Sony Playstation Phone Update : It will not play PSP Games

The PSP is not PlayStationPhone afterall. While the latest confirmation says that the device is "real" it offers not just a Playstation Phone, but introduces new hardware technologies. The screen itself is said to be par with Apples retina display. While it can not play PSP games which I think is a good point also, some developers are starting to develop for the device. Price of games are expected to be around $10 or less. When will it launch? Perhaps Sony is gonna go with a "Dynamic Duo" comeback with the Anzu.

Source : MobileCrunch

Acer Iconia Dual Screen Tablet

Are you familiar with the concept of Nintendo DS? A foldable device with 2 screens on each folded sides. Well that concept is being taken to Tablet PC some vendors. After Toshiba's Liberetto, now it's Acer's turn. Yes the Tablet PC war is exploding and Acer is the first one to be using a dual screen concept. The Iconia has 2x 14inch touch screens. Yes, that's the same size of your normal 14 inch laptop with the keyboard side replaced by another touch screen. Now typing on the lower part of the screen is not as comfortable than on a keyboard. But you can leave that out because it is not intended to be a laptop anyway. I'd rather like some thin soft keyboard that can be put on top of the lower screen as an option for typing. I would love to see some multitasking with this device, using the double screen at advantage.

Despite itself a tablet PC, the specs are like a usual 14 inch Laptop :
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Intel Core i5-480M / 560M / 580M CPU,
up to 4GB of DDR3 memory,
2 x 14-inch multitouch displays (1366x768 resolution),
Intel HD graphics (128MB RAM),
VGA / HDMI outputs,
microphone and a S/PDIF interface.
320/500/640/750GB hard drive,
Acer's CrystalEye webcam (1280x1024 resolution),
802.11b/g/n WiFi,
Bluetooth 3.0+HS,
integrated 3G WWAN,
gigabit Ethernet,
four-cell battery
weight : 6.18 pounds.
2 USB 2.0 ports, and 1 USB 3.0 jack.

For a full review and hands on, check out Engadget
Source Engadget

Archos 101 Internet Tablet now on stores

There are more and more choices for you who are chasing for a tablet, and I'm sure there will be more to come. Archos 101 is an Android tablet that deserves your attention. It looks small but it has a 10' screen with 1024 x 600 (1280 x 700 max) resolution. Archos emphasizes on Internet and HD Multimedia on this tablet. The good thing is it's got a USB slave/host, so you can plug in your phone or modem and surf the internet with it. It does not support 3G connection though. One good feature that it has Samba and UpNP protocol so you can play any media that's in your PC on your Tablet through WiFi connection. The HDMI output allows you to display your screen on your TV/Monitor, and maybe play some 3D games as the device is equipped with decent graphics. For the price, I don't know if it is true but the website says for 8GB $299 and the 16GB for $349. Pretty good for budget.

Some featured specs :

• Internal: 8 & 16 GB**** flash 
• External: Micro SD Slot (SDHC compatible)
• ARM Cortex A8 at 1 GHz with DSP 
• Graphic accelerator: 3D OpenGL ES 2.0  
• Webcam
• WiFi, Bluetooth

Keyboard Buddy : use a QWERTY on your iPhone

Typing with buttons may be more comfortable for people. The Boxwave Keyboard body is for them. It has a container where you place the iPhone. The device literally hugs the iPhone making it an extended slider phone. It makes the iPhone bigger of course when put together. It uses a sliding mechanism rather than a docking station, so when it isn't slided out, it maintains the iPhone form. This QWERTY will go out on December 14 for a pricetag of about $70.

Source Engadget

Sharp plans to release a 3D smartphone

We've got 3DS coming next year to wait and now Sharp has announced its intentions to sell 3D-display smartphones in the United States, China, and India in 2011. It will also be like the 3DS, you don't need glasses to view the screen. I don't think the idea of putting 3D into your phone will please people in using it. One of the Nintendo 3DS feature is the 3D depth slider which you can adjust the 3D depth. Nintendo claims the reason for that is if you watch 3D screen live too often it'll somehow bring fatigue to the eye. I wonder what contents will suite a smartphone with 3D. But I'm sure there will be a lot to come. Let's see what happens in spring 2011

Via Engadget
Source Mainichi Daily News

Super Computer top list : China's Tianhe-1A

The latest top 500 supercomputers list is out, and we have a new winner, the Tianhe-1A from the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, China. Tianhe has a peak of 2566000 gigaflops (2.67 Petaflops) outnumbering the second place Jaguar from DOE/SC/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
having 1759000 (1.7 petaflops).
The machine is located at China's National Supercomputer Centre in Tianjin. Most of the processing power comes from graphics cards. It is expected to be doing research and simulations to help Chinese weather forecasts and to help with work to locate undersea oil fields.

Via BBC News
Source Top 500 Supercomputers Site

Apple iPad vs BlackBerry Playbook - Browsing Power..!!

There is not much of what we can really get to know from the Blackberry Playbook as it is still yet to be officially released. But here's a video from RIM showing you their browsing capabilities. I won't spoil the results. Happy watching..



via Engadget

THQ uDraw Gametablet for Wii. Wacom like?

The uDraw Gametablet is intended for casual gamers, majorly for children involving drawing games but possible for adults as well. You put your wiimote into the slot, which then device can connect. Off course you don't get just the device, but a software titled uDraw Studio as well for simplified drawing.
There are 2 titles to come that support this device which is Dood's Big Adventure, and Pictionary. It prices around $70. Cannot be comparable to a Wacom Bamboo, but certainly good for young talents to just mess around and explore their creativity.

Source Engadget

Brookstone Universal Pillow Remote for your Living Room

The Pillow Remote Control has databases containing codes for over 500 remote control devices. Powered by batteries, you can make a cozy out of your remote while enjoying your movies.Price is said to be about $30. Make sure you don't sleep on it.

Via Engadget
Source Brookstone

Kinect Hack - Using the depth Camera to create 3D scenes

Just within a couple of days after the release, Kinect is likely to gain attention for many developers and Hackers. Thanks to Hector Martin who started this feat. Recently, Oliver Kreyl from UC Davis made use of the Depth Camera to capture 3D scenes. On his website, he claimed that he didn't use any of Hector Martin's code, but the "magic incantations" that need to be sent to the Kinect to enable the cameras and start streaming. The 3D reconstruction code is entirely written from scratch in C++, using his own Vrui VR toolkit for 3D rendering management and interaction.

The captured scene is not full 3D, it only renders maximum to what the camera can see. As on the image below, when the scene is rotated, it cannot display half of the "other side" which the Kinect camera cannot see. But it does a stunning job in calculating the depth of items.

Hope there is more to come in the future. I can imagine using 2 Kinect sensors on 2 sides facing one another creating a full 3D scene. Hardware for only 300 bucks, and you even get a game.

Via Engadget
Source : Oliver Kreyl

HP Slate 500 vs Apple iPad

The HP Slate is already out now for a price tag of $799. According to Engadget, even HP had some troubles in shipping delays due to the extraordinary demand. How good is the device? Here's a comparison with Apple iPad by Gizmo. The price tag said it was 549-599, but that's not true concerning the video was taken before release. But $799 is a good value for the targeted business people.


Short Review :
1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor, 2GB of RAM, 64GB SSD, Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator for handling 1080p video. Comes with a docking station of 2 usb ports, and HDMI interface. The device has 1 usb port as well. The nice thing is the capacitive screen but enabling you to use a pen making it like some Wacom device. But the OS that comes with it, Windows 7 is not designed for good on screen touch keyboard. But the pen comes handy in assessing those problems.

XBox 360 Update

Okay, the Kinect is out for 150 bucks (and that's in $s and €s), and you get 1 game as well, but do you know what it costs Microsoft to build one? From EETimes, the rough Bill Of Material for 1 kinect is $56. Well that's business folks. The rest is probably to cover the research and time spendings.

Reviews from IGN about the new improved XBox 360 D-Pad. Before, gamers are complaining about the Controllers D-Pad response, and the solution that has come is to make a hybrid disc and cross D-Pad making it. "Microsoft's hardware team has essentially taken the Xbox 360's existing d-pad design and used a switch mechanism to isolate the 4-way 'plus' shape for better tactile recognition and performance, while at the same time maintaining the versatility of an 8-way directional 'disk' system".
In the end, IGN gave it an outstanding 9.0 Score.

Playstation Move - How is it going?

Hey folks, the Kinect is out now and the console wars expected to be seen since E3 2009 is here right now. PS3 Move vs XBox 360 Kinect, and maybe vs the Wii Motion Plus. Lots of opinions come in a discussion on Engadget.

Most people don't like the glowing sphere, but actually that's the important part for the controller because that's what the camera tracks. Well, I personally haven't tried it yet but I'm not really into it. None of the Playstation Move games are Platinum or "good enough" games and there's not really much into it comparing to the usual games. Sony's gotta get more games into this platform.

Source : Engadget

iPhone 5G Transformers..!!

The iPhone 4G is just out but people have been making videos about their expectations even creating their own version of the next iPhone.
This one should appear in the next Transformers movie as a Decepticon device. We might have a Galaxy S Version as well, LOL. Check check it out. All credits goes to MrStesuv

Windows 7 and Mac's long flight - Funny Commercial

Vendors are getting creative to promote their products. Take a look at this Windows 7 showing some friendliness towards a Mac by "showing off" it's Blu-Ray feature.



*No mac was used in the production of this commercial* LOL

Samsung Galaxy Tab Reviews - Engadget, Gizmodo, GSMArena

Samsung Galaxy Tab is out. If you have not tried it, it may be wise to visit some good website reviewers. The Tab is more expensive than the iPad. Some stores in the Netherlands already putting a price tag of €749. Before you get one, here's some reviews :

Engadget Reviews :

• Nice screen although not amoled
• Liked the smaller size for a tablet
• Responsive capacitive screen, catching up the iPad
• Solid Browser
• Not a great camera but still takes decent shots
• No HD recording, but smooth motion capture
• Battery life : quite good, but not as long as iPad
• Does not charge when pluggen into a laptop, but just maintaining it's charge

source : Engadget

Gizmodo Review :
Gizmodo may not be in favour of the Galaxy Tab. They didn't like the smaller screen and feels like a big smartphone

Likes

• Dense and sturdy feel
• good battery life

Don't likes

• Tablet drunkenly hooked up with a phone
• Miserable browser, goes laggy.
• Won't charge when plug to a laptop
• No decent cameras

Source : Gizmodo

GSMArena Review
Main disadvantages
    * Poor viewing angles
    * Picture ghosting due to slow LCD response
    * Some apps incompatible with the new resolution
    * Gallery displays downsized images only
    * Quiet loudspeaker
    * No FM radio
    * No USB host support

Samsung Galaxy P1000 Tab over Apple iPad
    * Lighter and smaller, easier on the pocket
    * Telephony (including 3G video calls)
    * 3.2 MP camera with D1 video recording @ 30 fps and LED flash
    * Android OS v2.2 Froyo
    * Proper multitasking (though the iPad is getting that too in a couple of months)
    * microSD card slot for memory expansion
    * Uses regular size SIM card
    * 16:9 widescreen display
    * Adobe Flash player 10.1
    * DivX/XviD 1080p video playback
    * Bluetooth 3.0

Apple iPad over Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab
    * Larger and better screen
    * Metal body
    * iOS 3.1.3 with more than 25 000 apps tailor-made for it
    * Larger internal storage (iPad 64GB)
    * Better battery life
    * YouTube app streams higher-quality footage

Conclusion

• Samsung Galaxy Tab does it's tasks well
• Tab is better designed than the Apple iPad
• Pretty expensive, If you are willing to get it, wait a couple of months for it's price to drop

Source : GSMArena

Different Opinions right..? The best way for you is to try it after all. But I think it's wise to wait a little more for settlement, applications, and the release of Blackberry Playbook (unless you're not a Blackberry fan).

XBox 360 Controller DressUp - The Avenger

Yes, that picture above is a real XBox 360 controller. Not a modified one, but equipped with Avenger, an n external adapter that claims to provide an immersive gaming experience through an intuitive user-interface, or control interface I should say. It also claims to enhance the gamer’s manual dexterity and situational awareness by improving accuracy and reaction-time. Probably another way to say having extensions on the buttons. Anyway, it may look cool for some of you, but may also uglifies the XBox Controller. Anyway, for $60 it's worth to afford it, concerning many positive feedbacks and you'll get a 30 day warranty. I wonder what kind of Accessories they could make for Kinect?

Source
The Avenger

Kinect Hacked..!! Or open I should say.

Just after 3 hours of European release, Hector Martin released the first Kinect Open source driver, earning him cash from Adafruit contest. That's the good news for him, but many more exciting ones for developers.



Even students are waiting for this to use Kinect for their projects. It's $150 price tag will be worth it for learning purposes of robotics, science, augmented reality, or interaction projects. The OpenKinect google group is up and you can get the driver right now. Though still many To-Dos, but the guys are working on it, I'm sure. So while they are, perhaps in the meantime you folks could figure what you can make out of it for later.

Source
The Kinect Is Now Basically Wide Open
Kinect Hacked Opensource Drivers Now Working

Kinect sales in the US - ahead of Playstation Move ??

About a week after it's release in the Americas (11/4) before UK launch, Kinect seems to be on the spotlight. Selling more than 470,000 just 2 days after it's release.

Kinect Adventures                     479,992
Kinect Sports                            142,991
Dance Central                           132,554
Kinectimals                                 98,303
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved       61,338
Fighters Uncaged                        31,939
Kinect Joyride                            31,854
Sonic Free Riders                       18,402
Motion Sports                            16,198
Adrenalin Misfits                          3,602
Dance Masters                            3,459

Playstation Move sales according to VGchartz spans the number of 200,000. Now this seems lower than Sony's numbers but VGchartz calculates not by the number of controllers sold, but by the number of unique move Users. I don't know where they get the numbers, but a typical launch ratio for a new console is 1.7 controllers per console. If this is true, looks like Microsofts Research and Investments are getting paid, outnumbering the Playstation Move. This may be different from what game reviewers said as there is too much game choices for, the high cost of the machine, and usually rating the PS3 Move higher than Kinect in reviews. But the gamers, as for casual ones don't think like them. What Microsoft had in Kinect that the Playstation Move doesn't is the breakthrough of new concept of body controller which has never been implemented before, and people always tend to buy something new. Unlike the PS3, even though reviewers and watchers know that it is more advanced than the wiimote, but in a nutshell, it's just a Playstation Wiimote.

Source
Speculative Kinect sales figures announced, looks to have handily trumped Playstation Move
Playstation Move Sell Through Update
Initial Kinect Sales Revealed

Hex iPod Nano Watch Band

The 6th generation iPod Nano has it's own pros n cons over the previous generation. But all the features 'squeezed' into the small device makes it an incredible device. The small square design brings ideas for manufacturers to produce accessories to making the iPod Nano as a wrist watch. But Hex is one of the first to seriously dive into this. The cool accessories from Hex features Custom premium silicone strap, Pop-in pop-out design, Audio port cover with inline orientation, and also coolness.

Combined with the Nano makes a cool sweet watch. But listening music to your watch may not be uncomfortable and uncool. Although a wireless headset may be a solution depending on whether the transmitter dongle can fit in, it will add a drawback to the physical appearance. Available on December 2010 for $24.95 to add to your $150 Nano.

Source
The Gadgeteer
Hex Watch Band

RIM Playbook : May Win Price Wars.

Research In Motion (RIM), announced RIM Playbook, or Blackberry Playbook they call it a while ago. Released dates were expected to be in early 2011. The good news coming from The Gadget Show shows the price won't be more than $500. That's cheaper than expected before regarding the fact that it's a RIM product with features such as :
 
1 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, Symmetric multi-processing, 3MP front, 5MP rear Cam, 1080p HD video; H.264, MPEG4, WMV HDMI video output, Micro USB and Micro HDMI.

Of course it's got what you'd expect from a Blackberry. Could be an iPad and Galaxy Tab blower. Wait till Feb '11.

Source :
RIM Playbook, a Tablet Bargain?
Blackberry Playbook

Xi3 Modular Computer - Nice looking Portable Box.

Xi3® Corporation announced its Xi3 Modular Computer™ on 10th November 2010.

Here's some brief infos and stats :

• Dimension : less than 4inch per side
• Less than 20 watts to operate
• 1.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 8GB of flash storage rings up at $850 (source : Engadget)
• Does not include Windows OS
• Price below $1K, $850 according to Engadge
• Availability : Early 2011. I don't know when for Europe though.

Although it's not small enough to fit in your pocket and thin enough to be inside a folder map, this machine is sweet put on your desk. According to Engadget, Xi3 claims the target not to Home users but the embedded market and cloud computing customers.

Xi3 Press Release

Sony Ericsson Anzu a.k.a. Xperia X12. Finally..!!!

Finally Sony Ericsson makes a move after it's long struggles with problems. A poll in gizmodo showed users prediction of a sorrow future for Sony Ericsson. But will it change after this? Just after X10 update for Android 2.1, and still in the upcoming of a PSP Phone, pictures of the new Anzu are leaked by XPeria X10 Blog.

The phone is said to be an early prototype which runs on Android 2.1. On launch it will use the 2.3 Gingerbread. The phone features a 4.3 inch screen. Very big, the same size of HTC's HD series. It will feature a 1080 HD video recording, and HDMI interface. The phone looks a little bit long though. Looks like Sony is going with all of it's heart. This is probably the only hope of Sony catching up with it's competitors in the Smartphone segment. Release dates are yet to be heard.






Source and news :
Sony Ericsson ANZU - X10 successor caught in the wild?
More Details and pics of the Sony Ericsson ANZU

Kinect Launces in UK

Hundreds of crowds queueing in the cold waiting for the first Kinect release in UK. A video by IGN shows the excitement of the crowds looking forward to playing with kinect naked..!! Yeah.. many game reviewers tested the technology for detecting people naked, and logically if it does a good job detecting yourself with clothes it will have no problem detecting naked people and it did.

Here is a video and also stuffs you may need to know about kinect. The price tag for kinect is about €149 in Europe with a bundle of Kinect Adventures. Although some experts and gamers doubt the future of Kinect in playing hard core XBox games, Kinect will certainly gain a new audience and will have it's own marketshare.

PSP2 rumours

Sony's Playstation Portable (PSP) was released in 2004. It has good hardware back at that time. But recently developers have been pushing it's capabilities to the limit. Time for a new Console for PSP fans, and yet there will be one coming next year. Also noting that Sony's pattern in releasing a new console every 6 years. The PSP Go cannot really be considered as a new console though.

Many Pictures have been spread on the internet about the next PSP. But according to a Kotaku report, Sony PSP2 will have HD screens. I don't know about the outcome or what will it be with HD. But I really think that the upgrade in screen resolution is a must for the PSP, considering the high resolution in handheld devices like the Apple Iphone. The retina display (It's just a name, folks) outdid the PSP resolution of 480 x 272 pixels. Of course it won't be full HD but at least it improves in pleasing the eye more.

A Dual shock analog is also said to be added. It should not be the same on the PS Controller. The current PSP analog joystick is just not good enough for most gamers and needs to be improved. UMDs? I'd prefer a console accompanied by a my game collections in a shelf rather than just looking a memory card's content through a screen. I somehow hope for a small version of BluRay :P (they can make the DVD smaller, which they also should be able to apply it to BluRay). Anyway that may be for the PSP3 or something.