Archive for April, 2008
For those of us who were hoping for a price cut with Nintendo’s Wii or DS, then you will not be happy to learn that Reuters had an interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and said that it is unlikely that there will be any price reductions. So it looks like there will be no price cut any time soon, maybe not at all this year. In the interview Iwata said “”Our earnings projection for the year is not based on hardware price cuts, and I don’t think we are going to need them”.
The thing is when you sit back and think about it, why would Nintendo want to reduce the price when the company are selling more consoles than the Sony PS3 and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft. However; Nintendo Wii sales are only going to get better as the launch of Mario Kart and Wii Fit has proved very popular, and with the launch of even more titles rivals Microsoft and Sony must have a lot to worry about and this has been evident with both consoles being reduced in price a number of times.
Nintendo have always done well in Japan as well as over in America however; Europe has never embraced their consoles, but this has changed with the launch of the ever popular Wii and the cool portable DS. It seems that no matter whom you talk to they own either a Nintendo or a Nintendo DS, the Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3 might have better graphics, but when it comes to the fun factor nothing comes close.
Source - Reuters
As a currently Apple iPhone owner it did make me a bit jealous that the hard drive was increased from the 8GB that I have, but then we all know the 3G iPhone is out this year and its said to be sooner rather than later. Now this new version will have many extras, but as a current owner should the first generation iPhone be dumped for the new 3G and improved version?
You will be lucky to find 8GB iPhones in local stores, as they are all clearing stock ready for the 3G phone, also we have heard that specs have been leaked from a “trusted source” of Engadget’s. This leaked information has the 3G iPhone sporting GPS and that is a massive improvement on the first iPhone, as you can see in the photo below it looks like the 3G phone will also have a glossy black finish and chrome volume buttons (although that photo is said to be the current iphone with a black case on it), more rounded edges and a flush headphone jack.
While we are talking rumors, let us add that pocket lint are reporting today that the next-gen iPhone may also feature haptic touch technology. It’s a shame we do not have any information on the storage, camera, battery life or weight. It’s safe to say that the camera will be increased as the current 2 megapixels is a bit weak, it would be nice to see that increased to 5 megapixels. Personally I would imagine that I would be upgrading to the new 3G iPhone, as GPS would be a nice feature, also the better camera and more than 8GB storage.
News has come to light that HTC will be holding a massive press event on 6th May and those lucky guys over at Pocket-Lint will be going. This global press event has got many people talking, which means that there are plenty of rumors circulating. Some people believe that the smartphome maker will announce the launch of their Andriod handset however; this seems to be a bit of wishful thinking.
Some of the latest suggestions are that this could be the announcement of the launch of the HTC Touch Diamond, which is their latest Windows Mobile SmartPhone. This new cell phone will see it replace the older Touch Cruise as well as the Touch Pro and will be on the T-Mobile network.
Some of the latest specs to be featured on the much anticipated HTC Touch Diamond are a 2.8-inch VGA screen and a 3.1MP camera with flash, 4GB internal flash storage as well as microSD expansion. The addition of Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi is just great news. That is not all as the handset also features Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, eGPS as well as an Orientation sensor.
Once we know some more we will keep you informed, and no doubt Pocket-Lint will have all the latest once they have attended the press event.
Source – Pocket-Lint
Over in the UK or the US we do not get to see many new Philips handsets on the market, and one of those reasons is because Philips are now concentrating on the Chinese market. The reason that China loves Philips new range of cell phones is because the Xenium 9@9 long battery life series. However the electronics maker has a new cell in the form of the Philips M600 which features SRS WOW Technology, the company hope that they are able to target music lovers.
SRS WOW as you know features in a host of other products, I have it on my laptop as well as my TV and adds greater sound quality as well as surround sound capabilities without the need for extra speakers. SRS WOW Technology is also meant to restore spatial cues that sometimes get lost while playing music through small speakers. As you can see the new Philips M600 is a much more stylish handset from Philips with its candy bar design. The handset has MP3 quick keys so you are able to access the MP3 player quickly with just one click.
For now it looks as though it is only China who will be getting their hands on the new Philips M600, but maybe later this year other countries will get to have the handset. The Philips M600 comes with a 2-inch TFT screen and has 256k colors, as well as a 1.3 megapixel camera. As the phone is designed for music lovers, there are Classical, Pop, Rock and SRS WOW equalizer settings.
The phone has a music playback time of up to 40 hours on just one charge.
Source - Slash Phone
I have been reporting on different products and technology for many years now and it seems Apple have done very well for themselves, they have changed from the Apple Mac Computer vs. PC days to getting their brand in many product areas. The company have come from when the Apple logo was allowed by the Beatles if they did not enter into the music business (well that all changed, remember the lawsuit) to these days being more than just Mac’s.
When I say “Apple The Benchmark Brand”, it could not be truer as many of Apple’s products and services have every product after them compared to it. Nearly all new music download services are compared to Apple iTunes, most portable music/media players are compared to the iPod Touch and other iPod products, the lightest and thinnest laptops are now getting compared to the Apple Macbook Air and the best cell phones get compared to the Apple iPhone.
You got to say “Well Done” to Apple for making all this possible, although we have also heard many bad things about these products, the Macbook Air has had its share of problems and the iPods have been known for their share. This will happen when your at the top, but what’s next for Apple and if they enter another product or service area will they set a new benchmark again?
The future is never certain but Apple are now a more established brand in more homes around the world than ever before…keeping there is the hard bit.
Today Nokia have launched three new phones in the shape of the Nokia 3600 slide, the Nokia 6600 slide and 6600 fold. Nokia have said that these new phones are “beautiful to use and beautiful to behold”, now I am not sure of many cell phone uses that want an ugly phone and most of us want as many features as possible for the price.
The Nokia 6600 fold is said to have “smart and sophisticated looks” and you can display a bright 16 million-color 2.13 inch OLED screen with one touch of a button. Other features on the 6600 fold include a high-gloss surface, 3G technology, 2-megapixel camera with double LED flash, and quick access to Yahoo! Go and Flickr. The 6600 fold will be priced at around 275 EUR.
The Nokia 6600 slide calls itself “Compact and balanced”, this handset is not only one of Nokia’s smallest sliders to date, but it also has a smooth feel to it when your opening the handset. Features on the 6600 slide include an aluminum center key, glossy/high-quality steel covers, a 3.2 megapixel camera, large with 16 million color 2.2 inch QVGA display, integrated Nokia Maps that can be enhanced if you also buy the Nokia Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W. Expect to pay around 250 EUR for the 6600 slide.
The Nokia 3600 slide is the contemporary phone, it features a blend gradated colors, a high gloss surface and ceramic paint and metal. It’s not just looks with the 3600 slide, as it is also the first Nokia phone to feature background noise cancellation. Other features on the 3600 slide include an optional 4 microSD card for the built-in music player, a 3.2 megapixel camera that also sports an autofocus and 2 LED flash. There is a TV-out feature and pre-installed Nokia Maps as on the 6600 slide. Expect to pay around 175 EUR.
PureDepth, based in Redwood Shores CA, has developed what they call Multi-layer Display (MLD) technology. Essentially, the idea is to build displays that are in fact two or more layers of LCD panel that share a common back-light source – as data is displayed on the various layers, a depth effect is created. Optical correlation, compatibility and interferences between display layers are managed via patented interstitial elements within the optical stack of a MLD. Each display panel receives independent control signals and, through the coordination of the images, a true multi-layer visual display is presented to the user. The content of the images, combined with smart coordination can provide remarkable and eye-catching results for static images and even more so with full in-motion video sequences.
The technology lends itself to a broad array of applications. PureDepth is currently actively developing several of these: the company has signed agreements with Samsung for development of displays and mobile handsets, and is also collaborating with SANYO on mobile handsets, gaming technology, and automobile electronics (including in-car navigation). In fact, Samsung recently featured PureDepth’s display technology at CeBIT, the world’s largest technology trade show. The public-information configuration, placed adjacent to Samsung’s groundbreaking 80-inch flat panel display, received significant traffic and rave reviews.
The company expects to see first products – in gaming – hit the streets during 2008, with more products and applications to follow shortly thereafter.
This year will be the year of the ultra portable, low-cost PC. While chip maker Intel is putting its might behind its Atom low-cost processors made specifically for such small-screen devices, the segment has aroused the interest of PC makers HP and Dell, which will launch ultra portables this year.
Players like Asus, which already has the 7-inch Eee PC, will also launch an 8.9-inch version with more features, while closer home, HCL Infosystems is banking on its MiLeap laptops.
“We will see many smaller laptops come into the market with players like HP and Dell launching their products later this year. There is certainly potential for these devices. If we look at markets like Malaysia and Philippines that are similar to India, Asus has seen demand exceed supply for its Eee PC,” says Gartner principal analyst Diptarup Chakraborti. The laptops are targeted at school students, women, salesforce and first time PC users.
Dell plans to launch an 8.9-inch laptop made by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Compal Electronics for less than $499 (Rs 19,960). HP’s Mini-Note PC, targeted at the education segment, will soon be available at a starting price of $499.
Asus, which has sold over one million Eee PCs since its launch late last year, made its India debut early this year with two 7-inch laptop models, priced Rs 14,000 and Rs 18,000.
“We don’t just compete on low cost but look at a more specific target audience – children and first-time PC users with simple needs of Internet access and basic multimedia functions,” says Asus India product manager for notebooks, Francis Kao. Asus India, he said, is selling a few thousand units per month and is looking at collaborating with schools to promote the laptops.
Indian PC firm HCL Infosystems launched its MiLeap range of ultra portable PCs in January this year. Initially launched with a Linux version priced Rs 13,990 onwards, the company recently launched a Windows XP-powered MiLeap for Rs 16,990, touted as the cheapest Windows XP laptop in the market.
“The response to MiLeap has been good. It’s still new and the newly-launched Windows XP-powered version will offer greater choice to the consumers,” said HCL Infosystems executive VP George Paul. Analysts say the response to the product has been muted in the first quarter but concede that the new category will take time to catch up.
“Indian consumers still have to get used to flash drives, which are the mainstay of these products,” points out Gartner’s Mr Chakaraborti.
Hovering around Rs 14,000, the entry level price of these laptops will go down further, says Intel’s OEM business director Prakash Bagri. Intel hopes to play a role in that - it will launch the Atom microprocessors in June that are specifically designed for low-cost, Internet-centric devices. The chipmaker expects that many of the ultra portable devices entering the market later this year will be powered by Atom. “There is an enormous potential for these PCs. In markets like India, many first time PC buyers are buying a laptop,” he said.
In 2007, there were 28 PCs per 1000 people in India, according to Gartner. Laptop sales in the country have grown at a triple-digit rate in the last three quarters, including the first quarter of calendar year 2008.
This is the new DIAMOND Radeon HD 3650 1GB which needs to find its place in the graphics card market, the decision to include a HDMI port was a good one and means it’s a decent option for HTPC users. The 1GB of RAM does seem a bit pointless, though, as performance on a whole is not what you would expect.
This AMD based HD 3650 graphics card was given a hands-on review by Tweak Town and covered over 15 pages, they summed up by saying “the last time we looked at a Diamond graphics card we were quite impressed, but this HD 3650 is a bit lack luster with poor performance and a very limited package. Personally I think that Diamond should have chosen to include a HDMI cable with the bundle and market it as more of a HTPC card.
Its single slot design and decent noise levels mean it would be a good addition for a HTPC.
The Diamond HD 3650 1GB isn’t a bad card, it’s just nothing all that great. These amounts of memory should really be reserved for only the highest end of cards. Dropping back to 512MB and adding a bit more of a bundle could have meant that the price would be similar and performance almost identical.
The higher end Diamond stuff is exciting, but unfortunately a card like this one with a minimal bundle doesn’t have a lot to offer people”.
Read the 15-page review.
It’s only been a couple of days since we posted a first look with some hands-on photos of the Nintendo Wii Fit and Balance Board, on that day I decided to spend time everyday using Wii Fit and to see just how good it was, as the Nintendo Wii needed to get some time because it was just sitting there not being used. Now only two days later I am amazed at how good Wii Fit is, it has changed everything for the Wii and not only am I using the it to keep fit, but also my wife, daughter and son.
I can tell you first hand that the Balance Board and Wii Fit is truly life changing, I not only know I am overweight and have a high BMI but I am even learning about the way I stand and how it is very wrong and bad for my health. Last night I was waiting for my brother to arrive outside his home and I realized I was standing with all my weight on one leg and I corrected this to a better posture like it shows you in Wii Fit…things are changing already.
There has been times when I go to bed feeling fat as I have eaten late, but over the last two evenings I felt great as I spent 30 minutes on the Balance Board doing some step, press ups and even some jogging on the spot which works amazingly well. Now my whole family is not only keeping fit and working towards our own goals, but we are also competing for the top place on the scoreboard for each task. Even my mother-in-law came over and used the Wii Fit, I am also sure we’re not the only family that has had its daily life changed thanks to Wii Fit….gaming and fitness is going to change many lives and save money on healthcare costs.
If you have not got Wii Fit yet, I would strongly recommend you do so, as my mind has been changed from the view that the Wii is for kids and the PS3 and 360 are the real games machines to the Wii being in another interactive league compared to the other next-gen consoles.
In Summery: Wii Fit 10/10, best £69 I have spent in a long time.