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2010 (9)
2009 (38)
 

E3 Project Natal Launch Party, Pics & Video!

My friend Elizabeth, @mintcool on Twitter was kind enough to give ME passes for Microsoft's' BIG E3 2K10 Party event (My own nickname, in honor of 2K sports ass kickery on Dreamcast. Its only fitting!) This was more than just a party, it was an experience. It really reminded me of how SONY went large, on teh VERY first E3 in L.A. (They used to be in Atlanta, WAY back in the day) which I attended. This was when they announced the original PlayStation and simultaneously invented the modern game booth behmoth. Sony cordoned off half the main floor in the convention center and built a mini city. With an open bar. And PlayStation. Lett hat sink in. Anyhow, this was much mroe family friendly and really seemed to have a positive vive and had a 'unity theme' to it, along with the evolution in gaming; Project Natal.

Also, you can find video which I shot on my HTC EVO 4G of the worlds first public unveiling of the new X Box 360!

(download)

(download)

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Sprint announcing 4G HTC 'Super Sonic' at CTIA

Las Vegas: Sprint Nextel corporation is said to be announcing a launch date (rumored to be June 6th, along with the new BlackBerry Bold from RIM), pricing and more details at a special event at the CTIA tradeshow in Vegas. 

As I first reported a month ago, (http://ow.ly/1pGL3 ) This is the United States first 4G phone and marks the continued marked comeback by belguared Sprint, who until last quarter was rapidly losing subscribers and credibility with the tech crowd. Sprint has shown it is listening to its customers and trying to be a step ahead of the competition, where it thinks (and rightfully so) that the first carrier to 4G will win the wireless war. And leats face it, it is a war and wireless is where its at!

http://community.sprint.com/baw/servlet/JiveServlet/download/156406-4246/supersonicmaybe.dib

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/sprint-to-announce-groundbreaking-new-device-htc-supersonic/

Thanks to the Sprint community for the screen shots!

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Whats in YOUR pocket?

I have a lot of friends down at SXSWi right now and one of them tweeted tonight about going to Android & ditching the Death Star, for reasons not yet clear to me. So, it got me thinking, with Android shooting up in the ratings by double digits, Windows Mobile basically dead and RIM even getting WAY old in the tooth, whats in your pocket, Now?

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Motorola Calgary Android phone confirmed!

Moto_calgary

There have been rumors of the Alexander / Calgary for almost over a year now, but with the new release of Fring today for Android 2.0 & Symbian (for our European Nokia friends), the device is clearly listed as a download option. So, if you combine this with BGR's information along with all of the rumors, you pretty much have a done deal. Its not like we didn't expect for a 'budget' DROID to come out coupled with MOTOBLUR. In fact, I think Motorola has a good idea and strategy on its hands here!

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BREAKING: Apple Tablet exclusive to Verizon Wireless

As I first reported over a year ago, the Apple Tablet (Newton II) will ship on VZW for 3G access. This is a consolation concession given to VZW since they will never, ever get an iPhone, 3G or 3G S. They will get a LTE 'phone' (I say 'phone' because voice will still be handled over CDMA2000 1xRTT, as it is now), perhaps as early as Q1 2011. 

Its truly rare that little old me ever scoops any of the 'big guys', but when it happens, iGloat. Hah 
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Apple_tablet

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A phone that trades hair-do for can-do

Verizon Wireless (majority owned by Vodafone Corporation in Europe) started to slang a lil' mud towards the Death Star crew this past Holiday season and out of all the ads they ran, this one reminded me the most of one of my favorites from the 80's: SEGADOESWHATNINTEDONT! What do you guys think, does the DROID melt the 3G S? Sound off!

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VZW does a bare knuckle punch to The Death Star

So as @boygenius first reported yesterday, Verizon Wireless is drastically reducing their rate plans as part of their combined smartphone offensive consisting of lower prices, network superiority & advanced devices. This is news in itself usually, but combined with the joint responses of T-Mobile and AT&T Mobility it actually starts to get seriously interesting as the Death Star responded by matching their overpriced rates along with T-Mobile lowering hardware prices! Count this one as the free market working for once, kids! Sprint meanwhile is expected to announce a device, launch it with bad hardware and expect people to remember they bought Nextel for some reason only known to the Dali Lama. Can you hear me now?

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Windows Mobile 7 delayed. Again.

Chalk this up to MSFT just absolutely having zero clue how to execute in the mobile space, especially since it took them almost TWO YEARS (!) to go from 6.0 to 6.1 then 6.5! And keep in mind, all of this is the same shitty Windows CE code that was originally WinMo 4 & 5! Windows mobile 7 was actually supposed to be out early last year but somehow Microsoft managed to fuck that up as well. 

Look, I am a die in the wool Microsoft guy. Well, at least I was now that I think about it! I Had an X-Box & a 360) until the 2nd 360 I bought died on me. I canceled my Zune HD pre order because it was very 'meh'. Also, when it came time to get a new phone last year, I didn't even consider Windows Mobile. I got a Palm Pre. Yeah, that was a genuine turd-ball hardware wise, but software wise, wow, Palm has a winner! Finally, I just gave in and said fuck it and bought a Droid for New Years. Windows what? Android is the future and its here, now.

What do You think? Please add to the discussion here or on twitter @SouthBay_Mike

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Google Voice Invites

As I have been looking at setting up my new @Motorola #Droid , I relaized I could finally start utilizing & leveraging the power of the Google with the native Android 2.0 app. So, as I was on the admin site for my account & realized

Holy Smokes, Ive got oodles and oodles of Google Voice invites to dish out!

The result being, if youd like one, (or two if your cute!)  just make a comment here or @SouthBay_Mike on Twitter with the hash-tag #TechBlended!

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Black Friday

So being broke this year didn't mean not getting a new gadget, as @Amazon has a promotion running today on cell phones. I got a brand new BlackBerry Storm2 9550 top of the line model for $0.99! That's less than a buck, plus NO sales tax! IF you were to (and you cant) find a deal like this at a retail store (the lowest I've found is $179.99) you still have to pay sales tax, which is a hefty number in Los Angeles, racking up at about 10% depending which city in the County you live in. This truly is the best bargain in cell phones Ive come across in a long time and they have other offers available. I will miss Sprint, but @Palms lack of build quality and lackadaisical responses to major issues plaguing the Pre & Pixis are just too much. The FINAL straw in my cell phone camels back follows: I arrived at my best friends house for Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday at 1:30PM & my @Palm #Pre battery which was FULLY charged was EMPTY by 6:30PM after taking a couple of pics, tweeting and showing my phone to a friend. Un-Frakking acceptable for a smart phone which I paid $200 for plus accessories. This phone STILL cant record video, doesn't have auto focus for the camera, has ZERO quality games and social media apps. Your loss @Palm. I'm happy to pay more for excellent service with @VZWOffers and get kick ass reliable service, high speeds, great build quality and access to hundreds of applications that I can truly use for my lifestyle.
 
I will update with an unboxing and a review of my phone (which is mine, not a PR unit)
 
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Filed under  //  BlackBerry   Blended   Cell   Palm   Phone   Pre   Sprint   Storm2   Technlology   Verizon   Wireless  
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