Blockbuster going up for sale, hoping to live up to its name

By Tim Stevens posted Feb 23rd 2011 8:36AM Don't think of this as the end of the road for Blockbuster, think of it as a new beginning. After filing for Bankruptcy back in September, big blue and yellow has been working to get its affairs in order -- and trying desperately to fend off both Netflix and Redbox with offerings like Blockbuster on Demand and Blockbuster Express. Things apparently haven't gone entirely to plan. The next stop is For Salesville, with bids for the company starting at $290 million. CEO Jim Keys put a positive spin on the news, saying that this will "allow for the consolidation of ownership of the company to those with a clear and focused vision for Blockbuster's future." It might also finally let that guy take a vacation -- a potentially very long one.

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Snoop Dogggg goes 4G to celebrate launch of Samsung Galaxy Indulge, was probably paid more than 4Gs to do it

By Darren Murph posted Feb 23rd 2011 8:04PM You laugh, but D-O-Quadruple-G does have a certain ring to it. In fact, it sounds a little like the ringing of Samsung's Galaxy Indulge, which is tucked inside the pocket of MetroPCS' CEO right about now. You see, the aforesaid carrier has presumably paid Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Dogggg, as he'll be known until he scurries outside of a 4G coverage area) to change his name in order to celebrate the commercial launch of the world's first LTE Android smartphone. The Froyo-based phone is just barely beating out LG's Revolution and HTC's Thunderbolt, and you can bet that MetroPCS is doing everything it can to let the world know about it. Taking things one step further too far, Snoop's also appearing in a new series dubbed "The G-Connection," and you can peek the first episode just after the brizzle. For rizzle, homedizzle.

METROPCS ANNOUNCES NEW COLLABORATION WITH ICON SNOOP DOGG

Superstar adds more Gs to his name to help introduce the Samsung Galaxy Indulge, the world's first commercially available 4G LTE Android smartphone, available exclusively from MetroPCS

DALLAS, February 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Snoop Dogggg has doubled down on his G's through his new collaboration with MetroPCS to introduce the new Samsung Galaxy Indulge™, the world's first commercially available 4G LTE Android™ smartphone offered only with 4GLTE service from MetroPCS.

"It feels good to be working with MetroPCS and Samsung for the launch of the Galaxy Indulge. I'm stepping it up to 4G's so my phone can keep up with my demanding, always-connected lifestyle," said Snoop Dogggg.

Fortunately, any consumer can indulge in the 4G lifestyle like Snoop Dogggg because MetroPCS offers 4GLTE smartphone service plans at about half the cost of other carriers' 4G smartphone service plans today. With $50 and $60 plans, including all applicable taxes and regulatory fees, MetroPCS delivers unmatched value with unlimited talk, text and 4GLTE Web page browsing, along with data access to streaming audio, video and gaming content, downloads and Android applications on the Galaxy Indulge.
"Indulge With Snoop Dogggg" Sweepstakes

The superstar's fans can win a rare chance to meet Snoop Dogggg up close and personal by entering the "Indulge with Snoop Dogggg" sweepstakes exclusively at any MetroPCS retail store through March 31 (no purchase necessary to win). One winner will walk away with a VIP trip for two to a Snoop concert this summer, including airfare and incidentals, front-row tickets and backstage passes, as well as two Samsung Galaxy Indulge smartphones with MetroPCS 4GLTE service. More details are available at http://www.metropcs.com/snoop-dogggg-vip-rules.
Video Series

The collaboration also features Snoop Dogggg starring as several characters in the online video series called "The G-Connection," which is based on popular dating game shows from past decades. The videos also feature rapper and producer Warren G, model Brittany Dailey, and the man with the "Golden Voice," Internet sensation Ted Williams. The videos were directed by Estevan Oriol, partner at SA Studios. The first of three episodes premieres today at www.youtube.com/MetroPCS.
Additional Chances to Win

In addition, MetroPCS and Samsung are offering more chances to win autographed Snoop Dogggg gear, Samsung Galaxy Indulge smartphones and MetroPCS 4GLTE service on MetroPCS' Facebook page at www.facebook.com/metropcs (no purchase necessary to win). MetroPCS is also offering prizes through giveaways in many of its home metropolitan area markets, including signed "The Doggumentary" CD's (in stores March 29th).

"We are very excited about teaming up with Snoop Dogggg to show consumers that they can have it all with MetroPCS 4GLTE services and the vast possibilities of the Samsung Galaxy Indulge Android smartphone," said Phil Terry, senior vice president, corporate marketing, MetroPCS. "Snoop is a great match for our brand and appeals to all of our customers, who want the latest high-end Android smartphones with 4G services at the best value."
About the Samsung Galaxy Indulge

Powered by the Android version 2.2 (Froyo) operating system (OS), the Galaxy Indulge delivers quick access to more than 200,000 applications from the Android Market™ and complete access to Google Mobile Services, as well as a combination touch screen/QWERTY keyboard, 3 megapixel camera and camcorder with auto-focus, music player, Stereo Bluetooth® capabilities and expandable memory storage up to 32GB. The Samsung Galaxy Indulge costs $399, plus tax, and is available at all MetroPCS stores and online at www.metropcs.com.

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Make Sense Of Your Social Photos With VVall’s GRID

Ever find yourself posting a ton of pictures to Twitter and Facebook and Dailybooth and so on and so forth, just to have them fall into the digital abyss? The people behind vvall, a stealthish mobile photo app, have created GRID, a humble project inspired by Coffee Of The Week. GRID attempts to organize your social photos chronologically, separating your own and your friends’ online image trails by date and days of the week.

In a wider scope than Twitter apps like Lookedon, GRID right now covers four platforms (Facebook, Twitpic,  PiczPlz, and Dailybooth) but aims to add others like Instagram, Flickr and Yfrog as soon as technically possible. This feat is obviously challenging, as there are 82 different apps that post photos to Twitter alone and dealing with all the limitations of different APIs is akin to herding cats.

While neat in and of itself, GRID is the kickstarter project for the as of yet unlaunched vvwall, which is an attempt to aggregate all your social photo action on one mobile platform, with emphasis on “completeness” and “reminiscence” as well as upload speed and service stability.

Says creator Ray Chan Chin Ching, “Instagram is great, Picplz is great, Facebook photo is great, but still, your photos (memories) are still here and there on different platforms. There is not yet a place to build one’s complete memories. vvall hopes to fulfill such need.”

vvall is currently bootstrapped and is looking for funding or to join an incubator like Y Combinator or TechStars.

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Dell rolls out Froyo update for AT&T and Rogers Streak 5 users

By Donald Melanson posted Feb 23rd 2011 2:56PM Dell already pushed out its Froyo update to users of unlocked Streaks way back in November, and it looks like those that bought their Streak 5 from AT&T or Rogers can now finally get in on the action as well. The company just began rolling the update for those users out over-the-air today, and it brings with it all of the features we've already seen on unlocked Streaks, including Flash support, Dell's Stage UI and, of course, support for any apps that require Android 2.0 or later. Hit up the source link below for the complete details on the upgrade.

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SEC Investigating Private Markets Where Facebook & Twitter Stock Trades

The SEC is investigating conflicts of interest in the marketplace for stock in private companies like Twitter and Facebook, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Secondary marketplaces like SecondMarket and SharesPost connect people who want to sell stock in private companies (often former employees) with potential buyers. Since private companies are allowed to remain, well, private and are not required to file an IPO until they pass 499 shareholders of record, buyers of this stock have little information to go on when deciding how much the stock is actually worth.

Meanwhile, the same secondary marketplaces that are selling the stock are often cited in valuations that have little else to go on. When stock sells, these brokers collect a small percentage, so it’s to their advantage if the stocks sell for a higher price. Some question whether the marketplace could play a role in inflating these valuations in order to fetch a better selling price.

A spokesperson from SecondMarket said that third parties create the valuations based on prices that are negotiated between buyer and sellers on the platform, and called the company “an objective marketplace.”

SecondMarket is already regulated by the SEC as a broker-dealer operation. This means, among other things, that all of its investors must be accredited (read: meet a minimum income requirement) and the deals are subject to SEC oversight. Other marketplaces like SharesPost are not regulated in the same manner. But the SEC, according to the Wall Street Journal, is thinking that maybe they ought to be.

The SEC’s interest in the private stock exchange isn’t new. Its interest was reportedly piqued after Goldman Sachs invested $500 million in Facebook last year and then proceeded to create a “special purpose vehicle” that allowed its clients to invest in the social networking site indirectly. After the SEC started looking into the deal, Goldman Sachs closed the option to its U.S. clients.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, webking

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Apple's holding an iPad 2 event on March 2nd... we'll be there live!

By Joshua Topolsky posted Feb 23rd 2011 11:10AM Hey look at that! The rumors were true. Apple will be holding a media event on March 2nd... and Engadget will be there live covering the whole thing. As you can tell by the image above (sent with the invite), this is going to be all about tablets -- iPads, to be exact.

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