Tag: CONSUMER

Google reached a historic settlement with the Federal Trade Commission yesterday, bringing an end to the FTC's investigation into Google Buzz -- the social network that has mired the company in allegations of privacy violations. Under the settlement, Google will have to implement a "comprehensive privacy program," and will be subject to independent audits for the next two decades. Yesterday's ...

In the largest deal the wireless industry has seen since 2004, AT&T has agreed to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stocks. In acquiring T-Mobile from parent company Deutsche Telekom, AT&T will pick up an extra 34 million wireless customers, and will provide service to about 43-percent of all U.S. cell phones, making it the country's largest network operator. At the end of ...

Apparently, U.S. residents between 25- and 29-years old have become the first age group to truly ditch the landline, as a full 51-percent of them are using cell phones exclusively. This is probably due in part to the fact that cell phones' address books make it much easier to keep track of all those numbers for our parents' home phones, cell phones, work phones, work cell phones... ...

You may get impatient with those annoying 15-second ads you have to sit through before watching some online TV shows, but according to new research from Turner Broadcasting, most consumers may be willing to endure even more commercial airtime. To test consumer feedback, Turner fed different commercial formats to three randomized groups of visitors to the sites tbs.com and tnt.com. One group ...

Consumers may be willing to spend exorbitant amounts of money on tickets to 3-D movies, but, according to a new study from Nielsen, they're a lot less willing to drop hard-earned cash on actual 3-D glasses. As USA Today reports, Nielsen's study, titled 'Focusing on the 3DTV Experience,' involved 425 people, each of whom was given a pair of glasses to watch 30 minutes worth of 3-D television. ...

Earlier this month, AT&T and Verizon announced a joint venture to test a new system that would allow customers to pay for products with their smartphones. Now, Bank of America and Visa have followed in their footsteps, and, as Reuters reports, will begin testing their own smartphone-payment system next month.The test run, which will take place in New York from September through the end of ...

Techcrunch reports that Yelp has been quietly experimenting by offering local deals to users in a select few cities. In a bit of misplaced hyperbole, the site claims that "Yelp Gears Up to Take on Groupon." But is that the case? No, we don't think so. Yelp reported back to Techcrunch that it had indeed run "a short test in Sacramento" for Papillon Salon. But Yelp also noted that it has "hosted ...

Well, this should delight anybody who has a cell phone and likes to have money (i.e., most everybody). According to The New York Times, the Federal Communications Commission has apparently outlined a plan that would require cell phone providers to warn us of the wacky charges they're piling on us when we unwittingly exceed our plans. The plan was spearheaded by the FCC's chief of Consumer and ...

There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web. Um. So Chris Jarvis was asked to leave a job center in London for refusing to remove his hood. Why did he not comply? Because he's a Jedi, and a member of the Church ...

Share When Sarah Kohl-Leaf and her husband went to a recent screening of 'Shutter Island,' they were expecting another normal, pleasant night at the movies. Little did they know, however, that they were about to embark on a customer service nightmare of epic proportions. When they arrived at the St. Croix Falls Cinema in Wisconsin, they found themselves short on cash. Since the theater's ATM was ...

Anyone who has even walked passed a 'Marketing 101' class would know the term 'early adopter.' Whether wealthy or just hungry for the new, those in this segment of the market pushed ahead for new technology while other consumers were happy with what they had, until they were forced to change. Yet, that game itself is changing, says market analyst group Forrester Research. According to the New ...

YouTube is experimenting with a new ad delivery system that lets viewers choose to watch either a relatively lengthy pre-video advertisement, or to stick with shorter ads inserted throughout the video. Note that these ads will only appear on sponsored videos, not the meme masterpiece of Keyboard Cat teaming with Hall & Oates. Although this change may not seem like a big deal, giving viewers ...

Assertive. A strong leader. Possibly arrogant. Who do these traits typify? A presidential candidate? Captain of industry? Not quite. According to a recent study conducted by Nielsen Online and Mindset Media, these are the typical character traits of many a gadget lover and early adopter. They are an assertive bunch, they show leadership traits and dynamism but interestingly enough these folks ...

Consumer advocacy site The Consumerist has spotted a story out of Fort Worth, Texas of a woman using the power of Google to fight an illegal tow. Dottie Kitchen had her ride jacked by a local tow company (for reasons not explained) and was slammed with a stiff $600 fine. After forking over the cash to free up her wheels, Dottie took to Google to do some recon on Preferred Auto Adjusters -- the ...

For many, the prospect of shopping for a new gadget can be scary. Like, Alec Baldwin screaming at you when you're 13, scary. But a new consumer electronics-shopping site, TechSelector, aims to make the experience a painless one. Does it work? Switched recently took the site for a test drive, and found TechSelector a snap to use. When you first arrive, you're asked what kind of new trinket ...