Google has put together this fascinating look at the growth of Android between October 2008 and January 2011. Spots around the world light up when an Android-powered smartphones get activated. It’s fun to watch significant spikes light up the map when specific phones released into the market. See how the launch of Motorola’s Droid and others affected the growth of Google’s open-source platform in the visualization embedded above.
[Via AndroidCentral]
Dre’s latest music video plays out more like short film, really. The seven-and-a-half-minute video for “I Need a Doctor,” directed by filmmaker Allen Hughes, takes us on a journey through Dre’s career using inserted pictures and video from his past. In the present Dre remains alive on life support as Eminem thanks him for his support over the years. Em raps, “You picked me up, breathed new life in me, I owe my life to you.” A ghostly Skylar Grey sings the hook. Notice all the HP product placement? How could you not. The recently announced Pre 3 and TouchPad make Touch-to-Share magic at the 4:20 mark (how ironic for the man who produced The Chronic).
Tear. After its 10-episode debut season, TBS has cancelled the ’80s college comedy Glory Daze. The culprit is ratings, of course. When the show premiered in November it attracted 1.8 million viewers (with a 1.0/3 rating in the 18-49 demo) and that number would dwindle down to a low 1.1 million when the season series finale aired. It’s a bummer because Glory Daze managed to capture by attention every week with its grounded in reality take on fraternity life. Plus the ’80s backdrop was just downright nostalgic. If you missed out on the first season when it aired, the DVD box set is must-have. This show’ll make you laugh and it always left me feeling great after every episode–it’s one of those feel-good programs, you know? Now we’ll never find out if Joel gets with Christie; ah well, ’tis the nature of television.
[Via Deadline]
Former American Idol judge Simon Cowell takes time to explain his new show The X Factor. He describes it as “a singing competition with a twist.” Auditions are open to anyone, no matter your age. Performers will be separated into the following four categories: young guys, young girls, older singers, and singing groups. Auditions will take place in LA, Miami, Newark, Seattle, Chicago, and Dallas; contenders will sing not only for the judges but also in front of 3,000 to 4,000 audience members. Think of it as Idol meets America’s Got Talent. The grand prize is a $5 million recording contract. Cowell says, “I can assure you one thing: you will have never seen a show like this before in America.”
The X Factor airs this September on FOX.
After sitting out one broadcast cycle to mull over a 24 feature film and produce a web series, Kiefer Sutherland is ready to return to primetime network TV. And he’s coming back to his former home FOX, no less. He will star in Touch, a drama from Tim Kring (Heroes). The story will focus on a father (Sutherland) who discovers that his autistic, mute son can predict events before they happen. Though the network has only committed to producing a pilot, Sutherland’s touch (pun intended) is expected to launch it into episodic treatment. In a similar fashion to 24, FOX will air Kring’s latest creation in midseason. Why, you ask? Well that’s because production is being delayed to late May-early June so that Sutherland can continue to pursue his Broadway career in a revival of Jason Miller’s That Championship Season. In addition to starring in Touch, Sutherland will serve as executive producer along with Peter Chernin and Kathrine Pope. Charles McDougall (Desperate Housewives, The Good Wife, The Chicago Code) has been tapped to direct the pilot.
Need your Kiefer fix right now? Look out for his upcoming web series The Confession premiering on Hulu next month.
[Via Deadline]
Good morning USA! I got a feelin’ that it’s gonna be a wonderful day. That it is for animator/creator Seth MacFarlane. The man known for dominating FOX’s “Animation Domination” lineup with his imaginative and relevant comedies must be feeling an enormous sense of relief after hearing today’s news that American Dad will be joining long-time staple Family Guy and newcomer The Cleveland Show for the 2011-13 TV seasons. No, that’s not a typo and I’ll explain why. The Smiths have been guaranteed a seventh season with a full 22-episode order. However, because FOX has ordered two new animated shows Allen Gregory and Napoleon Dynamite (yes, based on the movie) for next season, scheduling only an undisclosed portion of American Dad episodes will air in 2011-12, and the remaining eps will overflow into the 2012-13 season. And believe it or not, this is the way the show has aired since the 2005 Super Bowl. So no harm done here. Packaged with this news of renewal is a hint of what’s to come later this season; upcoming guest voices include Anjelica Huston, Elisabeth Shue, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Burt Reynolds, and Cee-Lo Green.
“This is fantastic news,” said Roger the Alien in a statement. “But you do realize I’m not real, right?”
[Via Deadline]
If you’ve been following ABC’s new superhero show No Ordinary Family, you would know that Jim Powell is a fictional character played by the show’s male lead and executive producer Michael Chiklis. The actor best known for his role as Vic Mackey in FX’s The Shield will soon contribute to his new show in a way you would likely never expect. According to EW, the March 1 episode titled “No Ordinary Love” will feature a song recorded by Chiklis and his band. “Till I Come Home” is described as a sentimental tune that will during a “tender moment” between Chiklis’ TV daughter Daphne Powell (Kay Panabaker) and her boyfriend Chris. Interestingly the song was originally produced by Chiklis to pay tribute to U.S. troops and his cousin’s service. “I’ve been a musician my whole life,” he told EW. “I’m really enjoying making music again and this is a real band! Also, this was written and recorded in my house! This is not a product of the machine … it’s just heartfelt, homegrown music. More to come too.”
If you’re not watching No Ordinary Family, you should be. After a rocky start, the characters have settled into their roles and the bubbling plot is overflowing with strong mythos-driven intricacies. Though the initial 13-episode order was extended due to decent ratings early on, a season 2 renewal is far from a sure thing. Check it out, and tell your friends about it. It would be too sad to see a show of this (sci-fi) caliber to fall by the wayside.
Update: The song’s landed on iTunes.
[Via EW]
Hot on the heels of The Science Channel acquiring the rights to air Joss Whedon’s Firefly, the Syfy network intends to bring back another cult favorite program axed from network TV prematurely. Syfy will air all 31 episodes (spanning 2 seasons) of the ill-fated FOX show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles starting Thursday, April 7 at 9PM. After its cable premiere date, TSCC will air Thursdays from 7PM to 11PM–that’s right, the station will air 4 one-hour episodes back-to-back every Thursday. Intense stuff. Though the show got off on shaky ground, it quickly found its feet towards the latter half of season one and its shortened second season made for some really great TV. If you missed out on its original run, I highly recommend checking it out on Syfy this April. By the time the series finale rolls around you will be begging to the powers that be for more. Sure it’s set in the Terminator universe, but the show distances itself from the movies by expanding on familiar names (read: John and Sarah Conner) and introducing new and exciting characters (Summer Glau’s Cameron and Garrett Dillahunt’s Cromartie). Plus a TV movie may be in the works, so you’ve got to prepare for that.
[Via EW]
Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17th, 1972, was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it’s the real reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.
From Dimension Films, producer Timur Bekmambetov, and director Gonzalo López-Gallego comes the sci-fi thriller Apollo 18 and it uses “found footage” to tell the an alternate history story and reveal the real reason why we haven’t traveled back to the moon in some time. Brain-melding aliens! Or something like that. Watch the spooky trailer above and anticipate the Cloverfield-meets-Paranormal Activity flick hitting theatres April 22.
According to Brandchannel, a division of global branding agency Interbrand, Apple products can be found in 30 percent of the top movies at the U.S. box office in 2010. Last year delivered 33 high-grossing films that made it to #1 in the box office; Apple products appeared in 10 of them, so now you can see where that percentage comes from. Of the 591 brands identified in the #1 flicks, Apple was clearly the most dominant. Its product placement leadership over the years, however, has been on the decline. After reaching its product placement peak in 2008 (when Apple products showed up in nearly 50 percent (20 of 41) of #1 films), its visibility in those top films dropped about six percent in 2009 (appearing in 19 of 44 films) and a staggering 14 percent in 2010. Hop after the break to see a handy chart put together by Brandchannel that helps visualize things. Though the numbers may be dropping year-over-year, there’s no question that Apple wears the product placement crown. I mean, their products are so pretty, what do you expect?
Other fun facts brought to you by Broadcom… Nike, Chevrolet and Ford tied for second place after Apple, each appearing in 24 percent of the top films; Sony, Dell, Land Rover, and Glock appeared in at least 15 percent of the #1 films; the single movie with the most placements was Iron Man 2 with a whopping 64 brand placements. Click here for more stats.
[Via Gizmodo; Broadchannel] Continue reading Apple is Hollywood’s product placement king
The wait for a worthy iPad contender has been tiring. Samsung’s Android 2.2-powered Galaxy Tab couldn’t compete with Apple’s iOS offerings (its successor, on the other hand, is anticipated). Android is finally ready to make the move to tablets, and Honeycomb looks scrumptious. The first Android 3.0-powered tablet out of the gate will be Motorola’s 10.1-inch Xoom, detailed here. Tomorrow, February 24 the Xoom will be made available on Verizon’s 3G network with promise of upgraded 4G LTE capabilities (at no additional charge) later this year (Q2 2011, somewhat more specifically). Here’s the pricing options you’ve got at launch. You can purchase the Xoom for $599.99 if you sign a new two-year contract with VZW; 3G data pricing starts at $20 for 1GB of monthly access. Or if you don’t feel like tying yourself to a carrier you can simply drop two additional Benjamins and rely on Internet access via WiFi hotspots. The pricer Xoom is currently listed on Best Buy, but it’s slapped with an in-store only pickup option. Verizon is also teasing it on its website, and their press release ambiguously says it’ll be available through them as well (online/in-store purchasing is not specified, unfortunately).
Update: We’re past midnight and tomorrow is now today. Verizon’s teaser site has transformed into an order page so there you go. Just to make things clear, Motorola is selling two SKUs: the $600 3G (upgradeable to 4G) model and the $800 non-3G (but still upgradeable to 4G) model. Apparently a cheaper WiFi-only version is in the works, but neither Moto nor Verizon have specified its arrival date.
Oh and there’s this. The Xoom will not ship with Flash support at launch. Crazy, right? At least the wait isn’t that long, and we know it is coming. According to Adobe, the makers of the ubiquitous video standard, “Flash Player 10.2 [will be] pre-installed on some tablets and [arrive] as an OTA download on others within a few weeks of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) devices becoming available, the first of which is expected to be the Motorola Xoom.” A few weeks time, you can handle it.
Jump after the break to find the aforementioned PR and a super cool Xoom teaser produced by the carrier.
[Via Engadget 1, 2, 3] Continue reading Motorola Xoom goes on sale February 24 for $600 on contract
For those of you who have been holding out on switching over from XP to Microsoft’s latest OS, now there’s absolutely no reason not to move on to the next one. Windows 7’s first service pack is now available to download. Though you won’t notice any UI enhancements, SP1 promises to keep lingering bugs in check and grants you access to all of Microsoft’s future OS improvements and updates. If Windows Update has yet to inform you about the news, manually check for the update or click here. (And as for you non-converts Windows 7 may share aesthetics with its buggy predecessor Vista, but you’ve nothing to fear, especially with SP1 under its belt.)