Early termination fees (ETFs) are a pain. It’s understandable why they are necessary--cell phone carriers have to recoup the cost of a handset from those who weasel out of a long-term agreement. Whether ETFs are bogus or fairly priced are matters that can wait for later. What can’t wait for later is the new wrinkle Google has added to the ETF game--it’s charging its own ETF for the Nexus One--a fee that comes on top of the ETF levied by the carrier. Bail early on a Nexus One agreement and you’re going to get smacked-up on both sides of your head.

Google doesn’t call it an ETF, but rather an “Equipment Recovery Fee”. Here’s the relevant language from the contract: “You agree that the Equipment Recovery Fee is not a penalty but is for liquidated damages Google will incur as a result of such cancellation...Please note that the Equipment Recovery Fee is imposed by Google and not your chosen carrier and is in addition to any early termination fees that may be charged by your chosen carrier in connection with termination of your wireless plan prior to fulfillment of your chosen carrier’s service agreement term.” [emphasis in the original]

Google says that should you dump on your plan within the first 120 days of carrier service you’ll owe them $350--the difference between the $529 retail price of the Nexus One and the $179 charged with a service plan. Paying up will be easy, as Google will simply ding your credit card for the fee.

You can avoid the fee if you return the Nexus One to Google within the 14-day return period. And the language suggests if you hang on to the Nexus One longer than 120 days then you owe Google nothing. (Obviously, you could just pay full price for the Nexus One and avoid the problem all together.)

Why is Google doing this? Google hasn't yet commented. But, it could be that Google's agreement with carriers requires payment for the Nexus One only if the service lasts for more than 120 days. Cancellation during the first 120 days leaves Google in the lurch for the difference, which it will collect from you. After 120 days it's the carriers problem. This raises the question: what's the carrier's ETF during the first 120 days for, if not the handset?

Image Credit: CameraGeek 2.0/Flickr

Looks like we’re one step closer to the world of the Minority Report. Intel is pushing a new version of digital signage that is multitouch, multiuser, and intelligent. Let the shopper beware.

Intel says digital signs are now everywhere--airports, banks, retail stores--and they’re ushering in a “new era of in-store and on-site advertising and communications.” It’s a market that’s expanding, and Intel wants a piece of the action. “We have been relatively quiet, but now we have decided we are going to make a big push and go public with a lot of our initiatives,” says Jose Avalos of Intel.

Intel debuted an example of its craft last week at CES. The system is designed for multiple users, who use a holographic touchscreen to explore merchandise, learn about promotions, offer feedback on products, or read product reviews. Intel’s proof-of-concept is running on Microsoft Windows Embedded, on an Intel Core i7 processor platform. (Intel, partnering with Microsoft, is seeking to "standardize" the digital signage market.)

Sort of makes one wonder how we ever managed to shop in the ‘olde’ days of analog signage.

Image Credit: Intel

First out the gate with a SATA 6 Gb/s RAID configuration card? HighPoint claims it is in announcing its RocketRAID 620 Series adaptor cards.

The RocketRAID 620 series has SATA 3.0 host adapters with a RAID 5 capability (backward compatible with SATA 3 Gb/s and 1.5 Gb/s). It’s got a PCI-Express 2.0 x1 host interface (compatible with PCI-Express 1.0), and it offers optimized storage performance and redundancy with RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD.

The RocketRAID will allow hot plug and hot swap of storage devices, and has OCE/ORLM to expand storage capacity or migrate to different RAID levels.

HighPoint is offering two cards: the RocketRaid 620, with a price of $69.99, and the RocketRAID 622, with a price of $79.99. The 620 will come with SATA connectors, the 622 with eSATA connectors. Both cards are expected to ship this month.

Image Credit: HighPoint

Market researcher Gartner is making the call: the six-year decline in PC prices will come to an end later this year, so get ready to pay more. The culprit: a shortage of components.

Manufacturers are facing two problems. Problem one: with prices falling (and the economy crashing), manufacturers have been scaling back on production, resulting in a shortage. Problem two: manufacturers are in the process of ramping up new production lines, and aren’t yet able to meet current demand.

A perfect example is memory. DRAM manufacturers are shedding DDR2 capacity and adding DDR3 capacity. This results in shortages in both, as DDR2 demands are going unheeded, while DDR3 demands are going unsatisfied. Memory makes up about ten percent of the overall cost of a PC, which makes significant the recent 23 percent jump in DDR3 spot prices.

Also in short supply: LCDs and hard drives, with prices for each expected to jump 20 percent. Optical drives are also getting harder to come by.

OEMs can absorb some of these cost increases, but with margins as thin as they are they can’t absorb them all. Some will be passed along to the consumer. How much remains to be seen.

Image Credit: MyrtleBeachBob/Flickr