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Dead island that inspired Skyfall comes to Google Street View (video)
It goes by the name of Hashima, or Gunkanjima ("Battleship Island"), or even "The Dead Island", since it inspired the water-locked cyberterrorist HQ in Skyfall. Explore it for yourself, courtesy of the new Google Street View (and official "making of" video) embedded after the break, and you'll see that it's a very real place off the coast of Japan's Nagasaki Peninsula, and it's even lonelier than its fictional counterpart in the Bond film (which wasn't actually filmed there). There are no tourist offices or giant Oedipus Complexes, as far as we can see, just long stretches of overgrown roads and collapsing apartment blocks that once housed 5,000 people, before they abandoned the island in 1974 following the demise of its coal industry. It took a Google employee two hours to map the place and preserve its crumbling visage for posterity using a special backpack, but don't be surprised if you want to leave it after just a few minutes.
Must See HDTV (February 11th - 17th)
Regular season pro hoops action takes this weekend off for the All-Star Game, while NHL action is in full swing. Reality TV fans have new season of long running series Survivor and The Amazing Race to look forward to, and a new Bond is coming home on Blu-ray. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. NBA All-Star Weekend Celebs, up and coming players, and the league's top stars (as voted by fans and coaches) collide this weekend in Houston for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. As always, there's some conflict about who is most qualified to play, and the usual controversy about whether or not the dunk contest will be any good this year. We'll be keeping an eye on the Rising Stars game Friday night to see which first or second year players are the best, and the second half of the ASG itself to see if Dwyane Wade hits Kobe in the face (again). (All weekend, ESPN / TNT) Skyfall James Bond is back, in a nicely shot entry in the series. This flick has a slightly different angle as Bond, M and the rest of the agents find themselves under attack directly, but as usual Daniel Craig is up to the task. ($19.99 on Amazon) State of the Union Clear your Tuesday night schedule on several networks, as the President takes the stage for the first State of the Union Address of his second term in office. Regardless of your affiliation or even interest in politics, it does provide a good opportunity to compare/contrast the quality of each network's feed. (February 12th, 9PM)
Voxeljet 3D printer used to produce Skyfall's Aston Martin stunt double
Spoiler alert: a reoccurring cast member bids farewell in the latest James Bond flick. When the production of Skyfall called for the complete decimation of a classic 1960s era Aston Martin DB5, filmmakers opted for something a little more lifelike than computer graphics. The movie studio contracted the services of Augsburg-based 3D printing company Voxeljet to make replicas of the vintage ride. Skipping over the residential-friendly MakerBot Replicator, the company used a beastly industrial VX4000 3D printer to craft three 1:3 scale models of the car with a plot to blow them to smithereens. The 18 piece miniatures were shipped off to Propshop Modelmakers in London to be assembled, painted, chromed and outfitted with fake bullet holes. The final product was used in the film during a high-octane action sequence, which resulted in the meticulously crafted prop receiving a Wile E. Coyote-like sendoff. Now, rest easy knowing that no real Aston Martins were harmed during the making of this film. Head past the break to get a look at a completed model prior to its untimely demise.
Sony Xperia TL review: the company's second US flagship is much improved, but still imperfect
As Sony's second stab at the US mobile market, the Xperia TL arrives with a major corporate synergistic push: a 007 movie franchise tie-in. But an awkward distinction as the official Bond phone and a smattering of pre-loaded "Skyfall" multimedia content alone won't drive consumer adoption; the specs and pricing will. Following in the footsteps of the company's first stateside flagship, the Ion, this AT&T 4G LTE exclusive is priced aggressively at $99 on two-year contract, packing a 4.6-inch HD Reality display (1,280 x 720) powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine, a dual-core Snapdragon S4 clocked at 1.5GHz, 16GB of storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD), 1GB RAM, NFC, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, as well as an integrated 1,850mAh battery. With Ice Cream Sandwich running the show and a planned upgrade to Jelly Bean in the works, it has all the makings of a current-gen high-end offering. So will the Xperia TL help Sony build much-needed buzz for its mobile division here in the states? Can a sub-$100 price tag effectively lure consumers away from the bigger, faster and flashier Android phones AT&T has to offer? Or is this mainly one for Sony loyalists? Find out after the break as we put the TL through its paces.%Gallery-169692%
007 Legends' free Skyfall DLC lands on Xbox, PS3 November 9
Eurocom's nostalgia-stuffed shooter, 007 Legends, receives its free Skyfall downloadable content on November 9, at least on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network. The DLC is coming to other platforms further down the line. As previously revealed, the PS3 will also receive exclusive Skyfall multiplayer content in the form of two of the film's characters.007 Legends is now available for queen and country, as long as your country is in North America or Europe, and your queen is a PS3 or Xbox 360. The game infiltrates PC on November 2, and sneaks over to the Wii U sometime in December.
007 Legends PS3 gets exclusive Skyfall characters for multiplayer
Eurocom's re-imagining of select James Bond films, 007 Legends, has some exclusive content on the PS3. MI6 field agent Eve and assassin Patrice from next month's Skyfall film are both playable in multiplayer and have "their own special features and abilities," though the PlayStation Blog post doesn't mention what those features and abilities are, exactly.We contacted Activision for further information on what sets these two characters apart in the 007 Legends multiplayer mode. We'll be sure to update as soon as MI6 command gets back to us.
Sony's Xperia T is now available on O2 and ThreeUK, Walther PPK/S not included
O2 and ThreeUK have announced that they'll be carrying Sony's Xperia T, the phone James Bond totes 'round in Skyfall. He's got a tough decision on his hands depending on which network he chooses, however, with O2 offering an exclusive tie-in edition of the handset with custom ringtones and pre-release images. On the other hand, he probably gets through plenty of data reading classified files and flicking through the Tom Ford catalogue, so perhaps he'd prefer Three's unlimited data. Either way, you can follow in the footsteps of your hero right now, with price plans starting from £30 per month.
Carphone Warehouse stocking Sony's Xperia T, J and Tablet S for wannabe James Bonds
Given that James Bond himself is rocking Sony's Xperia T as his handset of choice in Skyfall, it's natural that wannabe Bonds will be clamoring for similar gear. Fortunately, Carphone Warehouse has announced that it's stocking the T, Xperia J and Xperia Tablet S when they make their debut in the UK. The two smartphones will be arriving on the increasingly busy September 5th, while the Tablet S's arrival date is still in the air, but we know it'll cost you £330 for the WiFi or £430 for the 3G version.
007 Legends trailer reveals October 16 release date
We apologize that this trailer for 007 Legends is buried after an action-packed, tension-ridden, sexually charged video advertising the coming James Bond film, Skyfall. We're sure anyone interested in a James Bond video game is completely outraged by the violent hedonism of James Bond movies. Again, our sincerest apologies.007 Legends is due out October 16, its trailer eventually reveals, following in-game scenes from Moonraker, one of the six James Bond storylines mashed up for the title. The 007 Legends trailer begins at 1:24, and in all honesty we could have very easily cut out just the video game portion and spared you the trouble of having to watch the Skyfall trailer.If anyone has a problem with our editorial decision, feel free to take it up with our staff – all 0011 of us.
'Bond 50' 22 movie Blu-ray collection details revealed, ships in September (video)
MGM and 20th Century Fox revealed during CES that all 22 of the James Bond movies would be released together for the first time in the Bond 50 Blu-ray disc collection this fall, and now ahead of the Cannes International Film Festival there's additional details to share. The Bond 50 set will include 23 discs -- one for each movie and its bonus content, plus an extra containing two Bond featurettes digging into the world of James Bond and the six actors who have played him, plus videoblogs from the upcoming flick Skyfall (there's an open slot in the specially designed case for it as well). The set ships September 24th in the UK and September 25th in the US with other countries getting it the same week. While no price is mentioned in the press release, Amazon currently is taking preorders for $199. That's a hefty price but if you absolutely must have all of Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig in one box this is it. The release with all the details follows after the break, plus the same trailer for the boxed set, a video reveal of the box itself, and the just revealed trailer for Skyfall, which is due to hit theaters October 26th in the UK and November 9th in the US.
