Sprint Unveiling Dual-Screen Kyocera Android Phone?

Sprint is holding a press event this evening with special guest David Blaine. The company promised an “industry first” for the event. The Wall Street Journal went ahead and spoilarzed the whole thing: according to the newspaper’s sources, Sprint will unveil the Kyocera Echo — the first dual-screen Google Android phone. Here are more details:

Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to unveil a smartphone late Monday that includes a twin set of touch screens that give the device a pseudo-tablet design, according to a person familiar with the device.

The device, called the Echo and made by the U.S. unit of Japan-based Kyocera Corp., features two 3.5-inch touch screens that can be stacked side by side.

A dual-screen smartphone is potentially fascinating, but I’m not going to expect too much from the Echo. Kyocera hasn’t done well with high-end smartphones and lags behind the Android competition. Then again, I can’t help but think of the early Nintendo DS rumors; people laughed at the idea of a dual-screen handheld…and Nintendo laughed all the way to the bank with that one.

Are any of you intrigued by the prospect of a dual-screen Android phone?

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Details on Conan O’Brien Xbox 360 Negotiations

One of the most fascinating destinations for Conan O’Brien was the Xbox 360. How crazy would it have been if Conan skipped cable television for a direct-to-console show on Xbox Live? Conan executive producer Jeff Ross recently shared some details of the Microsoft negotiations with Gamasutra:

The Xbox thing — a lot of the conversations were ‘well, it’s a show, but it’s not a show and there are no breaks, but maybe there are breaks and it’s not 60 minutes, it’s this’ and nobody really knew what it was.

So it was really going to be a leap of faith to jump in with these guys and figure something out which we didn’t know. Plus there were 100 people who were out of jobs and that didn’t bode well for that.

It was interesting to sit and look at it and say, ‘it would be great to be involved in this,’ but at the end of the day, we had some eventual television offers and we basically shied away from the other.

Although it would have been nice if Microsoft launched an original show with O’Brien, I’m still hoping that the company’s rumored plans for television pan out. It still seems odd that Microsoft could be the one that ends up freeing America from the shackles of cable television and bring a la carte TV to the country. In my head Conan O’Brien would have been the perfect symbol of entertainment liberation…especially since Comcast-NBC is one of the primary oppressors. Ha!

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AOL Buys Huffington Post, Arianna New Queen of Content

In a surprise move that has the media world buzzing, AOL has agreed to buy The Huffington Post for $315 million. For those of you that follow  Arianna Huffington in the media, AOL now owns a site run by one of America’s most outspoken liberals. The move also has implications for tech enthusiasts. Here’s a clip from CNN Money:

The companies said Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post’s co-founder and editor-in-chief, will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which will include all Huffington Post and AOL content.

Tech enthusiast sites like Engadget and TechCrunch fall under Huffington’s jurisdiction. That’s just…weird. In my head I see a sitcom where Huffington alternates between blasting her annoyingly shrilly voice at and showing an inappropriate amount of leg to TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington and Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky.

On a more serious note, it’s interesting that AOL has gone from Internet giant to Internet afterthought to Internet content king. I’m curious to see how it all plays out.

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

After a dull start, February roars back with several interesting releases. One surprise that a lot of my journalist friends are enjoying is You Don’t Know Jack; it’s just amusing that hardcore gamers are using their powerful consoles to indulge in a trivia game. A storied Atari (via Infogrames via Accolade) driving series makes its return in Test Drive Unlimited 2. Gamers looking for some action-RPG excitement should give Trinity: Souls Of Zill O’ll a look. Lastly, Mario and pals return to get their athletic groove on in Mario Sports Mix.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Xperia Play (PSP Android) Commercial From Super Bowl XLV

A commercial for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play — the Google Android phone with PSP capabilities — aired during Super Bowl XLV, but only in select markets. If you didn’t get to see it, I’ve embedded the spot above. If you did get to see it then have fun reliving the phallic nightmare that was this commercial.

Man, the commercial still wigs me out. Check it out when you get a chance and share your thoughts (please). I’m curious to see if anyone else finds the ad disturbing.

Coffee Talk #298: Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show & Commercials

Now that Super Bowl XLV has come and gone, I wanted to discuss the most important aspects of the event: the halftime show and commercials! Most of my friends panned The Black Eyes Peas’ performance, making lots of…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the food at Hooter’s, the hot waitress at Hooter’s that looked like Amy Smart, or your favorite Hooter’s sauce, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Now that Super Bowl XLV has come and gone, I wanted to discuss the most important aspects of the event: the halftime show and commercials! Most of my friends panned The Black Eyes Peas’ performance, making lots of Tron jokes, but I enjoyed it. Of course I’m biased because I want my fellow Filipino-American apl.de.ap to do well, but I genuinely liked the set. It was a nice mix of old and new hits. It was awesome that Slash emerged from hell to play “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” and that Usher descended from heaven to perform “Oh My Gosh”. I was disappointed that Justin Timberlake didn’t come out (from purgatory?) to sing the chorus to “Where is the Love?”, but overall I thought it was a fun halftime show that was visually unique.

As for the commercials, they were okay. For me, there were more misses than hits in 2011. Here are my three favorite spots. Coming in at #3 is this adorable VW Passat ad featuring an adorable baby Darth Vader.

At #2 is the Captain America commercial. I thought it was a great spot and was annoyed that my pal Cliffy B disagreed.

My favorite commercial was this House ad that parodied the classic Coca-Cola commercial starring Mean Joe Greene. I’ve included the original for reference.

Now it’s your turn! Please let me know what you thought of Super Bowl (not Superb Owl) XLV’s halftime show and share your favorite commercials.

Throwaway Hotmail Addresses = Internet Burner Phones?

Microsoft has introduced a new way to create and manage throwaway email addresses in its Hotmail product. More than ever, people are using multiple email accounts, with different email addresses for personal use, business use, e-shopping, news, etc. According to CNet, the new Hotmail feature will help make managing it all a bit easier:

Hotmail is getting a new feature aimed at “e-mail enthusiasts,” which lets anyone create multiple e-mail accounts that can be read, replied to, and managed from their everyday e-mail inbox. These additional e-mail addresses can be had in the same manner as signing up for new accounts, but they require no extra log-ins or upkeep.

The idea is to give users a safe way to provide third parties with an e-mail address, without giving up the address they’ve provided to family and friends, which, if compromised, can end the usefulness of that particular account.

While I totally see how useful this feature is, I also see how it can be used for naughty activity. Hotmail users can make a “temporary” email addresses for pr0n, leaving nasty blog comments, ordering Viagra online, and more. Spammers will also be able to manage multiple spam email addresses from one account. The whole thing has me wondering if this is the Internet equivalent of a burner cell phone.

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Halo Remake Coming This Year, Not Using Reach Engine?

Joystiq has uncovered some interesting information on the rumored remake of the original Halo. As expected, the Halo remake will be out by the end of 2011, but the site said that it will not be using the Halo: Reach engine as rumored last December. Here’s the 411:

Sources explain that the re-release is not Bungie’s 2001 Xbox game simply running at a higher resolution — it’s being remade with new art assets. While Halo’s audio will likely remain unaltered, the controls will allow for more recent Halo configurations.

The Halo: Combat Evolved remake is allegedly being developed by New Jersey-based Saber Interactive, the company behind TimeShift and Namco’s upcoming Inversion, but we’ve been unable to confirm the nature of the engine powering it. We understand that it’s something other than the Reach engine.

A Halo remake in 2011 was an obvious choice considering the game’s 10-year anniversary. However, it’s surprising that the game isn’t using the Reach engine. The tech is there and it looks amazing. Using it seems like a no-brainer.

Any thoughts on this Halo remake rumor?

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Verizon iPhone 4 Commercial: Does Your Network Work?

Verizon’s marketers are at it again, busting out the cleverest and more appropriate use of the phrase, “I can hear you now,” in this iPhone 4 ad. It’s a cute and straightforward spot that asks consumers, “Does your network work?”.

Also, I’m pretty sure that the “I can hear you now” guy has been going through the same depression and anxiety issues that I’ve had in the last year. Perhaps I’ll call him to see if he needs a workout buddy. Ha!