I meant to post this last week, but forgot. Do you have the time…to listen to me whine? If so, I’d super appreciate you checking out my review of Green Day: Rock Band for Machinima.com. I enjoyed the game, but wished MTV and Harmonix went with a Guitar Hero: Metallica approach and included artists that influenced the band (Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Clash, etc.). It would have broadened the game’s appeal and made it look less ridiculous following The Beatles: Rock Band.
Apple Sells 1.7-Million iPhone 4 Units in Three Days
As expected, Apple’s iPhone 4 has conquered the world. The company issued a press release that revealed that 1.7-million iPhone 4 units were sold between its launch on June 24 and Saturday June 26. Apple CEO His Royal Worshipfulness High Commander Steve Jobs said:
This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. Even so, we apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply.
1.21 gigawatts 1.7-million units is just a hugely impressive number that’s a testament to Apple’s brand marketing. Despite being saddled with a network that simply blows chunks in New York City and San Francisco, as well as the reported problems with the phone’s display and reception, I completely expect Apple to dominate the consumer smartphone market. Sure, there will several strong competitors that do well and I’m certain Google Android’s installed base will continue to rise, but as far as a single smartphone model goes, I sincerely doubt anything will come close to the iPhone 4.
Pokemon Black/White Dated for September 18…in Japan
Nintendo of Japan has announced that Pokemon Black and Pokemon White will be released on September 18, 2010. If the company’s pattern holds true then expect a North American release around April 2011. *sigh* I’m kicking myself for dropping Japanese class after one semester. Being able to read Japanese would have been incredibly useful in this line of work. Ah well…capricious youth.
Samsung On All Four Major American Carriers with the Galaxy S
Samsung has hit a rare grand slam by getting variations of its Galaxy S Google Android phone on all four major American mobile carriers. In addition to the Sprint Epic 4G and T-Mobile Vibrant that I wrote about earlier today, the Galaxy S is hitting AT&T as the Captivate and Verizon as the Fascinate. I’m pretty sure the Galaxy S is the first smartphone to hit all four majors since the HTC Touch Pro 2 (correct me if I’m wrong).
For Samsung, it’s an aggressive move that backs up the company’s stated goal of capturing at least 10 percent of the smartphone market. Being on all four major American carriers is just huge. Furthermore, Samsung hasn’t been doing well in America with its high-end phones. For years I was jealous of the excellent Samsung phones released in Asia and Europe. For various reasons, most of them never made it (in subsidized form) to an American carrier. The Galaxy S should help bolster the company’s image with American consumers.
For Google, it’s another big step in the burgeoning Android market. While a ton of attention is being (deservedly) focused on Apple’s early success with the iPhone 4, the Android space is having an excellent year in 2010.
Danny Fong Rocks the Pokemon Theme Song A Capella
My old Pokemon nemesis Jimbo sent me a link to this completely awesome a capella performance of the original Pokemon cartoon theme song (North American version). Danny Fong did an excellent job with this and should win a medal or a trophy or something. Check it out and let me know what you think (please)!
T-Mobile Differentiates Samsung Vibrant with Avatar and The Sims
Last week T-Mobile unveiled the initial specs on the Samsung Vibrant, its variant of the Google Android Samsung Galaxy S phone. While it’s not the most interesting take on the Galaxy S (see Sprint’s Epic 4G, for better hardware), T-Mo is trying to differentiate the Vibrant through value-added features including Avatar and The Sims. Here are some tidbits from the official site:
- Preloaded with T-Mobile exclusive The Sims 3 Collector’s Edition from EA
- Preloaded with James Cameron’s Avatar
- Watch live and on-demand TV with MobiTV
- Read the most popular books with Kindle for Android
- Access to GoGo Inflight Internet and Slacker Radio
Finally, you can watch Avatar the way James Cameron intended — on a four-inch screen in a video format that’s compressed as hell to fit on a 2GB MicroSD card. Ha!
As a T-Mobile customer (that’s on the verge of leaving), I was curious to see what the company would do with the Galaxy S. Unfortunately, the Vibrant is missing some key features. While some people find front-facing cameras to be gimmicky, I’m looking forward to using them through Skype. The curious omission is the camera flash. I have no idea why that was dropped — it just seems silly to me. The Vibrant’s lack of a front-facing camera and LED flash make the Vibrant less appealing to me.
Having said that, this will still be a great phone with a beautiful screen and an excellent CPU/GPU combo. Any T-Mo customers out there drooling over this one?
This Week’s Videogame Releases
There are oodles of interesting games out this week — a perfect way to add some sizzle to your summer. On the multiplatform front, you have LEGO Harry Potter
As much as I can’t wait to play Sin & Punishment, my recommendation for the week is Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip
Are any of you picking up new games this week? Let me know what’s on your wishlist (please)!
Sprint Launches Samsung Epic 4G (Google Android) Teaser Site
Sprint has gone all official with the Samsung Epic 4G, its seconds 4G handset. A variant of the Galaxy S, the Epic 4G is a Google Android 2.1 phone that has a slide-out keyboard and WiMax radio that differentiates it from other models. The fine features it has in common with its Galaxy brethren are a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, a four-inch Super AMOLED screen, Google Android 2.1, and Samsung TouchWhiz interface. Despite its slide-out keyboard, the Epic 4G is only slightly thicker than the HTC Evo 4G.
Compared to the T-Mobile Vibrant (which I’ll be writing about shortly), the Epic 4G is a better version of the Galaxy S. In addition to WiMax, Sprint’s model also has an LED camera flash and a front-facing camera for video calls. Ultimately, it comes down to which carrier works best where you live/work/play and whether you need a physical keyboard or not.
Pricing and availability of the Epic 4G were not revealed in the press release. Most people are expecting a July launch at the customary $199 (after rebate) price point.
Sprint has made a great move with the Epic 4G. When it launches, the company will have top-notch Android offerings with a keyboard and without. Only Verizon can say it offers the same, but that company’s service is much more expensive than Sprint’s.
Anyone digging the Epic 4G?
Coffee #166: Is PlayStation Plus a Better Value Than Xbox Live?
Sony made a bold move at E3 2010 with the announcement of PlayStation Plus. A premium addition to its PlayStation Network service, PlayStation Plus launches tomorrow, June 29. It’s available for $17.99 for three months or $49.99 for 15 months (one year + a three-month bonus). For this chunk of change you get free PSN games, the Qore video-magazine, PSN discounts, automatic update downloads, full-game trials, and more. Here’s a PlayStation Blog post with more details.
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, your pending application to be a FIFA referee, the summer of LeBron kicking off this week, or A-Rod + Cameron D, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Sony made a bold move at E3 2010 with the announcement of PlayStation Plus. A premium addition to its PlayStation Network service, PlayStation Plus launches tomorrow, June 29. It’s available for $17.99 for three months or $49.99 for 15 months (one year + a three-month bonus). For this chunk of change you get free PSN games, the Qore video-magazine, PSN discounts, automatic update downloads, full-game trials, and more. Here’s a PlayStation Blog post with more details.
On paper, PlayStation Plus looks like a better value than Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft’s excellent service gives you online play, access to certain content, and discounts on games. It”s different from PlayStation Plus in that gamers are primarily paying for online play with Xbox Live Gold. Sony’s service is more about non-essential (but valuable) content and services. That said, people love console wars and will compare the two no matter how different they are, so I might as well do it here too. Ha!
I’m excited to see how well (or not) PlayStation Plus works. For now, let’s discuss which service offers the better value, on paper. Do you favor Microsoft’s rock-solid and time-tested Xbox Live Gold? Or do you think PlayStation Plus is where it’s at? Kindly vote in the poll and elaborate in the comments section!
[poll id=”56″]
iPhone 4 Reception Details: What’s Bad for Righties and Lefties
It’s almost like a pick-your-poison situation. While the iPhone 4 is a beautifully designed piece of consumer electronics and is capable of excellent things, its novel antenna design has proven to be problematic for some users. I mentioned in a few comments that the issue hits lefties (or people that use their phones with their left hands) more than their right-handed counterparts. The Los Angeles Times explained why this is the case:
Apple redesigned the phone so the steel frame around the handset doubles as its antenna. The left side of the frame is used to broadcast a cellular signal; the right side is for other bands, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
As a result, people who tend to hold their phone in the left hand may be plagued by the signal problems more than those who hold the phone in their right hand.
As a lefty, I’m kind of bummed about the whole thing. I can take solace in the fact that righties making Skype calls through WiFi should have issues too. Ha ha!!!