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On Gear Live: Motorola DROID review

Bleeding Edge TV 324: Limited Edition CoD:MW2 Xbox 360 console giveaway!

We’ve got one of those fancy Limited Edition Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 console bundles, and we are giving it away to one of you readers. In this video, we give you a look at the console, which is designed to look like something straight out of Modern Warfare 2, and also features the exclusive 250GB Xbox 360 hard drive. It also includes two wireless controllers, along with the rest of the standard Xbox 360 fare. Interested in winning? Check out the video, then head on over to the official Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 giveaway page to enter by showing us your pwned face!


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Bleeding Edge TV 318: Xbox Live Fall Dashboard Preview: Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Zune 1080p

We got our hands on the new Fall 2009 Dashboard update, which features Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, and Instant-on 1080p movie streaming from Zune. You can get the full scoop in the video, but in a nutshell, here are our thoughts:

  • Facebook: Facebook on Xbox 360 is integrated well into the console. We like that you can see which of your Xbox 360 friends are on Facebook, and which Facebook friends have an Xbox 360 account. The problem is that the Xbox 360’s ridiculous friend limit really stands out here. You have a limit of 100 friends, and if you have a bunch of friends on Facebook that you want to connect with, you will quickly find that you have to pick and choose. You see what I mean in the video. Other than that, being able to view profile data and photo galleries of friends is a nice touch. Updating or commenting sucks if you don’t have a Chatpad.
  • Twitter: Twitter, on the other hand, is way too simple for our liking. It shows you the last 50 tweets from people you following, trending topics, and basic profile info. You can also send tweets out from the Xbox 360, but it’s frustrating to do, unless you have a Chatpad handy.
  • Last.fm: This works as expected. You sign in, and you get access to all your channels, and you can create new channels on the fly. What sucks? You can’t see your Last.fm friends, which is something I miss. Even worse? The music only plays when you are actually in the Last.fm area. If you leave, the music stops. This means you can’t carry it over to the dashboard, or in-game. So really, what’s the point?
  • Zune Instant on 1080p: This was awesome. Definitely blew me away. We streamed a portion of the movie 300. After a bandwidth test, the Xbox 360 confirmed we were good to go for instant 1080p streaming, and it delivered. Fantastic. The best streaming video quality we’ve seen from any service.

There are a few other new details as well, and we give you a detailed look at it all in this video. Sit back and enjoy!


Bleeding Edge TV 315: Zune HD hands-on Interface Preview

We were able to spend some quality time with the a couple of days ago, and we put together this video walkthrough of the interface on the device. Unfortunately, we weren’t connected to Wi-Fi, so we weren;t able to show web browsing, downloading from the Marketplace, or Social, but this gives you a really good idea of what to expect when you get pick up your Zune HD (available for pre-order now) come September 15th.

Our favorite feature? I’ll probably be using the pinned items on the side quite a bit, especially for the recently synched stuff. Quick access to things like that have been much needed on touch devices. A runner up would have to be the quick scroll in the music browser. Again, it saves you on just quickly swiping a bunch of times, hoping to get to the right spot.

All in all, we’re impressed. Of course, we will have a full Zune HD review when we get our own device. For now, be sure to read up on everything we know about the Zune HD.


Bleeding Edge TV 312: Xbox 360 August 2009 Dashboard Update Walkthrough

A few days ago we did a quick post of our Xbox 360 August Dashboard Update video, promising that we’d publish the actual video podcast version later. Well, here it is. In case you missed it, we give you a 35-minute full walkthrough of the upcoming Xbox 360 dashboard update, giving you a look at the new features, Avatar Marketplace, Games on Demand, Indie Games, and more. Go ahead and give it a look for all the goods. Definitely a nice, solid Xbox 360 update.


Bleeding Edge TV 302: Zune Originals package


We’ve said it for months, but we will say it again, as far as digital music goes, the Pass is the best deal in music. Of course, if you want to take advantage of the tracks you download using the Zune Pass, you’ll need an actual Zune device. Sure, you could hit the store and pick up one of the generic Zunes you’ll find on the store shelves of any Target or Best Buy, but why not get something a little more customized? That is where the Zune Originals line comes in. We were able to get our hands on a custom-designed Zune Originals device, and we thought we’d give you a hands-on look at what exactly it is you get when you spend an extra $15 or so on a customized Zune. As you’ll see, you get premium packaging, a neat design etched into your Zune device, a piece of artwork, etc.

For all the details, go ahead and watch the video.


Bleeding Edge TV 299: Zune Holiday 2008 Hardware & Accessory lineup


We’ve made it clear a few times that we feel that the platform has progressed nicely since it’s inception, especially with the introduction of the , which we feel is the best deal in music today. Definitely something we recommend this holiday season. So much so, in fact, that we have put together a video showing off every Zune device that is currently available, as well as some of the cooler accessories available for the device set. We show off the Zune 80, Zune 120, Gears of War 2 Special Edition Zune, the flash Zunes, and even a Zune Originals piece.

On the accessories side, we give you a look at the Kicker stereo for Zune, a few cases, armbands, car accessories, and the Home A/V Kit. See? Told you we brought the goods to this one. Check out the video for the scoop on everything, and let us know if you end up picking any of it up.


Bleeding Edge TV 296: New Xbox Experience definitive walkthrough video


We know a lot of you owners are counting down the days to November 19th, which is the day that everyone will be able to download the dashboard update. Until then, we figured we’d give you a nice, full walkthrough of the update and its interface. Our friends up in Redmond were able to send the update to one of our two Xbox 360 consoles, which in turn, allows us to bring you this exclusive first-look walkthrough.

We show you everything, from the boot-up video, the new HDTV display output options, Xbox avatars, , and a whole lot more. Our early thoughts? We love it. In fact, we love it so much, that we now hate our second Xbox 360, which still has the old, busted blade interface. We want NXE on that one as well.

One thing we mentioned in the video that we need to clarify, though. As it turns out, Netflix HD streaming should be available on other Netflix-enabled hardware devices on November 19th as well, as opposed to HD streaming being exclusive to the Xbox 360 at first.

Oh, and be sure to check our New Xbox Experience gallery if you wanna see some screenshots in addition to the video - and if you have any NXE questions about anything we didn’t cover, or didn’t delve into enough, let us know on the forum.


Bleeding Edge TV 283: Nintendo’s Reggie spotted at Microsoft’s E3 Booth


We were checking out the new Xbox 360 Experience Dashboard, when who should walk in but Reggie Fils-Aimé, CEO of Nintendo of America? Gear Live caught him earlier at the Nintendo E3 Media Briefing, and we managed to capture a few quick shots of Reggie checking out what’s new in Xbox.

Best part of the whole thing was how the Microsoft peeps were rushing to get photos of him and were almost bending over backwards to cater to him. They even asked if he would make an Xbox Avatar of himself, but as you hear in the video, he declines because he “has to scoot.”


Bleeding Edge TV 280: E3 2008 Xbox Media Briefing


In this episode, coming to you straight from , we chat with Xbox’s Heather Snavely about all the news that Microsoft announced during their Xbox Media Briefing. We have keynote clips here as well, in case you missed it and want to see all that went down, while Heather gives us a bit more detail and answers a few questions we had about some of the specific announcements.

Specifically, Heather tells us a bit more about the new Xbox 360 Experience dashboard, answers a few questions we had about the Lips game and the motion-based microphone controller, as well as Xbox avatars and questions we had about the future of Gamer Pictures on Xbox Live. All in all, a nice look at all the new details uncovered at E3 in relation to Xbox 360.


CES 2008 Video: Microsoft SYNC Car Recognition


We learned all about Sync at , and have lots to share. Sync is integrated software that’s factory-installed in certain Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars. It allows you to control your cell phone and music player via voice recognition. Once your cell phone is “synced” with the software and your contacts are transferred, just press the button on the steering wheel and speak your command, such as “Call Mom.” Mom is immediately dialed, and you can talk to her without ever touching your phone. What’s also cool is that you can control your entire music library via voice as well, just by saying the name of the artist, song, album or even playlist. Just sync up your (except the Shuffle), , MP3 player or even a thumb drive, and you’re good to go.


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