Do new PS3 bundles mean Slim is coming soon?

According to Kotaku, next Sunday (July 12) Best Buy will begin offering an 80GB PS3 with two of the best exclusives for the system--Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2--for the price of the PS3 ($400). 

How does Kotaku know this? Well, a Best Buy employee apparently sent the gaming site a photo of the bundle and other Best Buy employees have confirmed that the photo is real and the bundle is coming. (Chalk this up as a rumor, but it seems pretty legit as far as rumors go).

Recently, Best Buy had the PS3 paired with Wall-E and Little Big Planet for $400. But the MGS 4 and Killzone 2 bundle is definitely designed to tempt more hardcore gamers who, say, might just own an XBox 360 already and are looking for a Blu-ray player.

Clearly, such bundles are designed to move systems--and they probably will move. The big question is whether this is part of a concerted effort by Sony to clear the channel of "old" consoles to make room for the potential release of the rumored PS3 Slim, which many hope will cost $300. A recent report suggests that a new PS3 may arrive as soon as this summer.

If indeed it is clearing the channel--and if indeed this latest bundle is for real-- hand it to Sony for creating an enticing package that will lure in fence-sitters, even when faced with the possibility of a new system on the horizon. If you do the math using Best Buy's prices, you're looking at a savings of $90 on the games (Best Buy is selling MGS 4 for $30 and Killzone 2 for $60).

So, is an MGS/Killzone 2 bundle at $400 a better deal than a hypothetical PS3 Slim at $300 with no games included? That's a hard call until we know what specs we're looking at for the Slim.
But let us know what you think.

Is iPod Touch getting a camera?

One of the features that iPod Touch users have been requesting from Apple is a camera. According to reports, they may be getting their wish.

While attributing its information only to a "sources in Asia," TechCrunch claims that Apple has placed an order for camera modules destined for the next version of the iPod Touch. The size of the order, according to TechCrunch, is "massive."

MacRumors is taking the camera information a step further, claiming that both the iPod Touch and iPod Nano will receive cameras when they are updated. New case designs, purportedly for the iPods, show a hole for the camera.

This isn't the first time rumors of iPods getting a camera have come up. In May, AppleInsider said that iPods would get cameras similar to those found in iPhones.
At this point the only handheld device from Apple with a camera is the iPhone. All three models of the iPhone come with a one.

In addition to its 3-megapixel still camera, the iPhone 3GS includes video recording and basic video-editing software, which allows chunks of video to be uploaded to YouTube or MobileMe.


Credits to this site.

Nike+ ipod system great for running

The Nike + ipod system is great for running.   I have the combo of the ipod nano, 3rd generation, a pair of Nike running shoes and itunes. 
The system works with a small circle piece of equipment from Nike that fits in the bottom of your Nike shoe.  Once inside you can't feel it while running.  You plug another small piece of equipment into the bottom of your ipod and sync them up prior to starting your run.

You can program a song playlist to run to and then select a bunch of different items for the Nike + system to keep track of.  For example you can set a distance goal, or a time goal and during your run the system will  tell you (using a voice that interrupts your song) how far you have run and how much time is left in your run.

Another cool feature is you can then save the run's performance data in Nike+'s database via itunes.  You can just sync up your ipod's saved info when you log onto itunes.  Then info goes to a Nike website that opens and you can track your progress over several runs in a cool bar chart.  In addition there are a bunch of contests throughout the year you can join.  There are also song playlists from other runners and additional products you might want to buy.
Overall it is a great system.  It is also great if you are on an unfamiliar run, because you can keep track of how far you've gone very accurately.  I recommend this system.   Of note, you can buy a receiver carrier so that you don't have to use Nike shoes.  There is a pouch sold on amazon that fits on a shoe if you have another brand of shoe you prefer to Nike.


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Apple may add micro projectors to iPhones, iPod touches

With the storage capacities of iPhones and iPod touches on the rise, consumers are likely to begin carrying more and more of their digital video content on the devices, and could soon have the capability to project those videos for friends and family just about anywhere.

According to Taiwanese rumor site DigiTimes, Foxlink, a subsidiary of Apple's iPhone manufacturing partner Foxconn, is currently developing its own micro projector technology that should begin making its way into integrated devices as early as this year.

The publication cited sources "with Taiwan handset makers" who say that tier I smartphone makers such Nokia, Samsung and Apple, "reportedly all plan to launch handsets with built-in micro projectors by the end of this year."

Micro projects are an emerging technology for small form-factor handheld devices comprised of miniaturized hardware and software that can project digital images onto any nearby viewing surface, such as a wall of projection screen.

They're positioned at devices like the iPhone and iPod touch, which are sometimes too tiny to accommodate interfaces for connecting directly to external displays or televisions.

Several third parties have already taken to developing standalone micro projectors that can attach to existing iPhones and iPods, like Microvision's portable PicoP projector that was profiled by AppleInsider when it drew crowds at January's Macworld Expo.

Still a prototype at the time, device worked with either a composite video or RGB video input at standard definition WVGA video resolution (848x480), optionally displayed in a 16:9 wide aspect ratio. The battery was rated for 2 hours, and the focus-free unit was shown projecting a picture up to about 100 inches diagonal.


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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Wii destined for greatness

The July 15 movie release based on the sixth book of the highly acclaimed Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, is just around the corner. Eager fans who just can’t seem to wait another two weeks will be glad to hear that the video game of the same title will be released by EA this week for pretty much every platform.

Although the game will be available to every gamer whether they own a PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 or PC, the overall experience will be drastically different on the Wii due to the incorporation of motion controls using the Wii remote and the nunchuk. Holding the Wii remote like a wand, gamers will be able to cast well known spells from the Harry Potter universe dependent upon what is necessary in each situation. For example, if there is an out-of-reach crest, the main collectible in the game, players can use Wingardium Leviosa to levitate the crest towards them. Besides collecting crests, quickly casting spells such as Stupefy and Protego, attack and defense spells respectively, can come in handy during a duel against that annoying Slytherin Draco Malfoy.

In addition to casting spells, the Wii remote and nunchuk are also used when mixing potions. By using motion controls, gamers can pour vials of ingredients into their potion as well as fan their concoction if too much of an ingredient is added and smoke starts to appear.

Besides the clever use of motion controls, EA has included an adjustable camera which allows gamers to examine every last nook and cranny of Hogwarts to their heart’s content. This feature wasn’t included in the last game released: Order of the Phoenix.

Overall Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is shaping up to be the best Harry Potter game created to date. According to IGN.com, EA has promised that the story of the game will follow the arc of the movie as closely as possible, which means that it will be the most accurate representation of Hogwarts in a video game to date.

Potter fans looking for a fun game about the series they’ve grown to love should keep an eye out for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which is set to release later this week.


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Protecting BlackBerry users

We don’t think the government’s temporary ban on the distribution of BlackBerry smartphones in Indonesia was influenced by other mobile phone producers attempting to disrupt the marketing of the Canadian product, as some members of the information technology sector have alleged.

The ruling is simply the enforcement of the 1999 consumer protection law which stipulates, among other things, that the suppliers of goods and services that fail to provide after-sales services and do not provide consumers with service or operation manuals in the Indonesian language should be prohibited from marketing their products in the country and must withdraw their products from the local market.

Since this law applies to all producers of goods and services, the government (the ministries of communication and information technology and trade) is obliged to give equal treatment to all mobile phone producers.

We cannot understand why the BlackBerry manufacturer, the Canadian company Research in Motion (RIM), has not realized the crucial importance of establishing after-sales service centers in supporting its marketing campaign in the country as its competitors have done.

However, as strong as its competitive edge may be, BlackBerry sales will eventually suffer if users have to go to Singapore for after-sales service, as they have to do now, because BlackBerry is not the only smartphone sold on the domestic market.

If economies of scale are the main reason behind the RIM decision to delay the establishment of local service centers, they are using a flawed marketing strategy, especially for a new comer such as BlackBerry, which according to RIM, has sold around 300,000 units.

It would have instead been good business sense for RIM to establish a representative office early on, and after-sales service centers at least in Jakarta to support its marketing campaign. Such a move would have assured potential users of RIM’s long-term commitment to Indonesia, which is a huge potential market for such information technology products.

The longer RIM postpones the establishment of service centers the more harmful it will be for BlackBerry marketing because unauthorized service shops with questionable and unreliable services may fill the vacuum.

The only aspect of the ban that might have raised unnecessary questions or suspicions of the real motive behind the measure was related to the timing of the measure. Why indeed was the ban imposed only several years after BlackBerry cell phones had already entered the country?

RIM’s greatest concern over what it called the massive illegal sales of fake BlackBerry smartphones should have been another compelling factor for the Canadian company to set up a local representative office.

Fake products are not BlackBerry’s monopoly. But a local sales office or service center would help RIM keep itself appraised of the local market demand and preferences and enable it to conduct, together with the government, a market intelligence operation against counterfeit products.

The government is strongly committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of all producers of goods and services but, due to a lack of resources and inadequate institutional capacity, it needs whatever assistance manufacturers or producers can provide to launch a more effective drive against fake products.

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New iPhone 3GS on sale July 10, says Vodafone

New Zealanders will be able to get their hands on the new iPhone 3GS on July 10, says Vodafone.
The 3GS is the new, faster version of Apple's popular iPhone, with a video camera, more memory and a slew of new features. The 'S' in the phone's title stands for speed.

Vodafone says the 16GB version of the phone will cost $1,179, while the 32GB is $1,379.
Contract prices and "handset subsidies" for people signing up to different data plans will be announced closer to the launch date, says the company.

The 32GB iPhone 3GS has twice as much memory as the current biggest iPhone and costs $US299 on a contract in the US, while the 16GB version sells for $US199.

It has the same design as iPhone 3G released last year. Messaging applications, games and attachments all load faster and there's a better built-in camera, with 3-megapixels, autofocus and video camera.

The release of an updated iPhone comes as Apple is facing tougher competition in the smartphone market. Its sales still trail those of the Blackberry, made by Canadian firm Research in Motion.


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Yet Another Vogue for the iPhone: Video Games

The iPhone has sent rivals scrambling, first to duplicate its glassy touch screen, then its successful mobile application storefront.
Now it is the video game industry that is sitting up and taking notice. Playing games, it turns out, is one of the most popular things to do with an iPhone. Of the 50,000 programs available for the iPhone and iPod Touch through Apple’s App Store, games are the largest category, about 20 percent of the offerings, according to the mobile analytics and advertising company Mobclix. The company also said that more than half of the billion downloads from the App Store are games.
That plethora of games, most of which are free or cost as little as 99 cents, are available in seconds via wireless download, which is driving the expansion of the audience for mobile gaming, said Tuong H. Nguyen, an analyst with Gartner Research who tracks the industry.
“Like many other features of the iPhone, it introduced the possibility of gaming on your phone to a whole new group of consumers,” Mr. Nguyen said.
Called casual gamers, these people who play a game for a few minutes here or there are a sought-after group by a video-game industry searching for growth. Sylvia Martinez, a 52-year-old educator living in Los Angeles, is one of them. Mrs. Martinez, who owns a 3G iPhone, said she had never played games on her cellphone before she bought the iPhone. “With older phones, the games were so hard to play,“ she said. “With the iPhone, everything works so well.“
Now there are several games that she plays at least once or twice a day, she said. “It suits my time frame,” she said. “I don’t have an hour to play; I have five minutes.”
Greg Joswiak, head of marketing for the iPhone and iPod, said, “This is the future of gaming.” The company has emphasized iPhone gaming in several television commercials. At the press conference in early June where the iPhone 3G S was introduced, the company ran a long video featuring testimonials from game developers. The company also trotted out several companies on stage to demonstrate games that made use of the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system.
The popularity of gaming among iPhone users — some 79 percent of all iPhone owners have downloaded games, compared with 31 percent of smartphone users in general, according to data from the Web analytics firm Compete — has game publishers flocking to get their titles on the platform.
One of them is Electronic Arts, the giant maker of boxed software for PCs and game consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation3. “We knew it would be big,“ said Adam Sussman, vice president for worldwide publishing for the mobile division of Electronic Arts. “We knew we had to scramble and invest more on the iPhone.“
The built-in audience, which amounts to more than 40 million iPhone and iPod Touch owners, adds to the platform’s allure, said Mr. Sussman, who has overseen the translation of some of E.A.’s bigger franchises to the iPhone, including the Sims 3 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
The iPhone has already increased revenue at the French game developer Gameloft, which publishes games across a variety of platforms including the hand-held Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo’s DSi, in addition to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The company said that 15 percent of its sales were from iPhone games during the first quarter of 2009. It anticipates sales from the iPhone to top $20 million this year.
Some experts say that the big-name titles available for the devices are further evidence that larger game studios are taking the platform as seriously as other portable gaming devices like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.
It does not require a budget backed by a publishing giant like Electronic Arts or Sega to churn out a successful game for the iPhone. The low technical barrier to publishing games in the App Store means that anyone with programming skills and a laptop can try their luck at it.
Indeed, many of the App Store successes were born of a clever idea from a single coder or produced by small independent teams like Firemint.
Firemint, an Australian mobile development team, is behind Flight Control, a simple yet addictive game that challenges players to guide aircraft to landing strips. “When my mother-in-law couldn’t stop playing it, I knew we had a success on our hands,” said Robert Murray, company founder. Since Flight Control went on sale in early March, the game has sold a million copies and hovered in the top ranking spots on iTunes, said Mr. Murray.
Gamers spend about 30 minutes playing some of the more polished games, said Krishna Subramanian, a co-founder of Mobclix.
“That level of gameplay is really starting to bite into the gaming market occupied by the PSP and DS,” he said.
Al de Leon, a spokesman for Sony, said the company recognized there was an appetite among their audience for direct access to software and more of it. In October, the company plans to release a new version of its flagship portable gaming device called the PSPGo that won’t use cartridges at all; rather it will deliver software directly to the device — just like an iPhone.
But even though the company is responding to trends that iPhone is driving, Mr. de Leon said the company is not worried that Apple’s device will take over their core audience. “At the end of the day, you buy the iPhone to make calls,” he said. “And you buy the PSP to play games.”
Cammie Dunaway, vice president for sales and marketing for Nintendo, echoed similar sentiments about the company’s lineup of portable hand-held gaming devices. “No one can match our years of experience in the hand-held market and the subscriber base we’ve built up over the last 20 years,” she said.
Michael Cai, vice president for video games at Interpret, a market research firm, said, “Dedicated portable devices have a certain appeal that the iPhone can’t quite match.” But that does not mean those companies are not paying attention, he added. “Sony and Nintendo definitely realize the threat of the iPhone and iPod Touch.”


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New Releases, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii

New video game releases on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony PS3 and PSP, Nintendo Wii and DS For the week of June 22 through June 26.

 

Fight Night Round 4 -X360, PS3: The champ is here! EA SPORTS challenges you to step into the ring with Fight Night Round 4. This highly anticipated iteration of the critically acclaimed franchise has perfected every jab, slip, and punch in the sport of boxing to bring you the most realistic fighting experience to date. With an advanced physics system, stunning graphics, and deep gameplay and feature enhancements, Fight Night Round 4 is putting the science back in the sweet science.  

Release Date: Jun 23, 2009

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen -Wii, X360, PS3, PS2, PSP: The video game is based on the upcoming live-action feature film from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The game lets players take on the role of their favorite AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS, picking from the largest, most diverse range of playable TRANSFORMERS – each with their own distinct abilities and weaponry. Set in unique environments across the globe such as Cairo and Shanghai, the game allows players to instantly switch between vehicle and robot modes as they drive, fly, fight and blast their way through intense, pressure-packed levels. After engaging in single player action, players for the first time ever will be able to go online and battle friends in all-new multiplayer modes.  

Release Date: Jun 23, 2009

Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires -X360, PS3: Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires is game that brings together the best aspects of the action and strategy genres. In this latest edition, players can experience Ancient China’s greatest and most glorious war as an all-powerful lord or as an officer. 

Release Date: Jun 23, 2009

Overlord II - PS3, X360, PC: Overlord II is the sequel to the hit warped fantasy action adventure that had players being delightfully despotic. In Overlord II, a new Overlord and a more powerful army of Minions take on an entire empire in a truly epic adventure, inspired by the rise of the Roman Empire. As the Glorious Empire conquers kingdoms and destroys any sign of magic it finds, it’s time to go Minion Maximus and send in the horde. Release Date: Jun 23, 2009.
Other video game Release Date: Jun 23, 2009:

Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil - Wii. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories / Vice City Stories - PS2. Little League World Series Baseball 2009 - Wii. The Conduit -Wii. Spore Galactic Adventures -PC. Overlord Minions - DS. Overlord: Dark Legend -Wii.

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Amazon Has Cheap PS3 Games All Day Long

Looking for some relatively cheap, older-type PlayStation 3 games? Amazon's doing the PS3 deal day thing once again, kicking things off with a little Modern Warfare and seeing where things go from there.


Judging from the clues and the games already on sale, Amazon seems to be trying to move games that everyone who owns a PlayStation 3 have already picked up by now, but if you are a new PS3 owner, then you might want to take a look. As per usual, they have one Deal of the Day, and that is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, available all day long for $29.98, or 42% off of their normal price.

Then they have the timed deals, which right now features a $40 copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, good for another couple of hours. It looks like that will be replaced by a game I am not able to decipher the clue for, with Guitar Hero: Metallica, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction possibly, and finally a chance to "Step into the ring with the Eighth Wonder of the World", whatever that may mean.

Amazingly helpful, aren't I? You smart folks will probably have the clues figured out before I even post this. Feel free to lord your superior riddle-solving skills over me in the comments section.


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BlackBerry (Storm) Apps 2Day: ÜberTwitter

For Twitter users there is a a very full featured BlackBerry (Storm) app that works on all current BlackBerry devices which we give our coveted Blackberry (Storm) app of the day and recommend for all BlackBerry Twitter fans.

ÜberTwitter is a full featured Twitter client.  It gives users the the ability to upload pictures to a site dedicated to serving ÜberTwitter users. You can also optionally update your Google Talk status with your last tweets and automatically update your location based on the cell tower information provided by your phone, no GPS hardware required. Other features include the ability to send videos embedded in your tweet and see everyone who is tweeting near you.

When viewing a tweet in ÜberTwitter which contains a latitude/longitude pair in the location field, the 'human readable' address shows for the location which also works for iPhone geolocations in the Twitter profile location field.

ÜberTwitter is currently in open  Beta 3 and they are adding new features all the time.  They recently integrated Google Maps and added the ability to follow a thread of replies. One could say that it is very "twitterliscious."

Their BlackBerry Storm version ÜberTwitter uses touchscreen gestures  to go to the top and bottom of the timeline. Swipe 'east' goes to the top, and a swipe 'west' goes to the botom.

You can download different versions of ÜberTwitter for the BlackBerry Storm, Curve, Bold and classics at  http://www.ubertwitter.com/bb/download.php.

BlackBerry Storm Apps & Accessories Articles from Wireless and Mobile News

BEST BLACKBERRY STORM APPS ARTICLES:

• Best New Apps for Free for the BlackBerry Storm this Month (June).
  
• Top Best Free BlackBerry Storm Apps this Month (MAY).
• Best Free BlackBerry (Storm) Travel Apps from BlackBerry App World.
• Best BlackBerry Storm Apps -Suggestions for the Holidays.

Apps of the Day and More Applications aka Apps:

• BlackBerry (Storm, Bold Pearl, Curve, 8800) Free Sports Apps Today: ScoreMobile BlackBerry.
  
• BlackBerry Storm App of the Day: gwabbit.
• Intercall Conferencing.
• Thomson Reuters App.
• LogMeIn BlackBerry Storm Apps Outed at WES.
• BlackBerry Storm Free App of the Day: Fee Finder Calculates, Tip, Mortgage, and Auto.
  
• Free TetherBerry Beta Apps for Macs for BlackBerry (Storm).
  
• Launch2Net Apps Tethers Macs to BlackBerry Storm.
• BlackBerry Storm Voice Control App: Vlingo.
• BlackBerry (Storm) Free App of the Day: Pocket Express.
  
• BlackBerry (Storm) Free App of the Day: I Love BlackBerry, BlackBerry Addiction Tester. 
  
• 4.7.0.141 Verizon Version of BlackBerry Storm Update Coming May Day or Later.
• BlackBerry Storm Update OTA Upgrade on May Day, This Friday.
• BlackBerry Storm Level Apps Checks Level
  
• BlackBerry Storm Qik Live Video Share Apps.
  
• Ticketmaster BlackBerry Apps.
  
• BlackBerry Storm  Funambol Cloud Sync and Pus Email Apps.
  
• BlackBerry (Storm) and Java J2ME BOLT Mobile Browser Apps.
  
• BlackBerry Storm Decorative Protection  Unique Skins.
  
• BlackBerry Storm Free Flying Game: Flight Path.
• SitOrSquat Free BlackBerry and BlackBerry Storm Toilet-Finder Apps.
  
•  BlackBerry Storm Play Storm Piano.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm Artsy Theme: Art Gallery v.1.
  
• BlackBerry (Storm) Free Apps of the Day: eReader Pro.
• BlackBerry Storm Controls Race Car? Get Punked.
• Hail-a-Cab Apps for BlackBerry, iPhone or Windows Mobile Phone.
  
• BlackBerry Storm Free Music Download of the of the Day: Chris Cornell's Stop Me.
• BlackBerry Storm Free App WHERE, Location and Map App.
  
• BlackBerry Storm App: QuickLaunch.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm Themes  BlackLight Themes.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm App SMS2Desk Turns SMS into Email.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm Download Song: Jonas Bros Remix.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm and iPhone Apps of the Day: GIST (Data Speed Monitor).
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm App: StormSketch Turns Storm into Sketching Tool.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm App  - Goolge Maps for BlackBerry Storm with GPS.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm App Poynt GPS Locations, Listings, Maps and Movies.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm App - BlackBerry Storm Light Saber.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm Download  - Rihanna's Rehab Remix.
  
• Free BlackBerry Storm App  - Slacker Radio for BlackBerry Storm.
  
• BlackBerry Storm Accessory : OtterBox for BlackBerry Storm.
  
• BlackBerry Storm Game: Tiltris Teltris-Like Game.
  
• Control Video Camera Apps from BlackBerry Storm or Bold.
  
• BlackBerry Storm App: BeamReader.
  
• BlackBerry Storm App: TwitterBerry.
  
• BlackBerry App: FlyCast Free Radio with 1200 Stations.
  
• BlackBerry Version of Slacker Radio: BlackBerry Storm Version Soon.
• Manage Lights and Appliances with BlackBerry Storm, iPhone and G1.
  
• BlackBerry Storm App: Free QuickPull Frees Up Memory.
  
• BlackBerry Storm Wish-List 2.
• Use BlackBerry Storm as Garage Door Opener.
• TalkLock Turns off BlackBerry Storm's Touchscreen - Fixes Touchy Issue.
• Starter Kit for BlackBerry, Storm Wish-List.
• Map App for BlackBerry Storm - Google Maps.
• TeleNav Mapping GPS App for BlackBerry Storm.
• BlackBerry Storm YouTube App.
• Best BlackBerry Storm Apps -Suggestions for Holidays.
• BlackBerry Storm Must-Have Accessories Add-Ons
• Weekly Update: BlackBerry Storm Which Update / Upgrade Works Best?
• BlackBerry Storm Danger Warnings - Do's and Don't's.
• Fun BlackBerry Storm Tilty Marble Game: Marble Trap.
• BlackBerrry Storm Takes Dication with MyCaption

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New Guitar Hero Theme for BlackBerry Rocks My Socks Off

BlackBerry owners who love the Guitar Hero game would do well to check out the latest Guitar Hero World Tour theme for the smartphone, where Bplay is offering it for $5.99 a pop. We admit that it looks really awesome, and would recommend you to download the Guitar Hero World Tour game for the BlackBerry itself for a cent shy of $10 to literally take things to the next level. Well, you won't be able to shred your BlackBerry like a real Guitar Hero controller, but at least it gets you in the groove on your way back on the train!


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Apple has to try harder

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Now that the dust has settled from Apple's iPhone 3GS announcement -- video camera! compass! better battery life! -- it's time to face facts. Though Apple still leads rivals in style and technology, it's not the breakaway frontrunner it once was. The new phone is cool and all, but now Apple is looking over its shoulder -- and it will have to make some adjustments.

That's a big change from just a few weeks ago. Back then, the only credible competitors the iPhone faced were a sleek but boring BlackBerry line from Research in Motion (RIMM) and an exciting but chunky G1 from Google (GOOG, Fortune 500).

Since then, however, the landscape has changed dramatically. Suddenly Palm (PALM) appears to have a potential hit with its new Pre, and Google is showing off slimmer second-generation (G2) Android phones. (I've used both the Pre and the G2, and they're pretty darn nice.) All of this new competition is good for consumers, but probably not for Apple's profit margins. Here's why. When you sign up for AT&T (T, Fortune 500) service and buy an iPhone, Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) actually gets about $500 -- that's $200 from you, $300 from AT&T.

0:00 /4:27No surprises, just a new iPhone

AT&T is willing to pitch in for your iPhone purchase for a couple of really important reasons. One, iPhone users rack up fat monthly bills for Internet service, so AT&T knows it will quickly make its money back. Two, AT&T is the only U.S. carrier with the right to carry the iPhone -- which has helped it to steal those high-value customers from other carriers.

But these new iPhone rivals are bound to alter the math of the phone wars. If the Palm Pre and new Google phones can even approach the iPhone's ability to attract high-value data junkies, AT&T will have less incentive to subsidize the iPhone so heavily. And if Apple begins selling the iPhone through other U.S. carriers, subsidies will come under even more pressure.

0:00 /3:49Palm's Hail Mary

Keep in mind, these other phones don't have to overtake the iPhone to put pressure on Apple's prices. They just have to come closer than they have in the past. Apple is well aware of the problem, and is attacking it on multiple fronts. A team of engineers is working on new, low-cost system-on-a-chip designs that should help lower costs and bolster margins. In the iTunes App Store, new pricing options should bring in new revenue from iPhone and iPod touch users.

And perhaps most important, Apple seems to be getting the hang of the high-margin online paid services business. Exhibit A is "Find My iPhone," a new feature that lets forgetful owners pinpoint lost iPhones on a map, remotely trigger a "find me" alarm and even erase all their data. Not only is this jaw-droppingly smart, it's the most compelling reason yet to sign up for Apple's $100-per-year MobileMe service. Apple will need more ideas like that if it's going to make up for the thinner margins that inevitably come with increased competition.

Tip of the Week: Apple’s iPhoto Software

Apple’s iPhoto software lets you easily organize and edit pictures on your Mac, but the program can sometimes get a little erratic over time, especially with large photo libraries. If you find the program displaying your photo thumbnails as gray rectangles, acting sluggish or generally misbehaving, take a look at iPhoto’s built-in maintenance tools. Using these, you can rebuild the program’s database, thumbnails and file permissions — and also recover unused space from the iPhoto database.

Before you start, though, back up iPhoto’s contents, either with a standard system backup or by burning the library to discs to make sure you have copies of your photos tucked away. Use the Mac’s Software Update feature (found under the Apple menu) to make sure iPhoto has all the latest patches and updates.

Then, start up iPhoto while holding down the Command and Option keys until a box appears onscreen asking if you’d like to rebuild the iPhoto library and perform other maintenance tasks. Check off the tasks you want to use and click Rebuild. It may take a while, but iPhoto should be much better behaved.

Apple has more detailed instructions at support.apple.com/kb/HT2638.

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Why Prince Of Persia Wasn't A Wii Game

Last year Ubisoft released a new Prince of Persia for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. In a new interview, Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes explained why the Wii didn't get it as well.

"The reality is that from a technical standpoint, the Wii cannot do what we wanted the game to do," Mattes told IndustryGamers. "The AI of Elika was highly advanced and required a lot of processing power; the world size and dynamic loading, the draw distance, the number of polygons in the characters... If we had done a Wii version, it would have been toned down, probably linear, it wouldn't have been an open-world game, and so it would have been a very different experience. We didn't want to water it down that way."

Added Mattes: "That said, I do agree very much that some of the people that probably would have most appreciated the design choices we made are Wii gamers. It would be really nice to be able to tap into that and give them that experience."

By design choices, he means the game's emphasis on accessibility and "the elimination of frustration". The Prince was accompanied by an A.I. companion who caught him when he missed a jump and deposited him safely on the ledge he just jumped from. It was preferable to dying and reloading your game but as was said in our review, a Hard mode would've been appreciated.


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EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis for Wii Available Now for $49.99

After releasing the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, EA Sports has also released the Grand Slam Tennis game and you can buy it now at major retailers from North America. The EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis is a game specially designed for the Nintendo Wii, and it will be available worldwide as of June 12, 2009.

The EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis was designed by EA Canada, and it consists of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments worldwide. According to EA Sports, Grand Slam Tennis is the only game which features the Wimbledon Grand Slam which will start in 10 days. On the North American cover of the Grand Slam Tennis there are John McEnroe, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams and gamers will probably play against them (although there might be a special career mode which features tennis legend John McEnroe).

The game features a Grand Slam Career mode so that you can qualify and play in all four Grand Slam tournaments. The EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis will cost your $49.99.

However, you can buy the EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis at Amazon.com here for a price of $46.99.

The EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis is compatible with the Wii MotionPlus accessory which is available at Amazon.com here for a special price of $18.99.



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25 new tracks for Rock Band Wii

Rock Band Wii players will get 25 new tracks to strum, bash and sing away to today, 12 of which are from Iron Maiden.

The new tracks hitting Rock Band Music Store brings live recordings of "Aces High," "Hallowed Be Thy Name," "Fear of the Dark" and "Iron Maiden," featured on the band's Flight 666 tour DVD.


"The other eight songs were among those featured on the band's Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, during the first leg of which Flight 666 was filmed. This will mark the first time master recordings from Iron Maiden have been made available on Rock Band games," says Harmonix.

Also coming to Wii DLC this week are tracks from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Disturbed and a special track from Stephen & the Colberts - all of which were previously released for the 360 and PS3 versions of the game. Here's the list:

• Blur "Beetlebum" (cover)
  
• Die Toten Hosen "Hier Kommt Alex"
  
• Disturbed "Indestructible"
  
• Disturbed "Perfect Insanity"
  
• H-BlockX "Countdown to Insanity"
  
• Iron Maiden "Aces High (live)"
  
• Iron Maiden "2 Minutes to Midnight"
  
• Iron Maiden "The Trooper"
  
• Iron Maiden "Wasted Years"
  
• Iron Maiden "The Number of the Beast"
  
• Iron Maiden "Run to the Hills"
  
• Iron Maiden "Can I Play With Madness"
  
• Iron Maiden "The Clairvoyant"
  
• Iron Maiden "Powerslave"
  
• Iron Maiden "Hallowed Be Thy Name (live)"
  
• Iron Maiden "Fear of the Dark (live)"
  
• Iron Maiden "Iron Maiden (live)"
  
• Juli "Perfekte Welle"
  
• Les Wampas "Manu Chao"
  
• The Mother Hips "Red Tandy"
  
• The Mother Hips "Time-Sick Son of a Grizzly"
  
• Pleymo "New Wave"
  
• Stephen & the Colberts "Charlene" *
  
• Tokio Hotel "Monsoon"
  
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Date With the Night"

Hands on: Apple MacBook (13-inch, white)

Apple's lowest-end laptop occupies a special place in the Mac spectrum. As of WWDC 2009, it's the last MacBook standing in the lineup--all the other Apple notebooks are now MacBook Pros. The MacBook (we can call it "the" MacBook, now) also is the last to retain the polycarbonate white plastic glossy casing that once defined a whole line of machines.

While the MacBook's more pedestrian appearance may not catch the eye as much as the unibody aluminum MacBook Pros, don't be fooled by its throwback looks--inside, Apple's done a good job of keeping the components on par with its more expensive brothers. In fact, the white MacBook has very comparable specs to the lowest-end 13-inch MacBook Pro. Its 2.13 GHz Core 2 Duo processor is close to the MacBook Pro's standard 2.26 GHz one, and the Nvidia 9400M graphics processor is the same one that's in the MacBook unibody 13-inchers, so the gaming and media capabilities are comparable.

Depending on your specific needs, for $999, you're getting a real bargain with the last MacBook. You can either approach this as "for $200 more I can get a MacBook Pro," or "I can get something nearly as good as a MacBook Pro and save $200." The latter perspective, however, requires you to be willing to skip some of the Pro-level features.

The MacBook comes with two USB 2.0 ports, a mini-DVI port, a FireWire 400 port, and both a headphone and mic jack. The 160GB hard drive can be upgraded to a maximum of 500GB when ordering, a first for a MacBook. The polycarbonate body, as always, feels sturdy and well built, if thicker than the aluminum versions, and the pleasingly minimalist glossy plastic exterior and matte white interior might be more prone to picking up scratches and staining.

What you're missing by not upgrading to the $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro is a better color-depth LED-backlit screen, a thinner, lighter body, FireWire 800, DDR3 RAM (the MacBook only has DDR2), a longer-life seven-hour (according to Apple) non-removable battery, the oversize multitouch touch pad (this smaller one does support some multitouch gestures), and an SD card slot.

If you can live without these, then the $999 MacBook just might be your bet. Even better, Apple's current back-to-school promotion throws in a free 8GB iPod Touch (minus sales tax) if you're a student, sweetening the deal a bit more, although the promotion runs across all Macs.


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The Best Mac Security Software

Apple’s Get-a-Mac ads (and many longtime Mac users and fans) love to imply that Mac OS X is a far safer and more secure platform than Windows. And there is a ring of truth to that implication. There are far more instances of malware and viruses bogging down Windows PCs than afflict Macs.

But that doesn’t mean Macs are perfectly safe and secure computers -- after all, no computer is completely safe and secure on the Internet.

New malware threats (including the discovery of the first botnet operating on infected Mac OS X machines) are cropping up this year. It’s likely just a sign of things to come as Apple gains market share and visibility.
So Mac users need to understand their options for protecting their systems from malware, network attacks, and other threats.

In this guide, I’ll break down three potential areas of danger – 1) viruses and malware, 2) network attacks, and 3) spam – and details some of best the tools to combat them.

Anti-Virus Tools

Let’s start with the classic specter of computer security – the virus or malware. The word virus is almost a misnomer these days. There are still some classic versions of viruses that spread from disk to disk, wreaking havoc and deleting files – many from a kid who created a virus because he could.

In truth, however, the bigger threats today are from forms of malware that compromise open network connections to servers over the Internet. These servers can then record personal information (user passwords, keystrokes) and take over a machine in the background.

Often these attacks fall into the categories of Trojan horses that masquerade as some innocuous application or video codec that gets installed by the average user. The most recent Mac threats started in this form as components included in real software packages pirated over the Internet.

Being vigilant about what your install and where it comes from is one way to combat this threat. But for the average Mac user who installs a file to view content on a website, the threat still exists.

Another major virus threat is that of macro viruses – most often associated with Microsoft Office. While Macs are typically not as likely to experience severe damage if they open an infected Office document, they are still capable of experiencing some problems – and of passing the virus on to others.

So every Mac should have some form of anti-virus software. Here are the major options:

ClamXav – ClamXav is a simple open source anti-virus tool that is available for free. It is based on the open source Unix clamav, but sports a Mac-like graphical interface.

ClamXav works pretty well, though its interface is a little clunky and it is generally slow at performing scans. Its big downside is that it offers less automation options than other tools, meaning users must be more pro-active about updating virus definitions (the files anti-virus tools use to detect malware) as well as performing scans. It also doesn’t allow you to scan your entire startup drive, meaning you’ll manually need to select folders to scan.

McAfee VirusScan – McAfee has a long history of developing anti-virus tools and this was at one time bundled with Apple’s .Mac service (the precursor of Mobile Me). McAfee is a decent if not stellar product. It tends to be slower than some of its competition and does show itself to be a product produced from a largely PC-oriented company.

Norton AntiVirus – Like McAfee, Norton develops security and utility tools for both the Windows and the Mac. A while back, Norton’s Mac offerings in both anti-virus and disk utilities were among the best products on the market.

But times change. Norton still produces a compelling product and I’d probably pick it over VirusScan. However, it too suffers from being very obviously a Mac product designed by a predominantly PC-focused company. For businesses that are already invested in other Norton products for managing their PCs, however, it can be an easy addition to an already complete suite (most likely with volume licensing discounts).


Sophos Anti-Virus SBE – Sophos also suffers a bit from being a PC-oriented company, but less than McAfee or Norton do. They produce a simple and lightweight solution for Mac OS X that can be centrally managed very easily.

The downside to Sophos, in my opinion, is less their PC-centric nature than their business-oriented nature and licensing. If you’re a business that has multiple Macs and PCs to protect, Sophos is a great choice (particularly if you’ve got a Windows server – even one in virtualization) to use for central management of both scanning and updating. In fact, for small businesses and/or cross platform businesses that need a simple and effective centralized management option, Sophos is a very good choice.

Intego VirusBarrier – Hands down, the best choice for consumers and for fully Mac-based businesses has to be Intego’s VirusBarrier. The company is entirely Mac focused, provides a solution that is simple, lightweight, and has a very Mac-like feel to it that make it a natural choice for many Mac users.

It also offers centralized management (and integration with Intego’s other security tools) for businesses and schools – though if you have a mix of both Macs and PCs to centrally manage, you might want to opt for Norton or Sophos because of their cross-platform management capabilities (and potentially better pricing due to larger volume purchases).

MacScan – MacScan is an anti-spyware rather than an anti-virus tool. The software is designed for detecting spyware processes and applications (keylogging, remote access, and DNS poisoning tools) that may not fall into the typical categories of viruses.

It also focuses on Internet cookies and similar data gathering tools that are not directly classified as malware. The software compares cookies (small bits of data stored by web browsers to keep track of user data when moving from one web page to another) against a blacklist of known malicious web services.
MacScan is a great complement to other anti-virus and security tools and is especially helpful for Macs commonly used by large numbers of individuals (who might place keyloggers and other malicious tools directly on a Mac rather than remotely).

One final tip, regardless of your anti-virus choice: if you’re running Windows on a Mac (either using boot camp or virtualization tools like Parallels, VMWare Fusion, or Virtual Box) don’t forget that you’ll need anti-virus software on that front too. Norton and Intego both offer Mac/PC protection suites to fill this need in a single product (though in Intego’s case the Windows software is provided by partnering with BitDefender AntiVirus for Windows).


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'Zephyr' to Let PS3, Xbox 360, Wii Owners Harness a Tornado

Now here's a game concept you don't hear everyday: controlling a destructive tornado to chew up the landscape and help advance the mission of a group of sinister forces. Yep, Konami's digging deep into the "out there" box with this one, but we've got to admit, Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals could be fun.

Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals is slated to ship this fall for PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. In the game, sinister forces have deceived the main character into believing that the destructive behavior will save an epic hero. In reality, it will advance their evil cause. By taking control of a dynamic tornado, players will rip through open environments, chewing up the landscape and spitting out everything in their path. The more players destroy, the bigger the tornado grows -- sort of a Katamari on destructive crack.

The missions will be comprised of time-based, collection-based and point-based challenges as players continually search for hidden elements and enemies from another world.

Zephyr's missions will be full of humor and varying objectives, ranging from blustery mischief at a local trailer park to gale force feats in the middle of sprawling cityscapes. Players will also be able to play via a cooperative multiplayer mode in which two players can drive through environments picking up and tossing everything standing in their way. The items in a player's path will range from rusted tractors and rustic farms to "strange and unexpected" goodies. Cows, anyone?

Players can also control how objects are damaged and destroyed with the "active destruction" game mechanic. For added replayability, players can complete multiple missions and destroy different objects within environments to maximize each level and earn extra points.


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Sony: Who Needs a PlayStation 3 Price Drop?

Sony teased Final Fantasy XIV and The Last Guardian. Microsoft trotted out new Halo games. Nintendo laid down Mario and Metroid. Everyone sang to the rafters at last week's E3 about motion controls. And in the end, despite recessive economics, no one budged an inch on pricing.

Sony even had the audacity to announce its new diet-handheld--the PlayStation Portable Go--for $250, eighty bucks more than its $170 PSP-3000 for "smaller," "lighter," Bluetooth, 16GB of local storage, and extrication of the UMD disc drive. Is miniaturization worth that much? You tell me. And no, the new downloadable games won't be cheaper--they'll be priced same as the UMD ones were.

At least one major game publisher weighed in disappointedly. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told Bloomberg: "Of all the things that the hardware companies need to be doing right now, it’s recognizing the difficulties of the economy and pricing their hardware appropriately."

GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo echoed Kotick's comments in a conference call: "The hardware price points, where they are right now given this economic environment, are too high...if the platform holders are going to make the numbers that they’ve forecasted for the year, those numbers will have to change."
What about the other guys? It's hard to criticize Nintendo, whose $250 Wii may be priced high given its low manufacturing costs, but whose sales have--up until now--justified its position. And while Microsoft may be gouging consumers on its peripheral costs ($100 Wi-Fi? $150 for 120GB?), they dodge system price criticism by unbundling everything and easing your upfront investment.

Sony's position? "We’re very happy with the price point that we have," said games division honcho Kaz Hirai at E3, adding the company "will move when we think it's appropriate at some point in time."

Defenders of Sony's position? "It's the profit-margins, stupid." With manufacturing costs still surpassing retail pricing as recently as May, the PS3 remains a loss leader for Sony. If you're selling $50 short, losing $500k on a hundred thousand units is a lot easier to swallow than $50m on a million. Sony advocates say the company's simply waiting until the system passes a certain cost-threshold, and while the PS3's consistently placed last in domestic hardware and software sales since its release, it's actually been gaining sales ground over the last 12 months, relative to the competition.

Rumors of a cheaper PS3 Slim? Price cutting to follow, finally, end-of-summer? Where the so-called expert analysts have been flatly wrong, laymen needn't dogmatize. I'm giving up second-guessing. With Sony's compelling 2009 entertainment lineup at odds with hardware pricing and consumer spending, the company will either turn out to be the turtle--"slow and steadfast wins the race," or the mule--"sedate and stubborn loses it." For all our sake's, let's hope it's the former.

For more gaming news and opinion, point your tweet-readers at twitter.com/game_on.




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Apple releases captivating details about next version of Mac OS X - Snow Leopard

The next version of Apple's Mac OS X 10.6, code-named Snow Leopard - which the company debuted at its Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday - appears to be a captivating one, going by the details released officially by the company.
Snow Leopard's evolution comprises various enhancements that allow the OS to tap into the processing power of multiple CPU and graphics processing cores, thereby aiming at boost software performance. With multiple programming and software tools, tasks for concurrent execution across the cores have been aptly segregated. 

Though the $29-priced Snow Leopard will run only on Intel-based Macs, it boasts of new tools like the Grand Central Dispatch, and indigenous support for OpenCL. While the former tool is basically a programming environment for breaking up tasks into multiple threads, the latter is a set of programming tools for developing and managing parallel task execution. 

According to Linley Gwennap - president and chief analyst at the Linley Group - Apple's Snow Leopard has laid the foundation for software providers to write multi-core applications using the OS. 

In addition, Neil Trevett, president of The Khronos Group, said that the new OS will bring about a nearly 50 times improvement in Mac's video processing in particular. The distribution of pixel processing across multiple CPU and graphics processing units in a system will result in a much faster video decoding!

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Twitter ‘twitpocalypse’ affects Mac, iPhone apps

The surging popularity of the Twitter messaging service has broken at least one Twitter client application and affected another as a part of what is being called “the Twitpocalypse.”

Each message on Twitter is assigned a unique identification number. On Friday evening, the number of tweets exceeded 2,147,483,6471. While that doesn’t seem like a round number, it’s the largest number that can be stored as the data type known as a “signed integer.” Once that number was exceeded, some versions of some Twitter client apps could break in a fashion similar to what was expected during the Y2K “millennium bug” era.

The first apparent victim of the Twitpocalypse was The Iconfactory’s Twitterrific for iPhone, which stopped working immediately following the event. Though The Iconfactory released a version of the app that the company felt addressed the Twitpocalypse, apparently that assumption was incorrect. Twitterrific users on the iPhone and iPod touch who attempt to contact the service will receive a “YAJL error 3” indication.

A tweet from Twitterrific developer Craig Hockenberry seems to indicate that he’s fixed the bug, but now must wait for Apple to approve the bug-fix release. The Iconfactory has suggested that Twitterrific users follow @twitterrific on Twitter for status updates. Twitterrific users might want to use a free Twitter app such as Twitterfon or Twittelator in the meantime. (Update: Twitterrific's developers report that a fixed version has been submitted to the App Store and awaits Apple's approval. Update x2: Apple rush-approved the bug fix in the free version of Twitterrific late Sunday, with the premium verison still to be approved.)

Atebits Software’s Tweetie has also been affected by the Twitpocalypse. The program continues to function for browsing and posting tweets, but searches no longer work in the Mac version and results appear one at a time in the iPhone version. Tweetie developer Loren Brichter said on Twitter that he is working on an update to address the problem as well. (Update: Brichter posted an update to Tweetie for Mac that addressed the issue on Saturday night.)

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Analysis: Microsoft could cut Windows 7 list price to $100

Microsoft could drop the price of Windows 7 to around $100 when it announces retail prices later this month, according to calculations based on an earlier Vista cost-cutting move.


Although Microsoft is not expected to go public with Windows 7 retail prices until next week, if it drops them by the same percentages it did in February 2008 when it cut U.S. prices for three editions of Vista, the upgrade to Windows 7 Home Vista could be $106.

If it does cut prices, Microsoft's motivations could range from a recognition of the recession's impact on consumers to a desire to move as many users as possible to Windows 7 -- which has been generally praised by reviewers -- to stem defections to other platforms, such as Apple's Mac OS X.

In that Vista price cut, Microsoft dropped the list prices of Vista Home Premium Upgrade, Vista Ultimate and Vista Ultimate Upgrade in the U.S. by 18.8%, 20% and 15.4%, respectively.

Vista Home Premium Upgrade, which had been priced at $159, fell to $129 in February 2008. Vista Ultimate Upgrade, meanwhile, dropped from $260 to $220. In other markets, such as the U.K. and the European Union, prices fell even more: Home Premium Upgrade was slashed by 46% in the EU.

Using the 2008 percentage price cuts for Ultimate as the basis for further reductions would put Windows 7 Ultimate at $256 and Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade at $186.

Those calculations, however, present problems with the pricing of Windows 7's other edition, dubbed Professional, the replacement for Vista Business in the line-up. Microsoft has been adamant that each version of Windows 7 will be a superset of the one immediately lower on the price/feature ladder. Such a strategy would hint at prices set accordingly; in other words, Business would be priced higher than Home Premium but lower than Ultimate.


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Can Apple top the iPhone? The rumor mill says no

With less than 48 hours to go before Monday’s opening keynote presentation at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, the Apple rumor mill just isn’t cranking ‘em out like the old days.

Lower-priced iPhones will be revealed Monday, says the Financial Times. The only unknown detail is whether the cheap one will be $99 or $149.
In the decade since Steve Jobs first stunned the world by unveiling an iMac onstage — a computer that had been seen by fewer than 150 people — it’s been harder and harder to keep a new product a secret.

Cameras line the pockets of both network engineers and day laborers, all of whom are now Apple-holic enough to post spy photos of upcoming gear. In 1998, Jobs had it easy hiding the iMac. A new Mac, fans presumed, would be another beige box with a faster CPU and more memory than the previous model.

The current rumors for Monday’s show are just like that: Dull, predictable product enhancements. I fell asleep at the keyboard reading MacRumors.com last night. Sorry, I can’t get excited over a 32GB iPhone. Or an iPod with a multi-touch wheel.
Enough incremental tweaks. The economy sucks, and Web 2.0 mania has plateaued. It’s time for a big surprise. Like the time during the last economic winter when Jobs held aloft the world’s first 17″ aluminum laptop. Or the time he brought Motorola onstage to show off their dorky music-phone and its instantly forgotten TV commercials, then upstaged them by pulling a tiny back iPod Nano from his jeans pocket.

Phil Schiller, the company’s marketing chief and Jobs’ comic sidekick at these events for the past several years, will make Monday’s big presentation instead of Jobs, whose health is best described as “It’s Complicated.” From past performances, Schiller will surely demonstrate an ability to make stuporifically dull status updates fun.


But will there be a new product? Instead of hardware rumors, most of the gossip swirls around software enhancements. We’ll be able to use our iPhones to send each other music and apps, say the rumormongers. We’ll add shortcuts to our friends as icons on our desktops.

I’m 100 percent sure Schiller will demo something that talks to Twitter.

But we all know what we really want on Monday: Steve Jobs walks onstage. Steve Jobs reaches into his pocket. Oh hey, he says, remember that time we had those phone company blowhards up here, and I reached into this pocket? Remember the very first iPhone? Well, check this out …
Hey, it could happen.


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Hands-on: Tony Hawk Ride

The most important thing to understand about Tony Hawk Ride is that it's not a Tony Hawk game with a special skateboard peripheral. This is, in a very real sense, a completely new franchise that dispenses with the tropes of the series when they don't suit its needs.

First, it's not an open world game, so those of you worrying about tuckering yourself getting from A to B can put those fears aside. Even when you're performing some limited navigation, it only take one or two foot pumps across your carpet to reach your top speed.

The section that I saw was very much about traveling to a line and pulling it off, a mode developer Robomodo calls "challenge". You're assigned a specific group of tricks, say a manual into a grind into a flip trick over a ramp, and must pull it off flawlessly.

But of course you want to know how well the board worked. The piece of tech itself was just fine, it felt sturdy, and never had problems registering my movements. As you might expect you won't be physically flipping the board through the air, so a series of movements stand in for performing the actual tricks. It's a shorthand of sorts.

To ollie, you'll quickly pop the top of the board up. For flip tricks, add a lean to the same action. For a shove trick, you'll add a quick shift of the board to the left or right instead. Grabs are ... well, you grab. That's the same.

Remember the first time you played Guitar Hero, how awkward it felt at first? That's the idea here. You're teaching your body a whole new set of moves, so it doesn't feel totally natural. I assume that'll change over time, but I honestly didn't get enough time to find out. I was a little troubled that the president of the developer needed a couple of tries to nail the tricks in his demo, but who knows, maybe the guy was just tired.

Though the board is designed to be more accessible, this kind of experience won't be for everyone. For starters, if you have bad balance, it's not going to fix that. Also, it's pretty tiring, so it would likely work better as a party game where you're taking turns with friends.

In theory, Tony Hawk Ride works, and in pretty much the manner you'd imagine. It is, however, the sort of experience I would have needed more time to really get the hang of. My hope is that the fun comes after you learn the ropes.


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iPod Touch, meet Zune HD

 

When the iPod Touch came out, it took the world by storm. Is it finally time for the Zune to have its day?
Ever since the iPod touch came out, Zune enthusiasts such as myself have been waiting for Microsoft to make a comeback. And its day has finally arrived. Revealing the Zune HD.
As you can see, there is no touch sensitive square in the middle, for its been done away with, similar to Apple doing away with the famous clickwheel. It is an all touchscreen Music Player, and it has some things that iPod Touch doesn't.

First thing: FM Tuner. Zune's have always had them iPods have not. Something that the new Zune has: HD Radio. Yes, you read correctly. All those commercials you hear on the radio, convincing you to go to your local car store and buy the radios that can pick up those 'in between' stations? No need - this Zune can do all that. It's really one of the first portable HD radio receivers out there. Which puts the HD in a class all by itself, right from the get go. It is also using OLED technology, and is one of the first to use that as well. What does that mean? It doesn't require a backlight, which means a significantly longer battery life per charge.

Things it has that iPhone already has? Well, obviously the touch screen. Secondly, an accelerometer, or similar. What is an accelerometer? It's that little device in some newer phones and the iPod touch that allows the screen to flip when you turn it sideways. And yes, this Zune does come with wifi, and it's own web browser. But, will we be able to copy and paste? Alas, another great dilemmma.


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Apple likely to flaunt new iPhone

Apple will likely flaunt its new iPhone 3.0 software, as well as a new iPhone, at its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference to be held on Monday in San Francisco. Along side, the company is also expected to preview OS X Snow Leopard - the forthcoming edition of its operating system for Mac computers. 

While the updated version of the iPhone last year at the conference had its predecessor in the name of competition, the iPhone to be launched this time round has a lot of the other smartphones to compete with - all those who have emulated some of the iPhone's superlative features, or have improved on them.

Expecting a possible mid-July availability of the new iPhone, analyst Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray, said about prospective competition: "They had to come out with a new iPhone now, to one-up the Pre!"
Munster is of the view that the pricing of the new iPhone will be tiered - $149 for entry level model, and $299 for a premium phone with a video camera and higher capacity storage. 

Analyst Charles Wolf, of Needham and Co, opines that with the focus of the smartphone market having swing from hardware to software, the software upgrade of the new iPhone would be of greater significance than a new iPhone handset. Wolf said that in the software arena, "Apple has an enormous lead." 


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Verizon Intros BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230: $130

It's still strange to think that Research In Motion has a flip phone with a designated "BlackBerry" logo, but after spending months upon months on T-Mobile's network, one of these very handsets is finally shifting over to America's largest cell carrier: Verizon Wireless. Announced this week, RIM's BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 will soon be arriving on Verizon shelves, bringing with it 3G support, a silver casing, two high-resolution color displays (one external, one internal), a 2.0MP camera (with zoom, flash and video recording),  microSD card slot and a SureType keyboard that's not quite QWERTY, but close enough for most.

Of course, it will also support BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) and BlackBerry Enterprise Server, not to mention voice-activated dialing and speakerphone capability. As social networks expand, RIM is also touting this phone's ability to hit up MySpace, Flickr and Facebook as well as IM services such as Yahoo!, AIM, Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger. Furthermore, BlackBerry Media Sync gives owners the ability to easily transfer files from their PC to the phone, while Visual Voice Mail enables an easier look at messages. Finally, VZ Navigator is an option for those who continually get turned around, though you'll have to shell out $9.99 per month for the service.

The phone itself is expected to go on sale on June 19th for $129.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate and a new 2-year service contract.



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