Chrome to Phone for Android 2.2

Google has released the Chrome to Phone extension for Google Chrome and Android.  This is a neat little application that will allow you to instantly send web pages and maps from your PC to your Android 2.2 Froyo device.  I can't see myself using this very frequently but it is still a nice feature to have.  I'm hoping they will add the ability to send a webpage or map to a friend's phone.  That is something I would use all the time!

Have you installed it?  What do you think?

Netflix and EPIX strike a deal! Paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate movies on Xbox 360/PS3 September 1

The Neflix and EPIX deal has become official!  EPIX is an initiative launched by Paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate with the goal of providing premium, network friendly content to streaming video providers.  Movies will become available 90 days after their DVD/Bluray release.  What does this mean for you?  Expect to find A grade movie titles on your Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, or whatever Netflix "Watch It Instantly" enabled device you should own.  This news couldn't come sooner!  "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Love Julie Newmar" was starting to get old... who am I trying to kid... that movie will never get old!

Motorola Droid 2 Officially Announced!

Photo Courtesy of Engadget.Com

Verizon has officially announced the release date of the highly anticipated Motrola Droid 2!  Pre-Sale begins tomorrow and expect to find it in stores as soon as Thursday!  The phone will run you $200 (after a $100 mail in rebate) with a 2 year contract.  Those of you who can't live without a physical keyboard, this is the phone for you!  The Android 2.2 upgrade has made major moves to meet corporate IT security standards.  The OS improvements combined with a physical keyboard position the Droid 2 to become a corporate must have phone! 

The Droid 2 features:

• Improved Keyboard (The keys have been repositioned and raised to allow for easier typing)
• 3.7" Diagonal Multi-Touch Display
• 5 Mega Pixel Camera
• 16 GB Memory (8 GB Internal/8 GB External Micro SD/ Ability to add up to 32 GB Micro SD)
• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• Adobe Flash Player Mobile 10.1 (That's right!  MiniClips games on your phone!)
• DLNA Streaming (Allows High Defintion Video Streaming)
• Mobile Hotspot (Connect up to 5 Wireless devices to your phone for an extra $20 a month)

Blackberry Torch and Blackberry 6 OS Just Not Good Enough

Photo Courtesy of Engadget.com

The Blackberry Torch has finally seen the light of the day.  Blackberry has been producing some pretty unexciting phones over the past couple of years so its nice to see a new form factor.  The Blackberry Torch brings the highly anticipated Blackberry OS 6 (BOS6) along with it.  I have watched a video review of BOS6 Software here on Engadget.com earlier and I must agree with Josh Topolsky; the new OS is an improvement but it is just not good enough.  iOS and Android both provide an unbelievable mobile phone experiences.  Blackberry is falling behind and losing customers to Apple, Motorola, and HTC.  Once upon a time, owning a Blackberry was a source of pride.  The OS was cutting edge and the email functionality could not be topped.  However,  the Exchange Active Sync movement is exploding in the corporate world and gmail dominates the personal email market.  The last bastion of hope for Blackberry lies in the beloved Blackberry Messenger application.  Over time users will grow tired of the lesser functionality and migrate to a more innovative Mobile Phone OS.

If Blackberry plans on surviving the Mobile Phone OS evolution they really need to bring their A game.  I feel that BOS6 is a half-hearted effort to catch up with today's fast paced rate of innovation.  To survive this market, innovation is a necessity and must come in large doses.  "My phone is almost as good as" just will not stand.

Heavy Rain: Indigo Prohpecy's Brother is Younger and Better Looking (PS3)

Storytelling is unquestionably an art form. Just as in any form of art you have those who "get it" and those who simply do not. Heavy Rain's developer Quantic Dreams most definitely falls under the category of "gets it". The studios last effort, Indigo Prophecy, was unarguably my favorite game on the original Xbox console. Most video games make a valiant effort to unite story and game play only to produce a mediocre cocktail of both. In Indigo Propecy, the game was a story... dare I say movie! Most fans of the game jokingly refer to it as the best 75% of a game ever! The game captivated it's audience for a majority of the game. The story placed you in the daily lives of the main characters; waking up in the morning, going to work, and even playable flashbacks of their childhood experiences. You develop a strong connection to each and every character. However, the plot became quite convoluted and fell apart at the end.

This brings us the Quantic Dreams spiritual successor Heavy Rain. Backed by Sony, this game is shaping up nicely and seems to be a real home run for all parties involved. Sony is using the game as an opportunity to showcase the console's full potential. After watching game play footage they are completely on point. The graphics are down right breath taking! The visuals are about as photo-realistic as I have seen in a quite some time. The outstanding visuals combine with impressive motion-capture animation and an amazing physics engine to produce a movie quality experience like no other.

Recent game play footage showcases the games visuals while clouding details of the games story. Details of plot points are difficult to find; even on the internet! What is known is the game revolves around 4 different character in search of a serial killer known as the Origami Killer. The four characters are an FBI profiler named Norman Jayden, a private detective named Scott Shelby, an architect named Ethan Mars, and journalist named Madison Paige.

A playable demo was made available at Gamescon 2009 in Germany. Heavy Rain will build on the strong game play foundation used in Indigo Prophecy; cut scenes, environmental investigations, and Quick Time Event (QTE) sequences. In addition to those features, every event in the game will impact the story in someway. For example, if your character should die in a particular sequence... the game carries on without that character. This will make for a unique game play experience and entice gamers to play through the game again after completion.

All in all this is game appears to be shaping up quite well. There are rumors circulating of a playable demo arriving at some point in the near future. Otherwise, the game is slated for release early 2010.