Engadget Podcast 023 - 03.21.2005

Wireless, wireless, everywhere. Ryan Block shares highlights from the CTIA wireless expo; retail anticipation on the PSP; should you get an extended warranty?; a trip down memory lane from Playstation Magazine; and of course, the new kid in class.

Host: Eric Rice.
Format: 29:06, 6.6 MB, MP3

Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically. This show as created with Audioblog.com, GarageBand and iTunes.

We've added time codes in the following list and links to the stories or references.

Minutia...
01:29- Computer Chronicles 1984, Blue And Green Lawnmower, Who the heck am I?, new numbers, the Motorola i930 Vaporware
04:47- The Treo, the HP iPaq h6315 and T-mobile pulling it from the shelves.
08:14- The PlayStation Portable cometh and the bizarro UDM formatted movies
11:01- Extended warranties and replacement plans. Should you?
14:23- A trip down portable gaming memory lane.
18:43- Ryan Block recaps the hot items from CTIA wireless expo.
26:24- It's not podcasting that will hurt radio... it's mobile phones
27:05- Ask Engadget. Home backup solutions.
28:01- Wish Peter Rojas a Happy Birthday

Call and leave us a message! 206-338-GEEK (4335) or send audio comments to [e-mail]

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[Zeno @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Yeeeeeeeeeaah, the Engadget Podcast is baaaaack! Greeeeeeeeeat!

[Kevin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Glad to see the podcast back, it's been a while.

Thanks!

[djTA630 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

FINALLY! Woo-F'in-Hoo!!!

[Dave B @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Is it the same feed.. I tried the old feed in Ipodder 2.0 and it didnt bring up episode 23

[Dave B @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Is it the same feed.. I tried the old feed in Ipodder 2.0 and it didnt bring up episode 23

[Adam P @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Holy $h!+, a podcast!

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

What's the podcast feed address? The old one isn't working.

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Ok, it's this one.
http://media.weblogsinc.com/common/videos/pt/rss.xml

[Alexander Pfeiffenberger @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I'm so glad to see the Engadget Podcast back - but I have to say that I do miss Phil's soothing voice.

[Antonio Rosario @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

What the heck is the new Podcast address? The old one doesn't work, at least in iPodderX (the old one I have is: http://media.weblogsinc.com/common/videos/pt/rss.xml)

[Matthew Purdy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Thank God it's back!!! What happened to Phil and Lenn? That's cool if they dont want to do it anymore, but an update would be nice. Oh well, thanks for bringing it back!!!

[Dean Shan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I'm glad to see the Podcast is back. Thanks for bringing it back.

[Tyme @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

After three months... All in all, i was expecting more.. I miss the old guys and the longer tymes...

[TT @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

WOW! It's about time. This was always one of my favorite PodCasts, and the last few months have been very lonely without it! Can we expect PodCasts more than once every 3 months now?

[Eric Rice @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

TT, my goal is weekly, every sunday night so it's ready for Monday morning's commute (Well Eastern/Pacific Time Zones anyway).

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

No offence to the new guy but where's Phil :(

[Chuck Olsen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Eric Rice rawks!

podcasts tend to be way too long IMO -- this is a good length.

[scott @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I love the podcast! Thank you!

[zman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

wheres the other guy hes better

[Chris Leckness @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Happy Birthday Peter! Mine is today!

[Oliver @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

This blows. I enjoyed listening to the engadget podcast because it didn't try to be something it wasn't - a professional radio show. A bit of ranting from Phil, some nice exchanges between him and Lenn about this that, everything and nothing in particular...

Now its just some guy who sounds as commercial and corny as every other run of the mill American radio star.

Thankfully the BBC is getting into podcasting so there's still something worthwhile to listen to, but maybe/hopefully Phil and Lenn will do their own podcast again - separate from this crap.

[DucSloerie / Richard @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Wow, Eric... cool to see the Engadget show back online and I'm loving it... Have fun and keep us entertained :-D

[Kapila Wimalaratne @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

-- This blows. I enjoyed listening to the
-- engadget podcast because it didn't try to be
-- something it wasn't - a professional radio
-- show. A bit of ranting from Phil, some nice
-- exchanges between him and Lenn about this
-- that, everything and nothing in particular...
--

-- Now its just some guy who sounds as
-- commercial and corny as every other run of
-- the mill American radio star.
--

I agree. Phil and Lenn were much better. But I'll give the new guy a chance for a while.

Kap

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

The analogy at the beginning was right - this guy is Jay Leno sitting in the Johnny Carson chair.

First, some positives:
- nicely produced
- good sound quality
- Eric has a nice speaking voice
- Didn't laugh at his own lame jokes (only a partial positive)

Negatives:
- content extremely weak!!! COME ON!! There are PLENTY of cool things to talk/rant about. Yahoo bought Flickr. Google does autolink. Microsoft fucking bought Groove! Instead, we get a lame "maybe you want to buy an extended warranty... maybe you don't. Let's read an article about the history of game systems."
- Lame jokes. This is a geek show. Don't forget your roots. I'm probably being a bit harsh here because I was so annoyed by the lame content.
- Did I metion the lame content?

I wanted the engadget podcast back, but not like this. Eric mentioned a few things (why PPC over Palm, or vice versa) that he may be able to use in future shows (fingers crossed). I'll stay subscibed for a few more shows and hope the CONTENT improves.

[Buthidae @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

It's great to see another podcast after so long, but...

Am I listening to Engadget, or Fox News?! I can't say I like the style that Eric did this podcast in :-(

[Rick James @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Glad to see it back, it was my favorite show. Like everyone else tho' i was wondering what happened to phill and lenn

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

People wondering about Phil... see any posts by him at all lately? Did you know he has a new gig at Make magazizne? You do the math.

[Matthew Purdy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I think John is onto something... Check out Phil's website at www.flashenabled.com and look at the 'where I write' section- Engadget has been taken off!

Maybe Phil and Lenn will do a 'Make Magazine' podcast???

[Zeno @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

oh no PLEASE, don't tell that Phil left the Engdagdet team!

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Nooooo! I miss Phil-casts in a big way. Sorry Eric, but the Podcast was not for me. And please, try to sound connected when you're reading down a list on the video game history bit. This Podcast was way overproduced, untimely and boring.

[Demens @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Oh, i liked the new style. Almost flawlesly produced and was entairteining to listen.
The old casts were like "late, late nigh with engadged", this one was like "Rise and shine my engadget, its a beatiful morning!".

I just cant wait for the next one.

[TheSniperZERO @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

YAWN!

Eric Rice was boring (and annoying). Wake me up when he's replaced, please...

[Kristin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

First, on Nextel: I too am a Nextel user, and I love the service. I have the i730 and have had it for about a year, and it's been solid for me. My biggest frustration with Nextel is that their only BT enabled device is the Blackberry, which I don't want. I guess I'll wait and see what the i930 brings...

Why I like Palm better than PPC: I've had both (first generation Dell Axim PPC compared to my current Tungsten C). My general experience was that loading applications was slower on the PPC, and I had random spontaneous crashes that I could identify the reason for. My T|C loads apps quickly, on the off-chance it crashes, I know exactly why, and it does exactly what I need. I don't know, to me the new Dell Axim x50v looks downright sexy, and I'd love to get it, and the major thing that will keep me from switching is that I've already got tons of Palm OS software. Since Palm OS software and PPC software generally don't "talk" to eachother, I'm not ready to spend $400+ on a PPC and then spend another $200+ on all of my games and applications.

That all said, if Palm doesn't release something worthwhile soon, I'll probably make the leap back to PPC.

On the PSP: HECK YEAH. I'll be buying one once I'm employed. I've got a DS and love it, but I'm looking for the different style of games that the PSP will offer. I have no intention of watching movies on it, only because the UMD format drives me bonkers.

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

YEAH!!! Engadget Podcasts are back!!!!

[Aaron @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I thinl Eric did a decent job, but I'll second the dis on the overproduced feel.

That intro was horrible. Kill it. Sounds like a lame tv show trying to be hip.

Positives:
1. Excellent sound quality for once!
2. Eric has a good voice.

Negatives:
1. Eric, you don't sound too excited, man. Phil was very into the stuff he talked about. The excited geekiness came through and got me just as excited. Not so much on this podcast. You started to get that a bit on the Palm/PPC thing, but it was short.
2. Content. This didn't feel like an Engadget podcast at all! There was no new stuff being discussed, no talk about what people are discussing online, etc. That's the best part of the podcasts.
3. I didn't like the reading that list of portables from playstation magazine. Yeah, it's neat to go back on fond memories, but a link in a post is all it would take. I don't need you to read it all to me. Wasn't very interesting at all.

Overall I'd say we need to hear more of what YOU think. Your ideas, rants, etc. The podcast used to feel like you were hanging out with Phil and having a discussion. This felt like a show.

If that's the new format, then I guess that's that. But I think it was bit more personal before, and more fun.

Good luck with it, though.

[hilary @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

OK first, Eric is NOT Phil. I don't want Eric to be Phil. Phil is gone. Get over it!

Secondly, I think Eric did a fantastic job for a first show. Yes, it will take him more than one podcast to develop his own "feel" for this show. Give him a chance people.

[Jesse Hodge @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

They have returned to the masses!!

[ocellnuri @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Don't forget the album art! I think that was a real nice touch, but it's missing in the latest podcast.

[Eric Rice @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Yeah I dropped the ball on the album art.... fear not!

[evergreen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

wow, new podcast thank god ive been listing to the same cast everyweek to pretend something was going on in engadgetland.

[Engadget fan... @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Very cool to have the podcast back... Eric Rice is great!

Artwork needs to unique and fun with each podcast Eric... that is part of the fun of the podcast: the new artwork each episode. also, when i Peter Rojas going to be on the podcast? peter is the man and i'd love to hear him talk about his posts.

[Engadget fan... @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Very cool to have the podcast back... Eric Rice is great!

Artwork needs to unique and fun with each podcast Eric... that is part of the fun of the podcast: the new artwork each episode. also, when i Peter Rojas going to be on the podcast? peter is the man and i'd love to hear him talk about his posts.

[dejitaru @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Quote from flashenabled.com

"the new site it up! we'll be releasing our make:audio series shortly as well as some other really cool things i am totally excited about."

[Sad Listener @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I have to say, no offense to Eric Rice, but this content is just not interesting to me. Phil was always very pragmatic about everything, and was never afraid to say that sending all our jobs to China is stupid, and Wal-Mart is stupid, etc. He was always willing to criticize corporations for doing things that suck. Phil was a rebel, my kind of person, Eric just seems like he is reading press releases. Boring. If the next show is as bad as this I am done. As for the audio quality, quality is good, but the intro SUCKED, if I want crappy overproduced music beds I'll listen to Clear Channel, the phone call was really bad quality, really bad. It hurt my ears. Bottom line, I wish you luck Eric, but you need to listen to ALL the old shows with Phil and try to give us the kind of content that keeps us interested, and don't be afraid to trash companies that give us crappy products. That's what I listened in for. Engadget was my favorite podcast, now it is near the bottom of the list. EQ the damn phone calls, ouch. Too much midrange.

Peace, and better luck next time.

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Sad Listener #43 - "Phil was always very pragmatic about everything, and was never afraid to say that sending all our jobs to China is stupid, and Wal-Mart is stupid, etc. He was always willing to criticize corporations for doing things that suck. Phil was a rebel, my kind of person, Eric just seems like he is reading press releases."

Yeah. I always loved it, even if I disagreed, when Phil would call some company out.

I hope that things change. I have the feeling that they're trying to dumb the podcast down to the lowest common denominator.

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Hilary, #37, said this on her own blog:

"I think Eric did a fantastic job on a first show and I know it will only get better. Some of the comments posted to the first show are too harsh. While I will agree that Eric sounds a bit nerdy on first listen, he grows on you and you end up really enjoying his style, so give him a fair chance!"

and my response on her blog:

No, Hilary, the problem is that Eric does not sound nerdy ENOUGH. Phil was the ultimate nerd in his podcasts and we loved him for it.

I've never heard any of Eric's other stuff but he sounds like an Engadget shill. I don't get the feeling that I'll ever get a passionate and reasoned review/rant out of him. After seeing his website and seeing that he has ties to the entertainment industry, I feel even less confident.

[Jesse Hodge @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

We should not judge him on his very first show. I believe he can/will improve the Engadget Podcast, and we should ease up on him a bit. He admittedly says he has large shoes to fill, lets let him give it a shot......

[Eric Rice @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

So does this mean that you all *like* Pocket PC?

[smirk]

[donald @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I'm not sure what's worse, no podcast or that one. Reminds me of the difference between screen savers before g4 and after. 30 minutes of gaming news coupled with an interview with a phone fashion critic who uses adjectives such as "sick" and "totally pro" to describe phones...

Give me a break. Hell, I would prefer jakie mason reading reading the daily engadget news.

[Evan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Glad to see it is back, but the show is little to nothing without Torrone, bring back the old cast. pay him large sums of money if nessicary, you have it, and we need it!