NPD Hardware Sales Figures for June 2010

NPD Group released its console sales data for June 2010. It was an unusual and exciting month for console hardware. Microsoft did very well thanks to the Xbox 360 “slim”. I know it’s crazy, but it’s true. When you get caught between the moon and New York City. Let’s look at the numbers:

  • Nintendo DS: 510, 700
  • Xbox 360: 451,700
  • Nintendo Wii: 422,500
  • PlayStation 3: 304,800
  • PlayStation Portable: 121,000

Nobody should be surprised that the Xbox 360 beat the Wii in June. Hardcore gamers bought the new version of the console while bargain hunters snatched up the older model at marked down prices. Sony recently claimed that its inventory problem will no longer be an issue, so it will be interesting to see how the PS3 does for the rest of the year. As for Nintendo…it keeps putting up excellent numbers.

Nintendo reminds me a bit of the Boston Celtics’ Robert Parish; every year sports writers predicted a decline in his stats, but dude put up the same numbers for like 20 years. Some analysts and a lot of enthusiast gamers keep saying, “This is the month Nintendo will decline,” and the company keeps posting excellent sales figures.

Anyway, let me know what you think of NPD Group’s June 2010 console sales figures. Were you surprised that Microsoft did so well? Or was that what you expected from its console refresh?

Meet Your Three PlayStation Move Bundles

Sony has revealed the packaging for its three flavors from PlayStation Move. Starting at $49.99 and hitting $399.99, these bundles should take care of anyone that wants to be moved (*snicker*) by Sony’s motion controller. Here are the bundles:

At $399.99 the PlayStation 3 Champion Move bundle has everything for the person that has nothing.

Next is the $99.99 bundle for gamers that already have systems, but don’t have any of the required peripherals.

Finally there’s the $49.99 motion controller for gamers that already have the camera.

Anyone planning to get their PlayStation Move on later this year? If so, which bundle are you going to pick up?

Coffee Talk #179: Your Apple iPhone 4 Presser Predictions

Apple is holding a press conference on Friday morning regarding the iPhone 4. The company has already sold millions of iPhone 4 units, but it can’t escape the negative attention it has been getting due to the phone’s reception issues. Earlier in the week Consumer Reports rescinded its iPhone 4 recommendation based off of the reception problems and Apple killed any discussion of the findings in its official forums. The issue has become so mainstream that it has been discussed in shows like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the Late Show with David Letterman.

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, Drew Brees killing at the ESPYs, Mark Ruffalo possibly replacing Ed Norton as the Hulk, or Wladimir Klitschko getting the shaft from HBO, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Apple is holding a press conference on Friday morning regarding the iPhone 4. The company has already sold millions of iPhone 4 units, but it can’t escape the negative attention it has been getting due to the phone’s reception issues. Earlier in the week Consumer Reports rescinded its iPhone 4 recommendation based off of the reception problems and Apple killed any discussion of the findings in its official forums. The issue has become so mainstream that it has been discussed on shows like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the Late Show with David Letterman.

Most tech writers have guessed that Apple will address the issue once and for all at Friday’s presser, but what exactly will the company do? A recall would incredibly damaging and expensive. Giving Apple Store credit for a free bumper would cost a helluva lot less, but still an admission of guilt. Perhaps the reception problem will be addressed and followed up with a big announcement that will help people overlook the situation. Before I get to your predictions, I want to leave you with the hilarious words of Fake Steve Jobs:

We will never, ever, ever do a recall. No way. The stain of a few gripers we can deal with. The stain of a recall is something that takes years — years — to overcome. In our business it would be fatal. We would never recover.

So, no. We’ll keep shipping the f***ed-up phones, and we’ll continue to insist that they are the best phones in the world with the best antenna that has ever been invented for any mobile device. We’ll keep running syrupy ads showing deaf mutes waving at each other over FaceTime.

That last line killed me. I had to share it with you.

Anyway, what do you think Apple will do this Friday? Do you think its reputation will take a long-term hit? How about its stock price? Predict away (please)!

Motorola Droid X Review Part IV: Battery Life, Misc., and Conclusion

My Motorola Droid X review concludes with thoughts on the phone’s battery life and miscellaneous features. After the smoke clears, I’ll give you my closing thoughts and recommendations. And away we go!

Battery Life
The Droid X comes with a 1,540 mAh lithium ion battery. With its large screen and fast processor, I wasn’t expecting great battery life, so I was surprised that I averaged 15.5 hours a day over the course of a week. With roughly the same setup and usage, I only got 12 hours a day on the comparable HTC Evo 4G.

Your mileage will depend on your usage. For my “moderate nerd” usage — lots of web browsing, 30 minutes of calls a day, lots of messaging, tweeting, foursquare, Facebook, etc. — the battery life was fantastic.

Miscellaneous
I was disappointed that the Droid X lacks a front-facing camera. For a lot of people, this is a non-issue. Some people care about video calls on a mobile phone and some don’t. Then there are people like me — heavy Skype users that can’t wait for video calling on a real Android Skype client. This would be huge for me and the tens of millions of people that use Skype. While consumers like me are in the minority today, video calling is going to take off in a huge way in the immediate future. Will the Droid X be missing a feature that’s big in 2011?

Road warriors (the business kind, not the Hawk and Animal kind) should also consider the phone’s data rates. While Verizon’s CDMA EVDO network is the best in the country, it’s hardly the fastest. Sprint is rolling out its 4G WiMax network, while AT&T and T-Mobile are deploying faster versions of their 3G networks. If you travel extensively and tether a lot then there’s a good chance the Droid X will feel slow (in terms of data) in a year.

Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
Along with the HTC Evo 4G for Sprint, the Motorola Droid X for Verizon is one of the best Google Android phones available today. If your priorities are excellent call quality and strong battery life then this is the best Android phone for you. You’ll have to deal with an interface that’s a little clunky, data rates that aren’t the fastest, and the lack of video calls, but if you’re fine with that then you’ll be well served by this excellent handset from Motorola.

If there’s anything I didn’t cover in my review, please let me know in the comments section. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

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It Ain’t Easy Being Green…Lantern: Ryan Reynolds Injured

I’m super looking forward to the Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder) and directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). GL is one of my favorite comic books and I’m excited to see Hal Jordan on the big screen. With that in mind, I was alarmed to learn that Reynolds suffered a minor shoulder injury while filming the movie. According to E!:

Despite his power ring, Reynolds suffered a “minor injury” to his shoulder on Monday. However, the mishap did not delay production on the Martin Campbell-helmed comic book caper. (The source disputed an earlier Us Weekly report claiming the star suffered a separated shoulder.)

Thankfully Reynolds is okay and the film is going as planned. Anyone else psyched for this movie? How do you think it will play out? Will it be super heroic or a super failture?

Source

Motorola Droid X Review Part III: Camera, Pictures, and Video

The Motorola Droid X features an 8-megapixel camera with a pair of LED flashes. It’s definitely one of the better cameras I’ve used on a phone. Still images taken without a flash are excellent, with great details. Pictures taken with the flash or under low-light conditions aren’t as good. They’re still much better than average, but the flash often washes things out and produces grain.

As I mentioned in the first part of the review, the phone has a physical button for snapping pictures. It feels really flimsy and can muck with the phone’s stability, resulting in poor photos. That quibble aside, I’m confident that most people will be happy with the Droid X’s photo and video capabilities. Here are more samples — still and video — so that you can see for yourself.

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Microsoft COO Calls iPhone 4 “Apple’s Vista” (Poll Time Too!)

At Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, COO Kevin Turner took a jab at Apple’s iPhone 4. With the controversy surrounding the phone’s reception issues, Turner compared it to one of Microsoft’s recent debacles:

It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that.

On one hand, the comparison makes a certain amount of sense. Vista’s problems were overblown by the press and were never as bad as people made them out to be. While consumers have accepted that the iPhone 4 reception problem is a real issue, it’s mostly a problem for people that live in areas that are covered poorly by AT&T (San Francisco, for example). The majority of iPhone 4 users seem happy with their service.

On the other hand, comparing an operating system to a piece of hardware is usually dumb. What do you think?

[poll id=”59″]

Source via BoyGeniusReport

New Episodes of Beavis and Butt-head on the Way

The New York Post has reported that MTV is working on new episodes of Beavis and Butt-head. This is the best thing I’ve heard all month!  I love these two idiots. I love Mike Judge’s writing. And I love that the show will be used to promote music videos — a strange concept for MTV, I know. Here’s the skinny:

Sources at MTV confirmed that a new batch of “Beavis and Butt-head” episodes are in the works.

The new series would keep Beavis and Butt-head in their perpetual high-school state, but it would be updated so that the pals — who obsessively watch music videos on a battered TV set — could lob their snarky comments at more current targets like Lady Gaga.

Any of you psyched for the return of Beavis and Butt-head? What are some of your favorite moments from the show? One of my favorites was when Beavis started spouting out lyrics from Harry Belafonte’s “Man Smart (Woman Smarter)” during Pizzicato 5’s “Twiggy Twiggy vs. James Bond”. It was just a smart bit of writing geared towards older viewers…or in my case someone with parents that listened to a lot of Harry Belafonte. Ha!

Source

Star Wars Reenacted on a NYC Subway

Here’s an excellent video by Matt Adams that takes a scene from Star Wars: A New Hope (the real first movie) and changes the setting to a New York City subway car. It’s pretty funny and makes me miss New York…until I remember that it’s July and it’s disgustingly humid over there. Anyway, check out the clip. It’s good stuff.