Windows Phone 7 Update Bricking Some Omnia 7 Devices.

As Microsoft starts preparing for a full on Windows Phone 7 upgrade, minor housekeeping has to get done first. With that said, today was the day that Microsoft (with the help of cellular carriers) began rolling out a small update to prepare handsets for the floodgate of 1′s and 0′s to come at a later date. The only problem — the update is causing issues for Omnia 7 users. Specifically, the update fails to load on the minor end of problems to a full on bricked device on the heavier side of the scale. Microsoft is already familiar with the issue at hand, and as such has released a a tip or two to help users get said phones back into a working state.

So what about these tips? Basically it’s nothing more than a battery pull with a hard reset being the last go-to fix. Any Omnia 7 readers experience a borked Windows Phone 7 update?

Sony’s Next Failure: The “Unhackable” PS3.

If Sony has their way, the next PS3 refresh will be “unhackable”, thanks to a larger included hard drive and a thus far undisclosed “anti-hacking system” — this according to IGN. It would be interesting to see how Sony plans to temporarily suspend PS3 hacking, but any hopes and claims to be able to permanently stop it just shows how utterly disconnected and incompetent Sony management really is. Piracy — yes, it’s bad. Throwing all your resources behind the endless game that you’ll never win — also bad. At some point Sony needs to realize that the tougher the DRM and “anti-piracy” measures become, the worse off general users will be. Because, in the end, the only people that will get around Sony’s anti-hacking antics are the dedicated hackers themselves.

Verizon Motorola XOOM Priced: $600 With 2-Year Contract.

$800 too much for a Motorola XOOM tablet? You’re in luck. Carrier subsidizing is here to save the day, albeit at the cost of 2 years of your mobile freedom. Nevertheless, Verizon has officially come forward with their Motorola XOOM pricing: $600 w/ a 2-year contract. Considering the power on tap and the sleek new Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS installed, we’d say it’s a decent investment worth considering.

Is a $200 cheaper XOOM worth the 2-year ball and chain fixed to Verizon?

T-Mobile Debuting 5+GB “Unlimited” Data Plan Later This Year.

While the three bigger carriers — AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon — overshadow many of T-Mobile’s announcements, you can’t help but love an underdog. It’s often said underdog who offers the most intriguing services, prices, and devices. Take for example, Android’s early start on T-Mobile was but one of many “firsts” to hit the nations 4th largest carrier. And thanks to a leaked internal screenshot from a TmoNews source, it appears T-Mobile has another bombshell in the making — truly unlimited data…

A gander at the circled text above clearly shows verbiage foretelling of an upcoming data plan that is greater than 5GB — T-Mobile cites “unlimited”. Could this be the same $79.99 unlimited Even More data plan that we saw earlier? Stay tuned…

Motorola ATRIX 4G Sale: $129 At Walmart Until Thursday.

If you can deal with Motorola’s custom Moto BLUR skin and AT&T’s closed-minded attitude towards non-Market app installs, the ATRIX 4G is one of the top devices that should be on your list. Everything from the fast dual-core Tegra 2 processor to vivid screen scream bleeding edge. And while all of that new fangled tech may normally cost $199 (with 2-year contract) from AT&T, more frugal shoppers can find a couple deals. For instance, Amazon has the ATRIX 4G on sale at $149 through Thursday. Of course, if you want the ultimate in savings, Walmart is where it’s at — $129 through this Thursday.

Stipulations with Walmarts offering include a 2-year contract as well as subscribing to a voice plan worth at least $59.99/month + $15/month data plan. Sounds like a pretty good deal to us.

6-Core Intel 990x Hits 7.1GHz.

If it were possible to melt the world with a single, rouge computer running out of control, it would be powered by this Intel 990x six-core behemoth. Overclocked to 7.1 GHz and cooled with liquid nitrogen means the end of the world is near should things get out of hand. At the very least, this kid got a very good chip. Now it’s time for you to hop in and watch the rather undramatic video in all its splendor…

Microsoft: “Kinect SDK Coming In March.”

While some gaming console manufacturers would rather sue the very community that creates the future of the platform, Microsoft has chosen to embrace them. When the Microsoft Kinect was first released in late 2010, Microsoft took a very tough stance to hackers (as they have previously with Xbox hacking). But soon after, all kinds of cool little hacks and demos started appearing online showing just how much potential the Kinect accessory had. Shortly after, Microsoft changed their tune, instead taking a neutral approach to the hacks and hackers, promising no legal battles. And now it gets better, with official confirmation via Microsoft themselves that the talented bunch of Kinect hackers will soon have a legitimate SDK to bring their apps to life and the public in a much easier fashion.

The new SDK will be released this March and initially as a non-commercial endeavor only. But Microsoft has promised that commercial creations will be able to flourish at a later date.

With Sony (oh darn, cat’s out of the bag) currently going sue happy on some very prominent and helpful PS3 hackers, we’d say Microsoft is taking the far better road by embracing the Kinect hacker community and actually…you know…listening to the Xbox/Kinect userbase. We expect some very unique and very worthwhile things to come forth for the Xbox/Kinect platform in the near future.

**Note to Sony: This is how you get people interested in your products.