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Video: New Lumines Live! DLC on display
The next pack of downloadable content for Lumines Live! is being previewed over at GameTrailers and is also available in HD. It shows 5 or so seconds of each skin in what's being dubbed the "SOS Charity Campaign Pack". It will be released on June 27th, and will set you back 350 MS points, but at least you know that it's going towards a good cause. Would you be down with some more content for Lumines, or are you a little wary of Q Entertainment's take on micro-transactions?
Download new Lumines Live! content, save the world
Lumines Live! (that's the name, we're not shouting) debuted on Xbox Live Arcade last October in a fragmented state, chopped apart by the 50MB file size limit enforced at the time. With several of the game's modes offered as optional and costly additions, it quickly became the hideous poster child for monstrous microtransactions. If you still feel that way, look away before we discuss two new downloadable content packs, one of which is designed to save the Earth. Q Entertainment has announced that purchases of the SOS Charity Campaign Pack made between June 27th and July 17th will go towards climate protection organizations and causes. A remix of "Heavenly Star", the embarrassingly catchy tune by Japanese group Genki Rockets, is included in the pack as a celebration of the group's upcoming appearance at Al Gore's Live Earth musical event. If you haven't heard the song yet, consider that Lumines and Rez designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi came up with it as an answer to the question, "What kind of song would a 17-year old girl from outer space who has never landed on Earth sing to those living on Earth?" For 350 MS Points (a rather awkward $4 and 37 and a half cents), you'll also receive "House66" by Sugiurumn, "Cosmic Humming" by Muku and the excellent "4x4 Bricks" by Techriders. Joining the SOS Charity Campaign pack on June 27th is the Booster Pack, more suited to those happy to sit in front of the TV and rearrange squares while the world outside melts. The Booster Pack contains 20 additional skins and features a "must-see" collaboration between Lumines, "Bloomy Girls" and Japanese "visual artist/musician" Masakatsu Takagi. It'll set you back 600 MS Points, or $7.50 in your pre-apocalyptic Earth money. [via Q Entertainment press release]
Motorola "Nelson," CDMA version of the Q9h?
Seeing how the original Q came to CDMA first, it'd only make sense that the updated version of the now-ubiquitous QWERTY smartphone -- currently announced only in GSM / HSDPA form as the Q9h -- would return to its roots. Morning Paper (the folks that brought us the Palm Gandolf) is reporting that the Motorola "Nelson" is getting prepped as we speak, offering up Windows Mobile 6, a 2 megapixel cam, miniSD expansion, Bluetooth, and EV-DO data in an "ultra thin" package. As you might recall, the Q9h originally got passed around as the "Norman," so "Nelson" would be a totally appropriate name for a CDMA counterpart. Sprint's getting passed around as a potential carrier for this one (seems logical enough to us) but we'll have to wait this one out for a little more detail before calling it a done deal.
The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Worst Gadget of the Year
Ready to get your hater on? We're at the end of the line, and your chance to cast your ballot for the 2006 Worst Gadget of the Year! (Note: nominees were not necessarily selected for having outright bad or defective gadgets -- the disappointment / let-down factor also plays a big role.) Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Wednesday, April 18th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best tech win! The nominees: Defective Apple MacBooks (see here, here, here, and here), Exploding Sony batteries (see here, here, here, here, here, and many more), Microsoft Zune, Motorola Q, Nintendo Wiimote straps (see here, here, here, and here), and Sony PlayStation 3. %Poll-361%
The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Smartphone of the Year
Now's your chance to cast your ballot for the 2006 Smartphone of the Year! Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Sunday, April 15th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best tech win! The nominees: BlackBerry Pearl, HTC Hermes / 8525, Motorola Q, Nokia N93, Palm Treo 750, and Sony Ericsson P990. %Poll-339%
Motorola Q, "Amp'd Edition" now available
As expected, Amp'd Mobile has gone ahead and rolled out its "MOTOQ, Amp'd Edition," a somewhat fresh take on the now-ubiquitous Windows Mobile Smartphone from Motorola. Besides being offered in the newer, arguably hipper black hue, Amp'd's (isn't it weird to have two apostrophes in a single word?) variant uses a custom interface crafted in Flash Lite to give it a slightly less buttoned-up look and feel than its corporate cousins on Sprint and Verizon. Get it now for $199, and the darlings at Amp'd will even throw in a 256MB miniSD card for good measure.[Thanks, Riles]
Details slowly emerge on Motorola Q, Amp'd Edition
Amp'd first started talking up its upcoming Q a couple weeks back, and thanks to LetsTalk.com and a circulating rebate form, we have some information on pricing now, too. The "MOTO Q, Amp'd Edition" -- or simply "Q," if you're lazy like us -- will go out the door for a nickel under $200 before the application of a $100 rebate. The ubiquitous Windows Mobile Smartphone has some interesting tricks up its sleeves this time around, too (as well it should, considering that this is one of the first times the device has been explicitly marketed away from its business user roots), utilizing a Flash Lite-based app as its primary user interface. Of course, the handset will offer all of Amp'd's rich content, comes in black (more hip than the original silver -- black is the new black, after all), and should find its way into buyers' hands before the month is out.[Thanks, hajmola]Read - Official press releaseRead - Rebate form [Warning: PDF link]
Bell Canada rolls out Motorola Q Music Edition
What's a surefire way to revive a smartphone when it starts to get a little long in the tooth? Why, pull a Nokia: bundle it with some relevant accessories and rebrand it as a "Music Edition," of course! To be perfectly clear, this here Q is the same old Q we know and love; Bell's simply given it a new face by throwing in a 2GB miniSD card, stereo 'phones, and a $25 (CDN, we're assuming) gift card redeemable through the MSN Music Store. Get it by signing up for a three-year contract on a voice / data combo plan -- if you dare -- for $130.[Thanks, Terry]
Developers talk PSP's future
IGN took some time on PSP's 2nd anniversary to ask several developers what they thought the future held for PSP. Here are some of the more interesting excerpts: Ready at Dawn (devs of Daxter and the upcoming PSP God of War) "I think it's bringing a whole new crowd to handheld gaming, people that would have never played the type of games on previous handhelds." SCEA's SOCOM Team "The PSP is a great platform, but very few publishers and developers are creating games that really take advantage of the platform. I really hope that this will change. We have many more great PSP games coming out and I hope you look forward to them. " Continued after the jump ...
Meteos Disney Magic outsourced
If you were concerned about having to love the new Disney version of Meteos because you're a huge Q Entertainment/Tetsuya Mizuguchi fanboy, well, now you can take a second, more critical look at it. As it turns out, Q outsourced their game to two companies: Platinum Egg, who did a Harvest Moon puzzle game, and Aspect Digital Entertainment, who are professional game ghostwriters, like Tose. This fact may be obvious from the title screen, but we hadn't seen any investigation about it until today.This is news only because it's about Q-- this kind of thing happens all the time, but we thought that Mizuguchi's studio was kind of a "boutique" operation that only worked on games they wanted to. Why, then, would they take on a project that interested them little enough to outsource it? Oh, right.
Studly Q Celsius tires for safe winter driving
What's a northeastern driver to do when wintry roads spell danger for everyday tires, while normal conditions hamper breaking ability for the studded variety? Well, Q's Celsius tires have traction studs that protrude and retract on your command -- practical and 007 slick, like something Q would install for use in rescuing Halle Berry from a gigantic ice palace. How it works: when you're ready to enter extreme weather mode, the tires use their own air supply to fill a secondary chamber that pushes the studs through the surface, past the tread. Then when conditions clear up, the studs retract back below the tread and the surplus air is released. We're not sure how much this upgrade will cost to add little cool to your lemon, but some extra cash might be worth the added safety, not to mention ditching the hassle of seasonal tire switching.[Via Autoblog]
Motorola Q q9 coming to AT&T?
Is this depiction of the redundantly-named Moto Q q9 in AT&T livery utterly Photoshoppable? Yes; but is the idea of the q9 coming to AT&T completely believable, too? Yeah, we'd say so. This hot little image, while grainy, clearly shows that stylized new-style "globe" logo we've been seeing as of late on its rear and bottom -- and with support for 3.6Mbps HSDPA data, GPS navigation, Windows Mobile 6, and Opera out of the box, we're just fine with this turning out to be legit. The tipster tells us that it won't be called the Q when it comes to the US' largest GSM network, though whether it retains the "q9" branding remains to be seen -- as does a release date. We suppose we can bide our time with an Amoi-sourced SMT5700 while we wait.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Every Extend Extra Extreme Arcade bound
According to the 'stiq, the next title from Tetsuya Mizuguchi expected to hit XBLA is Every Extend Extra Extreme. E4 is going to be an updated version of the PSP's E3. The freebie PC version of Every Extend was originally developed by Omega. From the sounds of the press release, it looks like you'll be able to play with your own music, along with playing a versus mode online. Unfortunately, the schedule for the release is later this year, so don't expect it to be showing up as a surprise download during GDC. Have you played Every Extend before, on either the PC or PSP?[Thanks, Jonah Falcon]
Amp'd Motorola Q coming
Looks like some fool revealed Amp'd's next phone by leaving a user manual up on their downloads site. The irrational obsession with Motorola continues with the Amp'd Q, and while they obviously didn't say when it's coming or for how much, if you didn't already take the chance to buy this thing on Sprint or Verizon (and aren't interested in waiting for its predecessor, the Q q9) then you'll finally have a much hipper carrier option for taking one home. [Warning: PDF link][Thanks, Lee H]
Motorola's new Qs: Q gsm and Q q9
Nokia's got their E61i, and Motorola's got their Q. Not just any ol' Q though, today they've the new Q, two of them actually: the MOTO Q q9 (pictured left) and MOTO Q gsm (on right). The 11.8-mm thin q9 brings quad-band EDGE and HSDPA to this Windows Mobile 6 device for accessing all your PlaysForSure media over the air or stored in either the side-loading microSD card or 256MB of on-board memory. It also brings a USB 2.0 jack and 320 x 240 pixel display which automatically adjusts for indoor and outdoor lighting conditions. The q9 is capable of capturing video at 30fps off it's integrated 2 megapixel camera with LED light. It also brings plenty of multimedia power to the table with A2DP stereo Bluetooth audio and support for all the audio and video formats associated with the latest edition of WinMo. The MOTO Q gsm then is just what you expect: quad-band GSM and EDGE on a WinMo 6 OS. It brings a slightly different design including a thumb-wheel for navigation. The Q q9 is expected by Q2 with the quad-band Q gsm on the way in the second half of 2007.Update: It turns out the device on the left is the q9 -- the more advanced of Motorola's GSM-radioed Qs, while the one on the right is the more pedestrian Q gsm. Makes sense to us, considering the q9's redone (sexier?) cosmetics. Our apologies for the confusion!%Gallery-1589%
Is this the Motorola Q2?
Let's all breathe a collective sigh of relief here; we were inclined to think that the "Norman" (their name, not ours) was going to end up becoming the Q2, but a HowardForums member has hooked the world up with something that looks far more refined, and... well, 2007. To be fair, the original Norman picture could've been an early prototype that has since gone back for retooling because the newer picture seems to carry over some elements -- the shape of the d-pad, for example -- while offering up a more rounded exterior (that doesn't look like it was penned by a designer who wasn't loved as a child), a better keypad, and a nifty two-tone scheme. Of course, we won't know the lowdown with certainty until 3GSM next month, but this one looks more believable, no?
Motorola Q2, EDGE Q to take center stage at 3GSM
Anyone out there still care about getting their hands on the GSM / EDGE Q pictured after the break? Anyone at all? Come on now, don't be shy. Alright, well, anyhoo, Moto's recent webcast detailing its 2007 financial outlook makes mention of just such a device, brining all that love Verizon customers have been enjoying for many moons now to GSM users -- minus the 3G radio, of course. Perhaps the more provocative announcement, though, involves the mysterious Q2 (is that pronounced Q squared?), a device whose formal introduction is promised for 3GSM next month. All we know for now is that it'll come in EV-DO and HSDPA (finally!) flavors, but if we were the betting type, we'd say that this hullabaloo probably has something to do with the "Norman" we saw a while back. Anyone holding off on BlackJack purchases until this all gets sorted out?[Thanks, Kelvin]
Steve Ballmer laughs off the iPhone, deems it "most expensive" in the marketplace
We'll be the first to give props to Steve Ballmer for accomplishing what he has at Microsoft, and we will agree that the iPhone is one expensive (and probably overpriced) little machine, but during a recent interview where he was questioned about the iPhone, he proceeded to not only compare Apple's forthcoming handset with the "$99 Motorola Q," but insisted that the iPhone was "by far the most expensive phone in the marketplace," which couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, most of the long, long list of mobile phones priced above (sometimes well above) the $500 price point aren't exactly mainstream handsets, but as the luxury phone market continues to bloom, Apple is looking to take advantage of those willing to shell out half a grand to have the hottest gizmo out. Additionally, Steve did mention that the iPhone was absolutely "not suitable for business purposes" due to its complete lack of a keyboard, but considering its half-hearted attempt at Push mail and lack of 3G, we doubt Mr. Jobs is out fighting for the corporate market just yet anyway. Nevertheless, it's always entertaining to see one head honcho completely mock another company's product, so click on through for the YouTube'd interview.[Via Digg]
Cheap Lumines content arrives next week
How many MS Points does it take to say, "I'm sorry?" Any 360 gamer worth his or her salt will remember the Great Lumines Catastrophe of '06. Allow us to explain ... no, there is too much. Let us sum up: Lumines Live launched on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 points. The catch here is that the 1200 point purchase did not get you the full game. There were myriad reasons for this (stay under the 50MB limit, etc...) but the end result was that we were expected to pay for things like Vs. CPU mode and an expanded Puzzle mode and more skins for the solo mode. After the already large asking price, many felt insulted or even outraged. Well, kiddies, it looks like MS and Q? were listening, as new Lumines content arrives next Wednesday, and it's cheap! There are three pieces of content arriving next week. The first is a new video skin called Heavenly Star (sounds familiar) which will be free to Xbox Live Gold Members. The second is the Vs. CPU pack that will be available for 100 points. The third is the Puzzle/Mission pack which will also cost 100 points. These promotional prices are to be offered between January 24 and February 21. After February 21, the two content packs will cost 300 points, and we're not really sure what happens to the Heavenly Star video (presumably it will disappear or cost points). A tip of the hat to MS and Q? entertainment for heeding our call and slashing these prices. Will you grab this content now that it will be available at a discounted price?
Sprint's Motorola Q finally goes on sale
It looks like "around mid-January" is finally upon us, and those looking to grab a dark grey Motorola Q with that unmistakable yellow splash screen need not wait any longer, as Sprint is officially loosing its rendition of the smartphone to citizens everywhere. You've all had time to deliberate by now, considering you've seen all the sneak peeks and even read a hands-on review, so now the real question is how certain are you about locking yourself into a two-year agreement with a provider that won't carry that oh-so-anticipated iPhone? Regardless, Sprint's offering up its Q for $199.99 after all applicable rebates and in exchange for two years of your cellular soul, or you can buy it outright for $449.99 if you should so desire.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
