Laptop just confirmed that Verizon is launching V-Cast video tomorrow. The service will cost $15 a month or $25 a month for video and mobile web. There will only be a few markets at launch including Albuquerque and Salt Lake City, but expect UHF bands to clear up in other cities soon.

This is mostly exciting for Verizon customers who like video on the mobile, which is something we are sorely lacking here in the states. It’s exciting to see someone else taking the initiative to bring us into the 19th century.

Verizon V CAST Mobile TV Launching Tomorrow [LaptopMag]

Can you say blogfight?

UPDATE – It seems there was no line for the press, but where I was standing there sure seemed like a line. Perhaps there’s no line for people who get the PR folks attention while the rest of the journos stand quietly waiting to be checked in?

Kotaku scooped a tasty little piece about Ethur, a faith-based cult in California, attacking Nintendo’s Wii. In a press release released by Ethur and ThePornTalk.com, the initiative attempts to expose the dangers of WiiPorn (not to be confused with WeePorn, which is a whole different story altogether).

The frightening quotes come from ThePornTalk.com founder Mike Foster. Like the zipper and so many other devilish creations that came before them, argues Foster, WiFi enabled consoles are gateways to sex, debauchery, AIDS, and, worst of all, becoming a liberal.

Foster believes that despite the safeguards available on the Wii and similar system, parents seldom take advantage of the precautionary features. The result is a veritable porn heaven that, in addition to blindness and hairy palms, will lead to, you know, a fiery hell.

Anywho, here is the full press release for your entertainment: Read More

Sometimes it takes bold moves for real action to happen. Lucky for us, Representatives Richard Boucher from Virginia and John Dolittle from California have the guts to stand up to the RIAA and say “We don’t need no stinkin’ DRM!” The digital fair use bill was introduced to Congress today, which is supposed to give customers more rights when buying digital content. Basically, it’s a way of giving DRM the boot and handing choice back into the arms of the consumer.

Maybe Steve Jobs will get his wish of having a DRM-free iTMS this year, though I’m not holding my breath. If there ever was a time to call your congressman/woman or state rep., now is the time to do it. Let’s show groups like the RIAA and MPAA that we’re sick of their crap and we demand change.

Digital ‘Fair Use’ Bill Introduced In Congress [Washington Post]

Long “celebrated” by consumers for its lenient return policies, CostCo has begun to feel burned by its nice guy persona. Customers have taken advantage of the policy to an unfair degree, returning ancient items in exchange for newer, fancier devices. Great for the customer, bad for business.

In response, CostCo is cutting its open-ended return policy back to 90 days—which is still pretty damn good. It will also be extending the warranties on TVs and PCs for total of two years. And it will start a technical support hotline in order to provide assistance to frustrated consumers.

While it sucks to see this go away, I really can’t complain. For starters, we don’t have CostCo in Louisiana, so it’s irrelevant to me. But, speaking reasonably, that return policy was shenanigans. A total money pit for the company and wholly unnecessary.

Costco tightens return policy on electronics [MSNBC]

No real information on this one beyond a few pics. We know it’ll be a GPS (duh it’s TomTom), SD, Bluetooth dialing and voice SMS and interface changes. It’ll also have a new docking system that will allow you to cradle your TomTom and use it to control an iPod or USB storage device.

More pics after the jump: Read More

No matter who you are, you’re bound to have at least one juicy video on your cellphone. Whether it’s footage of a riot, you making out with some girl, or Blake’s Mom giving a lavish striptease, chances are your cellphone screen is just too small to enjoy watching anything longer than 30 seconds. Neochroma is looking to change that by blowing up the size of your cellphone’s display to computer monitor size. It works by laying your phone on top of the device and then looking through it like a Viewmaster 3D. The company says that the device should be relatively inexpensive and available in the next two years.

Neochroma enlarges tiny mobile phone displays to desktop monitor size [Neochroma]

In this week’s IP-Review on digital cameras and displays, we find a slick Konica Rollable LCD screen for digital cameras and found an “immersive theater” concept patented by Kodak.

What looks to be taken out of the movie Minority Report, the Konica display technology is described as using “electronic paper, [wherein] the liquid crystal layers of red, green and blue are superimposed, attraction and separation of toner between two layers is used, and the organic EL is light-emitted on the film.” Highly compact, we’d really love to see Konica push this development into a prototype. Is something in the works? Read More