Sabtu, 26 Februari 2011

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What's new on SlashGear.com

I’ll Be First In Line for the Sony NGP, Not the Nintendo 3DS

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 01:31 PM PST

My love for video games is unconditional. I'm just as much a fan of the Nintendo Entertainment System as I am a fan of the PlayStation 3. I love the PSP as much as I love my old GameBoy. And I'm just as willing to pick up my Nintendo DS as the Sega Dreamcast. Simply put, I'm a gamer to the core.

But I just don't think I'll be waiting in line for the Nintendo 3DS when it launches in the United States on March 27.

Now, I know that Nintendo fans won't like to hear that. They'll say that I'm not a "true" Nintendo fan (whatever that is), and they'll point to my previous column saying that my Wii is collecting dust to prove it. They will try and try to show that my issue with the 3DS has everything to do with Nintendo and nothing to do with the hardware it's putting out.

But I'm here to tell those folks (and everyone else) that my issue with the 3DS has nothing to do with Nintendo and everything to do with 3D.

I just don't see value in 3D. I don't care if it's in the theaters, at home on my 3D TV, or in a video game. For me, 3D is little more than a gimmick that delivers sub-par quality and after extended viewing, a headache. It's something that I just don't enjoy.

Realizing that, it would only make sense that I wouldn't opt for the 3DS, wouldn't it? After all, the device offers the ability for people to play 3D titles without the need for special glasses. Its main function is exactly what I can't stand. And that alone makes me balk at the idea of purchasing it.

However, I'm still a big portable-gaming fan. And although I tend to whip out my iPhone every now and then to play a casual game, I need something more capable to satisfy my desire to play video games. And by the looks of things, I just might find that in the upcoming Sony Next Generation Portable.

That device will come with a much better display than what my current PSP boasts. Plus, it will have dual thumbsticks, which should give developers more opportunities to push the envelope with their games. It will also deliver PlayStation 3-like graphics, Sony says.

Combine all that and I think I've found myself a real winner in the portable-gaming market.

Of course, there are undoubtedly some out there that disagree with that logic. They say that 3D is the future of gaming. And Sony's NGP, while nice on paper, will likely only follow the PSP as a platform with great promise, but little in the way of success.

I get that argument, and I understand where those folks are coming from. But I think it's short-sighted. The NGP is a major step up over what has been accomplished in the portable-gaming market. And it doesn't fall victim to Nintendo's strategy of targeting kids and casual gamers first, and the hard-core second.

When it's all said and done, I just see more promise in the NGP. I believe that's the device that can deliver the most entertainment value to me. And because of that, it will be the device that I'll be more than happy to stand in line for.

When the 3DS launches, however, I'll be home — counting down the days until the NGP is released.

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HP TouchPad, Pre3 in Dr Dre Music Video “I Need a Doctor”

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 08:21 AM PST

For those of you much more interested in the webOS aspect of this article, you must forgive me, as I’ve got not only a healthy addiction to the mise on scene of music videos, but also the awesome implications of cross-branding. What we’re looking at here is a video for rapper / producer Dr Dre’s newest single “I Need a Doctor.” In this video you’ll see not only an HP TouchPad, not only an HP Pre3, but a very visible demonstration of webOS’ new “Touch to Share” functionality. What you’ll see the two sharing is medical information about the artist who in the video is receiving futuristic care for a terrible car crash he’s suffered. This is not the first time Dr Dre has supported an HP product (think Beats by Dre,) but it is the first time one of these products has carried webOS.

The touch that happens in this video is very short and seemingly insignificant to the plot. However, when you do see the Touch to Share function working so very smoothly, you might expect that it’s some sort of science fiction technology, that it’s so radical, especially because of the rest of the oddities in the video, that it couldn’t possibly exist in the real world. Why Dr Dre is hanging from chains, why candelabras of LEDs, and why this man would be in a hospital that looks more like Dracula’s home is beyond us, but besides that, lots of things in this video come from pop culture sources, and in many cases, real life technologies.

The videos that appear to be lower quality throughout this short film are from Dre’s earlier days in rap as well as his personal life with his close family. The idea here is that Dre’s had a hard life, and an amazingly full life, but he’s had his fair share of tribulation as well. Essentially the whole video adds up to the fact that though he’s had it hard, with the help of a Bacta Tank, a dancing oracle ala 300, and HP / webOS technology, he’ll be ok. Then outside the video, once people realize that this HP technology is real, they’ll just HAVE to buy into it.

If you’d like to know more about webOS, just head over to our giant [webOS Portal]. Recent events surrounding the products shown in this video took place several weeks ago, those events including a big HP/webOS event where we grabbed a hands on with the HP Pre3, the HP Touchpad, and again, Touch to Share technology.

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World’s First Robot Marathon in Osaka, Japan

Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:57 PM PST

The world’s first robot marathon is being held in Osaka, Japan. The contest is expected to take up to four days to complete with toy-sized robots traversing over 26 miles (42km) to complete 423 laps of an indoor track. Video of the competitive race after the jump.

Operators are allowed to change batteries and motors for their robots, but if any robot falls over, the robot must be able to get back up by itself. Organizers don’t expect the fastest robot to win, but rather the robot that can take the most wear and tear to be the last one standing.

The event should take about four days to complete, and is organized by local authorities and a local robotics firm. They hope the contest can someday become a regular international event.

[via ITN News]

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OnLive Cloud Gaming Offers Free Console With Game Pre-Order

Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:27 PM PST

OnLive is trying a new tactic that could prove to be pretty smart. The company is offering a deal right now where if you pre-order THQ's Homefront game from February 25th to March 14th you'll get a free version of its OnLive gaming system. The system normally retails for $99, but by giving it away free they may be able to get the system into a lot more hands than otherwise.

OnLive lets gamers stream games to their MicroConsole and play games off the "cloud" that is OnLive's servers. It gives gamers the ability to play games at 60 fps on either their computer or HDTV. Homefront is a futuristic first-person shooter where North Korea has invaded and occupied the U.S. The gamer then has to fight back the occupying forces. It is one of THQ's marquee games this year. You can use OnLive's system to stream the game to your computer or use the MicroConsole and stream the game to your television.

"This is a watershed event: It's the first time a game system has ever been given away with a purchase of a game, "said OnLive Chief Executive Steve Perlman. "Homefront is one of the biggest games out this quarter, and we wanted gamers to see just how incredible is to have the hottest title playable with the instant-play, massive spectating audience on their HDTV that is only possible through OnLive."

OnLive currently has more than 70 games in its games library at the moment and if the company can add to that, it could start to be a serious competitor in the industry. The small MicroConsole is only about an inch high and is much more portable than other high-end video gaming systems. OnLive has been working on its server based gaming for more than eight years and recently inked a deal raising $40 million from HTC with the entire deal totaling around $1.8 billion

[via VentureBeat]

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HTC Thunderbolt Available Online But Can’t Checkout

Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:06 PM PST

With the HTC Thunderbolt release once again postponed, it seems fans are getting antsy and a little crazy. One fan has taken it upon himself to figure out a way on HTC’s online store to force the listed device into his shopping cart even though he could not checkout. He was then kind enough to share his process and even offer up the below screenshot as proof of his deed.

The device is already listed on the HTC online store, but is shown as unavailable and therefore cannot be added to the online shopping cart. The anonymous fan was able to get the item to show up in the shopping cart by some method of copying and pasting of the url address and then changing the item number.

Below are his own words:

Go to HTC's online store, go to any product detail page. 'Copy link address' for the "Add to cart" link. Paste to the address bar, change product ID to 38411, submit. You'll be taken to an HTC Incredible page, but when you click to view your "Cart," you'll have an HTC Thunderbolt there for $699.99. However, you can't check out due to no plans being available for this phone.

[via Android Community]

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Bing Launches Autosuggest Flight and Price Predictor Travel Search

Posted: 25 Feb 2011 03:31 PM PST

Microsoft’s Bing already has an edge over Google when it comes to travel search, but now it really ups the game with new Price Predictor and Autosuggest Flight Prices features. This improvement makes it really easy to find the best priced flight just by typing in your destination into the search box.

By typing in something like “Fly to Chica” into the search box, the Autosuggest Flight Prices feature works with the Price Predictor feature to automatically display what it predicts to be the lowest priced flight and during what time period over the next 90 days. All this shows up before you even hit the enter key.

The Autosuggest Flight Prices feature will recognize where you are, for instance Seattle, and and when you type in something like “Fly to Chicago” or “Chicago Flights,” the Price Predictor will automatically show up below the search box to show you the best flight price from Seattle to Chicago. Colloquial names such as Chi Town are also recognized, so that you are not required to enter formal city names or airport names.

[via Bing]

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Verizon CEO: Apple LTE Products Coming

Posted: 25 Feb 2011 03:14 PM PST

The first Apple LTE product is coming to a Verizon store near you very soon. Dan Mead, CEO of Verizon, recently confirmed that his company will offer Apple mobile products on their LTE network. No product name was given, but the two likely candidates right now are the iPhone 5 and the iPad 2.

Since March 2 brings the iPad 2 to us, Mead was most likely “announcing” an LTE slate there. This doesn’t mean we won’t also see an LTE version of the iPhone 5. Apple is thought to be very bullish on the new 4G technology. I’d imagine sales estimates for the Xoom will take a bit of a dive if it ends up losing its LTE advantage to the iPad as well as its camera advantage.

If Verizon does launch an LTE iPhone 5, does that mean AT&T will launch a “4G” iPhone of their own, with access to HSPA+?

[Via Phonescoop]

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