X3 will debut in Europe this month followed by a U.S. release in the first quarter of next year. it will run $120 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Google Now Shipping Pixel C Tablet, Keyboards Posted: 09 Dec 2015 06:01 AM PST 
Google announced on Tuesday that its Pixel C (Convertible) tablet is now available on Google Play. This model made its debut two months ago, a tablet that was built from the ground up by the same team that's responsible for the Chromebook Pixel laptops. That means no third-party manufacturers were involved in the design process. Taking a stab at the Microsoft Surface, Google says that Pixel C is more than a tablet. The device consists of a 10.2-inch LTPS screen with a native resolution of 2560x1800 (308 PPI), 500 nits, an sRGB color gamut, and a 1500:1 contrast ratio. Backing this high-quality screen is an anodized aluminum chassis playing host to a Nvidia Tegra X1 SoC and 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM. But that's not all. The tablet comes packed with either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, an 8MP camera on the back, and a 2MP camera on the front. The audio is handled by two stereo speakers while the connectivity includes dual-band Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.1 + HS. There are also six sensors and two ports: one USB Type-C and one 3.5mm audio jack. Google says that one of the big selling points is the full-size keyboard, which is sold separately. The peripheral attaches to the tablet "seamlessly" using magnets and Bluetooth. When the makeshift ultra-thin laptop is "closed," the keyboard charges automatically and wirelessly. If the user doesn't need the keyboard, it can be secured behind the tablet with magnets. "This is the first tablet designed with Android 6.0, Marshmallow in mind. You get added security benefits, smarter and longer battery life (10+ hours) and Now on Tap at your fingertips," the company states. Google will supposedly update the operating system every six weeks, similar to what it does for Chrome OS devices. As for pricing, the 32GB model costs $500 and the 64GB model costs $600. If you want the Pixel C keyboard, that will cost an extra $150. This keyboard allows the screen to be angled between 100 and 135 degrees, and is nearly the size of a full keyboard. Although it covers the screen when closed, preventing scratches, there's also a Folio Keyboard for the same price that has a nice full-grain leather exterior. Like the Pixel Chromebook, the Pixel C is a premium product, an example of how a Google-made tablet should be at a reasonable price. And thanks to the Tegra chip, the tablet likely performs extremely well. However, given Android's limitations, it may not be able to stand up against the latest Microsoft Surface tablet productivity-wise. |
