Apple Gives Official Statement on iPhone 4 Reception Issues

Apple has released an official statement on the iPhone 4 reception issues that some users have been complaining about. I think it’s pretty hilarious. Check it out:

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

I agree with RPadholic smartguy — Apple should be giving away its “bumper” cases for free if they really clear up the issue. Now don’t get me wrong, I still think the iPhone 4 is an impressive piece of hardware, but Apple’s “solution” to this problem cracks me up.

Source

Last Batch of Shacknews E3 2010 Stories

Finally…Raymond has returned to RPad.tv!!! It’s fun talking like The Rock. It’s also fun writing for Shacknews. Here’s the last batch of stories from E3 2010. Check ’em out and shoot off any questions you have about the games/people. (And yes, this post means that my full attention is back on this site.)

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West: This is a pretty cool action-adventure game with unique tandem gameplay mechanics and a really cool setting. Plus it has Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma Talk Zelda: Skyward Sword: Aonuma spills some details on the story while Miyamoto briefly talks about the art direction. You know…it’s frickin’ awesome that I got to hang out in the same room as Aonuma and Miyamoto.

David Cox Talks Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: As a huge Iga fan, I’m approaching this game cautiously, but the crew seems to be doing a great job. Cox talks about working with Kojima, being compared to other God of War, and the game’s WTF moment.

Virgin Gaming: Virgin’s supplementary service lets you bet on your online matches and win some cool prizes. The company claims that Virgin’s other branches will throw in prizes too. Virgin Galactic anyone?

The Sims 3: The console version of The Sims 3 is shaping up to be the best console Sims yet.

Coffee Talk #164: Five Things That (Sadly) Weren’t at E3 2010

As brilliant as E3 2010 was, there were a few things I was hoping to see that didn’t make it. In some cases, perhaps they were just rumors. In other cases, the publisher wanted to save the game for another trade show. Whether the product is too early or the development team is in disarray, I was still bummed not to see the following.

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, American football (soccer) totally rocking, 10+ hours matches at Wimbledon, or whether sleeping with a Kardashian results in a championship, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As brilliant as E3 2010 was, there were a few things I was hoping to see that didn’t make it. In some cases they were just rumors. In other cases the publisher wanted to save the game for another trade show. Whether the product is too early or the development team is in disarray, I was still bummed not to see the following.

  1. Windows Phone 7 and Xbox Live: Microsoft has a ton of work to do if it wants to successfully compete with Apple iOS, Google Android, and Palm WebOS. Connectivity with Xbox Live  is one way Windows Phone 7 can stand out.
  2. The Last Guardian: This was on my most wanted list going into the show. I was severely bummed it wasn’t there.
  3. Beyond Good & Evil 2: So many writers were sure this game was going to be at the show. It wasn’t. Never trust game writers (verbal entertainers are another story).
  4. PSP2: I was pretty sure this wasn’t going to happen at this year’s show. Going head-to-head with Nintendo’s 3DS outing would have been silly. Still, I really wanted to see what changes Sony planned to make with its second at-bat in portable gaming.
  5. Final Fantasy Tactics (iPhone): Shortly before the show started, I heard that my favorite game of all time was headed for the iPhone. While Square Enix showed a teaser video of the iPhone version of FFT, I really wanted to get my hands on it. Oh well, it’s only a few months away.

Now it’s your turn! Was there anything you were expecting to “see” at E3 2010 that no-showed? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Skype Celebrates World Cup By Offering Free Calls

The awesomely awesome voice-over-IP service Skype is celebrating World Cup football by offering free calls to dozens of countries. The amount of free minutes depends on the country. Here’s the entire list:

  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Algeria for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Argentina for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Australia for a month
  • 400 minutes free calls to landlines in Brazil for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Cameroon for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Chile for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Denmark for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in France for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Germany for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Ghana for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Greece for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines and mobiles in Honduras
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Italy for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines and mobiles in Japan for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Mexico for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in the Netherlands for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in New Zealand for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Nigeria for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Paraguay for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Serbia for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Portugal for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Slovakia for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Slovenia for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in South Africa for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in South Korea for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Spain for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Switzerland for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in the UK for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Uruguay for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines and mobiles in the USA for a month

Head to Skype’s blog to sign up for these promotional rates. Now excuse me as I call several random numbers in Ghana and Slovenia…just because I can (for free)!

iPhone 4 Having Reception and Display Issues?

It looks like a number of iPhone 4 units are having reception and/or display issues. On the reception side, several users have claimed that signal can be lessened by touching certain points of the phone’s metal band, which also serves as an antenna. Earlier in the month, Professor Gert Frolund Pedersen predicted this issue via Comon:

Human tissue will in any event, have an inhibitory effect on the antenna. Touch means that a larger portion of the antenna energy turns into heat and lost. This makes the antenna less efficient to send and receive radio signals.

As for the display issues, a number of users have reported and sent pictures of yellow bands appearing on the display. Gizmodo has several photos and user reports.

Yesterday Rpadholic N8R mentioned that he was probably going to wait for the second batch of iPhone 4 units, waiting for Apple to work out the initial kinks. Do either of these issues make you want to hold up on your purchase? Or are you still enamored with this beautiful and technically impressive phone?

DC Comics Hit PlayStation Portable

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that a selection of DC Comics titles are now available on PlayStation Network for the PlayStation Portable handheld system. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

An initial selection of over 80 DC titles can be downloaded from PlayStation Store immediately priced from $0.99 to $2.99 per issue that include Batman: Hush, Green Lantern: Rebirth, Fables: Legends in Exiles and Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories, as well as comics that are exclusive to PlayStation Network such as Free Realms, God of War, Resistance, and Superman/Batman. Lastly, DC Comics is offering users a free 10-page preview of the 700th issue of Superman available on the PlayStation Network digital comics.

While I don’t dig comics for the PSP or digital comics in general, I’m psyched to see DC Comics entering the fray. Don’t get me wrong — I love several Marvel books too, but my recent favorites have been DC titles. Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, The Flash, and Rise of Arsenal have been fantastic lately.

While I’m at it…Lobo vs. Silver Surfer. Who wins?!?

White iPhone 4 Delayed Until Second Half of July

Apparently it’s harder to build white iPhone 4s than black ones. Apple has explained the delay behind the white iPhone 4 model in an official statement:

White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected, and as a result they will not be available until the second half of July. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.

Initially I thought the black model was better looking, but after seeing how it’s a mad fingerprint magnet and considering the rarity of the white model…I kind of want a white one. And no, I’m not selling out on my race.

Source

Verizon Announces Next Google Android Phone: The Droid X

Verizon has announced the next phone in its Droid line of Google Android handsets: the Droid X. Available on July 15 for $199.99 (after rebate with a two-year contract), the phone combines powerful hardware from Motorola, a great operating system from Google, and Verizon’s outstanding network.

The Droid X is armed with a 1GHz OMAP CPU, 8MB of internal storage, a 16GB MicroSD card, a 4.3-inch, Android 2.1 with MotoBlur, an eight-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and 512MB of RAM. Android 2.2 (FroYo) and support for Flash 10.1 will be available later this summer.

This should be a smoking phone that’s a step up from the HTC Evo 4G that I’m currently playing with. The hardware is a bit better and I expect the call quality to be superior than the Evo’s. That said, Verizon’s service is more expensive than Sprint’s and this phone will not support the company’s upcoming 4G LTE network. I also prefer HTC Sense over MotoBlur.

What do you think of this scorcher from Verizon? Anyone interested in picking it up?

Source

More Shacknews Previews From E3 2010

Here’s another batch of E3 2010 previews I wrote for the fine people at Shacknews. Check ’em out and let me know if you have any questions about the games. Remember, if you post comments over there, please be nice to the Shackers. They’re good peeps.

Time Crisis: Razing Storm: Good, mindless fun with the PlayStation Move.

Mario Sports Mix: I’m not yet convinced that this suite has the depth of my beloved Mario Golf and Mario Tennis, but it seems like a good party game in its current incarnation.

Supremacy MMA: This game is way early, but I like that it’s trying to be distinctly different from UFC Undisputed and EA Sports MMA.

Donkey Kong Country Returns: This should be another great game in Nintendo’s ridiculous holiday 2010 lineup.

Sonic Colors: After years of mediocrity, it looks like a great Sonic game is finally on the way.

Coffee Talk #163: Games You Want Patched for PlayStation Move

I’m totally psyched to play Heavy Rain with PlayStation Move support. When Sony announced that it will be patched for Move, I was excited. When I tried a Move-enabled demo at Sony’s E3 2010 booth, I was sold. The game completely lends itself to motion controls. Doing a quarter-circle movement with Move feels more natural than doing the same with an analog stick. Most importantly, I’d get to experience a brilliant game in a totally new way.

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, Chris Jericho as a game show host, U.S.A. vs. Algeria, or your picks for Wimbledon, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’m totally psyched to play Heavy Rain with PlayStation Move support. When Sony announced that the game will be patched for Move, I was excited. When I tried a Move-enabled demo at Sony’s E3 2010 booth, I was sold. The game completely lends itself to motion controls. Doing a quarter-circle movement with Move feels more natural than doing the same with an analog stick. Most importantly, I’d get to experience a brilliant game in a totally new way.

Are there any old games that you’d like to see patched for PlayStation Move? Let your picks fly in the comments section (please)!