Coffee Talk #132: Who Is Your Mobile Phone Provider and Why?

Today’s Coffee Talk is pretty simple. I want to know which company you use for your mobile service. I know that some of you are iPhone users, so I expect AT&T to be a popular choice. I also know that AT&T blows in several parts of America, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see lots of Sprint and Verizon users. If you can get good coverage where you work, play, and live, I think T-Mobile offers the best value of the “big four”. Even T-Mobile’s values can be beaten by regional or pre-paid providers.

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 Mosley/Mayweather prediction, who will be the 2010 NBA champions, or your favorite Filipino-American in entertainment, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s Coffee Talk is pretty simple. I want to know which company you use for your mobile service. I know that some of you are iPhone users, so I expect AT&T to be a popular choice. I also know that AT&T blows in several parts of America, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see lots of Sprint and Verizon customers. If you can get good coverage where you work, play, and live, I think T-Mobile offers the best value of the “big four”. That said, even T-Mobile’s value can be beaten by regional or pre-paid providers.

Anyway, kindly take this poll and let me know why you went with your current provider. Also, let me know if you’re happy with them or considering jumping ship.

[poll id=”38″]

RIM Shows Off BlackBerry OS 6 with “Boom Boom Pow”

RIM has released a sizzle reel of its upcoming BlackBerry OS 6 using the Black Eyed Peas’ hit song “Boom Boom Pow”. Normally, I’d make fun of any company that uses an annoying song to promote its goods, but I have to support BEP for having one of the most prominent Filipino-Americans in entertainment today (go Apl!!!).

Seriously though, some of the features look interesting and some of them scream, “Johnny Come Lately”. As I mentioned yesterday, BlackBerry OS 6 is due out in Q3 2010. At a glance, it does not look more intuitive, interesting, or functional than Android, iPhone OS, or WebOS. The initial screens and videos of Windows Phone 7 are also more impressive. For the sake of competition, I’m hoping RIM will have more cool and exciting features to show off. If it doesn’t, it will become the North American version of Symbian (at least in the consumer market).

TMNT Reboot Proof?

The following image might be part of a costume from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie due on 2011. Latino Review received the image and did some (intelligent) speculating. The movie is supposed to be a dark and gritty reboot that’s much close to the original Eastman and Laird comics.

I love the look of the costume (if that’s what it really is), but I’m hoping that this reboot really is dark. I loved the Eastman and Laird comics; they were edgy, fun, and ridiculous. I was appalled by the kiddie cartoons and mildly offended by the movies. While it would be tough to go with an R-rated TMNT, it would be much closer to the original vision. I’m (cautiously) hoping that’s what will come in 2011.

Are any of you excited for a TMNT reboot? Have any of you read the original comics? Or are the Turtles synonymous with the term “cowabunga!” to you?

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PSA: Amazon PS3/Xbox 360 Gold Box Deals All Day

In addition to this nifty Xbox 360 accessory sale, Amazon is having “gold box” deals on PS3/Xbox 360 games and accessories all day today. The all-day deal is BioShock 2. You can check out the rolling deals here. I’ll update this post with the latest goodies. The deals below are listed in Pacific time.

  • 6:00AM — Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for Xbox 360
  • 9:00AM — Mass Effect 2 for Xbox 360
  • 11:00AM — Dragon Age: Origins Awakening for Xbox 360
  • 2:00PM — Rock Band Stratocaster for Xbox 360
  • 4:ooPM — Aliens vs. Predator for Xbox 360
  • 6:00PM — Power Base Charging Dock for Xbox 360
  • 8:00PM — Dragon Ball: Raging Blast for Xbox 360

Thanks to RPadholic tokz_21 for sending this in!

WWE Draft Starts Tonight, Possible Spoilers and Your Predictions

WWE is kicking off its annual draft on tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw. It looks like there’s a good chance that Kofi Kingston and Cody Rhodes will be heading to SmackDown; ProWrestling.net has reported that the two were seen filming a SmackDown commercial in Los Angeles.

I want to hear your draft predictions and wishes. Let me know which WWE Superstars and Divas you want on Raw and which ones you want on SmackDown. Personally, I’m hoping WWE sells Dave Batista to Pro Wrestling Guerilla for a pair of turnbuckles.

Seriously though, I’m hoping the Straight Edge Society moves to Raw. Aside from that…I haven’t given it too much thought. I’m still not over Shawn Michaels retiring. *sniff* *sniff*

iPhone Gate 4 Continues: Police Seize Gizmodo Editor’s PCs

Last week we had a fun discussion about the ethics of Gizmodo’s iPhone 4 scoop. Now things are getting really interesting. The site revealed that the police have seized Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s personal computers:

Last Friday night, California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team entered editor Jason Chen’s home without him present, seizing four computers and two servers. They did so using a warrant by Judge of Superior Court of San Mateo. According to Gaby Darbyshire, COO of Gawker Media LLC, the search warrant to remove these computers was invalid under section 1524(g) of the California Penal Code.

How do you think this is all going to shake down? Should California file criminal charges? Should Apple file civil charges?

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BlackBerry OS 6 Coming in Q3 2010

According to Engadget, RIM will be releasing BlackBerry OS 6 in Q3 2010. Although RIM’s BlackBerry phones are still the kings of the business world, they’ve been losing market share in the consumer smartphone space, where Apple’s iPhone and various Google Android devices are dominating. One of the biggest deficiencies in BlackBerry OS is its web browser, which is primitive and clunky compared to the WebKit browsers on Android and iPhone. OS 6 will address the browser issue and more. Here’s more from RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis courtesy of Engadget:

Lazaridis said that the company’s all-new WebKit-based browser is part and parcel with 6, pointing out that the rendering engine will have implications throughout the platform and the apps that run on it, not just on the browser alone; in other words, we wouldn’t expect a release of a WebKit browser from these guys for OS 5.0-based devices. Speaking of OS 5.0, the intention is that every device in RIM’s portfolio will eventually run 6, but not everything in the market today will necessarily be upgradeable — Lazaridis says that they’ll “do [their] best,” but he’s not making any guarantees.

If the site’s release date is accurate then RIM will still be in trouble in the consumer market. The company’s OS updates have been rolled out at a glacial pace, while Apple and Google have been rapidly improving their respective operating systems. I still expect RIM to dominate the enterprise market for a few years, but I doubt it can take market share back in the consumer space.

Any thoughts on the release of BlackBerry OS 6?

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PSA: Amazon Xbox 360 Accessory Sale

Amazon is having an Xbox 360 accessory sale. There’s some pretty good stuff here, including:

  • Wireless controllers for $27.99
  • Red play and charge controller kit for $37.84
  • VGA cable for $24.79

Check out the sale, take advantage of the promo, and help out the site (if you wish).

Do any of you guys use your Xbox 360 consoles through VGA? One of my friends does and swears by it.

Xbox 360 “Slim” and Metal Gear Solid Natal Coming to E3 2010?

Here’s a pair of hot E3 2010 rumors: Microsoft will unveil an Xbox 360 Slim and Metal Gear Solid for Project Natal at E3 2010. According to Surfer Girl Strikes Back:

MS will reveal a slim 360 natal bundle at one of their two (yes, two) press conferences at this year’s e3.

What’s more the 360 will be getting a subtle rebrand, with a new logo and black as the new primary colour of the console. They feel that the new system needs to be black because a white Natal wouldn’t sit well next to the typical gloss black tv.

As for the MGS rumor, she teased:

And Natal? Let’s just say you’ll probably be both very surprised and very pleased by one of the games revealed… what is it?

Might Get Shot if I were to tell.

The letters M, G, and S were in red.

What do you think of these rumors? Which one excites you more?

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PadCast: EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich Talks iPad, DLC, E3, and More

EEDAR vice president of analyst services Jesse Divnich is the latest RPad.tv PadCast guest. My favorite analyst in the business discusses all sorts of videogame topics, answers reader questions, and reveals the super power he covets in this clip. Here’s the laundry list of talking points:

  • The Nintendo 3DS
  • Whether the PSPgo is a dead system
  • How awesome Sony’s E3 press conference would be if it were hosted by Kevin Butler
  • How the Apple iPad impacts the gaming market
  • Whether investors and venture capatilist have cooled on the console market in light of the hotness of mobile and social gaming
  • Whether Sega, as we once knew and loved it, is gone forever
  • DLC trends
  • E3 2010 predictions
  • What’s coming on 10/10/10
  • What super power he would chose and why

Give it a look, give it a listen, and leave any comments you have below.