ratings

Services
August 29, 2011
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AT&T network ranked worst among major U.S. carriers by J.D. Power [updated]

By on August 29, 2011 at 4:20 PM.

AT&T network ranked worst among major U.S. carriers by J.D. Power [updated]

Wondering why AT&T is hustling to get that 4G LTE network up and running ahead of schedule? AT&T has been ranked worst among the four major wireless carriers in the U.S. according to the J.D. Power and Associates U.S. 2011 Wireless Network Quality Performance Study. The major nationwide survey looks at overall network performance for the four major U.S. cell phone service providers as well as top regional carriers from around the country. Among the big four — Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — Verizon Wireless found itself atop the list in each of the six regions where J.D. Power performed its tests. On the other end of the spectrum, AT&T was either last or tied at the bottom in five out of the six regions. Read on for more.

Updated with AT&T’s statement below. More →

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Computers
May 25, 2011
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Apple’s MacBook lines now top every relevant Consumer Reports notebook category

By on May 25, 2011 at 4:00 PM.

Apple’s MacBook lines now top every relevant Consumer Reports notebook category

According to Consumer Reports, Apple’s various lines of laptop computers are the best notebooks in the world. Recent rankings published by the popular nonprofit consumer product tester place Apple computers at the top of every relevant laptop category. Apple’s low-end MacBook Air topped competitive offerings from Dell and HP in the 11-inch category, and its computers took the top five spots in the 13-inch class — the 13-inch MacBook Air was No. 1, followed by three different configurations of the 13-inch MacBook Pro and then Apple’s standard 13-inch MacBook. In the 15-inch category, various configurations of the MacBook Pro took the top three spots, and Apple’s high-end MacBook Pro beat out HP’s Pavillion and the Dell XPS for top billing in the 17-inch category. The only category Apple did not dominate was the 14-inch class, but Apple does not currently offer a 14-inch notebook. More →

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Business
April 5, 2011
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Apple weighting lowered in Nasdaq-100; Microsoft, Google raised

By on April 5, 2011 at 8:46 AM.

Apple weighting lowered in Nasdaq-100; Microsoft, Google raised

NASDAQ on Tuesday announced that it will adjust the weighing of several companies in the NASDAQ-100 index to better reflect their market capitalizations. The NASDAQ-100 index is comprised of the 100 biggest non-financial stocks on the NASDAQ exchange. The adjustment, which will take place on May 2nd, is the first of its kind since 1998. Apple will take the biggest hit as its weighting will be adjusted down from 20.46% of the the index to 12.33%. The Cupertino-based company’s representation on the NASDAQ-100 is currently six times that of the No. 2 company, Microsoft, which will see its weight doubled on May 2nd. A total of 82 stocks will be adjusted downward while 18 companies including Microsoft, Google, Intel, Cisco and Oracle will get larger shares. More →

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Tablets
April 5, 2011
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iPad 2 tops Consumer Reports tablet rankings

By on April 5, 2011 at 7:44 AM.

iPad 2 tops Consumer Reports tablet rankings

Apple’s iPad 2 has topped Consumer Reports’ tablet ratings according to a press release issued on Tuesday. Consumer Reports has taken an odd stance on Apple’s mobile products in recent history, particularly where the iPhone is concerned. Apple’s iPhone 4 for AT&T and its iPhone 4 for Verizon Wireless both received Consumer Reports’ highest ever ratings, but the independent buying guide recommended against purchasing the phones due to their infamous antenna attenuation issues known as the death grip. With the iPad 2, however, antennas don’t come into play in the same way. “So far, Apple is leading the tablet market in both quality and price, which is unusual for a company whose products are usually premium priced,” said Consumer Reports’ electronics editor Paul Reynolds in a statement. “However, it’s likely we’ll see more competitive pricing in tablets as other models begin to hit the market.” In addition to the iPad2, Consumer reports tested tablets from Archos, Dell, Motorola, Samsung and ViewSonic, and noted that Apple’s chief competition for the time being is found in the Motorola XOOM. Hit the break for the full release.

More →

79 Comments
Software
November 24, 2010
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Android Market to require content ratings on apps

By on November 24, 2010 at 8:01 PM.

Android Market to require content ratings on apps

A recent post by Google seems to indicate that the company will require application content ratings on all present and future applications listed in the Android Market.

“Please use our application ratings to help users determine whether your application and its content is appropriate for them,” reads the post. “This includes all the content in your app, including user generated content and ads, and content that your app links to.”

Applications can be rated all, pre-teen, teen, or mature and Google notes that “hate speech” is not permitted in the Android Market; Google is also mandating that applications that use location not be categorized for all users. There are several other category pre-requisites. Hit the jump to have a look at all of them. More →

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mobile
June 3, 2010
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doubleTwist launches Android media player, can sync iTunes metadata

By on June 3, 2010 at 8:37 PM.

doubleTwist launches Android media player, can sync iTunes metadata

doubleTwist media player

doubleTwist, a company whose vision is “to create a unifying media platform that connects consumers with all their media and all their devices,” has just released a full-featured media player for your Android device. Sporting a very appealing UI, the new media player allows users to sync and update media from the doubleTwist desktop client (available for both Mac and PC) directly to their Android device. A new, and fairly huge, feature that the doubleTwist Android player packs is the ability to recognize metadata from an iTunes library. This gives long time users of iTunes — who don’t fancy the iPhone — a choice of media players and a legitimate exit strategy from iTunes. Users can change media players — while retaining the ability to sync seamlessly with a mobile device — and not give up playlist, song rating, and play count data accumulated over days, months, or years of iTunes. Go ahead and give the new doubleTwist Android media player a shot, and do let us know what you think.

NOTE: you can also checkout Songbird as a cross-platform iTunes alternative.

[Via LifeHacker] More →

21 Comments
Opinions
December 28, 2008
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High-level British MP wants movie-like ratings system for the internet

By on December 28, 2008 at 12:42 PM.

High-level British MP wants movie-like ratings system for the internet

In a move guaranteed to attract well deserved controversy, Andy Burnham, Britain’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has publicly stated that delegates from the British government hope to meet with members of the Obama administration to pitch the idea of creating a content-based rating system for all English-based websites. Essentially what Burnham is proposing is having the internet follow the same rules as British TV where it is against the law to air violent programs before 9pm. But since the internet is very different in nature from TV, Burnham suggested that a time-based filter be created in which websites must block “offensive” and “violent” material. For extra precaution, ISPs would be asked to offer rating-based “child-safe” packages in which it is only possible to access websites that are pre-approved as inoffensive and appropriate for those of a young age.

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