Tag: Mobile Tech

Coffee Talk #204: Mobile Gaming is About to Erupt

Mobile gaming is about to get huge. Yeah, I know it’s a pretty big deal now and one of the fastest growing segments of the entire gaming industry, but it’s going to get super huge. More importantly, it’s going get super huge in a way that you care about. Why do I say this? Two reasons: Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and id Software’s id Tech 5.

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, the three hottest MILFs you can think of, why Christina Aguilera did/didn’t make your MILF list, or that crazy red stuff my Chinese clients made me drink last night, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Mobile gaming is about to get huge. Yeah, I know it’s a pretty big deal now and one of the fastest growing segments of the entire gaming industry, but it’s going to get super huge. More importantly, it’s going get super huge in a way that you care about. Why do I say this? Two reasons: Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and id Software’s id Tech 5.

At the end of last year, Epic was showing off Unreal Engine for iPhone. At the recent QuakeCon event, id showed off an iPhone engine that uses some of same technology as id Tech 5. In both cases the demos were extremely impressive — way better graphics than what you see in the vast majority of mobile games. Developers are already doing a much better job of making fun games that utilize a touch interface. With tools like Unreal Engine and id Tech, mobile games are going to get even better.

What do you think of the mobile gaming market? Do you think it’s set for a huge boom in 2011? Do you think Epic and id can kickstart a graphics race on the iOS and Android platforms? I know that a few of you just aren’t into mobile gaming at all. Will sharper graphics change your mind?

T-Mobile G2 Looks Like an HTC Nexus One with a Keyboard

The super sleuths at Engadget have posted pictures of the upcoming HTC G2 for T-Mobile. It totally looks like an HTC Nexus One with a keyboard…which is not at all impressive for a phone being released in September 2010. While its innards are most likely the third-best CPU/GPU combo available today (Snapdragon), I’m really turned off by the 3.7-inch screen. That simply doesn’t cut if for a flagship product in Q3. Oh well. Hopefully the rumored November “Project Emerald” release will be more impressive.

Let me know what you think of the phone when you have a chance.

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iPhone 4 No Longer Available Without a Contract in America?

If you want an iPhone 4 but don’t want to be a slave to AT&T for two years then you’re SOL. 9to5Mac noticed that Apple has updated its iPhone 4 FAQ to state, ” iPhone requires a two-year AT&T wireless service contract.” (I wonder if unlocked models from Canada and Mexico still require a contract….)

Some people are thinking that this is another sign of AT&T losing iPhone exclusivity in the near future. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. It certainly sucks that American consumers don’t have the option to buy the phone outright and pay for month-to-month service.

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T-Mobile’s First HSPA+ Phone is…the G2!

Remember when T-Mobile launched a teaser site for its upcoming HSPA+ Android phone? The site has been updated to reveal that the phone is the T-Mobile G2. The rumor is that this phone is the HTC Blaze with an HSPA+ radio — 3.7-inch screen, slide-out keyboard, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, etc. I’m hoping it’s more than that; 3.7-inch screens are so 2009 and the miracle of Swype means that I no longer a physical keyboard. While this phone will almost definitely have a keyboard, I’m hoping that the G2 comes with a 4.3-inch screen.

Any of you interested in the G2? What features do you want it to have? On a side note, Amazon has the Samsung Vibranton sale for $0.01!!! Looks like inventory is being cleared to make way for T-Mo’s September and November models.

Coffee Talk #201: Foursquare is Like Xbox Achievement Points

I’ve been having a blast with foursquare for the last two months. A lot of people hate the location-based check-in service, but I don’t think they get it. Sure, it’s another way for vain people to use the Internet to share more mundane details of their mundane lives, but foursquare can be fun and useful. I love checking out where my friends eat, drink, and shop; I’m more likely to try a restaurant an IRL friend likes than a random one. The baseball lover in me marks out at all the stats available on foursquare; it’s interesting to see the patterns and statistics of your social life.

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, Akron hating on Cleveland, Wyclef Jean’s bid for presidency, or Justin Timberlake being a celebrity Android lover, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’ve been having a blast with foursquare for the last two months. A lot of people hate the location-based check-in service, but I don’t think they get it. Sure, it’s another way for vain people to use the Internet to share more mundane details of their mundane lives, but foursquare can be fun and useful. I love checking out where my friends eat, drink, and shop; I’m more likely to try a restaurant an IRL friend likes than a random one. The baseball lover in me marks out at all the stats available on foursquare; it’s interesting to see the patterns and statistics of your social life.

The biggest reason I’m into foursquare is because it’s like Achievement Points on Xbox 360. I’ve told several of my friends that foursquare is like getting Achievement Points for life. You get points for checking in when you go out. You get bonus points for checking out places that are new to you. The points are absolutely useless, just like the ones earned in Xbox 360 games, but I want them! I love competing with my friend Tom each week to see who can rack up the most points by Sunday. It’s good fun.

Besides, I’m still hoping that foursquare will lead to me getting a beautiful 19-year old stalker. Anyway, let me know what you think of check-in services like foursquare. If you think it’s irritating now, just wait until Facebook and Google unveil their versions. This stuff is going to be huge!

Today’s Poll: Is the Seven-Inch iPad (Mini?) Real???

The rumors of a seven-inch iPad are swirling around the Apple universe. A smaller version of the iPad makes a lot of sense. For many users, the current model is simply too big and unwieldy to use as a lounging device; shrinking it down would allow the iPad to work for more people. For some people (tech nerds), the plain Jane IPS display isn’t cutting it — lots of gadget freaks are dreaming of an iPad that uses Apple’s vaunted “Retina Display” technology. Using that tech on a seven-inch screen would be cheaper than using it on the current 9.7-inch model.

Then again, this could all be a bunch of crap. I want to know what you think America (and hot women from Iceland). Kindly take today’s poll and share your thoughts on the matter.

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Windows Phone 7 Launch Games and Xbox Live Connectivity Details

Microsoft has announced a ton of details on the gaming capabilities of its upcoming Windows Phone 7, including how the mobile OS interacts with Xbox Live. Here are the press release bullet points Xbox Live connectivity:

  • Be omnipotent. View, access and launch your full game library from one easy-to-navigate hub.
  • Get mad props. Earn, view and track Achievements, view Xbox Live leaderboards and build your Gamerscore every time you play an Xbox Live title.
  • Release your inner Mini Me. Connect to your Xbox Live profile and Avatar, or easily create a new one right from the phone.
  • Get tricky. Access Spotlight feeds, including the latest game titles, breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, and more.
  • Play before you pay. Easily find, try and buy the games you want, either in the Marketplace or Games hub.
  • Flaunt your skills. Invite, connect and play against friends on other Windows Phone 7 phones or PCs with turn-based (asynchronous) multiplayer gaming.

Microsoft has also promised more than 50 launch games. Here are the upcoming Windows Phone 7 titles and their respective publishers:

  • 3D Brick Breaker Revolution (Digital Chocolate)
  • Age of Zombies (Halfbrick)
  • Armor Valley (Protégé Games)
  • Asphalt 5 (Gameloft)
  • Assassins Creed (Gameloft)
  • Bejeweled™ Live (PopCap)
  • Bloons TD (Digital Goldfish)
  • Brain Challenge (Gameloft)
  • Bubble Town 2 (i-Play)
  • Butterfly ( Press Start Studio)
  • CarneyVale Showtime (MGS)
  • Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst (MGS)
  • De Blob Revolution (THQ)
  • Deal or No Deal 2010 (i-Play)
  • Earthworm Jim (Gameloft)
  • Fast & Furious 7 (i-Play)
  • Fight Game Rivals (Rough Cookie)
  • Finger Physics (Mobliss Inc.)
  • Flight Control (Namco Bandai)
  • Flowerz (Carbonated Games)
  • Frogger (Konami Digital Entertainment)
  • Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick)
  • Game Chest-Board (MGS)
  • Game Chest-Card (MGS)
  • Game Chest-Logic (MGS)
  • Game Chest-Solitaire (MGS)
  • GeoDefense (Critical Thought)
  • Ghostscape (Psionic)
  • Glow Artisan (Powerhead Games)
  • Glyder 2 (Glu Mobile)
  • Guitar Hero 5 (Glu Mobile)
  • Halo Waypoint (MGS)
  • Hexic Rush (Carbonated Games)
  • I Dig It (InMotion)
  • iBlast Moki (Godzilab)
  • ilomilo (MGS)
  • Implode XL (IUGO)
  • Iquarium (Infinite Dreams)
  • Jet Car Stunts (True Axis)
  • Let’s Golf 2 (Gameloft)
  • Little Wheel (One click dog)
  • Loondon (Flip N Tale)
  • Max and the Magic Marker (PressPlay)
  • Mini Squadron (Supermono Limited)
  • More Brain Exercise (Namco Bandai)
  • O.M.G. (Arkedo)
  • Puzzle Quest 2 (Namco Bandai)
  • Real Soccer 2 (Gameloft)
  • The Revenants (Chaotic Moon)
  • Rise of Glory (Revo Solutions)
  • Rocket Riot (Codeglue)
  • Splinter Cell Conviction (Gameloft)
  • Star Wars: Battle for Hoth (THQ)
  • Star Wars: Cantina (THQ)
  • The Harvest (MGS)
  • The Oregon Trail (Gameloft)
  • Tower Bloxx NY (Digital Chocolate)
  • Twin Blades (Press Start Studio)
  • UNO (Gameloft)
  • Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet (i-Play)
  • Zombie Attack! (IUGO)
  • Zombies!!!! (Babaroga)

In addition to strong thid-party support, it’s great to see first-party franchises like Crackdown and Halo coming to Windows Phone 7. Like I’ve said several times before, Microsoft is going to have an extremely difficult time catching up to Apple iOS and Google Android. Gaming is one of the ways it can differentiate Windows Phone 7 from its competitors. The initial announcements are a great start and are making gamers pay attention to the OS. It also makes the Android/PSP rumor a bit more interesting, hey?

As always, I want to know what you think about Windows Phone 7’s gaming initiatives. Fire away (please)!

“PSP Phone” Running Google Android 3.0 Coming Soon?

Engadget delivered a hot, Hot, HOT scoop on a Sony Ericcson “PSP” phone running Google Android 3.0 (Gingerbread). The device is currently under the SE’s Xperia brand, but will likely have PlayStation branding too. Here’s a chunk of details from the site:

The device is described as cross between the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go — in other words, it’s a landscape slider with game controls in place of the typical QWERTY keyboard. The D-pad is here, but instead of the small joystick, the device will have what was described as a “long touch pad” for analog controls, along with standard PSP buttons and shoulder buttons. The phone has a large display, described as being between 3.7 and 4.1 inches with WVGA or better resolution, a 5 megapixel camera that we’re told might not be final, and it’ll likely have a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU on board.

Games will be graphically in the range of PSX or PSP games, meaning true 3D gaming is headed to Android. Titles currently being shown off seem to be focused around some older PSX as well as new PSP offerings, with God of War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and LittleBigPlanet possibly on tap, and future plans for titles which incorporate augmented reality features.

I encourage you to pay Engadget a visit to get more information on this rumored phone. The site has more details and its writers should be rewarded with traffic for getting such a huge story.

After you’ve digested some details and given it some thought, please let me know what you think of the whole deal. You interested? Do you think it can compete with the Apple iPhone? Will it help Sony compete better with Nintendo in the handheld space? An excellent PSP platform running on a phone has all sorts of interesting implications and could change the mobile games market in a huge way. I’m hoping this all pans out, just to watch the awesome disruption.

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Motorola Droid 2 “R2-D2” Edition Looks Completely Awesome

Dustin Roberts claims that this is a photo of the upcoming R2-D2 edition of the Motorola Droid 2 for Verizon. In my nerdy opinion, it looks completely awesome! While I greatly prefer the Droid X over the Droid 2, the look of this limited edition phone is so tempting for the geek cred. What do you think of it? Is it the Droid you’re looking for?

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More iPhone 4 Verizon Musings + AT&T Exclusivity Ending Soon?

The iPhone 4 rumor mongers have been having a ball with Steve Cheney’s blog post on TechCrunch. While he started out strong by saying, “I am going to go on record to say Verizon will be selling an iPhone this coming January,” he kind of pussies out at the end by adding, “I can’t say with 100% accuracy that an iPhone will hit Verizon store shelves in January.” (Pussies out is a technical term, btw.)

Perhaps the more interesting news is that AT&T addressed the possibility of losing iPhone exclusivity in the near future. The company seems to be prepping investors for the loss of some kind of exclusivity…and I’m betting Wall Street doesn’t care much about the BlackBerry Torch. The Wall Street Journal reported:

AT&T Inc. said Friday it doesn’t expect to suffer a “material negative impact” from the end of its exclusive arrangements to carry handsets, including its lucrative deal for Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

“We do not expect any such terminations to have a material negative impact on our wireless segment income, consolidated operating margin or our cash from operations,” AT&T said in the filing with regulators on Friday.

So there’s lots of interesting information floating around that points to a CDMA carrier — most are thinking Verizon, but Sprint isn’t out of the question — getting the iPhone 4 in January 2011. What do you think of the latest info? Are you still hoping that the excellent iPhone 4 gets paired with a superior network? Or are you tired of all the talk?

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