I’m sure most of you are still pretty baffled at the fact that a sequel to the original 50 Cent game is actually on the way. Hey, I still couldn’t believe until I finally got to see the game playing in front of my own eyes.

The thing about Blood on the Sand is that you need to get just see this game for what it really is: A fun, arcade style, action game. Take off the serious goggles for a second and you may see something you like here. Anyway, hit the jump to read up on what I thought of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.

Share This

Share This

In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Valve’s Doug Lombardi has said that the company had offered Portal up for inclusion on Xbox LIVE Arcade, but Microsoft declined.

“I’d love to sell Portal on Xbox LIVE,” Lombardi told GI at an EA Games Studio Showcase last week, “[But] the platform holders aren’t doing that right now. There’s a size limit and all kinds of other things.”

Oh, there it is again — the dreaded XBLA title size cap, causing all sorts of a trouble again. Why Microsoft holds so strongly to that’s beyond me, especially when they’ve already opened up the gates with the Xbox Original titles. Can devs get a little wiggle room here, guys?

Share This

Share This

We have to be getting closer to the 3G iPhone's launch. How do we know? Well, aside from the rumored June 9 launch at Apple's WWDC, the blogosphere is lit up with frenzied rumors of new features in the 3G iPhone as well as speculation at new features to be enabled with the coming iPhone OS 2.0 firmware update.

From iPhone hardware to iPhone software features, Apple-fans can anticipate more functionality and ever more usability from the 3G iPhone and the current iPhone's next OS update.

The most intriguing rumors for the next-generation iPhone hint at true-blue GPS hardware within the 3G iPhone. With a dedicated GPS receiver inside, the 3G iPhone is stated to gain a minimal increase in case thickness - and, of course, the hardware will grant for the kind of pin-point positional accuracy that cell-tower triangulation just can't achieve.

Then there's speak about Apple licensing haptic feedback touchscreen technology from Immersion. Apple and Immersion execs have reportedly pow-wow'ed twice last week to discuss the integration of Immersion's vibration feedback technology in future touchscreen devices from Apple. Immersion is the firm behind the haptic feedback technology that simulates button-presses with vibrations on the upcoming Samsung Instinct.

Integrating haptic feedback technology would help the iPhone bring some tactile feedback to the multi-touch display - an aspect of the iPhone that has been widely criticized. We have the ability to only hope that the haptic technology that Apple is considering offers localized haptics, allowing for location-specific vibrations rather than whole-device vibrations.

Recently published patents also point to Apple revamping their touchscreen UI. Three new patents have been issued to Apple that detail new input methods on the iPhone. The patents cover new ways to organize UI elements, input text, and gestures for selecting and deleting text. Combined with the haptic feedback, we could see a revised multi-touch UI for the iPhone and 3G iPhone.

Now, as far as the current-generation iPhone is concerned, the upcoming iPhone OS 2.0 firmware update should go live with built-in Jabber support. The developer-version of the firmware makes references to the open-source XMPP framework that underlies Jabber's Instant Messaging technology. Unfortunately, the framework seems to be off-limits to all developers outside of Apple's Cupertino headquarters. The consensus is that the XMPP framework will be used by Apple in an iPhone chat client.

Finally, the iPhone OS 2.0 beta firmware has revealed support for something called iControl. The iControl utility would grant iPhone and iPod Touch users to wirelessly access and stream content from their home-based iTunes libraries. The ability to view and control locally-networked media from the iPhone corresponds quite nicely with an old Apple patent covering a technology that would allow the iPhone to not only stream media, but also control media playback via a “portable media player.”

Rumors are going to only get more and more interesting as we close in on the 3G iPhone and iPhone OS 2.0 firmware's launch. Stay tuned…

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• iPhone Haptic Feedback Keyboard Prototype
• Hands-on video with the LG KF700 at Mobile World Congress 2008 Barcelona
• Samsung F490 hands-on video from Mobile World Congress
• The first Chinese phone with haptic touchscreen feedback
• Apple Patent Hints At Secret iPhone Feature

Share This

Share This

When it comes to stylistic and sleek designs, design-house Pininfarina, of Ferrari fame, is as good as it gets. The Ferrari designer has put their design genius to bring a new flip phone for Motorola. The Motorola Mike i877 has been launched on Telus with Bluetooth, multimedia player, microSD card slot, miniUSB, 1.3-megapixel camera, and PTT (push-to-talk).

The spec sheet is a bit of a letdown for a handset designed by Pininfarina. But, with a price tag as low as $149.99 (on 3-year contract), the Motorola Mike i877 is an attractive deal for Telus subscribers looking for a stylish PTT handset.

Head on over to Telus's website for more info.

Telus

[Via: MobileInCanada]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Telus goes live with Motorola Q9c and BlackBerry Curve 8330
• Telus launches HTC Touch, S640 in Canada
• Telus adds MOTO RAZR2 V9m
• Telus brings the BlackBerry Pearl 2.0 to Canada
• Telus adds Samsung U540 to its offering

Share This

Share This

Who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! People dropped a brick when they heard that a Ghostbusters game was officially in the works. Not much has been shown off until this past month, when Sierra invited me out to get a firsthand look at how Ghostbusters is shaping up.

Share This

Share This

Codenamed “AK” (for Apple Killer), the BlackBerry maker from Canada is reported to be developing a super-secret competitor to the iPhone. While the BlackBerry 9000 made waves recently with a launch delay, certain speculation hinting that the BlackBerry 9000 would be equipped with a touchscreen has fallen through.

But, that doesn't mean that RIM isn't working on their own touchscreen handset to compete in the newly touchscreen-crazed smartphone market. Independent software developers say that the “AK” is under development at RIM.

Could the rumored BlackBerry 9100 turn out to be the BlackBerry “AK?” Time will tell, but it's almost a lock for RIM to launch some sort of touchscreen device in the near future. After all, touchscreens are the new hotness. But, let's hope that RIM doesn't forget what LG already knows - the UI (User Interface) is the overwhelming deal-maker/deal-breaker.

Apple's got the industry-leading iPhone UI, but RIM could come to market with superior enterprise integration and higher-spec hardware. If so, the 3G iPhone could have a serious competitor to deal with.

[Via: NYT]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• RIM working on a Blackberry with angular keypad?
• RIM prepping 3G, iPhone-fighting BlackBerry 9000/9xxx?
• RIM patents re-configurable keyboards for BlackBerry
• RIM to launch iPhone-fighting BlackBerry 9000/9xxx early next year
• RIM doubles profits, revenues

Share This

Share This

Sure, static wallpaper images help to gussy up the otherwise staid background image on the iPhone's glorious 3.5-inch multi-touch display. But, if static images are starting to lose their luster, you'll be glad to hear that you can now use videos as your iPhone's wallpaper With the help of yet another useful third-party application, vWallpaper, iPhone users can turn any properly sized .mov motion picture file into a moving wallpaper. The video wallpaper is splashed behind the homescreen's icons.

The result looks like this:

You'll need to jailbreak your iPhone, and add the “i.danstaface.net” application repository to your “Source” list. Click here for jailbreak instructions, and here for the tutorial on how to add third-party repositories to your “Source” list.

After editing your videos to their proper format, you'll need to SSH into your iPhone and add the videos to the correct directory. Here's how:

• Connect to your local WiFi network.
• Find your iPhone's IP address by navigating to Settings>WiFi and hitting the blue arrow next to your WiFi network.
• Fire up Cyberduck on your Mac or WinSCP on your Windows machine and log into “sftp://xxx.xxx.xx.x” with username “root” and password “alpine”
• Put videos into these directories:
  • /Applications/vWallpaper.app/Library/Skrew/Videos
  • /Library/Skrew/Videos

Head on over to modmyifone for some video examples.

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Free “Unicorn chaser” iPhone wallpaper
• Free iPhone wallpapers from IconFactory
• Sony Ericsson K850i wallpaper
• iPhone OS 2.0 firmware shows embedded YouTube videos
• AutoPaper S60 available

Share This

Share This

Following hot on the heels of the hotly anticipated Sidekick LX and Sidekick Slide launch on T-Mobile USA, new speculation points to the possibility that T-Mobile will be releasing two new Sidekick handsets this summer. References to Sidekick codenames “SK Gekko” and “Sidekick Aspen,” uncovered by TmoNews, lead us to believe that the “Gekko” Sidekick will go live on July 27 with the Sidekick “Aspen” launching on July 30.

Details on the new Sidekicks are slim, but there’s a significant possibility that T-Mobile will be releasing a T-Mobile HotSpot @Home-compatible Sidekick. Another possibility could be the release of new Sidekicks bearing limited edition artwork. On the other hand, the new Sidekicks could just be new color-variants of the still-new Sidekick LX and Sidekick Slide. Anyone else totally digging the “Fire Red” Sidekick?

It's unlikely that T-Mobile will be releasing a radically revised Sidekick lineup so shortly after the launch of the new Sidekick duo, but anything is possible.

[Via: TmoNews]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• T-Mobile set to launch newest Sidekick in October
• iPhone SDK: iPhone emulator uses iPhone OS v1.2 firmware (codenamed Aspen); to be released?
• Sidekick to get a GPS
• T-Mobile swapping out defective Sidekick Slide handsets with Sidekick LX replacements
• T-Mobile preparing to launch Fire Red T-Mobile Sidekick Slide?

Share This

Share This

There are a lot of positives to living in Canada. Unfortunately, access to the newest and higher-end mobile phones is not one of the upsides to living North of the border. Rogers Canada is the country's premier (read: only) GSM provider, and with a lack of any real competition, the cost of GSM data plans has been prohibitively high on Rogers' network.

Well, things are looking up for Rogers customers. Word on the street has it that the Nokia N95 is due to hit Rogers' GSM network on May 2. The Canada-bound variant of the Nokia N95 should hit market sporting the same 5 megapixel camera,  GPS receiver, WiFi, TV-out, and 3G HSDPA data connection that the US enjoys. And, with the help of Rogers, the Nokia N95 should be able to make use of its video call camera.

Pricing for the Nokia N95 on Rogers is reported to hit $699 without contract.

And, all you Canadian iPhone hopefuls (those of you that haven't already jumped across the border for an unlocked iPhone) might soon be able to get your hands on a Rogers-locked Apple iPhone in the near future. The Toronto Star cites industry sources as indicating that Rogers is gearing up to launch a touchscreen-based handset campaign with the release of the master of touchscreen handsets, the Apple iPhone. The iPhone's entry into Canada has been speculated to as being held up by the country's high-priced GSM data plans. But, with the  launch of the Rogers' $20 unlimited data plan, the “Communicate Value Pack,” Rogers is believed to be preparing to receive the heralded iPhone.

The iPhone is said to hit Canada some time between May and July. The purported timing of the iPhone in Canada points to the release of the 3G iPhone ahead of RIM's BlackBerry 9000, giving Apple a head start in RIM's home country.

[Via: Electronista]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Rogers Canada offers unlimited data plan - hints at possible iPhone arrival?
• Rogers to launch Apple iPhone on December 7th?
• Apple to announce iPhone's debut in Canada later today?
• LG Vu coming to Canada via Rogers Wireless
• Video Calling Finally Hits North America - Rogers Canada.

Share This

Share This

While the rest of the world waits for Nokia to release solid pricing info on the WiMAX-enabled variant of the Nokia N810 World wide web Tablet, it seems that online retailer Buy.com is already offering a discount on the device. Marked down from a list price of $479, the sale price for the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is being sold for just $456.

There's no stock to talk of, so you can't exactly purchase one just yet. We'll have to wait until this summer for Nokia to reveal launch-details for the Nokia N810 WiMAX Tablet. The launch should coincide with Sprint's WiMAX-based XOHM network rollout.

[Via: TabletBlog]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Nokia to announced N810 with WiMAX at CTIA?
• Nokia to launch WiMAX enabled N810 at CTIA?
• Nokia N830 WiMAX equipped Internet Tablet leaked
• Nokia N810 World wide web Tablet promo video
• Nokia announces N810 World wide web Tablet; Should we upgrade from the N800?

Share This

Share This