calling

Call of Duty: Black Ops best-seller on 360, PS3, PC

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

On Call: Are you carrying your phone wrong?

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

Next Monday, the Environmental Quality Committee of the California State Senate will hold its first hearing on a bill that would require retailers in the state to inform consumers of the possible health risks of cell phone use. SB 932, which was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), would add notices on product packaging and at the point of sale explaining that phones emit radio frequency (RF) energy. If it passes, it would be the first statewide law of … Read more

Do you drive like a jerk? There's an app for that

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

The white iPhone 4 launches at long last

Yahoo sells off Delicious to the founders of YouTube

Microsoft admits a security breach on the Xbox

Google adds new voice features to the Chrome browser

State Farm Insurance launches an app that will tell you if you drive like a jerk

preGame 49: Call of the Dead; PSN outages; L.A. Noire

What a week for video game news! As PSN outages continue to plague PlayStation 3s, Sony has finally declared the incident a "compromise of personal information" and a "malicious act." Does this mean our credit card info has been tossed into the Internet void? Nevermind that, we just want to be able to play Mortal Kombat online again.

Last night's Tribeca Film Festival screening of L.A. Noire marked the first time a video game was spotlighted at the big event. Jeff was there for the screening and Q&A that preceded; plus he'll give us some thoughts on an entire case he played a few weeks ago.

Since Nintendo has confirmed that the successor to the Wii will debut at E3 2011 and go on sale next year, we'll play an interesting voicemail that speculates on how players will interact with the new console.… Read more

On Call: Best carriers for recycling your phone

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

Though you probably know that Friday is Earth Day, I'd wager that you weren't aware that it's also National Cell Phone Recycling Week. Created two years ago by the Environmental Protection Agency, the week encourages U.S. wireless subscribers to recycle and reuse old handsets rather than discarding them into a drawer, or worse yet, throwing them away in the trash.

It's a noble effort, indeed, particularly when you consider how often we're encouraged to … Read more

Get a 1.3-megapixel Webcam for $9.99 shipped

I don't think video calls will ever fully replace regular phone calls, but there are indeed times when it's nice to see a face at the other end. And all you need to make that happen is a program like Skype and a Webcam.

If you're not happy with the low-resolution Webcam that came with your laptop or your computer just doesn't have one, here's a deal you're sure to like: Today only, Cowboom has a Creative Live Cam VF0415 1.3-megapixel Webcam for $4.99, plus $5 for shipping.

Unlike a lot of … Read more

Ask Maggie: AT&T to cut T-Mobile Wi-Fi call feature?

All good things must come to an end. At least that's likely the case for T-Mobile USA customers who like using the carrier's Wi-Fi calling feature on certain smartphones.

In this week's column, I discuss whether I think AT&T will keep the Unlicensed Mobile Access Wi-Fi calling feature that T-Mobile offers on some of its smartphones. I also discuss Samsung's problem with long delays for Android OS updates. And I explain to a Boost Mobile customer that he has two years to pick out a new phone before Sprint turns out the lights on … Read more

AT&T still No. 1 on dropped calls, but iPhone owners seem satisifed

The AT&T iPhone 4 drops more calls than Verizon's model, yet customers of both carriers seem about equally satisifed, according to a ChangeWave Research study released yesterday.

Questioning a total of 4,068 mobile phone users in a survey completed March 28, ChangeWave found that 82 percent of the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 owners polled and 80 percent of those using AT&T's iPhone 4 said they were very satisified overall. The Verizon iPhone has been on the market since February, when it ended AT&T's long run of exclusivity for the Apple … Read more

TrapCall gets wrong day to earn Apple approval

After 201 days under review in the Apple's iTunes App approval process, the new TrapCall found an awkward news day to emerge onto the market.

The TrapCall app from Teltech Systems goes hand in hand with the $5-per-month service of the same name. Users who receive calls from any blocked number can tap the sleep button on their iPhones twice to decline the call and pass it over to TrapCall. The service runs the declined number and sends the user a text message with the name, telephone number, and address of the mystery caller.

With Apple's approval, TrapCall is now available for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android. TelTech claims its service and app are unique. The most obvious question vexing the app (a good band name) is, if the owner of the blocked number chose to keep their identity a secret, is the app a violation of that privacy?

It certainly doesn't help when--just as TrapCall finally got its moment in the sun yesterday--darkness fell on other popular apps like Pandora as federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced an investigation into how honest developers were in what information they were gathering about users--and what they were doing with that data.… Read more