Tag: Mobile Tech

EA Mobile iOS Fourth of July Sale

EA Mobile is having an outstanding sale on games for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. There’s lots of great stuff available for 99 cents. Here’s the full list…

EA Mobile is having an outstanding sale on games for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. There’s lots of great stuff available for 99 cents. Here’s the full list:

iPhone / iPod Touch
Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2
Dead Space™
Dragon’s Lair II
FIFA 11 by EA SPORTS™
Fight Night Champion by EA SPORTS™
Madden NFL 11 by EA SPORTS™
NBA JAM by EA SPORTS™
NCAA® Football by EA SPORTS™
Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed™ Shift
Need for Speed™ Undercover
RISK
SCRABBLE
TETRIS®
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12
The Sims™ 3
The Sims™ 3 Ambitions
The Sims™ 3 World Adventures
TRANSFORMERS:™ DARK OF THE MOON

iPad
Battlefield: Bad Company ™ 2
BATTLESHIP
Command & Conquer™ Red Alert™
CLUE: Secrets & Spies
Coconut Dodge
Dead Space™
Draw Jump
The GAME OF LIFE™
Madden NFL 11 by EA SPORTS™
Max and the Magic Marker
Mirror’s Edge™
MONOPOLY™
NBA JAM by EA SPORTS™
Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed™ Shift
PICTUREKA!
Reckless Racing
RISK
SCRABBLE
SimCity™ Deluxe
SNOOD
TETRIS®
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12
TRANSFORMERS:™ DARK OF THE MOON
Ultimate Mortal Kombat™ 3
YAHTZEE™ Adventures

Any of you buying?!? I see about five games I want. This will be brilliant for the airplane ride to Hawaii!

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Skype Adds Video Chat and SMS to Android Client

Skype has finally added some much-needed features to its Android client. The one that’s getting most of the attention is video chat. Android users will be able to use their phones to make Skype video calls. The receiver can be on a mobile phone or a PC. Unfortunately, this functionality is currently restricted to a handful of Android phones: the Google Nexus S, the HTC Desire S, the Sony Xperia neo, and the Sony Xperia pro.

The feature that I’m excited about is that finally — and I say that similar to how The Rock says, “Finally!” — the Android client gets SMS functionality. This is a huge addition for people that send international text messages. I send several every day and it’s so much cheaper on Skype than through a mobile phone.

Skype for Android is still a red-headed stepchild compared to its iOS counterpart, but I’m thrilled that the Google version is finally catching up to the Apple version.

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Will the HTC Status Facebook Phone Become the New Sidekick?

From roughly 2002 to 2007, Danger’s Sidekick phones were the choice for teens and tweens. They were cool, relatively cheap, and focused on messaging. The smartphone market has changed drastically with the introduction of the iPhone, but there hasn’t been a phone that was aggressively targeted towards teens and tweens…until now.

The HTC Status has been officially announced for AT&T and Telus. It’s a Google Android phone with HTC Sense 3.0 and, most importantly, heavy Facebook integration. Here’s some marketing copy and specs from the official Facebook page:

The HTC Status lets you share pretty much everything with just about everyone, instantly. It’s the first-ever device with a Facebook Share Button. Now, you can share videos, chats, check-ins, sites and songs with your friends on Facebook at the push of a button. And with new music, new videos, group deals and live events to share with you all summer long, it’s the most outgoing phone in the social universe.

Platform: Android™ 2.3 + HTC Sense™
Display: 2.6-inch touch screen with 480 x 320 resolution
Network: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900
Memory: 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
Processor: MSM7227, 800 MHz
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery, 1250 mAh
Camera: 5 MP main camera with autofocus, 1.3 MP front-facing camera

On paper, it seems like a brilliant idea. The Status should be a relatively inexpensive phone that combines a capable mobile operating system, fashionable hardware, and the most popular social network in the world. That said, I wonder if the target market even wants such a phone. The Android and iOS apps for Facebook are already quite capable. Is more Facebook integration really required or needed? Would a teen on a budget rather have the HTC Status or last year’s iPhone model?

Of course I’d love to get your thoughts on the HTC Status. Do you think it will take off? Will it be this decade’s Sidekick? Or will teens and tweens be content with slightly older Android and iOS products that already have strong Facebook options?

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Today’s Poll: Will You Use Google+ Project?

Google has gone official with its Google+ Project, a social network that combines features of Facebook, Twitter, Skype, BlackBerry Messenger, and more. On the plus side, it’s seems like a huge and comprehensive service. On the down side, you know there’s a problem when a company has to post six videos just to explain what a service offers.

Naturally, I have to use the service for outreach purposes (and because I have too many Silicon Valley nerd friends that will give me crap if I don’t sign up). However, I’m genuinely curious about some of Google+’s features. The mobile aspect seems like it has a ton of potential. There are millions of Android users out there and it looks like Google+ will feature super-right Android integration. That said, I’m already a bit schizophrenic from juggling my Facebook and Twitter personalities.

Anyway, check out the videos when you get a chance and let me know if you’re interested in Google+.

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T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide Sports Cutting-Edge Camera

I’ve never been a fan of T-Mobile’s MyTouch line. I don’t care for the industrial design and I hate the “Espresso” version of HTC Sense the phones use. The recently announced MyTouch 4G Slide addresses several of my issues with the line and packs a camera that rivals the iPhone 4’s excellent shooter (on paper). Here are some hardware specs from the press release:

The new myTouch 4G Slide features a beautiful 3.7-inch WVGA super LCD touch-screen display, with Swype®, and a slide-out full-QWERTY keyboard, offering customers the freedom to choose how they want to input text. Powered by Android™ 2.3 (Gingerbread) and HTC Sense 3.0, the myTouch 4G Slide provides an intuitive and powerful smartphone experience. With support for T-Mobile’s lightning-fast 4G network paired with a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor, myTouch 4G Slide customers will experience quick access to their favorite websites, videos, applications and much more.

And here’s more information on the camera:

Ideal for capturing that perfect moment with photos that rival high-end dedicated digital cameras, the myTouch 4G Slide comes with an 8-megapixel camera with a dual LED flash and a host of advanced digital camera features, including the following:

  • Improved low-light Performance: with a backside illuminated sensor and a wide aperture lens (f/2.2)
  • Zero shutter lag: innovative software features allow for an instantaneous shot at that precise moment
  • SweepShot™: for capturing panoramic shots by sweeping across an entire scene in a single motion
  • ClearShot™ HDR: for capturing objects in bright settings so your photos are not affected by high-contrast lighting
  • BurstShot™: for capturing multiple photos in a quick burst so you don’t miss the perfect photo

The sensor and aperture are the items to note here. On paper, the camera in this phone should rival the ones found in the iPhone 4 and numerous Nokia phones. I fully expect the MyTouch 4G Slide to be one helluva shooter.

While I still don’t like the way the phone looks, I’m glad that the MyTouch 4G Slide is using a version of HTC Sense that doesn’t appear as watered down as the ones found in previous MyTouch phones. (The “Genius Button” is still stupid though.) More importantly, it rounds out T-Mobile’s Android offerings nicely. The company already has two hot Android phones with the LG G2x and HTC Sensation. The MyTouch 4G offers high-end specs, a slide-out keyboard, and a phone that should be outstanding.

Any of you interested in picking up a T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide?

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Coffee Talk #369: The End of the Apple iPod?

One of my reviewer friends believes that Apple selling unlocked iPhones in America spells doom for the iPod. He’s certain that the iPod will be discontinued and that Apple will position last year’s iPhone as the…

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, Klatch’s Sumatra Aceh Gold, Joe Torre wearing Yankee pinstripes again, or the surprising success of Cameron Diaz’s Hot Teacher, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Remember my reviewer friends that were arguing with me about viewing angles on mobile phones? One of them had an interesting theory that extended our brunch meeting for an hour (at least). He’s sure that Apple selling unlocked iPhones in America spells doom for the iPod. His argument is that the iPod is becoming less and less important to Apple as sales of the iPhone and iPad flourish. He’s certain that the iPod Classic and Touch will be discontinued this year and Apple will instead sell the previous year’s iPhone to snag budget sales.

Although his theory is intriguing, the rest of us doubt it will pan out that way…at least in the near future. It’s true that the iPod is no longer as important to Apple as it once was, but the company still sells million of them. Perhaps the iPod Classic will go away, but it seems too soon to kill off the iPod Touch. Furthermore, slashing the price of an unlocked iPhone 4 will surely piss off carriers. Apple has a lot of stroke, but it’s probably not a good idea for the company to alienate its carrier partners.

Still, I can see it happening eventually. Just not this year or next. What do you think? Will Apple kill off the iPod and just sell old iPhones for cheap? How do you think carriers would react to such a play? Do people still buy iPod Classics?

Nokia N9 Announcement Images

Here are a bunch of sexy images of the recently announced Nokia N9…which can also double as photos of the recently “leaked” Nokia Windows Phone Sea Ray. It’s such a good looking piece of hardware! It looks fantastic in all three colors. Right now I’m leaning towards the cyan model…but the black one looks so slick…and the magenta one will surely attract cute girls when I go to Asia. I want them all!

Which N9 color do you prefer?

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Nokia Shows its First Windows Phone: Codename Sea Ray

In what appears to be a staged “leak”, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop unveiled the company’s first Windows Phone model. Say hello to Sea Ray! Physically, the device is pretty much the same as the beautiful Nokia N9, but with an extra button. Watch the video above for a full presentation — including some Xbox Live avatar goodness — on the Nokia Sea Ray.

On a side note, I hope to be working with Nokia closely in the near feature. Part of it is because the company has really interesting products. Most of it is because I miss Finnish accents and humor. I had so much fun working with Nokia during the N-Gage days. The Finnish sense of humor is awesome.

Windows Phone Mango’s Xbox Live Features Detailed

Microsoft has released several details on the next major Windows Phone update (Mango) and how it works with Xbox Live. The question is, “Can you handle the Mango?!?” Just kidding. Moving on from that dated SNL reference, Microsoft’s Shirlene Lim posted a lengthy blog entry on how Xbox Live works with Mango. Here’s an excerpt:

One of the first things you’ll notice about the Games Hub in Mango is its new look: A cleaner and lighter design that emphasizes your game collection and Xbox Live info — the heart of the hub. Responding to your feedback, we also made tweaks to improve the overall performance and speed.

Finally, the Games Hub in Mango now comes with many of the features previously found in the popular Xbox Live Extras app, such as 3D avatars with fun animations, a new Collection view, and more.

If you’re interested in bringing more Xbox Live connectivity to your phone and/or you want to see gaming features on Windows Phone then I highly recommend reading the entire post. It has plenty of new information and lots of UI pictures.

I know that RPadholic smartguy is waiting to see Nokia hardware running Mango. Anyone else interested in Windows Phone? Is Xbox Live connectivity an important feature to you?

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Coffee Talk #366: Your First Mobile Phone

Today’s Coffee Talk is a request from RPadholic N8R. He would like to know about your very first cell phone. Do you remember the make and model of your first mobile phone? Did any of you rock the…

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 Wimbledon 2011 pick, the MLB McCourt drama, or George Clooney being single…again, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s Coffee Talk is a request from RPadholic N8R. He would like to know about your very first cell phone. Do you remember the make and model of your first mobile phone? Did any of you rock the Zach Morris? Or did you have one of those classic Nokia candybars? Did any of you start out with the Motorola RAZR?

As for me, I borrowed my Dad’s Motorola StarTac a few times while I was in college (mostly to look cool), but the first mobile phone that was all mine was an Ericcson CF688. Hell, I don’t even remember what carrier it was on, but I remember being enamored by its slickness and form factor…which seems hilarious when looking through the retroscope.

Now it’s your turn! What was your first mobile phone?