3G iphone Has GPS, Other Cool Stuff

Engadget got a tip on from some reliable sources who got a chance to test the second-gen iphone, which is said to be well under the testing phase. Here are some of the bullet points and details that the tester got to see:

• The first thing people will notice: the 2nd gen iPhone will be about the same size and shape as the first gen.
• It will, of course, have 3G. And proper GPS!
• The most noticeable physical difference is back of the phone is no longer metal -- the whole thing is glossy black, from top to bottom. The volume buttons are now chrome.
• Because it's got a little less metal to deal with, it doesn't have quite as many angular edges. The battery is (still) not removable.
• The phone itself will be slightly thicker than the first gen device.
• The headphone jack will no longer be recessed, and will finally be flush with the body.
• The device itself uses roughly the same size and resolution screen as the first generation product.
• No solid word on battery life or storage capacity.

The new iphone is set to be announced June 9th, with a release as early as July.

Thanks to Engadget for this info.

Gears Of War 2 Info

Anyone looking for Gears of War 2 info has come to the right place. Thanks to the folks at Game Informer and G4TV, here is some of the cool stuff we can expect from the next installment due out in November:

New characters:

• Tai Kaliso, "a spiritual and meditative warrior from a tradition of honor-bound fighters."
• Chairman Prescott: "an almost dictatorial military leader who nonetheless has made the hard choices necessary to keep humanity alive through decades of warfare. As Gears 2 opens, this leader of the COG forces will deliver a speech to the troops before sending them reeling into the suicidal mission ahead."
• Dizzy: "Dives the massive Derrick on which Delta Squad ascends into the mountains. With a trademark drawl and an insistence on calling his truck "Betty", he's a colorful new addition to the cast.
• Maria Santiago: Dominic's wife. A major part of Gears 2's plot revolves around trying to rescue Maria.

New Features:

• New character lighting: More cinematic and less realistic.
• Use of cover has been changed. It will be harder to get hit while protected, as the character will rest a little further back from the corners.
• Chainsaw Duels: "Expand that gruesome combat mechanic to deliver even more excitement."
• Bigger Boss Battles: More fun and epic in scale. Cliffy B. says: "We have creatures that make the Brumak look like a baby panda bear."
• Drop-In and Out Co-op: Come and go as you please.
• Multiple save files
• Differing difficulty levels in Co-op: So player one can be Casual and player two Hardcore. When players split up, the difficulty levels will as well.
• Easier-than-Casual difficulty level: For the true-newb.
• COG Centaur tank. Takes the best parts of a monster truck and a military tank and mixes 'em up.
• Locust Kantus enemies: Featuring humming, sonic attacks.
• "Shut-Up" Button: During cut-scenes, you'll have the option of hitting this button to skip everything and get to the next level of shooting.
• Journal system: allows you to track findable stuff and progress toward achievements.

Thanks to G4TV for this info.

iphone 16GB And ipod touch 32GB Now Available

Well if you didn’t think that your iphone or ipod touch had enough space for all of the music, movies, and non authorized applications that you have, well Apple is about to do you a solid. The iphone with 16GB and the ipod touch is now available for order with 32GB of storage from the Apple store. While there is still no 3G for the iphone, the memory bump will run you $499 for both iphone and ipod touch.

Far Cry 2 Opening Sequence Video

Anyone who's played Far Cry is most likely jones'n for Far Cry 2. Well the opening teaser trailer is out, and it looks pretty good.

Check it out!

[Crunchgear]

Star Trek XI Teaser Trailer

The first peak (and I do mean peak) of J.J. Abrams new Star Trek movie.

Goldeneye Coming To Xbox Live?

In what is sure to come as welcome news to Goldeneye fans, Xbox Evolved is reporting that the popular game is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. The game will be given a make over, and the graphics will be updated for the Xbox. It also will feature a multi-player mode for the Xbox Live.

Rareware is Revisiting 007 [Xbox Evolved via G4TV]

Xbox 360 "Ultimate" Coming Out?

The word on the digital street is that Microsoft is planing to build an "Ultimate" Xbox 360. So what would that entail? Check the bullet points:

• 1080p HDMI output
• built in Wi-Fi
• hi-def audio ouput
• cooler hardware
• extremely quiet fan
• built in HD-DVD drive.
• 320GB hard disk
  

The info comes from U.K.'s Stuff magazine website and they're not very clear about where they got this information. This might be just a wish list for the CES that is next week. But if it is true, this would put the Xbox 360 in the Multi-media power house bracket along with the PS3.

Being an early adopter of the Xbox 360 (last March) I'm starting to get pissed that all these cool new features are coming out, and I haven't even owned this thing for a year!!!
You need to do something for your early adopters there Microsoft, ala Apple.
[G4TV]

Apple Shows Off New Docking Patent For Slim Macbooks

Never let it be said that Apple doesn't come up with great ideas and designs. Such is the case with the new docking station for the ultra-light, ultra-slim MacBooks that are rumored to be coming out. The docking station allows you to slide a MacBook into its side horizontally. The patent shows you how it works, from top to bottom.

Hit the jump for more details.

[USPTO via Gizmodo]

Duke Nukem Forever: First Game Trailer Since 2001

One game that has been in development hell is Duke Nukem Forever. To give you an idea about how long it's been, the first teaser was released at E3 in 2001. So considering how long it's been worked on, I was expecting a little more from this game trailer, so put me in the "not so impressed" camp.

Hopefully, this game will get better than the first trailer since 2001.

[G4TV]

Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate Ready To Download

For anyone who is ready to check this out, Windows XP SP3 release candidate is now available for you to download. The file is almost as large as Windows Vista SP1 RC, and hopefully the install is more straight forward than Vista's was. Just remember that this is a release candidate and not the final, which is due out sometime during the first quarter of 2008.

[PC World via Engadget]

NBA LIVE 08 Goes 5 On 5 On-Line

If you've been waiting to take on your friends in NBA live '08 while on-line, then your wait is over, at least if you own a PS3. A new patch is available for NBA Live '08, but what's more surprising is that the PS3 is getting it first! Usually, the Xbox 360 would get any new cool update first, but PS3 owners will have the opportunity to have 5 on 5 on-line play with 10 people from 10 different consoles.

The Xbox 360 patch is due out later this month. Check the press release:

"In NBA LIVE 08, all 10 players on the floor can now be controlled by individual users on 10 different consoles, removing the use of artificial intelligence altogether. Player movement, decision making and game outcome can now be completely dependant on how you play as an online team, bringing you closer to a real life game of basketball than ever before. This new game mode enables any number of players from one to five on different consoles to connect and play online against another team of up to five players on five different consoles. The CPU will take control of any players not controlled by users."

Thanks to G4TV for this info.

PC World Magazine: Vista Is 2007 #1 Disappointment

I know that Microsoft was hoping that Vista would be number 1, just not on this list. PC World Magazine just named Vista the most tech disappointment of 2007, which I'm sure is going to piss off a lot of fanboys out there. PC World didn't all out slam Vista, on the contrary, they listed several good things about it. But almost a decade in the making, and this is all that we get?

I kinda see their point.

But don't feel to good about yourselves Apple heads!!!

Leopard was listed at number 8, with a bag of bugs like wireless connection issues, administrative logins that disappeared, data vanishing on its own, and Apple's own "Blue screen of death" as the capper. I'm not quite sure why the iphone made the number 5 list, but I'll let you read that one on your own.

Let the flame war begin.

[G4TV]

I Am Legend Breaks December Records

I thought this movie would do well but I didn't think it would have a showing quite like this. I am Legend was number 1 at the box office, with a record breaking 76.5 million weekend. The biggest December debut ever, surpassing the 72.6 that Lord of the Rings: Return of the King pulled in on 12/17/03. Not to bad for the science fiction & fantasy genera that's base off the novel by Richard Matheson.

Thanks to Mania for this info.

Rank	Movie	Weekend $	Theaters	Average	Total $	Week #
1	I Am Legend	76.5 mil	3,606	$21,224	76.5 mil	1
2	Alvin and the Chipmunks	45.0 mil	3,475	$12,949	45.0 mil	1
3	The Golden Compass	9.0 mil	3,528	$2,558	40.9 mil	2
4	Enchanted	6.0 mil	3,066	$1,958	92.2 mil	4
5	No Country for Old Men	3.0 mil	1,348	$2,225	33.5 mil	6
6	The Perfect Holiday	2.5 mil	1,307	$1,952	3.1 mil	1
7	Fred Claus	2.3 mil	2,750	$838	68.9 mil	6
8	This Christmas	2.3 mil	1,921	$1,197	46.0 mil	4
9	Atonement	1.8 mil	117	$15,837	2.9 mil	2
10	August Rush	1.7 mil	2,007	$889	28.0 mil	4

New International Post For The Dark Knight

As you may know, the new trailer for Batman: The Dark Knight will accompany the IMAX version of I Am Legend today. Well the International poster for the Dark Knight has made its way over to the Internet, courtesy of the guys from Omelete.

Plot Summary: Christian Bale once again embodies the man behind the mask in "The Dark Knight." The film reunites Bale with director Christopher Nolan and takes Batman across the world in his quest to fight a growing criminal threat. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman has been making headway against local crime...until a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City. To stop this devious new menace--Batman's most personal and vicious enemy yet--he will have to use every high-tech weapon in his arsenal and confront everything he believes.

Batman: The Dark Knight hits theaters on July 18, 2008.

Thanks to Mania for this info.

Iron Man Game Trailer: I Like It!

After seeing the game trailer for the 'Iron Man' movie, I'm even more excited about seeing it. I just hope the game trailer doesn't turn out to be the best part of both movie and game.

[Gametrailers.com]

New Batsuit: First Look

If you couldn't tell, I'm looking forward to this movie.

French based on-line magazine CineLive has given us a detailed look at the new Batman suit from the upcoming 'Batman: The Dark Knight' movie. Along with it, is the new poster that will accompany the movie, with the release date of July 18, 2008.

Plot Summary: Batman (Christian Bale) raises the stakes in his war on crime in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight." With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker (Heath Ledger).

Thanks to Mania for this info

New GTA IV Trailer: Very Cool

The latest trailer for 'Grand Theft Auto 4' has just hit the net, and it looks great I tell you. No word on the release date, but I sure hope it's soon.

Enjoy my friends!

Comcast To Charge $2.95 Monthly For Tivo Service

Well we finally have pricing for when Comcast rolls out Tivo to your neck of the woods, and like we thought, Tivo will be treated like a premium service. Comcast will be rolling out the Tivo UI on those crappy ass Motorola/Scientific Atlanta for $2.95 extra a month. Or you can keep that horrid Motorola/Scientific Atlanta UI that we've had to endure in order to have an HD DVR. Comcast will download the UI to your current DVR, so the change should be painless. I think $2.95 a month is a small price to pay to keep your sanity when searching for when your favorite show will air.

[Multichannel via Gizmodo]

Google Launches New Interface For iphone

Google went under the radar by quietly releasing a new interface for people accessing their site via iphone. The new interface actually has a signature look for the iphone, with features like home, Gmail, Calendar, Reader, news, photos, blogger and notebook. Just visit the Google.com site from an iphone, and you have access to all of these new features.

Techcrunch has a few more details about the new stuff, so check it out after the jump.....

Megan Gale To Play Wonder Woman

Well news about the latest Justice League Movie has ramped up a little bit. I had reported that Jessica Biel was up for the role of Wonder Woman, well she has since turned it down. So now the the casting for the Amazon princess looks like will be an unknown Australian Supermodel named Megan Gale.

I think she's a great choice, aesthetically speaking!

Hit the jump for more pics. And if you would like to see a NSFW pic of Megan, scroll to the bottom of Mania's page and hit the next jump.