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- Why my Nintendo Wii has been collecting dust
- Kindle stock shortage scuppers holiday gift plans
- Notion Ink Adam scratchproof matte display detailed [Videos]
- The Daily Slash: November 19 2010
- A Week with the HTC HD7: Xbox LIVE & Final Thoughts
| Why my Nintendo Wii has been collecting dust Posted: 20 Nov 2010 11:05 AM PST Now, before I start talking about why my Wii has been collecting dust, let me just make this clear: I have been a fan of Nintendo products since the 1980s. And each new Nintendo console typically finds its way into my home on launch day. I also enjoy The Legend of Zelda and the Mario franchise. But that doesn't mean that I won't criticize the Wii.
[Image credit: Richard Lemarchand] Over the past five months, I have not booted up my Nintendo Wii. However, I have been playing games. In fact, I've played so many games as of late that I've had to pull myself back a bit to ensure I don't get ahead of the long list of titles that I plan to beat in the coming year. But during that period, I haven't found a single compelling Wii title that makes me want to put down a competitor on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. It's not that I haven't been searching — trust me, I have — but I simply look at the Wii library and find a slew of casual games that are every now and then punctuated by a so-called "core" title. Now, I realize that such a complaint is nothing new to the Wii, and a lot of people in my position have had the same reaction. But I'm a little concerned. The Nintendo Wii is the world's best-selling video game console. It's also home to several outstanding franchises, most notably Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. It has a lot going for it. But it's also home to a motion technology that isn't so new anymore. And it's being met with competition in Sony's PlayStation Move, that at least in my experience, works exceptionally well, compared to the Wii. And all that fails to mention the value consumers will continue to see in the Microsoft Kinect, which delivers motion-gaming fun without the controller. Simply put, the key revenue driver for the Wii isn't so unique and compelling any longer. Of course, that probably won't stop Nintendo from continuing to enjoy strong sales this holiday season. But it does make me wonder how much longer I will keep the Wii hooked up to my television, rather than disconnect it to free up precious electrical outlet space behind my entertainment center. Looking at the upcoming Wii release calendar, Donkey Kong Country Returns certainly appeals to me, and I suppose I should (finally) try out Goldeneye 007. But other than that, I'm bored by both what's available and what's coming out soon. It goes beyond games. Although the Wii has Netflix, I don't go to that device to access content. Instead, I typically choose my Apple TV or my PlayStation 3, now that it also offers support for Hulu Plus. It also helps that the PS3 has a Blu-ray drive, making it even more viable. Simply put, I'm seeing few reasons to use the Wii much anymore. Although I believe the console has merit and provides a viable experience for some gamers, for me, it's starting to lose its value. Who else is with me?
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| Kindle stock shortage scuppers holiday gift plans Posted: 20 Nov 2010 06:58 AM PST Bad news if you were planning on picking up a Kindle as a gift this holiday season: Amazon US is currently out of stock of both the WiFi-only and WiFi/3G versions of its ereader. Estimated shipping times are now listed as 7-9 weeks, missing the all-important holiday period.
The shortage affects not only US Kindle availability but those international countries orders to which are shipped from US stock, such as Canada, Germany and France. UK WiFi and WiFi/3G models are listed as in stock, but are limited to three devices per customer. Amazon launched their Kindle ebook gift program on Friday, allowing customers to buy ebooks for friends and family with nothing more than their email address. Titles can then be read either on a hardware Kindle or using one of Amazon’s free software Kindle apps. [via Lesen]
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| Notion Ink Adam scratchproof matte display detailed [Videos] Posted: 20 Nov 2010 05:19 AM PST Notion Ink is doing its usual weekend-sharing of a few Adam teasers, and there are a fair few details this time around. Perhaps most important is the fact that Adam will have a special, matte-finish scratch resistant display, including a lot of work avoiding the color fringing that can take place when you don’t use a glossy panel. Meanwhile there’s also plenty of software news, including the fact that – unlike the iPad – Adam is designed to work as a standalone tablet, rather than requiring regular synchronization if you want to load content.
Videos after the cut
Notion Ink’s solution is a file manager called Sniffer, which takes advantage of the Eden UI‘s three panel layout to easy drag and drop content from one part of the system to another, or from USB drives, shared network storage or indeed Bluetooth devices. It also seems that Adam will be able to update its firmware without needing to be hooked up to a computer. As for the other custom apps, Notion Ink’s email client, Mail’d, is in beta, with support for offline messages, undo-sending of sent emails, missing attachments warnings and more. Meanwhile, in January an update will apparently add email expiration support, timed delivery (even without a network connection) and other aspects. The GPS navigation app is also in beta, and currently supports 43 different languages – handy, considering Notion Ink intend Adam’s launch availability to be pretty broad – and the Paint app and Photo Editor are also in beta. The company’s new site, NotionInk.in, should be up and running later this weekend. Adam boot screen: Adam teaser:          [Thanks Bart!]
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| The Daily Slash: November 19 2010 Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:39 PM PST It’s a [FEATURED] fantasy today! We’ve got columns and special posts by the barrel-full, and you’re gonna love em! First thing in the morning we got a pre-noon delivery from the FedEx truck – what did the FedEx man bring for us to unbox and get our hands on? A NOOKcolor, fresh off the factory line! Then we write a couple of columns: one on the raging state of the Tablets market, and one on the current quick-paced state of political news. Then Josh Marinacci says webOS will be available soon for ALL Palm devices, there’s a White iPhone 4 sale in China, and the feature stream begins. Last night our man Vince was at PEPCOM and brought back video demos of Gorilla Glass, a three screen monitor from Samsung, and a NOOKcolor. Finally (there’s more?!) the last installment of Evan’s Week with the HTC HD7 is up – Xbox LIVE! All this and even MORE on The Daily Slash!
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[Via Scientific American]
R3 Media Network Android Community SlashGear A Week with the HTC HD7 To see more Daily Slash posts, click here: [The Daily Slash] or here: [SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up]
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| A Week with the HTC HD7: Xbox LIVE & Final Thoughts Posted: 19 Nov 2010 04:29 PM PST Right about this time is when I received the HTC HD7, unboxed it, and started playing with the Windows Phone 7-based device. I thought it was only fitting that I timed the final article in our week long look at the device around the same time I first got my hands on it. We started with the hardware, and then we took a look at the software. Lastly, we took a quick glance at the applications available for the device, both natively, carried-based, and third party. All in all, while there have been a few hiccups along the way, the HD7 has managed to not suck after a week of usage. But now, as we wrap it all up, we’re looking at arguably the biggest feature of the device: Xbox LIVE integration. So, is it everything I thought it would be? Or is it just another feature that has a lot of potential, but isn’t worth the time right now? Find out after the cut.
Xbox LIVEAside from the Zune Pass on my phone, there wasn’t a single feature that I was looking forward to more than Xbox LIVE on my Windows Phone 7 device. While Apple is making significant headway into the mobile gaming market, I felt like Microsoft already had the base, and that they could easily succeed where Apple and company were still trying to make ground. So you probably won’t be at all surprised to find out that Xbox LIVE was the first Hub that I accessed, after the device turned on. I played around with the interface for awhile, noting that, just like every other aspect of Windows Phone 7 (as I would find out over the next few days), it’s just too beautiful to look away. Swipe left and right to find what you want. Easy, simple, and aesthetically pleasing. Simply put, Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone 7 is awesome, and it’s only going to get better. With the development community where it’s at right now, and seeing that mobile games are a huge hit, I find it almost impossible to believe that game developers out there won’t want to focus on the Xbox LIVE functionality within Windows Phone 7, and make the best games that they can. Simply put, the hardware, with its minimum specifications and standard Operating System, much like what you see on Apple’s side of the street, means that developers have a wide open opportunity to make some great games, and include standard integration with Xbox LIVE. What does that mean, exactly? Well, you get to tie your Xbox LIVE GamerTag to your handset. You get to change your Avatar’s clothes. You get to see, and message, your friends on Xbox LIVE, to see what they’re up to, what games they’re playing, and keep up with their Achievements. And yes, you get your own Achievements, too. So, if you happen to be playing Bejeweled Live, you earn Achievements as you play, and those go right along with your total Gamer score. It makes for an engrossing experience, and one that I find perfectly emulates the experience of Xbox LIVE on the Xbox 360, but on a smaller form factor. As far as games go, there’s plenty to choose from. However, my favorites happen to be Bejeweled Live and Max and the Magic Marker. If you’ve never played Bejeweled, it’s a simple enough idea: drag colored gems so that they match other colored gems on the board. Connect more than three at a time, and you get special, more powerful gems. It’s simple, but addictive. It’s after I played Max and the Magic Marker for awhile, that I realized that I’m going to fall in love with the games here, and having Achievements just makes it so much better. In this title, you’re a kid with a magical marker (as if you couldn’t tell from the title of the game, right?), and you have to use that marker to interact with the levels. That means getting across large gaps, catapulting yourself over ledges, and making colored boulders to help you along your journey. I was surprised at how enjoyable the game was, in the end. But, there is room for improvement. There are a few games out there, but the truth is, there’s not a lot of games. And, there’s even less that I, in my honest opinion, actually looked interesting to me. I’m sure there’s a few titles out there that are just as fun as the two games I just mentioned, and I may be judging them too hastily, but I’ve only got a week! If you’ve got yourself a Windows Phone 7 device, I highly recommend jumping into the Xbox LIVE Hub, and having way too much fun. The Wrap-UpI knew before I took on this project that, at the end, I would have to sit here and tell you, honestly, if I think that Windows Phone 7 can compete in the mobile market. Does it stand a chance against Apple’s iOS, or Google’s Android? Where does it stand against HP’s webOS, or Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS? Well, I can tell you this: it’s a fighter. And, it has more than a fighting chance to make itself known in this ridiculously cramped, complex market. But, you know what? I think Windows Phone 7 has enough flash, speed, elegance, and everything else that someone could want in a mobile Operating System, that it could, indeed, usurp Android and iOS for the thrown. But, it won’t be easy. But, that actually has nothing to do with the OS itself. It has everything to do with the fact that Microsoft came out of the gate swinging, but unfortunately, the general populace believes that they are already behind. There’s not enough applications in the Marketplace. There’s no Copy & Paste. You get the idea. And, unfortunately, that’s a real dampening force on Microsoft, because they’ve got a great mobile Operating System here. It’s light years better than Windows Mobile, and yes, I’m saying that completely from a consumer standpoint. I’m not a business person, so I can’t sit here and tell you that it’s better in that department than anything else. But, if I had to make a guess, I would tell you right now that Android and iOS work just as well as Windows Phone 7 would in a business setting. Yes, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 has a few sections where it can improve, and there’s obviously some bugs that need to be worked out. But, their hard-headedness towards mandatory hardware requirements, along with a mobile Operating System that is so gorgeous, sleek, and easy to use, may mean that, sooner than later, Windows Phone 7 pops out heading for fist place.
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