Author: Doug Groves

dougplanet.com is his personal blog, which is withering on the vine. If you poke around it, you’ll find out that he’s an animator and broadcast designer by trade, usually pushing pixels in either After Effects or Lightwave 3D. If he absolutely had to pick a favourite all time writer, it would be Harlan Ellison more days than any other. If you don’t know who Ellison is, then Doug weeps for you. Doug also likes long walks on the beach, mainly to collect improperly discarded medical waste for an undisclosed project of epic proportions.

Rogers brings Acer Liquid e, Android 2.1 to Canada

February 22, 2010 Doug Groves Acer, Acer Liquid, Android, Android 2.1, Rogers0 comment

Rogers bringing the Android 2.1 packing Acer Liquid e is an interesting development on a couple of fronts. It’s the first time a North American carrier to bring an Acer smart phone to market. It’s also the first official phone to be running 2.1 Android in Canada, although Telus’ recently released Milestone is upgradeable from 2.0. “Rogers is very excited to be partnering with a highly respected global brand like Acer to bring the Acer Liquid e to Canadians consumers,” said John Boynton, Executive Vice-President, Marketing, Rogers. “By exclusively launching,…

Mobile World Congress Part One

February 19, 2010 Doug Groves Microsoft, Mobile World Congress, MWC, Show, Windows Phone, WP7S0 comment

Mobile World Congress is the biggest cell phone event of the year, and in this first look at it, we talk about Microsoft’s newly announced Windows Phone 7 Series, which makes a clean break from it’s Windows Mobile past.

Metro 2033 using DirectX 11, looks awesome

February 18, 2010February 19, 2010 Doug Groves DirectX 11, Metro 2033, Nvidia, PC gaming0 comment

It’s not very often that the technical quality of a video game’s screen shots make it worth discussing, but these shots of THQ and 4AG’s Metro 2033 warrants it. THQ recently put out some new screens of the game rendered using Nvidia video cards with DirectX 11 support, and the results are stunning. The sci-fi shooter takes place in a post apocalyptic Russia, and will be coming out on multiple platforms, but I think it’s safe to say if you have a PC rig capable of playing Metro 2033 with…

Windows Phone 7 development details surface

February 18, 2010February 18, 2010 Doug Groves HTC, Microsoft, Sense UI, Windows Phone 7 Series, WP7S, XNA0 comment

Recent interviews, as well as leaked developer docs for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series help put together some interesting pieces of the puzzle left in the wake of the Mobile World Congress announcement a few days back. A few of those questions included multitasking, backwards compatibility and partner customizations. It’s clear in the documentation that WP7S will be capable of multitasking, both full background applications and a background notification system. Although the functionality does exist, to what extent can developers make use of it is another matter. Also, as for…

Motorola Milestone now at Telus

February 16, 2010February 16, 2010 Doug Groves Android, Motorola Milestone, Telus6 Comments

Telus has announced, a couple of days ahead of schedule, the availability of the Motorola Milestone, which is better known as the Droid in the US. The phone features an 854×480 screen and despite a rather thin 13.7 mm packs a slide out QWERTY keyboard. It’s also part of the new Telus 3G network so data should move quickly. No word on whether it has Android 2.0 or 2.1. The pricing is reasonable, ranging from an outright buy of $599 to $199 for a 3 year contract. It’ll be interesting…

Mass Effect 2 review

February 15, 2010 Doug Groves Bioware, Mass Effect 2, review, RPG7 Comments

Before jumping into the proper review, let’s get one thing out of the way. If you haven’t yet played the first Mass Effect, you will be missing something from Mass Effect 2. In the same way that The Empire Strikes Back is a better movie than Star Wars, not seeing the first just takes away from the overall experience. Sure you can jump right in, and it won’t hurt the enjoyment, but if you watch them both, it’s a richer experience. Sure, in the case of Mass Effect, that’s a…

Windows Phone 7 Series – has Microsoft pulled it off?

February 15, 2010February 15, 2010 Doug Groves Microsoft, Windows Phone, WP7S, Xbox Live, Zune6 Comments

Probably the most anticipated event at Mobile World Congress has finally passed, and with it, Microsoft has announced a whole new direction with it’s mobile platform, which has been rebranded Windows Phone 7 Series. Although WP7S devices aren’t expected to start shipping until near the end of the year, the folks at Redmond have definitely taken a ground up approach with the new OS, UI and hardware. Microsoft will be much more strict on the minimum hardware specs, which is a good thing, since in the past there were some…

WindowsPhone – what Microsoft needs to do at Mobile World Congress

February 12, 2010February 14, 2010 Doug Groves HTC, Microsoft, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, Xbox Live, Zune3 Comments

We rarely delve into outright speculation here at rgbHeadquarters, but over the past month or two, there have been a number of rumours regarding what is going to be a major update to the Windows Mobile platform with version 7, and the rebranding to Windows Phone. With Mobile World Congress starting next week, those rumours have increased, and many have solidified somewhat. What to expect from Microsoft at MWC is largely dependent on what they need to fix, and a little reading of the tea leaves.

XDA Developers officially adds non HTC devices

February 10, 2010February 10, 2010 Doug Groves Acer, HTC, Omnia, Samsung, Toshiba, xda developers0 comment

Unlike many other phone enthusiast sites, XDA Developers, started out as a site for HTC phone owners. After much speculation, and an initial test with the Samsung Omnia II, the site has finally pulled the trigger and introduced more non HTC phones. They first added the Omnia II a few weeks back, and have now expanded that list. I know from personal experience part of the reason I stuck with HTC phones in the past was the unofficial support and development from one of the best phone hardware communities out…

Telus first Canadian mobile carrier to do DRM-free music

February 10, 2010 Doug Groves digital download, DRM, Music, OTA, Telus1 Comment

I haven’t looked at buying music from a mobile device in a long while, but would have figured that DRM free was now de rigueur. Apparently not for purchasing over the air on your phone, at least in Canada. Telus has announced today that they have launched a DRM-free over the air (OTA) service. In short, as a Telus customer, you’ll be able to buy music directly on your phone (with free 30 second previews). Once you have it there, since you’re free of those pesky rights management issues you…

Google’s Buzz rolling out.

February 9, 2010 Doug Groves 5 Comments

Are you a lonely soul, wandering the streets, not knowing what to do? Or more accurately, are you a stalker wanting the mobile net making your life easier? heck, maybe you want to be a ‘stalkee’. If any of these apply, you have to absolutely, right this minute, check out the hot new Google social networking tool Buzz. They’re still rolling it out, so it’ll give you plenty of time to go pick up a trenchcoat and some dark sunglasses. Okay, so it’s not THAT creepy. Maybe it’s the mellow…

Bioshock 2, Darwinia+ out this week

February 8, 2010February 8, 2010 Doug Groves 2k Games, Bioshock 2, Darwinia, PC gaming, PS3, Xbox 3601 Comment

It’s February, so you know it’s that time of year when ‘big’ games rarely get released. Except that 2K’s Bioshock 2 launches tomorrow on the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows. Continuing (sort of) the story from the original Bioshock, the sequel will also bring Rapture-themed multiplayer variant to the franchise, thanks to London Ontario game studio Digital Extremes. Also launching this week on XBLA is Darwinia+, the console version of award winning, genre-bending Darwinia. You can catch the trailer for that