Disney renegotiating Starz deal, might pull movies from Netflix streaming

January 15 2010 by Nilay Patel in Contributors |Comments Off


Netflix Streaming

Looks like the movie studios are beginning to realize that Netflix is racing away with the streaming market, and things are starting to change fast: hot on the heels of Warner forcing Netflix to accept delayed DVD rentals in exchange for better streaming terms, Disney and Starz are reportedly renegotiating their deal, and blocking Netflix is one of the terms. Most new releases on Netflix right now are part of the StarzPlay package, and the studios don’t get a cut, since they’ve already sold those rights to Starz. As we all know, the studios aren’t big fans of not getting a cut, so what Disney is trying to do is block Netflix from dealing with Starz and force it to license streaming rights directly — not the end of the world and certainly not impossible, but a move that has the potential to disrupt service and raise prices. As of right now, things are status quo and no one’s talking on the record, but we’ve got the feeling there’s a shakeout coming — stay tuned.

Disney renegotiating Starz deal, might pull movies from Netflix streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T messes with plans in wake of Verizon’s moves, slashes unlimited voice pricing

January 15 2010 by Chris Ziegler in Contributors |Comments Off


Sprint’s talking about it, but AT&T’s straight-up doing something about Verizon’s plan adjustments this morning with a series of its own tweaks this afternoon. Starting Monday, January 18 (conveniently the same day that Verizon’s changes go live), unlimited talk will run $69.99 on individual plans, a nice little cut of $30 against the $99.99 the carrier charges today; family unlimited, meanwhile, comes in at $119.99. Unlimited talk and text costs another $20 on top of unlimited talk alone — no change from the current add-on pricing. Similarly, unlimited talk plus smartphone data goes for $99.99, meaning that you’re paying $30 for the data package — exactly the same as you’re paying now, so really, this all boils down to a big adjustment in what carriers across the board are charging for voice. The principles of Econ 101 have us believe that voice isn’t as popular as it used to be — we are now sending billions upon billions of texts, after all — and as we ease off the voice infrastructure, it makes sense that these guys would want to upsell everyone into unlimited plans (remember that we’re living in an “all you can eat” kind of nation) while still banking big on precious kilobytes and characters. Well played, AT&T; you too, Verizon. Well played, indeed.

AT&T messes with plans in wake of Verizon’s moves, slashes unlimited voice pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Mini NB305 review

January 15 2010 by Joanna Stern in Contributors |Comments Off


If there’s been a Renaissance man in the world of first-gen netbooks it’d be the Toshiba Mini NB205. Its long battery life, comfortable keyboard and attractive and sturdy build distinguished it from the others, even when it made a late entrance to the little laptop market last year. Like most manufacturers, Tosh has gone and refreshed its knockout netbook with Intel’s Atom Pine Trail platform and slightly altered the design. But has the competition caught up to the $399 Mini NB305? Or does the Mini NB305 still hold a place in our hearts as the most versatile netbook out there? Find out after the break in our full review.

Gallery: Toshiba Mini NB305 review gallery

Continue reading Toshiba Mini NB305 review

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Toshiba Mini NB305 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Show tapes tomorrow with Erick Tseng of Google, our CES wrap-up… and we’re giving away a Nexus One!

January 15 2010 by Joshua Topolsky in Contributors |Comments Off


If you caught our coverage during CES 2010 (and you better have!), then you probably saw our quick sit-down with Senior Product Manager for Android, Erick Tseng. We had such a good time chatting with him and had so many other questions, we thought having him on the Engadget Show made lots of sense! So, this Saturday, January 16th, Erick will join us live on-stage to answer all of our burning questions (and yours too — shout them out in comments). We’ll also be doing a wrap-up of all the gear we saw at CES during our editors roundtable, we’ll be flying the Parrot A.R. Drone live and in-person, and we’re giving away a bunch of stuff to audience members (including CES swag, limited edition Engadget t-shirts… and a Nexus One courtesy of Google)! Oh, and we’ll have more chiptune goodness from our friend Glomag. Don’t miss this one, it’s going to be crazy.

The Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are — as always — free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served… so get there early! Here’s all the info you need:

  • There is no admission fee — tickets are completely free
  • The event is all ages
  • Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM
  • You cannot collect tickets for friends or family — anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket
  • Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we’re full, we’re full
  • The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break)
  • The show length is around an hour

If you’re a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we’ll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com.

Subscribe to the Show:

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Continue reading The Engadget Show tapes tomorrow with Erick Tseng of Google, our CES wrap-up… and we’re giving away a Nexus One!

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The Engadget Show tapes tomorrow with Erick Tseng of Google, our CES wrap-up… and we’re giving away a Nexus One! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FIC outs Pineview-boasting SVE00 netbook

January 15 2010 by Laura June in Contributors |Comments Off


FIC’s just launched its new Pinetrail netbook, the FIC SVE600. This little guy (which measures 10.1-inches) isn’t exactly ground-breaking, but that Atom N450 is still new enough to spark a little interest, right? The SVE600 boasts the aforementioned 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a choice of an either up to 500GB HDD or an up to 32GB SSD, plus WiFi, BGN, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth WiMax, and HSDPA. You’ll also get your choice of either Windows 7 or Linux OSs. There’s no word on pricing yet, but we’ll let you know when we do. There’s another beauty shot after the break.

Continue reading FIC outs Pineview-boasting SVE00 netbook

FIC outs Pineview-boasting SVE00 netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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