Crave

If you're thinking about buying a portable gaming system this holiday season, you should definitely listen to this show before making a decision. After a few weeks of teasing you guys about the new PSP Go, we've got all the details from the man who wrote the CNET review himself and now must defend himself from Sony snipers perched across the office. That's right, Jeff Bakalar breaks down all the reasons why the PSP 3000 is still the best Sony portable gaming device. The Go, on the other hand, didn't fare so well in Jeff's eyes. It costs more than the 3000, has a smaller screen, and an awkwardly placed analog stick, and worst of all: you can't play UMD games or use old PSP accessories! On top of all of that, the games take so long to download that you can probably watch a full length movie while you wait. Save your money and buy the best mobile video game console on the market today...the Apple iPhone.

Speaking of products that sound good on paper but don't actually work in real life, a guy in New York discovered something particularly disturbing about his iPhone: the average iPhone drops 30 percent of all calls. After taking his iPhone into an Apple Genius Bar for multiple dropped calls, the Genius informed him that it was indeed dropping 22 percent of outbound calls, which is actually excellent compared with the 30 percent average in New York. Listen in to hear us groan and moan about AT&T service and why Sprint or Verizon might be in my immediate future.

Finally, we want to give a huge thank you to Debbie from Toronto for sending us the image you see at the top of this blog entry. Deb, a long time listener and special guest of The 404 made a custom hockey jersey and goalie mask for her husband to wear during his Sunday game! Now, Wilson and I are the first to admit our zero interest in hockey, but even we can appreciate the time and effort that must have gone into the cutting and application of the logo onto the uniform. Debbie, you rock, and if there's anything we can do (short of flying up to Canada to thank you personally) to repay your kindness, please don't hesitate to let us know. Everyone else should be carefully taking notes from Deb and sprinting to the nearest phone to leave us a voice-mail. You know the number right? 1-866-404-CNET: GET ON IT!

This show is getting too many mascots. First Boxxie McFinderberg, then our soon-to-be beta fish, and now a baby panda?! On today's show, we discuss "Terminator Salvation," Asian actors in Pixar's "UP," E3 2009, the Sony PSP Go, and the leaked Palm Pre review on Boy Genius Report.

Someone saw 'Drag Me To Hell' over the weekend...

(Credit: Edward McInTyre/CNET)

Sony and Palm are clearly using the same marketing team, because they're both mucking things up with the release of their latest products, the Palm Pre and the recent Sony PSP Go leakage. Jeff and Wilson suspect that they released it early on purpose, but the real story here is how boring it is. None of the internal specs have changed, it's the same screen as the PSP 3000 except for minor upgrades to the onboard memory. The most obvious difference is the sliding keypad. Wilson thinks it's simply useless and just another piece of hardware prone to break over time. Not surprisingly, the dudes think it's a wise move not to include a UMD slot in the new PSP Go. After all, everything is going the way of cloud computing, and you can still put a game on a Sony Memory Stick anyway. Wait a second, what the hell? Why am I even writing about all this gaming garbage? Up until five minutes before the show, I didn't even know what a PSP Go was!

Moving on: if you're running out of toilet paper for the day, print out Boy Genius Report's Palm Pre review and wipe away. BGR unveiled the "world's first review" of the new handheld on Friday, and it also happens to be the "world's most poorly written review" as well. First of all, there's a code of ethics that comes into play here, and BGR still hasn't revealed how or why they decided to leak the review before anyone else. Journalistic integrity, anyone? And come on, dude: if you're going to leak a high-profile review that you know will get a massive amount of hits, maybe spend a tiny bit more time shaping the text. We get that it's a blog, but this review reads like someone wrote it on the pot. Or maybe we're just jealous that we didn't get one first. :)

Finally, thanks again to EVERYONE that submitted logos over the weekend for our contest. It ended today, so don't send any more unless you have one that can seriously compete with the finalists (which we will debut tomorrow). Check out the final submissions below and let us know what you think in the comments. Do you have a favorite out of all of them?

Last round of submissions for our 404 logo contest!

The Numark-manufactured Scratch Deck

(Credit: Genius Products/Numark)

If plastic guitars were 2007 and drums 2008, then the 2009 plastic-peripheral throwdown of choice is definitely the turntable. Whereas Activision showed off their goods in a Twitter leak a few weeks ago, Genius Products waited to spill the reveal of their Numark-designed rig, the Scratch Deck, until the days before E3. It's the centerpiece peripheral for the upcoming Scratch: The Ultimate DJ. First impressions suggest it's more compact than Activision's plasti-turntable, while also bearing greater similarities to the old Konami Beatmania controller.

The Scratch Deck has a spinning, "touch-sensitive" turntable, as well as a crossfader and five Akai Pro MPC drumpads. It's impressive that the equipment carries the label of a legit music industry standard. Price, however, has not been given, leading us to believe that brand-name design might carry a brand-name tag.

Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, a beat-sampling alternative to Activision's upcoming DJ Hero, promises live remixing of tracks and custom sample uploading, both from 60 included battle records or a USB microphone. The Numark pad, as can be seen in the photos, can flip over for left- or right-handed operation. The PS3 version is pictured, but Scratch will be released for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 this fall.

Who will win the DJ Battle? Most likely, it will come down to who has the best samples and tracks. As a consumer, we'd wait this out--at most, a household should only have one video game turntable.

The MetalStrike FF joystick makes simulation games seem more realistic.

(Credit: Genius)

It's nothing new that game consoles' controllers provide feedback for in-game actions. PC gamers, however, have for a long time had to rely mostly on the static mouse and keyboard. And that would be very boring for simulation games, such as Microsoft's Flight Simulator X.

The situation's now changing with products like the new MetalStrike series joysticks that Genius announced Tuesday. The MetalStrike FF ($69.99) features a force feedback function, where the joystick vibrates when the user bumps, crashes, or shoots while playing air combat games that simulate real flight action. The MetalStrike Pro ($39.99) features different levels of vibration feedback. And the MetalStrike 3D ($26.99) is for those who don't like feedback functions at all.

All of the new joysticks have 13 programmable buttons, an eight-way "point of view" switch, and a turbo function for autorepeat, so the user can fly an aircraft just like a real plane. Each joystick also has a four-axis design including the rudder, which is ideal for simulated flight games, providing Aileron, Elevator, Throttle, and Power controls.

The new joysticks are available now for you to get your game on.

TV episodes are now available in HD on the Apple TV

(Credit: CNET)

Apple has added HD television episodes and support for Genius music playlists to the Apple TV.

Firmware 2.2, available now as a free download, adds the ability to purchase TV episodes of select shows in high-def (for $3, versus the $2 price tag for standard-def versions). That makes good on a pledge that Steve Jobs made at the company's September 10 event.

The updated Apple TV now also supports the Genius playlist feature that was introduced on new versions of iTunes and iPods at the same event. Genius is designed to help listeners discover--and buy--new music based on what they're already listening to.

Apple TV remains priced at $230 for the 40GB version and $330 for the 160GB one. The box is competing against a growing number of competitors in the Internet video-on-demand space, including Vudu (which has just added higher resolution movies and a $200 credit), Roku's Netflix Player (which now offers unlimited viewing of Starz/Disney content and current TV shows via a flat subscription), Xbox 360 (which will add the support for the same Netflix services as the Roku box later this fall), and PlayStation 3 (which launched its own online video store earlier this year).

Via Apple Insider

Apple didn't make much of a fuss over the second-generation upgrade to their iPod Classic, but there are a few details worth noting. First off, Apple has discontinued their 80GB and monstrous 160GB models and now offers only a single version of the Classic packed with 120GB of storage for $249. We may hear some grumblings from file-hoarders and lossless audio fans about the discontinued 160GB model, but 120GB is still an impressive amount of space for your music and video collection.

The user interface of the Classic hasn't changed since the first-gen model, but there are a few additional features that are only available on the second-gen. Apple has included their new Genius playlist tool, which theoretically should work better with the larger music collections you can store on the Classic. Also, the Classic 2G can now make voice recordings through its headphone jack, so long as you use a compatible pair of headphones with an in-line microphone (Apple's iPhone headphones do the trick, but we'll see more headphones from Apple in October).

The iPod Classic is still offered in the same two colors (black and silver), with a healthy-rated battery life of 36 hours for music and 6 hours for video--numbers that are slightly up from last year's 80GB model, but down from the 160GB version's promise of 40 hours of music and 7 hours of video.

Click here for full coverage of Apple's "Let's Rock" event.

The rounded metal back of the second-generation iPod Touch feels like a million bucks.

(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)

As expected, the biggest news with Apple's second-generation iPod Touch is its drastically reduced price. The 8GB version of the iPod Touch is now $229 (down from $299), the 16GB is $299 (down from $399), and the 32GB is $399 (down from $499).

The latest firmware for the iPod Touch (version 2.1) is available for both the first- and second-generation players, and adds support for on-device Genius playlist creation, Microsoft Exchange push e-mail, multi-language keyboard and dictionary support, MobileMe, multiple calendar management, contacts search, and a scientific calculator.

On the hardware end of things, we're happy to see that the new iPod Touch's lower price does not mean cut-rate construction. In fact, the new iPod Touch 2G feels sturdier and sexier than its predecessor, with a rounded chromed-steel backing that seamlessly wraps around the back and sides of the device much like the iPhone 3G. By popular demand, the iPod Touch 2G now includes a volume rocker switch just like its iPhone cousin, for making quick volume adjustments without fussing with the touch screen. A built-in speaker is also included, concealed within the body of the Touch.

Just like the iPod Nano 4G and iPod Classic 2G, the second-gen Touch now accepts microphone input through its headphone jack, by way of compatible iPod accessories such as the newly announced Apple In-Ear headphones. That may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but when you add in the iPod Touch's built-in speaker and App store compatibility, the Touch is starting to look like a ripe platform for VoIP communication over Wi-Fi. Time will tell.

Apple has also bundled Nike+ hardware and software directly into the iPod Touch 2G, leaving you to only need the Nike in-shoe transmitter hardware to activate the feature.

Apple rates the new iPod Touch at 36 hours for music (up from the first-gen's 22 hours) and 6 hours of video (unchanged), although mileage will vary based on screen brightness and Wi-Fi usage.

Click here for full coverage of Apple's "Let's Rock" event.

The Apple iPod Nano 4G comes in nine colors, but I, of course, chose the dullest one.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)

When I first glimpsed the leaked photos of Apple's skinny, rounded-screen redesign of the iPod Nano, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. It seemed so unlike Apple to revisit the older designs of its first- and second-generation Nano, and the wing-shaped form seemed a bit odd. Holding the Nano 4G in my hand, however, I'm starting to think that last year's squarish design was just an awkward, forgettable phase in the Nano's development. This year, Apple has set the Nano back on track with the thinnest, lightest design yet, and features that are hard to ignore.

Offered in a wide range of colors (nine total) for both the 8GB ($149) and 16GB ($199) capacities, the latest iPod Nano strikes a great balance of price and features. The iPod Nano 4G uses the same high-resolution 2-inch screen found on last year's model, only now the included screen uses a portrait orientation covered with rounded glass. Video playback requires you to turn the iPod Nano 4G on its side, much like the Flash-based Microsoft Zune MP3 players. Unlike the Zune, however, Apple has included an accelerometer within the 4G Nano that reorients the display based on how the player is held, making it easier to view photos or switch the player into Apple's Cover Flow music mode. The accelerometer also enables a new "shake-to-shuffle" feature that will automatically shuffle music playback when the player is deliberately shaken (a casual shake won't trigger the feature). The shake-to-shuffle feature can be switched off under settings and the button-hold switch at the top of the player will disengage it, as well.

Accelerometers are neat, but the big new feature rolled into the iPod Nano (as well as the new iPod Touch, iPod Classic, and iTunes 8), is a new intelligent playlist feature dubbed "Genius." Using the Genius feature, you can take a single song from your collection and create an instant playlist of 25 songs that share similar musical characteristics. Of course, the performance of the Genius function is proportional to the size of your available music collection--so mileage may vary. It is a novel new feature, however, and it'll be fun to test over time.

Other smaller features on the 4G Nano include the option to create voice recordings using an optional set of headphones that include an inline microphone (much like the headphones included with the Apple iPhone), and increased accessibility features for vision-impaired users (font size adjustment and the ability for menus and media information to be read aloud from a built-in synthetic voice). Previous Nano features such as music, photo, podcast, and video playback are unchanged, and extras like games, alarms, calendars, contacts, stopwatch, and notes are all still there.

The only bummer so far regarding the new iPod Nano is that despite the similarities of screen size and features, Apple is not offering an upgrade path for iPod Nano 3G users to get their hands on features such as on-device Genius playlist creation or increased accessibility features. Otherwise, sound quality seems to be about on a par with previous iPods, and battery life ratings of 24 hours for music and 4 hours are nearly identical to last year's specs, which promised 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video.

I'll be writing up my full review as soon as possible with more iPod Nano 4G details to share. Stay tuned.

Click here for full coverage of Apple's "Let's Rock" event.

As expected, Tuesday was all about the iPod.

A rainbow of new iPod Nanos announced Tuesday.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

At Apple's fourth straight September music event, Steve Jobs took the stage to update Apple's iPod lineup and iTunes features. CNET's Tom Krazit will have more in-depth analysis for you, while Donald Bell will review the devices and give us his expert reviewer's opinion soon.

Until then, here's a quick summary of the newsworthy announcements from this morning's event.

• iTunes 8 is out. The new Genius feature is a music discovery service, the first for Apple.

• NBC content is back on the iTunes Store, so we can all get back to downloading The Office after a year-long hiatus.

• The iPod Classic gets trimmed down in size: a new 120GB iPod for $249. Yes, Microsoft just announced a Zune with those exact specs. Also, the 160GB iPod Classic was discontinued.

• Oh, and those iPod Nano spy shots we saw? Yeah, they were right on target. New Nanos are longer, slimmer, with curved edges. They come with an accelerometer now and start at $149 for 8GB.

• New device means new accessories: new, "more sophisticated" in-ear headphones will sell for $79.

• New iPod Touch: it's slimmer, has iPhone's multitouch technology, and now starts at $229 for 8GB.

• iPhone and iPod Touch users rejoice: Jobs says the updated OS X 2.1 software will fix a lot of bugs related to dropped calls, battery life problems, and crashing applications.

Make sure to check back here throughout the day as our experts weigh in.