usa

Made in the USA Foundation says GM is stripping 'Made in' labels from show models

Just where is that Buick Regal made? Answer: Germany. But, according to the Made in the USA Foundation, you wouldn't know this from the label if you saw the car at an auto show.

The foundation has charged GM with violating the American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA), which requires all new cars in the retail market to include country-of-origin information.

The AALA requires a window sticker on new cars that includes information such as where the car was assembled, where the engine was made, and where the transmission was made.

According to the foundation, these labels are left off … Read more

Verizon Wireless CTO dishes on 4G claims (Q&A)

LAS VEGAS-Verizon Wireless unveiled a slew of devices for its new 4G service here last week at the Consumer Electronics Show. But what does the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier think of its competitors' 4G claims?

CNET caught up with Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone after the company's press conference here Thursday to get the dirt on what he really thinks about rivals' pronouncements that they're offering 4G wireless services that are comparable to Verizon's new LTE 4G service. Verizon Wireless announced its 4G LTE service in December. The new network gets average download speeds of … Read more

Verizon reignites ad wars with 4G claims

The wireless marketing wars rage on as Verizon Wireless claims the "most advanced 4G" wireless network in the world and takes more potshots at rival AT&T.

It's not easy to be a consumer these days with wireless operators all claiming to have the fastest and most robust network in the U.S. Verizon Wireless is the latest operator to launch a new advertising campaign that promotes its soon-to-be-launched 4G LTE wireless broadband network. The commercial (embedded below), which features a young man using Verizon's 4G wireless network to throw a lightning bolt into the … Read more

Spycams that can see around corners

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

MySpace now lets you sign in with your Facebook account.

We have first impressions and pricing for the Dell Inspiron Duo.

Virgin Mobile USA offers cheap broadband plans for its MiFi at Walmart.

The 10-inch Archos tablet has started to ship.

The TikTok and LunaTik are some of the more stylish iPod Nano watchbands we've seen.

A woman in China is sentenced to a year in labor camp for a retweet that the government said "disturbed social order."

Scientists at MIT have developed a camera that can photograph around corners.… Read more

Will the real 4G please stand up?

Earlier this week, T-Mobile USA, the fourth largest cell phone operator in the U.S., launched a marketing campaign calling its newly upgraded network "America's Largest 4G Network."

The claim has ruffled more than a few feathers at T-Mobile competitors, namely Sprint Nextel, which has been helping its partner Clearwire build a nationwide network using a technology called WiMax that it claims is 4G.

Verizon Wireless is also building a "4G" network using a different technology called LTE or Long Term Evolution. It plans to launch this network in 38 markets by the end of the year.… Read more

USA Today's 'secret' crossword-puzzle app for iPad

Like crossword puzzles? Put down that archaic newspaper and pencil and pick up your iPad. As I discovered recently, there's no better platform for crossword play.

Think of it: tons of puzzles on demand, zero trees sacrificed, hints and clues when you need them, and solutions on the spot (no need to wait for tomorrow's paper).

I also discovered that one of the best crossword apps--definitely the best free one--is hidden inside an app that has nothing to do with puzzles: USA Today for iPad.

Granted, the print version of the paper runs a daily crossword, but its … Read more

T-Mobile to add tethering for $15

T-Mobile USA wireless subscribers will soon be allowed to use their smartphones as modems to bring Internet access to other devices including laptops, a T-Mobile representative confirmed today.

The blog the Boy Genius Report first reported the news, citing an internal memo from T-Mobile that outlined the new plan. According to the memo, starting November 3, smartphone subscribers with an HSPA or HSPA+ phone will be able to get up to 5GB of data service per month for an additional $14.99 a month. Once users exceed the 5GB threshold, T-Mobile will throttle and slow down the traffic, the memo … Read more

Hello Kitty wraps for Smart cars not a wise idea

Hello Kitty invaded gift shops 35 years ago, and since then has killed everything in its path---speakers, keyboards, phone rechargers, even chainsaws--with cuteness. Now even Smart car owners can wrap their vehicles in the iconic Japanese feline.

Sanrio, which is celebrating it's 50th anniversary, has partnered with Smart to bring three Hello Kitty full-body designs to Smart cars.

The wraps come with a three-year warranty. Pricing starts at $550 for partial wraps (two-door panel) and $1,700 for full wraps.

"Our collaboration with smart USA allows fans to truly embrace the Hello Kitty lifestyle," said … Read more

CoPilot Live USA finds its way onto Android phones

ALK Technologies, provider of the CoPilot line of navigation software, has just announced a new low-cost version of its CoPilot 8 software for Android phones, dubbed CoPilot Live USA. It costs just under $5.

Navigation software has typically been a hard sell for Android phones, since Google started offering its Google Maps Navigation app for Android 1.6 and higher, but CoPilot Live USA has one feature that makes it worth a second look: local map data. By storing its maps locally, users are still able to plan routes when their data connection goes dark, which is a godsend for … Read more