Updated Walmart Mobile Apps To Usher In New Era/Way Of Shopping.

Imagine the typical shopping experience of roaming the store and then congregating at the front to check out as a thing of the past, instead being replaced by the very devices we’ve come to be dependent on each and every day — phones. We’re still working on getting all the details, but we’ve been tipped by a higher ranking ex-employee about an awesome change coming to Walmart shopping centers that is simply too cool to keep to ourselves that builds on Walmart’s own official announcement and this TechCrunch article from within the last week.

As the linked articles above touch on, Walmart shoppers will have some new tools at their disposal when shopping in-store. First, they’ll be able to create shopping lists by voice as well as scan coupons and QR codes. Building on that, our source says that sometime within the near future Walmart shoppers will be able to use their phone to scan items they wish to purchase. At the end of their shopping trip the scanned items can be turned into a simple QR code that can then be scanned by the person at the checkout lane.

Finally, customers will be able to pre-compile a shopping list at Walmart.com, save it to their phone, and use the pre-compiled shopping list + mobile app to literally be “guide through the store”.

The separate iPad app features all of the above plus the ability to check inventory on Walmart.com. The iPad app, mind you, is gorgeous as seen in this TechCrunch post from a few days back.

The mobile app/technological initiative reportedly stems from the Walmart/Oracle partnership of 2008, which if anything, shows just how long this new development has been in the oven.

We’re still working on getting the full story, include supported mobile platforms, US/global availability, timeline for release, as well as what jobs will be affected (We’re hearing there will certainly be some cuts.)

Stay tuned as we keep digging…

RIM Dumped $1.4 Billion Into R&D In 2010 (And A Similar Amount In 2009). What’s To Show For It?

According to Research Info$ource, RIM tried harder than ever in 2010 to pump out truly unique, innovative products as is evident by a reported massive $1.4 billion R&D price tag. The year before in 2009 was also a big year, with RIM spending slightly less ($1.1 Billion) on R&D as well. Considering one of RIM’s biggest competitors, Apple, spent “only” $1.3 Billion on R&D in 2009, one has to ask exactly what the hell RIM is doing behind closed doors, and why can’t they get anyone excited about their products. (No really. Watch their BBX keynote. It’s a glorified train wreck of an infomercial.)

There are two possible scenarios…

Foursquare Launching Revamped Web Site Beginning Today.

Visited Foursquare.com lately? Yeah, us either. But beginning today you might want to reconsider. Foursquare is rolling out some big changes. Our favorite new feature (among many) is a giant map that can be pulled down to show a more visual picture of your immediate surroundings and is expanded upon with a nifty box in the top right which shows time based suggestions of places to visit. As Foursquare explains it:

“Load it up at 11:30 and we’ll start suggesting great lunch spots nearby, and in the early evening we’ll switch to places for dinner. On Saturday afternoon, we’ll show you some great weekend activities.”

Other new features include:

• You can now comment (and see comments) right on the homepage.

• Looking for celebrities or brands to follow? We present some you may like on the right of the homepage.

• When your friend checks out your check-in detail screen, it now shows your points (a much requested feature!).

• Because we built this all using modern web standards, it looks awesome on other devices, like your shiny new iPad.

• Photos are bigger and prettier.

Besides the new features, Foursquare.com is a lot more polished and organized. Will it drag you away from your mobile device? Unlikely, unless you carry your computer around with you everywhere you go. But as far as making Foursquare a place people stick around on for more than just a quick check-in, by giving it some sort of “sticky” nature like G+, Facebook, or Twitter, the new changes certainly encourage just that — we’ve spent more time on Foursquare.com in the last 30 minutes than we have in the last 30 days.

Gallery of #new4SQ screenshots after the break…

Razer Looses Two Prototype Laptops In Daring R&D Break-in.

Razer had a bit of bad luck a couple weekends back. Turns out the company lost two Blade laptop prototypes in a daring break-in by apparently knowledgable thieves who specifically targeted the high profile, pre-production units. Razer is asking the thieves, whoever they are, to return the hardware in an effort to stem any potential public sale and revealing of next-gen hardware. More important to Razer, however, is the data on the aforementioned laptops. At the time of their untimely departure, the two laptops were undergoing weekend-long thermal testing, and in turn contained a ton of diagnostic data — data that isn’t easily replaced at the flip of a coin.

The Blade prototypes likely resemble or feature some of the Switchblade UI technology shown off back in August which among other things, featured a keyboard with an embedded LCD for secondary functions related to gaming as well as operating as a separate touchpad/mouse.

The thieves are believed to have had some level of access to at least the lobby part of the building as no points of forced entry were found. Needless to say Razer and law enforcement are sifting through access logs looking for any potential in-house perps(s).

We shouldn’t have to mention this but… don’t buy any type of Razer prototype that may or may not show up on eBay, Craigslist, or any other type of sales channel. Doing so will likely tie you up into this unfolding legal battle.

If you happen to know anything about the break-in and/or missing prototypes, Razer asks that you contact them at “cult@razerzone.com”.

Statement from Razer after the break…

CyanogenMod 9 Announced. Will Be Built Off Of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Core.

Waiting for CyanogenMod 8 to get up and running? Sorry. It’s probably not happening. But fret not for something much better is in store — CyanogenMod 9. You see, CyanogenMod 8 was to be built off of Android 3.x Honeycomb. Until very recently the ASOP code that CyanogenMod developers rely on wasn’t available. Even though it is now, Ice Cream Sandwich has Honeycomb’s internals plus all the additional upgrades with Android 4.0. It doesn’t make any sense to waste time developing an outdated OS.

Of course, confirmation via CyanogenMod leader Steve Kondik’s Twitter page that the CyanogenMod team is moving onward to CM9 is pretty much all you need to know, anyway.

Release schedules are something that CyanogenMod doesn’t follow. Nonetheless, for those of you looking for something to look forward to, expect some alpha-ish ROMs in roughly 8 weeks. A long time for sure, until you consider carriers’ and manufacturers’ own update schedules are woefully worse.

Verizon Wireless Galaxy Nexus Floats Through FCC, Paves Way For (Rumored) Late November Launch.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the ultimate “Jesus” Android phone if you will. A perfect blend of powerful hardware, all new software, and a sleek chassis all embody the next generation of Android. While the release date is still uncertain, take comfort in at least knowing your next Android device of desire won’t be sitting around the FCC’s halls waiting for approval — it’s just won FCC approval. With everything the Galaxy Nexus has promised to bring, to say we’re “excited” is an understatement. Stay tuned for more Galaxy Nexus info…

Review: Vapor4Life E-Cigarettes.

For millions of people around the world battling to avoid the inevitable outcome a lifetime of smoking leads to, the challenge to finally kick the habit is long and tumultuous. Back in the day people would simply go “cold turkey”, either quitting outright or taking up some new hobby/habit. But this is 2011. We’re a technologically advanced society (at least we’d like to think we are). Smokers looking to kick the habit now have these fancy little plastic sticks called e-cigarettes.

Continue on after the break…