My Comcast DVR died last week, so down I went to my local Comcast office to exchange it for a new box. Although I lost weeks’ worth of Modern Family (which, inexplicably, isn’t offered On Demand), my DVR’s death came at a good time because Comcast recently received a new fleet of cable boxes and …

More movies will be streamed this year than DVDs or Blu-rays bought, according to a new report. As Netflix, Lovefilm and now Sky’s Now TV step up online streaming, could 2012 mark the end of the physical disc? Bloomberg reports that streaming will overtake physical discs this year in the US, increasing to 3.4bn titles watched online, up from 1.4bn …

The Australian is reporting that the Nine Network is planning to run a free-to-air 3D channel for the duration of the London Olympic Games. According to the report, the network has lodged an application with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), as well as with the communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, to run a 3D trial channel. If successful, …

The Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection box-set is due out in the UK on September 10, with Amazon.co.uk listing the mammoth collection at a Gringotts-busting £195. Potter fans looking for a wizard wheeze should pay attention to the noises their lungs make as they lug this epic box-set from their doorstep to the living room. The Wizard’s Collection comprises a whopping …

Sky Anytime+, the on-demand online service, is now available regardless of who you have your broadband with — so if you’re a Sky subscriber but don’t get your broadband from Murdoch’s empire, you can still use the service. Previously, you needed an account with Sky Broadband to catch-up online. You’ll still need a Sky+ HD account, but Sky estimates another …

Without the usual fanfare, Telstra has begun selling the 4G variant of the popular Samsung Galaxy S II. (Credit: Samsung) Available through its online store today, the new Galaxy S II looks much the same as the handset released in Australia by Samsung last year, but with several improvements below the surface. Obviously, the handset is compatible with Telstra’s new …

Good news for Android users who’ve had to sit by the sidelines watching their iOS friends have all the Instagram fun. The company yesterday opened a sort of registration for Android users, giving them the chance to be “first in line” for the app made for Google’s platform. Related stories Instagram Phishing Scam Exploits Users’ Desire to Be Verified, Report …

Sony today confirmed its newset flagship handset, the Xperia S, will go on sale in Australia from “early April”. (Credit: Sony) Vodafone and Crazy Johns have locked in 11 April for the date of release for the new Android-powered handset. Optus has confirmed it will range the Xperia S, but has not yet settled on a firm date in April. …

In line with the announcements from Optus and Virgin Mobile last week, Vodafone will join HTC in launching the One X smartphone, with handsets in store on 3 April. This image is taken from Vodafone’s pre-registration page for the HTC One X. (Screenshot by CBSi) Vodafone Australia has a pre-registration page live on its site now, though there is no …

The Nine Network is cashing in on its TV datacasting licence with the launch of the home shopping channel Extra, which began broadcasting at 6am this morning. It seems that anything Seven can do, Nine can do similarly. In terms of locally produced content, the two networks have very similar line-ups: a single word, not too news-heavy breakfast show (Sunrise …

A record number of smartphones will jump on the LTE bandwagon before the year is over. Eyeing a “breakout year” for 4G technology, Strategy Analytics expects LTE phone shipments to grow 10-fold in 2012, rising to 67 million units from just 6.8 million last year. The push is being driven across the entire industry. “Multiple operators and multiple phone vendors …

AT&T is using T-Mobile’s recent layoffs as an excuse to bash the FCC and its rejection of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. On Friday AT&T’s head of legislative affairs Jim Cicconi issued a statement offering a big fat “I told you so,” to the FCC. T-Mobile recently announced it was laying off 1,900 workers in seven call …

Video chatting in Hangouts is busting out of Google+. Video calls among two or more Google+ users was the big draw when Hangouts launched, but now Google has flipped the switch the allow Google+ users to make phone calls to almost any phone number, not just within the Google+ ecosystem. That means that users will be able, for example, place …

If you lie awake at night worrying about faceless organisations listening in to your mobile phone calls and making judgements on the minutiae of your miserable life, then help is at hand. The Tripleton Enigma E2 is being billed as the world’s most secure mobile — and it has a serious price-tag to match: £1,320. Sure, it may look just …

In an age of clone phones, it’s refreshing to come across a handset with a character of its own. It might be just me, but the combination of the aesthetics and its software interface on the Huawei Pinnacle for MetroPCS struck a chord. With the vast majority of the phones I touch being Android handsets, using the Pinnacle made an …