Halo: Waypoint

First up, for X-Box 360 fans, you’ll find the new Waypoint tracking system for the Halo franchise.  Basically it’s an app that you’ll load into your 360 Dashboard that will be your operations center for just about any thing you can think of dealing with Halo.

343 Industries’ Frank O’Connor: Waypoint will offer Halo enthusiasts access to audio and video content in addition to community features and the option to follow your “Halo career.”

I think this video best explains it though….

Look for it to hit the Dashboard on November 5th!

Bioshock 2

2K Games released this new trailer for the next version of it’s “little sister” saving (or slaying) Bioshock!

Bioshock 2 isn’t due to hit the streets until 2-9-2010 on the X-Box 360 / PC / PS3 but Joystiq got an early preview of it.  Here’s their  full review [GO-->]

Army of Two: ‘The 40th Day’ commercial

Ok if you played Army of Two before you know this game is a dude game all the way.  Of course chicks can jump on and play and have fun, but from a design stand point it’s meant to bring out the fun loving neanderthal in all of us.  If you don’t get what I’m throw’n down, just watch this new commercial for Army of Two ‘The 40th Day’….

The first installment of this game got high praise for it’s co-op mode.  Sit down on the couch with a good friend, pop some beer….SODA, and shoot the crap outta stuff!

Army of Two: The 40th Day will be out 1-12-2010!  Check out the official page [GO-->]

Here’s the quick back story as found on the official youtube page and then video follows…

TAMPA, FLA., Reko Rivera (Left) John Savio (Right) — World’s first “working” iPhone costume created by Reko Rivera and John Savio. Specifications are 42″ Display, 1.5 Hours of Battery Life, 85 lb and the “real” iPhone can charge connected to the USB on the display. The two costumes have 3 batteries each with a total runtime of 4.5 hours before needing to be charged overnight. Please email us if you need any more information about the costume.

It’s due to be released on November 17th and will be available on the X-Box 360 (best for playing co-op) and the PC.  And “PC” means your computer in case you’ve forgotten.

Find out more about the game on it’s wiki page.  [GO-->]

Head over to GiantBomb to read up on the full review.  [GO-->]

It’s currently out for X-Box 360 & the PS3.

Now, let it be known that I laugh at the people who are putting words in Verizon’s mouth and using the term “iPhone killer“.  Even Verizon laughs at you for muttering those words.  Neither Verizon, Google, or Motorola are calling this an “iPhone killer”.  Seriously people, come on.  This is just Verizon’s best attempt at giving their customers an alternative to an iPhone.  Simply enough it’s an “iPhone alternative”.  Period.

Those of us who flat out refused to give into the [horrible] AT&T [yes still biased!] and take the iPhone bait have waited around very patiently for something worthy.  And those of us who are fully entrenched in the Google world have been waiting around even longer it seems!  Watching T-Mobile get Android phone after Android phone has been…annoying at best.

The guys over at Boy Genious Report are the phone ninja’s who have had the inside connection on this project since day one.  And even though Verizon hasn’t released any info on the Droid, they sure have!  Here’s some pics of the proposed, though NOT official yet, Verizon Droid (aka Sholes, aka Tao).

For more info hit up the BoyGeniusReport.com!

[if your browser isn't displaying it in the full monty click HERE]

So you gonna pick this up or what?!?

This Tauntaun sleeping bag was originally posted up on Thinkgeek.com as one of their annual April Fools Day jokes.  It turned out to be such a cool idea that the demand grew and they went for it!  So they now have it in full production!  This is only for kids, but I’m thinking about just getting two.  One for each leg.

Well the wait is finally over.  For me in particular.  Ever since Apple stabbed me in the back and went exclusive to AT&T I’ve waited for this day.  For I was NEVER going back to AT&T and their crap coverage and customer service.  I said that about 6 years ago and was only very slightly waivered when the iPhones were introduced.  But I’m a man of my word and pronounced that I would hold out on Verizon and my trusty, though boring, Blackberry until they got a better phone for me.

This morning Google & Verizon held a press conference and sent out a statement (read here) announcing their matrimony.  Basically it states that the two will be joining forces to usher out new devices loaded with Google’s cell phone operating system, called Android & apps.  The guys over at Engadget held a phone call of their own with the two companies and dugg up a little more info.  They found out that 2 of these new devices will be released in the next few weeks & that one of them will be a “game-changer”.  I have no idea what that is or what it means but I’m damn excited to find out!

One of the phones was rumored out the last couple of months and I have been tracking it ever since.  It’s a phone from Motorola that’s had two names….Sholes and most recently the Tao.  You can see some blurry pics of it here. We’re pretty sure that the Sholes\Tao phone will be one of the phones to come out of this marriage in the next couple of weeks, but probably won’t be the one touted as the ‘game-changer’.

Verizon has also recently started taking off the gloves with AT&T and are finally fighting back.  Check out this ad (sorry this was the best I could find on short notice) displaying their US coverage compared to AT&Crap’s.

BTW, I’m totally biased against AT&T due to some really bad personal experiences with them.  I’m in no way trying to debated technicals between the two companies.  This is simply personal!  At least I’m honest right?

So, anyone else out there on Verizon that’s as excited as I am for this?

Hardware
As for hardware it’s an amazing device.  It’s built solid and a slick look which feels good in the hand.  It comes with 32gb’s of storage and the processor, ram, and graphics have all been upgraded.  It’s has a gorgeous screen that is both bright and vibrant.  As for the body, it is pretty much the same as last years 3G model.  I really wish they would have made a more rubber style back but it’s ok as they have different cases that are available for it.  It has Bluetooth, Wifi, Speaker, Microphone, and a 3 Megapixel camera that also does video.

4.5 out of 5

Software
OS 3.1 had just come out a couple of days before I bought the phone so instantly I had to upgrade.  I never really tried 3.0 or even 2.0 for that matter.  Overall the OS is nice but a little to simple for a power user.  I would really like to be able to dig into the OS and be able to customize it.  About the only customization that’s possible is moving the icons around.  Coming from Nokia phones especially the N Series it’s much more limiting.  The N97 allowed me much more freedom especially when it came to customization.  It’s actually ok since Apple really layed everything out nicely. I do have a complaint though.  The iPhone can only sync to one computer.  So if you plug it into another then it prompts you if you would like to erase and sync with the new computer.  Now this is very annoying as you have to sign in and be authorized to sync files.  It’s not a huge deal but really I would like to be able to add content even if it’s on my other computer seeing that I bought it with my account.

4 out of 5

Camera
The camera is another feature that has been upgraded since last years model.  It went up from 2 to 3 megapixels and now has an autofocus.  Again coming from Nokia which is known for their camera’s, I was very scared about the quality.  I like to use the camera on my phones quite a bit since it’s convenient and it’s always in my pocket and Nokia has never failed me with that.  So I went out and took some sample pictures and they came out pretty good.  It’s not the same quality as the Carl Zeiss N Series phones but it’s still pretty good.  It has and autofocus feature that allows you to touch the screen that you want to focus on.  It also has auto macro that can turn on when close up pictures are being taken.  So the pictures I took all came out pretty good but I definitely give the nod to Nokia.  One thing it’s lacking that’s big for me is Flash.  It doesn’t have any so low lit pictures don’t come out very well.  As for the video camera, I think this is where it shines.  It records VGA quality and actually looks pretty good.  It records up to 30 frames per second which is good for faster motion recording.  I did a couple of test recordings and they both came out really nice.  Between the Nokia and it, Apple definitely looks better in terms of taking video.

4 out of 5

iPod
The iPod is pretty much the same as the last two versions of the phone.  You get a full iPod built in to it.  You can even buy music and video’s right from the phone which makes it nice when on the road.  I actually really like the iPod.  It has a clean layout and flipping through music is seamless.  The phone has a speaker which you can listen to your music or podcast but to really appreciate it, you’ll want a good pair of headphones.  As far as sorting goes you can choose to sort by Artist, Album, or Song.  A nice feature that I found was that you can stream podcasts right through the phone without downloading it.  Which is nice since you can’t download anything over 10mb’s using 3g.  It has to go through Wifi, which I don’t understand why they would limit it.  So the other answer is stream.  I really hope they fix this as pretty much most podcasts are over that size.  Overall other than that the iPod is the same as the ohter iPods.  The score would be higher if it weren’t for the download cap over 3g.

3.5 out of 5

So overall I have both my likes and dislikes for the phone.  What it does, it really does well.  But it lack in certain departments.  I would a) Like to see a flash with the camera and b) Would like to see a 5 megapixel camera on it to compete with many of the other phones out there.  I would like to be able to go beyond the surface of the phone.  It’s basically a bunch of desktops with apps on it.  I wish there was a menu system and a file structure.  Coming from using Nokia’s I really miss that.  What I really like is the way the phone works.  It runs very clean and smooth.  It comes with a good suite of apps but has tons that can be downloaded.  I personally haven’t downloaded to many as I’m still trying to decide if I want to keep the phone.  I have made a list though so if I dokeep it  then I’ll have quite a few to pickup.  There’s another phone that I’ve been looking at that looks like it might be a real competitor to the iPhone and that’s the new Nokia N900.  It’s supposed to come out very soon so we’ll have to wait on the reviews to see how it does.  For now I’m still in the trial phase of this phone but I have make a choice as I only have a short time to decide.

4 out of 5

So what do you think, should I keep the iPhone or look into another phone.  I really like Android but for now it’s only on T-Mobile.  I’m really interested in the new Nokia N900 though.  So let me know what you think in the comments.

Engadget Review

Gizmodo Review