TC News: Google’s Cellphone, Dell Laptop Bursts Into Flames, Wait Till the Holidays to Buy an HDTV
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TechConsumer News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The goal is to provide a concise, compiled overview of the most intriguing stories from the last few days. Feel free to give us feedback or send us tips.
Here’s the latest in TechConsumer news:
Two sources now are perpetuating the rumor that Google is working on its own cellphone or the GPhone, as some like to call it. It will revolve around Google ’s suite of applications, which will play a major role in the usability of the device. For example, a GPS and Google Maps will be integrated together. Interestingly enough, one source claims that the phone’s “…functionality is less about beating the iPhone and more about beating the $100 Laptop.”
Douglas Brown, a computer network administrator at a hospital in Georgia, is the latest consumer to experience a flaming Dell laptop. He had a Dell 9200 laptop which burst into blames due to a battery explosion (see picture above). Brown said that it “looked like fireworks which would have been cool had it not been in my house.” When he called Dell to ask who would be pay for the damage to his house, a rep asked if he had insurance.
Analysts seem certain that HDTV prices will continue to drop, saying the best time to buy is in January because retailers always take on more product than they need for the holidays. Further research indicates that two-thirds of American households will not buy an HDTV until the price of a 37-inch or larger set drops below $600. The price of a 37-inch LCD averages at around $1,200.
3 Comments 
Recent Price Drops
September 5th, 2007 at 8:14 am
[...] this works is in scenarios where you would pay for items in vending machines or at retailers. If rumors of the GPhone come true, then expect to see GPay as a default service for the GPhone. See the screenshot [...]
October 8th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
[...] New York Times takes a stab at perpetuating rumors on the Gphone (for previous rumor coverage see our post here). The article explains how “a large group of engineers at Google has been working in secret [...]
August 20th, 2008 at 11:44 am
[...] See our previous Gphone coverage here and here. [...]