MOTOROLA SLOW IN RETURNING LTE UPGRADED XOOMS

Consider yourself lucky if you sent off your Motorola Xoom for the 4G LTE upgrade and got it back in about a week, as promised. It seems that Motorola Mobility is now having some trouble holding up their end of the bargain on the quick turnaround. In a note to eager, empty-handed slate faithful, the company informed those waiting that it's experiencing delays and will let customers know when their device finally ships. No comments from Motorola on the cause for the delay or how much long it will take.

VERIZON BEGINS FREE 4G LTE UPGRADE FOR MOTORLA XOOM

Motorola XOOM owners who want to take advantage of the promised 4G LTE upgrade can finally begin to do so beginning Thursday. Once a customer signs up to receive the upgrade, Verizon Wireless will send the shipping instructions along with a box. The option is free and Verizon Wireless said changes to data plans are not required. Verizon also advises that XOOM owners back up their devices before sending them in for the upgrade. The process is expected to take six business days. Verizon Wireless also announced on Wednesday that it will begin to sell the Motorola XOOM with 4G LTE pre-installed for $499.99 starting October 13th.

LEAK: XOOM 4G UPGRADE COMING IN SEPTEMBER

To say we've been patiently waiting for the Xoom's promised 4G upgrade would certainly be an understatement. It looks like those of you counting on blistering speeds this summer are flat out of luck, as the LTE overhaul apparently won't begin until fall. Droid-Life's got a snap of a seemingly official Verizon memo, which alleges that the FCC-espied gratis upgrade will apparently land sometime in September. Also mentioned are links to Big Red's website on how to backup and package one's slate for its eventual voyage back to Moto's mothership. Hop on over to the source to see the full communiqué, and peep the more coverage links if you enjoy being prepared entirely too far in advance.

MICROSOFT SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS XP ENDS IN 1000 DAYS

It may not sound like a lot of time, but 1,000 days is still the better part of three years. Even so, Microsoft is putting a hard time limit on how much longer they plan to support Windows XP, and even though they’re already counting the days, each new milestone is another opportunity to tell people to stop using Windows XP.

Microsoft said that Monday was the 1,000th day in the countdown to the end for Windows XP, and that afterward they don’t plan on offering any type of support for their once-flagship operating system. Microsoft still thinks there are entirely too many people using Windows XP, and they’re making a point of telling them all to upgrade to Windows 7.

If Microsoft keeps to its word, and the countdown clock runs out without any extensions, Windows XP will go end-of-life in early 2014, after which users who are still running the OS will not receive any further security updates and patches from Microsoft.

VERIZON 3G CUSTOMERS CAN UPGRADE TO 4G AND KEEP UNLIMITED DATA PLAN

Great news for everyone on one of Verizon Wireless' unlimited data plans: if you're rocking a 3G smartphone, you can eventually upgrade to an LTE handset, keep the unlimited plan, and have access to a $30 / month 4G tethering plan. That's according to VZW's official Support account on Twitter, and it's decidedly lovely news for those who were concerned that they'd be locked into EV-DO forever.

DISNEY WORLD UPGRADES HAUNTED MANSION

Disney World's Haunted Mansion just got a ghostly upgrade. The ride's grand finale, which previously positioned hitchhiking ghosts -- by way of half-silvered mirrors -- alongside unsuspecting visitors, is now reportedly using a series of digital mirrors and sensors to make things more interactive. As opposed to just popping up next to passengers, Disney's Ezra, Gus, and Phineas are now equipped to rip your head off, blow it up balloon-style, and send it flying. Sure it sounds scary, but this is Disney, the same company that didn't see the nightmare-inducing capabilities of a robotic Obama. For a peek at the new creepers, peep the video below.

MICROSOFT'S INTERNET EXPLORER 9 TO RELEASE MARCH 14TH

The official release of Internet Explorer 9 will drop on March 14th, bringing along with it a massive overhaul that imbues IE with some desperately needed standards support, as well as a healthy speed boost and the benefit of hardware acceleration.

The first Platform Preview of IE9 dropped almost a year ago, and Microsoft has been consistently updating the previews and betas since then, fleshing out its HTML5 and CSS 3 compliance, along with improving its feature set. HTML5 and CSS 3 compliance are particularly nice to get, since IE8 doesn’t support HTML5 at all, and is at least part of the reason why the web has been slow to adopt the latest iteration of the standard.

Whether people will upgrade, though, is a big question. After all, Microsoft’s had a hard enough time killing off IE6, which still has a 12% share of the browser market after ten years. IE9 doesn’t even run on Windows XP, which is still one of the biggest operating systems in the world.

APPLE RELEASES iTUNES 10.2

In addition to the big iPad 2 announcement today, Apple quietly updated its iTunes software to version 10.2. The new version is in preparation of the iOS update to 4.3, coming on March 11th. The new iTunes promises "improved Home Sharing" when browsing and playing your iTunes libraries on your iOS 4.3-equipped devices.

VERIZON THROWS BONE TO CUSTOMERS WHO PURCHASED PHONE BEFORE iPHONE ANNOUNCEMENT

Any Verizon customer who regrets picking up a new phone between Thanksgiving and the day of the Verizon iPhone announcement won't have to kick themselves too hard; the carrier's granting $200 debit cards to people with iPhone 4-inspired buyer's remorse.

Take heed, though! You're only eligible if you buy a new iPhone 4 at full retail price, which is a whopping $650 for the 16GB model and $750 for the 32GB. In other words: still very expensive! From the Verizon iPhone FAQ page:

I just purchased a new smartphone during the holiday season, but if I knew that iPhone 4 was going to be available soon I would have waited. What are my options now?

Current Verizon customers who purchased and activated new smartphones, feature phones or certified pre-owned phones between 11/26/2010, and 01/10/2011, are eligible to receive up to a $200 Visa debit card when they purchase an iPhone 4 at full retail price by 02/28/2011 and return their existing phone. Note: This offer is only available on consumer accounts with five lines or less, who are purchasing iPhone 4 through Verizon Wireless retail stores, telesales, or through verizonwireless.com.

So between the returned phone and the discount, you're probably looking at a $250 purchase

LEAKED: VERIZON LTE UPGRADE CITIES FOR 2011

Verizon Wireless was busy in 2010 upgrading a number of metropolitan areas to 4G LTE. Now, Droid-Life has obtained the 2011 upgrade list and it has been confirmed by Verizon. Big Red says that by 2013 over two-thirds of the US will be covered by their LTE.

• Mobile, Alabama
• Montgomery, Alabama
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Gainesville, Florida
• Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida
• Pensacola, Florida
• Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Augusta, Georgia
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii
• Lahaina, Hawaii
• Boise-Nampa, Idaho
• Carbondale-Marion, Illinois
• Wichita, Kansas
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Hammond, Louisiana
• Detroit, Michigan
• Flint, Michigan
• Fayetteville-Lumberton, North Carolina
• Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, North Carolina
• Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
• Wilmington, North Carolina
• Dayton-Springfield, Ohio
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• State College, Pennsylvania
• Charleston, South Carolina
• Columbia, South Carolina
• Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Hilton Head, South Carolina
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Clarksville, Tennessee
• Cleveland, Tennessee
• Kingsport, Tennessee; Johnson City, Tennessee; Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
• Bryan-College Station, Texas
• Provo-Orem, Utah
• Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah
• Centralia, Washington
• Olympia, Washington
• Charleston, West Virginia
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin

VERIZON WIRELESS ENDING NEW EVERY 2 AND EARLY UPGRADE PROGRAMS

Some bad news is emerging for Verizon Wireless subscribers this evening, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Just ahead of the imminent wave of next-generation Android devices, 4G phones and the highly anticipated Verizon iPhone, the carrier is rumored to be ending two programs that countless customers have enjoyed in recent history. The first is the early upgrade policy, which allowed subscribers on two-year contracts to upgrade their devices after just one year of service. The second is Verizon’s New Every Two program, which gave customers up to $50 every two years to apply toward the purchase of a new phone. Both of these policies are set to come to an end on January 16th, according to what is alleged to be a leaked screen capture of Verizon Wireless’ training manual. New Every Two is simply kaput, says the slide, but the early upgrade policy will apparently stick around in a trimmed state — subscribers will be eligible for an early upgrade after 20 months of service on a two-year contract. [BGR]

MOTOROLA UPDATES ANDROID UPGRADE PAGE

If you want to know when your Motorola handset will be upgraded to Android 2.1 or 2.2 head on over to the Motorola support forums.  They have updated their "Android Software Upgrade" page with new three to six month windows for the update for your phone.

Below is the info for the US.  Head over to the forums for the full list.