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'Fringe' shines creatively but falters in ratings; fans still flock to 'Grey's Anatomy'

12/04/2010 11:27:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , 0 Comments

It was arguably the best, most original episode of Fringe to date. Too bad so many of you missed it: Only 5.1 million people tuned into the Fox drama Thursday night, which was also down 5 percent in adults 18 to 49 (1.8 rating/5 share) from its most recent airing on Nov. 18. If this genre series were on AMC (or featured zombies), the media world would be calling it a monster hit. Sadly, the threshold for success is far different on broadcast TV, so Fringe will always be viewed as a niche performer with a small but rabid fan base. Let’s hope it finds a far more comfortable home on Fridays where it’ll face less competition.

ABC was the network that ruled Thursday in 18-49 (3.1/8). Following the annual special Santa Claus is Coming to Town (2.3/7, 7.3 million), Grey’s Anatomy scored a timeslot-winning 4.0/10 and 10.9 million viewers, followed by Private Practice (2.9/8, 7.9 million). NBC finished second in the demo (2.2/6) for airing originals of Community (1.9/6, 4.5 million), 30 Rock (2.3/6, 5 million), The Office (3.7/10, 7.3 million), Outsourced (2.5/7, 5.3 million) and The Apprentice (1.4/4 4 million). Fox finished third in the demo, with Bones posting a 2.4/7 and 8.8 million.

CBS was fourth in the demo (1.9/5) because it aired repeats. It came in first, however, in viewers (9 million), followed by ABC (8.7 million), Fox (7 million), NBC (5 million), Univision (3.8 million) and The CW (3.2 million). The CW won the night in teens and females 12-17.

Motorola planning 4G devices for Verizon, 7- and 10-inch tablets early next year

12/04/2010 11:27:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments


It looks like this CES could be a hot one for Motorola. Can you believe it was only a bit more than a year ago that Motorola introduced the Droid? Now it has a whole lineup of incredibly hot phones, and CES seems like a perfect time for the beating of chests in front of an industry. Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha just went on record during a keynote at the Credit Suisse 2010 Technology Conference, saying Motorola will be entering the tablet space 'in the near future.' He also said that he sees both 7-inch and 10-inch tablets as viable sizes -- something that seems perfectly logical to us, and might jibe with how we initially heard of Motorola's "Stingray" tablet as a smaller device, but later heard it was a full 10-incher upgradeable to LTE. This all follow's on Sanjay's statement in September that Motorola wouldn't be joining in on the tablet space until next year, a year which is rapidly approaching. Meanwhile, Sanjay also confirmed that Motorola would have 4G devices "early" next year, which also sounds like a CES hint to us, though it might just be 4G modems and hotspots at the outset. Still, bring it on.

Microsoft employees begin receiving free Windows Phones

12/04/2010 11:27:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments


Back in October, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that the company would be handing out free Windows Phones to each of its 89,000 employees. The generous and expensive gesture from Microsoft was seen as a great publicity move, of course, but now it’s time to pay the piper. Microsoft employees in some regions have begun receiving their free devices and, as expected, they’re being quite vocal with their excitement. Among the first to receive their free phones, each of Microsoft’s 1,200 employees in the Netherlands have been given a Samsung Omnia 7. Employees seem quite pleased with the device so far, which features a 4-inch Super-AMOLED display, a 5-megapixel camera with HD video capture support and a 1GHz processor. 1,200 down, 87,800 to go.

EA chief on how to beat Call of Duty

12/04/2010 11:26:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , 0 Comments

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said he has the recipe for beating the Call of Duty franchise. But, he says, it will take a couple years to achieve that goal.

Speaking in a recent interview with video game blog Kotaku, Riccitiello said that the key to beating Call of Duty is to "make a better game." Once that job is complete, Riccitiello told the gaming blog, his company will need to "make a better game again."

Citing Metacritic (which, like CNET, is owned by CBS), Riccitiello said that he'd like to see a first-person shooter released by EA next year score higher on the site than Activision's 2011 Call of Duty release to start that plan in motion.

"If I had to pick the story I'd like to play out next year, we [would] ship a [game with] a 90 [score on Metacritic] and [Activision] ship[s] an 85," Riccitiello told Kotaku. He then reiterated that "the way you unseat a market leader is you make a better game a couple of times in a row."

Of course, achieving such success will require the right game. And although Riccitiello said Bulletstorm and Crysis 2 could be strong first-person-shooter releases for the company next year, he feels "incredibly good about" Battlefield 3. Earlier this year, EA released Battlefield Bad Company 2, which, as Riccitiello pointed out, received "the same Metacritic score as Black Ops."

However, while it was a high-quality first-person shooter in its own right, the game couldn't match the commercial success Black Ops enjoyed this year.

Activision's offering, which was released last month, scored both the best launch-day sales and entertainment launch in history. The game generated $360 million in revenue on its first day of availability, according to Activision's internal estimates. Through its first five days of availability, Black Ops made more than $650 million, easily besting the previous record set by last year's blockbuster hit, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which made $550 million in revenue during its first five days of availability.

But as Riccitiello (and surely Activision) know, next year is a new opportunity for both companies. And although Call of Duty will have the momentum, if EA really can deliver a superior title, it could put itself in a position to steal the first-person shooter crown from Activision.

It'll be an interesting fight to watch.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Share a Memorable Meal in Paris

12/04/2010 02:42:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments


Nothing like a nice, romantic break, especially in the City of Love.

Amid a week of tandem promotional tours through Paris for her The Tourist and his Megamind, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie turned up for dinner Thursday evening at one of the world's best eateries – Restaurant Guy Savoy, on the Rue Troyon – and stayed till nearly midnight to close the place.

The restaurant came highly praised, by none other than Jolie's Changeling director. "They came, they said, because Clint Eastwood recommended the restaurant to her. He told her they'd enjoy themselves," the legendary three-Michelin star chef, Guy Savoy, tells PEOPLE.

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Samsung top Android provider in States, 3M Galaxy S handsets shipped in U.S.

12/04/2010 02:41:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments


Samsung has just issued a press release pertaining to kudos it recently received from analytics firm Gartner. Gartner has named Samsung the top Android provider in the United States based on “sell through to end users in [...] the third quarter of 2010.” Samsung earned the honors based on its 32.1% share of the U.S. Android market in Q3 and having shipped over 3 million total Galaxy S handsets in the States.

“I want to personally thank everyone who selected a Galaxy S smartphone as their mobile handset of choice,” said Samsung’s president of Mobile, Dale Sohn. ”Neither of these wonderful accomplishments would have been possible without the loyalty and support of our customers.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal Talks About Thanksgiving With Taylor Swift

12/04/2010 02:41:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Maggie Gyllenhaal had an extra reason to be thankful this year: She got to spend Thanksgiving with her brother Jake and his new sudden squeeze, Taylor Swift.

The new Us Weekly (on newsstands now) has the first photos of the two lovebirds taking a stroll in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, where Maggie, 33, and her family live.

Asked how the day went, Maggie told UsMagazine.com Thursday at the Focus For Change benefit in NYC: "Great."

She paused when asked what makes her brother, 29, such a great guy, prompting her husband, Peter Sarsgaard, to tell Us: "Why is Jake a wonderful guy? Because he's an adventurer!"

Sneak a Peek at Ashley Greene's Sexy Cleavage!

12/04/2010 02:40:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments


Move over, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, you're not the only Twilight stars showing off your sexy assets.

Alice Cullen alter ego Ashley Greene graces the January cover of Cosmo, and she's baring some vampire cleavage in a white button-up shirt that's not buttoned at all and teeny denim shorts.

It's a classic hot-girl getup (think Cindy Crawford Pepsi commercial) that gorgeous Ash is seriously working.

Samsung Galaxy Tab sales top 1 million units

12/04/2010 02:39:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments


Less than two months after the Galaxy Tab first became available, Samsung announced that global sales of its Android tablet have surpassed the 1 million mark. The South Korea-based company has increased its 2010 sales projections to 1.5 million units as a result. Just over two weeks ago, reports emerged that Samsung had sold 600,000 Galaxy Tab units, which means sales have picked up ahead of the holidays. The Android-powered Galaxy Tab features a 7-inch touchscreen display, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor and dual cameras; and it is currently sold by 120 carriers in 64 countries.

Motorola DROID 2 allegedly explodes in man’s ear

12/04/2010 02:39:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments


According to a report from a local Dallas-Forth Worth Fox affiliate, a man was injured Thursday morning when his Motorola DROID 2 allegedly exploded next to his head. Aron Embry was reportedly trying to make a call when he heard a popping sound come from his phone. He felt no pain initially, but immediately felt blood dripping on his neck. Upon further investigation, Embry realized that the display on his DROID 2 “had appeared to burst outward.” He then drove to his wife’s job to have her take pictures before before calling 911. Embry was in the emergency room for several hours, where he received four stitches in his left ear. He did not suffer any hearing loss as a result of the alleged incident, and he said his DROID 2 smartphone still works despite the damage.

Dallas-area cell phone repair man Daniel Harrison said, based on footage of the phone after the accident, the damage “looks like it was actually user caused.” Harrison gave no evidence to support his claim.

Motorola said it would be contacting Embry to investigate the matter. Considering he drove to his wife’s job to have her take pictures of the injury before seeking medical attention, Motorola can likely look forward to hearing from Embry’s lawyers as well.

Hit the jump for a video of the Fox report.

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