calling

On Monday, Activision officially unveiled Call of Duty: Elite, a supplementary online service to Call of Duty games. Now, London-based newspaper the Guardian reports that Elite will feature a transmedia aspect--a video series based on the first-person shooter series.

"We have engaged some top Hollywood talent to create linear video content that will be exclusive to Elite members," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told the Guardian. "That content is inspired by Call of Duty."

Read more of "Call of Duty: Elite to feature video series" at GameSpot. … Read more

The World Health Organization semi-confirms what we've all suspected for years: it's probably not a good thing that mobile phones cause the cells in your brain to wiggle and change. Also, Lodsys continues its patent trolling unfettered by matters of conscience or threatening letters from Apple, and the PBS hackers turn their attention to Sony, as if Sony didn't have enough problems, already. --Molly

On today's episode of preGame we'll be previewing the biggest gaming event of the year, E3! Join us along with special guest Scott Stein as we dive deep into E3 2011 predictions, anticipated games, and more previews than you can handle; from the Wii 2 to the NGP, and everything in between.

We'll also have an in-depth conversation about today's announcement from Activision regarding Call of Duty Elite. This brand-new premium service will enhance the online multiplayer experience by leaps and bounds. But is it worth a premium price?

All this and much more on this … Read more

When you accidentally call someone from your phone, they may hear background noise in your house, or a conversation they shouldn't be privy to. Even worse, it could be an international number that is extremely expensive to call! Here are three tips to help you prevent pocket-dialing from your Android phone.

1. Install an app that confirms calls before you make them. It is unlikely that you will select someone to call and manage to hit the Call button in the confirmation window. There are many choices for this style of app, in this example Call Confirm … Read more

Almost 25 percent of Internet users have made phone calls via Internet Protocol services such as Skype and Vonage, according to a study (PDF) released yesterday by Pew Internet.

Of the U.S. adult population in general, 19 percent had made Internet calls, based on the poll. On an average day, around 5 percent of Internet users are likely to make a phone call online, the poll found.

The latest findings show a dramatic increase over previous Pew surveys that asked similarly-phrased questions about online phone calls.

In February of 2007, Pew found that only 8 percent of Internet users … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Call of Duty, meet the social network.

Today, Activision announced Call of Duty: Elite, a dedicated social experience for players of the long-running and extremely popular video game franchise.

The service will be initially available this summer to limited numbers of Call of Duty: Black Ops players in beta, and on November 8, all Call of Duty fans will be able to access it when it launches formally alongside the next iteration of the game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Earlier this month, Activision held an invite-only presentation on the Elite service.

The service will be accessible across a number of digital platforms, including all the major video game consoles, Web browsers, and some mobile systems. … Read more

As we reported earlier this month, Activision has confirmed in the form of a reveal trailer that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will ship November 8, 2011.

While it doesn't show actual gameplay footage, there is plenty of eye candy to drool over. Modern Warfare 3 will be set in various locales including New York City, London, Paris, and more. In addition to the action-packed single-player campaign, Modern Warfare 3 will also bring an update to what's considered the best online multiplayer experience on consoles.

Infinity Ward, the team behind the previous two Modern Warfare games, is … Read more

Last night, Yahoo announced the update for the Yahoo Messenger app to work with the iPad, adding voice and video calling for iPad 2 owners, a sleek new iPad-optimized interface, and improved spam management that lets you block one or all add requests from a single view.

Yahoo Messenger (Universal) had already been available on the iPhone and iPod Touch since April 2009. But with this Universal update, iPad users will no longer have to use the unoptimized iPhone client on their larger iPad screens.

No longer just for instant messages, Yahoo Messenger lets you share photos and videos, make … Read more

That Activision Blizzard had a hit on its hands with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops last November is no surprise, considering the game made more than $1 billion in less than two months. However, the publisher today clarified just how big of a hit Black Ops is, announcing during Activision Blizzard's first-quarter earnings report that it is the highest-earning game of all time on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in the U.S. and Europe.

Unfortunately, Activision Blizzard did not release updated sales figures for the Cold War-era shooter. However, the publisher did say that the Treyarch-developed title was the No. 1 overall seller in the U.S. and Europe during the January to March quarter. That performance apparently bests that of Nintendo's Pokemon Black and White, Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and EA's Dead Space 2.

Read more of "Call of Duty: Black Ops best-seller on 360, PS3, PC" at GameSpot. … Read more