Boxee set to battle Apple TV, Roku Video

Boxee set to battle Apple TV, Roku Video Transcript

-Hi, I'm Kara Tsuboi filling in for Bridget Carey and this is your CNET update. Cable cutters might wanna put Boxee TV on their wish list. The system is now selling at Walmart stores for $99 and it includes a fes perks for early adaptors. Boxee is a DVR with antenna for picking up basic cable or broadcast TV. It also pulls in several subscription services like Netflix. The DVR service will be free for 3 months for anyone who buys it during the holiday season. You can also get 3 months of Netflix for free and limitless DVR service for 10 bucks a month after that. AT&T and T-Mobile are making it hard for smartphone thieves. Both GSM carriers have turned on a database that allows them to block a device from being used as soon as someone reports it's stollen. In the past, carriers would shut off a SIM card to block a stollen smartphone, but it wasn't full proof since the crook could just put in another GSM Carrier SIM card. Verizon and Sprint will also launch a similar database to block stollen phones on their CDMA networks. Of course, you still need to be careful about sensitive data on your smartphone. A thief can grab data of the device before carrier blocks it. AT&T also announced the new app for storing and sharing photos and videos. It's called AT&T locker and the app gives Apple and android customers 5 gigs of storage for free. Photos and videos taken can be saved to the locker and users have the option to share files to social media and e-mail. Customers can also use the space to store music and other files. Amazon has been busy making its own games and just released its first one for mobile devices called Air Patriots. The app is available on Kindle Fire, android and Apple devices. It's a basic tower defense type game or players direct the path of airplanes during battle. This is the second title from Amazon game studios back in august and made Facebook story game called Living classics. Apples WiFi version of the iPad mini goes on sales Friday morning along with the new 4th generation iPad. Log on to CNET for launch date coverage. Lower Manhattan as well as many areas of the East Coast are still without power following the storm but federal official say there has been slight improvement to getting networks backup and just like previous disasters, the Red Cross is taking donations via text messages. Texting Red Cross to 90999 gives $10 to help the families impacted by the storm, and Apples iTunes is now a hub for donating to the Red Cross. That's your tech news update for today. You find links to all today's stories on blog CENT.com/update. From our studios in Francisco, I'm Kara Tsubio.