Review: A Minecraft review isn’t really possible, but we’ll try anyway

How the hell do you write a review for a game that’s been out since 2009? A game that you’ve played across many changes, with additions and subtractions, a game without a box, a user manual, or, really, any sort of guiding pedagogy. I’ve personally spent at least 100 hours, probably more, playing this procedurally generated oddity of a video game across the beta and official versions, on servers, my own server, and in single … Continue Reading

Google TV 2.0: With apps and more, it’s finally ready for a close-up (review)

Almost a year after its launch, Google TV owners are finally beginning to receive a major update that will dramatically improve the service with the addition of apps, a cleaner interface and more. But will the update make a dent in the many criticisms — sluggishness, and a lack of web video content, to name a few — lodged against it?

After living with the latest version of Google TV for the past few weeks, … Continue Reading

Review: Kinect Disneyland Adventures is the most unique and most disappointing Kinect game yet

For the better part of five years, I worked as  Disney cast member. I spent day after day learning the biggest secrets of a company that protects fiercely and, as a result, I lost what Disney and its fan know as “the magic.” The extraordinary became mundane,  and in a weird way, I began to step away. Who knew it would take a virtual trip back to reignite my love?

In that sense, Kinect Disneyland … Continue Reading

Consumer Reports tips hat to iPhone 4S, still thinks Android phones are better

Consumer Reports just can’t avoid getting in the mobile fanboy crosshairs.

The review outfit today officially recommended Apple’s iPhone 4S, after famously dissing last year’s iPhone 4 because of antenna problems.

But despite the recommendation, Consumer Reports still rated several Android phones higher than the iPhone 4S — which will surely rile Apple fans once again.

Consumer Reports’ Mike Gigas writes, “In special reception tests of the iPhone 4S that duplicated those we did on … Continue Reading

Angie’s List hopes to raise up to $130M in initial public offering

Angie’s List, a niche site helping people find and review plumbers, building contractors, doctors and other service professionals, plans to raise up to $130 million in its upcoming public offering, which could value the company at more than $720 million.

The IPO has been planned since late August. In updated SEC documents filed today, the company indicated that it plans to offer about 10 million shares at up to $13 apiece. After the offering, 49 … Continue Reading

iPhone 4S review: There’s something about Siri

The iPhone 4S is a quietly revolutionary mobile device, even though it looks exactly the same as last year’s iPhone 4. The big pull this time around isn’t the hardware — though the faster processor and revamped camera are certainly welcome — it’s the integrated virtual assistant Siri.

More than a smarter version of the iPhone’s previous voice command feature, Siri represents the first step towards widespread adoption of consumer artificial intelligence (AI). It’s the … Continue Reading

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iPhone 4S reviews: New camera, CPU, and Siri are a winning combination

Not surprisingly, reviewers are gaga for Apple’s new iPhone 4S. While it seems like less of a compelling upgrade for iPhone 4 users, everyone else should find a lot to love about the iPhone 4S, from its new 8-megapixel camera, to the scarily smart Siri virtual assistant.

The iPhone 4S also sports Apple’s new dual-core A5 chip, which first appeared in the iPad 2. Most reviewers found that the new processor led to a noticeable … Continue Reading

Centzy crowdsources price info for local comparison shopping

New York City-based Centzy makes it easy for you to find the best place to get that haircut you’ve been putting off. And unlike Yelp, it has accurate pricing about local companies to let you make a fully informed decision.

The company was a part of NYC’s Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator’s first class, which presented on stage during ERA’s demo day today.

Centzy says less than 25 percent of local service businesses put their prices online, … Continue Reading

Yelp cooperating with FTC on antitrust lawsuit against Google

Following Google’s recent purchase of Zagat, social review and discovery site Yelp will cooperate with the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation’s antitrust lawsuit against the search giant, the company announced today.

Since Google now directly competes against Yelp in terms of reviewing local businesses via its Places product, Yelp agreed to the FTC’s request to discuss its experiences with Google’s conduct.

“We have responded to these requests and told officials that we believe Google has acted … Continue Reading

Review: Gears of War 3 is like Band of Brothers with lady warriors and real closure

Editor note: Some story spoilers.

The season for epic games has begun. Gamers worldwide start shooting and save the world. Epic Games‘ Gears of War 3 launches today, and it brings closure to a sci-fi shooting game series that has kept millions of fans loyal to the Xbox 360 video game console.

Gears of War 3 is one of the blockbusters of the all-important fall selling season, and it has sold more than 13 million … Continue Reading

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Yelp CEO: IPO window is still open, Yelp on track

Despite recent market turmoil and questions about public market stability, the window for new initial public offerings has not closed — and local discovery site Yelp is still on track for its IPO — Yelp chief executive officer Jeremy Stoppelman said today at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.

“We’re interested in going public in some reasonable time frame, we’ve hired a chief financial officer,” he said during a Q&A session. “Unless the sky … Continue Reading

Google Maps update for Android shows one reason Google acquired Zagat

Google quietly updated its Google Maps app for Android this week, a move that helps shed more light on the company’s local search strategy and its decision to purchase reviews service Zagat yesterday.

Specifically, Google Maps version 5.10.0 now lets users add specific photos to Places and automatically shows places they’ve rated 4 or 5 stars on the map, which gives them a better look at places they’ve enjoyed in the past. To illustrate, you … Continue Reading

Google acquires Zagat, strikes a major blow against Yelp

Google has bought  Zagat, the popular restaurant reviews service. The search giant announced the news on its company blog today and said users will immediately start seeing Zagat’s content integrated in Google searches and Google Maps.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Moving forward, Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering—delighting people with their impressive array of reviews, ratings and insights, while enabling people everywhere to find extraordinary (and ordinary) experiences around … Continue Reading

Warner Bros. beats out Yahoo to buy Rotten Tomatoes owner Flixster

Social movie site Flixster’s long acquisition saga has now come to an end. Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group announced this morning that it has acquired the site, a deal that also includes the popular movie ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which Flixster bought last year.

The deal would put WB in charge of one of the biggest social movie sites on the web — Flixster has some 25 million users, and its apps have received over … Continue Reading

Meal review app Chewsy adds photos, so you can share your food porn

Chewsy, creator of a mobile app that lets you review restaurant dishes, launched version 2.0 of its app today, bringing with it support for photos and an easy way to find nearby food.

The first version of Chewsy, which launched in December, let you quickly rate specific dishes at restaurants on a five-spoon scale. Think of it as a more finely tuned version of Yelp, specifically focused on meals. But the developers quickly realized something … Continue Reading

Rotten Tomatoes owner Flixster in acquisition talks with Yahoo, others

Social movie site Flixster, which purchased the popular movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes early last year, is in acquisition talks with Yahoo and other potential buyers, sources tell All Things Digital.

The sources say the acquisition talks are “substansive,” with a price range between $60 and $90 million.

If true, that’s a decent return on investment for Flixster, which has raised $7 million in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pinnacle Ventures and others. News Corp. … Continue Reading

iPad 2 reviews proclaim it king of the tablets, but not an essential upgrade

When it comes to iPad 2 reviews, there aren’t many surprises. It’s thinner, faster, and lighter, just like Apple claimed when it was unveiled last week.

Reviewers all agree that it’s still the best tablet on the market right now. After all, it’s Apple’s second stab at a tablet, while most competitors are still struggling to launch their first entries (Samsung is one of the rare exceptions with last year’s Galaxy Tab).

For new tablet … Continue Reading

Google launches local business-recommendation engine Hotpot

Google today announced on its blog the release of Hotpot, a recommendation engine for local businesses based on you and your friends’ ratings. Hotpot is an addition to the company’s Google’s Places initiative, a campaign to get local business owners to claim their venues, verify information and engage with customers.

Hotpot is a pretty simple concept, but when connected with a business directory of more than 50 million places, it can be a powerful consumer … Continue Reading

LinkedIn buys business review site ChoiceVendor

LinkedIn announced its second acquisition today with its purchase of ChoiceVendor, a review site for business services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

We initially described ChoiceVendor as “Yelp-for-businesses” — a description that goes a long way towards explaining why LinkedIn would be interested in owning it. The site allows businesses to review business service providers and find things like a new accounting or web design firm in a pinch.

Following the announcement … Continue Reading

DEMO: SocialSmack helps consumers learn and talk smack about brands

SocialSmack is one of 70 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Fall 2010 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After our selection, the companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.

If you’ve ever had a great experience — or a terrible one — with a particular brand that you just needed to share right away, SocialSmack is for you. The Austin, Texas-based startup has created … Continue Reading