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Monthly Archives: December 2011

Ice Cream Sandwich for the G-2?

I love my Android phone. Honest, I do. I am in absolutely no hurry to get to my next upgrade period.

But as much as I love my T-Mobile G2 with Google by HTC, and the current version of the Android OS running on it, which happens to be Gingerbread 2.3, I will be massively disappointed if Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) never makes it to my phone.

First of all, Ice Cream Sandwich sounds fantastic. And cozy. Like a brand new Rheem heat pump or something. And HTC has included it on their “probably” list for OTA upgrades in early 2012.

But here’s why I’m worried.

Shortly after I bought my G2, HTC promised Gingerbread in “early 2012.” It didn’t get an OTA update until late summer. And by then, the G2, originally released in Fall 2010, will be older than 18 months since initial release, which would give HTC the perfect excuse not to upgrade the G2.

Considering how much they dragged their feet on the original upgrade from Froyo to Gingerbread, one would hope they’d be a bit more prompt on Ice Cream Sandwich.

But I’ll believe it when the OTA appears.

Videogame of the Year: PS3

I’ve been thinking long and hard about this, without the benefit of a Coca-Cola, a Dutchmaster, or anything else that’s bad for me. So my mind’s clear.

And while I didn’t buy many new videogames for the PS3 this year, it’s pretty easy, actually, for me to select a favorite: Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is the easy choice.

Sure, there were plenty of decent games out there this year on PS3. But none really grabbed my attention and made me say, “I gotta have it,” like Skyrim did.

Oh, sure, I enjoyed Dragon Age II. And I even appreciated the new White Knight Chronicles. But Skyrim set the bar for RPG experiences on a game console. Again. It’s that simple.

Motorola Razr rebirth: fail

I owned a Motorola Razr once upon a time, in its feature-phone incarnation. The sleek look was fun, but flimsy. Still, the coolness factor made up for its delicate nature.

This time around, the Razr is nowhere near as impressive. Although thinner and lighter than other smartphones boasting a 4.3-inch screen, it’s features are familiar to anyone who uses an Android Gingerbread smartphone, and its battery life is horrid.

So, my perspective is this: stick with something more solid, made by HTC.

Music games: my brief history

One of the biggest trends in videogames in the last five years or so is the ascendancy of music games. Whether it’s Karaoke Revolution: Glee Edition or Rock Band and Guitar Hero, music-related games have been hot for a while.

Some of them are even quite specialized; you don’t get just generic guitar controllers, but can — for a princely sum — get something name-brand and fancy like a Gibson SG. The trouble is, eventually, all these music games are pretty much alike, so the choice comes down to the game’s selection of songs.

That’s why I like the Music Wars series, currently from Wolverine Studios. The developer, Antuan Johnson, got his start with a feature-slim freeware version and took it commercial a couple years ago with Music Wars: Rebirth.

That’s why I’m excited to hear he’s in the open beta stage of his next massive update of this game. By focusing on simulating the music industry itself, the focus is less on whether a person can hit all the notes in order, and more on one’s evaluation of talent and such.

The updated game is said to have a ton of feature improvements to make it a deeper game experience than ever.

I, for one, can’t wait.