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http://www.lern2play.com http://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114850-muti-best-of-bigfish-games-col... Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 02:20 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114849-muti-fishing-simulator-ii-v2-13d-repack-2010-a.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 02:16 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114848-muti-one-piece-escape-boa-hancock-nna-mikado-shuujin-h-hentai.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 02:12 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114847-muti-gelaendewagen-simulator-2012-other-full-iso.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 02:10 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114846-muti-dr-sugimotos-lecherous-treatment-hentai.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 02:06 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114845-muti-battle-raper-2-hentai-eng.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 02:03 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114844-muti-pc-lusty-ladies-sexclub-content-pack-1-3-mods-erotic-game.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 02:01 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114843-muti-fallout-new-vegas-the-complete-edition-update-7-dlc.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 12:36 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114842-muti-pc-ground-control-2-ii-operation-exodus-real-time-tactics-full-iso-eng.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 12:33 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114841-muti-roller-coaster-tycoon-3-soaked-wild-park-building-full-iso-eng.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 12:30 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114840-muti-overlord-role-playing-full-iso-eng.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 12:27 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114839-muti-curling.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 12:24 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114838-muti-darkalleys-penumbra-motel-pc-eng-beta.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 12:22 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/mmorpg-general/114837-muti-just-dance-kids-2-usa-wii-procision.html Forum: MMORPG General Posted By: uploadprohy Post Time: 11-07-2011 at 12:19 AMhttp://www.lern2play.com/games-general/114836-duke-nukem-forever-proper-skidrow.html Forum: Games General Posted By: kahn Post Time: 11-06-2011 at 05:31 PM

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Facebook -Like Portal Helps Teens with Crohn's Collaborate on Medical Research

Advances | Health Cover Image: November 2011 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

A team of pediatricians and computer scientists is developing a social network that turns doctors and patients into research collaborators


Image: Illustrations by Thomas Fuchs

Despite medical advances, the treatment of many chronic diseases remains haphazard and inconsistent. Teenagers with Crohn?s disease, a painful digestive disorder often diagnosed in adolescence, for example, sometimes get conflicting information regarding medications, diet modifications and alternative therapies. To help improve the care these patients receive, a team of pediatricians and computer scientists is developing a new type of social network that turns doctors and patients into research collaborators.

Here is how it works: With each therapy or treatment modification, doctor and patient participate in a mini clinical trial. The patient records symptoms through daily reports, filed via text message or the Internet. The doctor uses that information to make immediate decisions. Should the dosage of medication be changed? Is the new diet helping to alleviate symptoms? And the data from those individual experiments are then deposited in a Web bank, where they can be aggregated with other patient data, from similar experiments, to further the understanding of the condition in question. In early tests of this process, doctors were able to increase the rate of remission from 55 to 78 percent without adding any new medications to their arsenal. ?The idea is to make care continuous and to collect real-time data that will change our understanding and treatment of [Crohn?s],? says Peter Margolis of Cincinnati Children?s Hospital Medical Center, a co-founder of the new portal, the Collaborative Chronic Care Network.

The network, known as C3N, launched earlier this year at some 30 institutions around the country. For now it focuses on pediatric Crohn?s, but it could grow to include other conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, psoriasis and some cancers. The site?s founders believe C3N will also provide a new platform for clinical research, one that is significantly less profit-driven. ?Because large-scale clinical trials are so expensive, we only ever really test the treatments that promise a big payoff,? says Ian Eslick, a Ph.D. candidate at the M.I.T. Media Lab and C3N?s chief Web architect. ?With C3N, we can scientifically test all the other things?probiotics, gluten-free diets, changes in iron intake?that people are already trying at home and that seem promising, even if they aren?t profitable.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=a90b86cd571dc1e5358fbb08254625a2

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Greek premier struggles to end political deadlock (AP)

ATHENS, Greece ? Greece's prime minister struggled Saturday to form a temporary coalition government in the near-bankrupt country, extending a political deadlock threatening billions in international rescue funds.

In an impassioned plea to parliament late Friday, George Papandreou agreed to step aside as premier if necessary to help hammer out a coalition, offering to include the conservative opposition party ? a possibility swiftly rejected by its leader.

Papandreou said a new coalition government would need four months to secure the new euro130 billion ($179 billion) rescue agreement and demonstrate the country's commitment to remaining in the eurozone.

"Cooperation is necessary to guarantee ? for Greece and for our partners ? that we can honor our commitments," Papandreou said at a meeting Saturday with President Karolos Papoulias, hours after his Socialist government narrowly survived a confidence vote.

"I am concerned that a lack of cooperation could trouble how our partners see our will and desire to remain in the central core of the European Union and the euro."

But Papandreou's plea was snubbed by conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras.

"We have not asked for any place in his government. All we want is for Mr. Papandreou to resign, because he has become dangerous for the country," Samaras said in a televised address. "We insist on immediate elections."

Samaras was due to meet the president at 1:00 p.m. (1100GMT) Sunday.

Frustrated with Greece's protracted political disagreements, the country's creditors have threatened to withhold the next critical euro8 billion ($11 billion) loan installment until the new debt deal is formally approved in Greece.

Greece is surviving on a euro110 billion ($150 billion) rescue-loan program from eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund. It is currently finalizing a second major deal: to receive an additional euro130 billion ($179 billion) in rescue loans and bank support, with banks agreeing to cancel 50 percent of their Greek debt.

Midway through his four-year term, Papandreou was forced by his austerity-weary Socialist party into seeking cross-party support after he abandoned a disastrous proposal to hold a referendum on a new European debt deal ? which prompted havoc on world markets and anger from creditors.

Papandreou's popularity has been battered by two years of punishing austerity, causing crippling strikes, violent protests and sharp drop in living standards for ordinary Greeks who face repeated rounds of tax hikes and cuts in pension and salaries.

Late Friday, Papandreou won a confidence vote in the Socialist-led parliament on a pledge that he was willing to quit and form a caretaker coalition.

But he insisted an immediate election would paralyze government and endanger the new rescue deal.

The conservative snub left Papandreou with limited options: negotiating with conservative splinter groups and independents to attract consensus, and possibly invite respected non-politicians to join the effort.

"(Papandreou) will not resign immediately and he cannot resign before there is a new government. What remains to be seen is how flexible he will be in seeking a different governmental makeup," Ilias Nicolacopoulos, a prominent political analyst told AP television.

"There will be a tough game of poker."

___

Theodora Tongas contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111105/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_greece_financial_crisis

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Car-Loan Shenanigans, Trouble for the Boy Scouts, and Another Cain Scandal

Power Play: Utility Companies Pull Plug on Competition, New England Center for Investigative Reporting
Since the 1920s, a Massachusetts law has banned cities and towns from creating new, locally run electrical companies. Big utility companies have been lobbying the state legislature to keep this ban on the books, even though local utilities?created before the ban?got power up and running much faster than the big companies after Hurricane Irene.
Contributed by @NECIRBU

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=9746447d3262c2aa45bd13e246c96f6d

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Fed-up consumers planning for 'Bank Transfer Day'

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2011 file photo, a protesters sits in front of an ATM machine as a customer gets money at a Bank of America branch in Oakland, Calif. The spirit behind "Bank Transfer Day" caught fire with the Occupy Wall Street protests around the country and had more than 77,000 supporters on its Facebook page as of Friday. The movement has already helped beat back Bank of America's plan to start charging a $5 debit card fee. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2011 file photo, a protesters sits in front of an ATM machine as a customer gets money at a Bank of America branch in Oakland, Calif. The spirit behind "Bank Transfer Day" caught fire with the Occupy Wall Street protests around the country and had more than 77,000 supporters on its Facebook page as of Friday. The movement has already helped beat back Bank of America's plan to start charging a $5 debit card fee. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

This undated photo shows Dan Blakemore, a 28 year old New York City resident, who said he is holding off on closing his Bank of America account now that the bank canceled plans to charge a $5 monthly debit card fee. (AP Photo/Maria Hanely Blakemore)

(AP) ? It's moving day for bank customers.

A grassroots movement that sprang to life last month is urging bank customers to close their accounts in favor of credit unions by Saturday.

The spirit behind "Bank Transfer Day" caught fire with the Occupy Wall Street protests around the country and had more than 79,000 supporters on its Facebook page as of Friday. The movement has already helped beat back Bank of America's plan to start charging a $5 debit card fee.

It's not clear to what extent the banking industry's about-face on debit card fees will extinguish the anger driving the movement. But many supporters say their actions are about far more than any single complaint.

"It's too little, too late," said Kristen Christian, the 27-year-old Los Angeles small business owner who started "Bank Transfer Day." She already opened accounts at two credit unions in preparation for cutting ties with Bank of America this weekend.

"Consumers are waking up and seeing that they have options," she said.

Even with its public support, however, it's not likely that any account closings that take place on Saturday will make a big dent with industry titans such as Chase, which is the largest bank in the country with some 26.5 million checking accounts.

But the call to action shows just how incensed consumers were at the prospect of a debit card fee at a time of so much economic uncertainty. Even those who were appeased by the industry's reversal may have tapped into a new sense of empowerment.

That's the case for Dan Blakemore, a Bank of America customer for the past 10 years. He said he no longer plans to close his checking account now that the debit fee has been scrapped. But he'll be on the lookout for any other changes that might hit his wallet.

"I'm pretty confident they're going to find some way to get that extra money," said Blakemore, a 28-year-old who works for a nonprofit fundraiser in New York City. "I'll just have to see if it offends my sensibility enough to close the account."

Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. are keeping mum on whether they've seen an uptick in account closures in recent weeks. But credit unions and small community banks have been basking in the spotlight and issuing press releases highlighting what they say are superior interest rates and more intimate service, along with tips on how consumers can transfer accounts. They haven't been shy about the surge in new business they're enjoying either.

Navy Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union in the country, says new account openings in September and October were up 38 percent from a year ago. National Capital Bank, a two-branch community bank in Washington, D.C., says the vast majority of its new account openings in recent weeks have been by fed up Bank of America customers.

"The debit fee was definitely a driver," said Noah Wilcox, president of Grand Rapids State Bank in Minnesota, which is also enjoying a lift in account openings.

Because credit unions and community banks vary so greatly in size, however, it's hard to gauge the total scope of the defections they're reporting. For example, the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union in New York City says it's enjoying more than 55 new account openings a week. That's a big jump from its average of about 10 new accounts per week, but insignificant when weighed against the portfolios of the nation's largest banks.

Big banks have also learned that customer grumblings don't always translate into action. That's particularly true for those who have multiple accounts, direct deposit and automatic bill pay; many decide that switching just isn't worth the hassle.

"People will do a lot of complaining before they actually uproot and move," notes Mark Schwanhausser, a banking analyst with Javelin Strategy & Research.

The recent firestorm over debit card fees was "in a class of its own" because customers saw it as a charge for accessing their own money, he said.

The timing of Bank of America's fee announcement was unfortunate on multiple levels as well. In addition to the anxiety many are feeling amid high unemployment and stagnant wages, the news broke just as the Occupy Wall Street protests were capturing the national spotlight.

And big banks have been a key target for Occupy Wall Street, which has tapped into the lingering resentment many harbor over the role of banks in the financial meltdown of 2008.

Last month, two dozen Occupy Wall Street protestors were arrested when they entered a Citibank branch in New York City and refused to leave. Protestors have also banged drums and demonstrated outside bank branches in other cities; PNC Bank twice closed branches in downtown Pittsburgh last week after protestors entered.

But those are the extremes. Schwanhausser of Javelin said many customers will likely be placated by the industry's white flag on debit card fees.

"People are people going to look at that Nov. 5 date and say 'We made our point'," Schwanhausser said

The banking industry may feel the same way; representatives for Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo indicate they haven't done anything to prepare branch employees for a surge in account closings this weekend. Then again, many of the closures may have already taken place.

Molly Katchpole, a 22-year-old nanny in Washington, D.C., who started an online petition urging Bank of America to drop its debit card fee, says the bank's about-face won't win her back.

"The damage is done," said Katchpole, who has since joined a credit union in Washington, D.C.

___

Candice Choi can be reached at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-04-Bank%20Transfer%20Day/id-13d4e1ef1ae44a75a9ae8ac63c620ca1

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AUTOMOTIVE - AUTOS: Roush Enhances Mustang Stage 3

AUTOS: Roush Enhances Mustang Stage 3

Performance builder's Premier Edition adds features and amenities to the 540-horsepower supercharged 2012 pony car unveiled at SEMA.

When it comes to pony cars, you can?t have too much of a good thing. Enter the 2012 Roush Stage 3 Mustang Premier Edition, which provides plenty of go, improved handling and just enough bling to stand out from the rest of the herd.

Unveiled at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, the Premier Edition adds a higher level of features and upgrades to the standard Roush Stage 3 Mustang, along with painted stripes, Premier Edition badging, color-matched interior elements and the whole complement of go-fast parts that make up a Roush Mustang, including:

? Supercharged 5-liter engine, good for 540 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque.
? 20-inch wheels with ultra-high-performance tires.
? Performance-tuned suspension.
? Enhanced brake package.
? Roush body kit.

The Premier Edition cars come in show-quality, tri-coat metallic paint colors including Blue Bayou, Gold Rush, Mat It Mango, Motor City Iron, Red Blooded American and seven other hues that ensure you?ll be able to find your car in the parking lot.

Roush Stage 3 Mustangs are legitimately quick around a racetrack, as demonstrated by Billy Johnson?s third-place finish (behind a Nissan GT-R and a Porsche Turbo S) on this year?s One Lap of America.

Considering the package contents, the price of a 2012 Roush Stage 3 Premier Edition ($40,250, plus the cost of a Mustang GT) isn?t all that bad. In fact, if we could sell unneeded internal organs for cash, we?d probably be e-mailing Roush by now.

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-roush-enhances-mustang-stage-3/

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Syrian forces kill 4 at start of Muslim Feast: activists (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) ? Syrian forces shot dead at least four civilians on Sunday in a continued military assault on the city of Homs and in an attack on pro-democracy demonstrations that erupted after prayers marking the main Muslim feast, an activist group said.

Three people were killed in the central city of Homs, where a main district has been under tank bombardment since Tuesday. One protester was shot dead when security police fired on a demonstration demanding the removal of President Bashar al-Assad in the city of Hama to the north, the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) said.

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111106/wl_nm/us_syria_killings

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Twitter changes business of celebrity endorsements (AP)

NEW YORK ? Rapper Snoop Dogg gave props on Twitter to an ad for the Toyota Sienna minivan. Actress Tori Spelling linked to a website for rental cars. And reality TV star Khloe Kardashian soliloquized about the brand of jeans that accentuates the famous Kardashian derriere.

"Want to know how Old Navy makes your butt look scary good? Ask a Kardashian," the reality TV star wrote, or tweeted, on the social media website. Of course, she capped off the reflection with a smiley face.

These celebs aren't just writing about family cars and fashion choices for the heck of it. Stars can get paid big bucks ? sometimes $10,000 or more per post ? to pontificate about clothes, cars and movies in the 140 characters or less allowed per tweet. That's adds up to about $71 per character.

Twitter, which in its five-year existence has reshaped how people shop, vote and start revolutions, is now changing the business of celebrity endorsements. Just as Match.com and eHarmony pair up singles for dates, a growing number of startup firms are hooking up companies with stars who get paid to praise products to their thousands ? sometimes millions ? of Twitter followers.

The list of celebs and the things they hawk is long and getting longer all the time. The endorsements range from subtle to blatant; the celeb pairings from sensible to downright odd.

Singer Ray J urged his 600,000-plus Twitter followers to see the horror movie "Saw 3D." Football star Terrell Owens gave a shout-out in front of his more than 1 million followers to a hotel chain giving away sports tickets: "Comfort Inn is hooking up 3 days of it!" Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers forward, tweeted to his nearly 2 million followers about hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Jay-Z's book "Decoded": "My man Jay-Z ... only rapper to rewrite history without a pen. Until now."

Of course, anything on Twitter is short-lived and reaches only a small, self-selecting audience: Research firm eMarketer estimates that only 11 percent of U.S. adult Internet users are on the micro-blogging site. And even though some celebs have faithful groups of followers, it can be hard to measure whether their tweets lead people to spend.

Still, celeb tweets can be a way to grab a captive audience at a time when many people are skipping TV commercials with their digital video recorders. And paying a celeb to tweet is much cheaper than a traditional advertising campaign. Want a tweet from Khloe Kardashian? That will cost about $8,000, according to prices listed by social media marketer Izea. Looking for a cheaper option? Ray J is about $2,300.

Companies like Izea, Ad.ly and twtMob usually pair products with celebs through a combination of software algorithms and Hollywood instinct. The companies say they use many metrics to gauge the effectiveness of a paid tweet, such as the number of times it gets reposted by others.

When Ad.ly got Charlie Sheen to tweet for Interships.com in March, the actor was in the midst of getting fired from his sitcom "Two and a Half Men" over accusations of hard partying and drug use. Within an hour of Sheen's first post, Internships.com got more than 95,000 clicks.

"I'm looking to hire a (hash)winning INTERN with (hash)TigerBlood," tweeted Sheen, who had just recently signed up for Twitter and now has more than 5 million followers.

Dan Smith, vice president of marketing for the website CampusLIVE, which helps advertisers connect with college students, hired Izea to help him get a celebrity to tweet about his company. Izea gave him a short list, which included names like "Jersey Shore" reality TV star JWOWW, comedian Michael Ian Black and rapper Bow Wow.

Smith polled his interns and they picked Lindsay Lohan, the actress most famous for her run-ins with the law. According to Smith, CampusLIVE paid Lohan about $3,500 for one tweet: "These challenges for college kids on (hash)CampusLIVE are SO addicting!"

The post to Lohan's 2.6 million fans drove about 4,500 clicks to the website, Smith said. But he also said he wasn't sure if he'd use her again ? not because of her troubles, but because he's already tapped her fan base. His interns wanted to know if comedian Will Ferrell is available. Said Smith: "That would be a cool one to get."

For the record, Ferrell isn't on Twitter, says his spokesman, Matt Labov, who adds that the Twitter handles sporting his name are "imposters."

For her part, Lohan on her own time tweets about topics like fulfilling her community service sentence. But she has also posted comments for Izea on a few occasions, the company says. Her tweets about wind energy ("While saving the world ... save money! I love it!") and about a gold mining company ("R ur savings safe? Think again!") were paid endorsements, according to Izea's website.

Those posts, along with the CampusLIVE tweet, included the characters "(hash)ad" at the end, which indicates that a post is a paid endorsement. But Lohan's publicist, Steve Honig, says that Lohan does not "sell" her tweets: "She uses Twitter to communicate with her fans and let them know what she's up to."

Like any endorsement, celeb tweets come with the risk that a star's behavior will not coincide with the company's image. And of course, there's a science to picking the right one: Will consumers buy that their favorite rapper drives a minivan?

Twitter generally allows the paid tweets, as long as they're posted manually and not automated by a computer program. The Federal Trade Commission suggests endorsers end their tweets with the (hash) symbol, called a hash tag, and the letters "ad" or "spon," short for "sponsored by," to clarify that they're ads.

"The more transparent you are with your audience on Twitter, the more powerful that connection is," said Rachael Horwitz, a company spokeswoman.

Ed Aranda, a 27-year-old graphic designer and copy writer in Erie, Pa., doesn't like celebs mining their fans' trust to sell a product. Still, he thinks those reading the tweets should take responsibility.

"If you can't tell snake oil when it's being sold to you," Aranda said, "then you probably deserve what you're buying."

___

AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111103/ap_on_hi_te/us_celebs_paid_tweets

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HTC Rezound hands-on (video)

As expected, the HTC made the Rezound official at today's event in New York. Also, as expected, this is one multimedia-centric phone we're looking at here, starting with its big and bright 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD display. Despite its decently large screen size, the phone is surprisingly light and feels nice in the hand. Unlike Motorola and Samsung, however, the company wasn't all that focused on thinness with the Rezound, and the thing rocks a slightly convex back -- not unlike the HTC Vivid on AT&T, which has a prominent hump on the back cover. However you slice it, though, it's a great looking phone. The company clearly put some though into the appearance of the device, with its textured back featuring red accents -- a clear reference to the company's partnership with Beats. If you read our review of the Sensation XE, you know HTC's design philosophy didn't change much in its journey across the Atlantic.

Unfortunately, the company wasn't showing off those custom Beats earbuds for our demo, and we had to settle for an over-ear pair -- naturally, we rocked a little Dre on the thing. As you'd expect, the sound is extremely bass-heavy. You can thank Beats for that, no doubt. Interestingly, HTC apparently didn't devote all that much time to the volume buttons on the side of the device, which aren't quite as responsive as we'd like. The music continues to play, even as you launch other apps, which can be bit a distracting when you're trying to stream a video using the phone's LTE radio. For the record, that video loaded quite quickly.

The latest version of Sense (3.5) -- last seen on the HTC Rhyme -- runs smoothly here, thanks to the 1.5GHz dual-core processor inside. Flipping through home screens is breezy, as is launching the camera app the company talked up during today's event. The Rezound is coming at you on Verizon November 14th for $299. Until then, have a gander at our gallery of preview shots and rock out to a hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading HTC Rezound hands-on (video)

HTC Rezound hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/03/htc-rezound-hands-on/

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