T-Mobile CMO: subsidized pricing hurts wireless competition, undermines hardware value

Could an end to unsubsidized smartphones be on its way for US carriers? If T-Mobile’s Chief Marketing Officer Cole Brodman had his way, that familiar on-contract pricing would’ve gone the way of the Dodo a long time ago. Speaking at this week’s GeekWire Summit in Seattle, the Magenta exec vented his

Nike To Open First-Ever API To Developers At Backplane’s SXSW Music Hackathon

Last month, Jason wrote about the announcement that Backplane — the new interactive, visual platform that’s part Pinterest, part Tumblr and Ning — will be using its star power to stage an unusual event at SXSW: A music hackathon.

The startup, which is backed by Lady Gaga along with a host of Silicon

Apple WALT prototype hits eBay, reminds us of a life with landlines

As it turns out, Apple too used to announce products at trade shows… only to never actually ship them. Back in the halcyon days of the early ’90s, Apple revealed the WALT (Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone) at Macworld Boston, touting a fairly amazing feature set. Things like a touchscreen, handwriting

Live Drawing SXSW: Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think

In our last drawn session of the day, Dr. Peter Diamandis shares his vision of an abundant world. The gap between the haves and have nots is staggering, but Dr. Diamandis expects a world of automation, AI and other amazing technologies will create an environment that meets everyone’s needs, abundantly.

Ask Engadget: Best AT&T smartphone for occasional tethering?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from is from Paul who is looking for a handset for his tethering needs. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at]

Paul Graham Wants You To Build A New Search Engine, Inbox, Or Be The Next Steve Jobs

As a founding partner at Y Combinator, Paul Graham has seen more startup pitches than the average Joe. In a new essay, called "Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas", Graham makes the case that the ideas with the most disruptive potential also happen to be frightening due to the sheer ambition that they

Weekly Wrap-up: The New iPad Launches, Netflix Didn’t Know They Advertised on Limbaugh, Google Starts Selling Airfare and More

The new iPad isn’t a large step forward in terms of features, but it will be huge for Apple. Netflix didn’t realize it was advertising on the Rush Limbaugh Show. And, Google started selling airfare to searchers. All of this and more in the ReadWriteWeb Weekly Wrap-up.

After the jump you’ll find more

HP readying competitor for Amazon’s cloud computing, plans to launch soon

We’re still waiting to see where HP goes with webOS, but according to the New York Times it will officially launch a cloud computing service that competes with Amazon Web Services in the next couple of months. HP Senior VP and General Manager Zorawar Singh is quoted saying the currently in beta service

Live Drawing SXSW: Q&A With Joss Whedon

As SXSW this afternoon, geek demi-god Joss Whedon took the stage for a Q&A, first with an Entertainment Weekly writer and then with an adoring audience. The conversation jumped from his films, including the upcoming The Avengers, to his creative process, to Firefly ("I keep thinking they’re gonna crunch

The Economics Of Emotion

The most recent commercial for the BMW i3 and i8 concept cars is a great example of something enlightened marketers have known for years: emotion is the key driver behind purchasing decisions. Yet, today, most businesspeople still follow the old adage, “Emotions and business don’t mix,” relying on rational