80% Chance of the iPhone 4 Hitting T-Mobile in Q3?

In the 597th rumor of 2010 regarding the iPhone 4 hitting a new carrier, Cult of Mac claims that there’s an 80-percent chance that Apple’s magical smartphone will hit T-Mobile. Here’s the deal:

T-Mobile USA is very close to getting the iPhone in the fall, ending Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T, according to a highly placed source at the wireless company.

Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it’s 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3.

As I mentioned last month, one analyst believes this will be the easiest transition for Apple since AT&T and T-Mobile are both GSM carriers. Going to a CDMA carrier like Sprint or Verizon would require a redesign to accommodate a different type of radio. That said, I would be exponentially more interested in a T-Mobile iPhone 4 if it had a radio that took full advantage of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, which offers wicked fast speeds that rival Sprint’s 4G WiMax network. An HSPA+ iPhone 4 would completely rule!

What do you think of the latest iPhone 4 to “carrier X” rumor? Will it happen this year? Or is that just wishful thinking?

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Riddler Set as the Villain for Batman 3

According to FirstShowing, the Riddler will be the villain in Christopher Nolan’s third Batman movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (10 Things I Hate About You, Inception) is currently slated to play the quizzical character. Here’s the skinny:

We’ve gotten word from a reliable inside source with a studio casting grid that The Riddler is listed as a character for Chris Nolan’s highly anticipated to the sequel to The Dark Knight, which is still called Batman 3 at Warner Bros. Even more interesting, the actor currently listed in the same grid to play the assumed villain is none other than Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose status is just listed as “interested.”

Going with the Riddler makes sense; he’s one of the most iconic characters in Batman’s rogues gallery. Having said that, I’m a bit disappointed that Nolan didn’t go with a newer, headier character like Hush or Bane. (And really, Bane needs to be redeemed after his crappy debut in Batman & Robin.)

What do you think of the Riddler in Batman 3? Are you digging Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the Dark Knight’s next villain?

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Evo 4G vs. Droid X Part III: Battery Life, Cameras, and More

My comparison of the HTC Evo 4G (Sprint) and the Motorola Droid X (Verizon) continues! In the third round of this epic smartphone battle I compare the combatants’ battery life, input methods (keyboards), connectivity, and cameras. Let the battle commence!

Battery Life
With their large screens and mercurial processors, the Droid X and Evo 4G require a lot of power. Using both phones with my typical usage pattern (lots of web browsing, some foursquare check-ins, Facebook browsing, text messaging, and around 30 minutes of calls per day), I had two very different results. From a full charge, I got about 12 hours from the Evo 4G and 15.5 hours from the Droid X.

For many users, the extra 3.5 hours could be the difference between making it through the day and coming up short. I usually have to charge the Evo 4G at some point during the day. The Droid X almost always makes it to bedtime. For situations like trade shows, I can’t imagine using either phone without an extra battery. Remember, your results will vary depending on how much or how little you use your phone.

The Droid X easily wins in terms of battery life.

Input Methods
Both phones have virtual keyboards that benefit from their large 4.3-inch screens. The Evo 4G has four directional keys that allow you to move the cursor. Unfortunately, this makes for a cramped keyboard. The Droid X’s keyboard is just roomier and easier to type on. It also has Swype pre-insalled, for users the prefer that input method.

The Evo 4G is fully capacitive, while the Droid X has four mechanical buttons. Aside mechanical buttons preventing you from accidentally entering a command, I prefer good capacitive buttons. It just makes for a more unified experience. The mechanical buttons on the Droid X can interrupt your flow of typing and accessing menus. It’s not a huge deal; I just like the congruous input experience of the Evo.

Lastly, there’s haptic feedback. The Evo 4G’s is pretty subtle, while the Droid X’s is strong as an ox. Some people love haptic feedback and some people hate it. I like it and prefer the hearty feedback on the Droid X.

With its superior keyboard, Swype option, and heavy haptic feedback, the Droid X nudges out the Evo 4G on the input front.

Connectivity
The Droid X uses Verizon’s 3G CDMA revision A network for data. The Evo 4G also uses that tech, as well as Sprint’s 4G WiMax network for even faster data rates. WiMax availability is still relatively sparse, but it’s growing rapidly and should be in most major cities by the end of 2010. The data rates are really impressive. With the Droid X, I often struggled to get 1MB down. With the Evo 4G, I got as high as 4.5MB down on WiMax.

While Verizon’s CDMA coverage is arguably the best across America, it’s also the slowest. AT&T has faster 3G, T-Mobile has its crazy fast HSPA+ 3.5G network, and Sprint has WiMax. A year from now, the Droid X’s data rates will seem sluggish compared to the competition’s.

The Evo 4G beats the Droid X in the connectivity department, especially for users that don’t change phones until their contract expires.

Cameras
Both phones feature good eight-megapixel cameras. I love the Droid X’s daytime shots and preferred its camera software. The Evo 4G is better in low-light situations. I’m going to give the Evo 4G the win here, simply because it has a front-facing camera and the Droid X does not. Video chat is poised to become a big feature; the Evo 4G is ready for it, while the Droid X is not. As a heavy Skype user, I’m anxiously awaiting a proper Skype client with video chat on Android. I truly believe that video chat will be a killer app for smartphones in 2011 (at the latest).

While I’m giving this round to the Evo 4G, I’m going to post picture and video samples so that you can see for yourself. That’ll be the next epic chapter of Robotech the Droid X vs Evo 4G fight.

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Apple Promises More “Amazing Products” in 2010: Any Guesses?

Apple announced its Q3 2010 results…and it was ridiculous. The company posted all sorts of record sales, but also hinted that there were still new products to come in 2010. Before we play the guessing game, let’s take a look at the numbers via Wired:

  • 3.47 million Macs (A record)
  • 8.4 million iPhones (1.7 million were iPhone 4’s, which went on sale only six days before the quarter ended)
  • 9.41 million iPods (The Touch model was up 48 percent year-over-year,)
  • 3.27 million iPads (Went on sale three days into the quarter)

Simply ridiculous. Here’s the curious part: during the earnings call CEO Steve Jobs said, “We have amazing new products still to come this year.” What do you think he was talking about? An iPod refresh is expected in early autumn, but do you think anything else “big” is on the way? A MacBook Air refresh perhaps? Maybe the iPhone 4 going to another carrier? You think an entirely new product is on the way? Let’s speculate!

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Coffee Talk #183: Make Your Own “Dark” EA Game

EA recently announced a slew of interesting games, including Maxis’ Darkspore. While this action-RPG looks pretty cool, a lot of my journalist friends were ripping on its name. You can imagine some of the jokes, right? They came up with stuff like Dark Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Dark Hasbro Family Game Night, Dark Sims, etc.

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, Apple’s crazy strong Q3 results, Magic and Jordan calling out LeBron’s decision, or your favorite hamburger, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

EA recently announced a slew of interesting games, including Maxis’ Darkspore. While this action-RPG looks pretty cool, a lot of my journalist friends were ripping on its name. You can imagine some of the jokes, right? They came up with stuff like Dark Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Dark Hasbro Family Game Night, Dark Sims, etc.

My challenge for you today is to come up with your own “Dark” EA game. Shoot off some names and concepts in the comments section (please). I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Microsoft Announces Xbox 360 Kinect Pricing: $149.99

Microsoft has officially announced the pricing for its Kinect motion controller for Xbox 360: $149.99. The package includes Kinect Adventures. The company also announced an Xbox 360 bundle with Kinect included. Customers can pick up an Xbox 360 (slim model with 4GB storage) with Kinect and Kinect Adventures for $299.99. The console alone will cost $199.99.

Naturally, I’m dying to hear what you think of Kinect’s price. Too much? Just right?

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Amazon Videogame Lightning Deals All Day Today

Amazon is serving up videogame lightning deals all day today! There should be some great stuff available. Be sure to hit up Amazon lightning deals if you want to take advantage of these specials. Here are the hints for the games. Most of them are easy to figure out. I’ll update this post with the actual game and price as often as I can.

  • 6:00AM PDT: Singularity for Xbox 360 for $39.99
  • 9:00AM PDT: Red Dead Redemption for Xbox 360 for $42.99.
  • 11:00AM PDT: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands for Xbox 360 for $25.99.
  • 12:00PM PDT: Street Fighter IV FightStick for Xbox 360 for $94.99.
  • 3:00PM PDT: Alpha Protocol for Xbox 360 for $36.99.
  • 4:00PM PDT: Splinter Cell: Conviction for Xbox 360 for $36.99.
  • 6:00PM PDT: Metro 2033 for Xbox 360 for $44.99.
  • 9:00PM PDT: Assassin’s Creed 2 for Xbox 360 for $36.99.

Please Spoilarz Inception For Me

With one exception, all my friends are raving about Christopher Nolan’s Inception. I’m genuinely surprised by all the superlatives being heaped on this movie. I’m sure it’s good, but I’m not really interested in paying money to see it. However, I’d like to understand it a bit better. If you’ve seen it, I’d super appreciate you telling why it’s so awesome.  Leave all the spoilers you want in the comments section (please).

Coffee Talk #182: Your Biggest 2010 Gaming Disappointment

We’ve already discussed our favorite games from the first half of 2010. Today I want you to join me in the bitter barn so that we can talk about games that have disappointed us this year. Yeah, I usually try to keep things positive, but disappointing games are a reality. It’s like a television show once told me: “You take the good. You take the bad. You take them both and there you have the facts of life.” Though in this case it would be the facts of gaming.

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, SNL’s Jason Sudeikis hooking up with women out of his league, the bizarre Pacquiao/Mayweather negotiations, or the hotness of Joss Stone, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

We’ve already discussed our favorite games from the first half of 2010. Today I want you to join me in the bitter barn so that we can talk about games that have disappointed us this year. Yeah, I usually try to keep things positive, but disappointing games are a reality. It’s like a television show once told me: “You take the good. You take the bad. You take them both and there you have the facts of life.” Though in this case it would be the facts of gaming.

Most of the games I played this year were pretty much what I expected them to be. The one game that I found disappointing was Crackdown 2. My expectations were pretty high. I enjoyed the first one and was excited for the sequel after I saw it in April. Then I started helping my friend with his review. I enjoyed the multiplayer but was very disappointed in the single-player experience. It bummed me out to the point where I haven’t been able to start playing on my Xbox 360. I’m sure I’ll get to it again one day, but for now there are better games to play.

Now it’s your turn! What 2010 games were you disappointed in?