Category: News

  • Apple sells $17 billion in bonds to help fund massive $100 billion return to shareholders

    Apple Bond Sales $17 Billion
    Apple appreciates its shareholders so much that it’s willing to issue $17 billion in debt just so it can return more cash to them. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple on Tuesday sold $17 billion in bonds, which the publication says is “a record amount for a U.S. investment-grade offering.” The Journal says that Apple is conducting the massive bond sale as part of its plan to return $100 billion to its shareholders by the end of 2015, which will include increasing quarterly dividends and buying back $60 billion worth of shares. Apple has decided to issue debt instead of dipping into its own significant cash reserves because strong demand for high-quality corporate debt has given the company a major opportunity to borrow money at low rates, the Journal reports.

  • New Relic sees revenue boost, enterprise growth and mobile-monitoring interest

    The application-performance management (APM) world has seen lots of action lately. Providers such as AppDynamics, AppNeta and New Relic have taken on hefty lots of venture funding this year.

    That’s why it’s no surprise that New Relic — honing in on a public offering as soon as next year, CEO Lew Cirne has said — has strong revenue growth, customer growth and enterprise adoption in particular to report.

    In the first quarter of 2013, the company posted 130 percent more revenue than in the first quarter of 2012, according to figures it provided to GigaOM, but it did not disclose actual dollar figures. Customer growth was up 134 percent, AND enterprise customer growth specifically came in 65 percent ahead year over year, it said. New Relic can also now call Comcast, General Electric and Saks Fifth Avenue its customers.

    The mobile APM capability New Relic released last month has proven compelling to customers, judging by the early adoption that’s happened so far. More than 1,000 iOS and Android mobile apps are now being monitored through the New Relic mobile tool, including the Nike Running app and an app from the Wanelo social shopping site, said Patrick Moran, New Relic’s vice president of marketing.

    Will New Relic add network monitoring, like competitor AppNeta? WIll AppNeta, AppDynamics, Compuware and others with APM offerings introduce new products, forcing New Relic’s hand? Or will New Relic just keep on keeping on with its current feature set? With more companies recognizing that real-time insight into performance helps devops respond more quickly and keep customers happy, there are plenty of topics for discussion as this market grows.

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
    Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

        

  • How do RSS users want to share content? Digg and Feedly try to find out

    With time ticking down until Google Reader’s demise, competing RSS services are trying to perfect products that will lure in former Reader users. Digg, which is working on a Google Reader replacement, and Feedly, whose product is already up, running and gaining popularity, both posted the results of surveys this week in which they asked current Google Reader users how they share content.

    A theme that comes through in both surveys is that RSS users still often rely on email to share content. Of the 8,600 Google Reader users who responded to Digg’s most recent survey, nearly 80 percent say they share news via email.

    digg email sharing

    That’s not particularly surprising since Google Reader got rid of many of its social features in 2011 and no longer allows for easy posting to Facebook or Twitter, while there is still a Google Reader keyboard shortcut to email an RSS post. Still, email as a method of sharing also pops up in Feedly’s survey, which got responses from over 7,000 current Feedly users (many of whom likely once used Google Reader). That’s not to say, though, that email sharing is ideal: Feedly says a common refrain in its survey results is that users want to “remove friction from the type of sharing which is currently implemented using email.”

    Respondents also told Feedly that they want to “be able to target smaller groups of people (wife, family, team, subset of friends with similar interest) and not pollute their Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn timelines.” This is actually the logic behind Google+ Circles, but it would seem Google+ isn’t cutting it here: Feedly says “people requesting this feature are savvy sharers who [already heavily use] Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and email – almost evenly.” In other words, the results suggest Google+ isn’t fulfilling users’ desire to target small groups. And 78 percent of respondents to Feedly’s survey said they “want support for threaded conversations (i.e., this is more about triggering interesting private conversations than simply sharing information).”

    Feedly says that it is working on a beta with some of these features and will roll them out in a few weeks. Digg, meanwhile, says its beta RSS reader will be released in June. And it seems likely that that product will be paid. Digg notes that “We’re not sure how pricing might work, but we do know that we’d like our users to be our customers, not our product. So when we asked survey participants whether or not they would be willing to pay, we were pleased to see that over 40 percent said yes.”

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
    Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

        

  • Backup Your Smartphone or Tablet with Verizon Cloud

    Verizon has learned that it can’t compete in some verticals. Years ago it tried to be a full-service carrier, providing games, music, and even apps for its subscribers. They tried to push these services to the point where they pre-loaded them onto every new handset. That all ended recently. Not only do they not pre-load those services onto new smartphones, but they’ve removed them from existing smartphones. With Google and Apple, among other specialty companies, handling apps, games, and music well enough, there’s not much room for a carrier like Verizon.

    There is perhaps one vertical that could make sense for a carrier: cloud backup. While there are services like Dropbox and Google Drive that can handle cloud storage needs, and while those services do have smartphone and tablet apps, they’re not as directly connected to these devices as a carrier. Even Google Drive doesn’t fully support Android backups, at least natively and easily for the non-hardcore user. Apparently Verizon has realized this.

    Today they announced a cloud storage app of their own, titled simply Verizon Cloud. It combines a basic type of backup with a service more akin to Dropbox, making a great, and free, solution for Verizon customers. Every Verizon smartphone account gets 500MB of storage for free. This allows you to backup contacts, call logs, text messages, call logs, and all basic information.

    VerizonCloud

    This can be greatly useful when switching phones. When I switched from an iPhone to an Android last fall, I was told that the in-store contact moving process could take hours. No way I was waiting that long. That meant manually moving over my contacts — at least those not already stored in my Google Contacts list. Using Verizon Cloud would make that process just a little easier to manage, without having to wait a few hours for a swap.

    Verizon takes cloud storage a step further by offering storage service for a monthly fee. With it you can upload photos, video, music, and other files, just as you would to other cloud backup services. While the free tier isn’t competitive — 500MB hardly gets you anything — the paid tiers are actually competitive with Dropbox:

    • $2.99 for 25GB
    • $5.99 for 75GB
    • $9.99 for 125GB

    In addition to backing up your smartphone, Verizon Cloud makes your files available across various platforms, such as your tablet and laptop. You can access your files there and even stream music and video from them.

    You can get started by downloading Verizon Cloud from Google Play (and you’ll see that it used to be VCast Media Manager). It is also available as a desktop and web app (in the link below). An iOS app is apparently coming soon.

    Via Verizon Cloud via Phone Scoop.

    The post Backup Your Smartphone or Tablet with Verizon Cloud appeared first on MobileMoo.

  • Cindy Crawford: Daughter Moves From Modeling To Acting

    Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia is just eleven, but she’s already following in her famous mom’s footsteps.

    The pre-teen landed a modeling gig with Versace Children last year, but Crawford cut the job short, saying her daughter was too young.

    “At this point, she’s too young to pursue a career [in modeling]. There aren’t even a handful of jobs for a 10-year-old girl. But if she’s 17 and wants to try it… of course, what can I say?” she said.

    Like a true professional, Kaia took the news gracefully and has moved on to bigger and better things. She’s now playing Kendra in a production of “13″ at the Malibu Civic Auditorium and appears to enjoy her newfound acting bug.

    cindy crawford daughetr

    Lead Image: Splash
    Inset image: Facebook

  • Modern Warfare Creators’ Game Rumored to be Xbox Exclusive, Always-Online

    The people in charge of creating the current most successful franchise in modern gaming (the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series) founded Respawn Entertainment in 2010. Since that time, gamers have been waiting anxiously to see what Jason West and Vince Zampella, the creators of the Modern Warfare franchise, could create with their own independent studio.

    The studio’s first game, codenamed Project Titan, has been kept tightly under wraps by both Respawn and the game’s publisher, EA. Now, Kotaku is reporting some new details on the project, with a mix of good and bad news.

    The publication is citing two independent unnamed “sources familiar with the game” as saying the title will be an Xbox exclusive, appearing only on the Xbox 360 and next-generation Xbox console.

    As for what the game is, Kotaku is reporting that it is a sci-fi shooter that has been designed around multiplayer combat. Soldiers called “Davids” can ride around in giant exoskeletons called “Goliaths.”

    Kotaku’s sources are also reporting that the game will have an always-online DRM scheme in place. That doesn’t sound far-fetched, considering that EA is the game’s publisher. If the game truly is designed around the multiplayer aspect, EA might not run into too much trouble by requiring a constant internet connection. However, if Respawn has crafted an enjoyable single-player campaign, then the always-on requirement will once again cause trouble for players, just like it did with Sim City and Diablo III.

  • Orange Is The New Black, a Netflix Original, Gets a July 11th Launch Date

    We’ve got another premiere date for a Netflix original series to report. This one is for the company’s new dramedy Orange is the New Black, starring Taylor Schilling, That 70′s Show‘s Laura Prepon and Jason Biggs.

    The show will launch on July 11th at 12:01 am PT in all Netflix markets. As is customary with Netflix original series, all 13 episodes will be available at launch. Here’s Netflix’s synopsis of the series:

    Orange is the New Black follows engaged Brooklynite Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), whose decade-old relationship with drug-runner Alex (Laura Prepon) results in her arrest and year-long detention in a federal penitentiary. To pay her debt to society, Piper must trade her comfortable New York life with fiance Larry (Jason Biggs) for an orange prison jumpsuit and a baffling prison culture where she is forced to question everything she believes and form unexpected new alliances with a group of eccentric and outspoken inmates. The series’ diverse ensemble also includes Kate Mulgrew, Natasha Lyonne, Pablo Schreiber, Danielle Brooks, Laverne Cox and Taryn Manning.

    Orange is the New Black comes to you from Jenji Kohan, who you may know as the creator of Showtime’s hit comedy Weeds.

    This series will be Netflix’s fourth major original series to drop (Lilyhammer, House of Cards, and Hemlock Grove). Before OITNB launches in July, Netflix subscribers will ge to enjoy a Netflix exclusive – season 4 of Arrested Development, set to premiere on May 26th.

  • The Robot Chicken Crew Stopped By Google For A Chat

    Robot Chicken has consistently remained one of the best shows on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. The team behind the show are some of the funniest people in the business, and the folks at Google were lucky enough to pick their brains for 30 minutes.

    Watch this entertaining panel discussion with the “Robot Chicken” show leads — Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, Tom Root and Zeb Wells — at Google’s LA office on April 17, 2013.

    Among the wide range of topics they cover: the genesis of the Robot Chicken Star Wars episodes (and what George Lucas is like in person), whether we’ll ever see Apocalypse ponies on the market, what sketch ideas have gone “too far” and why, and how Seth Green in “Entourage” and Seth Green in real life are not the same person.

    On a related note, you might want to check out this previous Google Talk featuring the cast of Parks and Recreation.

  • Microsoft promo turns Forbes Magazine into a free Wi-Fi hotspot

    Microsoft Office 365 promotion
    Many subscribers will be in for a surprise when the latest issue of Forbes Magazine arrives on doorsteps and newsstands. Microsoft has embedded a Wi-Fi router in select copies of the May 6th print edition of the magazine, which gives users 15 days of free Wi-Fi through T-Mobile. The free Wi-Fi is part of Microsoft’s latest campaign to promote its subscription-based Office 365 service. The router lasts for three hours before it must be recharged using the included microUSB cable. Once activated, up to five devices at a time can be connected to the hotspot until the free service expires.

  • Electric car startup Coda getting buried in lawsuits

    Back in January we noted how following a trying year, electric car startup Coda Automotive was quietly dealing with a number of lawsuits over unpaid bills. These lawsuits followed layoffs and slow sales of the company’s first car on the market, a much delayed electric sedan. Well, a couple months later, Coda’s legal troubles have compounded with more lawsuits and the fate of Coda appears highly uncertain.

    While Coda settled a couple of those billing disputes from earlier this year, two of those companies that settled have filed new lawsuits stating that Coda didn’t begin paying the agreed upon settlement fee. Auto supplier CDH Detroit said that in a settlement agreement with Coda in early March, Coda agreed to start paying CDH Detroit monthly installments of $28,186 for almost a year, resulting in a total bill of $338,234. In the new suit filed April 26, CDH Detroit said that Coda allegedly missed that first monthly payment (embedded below).

    Coda all-electric sedan

    Car engineering and development company RLE International (as well as an affiliate contract work company RTECH) said that Coda also settled with them and agreed to pay them $50K a month for a year and a half, but didn’t start paying the first monthly bill. The suit, dated April 25, alleged that Coda owes them $850,029.15 in total (embedded below).

    In addition, events company Exhibit Works filed a suit on March 19, alleging that Coda owes them $242,265.27 (embedded below). A company called BET Services has filed a suit on April 24 alleging that Coda owes them $454,228 plus interest (embedded below). A billing and accounts receivables company called Corporate Billing filed a suit back on January 16, alleging Coda owes them $248,800 for an unpaid bill for auto parts (embedded below). And there’s at least two other pending suits in Los Angeles County Court.

    Coda's electric sedan, rear shot

    Finally, former Coda employee Tony Bulchak just filed a class action lawsuit against Coda on Monday. Since the case is so new, the online complaint isn’t available yet, but I’ll update this when it is. I would assume the class action is over the layoffs, but I’ll confirm that when the documents are online.

    Like how Fisker Automotive is now unraveling, Coda Automotive seems to be coming apart at the seams as well. Media reports are starting to sound its death toll, too. How much longer til Coda files for bankruptcy?

    CDH vs Coda

    RLE/RTECH vs Coda

    Exhibit Works vs Coda

    BET vs Coda

    Corporate Billing vs Coda


    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
    Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

        

  • Wii U Reportedly Hacked To Allow Users To Run Games From USB Devices

    mu6fj

    The builders of Wii hacking devices, Wiikey, have announced that they’ve found a method to hack the Wii U to play content via USB media. The kit also claims to work on devices from any region and requires no soldering.

    Because there is no mention of “homebrew” content like video players and the like, this looks to be a hack that enables piracy on the platform. Called the WiikeÜ, the device will connect to the Wii U via USB. The current WiiKey device allows you to hack the original Wii in a similar way.

    The quest to hack the Wii is not new. The homebrew community is also working on methods to run media via USB and there are ways to add a Homebrew Channel to the Wii U, allowing users to download apps not licensed by Nintendo. Users cannot yet burn copies of games onto recordable disks because the Wii U copy protection is built directly into the Blu-ray drive, making a software hack difficult.

    While this is no good for Nintendo in terms of piracy, it could pique interest in the platform as a homebrew system. Sadly, piracy usually comes first and foremost in cases like this one.

  • Heroku says PostGIS support enables smarter mobile app development

    In case you hadn’t noticed, mobile app development is where the action is. It’s why Facebook just bought Parse, and why Amazon, Rackspace and Salesforce.com are frantically bolstering their mobile app building capabilities. And it’s why Heroku, which is owned by Salesforce.com, is now adding PostGIS 2.0 support to its development platform.

    smartphones

    PostGIS is an extension to the PostgreSQL database that many developers use on Heroku’s platform as a service. According to a blog post announcing PostGIS 2.0 support in beta form, Heroku’s Craig Kerstiens wrote:

    “PostGIS 2.0 will enable a new class of Heroku applications that leverage location data. Whether you are looking to compute walkability scores to nearby schoolstarget ads based on GPS locations, or search for apartments by specific neighborhoods PostGIS can help make you build richer functionality into your application more easily.”

    Heroku’s sales pitch is that using PostGIS with Postgres gives developers more resources while cutting the number of services they might require.

    For example, a developer who might have in the past turned to a proprietary tool like ESRI’s ArcGIS, and then manage that along with the rest of the stack can now stay with an open-source option tightly linked to the database of choice. That means reduced complexity and the ability to build richer location-based functions faster. At its most basic level, PostGIS support means you can perform spatial queries and analysis on your data.

    And that could mean more useful apps. Instead of an app that shows you on a map where the nearest Peet’s Coffee is, you could get the best walking route to that location factoring in terrain and real world traffic or other data, according to Kerstiens.

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
    Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

        

  • By 2018, tablets will be obsolete, says legacy smartphone company CEO

    Blackberry’s CEO is back giving more awesomely quote-worthy statements to the press as his company tries to make itself relevant once again in mobile computing. This week Thorsten Heins made waves by opining on the limited future of one of tech’s strongest growing device categories: tablets.

    He told Bloomberg:

    “In five years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore,” Heins said in an interview yesterday at the Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles. “Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model.”

    BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins

    BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins

    Heins’ comments have been mocked mostly for his eye-popping five-year prediction and because of the fresh memories of BlackBerry’s utter flop in the tablet market: the Playbook. But, really, it’s not totally impossible that something much more compelling than tablets may emerge before 2018 that will make iPads or Galaxy tablets unnecessary — that’s just the nature of tech. After all, BlackBerry executives know all too well how quickly an established market can change after watching the iPhone and Android decimate its smartphone  business over the last several years.

    But, as a factual, across-the-board statement, the notion that “tablets aren’t a good business model” is problematic. There’s at least one company that might argue with him since it’s been doing pretty well in part thanks to its decision to start making tablets in January 2010. Samsung, for its part, seems pretty happy with its decision to get into that business too. Gartner expects the worldwide tablet business to grow from 197 million units this year to 467 million units by 2017.

    You know who’s not having a great time in the tablet market? Companies that were late to the game. Like Motorola. And Dell. Don’t forget HP’s Palm debacle.

    And, yes, BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Playbook arrived a year after the iPad, but the software was missing huge, important things, like native email and calendaring. The tablet flopped, and the company wrote off a large amount of unsold devices.

    The Bloomberg article reminds us that Heins has previously said he’ll make another Playbook if he can make it profitably. That statement is more in touch with reality: it’s possible that BlackBerry can’t make a tablet that is measurably better than what’s already on the market and do it at a profit. It’s hard to compete with Apple and Samsung at this point, given their strong mobile computing brands and deep supply chains.

    Heins seems to be implying that smartphones will be more central to the computing experience, as Matt Rosoff argues here at CITEWorld. That’s certainly plausible, but the idea that BlackBerry will be the one to figure this out is harder to believe.

    In any event, Heins’ biggest priority right now is promoting his latest smartphones and the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. The success or failure of those products, as opposed to the future of tablets, will determine if his company is around in five years.

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
    Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

        

  • Camille Seaman named a Knight Fellow

    Camille-Seaman-at-TED2013

    Photo: James Duncan Davidson

    Photographer Camille Seaman sees the personality in elements of nature. The TED Fellow thrilled us at TED2011 with her haunting photos of polar ice — some glaciers timid, others proud and defiant — and, at TED2013, shared stunning images of supercell clouds, which she characterizes as “lovely monsters.”

    We are very excited that Seaman has been named a 2013-14 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow for the U.S., joining the eight international fellows named earlier this month. The Fellows participate in classes, lectures and symposiums at Stanford University, while working on an innovation proposal. Seaman’s project is, “A website that applies indigenous perspectives and wisdom to current environmental stories and issues.”

  • NEC Terrain leaks, headed to AT&T with Android and QWERTY keyboard

    ATT NEC terrain

    Smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards are a dying breed, especially the ones with portrait keyboards. Despite that, AT&T appears to be planning on releasing the NEC Terrain to the masses, which is a candy bar style phone, complete with an unspecified Android version and a physical keyboard. It’s not exactly a visually appealing device, and there’s no official specs for it, but I could definitely see it as a cheap gateway phone for old Blackberry holdouts. (Believe it or not, they still exist)

    We’ll just have to wait for NEC or AT&T to make this device official.

    source: evleaks

    Come comment on this article: NEC Terrain leaks, headed to AT&T with Android and QWERTY keyboard

  • Fab decides there’s more to its business than flash sales, plans major expansion

    Last May, Fab CEO’s Jason Goldberg gave entrepreneurs a piece of advice: don’t be afraid to break with a bad idea. And Goldberg would know, since he previously tried to launch a social network before focusing instead on building a design-centric e-commerce site. So when Goldberg says the company is pivoting again, you might imagine a totally new business model.

    But in reality? With this pivot, Fab isn’t completely changing its product as much as it is changing what the Fab brand means. Instead of selling merchandise from other retailers on its site through flash sales (sales of limited quantities of items for limited time periods), Fab is expanding to include products designed by Fab, products designed by others, and ventures like custom furniture and a brick and mortar store in Europe. The company wants to be one of the “next great iconic shopping brands,” it wrote Tuesday, and that shopping experience will maintain the design focus that the company was founded on.

    Fab design productsGoldberg explained the idea behind the re-launch, which he announced in a blog post Tuesday:

    “People called it a “pivot.” We called it a complete restart. We threw out the old and started anew. And it took off fast. Really fast. We re-launched Fab on June 9, 2011 and before we knew it we were tracking to $100M in sales and working with tens of thousands of designers and connecting with millions of consumers. We were on to something big. We knew it. So, in January 2012 we did what came naturally to us: We planned to Pivot. Again.”

    Focusing on the general concept of a design-based e-commerce brand will allow Fab to both produce its own products and work with others, expanding the items it sells on its site and expanding the concept of what it means to be a physical retailer, the company wrote:

    “We believe that part of disrupting design is disrupting it across multiple channels. We’re working on Fab store concepts that reimagine and reinvent how people buy design products by merging offline & online experiences in entirely new ways. We’ve always said that Fab wants to be where its customers are — be it smartphone, tablets, web browsers, or even physical retail stores. And, with less than 5% of home products purchased online today, we think that physical retail has an important role to play in the customer’s decision process. But, we plan to reinvent retail and help guide home product purchased online to 10%, then 20%, then 30% online as part of our disrupting the industry.”

    As part of the expansion, Fab is also acquiring MassivKonzept, a custom furniture company, which will give Fab a head-start on this business and the addition of a physical store, with plans to add more of these stores in the future.

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
    Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

        

  • Steve Kondik of Cyanogenmod confirms AT&T Galaxy S 4 ships with a locked bootloader

    Samsung_Galaxy_S_4_Back_Bottom_GS4_Logo_TA

    If you’re the tinkering type and you’ve been eyeing the Galaxy S 4 on AT&T, you may want to rethink your options. According to Cyanogenmod founder Steve Kondik, AT&T’s S 4 does indeed have a locked bootloader out of the box. While the locked bootloader doesn’t necessarily mean custom ROMs and kernels won’t come eventually, it’s going to take a little longer than usual. Of course, with the inevitable popularity of the S 4, there’s likely going to be a crazy amount of dev work being done on the device right out of the gate, so an unlocking method will likely come along sooner or later.

    I don’t expect this to make a huge impact on S 4 sales on AT&T, but for the modding community, it’s a bit of a let down.

    source: Google Plus

    Come comment on this article: Steve Kondik of Cyanogenmod confirms AT&T Galaxy S 4 ships with a locked bootloader

  • Video: eBay DSE Measures Infrastructure “MPG”

    In this video, Dean Nelson, senior director of global data strategy, architecture & operations, eBay, presents a review of eBay’s Digital Service Efficiency (DSE) methodology to the participants in the The Green Grid Forum 2013. DSE is eBay’s new system of metrics to tie data center performance to business and transactional metrics, measuring key variables of revenue, cost, performance, and environmental impact based on user consumption of services provided. The video includes the full session, including audience questions, and runs 47:39.

    For more stories about eBay, see our eBay Channel. For additional video, check out our DCK video archive and the Data Center Videos channel on YouTube.

  • T-Mobile USA offers refunds to Simple Choice customers

    I have a question for you? Is 24-month financing the same as 2-year contract for service? Washington State attorney general believes so. He calls T-Mobile’s “no contract” plans deceptive. Last week, the carrier agreed to making changes, paying court fees and offering customers refunds on phones purchased between March 26 and April 25.

    About 45 minutes ago, I got email from T-Mobile offering full refunds on devices purchased during the time period (that would be iPhone 5 for my daughter and father-in-law). I live in California, not Washington State, but T-Mobile is headquartered there. So the court order is farther-reaching, which is why I’m posting today.

    Here’s what I received:

    Dear T-Mobile Customer,

    This notice is being sent to you pursuant to an agreement between the Washington State Attorney General’s Office and T-Mobile. Please note: wireless service is required to maintain your phone or device payment plan. If you cancel wireless service, all remaining payments become due, and will be charged to you in a lump sum on your final bill. You will no longer be able to make monthly payments.

    Because you may not have understood this aspect of your telephone or device purchase, we are giving you an opportunity to return your phone or device for a full refund, including the down payment. You may do this by calling T-Mobile at 1-877-746-0909 (or by dialing 611 from your T‑Mobile phone) within 30 days and returning your phone or device as instructed. You must return your phone or device within 14 days of cancelling service in order to receive a refund. If you return the phone by then, you will not be required to make any additional payments.

    For more information, please call T-Mobile at 1-877-746-0909 (or dial 611 from your T-Mobile phone).

    Sincerely,

    T-Mobile

    To ensure future delivery of emails, please add announcements@t-mobile‑email.com to your safe sender list or address book.

    T‑Mobile USA, Inc., PO Box 37380, Albuquerque, NM 87176

    The carrier’s new Simple Choice plan offers unlimited text, talk and web, starting at $50 per month. Subscribers bring their own phones or purchase from T-Mobile, under two options: Full price, or smaller amount down plus 24 monthly payments. If they choose the latter but later cancel service, and therefore are no longer customers, T-Mobile demands remaining money owed on the phones.

    T-Mobile sells the 16GB iPhone 5 outright for $579.99, which is about $69 less than Apple, or $99.99 upfront. Other carriers ask $199 and 2-year service contract, which if broken requires an early termination fee (typically between $325 and $375). T-Mobile’s so-called “deceptive” tactic: To get full 24-month financing, phone buyers must have phone service. You tell me, is there any difference between T-Mobile’s and other carriers’ service obligations?

    Photo Credit: Christina Henningstad/Shutterstock

  • Blackstone to Hire 50,000 Vets Over Next 5 Years

    Blackstone said Tuesday that it has partnered with The White House to support veterans and military families. The global buyout firm plans to hire 50,000 veterans across its portfolio companies over the next five years.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced it has partnered with The White House to support veterans and military families. Led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, “Joining Forces” is a national initiative to encourage private sector hiring of America’s veterans. Blackstone plans to hire 50,000 veterans across its portfolio of companies over the next five years.
    “Veterans embody many of the skills, talents and personal attributes we look for in employees. They have high integrity; they are collaborative, hardworking and they are able to adapt to dynamic situations,” said Blackstone Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder Steve Schwarzman. “Veterans are reliable, motivated and trustworthy employees – the type of people that will help Blackstone’s portfolio companies succeed and grow. We are proud to partner with the President and Mrs. Obama, Vice President and Dr. Biden to do our part to help the men and women who have served our country develop successful careers following their military service.”
    Blackstone also plans to put in place support structures, including a management trainee program, which will help veterans transition into their new private sector careers.
    Steve Schwarzman added, “Training and mentoring can help cultivate skills and ease the transition to civilian life. We want to help veterans build life-sustaining careers after their service to this country has ended.”
    About Blackstone:
    Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we advise and the broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of our extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our alternative asset management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge fund solutions, credit-focused funds and closed-end funds. Blackstone also provides various financial advisory services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow us on Twitter @Blackstone.

    The post Blackstone to Hire 50,000 Vets Over Next 5 Years appeared first on peHUB.