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$49 Griffin helicopter takes flight with iPhone controls

The typical $40 remote-control helicopter comes with a tiny, imprecise controller. Griffin’s just-announced Helo TC turns your iPhone into the flight stick , with your choice of onscreen or accelerometer controls. Price: $49.99. The kit consists of a dual-rotor ‘copter and the Flight Deck, a case/sled that cradles your iPhone and controls the flyer via line-of-sight infrared. It also plugs …

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Apple Stores sued in China, allegedly selling refurb iPhones as new

Apple The Global Times, a news site in China, reports that two lawsuits have been filed charging that Apple is knowingly selling refurbished iPhones as new products in their stores. “Six consumers who recently bought iPhones in Apple stores at Xicheng district’s Xidan Joy City and Chaoyang district’s Sanlitun, and some other authorized dealers, found their phones have a shorter …

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Report: Cell phone use could reduce sperm count

Gentlemen, your cell phone could be your closest enemy. According to an Italian report published in the Journal of Andrology (PDF), researchers in the United States and around the world have found that the radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted by cell phones may decrease sperm count and damage sperm quality. Though still inconclusive, the research focuses on several studies on …

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Leaked photo could show iPhone 5 screen production

Cult of Mac Well it’s not September 7 (or is it October 7) yet, so there’s still time for some crazy iPhone 5 fever to spread around the Web. Today’s installment brings a leaked photo reportedly depicting factory workers preparing iPhone 5 screens. Two unfortunate details exist about this photograph however. The first, is the stunning lack of clarity in …

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HP dropped the ball on WebOS

I’m upset. Really, really upset. Earlier today, HP dropped the bombshell that it was abandoning WebOS and discontinuing the production of the TouchPad and WebOS phones. True, this doesn’t mean that WebOS is completely dead, as HP could sell or license the mobile operating system, but in a competitive market that’s dominated by iOS and Android, it would be a …

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WebOS goes down in quiet death

In the end, Hewlett-Packard had as much luck with WebOS as Palm did. Maybe even less. So long, TouchPad. We hardly knew you. HP said today it will discontinue operations for devices running on WebOS, including its recently launched TouchPad and smartphones. It’s part of a broader shake-up including the potential sale of the company’s personal systems group, which deals …

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Ice Cream Sandwich

New rumors and anonymous details have surfaced this week that point to a third “Pure Google” phone arriving in October with the latest build of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. According to information out of Korea’s Electronic Times, the handset is expected to come from Samsung, run Android 4.0 and feature a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 720p Super AMOLED HD display. …

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Skype Wi

Data roaming bills just went bye-bye. Surfing the Web while travelling the world potentially became much cheaper today with the new Skype Wi-Fi app, which lets you connect your iPhone or iPad to more than a million hotspots round the world on the cheap. The app lets you pay for Wi-Fi on a minute-to-minute basis using credit bought through Skype …

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Google’s $12.5B hookup with Motorola Mobility (roundup)

Android’s parent comes a-calling for the handset maker as the stakes heat up for dominance in the smartphone sector. CNET and its sister sites bring you in-depth coverage. Five possible responses to Google-Motorola When big acquisitions are announced, there’s likely an aftershock that reverberates through an industry. CNET takes a look at some possible scenarios for Google and Motorola competitors. …

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