Arrow Hits Its Mark

Arrow, the CW's new series based on DC Comics' Green Arrow, premiered last night to some superhero-sized ratings (as per CW standards, natch). - via EW.com

Read IGN's Review of the Arrow Pilot!

Arrow's 4 million viewers, and 1.3 rating, might not seem enormous, but it marked the network's most-watched series debut in total viewers since The Vampire Diaries in 2009.  Arrow's premiere also helped give Supernatural its best ratings in two years, with 2.6 million viewers.

On the other side of the dial, ABC's critically-acclaimed new series Nashville trounced NBC's critically-poo poo'd new series Chicago Fire, 9 million viewers to 6.4 million viewers.

Read IGN's Review of the Nashville Pilot here!

Source : ign[dot]com

Gambit #2 Review

An ongoing Gambit series is a tough sell. Though the character is fairly popular even by X-Men standards, much of that is due to residual nostalgia from the early '90s and X-Men: The Animated Series rather than any recent, memorable comic storylines. Gambit is one of the few characters whom even Marvel writers will admit to not liking very much. James Asmus had his work cut out for him coming into this series. And while there's fun to be had in Gambit's new series, the book still hasn't done much to justify its own existence after two issues.

Fresh off robbing a collector's secret stash of supervillain artifacts, Gambit now finds himself involuntarily bonded to a mystery device and in need of some answers. What ensues is another heist, this time in a museum setting. The focus on thievery and heists provides the book with a slight touch of excitement. And unlike issue #1, Gambit doesn't rely on a series of extremely convenient and contrived occurrences to succeed in his goals here.

Asmus still relies overly much on Gambit's narration, not as a means of exploring his character or motivations, but merely providing exposition and pushing the plot forward. And with the relative lack of supporting characters in this issue, Gambit really has no one to talk to but himself. Worse, it's still difficult to say what exactly is driving Gambit in this series. There's the vague notion that he wants to return to his thieving roots, but why? What is he really trying to accomplish beyond removing the pesky artifact from his body? That deeper emotional core needs to become apparent if this series is going to have any sort of lasting appeal.

Clay Mann's art helps keep the heist sequences engaging, at least. Mann has a real talent for rendering powerful, fluid figures that Asmus puts to good use. I do wish that the coloring meshed better with the pencils and inks, however. The colors are too shimmery and ethereal for what would otherwise be a realistically rendered issue.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

New iPhone Confirmed for First Nano-SIM, Carriers Now Testing

Back in May, Apple won a hard-fought victory with the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) over the next SIM card standard, commonly referred to as "nano-SIM."

Rivals Nokia, Research in Motion and Motorola Mobility were eager to have ETSI adopt its own standard for a smaller SIM card, but its design proposal proved too radical for the committee, who instead approved adoption of an Apple-designed fourth form factor (4FF).

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While it may seem trivial to most consumers, as manufacturers are forced to include more radios and other components inside their smartphones, the size of a SIM card definitely matters -- and thus the push for a smaller standard that all device makers can adopt.

Apple was among the first to adopt the micro-SIM, which first made its debut on the iPhone 4; the "nano-SIM" is even smaller at 8.8mm x 0.67mm, about 40 percent smaller than a micro-SIM, while remaining backward compatibility with the larger designs.

On top of a recent rumor that European carriers were stockpiling nano-SIMs to prepare for Apple's next iPhone this fall comes a report that appears to confirm that the handset maker will indeed roll out its victorious standard with the so-called iPhone 5.

Photo via CNET

"Multiple carrier sources" have confirmed to BGR that Apple is currently supplying its partners with nano-SIM adapters for testing the cards on their networks, which includes onetime exclusive carrier AT&T here in the United States.

Hard to imagine how they'll reduce the size of a SIM card any smaller than it already is, but Apple is a company known for small products, so if anyone can do it, it's sure to be them...

Source : ign[dot]com