Month: May 2012

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From Ars Technica: Faster than your router? Verizon doubles FiOS speeds to 300Mbps

Internet access as fast as a superhero.

Verizon today said it will double its highest FiOS Internet speeds to 300 megabits per second. That’s faster than any cable offering, and faster than many of the wireless routers powering our homes. (If only FiOS was available in more places…)

The new speeds will be available in June, and offer a big boost to both upload and download times across most FiOS service levels. The biggest increase percentage-wise comes in the 50Mbps tier, which will triple to 150Mbps, as you can see in this chart provided by Verizon:

The vast majority of existing Verizon customers will be eligible for the upgrades. Unfortunately, Verizon may be stopping any major expansions of its FiOS infrastructure, so if cable and its 100Mbps max speed is your best option today it will likely stay your best option. But for existing customers, Verizon will provide free equipment upgrades (including faster routers) when necessary.

from Ars Technica

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From Autoblog: Video: 2013 Toyota Prius C doesn’t get much love from Consumer Reports

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Consumer Reports' 2012 Toyota Prius C road test - screencap

Consumer Reports has panned the 2012 Toyota Prius C in a new video review that urges car shoppers to get a used regular Prius over the new baby model, “it’s a much better car overall,” said Mike Quincy in the review.

The problems Toyota ran into in creating the Prius C appear to be in making it cheaper, according to Consumer Reports. The list of adjectives during the video review included: “lackluster,” “hard plastic,” “cheap materials,” “dead steering” and “slow.”

Toyota may see those words as misplaced modifiers compared to the glowing recommendations the larger mainstream Prius has received in its decade-long Synergy drive to becoming the eco-poster child for hypermiling greenies out to save the Earth and ride in California HOV lanes with a single person aboard. (HOV access for most gas-electric hybrids has been discontinued in the Golden State.)

While the Prius C may start at $18,995, its price climbs quickly and its value does not, Consumer Reports said. A new regular Prius starts at $24,000.

However, the bad news from Consumer Reports hasn’t hurt Prius C sales, which began in April. During its first month, Toyota sold 4,782 Prius C models, outpacing the other Prius variant, the family-minded Prius V, as well as the subcompact Yaris, which donates its platform for the Prius C.

Scroll down to watch Consumer Reports’full Prius C video review or read more at the source link.

Continue reading 2013 Toyota Prius C doesn’t get much love from Consumer Reports

from Autoblog

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From Gizmodo: RIM in Crisis as a Billion Dollars of BlackBerries and PlayBooks Sit Unsold [BlackBerry]

Things are getting dire for RIM, which diffidently announced its new BlackBerry 10 platform earlier this month to an internet full of aggressive disinterest. The latest grim tiding? Trading has been halted on RIM’s stock—which is a very bad sign—on the heels of news that its stash of unsold BlackBerry phones and PlayBook tablets has ballooned to a value of just over $1 billion. More »




from Gizmodo