Internet service from Verizon FiOS Speeds to 300 Mbps

Verizon Bumps Up FiOS Internet Speeds to a Maximum of 300 Mbps. Pricing for all of the tiers will be announced next month, where Verizon users can choose a standalone Internet service or add these tiers to their bundles. Verizon announced today that it will not only more than double the speeds of many FiOS Internet tiers, but will also add two new tiers.

According to Verizon, its updated FiOS Internet tiers will consist of 50/25 Mbps and 150/65 download/upload speeds. However, other entry-level options will remain the same, such as the 15/5 Mbps, 25/25 Mbps, 35/35 Mbps, 50/20 Mbps and 150/35 Mbps tiers. The two new tiers will feature 75/35 Mbps or 300/65 Mbps speeds. Verizon said the 300/65 tier is double that of the current FiOS Internet top speed, which is 150/35 Mbps.

"The ways we used the Internet and watched TV over the past 10 to 15 years have dramatically shifted," said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon's consumer and mass market business unit. "With the emergence of smartphones, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, tablets and gaming consoles that also serve as over-the-top devices, consumers need more bandwidth to receive the highest quality experience."

Each tier is targeted at a specific audience. The layout is as follows: 15/5 Mbps for a one or two person household for just email and Web browsing; 50/25 Mbps for a multi-person household that downloads music, watches videos and telecommutes; 75/35 Mbps for households that have three or more people on Internet-connected devices, stream HD movies, and play multi-player gaming, and 150/65 and 300/65 for households with five or more heavy Internet users.

"Our top FiOS speed will be twice as fast as anything America has ever seen," said Mike Ritter, chief marketing officer for Verizon's consumer and mass market business unit. "High-speed Internet no longer is just for techies, as more than half of our residential consumers already use at least a 20 Mbps Internet connection. Streaming online video on an all-fiber-optic connection providing faster speeds is better and more reliable during peak Internet usage hours.

"As recently as 2005, video was less than 10 percent of Web traffic. By the end of this year, we expect it to be 50 percent, growing to 90 percent in just a few years."

The 150/65 and 300/65 tiers will require a gigabit passive optical network (GPON) installation. Pricing for all of the tiers will be announced next month, where Verizon users can choose a standalone Internet service or add these tiers to their bundles.

Controversy about the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760

Logitech debuts new Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Meet the new Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760, the successor to Logitech's first solar keyboard, the K750, which earned a CNET Editors' Choice.

For K760 design is more compact than the K750 and more closely resembles Apple's own Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard with the addition of the strip of solar cells at the top of the unit. The key feature upgrade here is something that Logitech calls "Bluetooth connectivity with easy-switching capability." What that means is you can pair multiple devices - such as a Mac, iPad, or iPhone - and quickly switch among them with the push of a button without having to reconnect.

A demo in advance of the launch and can attest to the fact that the feature works as advertised. You can pair the keyboard to as many as three devices (in the demo, we switched from using the keyboard with an iMac to an iPad).

K750 and Logitech's just-introduced Solar Keyboard Folio for iPad, you can charge this keyboard in any light whether it be lamp light or sunlight. Logitech says that fully powered the keyboard works for at least three months, even in total darkness (based on average use per day of eight hours).

$79.99 for the price tag on the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 and it should start shipping in the next couple of weeks. No word on when or if Logitech will offer a Windows version of the keyboard but it seems like a safe bet to assume that something's in the works.

New Netbook: Lenovo Ideapad S205s

New Lenovo IdeaPad S205s netbook with up to date 4G wireless technology and you aren’t too concerned with a 2-year contract stipulation, Sprint has got the deal that you want. The deal is for the Lenovo IdeaPad S205s.

Lenovo IdeaPad S205s has 3G and 4G WiMAX potential and costs just around $200 if you sign-up for the 2-year service plan. That is an incredible deal whatever way you slice it, and even with paying for the data plan you’re still getting a great deal on the netbook.

Full specs for the S205s include an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.33 GHz Intel Pentium dual core U5600 processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and a 250GB hard drive. Software-wise, it comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. Fully charged, it holds  about five hours of battery life, so that’s plenty of time for many of your non-plugged in tasks.

And for those of you concerned about weight, it slides in at an easy 3.3 lbs. The S205 line came out in 2011 for $500 from Lenovo, but the new Sprint version has a slightly different makeup as it has an Intel processor and mobile broadband connectivity.

You should always consider data plan costs when purchasing a laptop/wireless combo, and this situation is no different. The cheapest data plan you can buy to get this deal is $49.99/month, so the full price tag for the whole two years is around $1,400. Maybe just a $299 netbook with wifi and 3G tethering will suffice.