Redbox dipping their toes into streaming/digital rentals?

So far, Redbox has kept itself completely in the physical realm, giving customers a great and cheap way to rent DVD’s. But even they realize they can’t be as senseless as BlockBuster and pretend a digital future isn’t quickly approaching. At least thats the goal of Redbox president, Mitch Lowe. According to him, the expansion to online markets is a given and one that is being taken seriously.

Fans of the drive-by rental process shouldn’t worry though. The basic physical DVD rental model that’s catapulted Redbox into popularity will remain for some time. Besides DVD’s, Lowe cites the upcoming release of Blu-ray titles as an extended run for physical sales while they get the digital stuff all worked out.

Either way, it’ll be nice to see some more competition in the online rental space. Especially since Netflix recently bent over for hollywood and accepted one of the most asinine agreements yet — you know, the 30-day physical-only rental period.

Any Redbox fans looking forward to digital ventures?

Dell M6500 sets out to conquer the laptop world with 32GB of RAM (and your wallet) in tow…

How much RAM does your work project need? How about 32GB of RAM…on a laptop! Yeah, even though 32GB of RAM all things considered, is a lot, it somehow doesn’t have the same luster it might have a year or two ago. Though in retro fashion, all of that new fangled geekery will cost you dearly at check-out time. Equipping a Dell M6500 workstation laptop with 32GB of RAM will cost your company a cool $9,300 when all is said and done.

Given that a good chunk of IT departments are down sizing and getting extra frugal, something tells me they’re not going to approve this “just ’cause”. Of course, we have to ask — What exactly would you need 32GB of RAM on a more straight-laced business laptop for anyway? Monster Excel spreadsheets…I think not. Here’s to fantasy, folks…

Mobistar of Belgium working on 60Mbps LTE test network. We want. We envy. We dream…

LTE is the only thing mobile broadband nuts can focus on. But with promised speeds of 25Mbps+, wouldn’t you? Unfortunately, here in the States we have to deal with a lot of landmass which inherently slows down major network upgrades to the point of being several years behind European markets. Though Verizon’s LTE network is rumored to be going live a tad earlier than expected near the end of this summer/early fall. Though that release would not be accompanies with any LTE smartphones initially — mobile broadband cards only for now.

But the fine folks over in Belgium have bigger and better fish to fry. The country’s second largest mobile provider, Mobistar, is testing a small network in the Evere-Diegem zone capable of speeds up to 60Mbps with latency all the way down to 18ms. Compare that to the more or less “standard” mobile network around the rest of the world which hits the pipes at 7.2Mbps down and 70ms latency. Clearly Belgium has some hot stuff in the making.

Currently, there hasn’t been any mention of when this LTE test network will be unleashed to the general public. Though there are a few tasty treats to hold over speed obsessed Belgian by way of a few incremental updates. Starting with 14.4Mbps by the end of this summer, expect speeds to climb to 28.8Mbps by years end. These updates will be rather painless with the majority of cell sites needing nothing more than a software update combined with a little TLC on backhaul lines. After that, they may or may not be another small update or two before the full force of 60Mbps LTE is let loose. Regardless, sitting here in the states with my super not speedy 7.2Mbps HSDPA leaves me yearning for relocation.

Any Belgian readers looking forward to late 2010/early 2011?

Droid X does: …not totally delete text message history/call logs.

It’s never a good thing to find out your beloved gadget has a nasty security hole, revealing some potentially embarrassing material that you’d rather stay locked deep down in secrecy than ‘splayed about for anyone and everyone to just stumble upon. But Droid X owners are finding that very concern playing out before their eyes. Turns out deleting call logs and text messages doesn’t really mean “delete” in the purist form. A simple trip into the contacts history log will instantly pull up a wealth of supposedly “deleted” items — in this case, deleted call logs and text messages.

It’s nothing to get too worked up over really. It’s something that is easily fixed via a small software update and honestly, often overlooked. Various security holes similar to the Droid X’s here have been seen numerous times over the last few years. Though one has to wonder, doesn’t anyone check for these things as much as these devices are flogged in the lab and as often as concerns like this surface? I’m just sayin’, you’d think it would be up there on the list of things to double/triple check for. Video of said security flaw inside…

iPhone Jackpot Slot Dock ensures you can lose money from the comfort of your couch!

The iPhone Jackpot Slot Dock — Say that five times fast… — is probably the coolest iPhone accessory I’ve seen to date. Steering wheels and other handheld controller-cases of sorts are nifty, but this is so much better. On one hand, it’s a simple iPhone dock, charging your beloved gadget. On the other, it’s a not so covert gambling machine that will extract as much money as possible from your shallow pockets. Either way, it’s sweet. The hardware itself will set you back $39.99. Perhaps a bit steep for a simple phone accessory. However, the accompanying app that co-exists with the hardware is FREE! And from what I’ve seen, the app is fairly robust and full of hours upon hours of gaming entertainment. Just don’t blame me when you gamble away your 25th anniversary money with the apps online tourney mode.

[Product Page: New Potato Tech]

Hex-core i7 970 now available. Just like the 980x…but cheaper!

Cheaper prices for an Intel hex-core processor you say? Yes! Well — a little bit cheaper. It’s nothing to write home about at $899. (The 980x retails at $999, though market forces have pushed that up to between $1049-1199.) Still, saving a Benjamin or two on one of the speediest platforms money can buy is something to smile about. Not to mention, a little overclocking will make this beaut just as fast as the more expensive 980x on the cheap. (Relatively…) If you were holding off on a 980x because the $1k+ pricetag just wasn’t your thing, now’s your time to shine. Hit up Newegg and plop down your cash now. Anyone feeling like a mid-summer hardware upgrade….?

iPhone 4 signal woes got you down? Try the precision engineered iPhone Band Aid!

iPhone 4 signal issues be damned! While your grimy mits cause all sorts of attenuation issues with the iPhone 4, there are solutions. Apple has responded (rather grudgingly) to giving away free cases to iPhone 4 users. But what if you don’t like their cases? Buy another one. Finally, there’s a “buy your own fix” that doesn’t break the bank nor is it overpriced like pretty much every other $0.05 case out there — the iPhone Band Aid.

For $4.99 per pack of 6 multi-colored Band Aid’s, I find myself yet again asking: “Why didn’t I think of that?” Get yours now at Antenn-Aid.