New Samsung Dash Info Leaks Out– Hello Instinct HD! August 27, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , 3comments
A pic of the Samsung Instinct HD courtesy of Best Buy (you can even see they have cases ready for it. Click on the pic to see the ad on Best Buy’s site)
Remember a few months back we wrote a post on 6 upcoming Sprint phones, and mentioned a sick successor to the Instinct called the Samsung Dash? A lot of you were, and still are, very interested in the fate of that phone (like we know a lot of people were into the recently released Samsung Reclaim– we’re cool like that), and today we got for you, more or less, a confirmation that the phone is indeed coming to Sprint AND is coming in the not too distant future.
You see, Best Buy posted their “Weekly Ad” on their site this week (I guess like they usually do), and just so happened to be a little too trigger happy with news on this new Instinct, the Samsung Instinct HD, mentioning it in their September Mobile Phone Buyer’s Guide. As you can tell– this obviously is a little bit of a problem as Sprint hasn’t yet come out and announced the new Instinct (though we’re guessing now that their gonna be making an announcement really soon), and Best Buy clearly looks to have spilled the beans on what looks to be an awesome new Sprint phone. But hey, their loss our gain– we now got some solid info on this bad boy.
Here’s what Best Buy confirmed:
- 3.2 inch screen (which we guess will look amazing)
- 5 megapixel camera with flash and video recording with TV Out ability– so you can hook this up to your HDTV and share your pix and videos with friends and family in HD
- WiFi– it’s about time the Instinct got this
- Visual Voicemail, GPS, instant access to sites like YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace
- a new IM app and an added tab on the bottom called “My Stuff” with a little briefcase over it– we concluded that from the clear picture of the Instinct HD but no info is given on these aspects
Sadly, we also don’t have a price or release date either (Best Buy only lists it as “Coming Soon”), but this ad’s offers only run till September 26th, so all the official info from Sprint should be out any minute now– which we’ll of course keep you updated on.
Xbox 360 Getting a Price Cut Too? (Update– It's Offical) August 25, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Rumors, Video Games , 1 comment so far
Xbox 360′s Price Cut in Target flier (Pic from Engadget)
Well, well look what we have here. Another Xbox 360 price cut, this time to match the PS3 Slim’s new low price? If these upcoming weekend fliers for Best Buy and Target are to be believed, then don’t run out to buy that new PS3 Slim or Xbox 360 yet. Microsoft is about to drop the Xbox 360 Elite‘s price down to that same $299 the PS3 Slim is going for. Yup, $100 price drop, and definitely worthy of a week’s wait before buying in my opinion. Now what about the Xbox 360 Pro that’s right now priced at $299? Well, according to these fliers, that will be dropped to $249, but only while supplies last as rumors around the web are saying that Microsoft is about to drop the Pro from the lineup entirely (and leaked new boxes for the Elite and Arcade are only now showing the $200 Arcade version and the Elite on the back of the box, with no Pro in the middle– this helped fuel those rumors of Microsoft cutting the Pro).
Now Microsoft hasn’t confirmed any of this yet, but I sure believe this is real. Why? It only makes sense. Microsoft isn’t about to let the PS3 be the cheapest of the 120 GB consoles, especially with the holiday season starting in a couple of months. And the pix of the flyers also look real (seriously, these look like cellphone shots taken quickly). So what’ll it be– Xbox 360 Elite or PS3 Slim for your $299?
Pix of the Best Buy flyer and of the new Arcade back of box after the more link.
UPDATE: Yup, Microsoft came out today and officially said that starting tomorrow, they will cut the price of the Elite to $299, while the Pro is dropped to $249 while supplies last as they kill off remaining stock. Microsoft also reiterated that the Arcade will remain $199 and that all Xbox 360 consoles bought will work with the upcoming Project Natal. Full press release can be found here.
Meet the PS3 Slim August 21, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Video Games , add a comment
The one on the right is much thinner. Trust me.
Like the PS2 before it, Sony has just announced the new, slimmer, cheaper, PS3 Slim. What we wrote about a few months ago has finally happened, and basically, it’s the same PS3 as the old 80 and 160 GB models that are out right now. Except it has 120 GB storage, it’s a lot Slimmer, and it costs $300. Yup, you read that line right. Three hundred bucks. For a PS3. Also, Sony dropped the price on the older models to make way for the Slim’s early September launch, making the 80 GB $300, and the 160 GB $400 (Word to the Wise – wait for the Slim: get a better, larger memory PS3 for the same $300 as the old 80 GB. But hey, it’s your call…)
Also, Sony announced a couple things for the new PSP Go!, which is still coming out in October, mainly the new “minis” games. Minis are Sony’s new section of games for the PSP, sorta like the Xbox Live Arcade or iPhone App Store. In fact… almost exactly like the iPhone App Store, seeing as Sony is working hard to get iPhone developers to port their games– including Fieldrunners, Hero of Sparta, and Minigore, some of the popular iPhone games.
That’s pretty much it for the Sony updates. So, fellow teens – is the new $300 Slim low enough for you to switch to a PS3? Sound off in the comments.
New Info on the Zune HD August 19, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
The Zune HD
You’re also very interested in the Zune HD? Who could blame you — HD Radio, WiFi, AMAZING (yes, AMAZING) OLED screen, HD playback of videos, an awesome design and a bunch more features.
When we first wrote that post on the Zune HD we were very excited as this could really be Microsoft’s “iPod killer,” but were left wondering on its launch date and price, as well as details including battery, features and storage. Well have no more fear– Microsoft has finally let all the details out of the bag, and wow this thing looks even better to me than it did before.
Beginning with storage, the Zune HD, like its iPod Touch competitor, has either 16 or 32 GB depending on how much you want. Among the previously unmentioned features of this incredible machine, the web browser seems nearly on par with Safari, and I especially advise you check out CNET’s hands-on video and their positive comments here. And not only is there multi-touch, battery life on this bad boy is also insane: 33 hours of music, 8.5 hours of video, and only 3 hours to charge from your PC and 2 (yes, 2) hours to charge from an AC adapter! All that is way better than the iPod Touch in every way. There are also a host of color design options, as you can see from the above pic (right now you can only pre-order in the standard black, 16 GB version, or “platinum”– a 32 GB version, silver)!
On to the biggest news: the price and release. The 16 GB version will be coming in at $219.99 and the 32 GB version will be coming in at $289.99 when they launch on September 15th (a little under 1 month away). That’s $80 cheaper than the iPod Touch 16 GB and $110 (!) cheaper than the 32 GB iPod Touch. Wow is right.
Of course, just to be fair, Apple is said to be holding a big event sometime in the two weeks of September where they are rumored to be launching new iPods (possibly these), so if your looking for a new Mp3 player, you may wanna hold off for a month cause things are about to get really interesting.
You can pre-order the Zune HD here from the Microsoft Store, Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart, and can check out the Zune HD for yourself at any of these Best Buy stores on August 22nd and 23rd.
Dropship – Review August 17, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews, Video Games , add a comment
Dropship. Retro made awesome.
Ok, so this is an older game on the iPhone platform that I’ve been meaning to review for a while now, and one of my favorite games all time – Dropship. So, why now? Well, because ngmoco, the dudes who make it, just made it free, so now’s the time for a review so you all can check it out.
Dropship is effectively a 2.5D (not quite 3D gameplay, but looks 3D, so you make the call) space shoot. There are 2 basic modes to it – Missions, and Free Play. The Missions mode basically has you flying through a maze, retrieving a glowing green box, and dragging via tractor beam out. This is complicated by the maze, and the hordes of turrets seeking to blow your glowing, retro-style ship to nothing. Blowing up these turrets results in a shower of particle effects, and they’re more then just for show – flying towards them allows you to absorb them for energy, which is essential, seeing as flying take energy as fuel, and crashing into walls and being shot loses you energy. However, you aren’t unarmed. You have a gun. As it happens, initially a pretty lame one. However, by carefully rescuing humans scattered around a level, you get temporary (read: ammunition) upgrades – one human gets you rapid fire, another while you have rapid fire spread shot, then laser, then hyper laser. These are almost essential for winning. As for free play mode, it’s similar, except less maze and the objective is instead to rescue x-amount of humans. It’s much more fast paced and progressively harder then the missions. Also, the game has an achievement system, giving you something to strive for.
Finally, though, are controls – the make it or break it factor for any iPhone game. Dropship takes the crown in this over any game I’ve ever played. Dropship has a two stick control system – left side movement, right side weapons. Standard stuff. Except in Dropship, the digital controls aren’t static – where ever you place your left thumb – thats the left control. Ditto for weapons. This is the crucial factor that makes Dropship not only playable, but fun.
Overall, Dropship is a great game – good graphics, great controls, and just fun to play. Best of all, as mentioned before, its free. So go grab a copy and give it a shot.
Download here. [iTunes Link]
Madden NFL 10– All the Info you need to know (Wii, PSP, and PS2 versions) August 14, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Video Games , 2comments
Ok, so a couple weeks back we wrote about the upcoming Madden NFL 10 Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. Now with Madden’s release coming out tonight let’s finish this preview of the next Madden game up with everything you’ll need to know if your a PS2, PSP or Wii owner. Come on, you know you wanna hit the read link to see what’s knew so watch’a waiting for? Get to it!
Meet Samsung's Eco-Friendly Reclaim (Formerly Chianti) for Sprint August 9, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , add a comment
Samsung Reclaim– closed and in “Ocean Blue”
Remember that Samsung Chianti we wrote about a while ago in our upcoming Sprint phones post? You know, basically a Sprint version of AT&T’s Samsung Propel? Well, this sweet upcoming texting phone has finally become official today– with final specs, a new name (come on, Chianti couldn’t have been the final name), and even a release date. We know a lot of you are interested in this phone so go on; all the info is after the more link.
Say Hello to T-Mobile's HTC TouchPro2 and BlackBerry 8520 August 5, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , 1 comment so far
Is your T-Mobile contract running out and your shopping around for a new phone? Then texters and sick phone lovers should listen up: T-Mobile is bringing 2 amazing new phones over the next few days, the TouchPro2 and BlackBerry 8520. To know what its all about and if its for you, read further. (more…)