Nintendo 3DS

Announced out of the blue in early 2010, Nintendo’s 3DS gives you 3D visuals without the need for glasses. Not only that, but new control options – motion sensing, a PSP-style analogue nub – and greatly Improved graphics are also in the offing. Holding the impressively slim device close to your gaze produces a fantastic illusion of depth, with bullets and insects appearing to fly out of the screen and the horizon stretching deep into the 3.53-inch widescreen.

The effect is achieved via a parallax barrier LCD produced by Sharp. The technology works like a lenticular image come to life; The screen directs light in two different directions, one for each eye, Thus tricking your brain into seeing depth that’s not there. Nintendo’s prepping its biggest franchises for the 3DS and each feels like it has had an added layer of depth – pun intended – unlocked by the 3D functionality.

In Mario Kart you can judge your corners and banana throws accurately, while flying through hoops in Pilotwings feels far more real, and easier, as you can accurately judge their approach. There’s also a great batch of third-party games incoming, Including Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil titles.

Nintendo 3DS: Features

1/ Nintendo 3DS: Spot Pass Located at the top right of the console, 3DS users will able to pick up data via Wi-Fi hotspots to get news, video and trade Mii characters on the go. Nintendo has been in talks with BTFon with Spot Pass access set to be available in BT Wi-Fi spots.

2/ Nintendo 3DS Street Pass
Taking an innovative new approach to console communication, the 3DS can detect other 3DS consoles even as your device sleeps letting you swap multiple game information. That means data can be transferred from more than one title even if you are not currently playing that particular game. The new notification light will turn green to communicate that Street Pass is in action.

3/ Nintendo 3DS Single Friend code
In a bid to make multiplayer gaming a little more simplified, Nintendo has opted for single Friend Codes, so unlike on the Wii and DS when you needed to input codes for different games, you now only need one code to indulge in enjoy some multiplayer action.

4/ Nintendo 3DS: Mii-Maker

Bringing the feature made popular on the Wii, you can create a console-style avatar using the 3DS cameras (two on the back, one on the front) to create the base of your Mii character. You’ll then be able to trade data with other 3DS Miis via Street Pass to find out the last software they've downloaded, play games against them, and find out what country they come from.

Once you’ve finished making your Mii, you can upoad into a pre-installed game called Face Raiders which essentially lets you put your face in the game, and well, shoot at it.

5/ Nintendo 3DS: Activity log
If you need to keep track of how long you’ve been rattling away on Mario Kart 3D, or how many steps you’ve taken with 3DS in tow, a series of graphs helps you to keep an eye on your 3DS habits and earn Play coins depending on your step progress.

6/Sky and Eurosport 3D content
Showing off its credentials as device that is not just about gaming, Nintendo announced that it's partnering with Sky 3D to make short-form content available to watch on the 3DS. Eurosport is also in talks to provide similar 3D sport content, while more child-friendly content arrives courtesy of a deal with Aardman Animations who will make one-minute episodes of Shaun the Sheep available to download.

7/ Nintendo 3DS e-Shop
Here’s where you can get your virtual hands on digital download content for the 3DS and most crucially, access to original Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles which includes the original Super Mario Land.

8/ Nintendo 3DS Accessories
A 2GB SD card will be bundled with the portable console, while a charging cradle which keeps your 3DS in sleeping mode, will also be included in the box.

9/ Nintendo 3DS: Augmented Reality games
AR certainly has a big part to play in tech in the immediate future and beyond, and the 3DS can also show off its AR capabilities with a series of pre-installed AR games that uses a series of cards to display 3D effects and mini-games.

http://www.t3.com/feature/nintendo-3ds-everything-you-need-to-know

Qualcomm & ooVoo Launch The First High Resolution Video Conferencing on A Mobile Platform

New York, NY (January 5, 2011)— Qualcomm, the world leader in next-generation mobile technologies, and ooVoo, a leading video communication service with best-in-class mobile video chat solutions, today announced a business partnership that breaks new ground in mobile communications.
Qualcomm and ooVoo will jointly demonstrate mobile video chat with high resolution technology at the Qualcomm booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 5-9, 2011. The partnership promises to deliver better quality and functionality, and provide longer battery life which will improve the user experience in mobile video conferencing.

Qualcomm leads the industry in high performance mobile media hardware solutions and has identified ooVoo’s mobile video chat as the service that can best showcase Qualcomm’s hardware capability. ooVoo allows up to six users to simultaneously participate on a video call without compromising quality. The company’s innovation in mobile video chat software, integrated with Qualcomm’s differentiated hardware, will elevate the mobile experience to levels that have not been achieved by competitive video chat services.
“We’re delighted to work in partnership with Qualcomm to deliver the best mobile video conference in the market place,” said Philippe Schwartz, CEO at ooVoo. “ooVoo continues to strive for best-in-class mobile video chat anywhere, anytime. Our game-changing technology allows users to experience high quality, multi-device and multi-party video chat in ways that is not available with other services.”

In December, ooVoo launched the first 4G mobile video chat service that simultaneously connects smartphone, PC and Mac users. Users can experience high quality mobile video chat by downloading the ooVoo Mobile application for WiFi or 4G-enabled smartphones.

About Qualcomm  
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in next-generation mobile technologies. For 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of wireless communications, connecting people more closely to information, entertainment and each other. Today, Qualcomm technologies are powering the convergence of mobile communications and consumer electronics, making wireless devices and services more personal, affordable and accessible to people everywhere.


About ooVoo
Based in New York, ooVoo is the number two video calling service behind Skype. We’re committed to be the best at the video experience and we’ve grown to 20 million users worldwide. We think video communications is cool and we know that our quality and video experience is at the forefront of this new communications medium. We use ooVoo daily no matter where we are – on the playground, in a conference room, or in the air. Which is why we are connected and engaged to create a community people want to be a part of. WE ARE VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS.

 http://www.oovoo.com/SelectedPressReleases/1_5_2011_QualcommAndOoVooLaunchTheFirstHighResolutionVideoConferencingOnAMobile.htm

News Corp. Says It’s Ready To Sell MySpace

In an earnings call today, News Corp. officially stated it plans to sell MySpace. During the call, COO Chase Carey said that “now is the right time” to attempt to place the social network “under a new owner.”MySpace has undergone drastic changes in the past year, including a ground-up redesign, total repositioning as a media company rather than a social network per se, renegotiation of its advertising deal with Google (a key part of the site’s revenue), and a staff shuffling that saw more than one key executive relocating to a new venture.

Moreover, almost half of MySpace’s staff was served pink slips at the beginning of 2011, further reducing overhead.

Yet in spite of these changes, News Corp. said in today’s call that the parent company isn’t entirely pleased with the results. Ad revenues are lower than they once were, and “results at MySpace have been below our expectations,” a company rep said.

“The new MySpace has been very well received by the market and we have some very encouraging metrics,” Carey said. “But the plan to allow MySpace to reach its full potential may be best achieved under a new owner.”

The MySpace renovations have not been cheap for its parent company. In its earnings statement, News Corp. said that while cable and broadcasting revenues are solid, the company “recorded a $275 million pre-tax charge for the impairment of goodwill related to the Digital Media Group and an organizational restructuring at MySpace.”

Rumors of MySpace’s eventual sale to an entity outside the News Corp. family have been swirling for some time. But Carey’s confirmations in today’s call suggest News Corp., which bought MySpace in 2005 for $580 million, would prefer that sale happen sooner rather than later.
MySpace has been, as far as digital properties are concerned, a fixer-upper; and News Corp. has done a lot to fix it up. But are the site’s repositioning, reorganization and redesign enough to make it a good buy for another entity? We’re as curious as anyone to learn how this saga will conclude and what will become of MySpace once its News Corp./Fox Digital era comes to an end.

http://mashable.com/2011/02/02/news-corp-selling-myspace/

iPad Bluetooth Keyboard

If you like with Ipad, you must read this news. As a tablet PC, iPad is fairly attractive and elegant. No doubt Apple tablet is a favorite of gadget lovers in the world. Sure, as a replacement laptop iPad is considered practical enough to carry anywhere. In fact, the iPad recorded can raise its own prestige value for its users.

However, as a device that relies on the function of touch in many ways, such as iPad tablet PC seems to be less efficient at any given time. For example, when needed as a tool for access to type fast. Impact, on the condition of the keyboard function is ‘physical’ sense-it’s really necessary. It’s known, iPad simply having a virtual keyboard. Keyboard for Ipad call is Ipad Bluetooth Keyboard.

Well, for those users who are often constrained problem ‘type fast’, it seems now there are interesting solutions. Bluetooth Keyboard is the iPad, an integrated keyboard for iPad in the form of casing. So, this gadget tangible casing equipped with a keyboard, where these alphanumeric board later can be used as a medium for input when typing on the iPad, via the Bluetooth connection.

Nan unique functional keyboard is equipped with a variety of function buttons that are expected based on the iPad. Like Home, Volume, Search, and iPod Control. There is also the ‘Play’, which can be used to control the songs in a playlist is active.

IPad Bluetooth Keyboard already available in online stores thinkgeek with Price $65.

 http://newsgadgetnew.com/

Kinect for Xbox 360

Microsoft has finally confirmed costs for their new motion sensor control system Kinect, stating that the device will retail for £129.99 and include launch title Kinect Adventures. Having been designed to rival Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s similar device, the PlayStation Move for the PS3, it seems strange to see the peripheral debut at a price which is just £35 less than the Wii console itself and double the price of Sony’s Move bundle, set to launch in September for £59.99.

“Kinect for Xbox 360 offers fantastic new ways to be entertained for the whole family,” said Chris Lewis, vice president, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Europe. “With full body, voice and multiplayer play straight out of the box, Kinect is a unique way for everyone to enjoy controller-free fun and entertainment.”

However, with the assumed advantage of controller-free entertainment yet to be established (see my recent ‘Hands-on with Xbox 360 Kinect’ blog), Microsoft have taken a huge leap of faith by investing so much in this new technology. By launching Kinect with largely family orientated titles, Kinectimals, Kinect Sports, and Kinect Joy Ride, they are taking the gamble that families will invest in the device having been wooed by the hype offensive which is sure to kick into overdrive soon.
Perhaps the more competitively priced Xbox 360 4GB console will be the preferred choice of many. Bundled with the Kinect sensor and Kinect Adventures it certainly offers more value and is the more tempting option, however for owners of the 40 million Xbox 360 consoles already out this console bundle is clearly not such a good choice.

When all is said and done consoles and peripherals sell on the strength of their games and it is here where Microsoft’s Kinect might struggle. Having taken the decision to largely overlook the so-called ‘hardcore’ gaming audience – those who play first-person shooters, action-adventure games and so on – Microsoft have left themselves in the unenviable position of having to sell a £129.99 peripheral to parents who might already own a Wii anyway. Without being able to demonstrate too much in the way of innovative software what is there to attract Wii owners to the device?

Of course, if Microsoft’s “You are the controller” slogan catches on then expect Kinect to spread like rapid fire around the nation’s living rooms.

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2010/07/21/xbox-kinect-priced-at-129-99-but-is-it-worth-it/

LG-Star

The LG Star. The dual-core beast from the east that was once a mere twinkle in our eye has managed to find its way to the Engadget mansions, having been lent to us by a very generous (and very anonymous) tipster. It's clearly a test device, as evidenced by its diagnostics menus and lack of a lockscreen, but there's no disguising the power that lies within it. We put the Star through a battery of common Android benchmarks and the results were, in a word, outstanding. Basically, Tegra 2 will give anything your current phone's running an inferiority complex. Join us after the break as we delve deeper into this upcoming powerhouse of a handset from LG. One thing's for sure: CES 2011 can't come soon enough.

Before we get to the raw power encased within the LG Star, it's requisite to discuss the phone's external hardware. This isn't a blade server, after all, and people are going to expect their smartphone to look the part too. Some perfectionists will be put off by the generous heaping of bezel at the bottom of the Star and the quirky spine-like column that spans its rear, but on the whole it's mostly an unadventurous and safe design, exuding the same uncomplicated slate aesthetic as most of its contemporaries. There's one device we're immediately reminded of when handling the Star and that's HTC's Droid Incredible -- albeit with the slight (major?) difference that LG's new handset offers a larger 4-inch display.

The 800 x 480 panel on this phone is rather gorgeous. We can tell from its imperfect blacks that it's not an AMOLED display, but it also exhibits viewing angles that are distinctly superior to your run-of-the-mill LCD. Whatever it is, it delivers a lucid and vibrant picture. The glass covering it is flat -- none of that fancy Nexus S stuff -- but slopes off at the sides to soften the edges and improve ergonomics slightly.

A pair of grilles at the bottom of the handset provides the sound output and, presumably, input -- there's only one loudspeaker sat behind one of the meshes, we're guessing the other's occupied by a mic (if that seems familiar, it's because Apple's been doing it for a good while now). We were pleasantly surprised by the loud and punchy sound the Star's solo speaker puts out, which, allied to the strong display, provides the basic competency required of a compelling multimedia phone.

The software on this bad boy is definitely not fully baked yet -- it didn't even have a lockscreen on our first boot yet suddenly discovered one on the second -- so we're leaving that stuff aside until LG itself decides to furnish us with a unit. If you simply must know what the company's slightly tweaked Android 2.2 experience is like, you might want to check out its LU3000 handset, which is about to launch over in South Korea in the coming days.

An additional note worth making here is that the initial Star leak came with the juicy implication that Gingerbread could be the Android version shipping with final units, so we'll have to just wait to find that out. The unknown maturity of the software should also be kept in mind when looking at our benchmark scores -- for all we know, LG could already be testing much better code than the stuff that's on our proto unit. Still, check out the video below for our performance test results, we doubt you'll be disappointed.

Those numbers were also borne out by our hands-on experience with the LG Star, which tracked our homescreen swipes without hesitation or perceivable lag. The unfinished software does chug down quite often, seemingly entranced in an existential contemplation as to where it's going and what it's doing with its life, but the hardware performance is unquestionably top-notch. Hell, it's punching out a new notch all for itself when it comes to raw CPU prowess. Sadly, the Star refused to play back any video clips we loaded onto it, irrespective of format, so we weren't able to verify our suspicion that it's capable of handling 1080p content. YouTube video in HQ mode and Flash clips embedded on webpages played without a hitch.

This is seriously shaping up to be one of next year's highlight devices (and if it isn't, it just means 2011 will be a spectacular year in smartphones). We'd almost call it a return to form for LG, but then the Korean company has never really had the sort of form the Star's exhibiting -- it's never led from the front in the way this handset promises to do. We'll be hoping to see a lot more of the Star at CES, perhaps with some Gingerbread firmware on board... how about it, LG?

http://www.engadget.com/lg-star/preview/

Tumblr

More of a "miniblog" than a microblog, Tumblr offers some of the instant gratification of Twitter and some of the richer formatting and media capabilities available in standard blogging services such as Blogger, LiveJournal, or Vox. Tumblr goes deeper than true microblog sites, adding richer goodies such as photos, video support, and feeds. With it you can create a "tumblelog," which the company describes this way: "If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks." These are usually full of prominently dated posts that are short on text and long on clipped pictures, video, quotations, and other Web artifacts. The archetypal example is Projectionist.

Tumblr combines the quick Web-posting and mobile-posting capabilities of Twitter with standard blog features such as a choice of page themes, rich-text formatting, and your own URL. Entries get their own pages, but they're not longer than the post on the main page. These pages don't have the comment capability you'd find on a fuller-fledged blogging service, so, if you're looking for validation in the form of feedback, this isn't the service for you. Unlike most microblogs, Tumblr doesn't have a page dedicated to public posts, and the posting entry box isn't on the same page as the entries themselves. I don't think these are actually shortcomings, as the service's aim is different from that of blogs and microblogs—but if you're accustomed to those features, the lack may feel a bit odd at first.

To get Tumbling, just fill in the site's simple sign-up. All you need is an e-mail address (which will be your account name), a password, and a title for your Tumblr Web address (as in title.tumblr.com). You'll do most of your posting from the Dashboard, where there are options for Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat, and Video. Don't be fooled by the Chat button—it's just a text entry where you're supposed to paste text from a chat dialog you had or saw: The post will be formatted to look like a conversation.—Next: Are you ready to Tumbl?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2195458,00.asp 

Twitter

Twitter, which was created by a 10-person startup in San Francisco called Obvious, is a heady mixture of messaging, social networking, "microblogging" and something called "presence," shorthand for the idea that people should enjoy an "always on" virtual omnipresence.

Twitter's rapid growth made it the object of intense interest and a fair amount of ridicule, as it was derided as high-tech trivia or the latest in time-wasting devices. But its use in Iran in the wake of the disputed presidential election of June 2009 to organize protests and disseminate information in the face of a news media crackdown brought it new respect.

"Twitterers" or "tweeters" send and receive short messages, called "tweets," on Twitter's Web site, with instant messaging software, or with mobile phones.

When a user is logged in through the Web or a cellphone, it asks one simple question, "What are you doing?" Users answer in 140 characters or fewer. While some of these tweets have the profundity of haiku, most are mundane, like "Sure is pretty out tonight" or "My eyes itch. I am very aggravated."

Unlike most text messages, tweets are routed among networks of friends. Strangers, called "followers," can also choose to receive the tweets of people they find interesting.

In April 2010, Twitter rolled out a much-anticipated plan for making money from advertising, finally answering the question of how the company expects to turn its exponential growth into revenue.

The advertising program, which Twitter calls Promoted Tweets, will show up when Twitter users search for keywords that the advertisers have bought to link to their ads. Later, Twitter plans to show promoted posts in the stream of Twitter posts, based on how relevant they might be to a particular user.

In its short history, Twitter has become an important marketing tool for celebrities, politicians and businesses, promising a level of intimacy never before approached online, as well as giving the public the ability to speak directly to people and institutions once comfortably on a pedestal.

But someone has to do all that writing, even if each entry is barely a sentence long. In many cases, celebrities and their handlers have turned to outside writers - ghost Twitterers, who keep fans updated on the latest twists and turns, often in the star's own voice.

It is not only celebrities who are forced to look to a team to produce real-time commentary on daily activities, but also politicians like Ron Paul, who have assigned staff members to create Twitter posts and Facebook personas. Barack Obama's presidential campaign used Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

In 2009, people in Iran and Moldova created their own searchable tags on Twitter to organize protests against their governments and share information with each other and the world. In April, Moldovans used the network to rally more than 10,000 young people against their country's Communist leadership. And in June, Iranian opposition supporters angry over presidential election results used Twitter and other forms of new media to share news on rallies, police crackdowns on protesters, and analysis.

With the authorities blocking text-messaging on cellphones, Twitter has become a handy alternative for information-hungry Iranians. While Iran has also tried to block Twitter posts, Iranians are skilled at using proxy sites or other methods to circumvent the official barriers.

In a notable moment during the Iranian protests,  State Department official e-mailed Twitter to request a delay in scheduled maintenance of its global network, which would have cut off service while Iranians were using Twitter to swap information and inform the outside world about the mushrooming protests around Tehran.

Twitter complied with the request and briefly postponed its upgrade. The episode demonstrated the extent to which the Obama administration views social networking as a new diplomatic tool. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talks regularly about the power of e-diplomacy, particularly in places where the mass media are repressed.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/twitter/index.html 

iPad 2

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - iPad 2 yang diluncurkan di San Francisco, Rabu, menurut bos Apple Steve Jobs adalah produk yang melambangkan langkah besar dengan "rancangan yang sepenuhnya baru".

Seperti diberitakan Daily Mail, produk itu lebih tipis, lebih ringan dan dua kali lebih cepat dari sebelumnya.  Ada kamera belakang dan depan sehingga bisa digunakan untuk video conferencing.

Chip-nya disebut A5 dengan dual core processor, teknologi ini serupa dengan laptop berkemampuan tinggi.

Grafiknya disebut-sebut sembilan kali lebih cepat dibanding seri sebelumnya.

Tebal yang 8,8mm berarti 33 persen makin tipis dibandingkan pendahulunya, bahkan lebih tipis dari iPhone 4.

Beratnya juga makin ringan; 1,3 pond sedangkan sebelumnya 1,5 pond.

Biarpun beratnya makin ringan, tapi daya tahan baterainya hingga 10 jam. Mode standby bisa mencapai lebih dari satu bulan sebelum perlu di"cas" lagi.

iPad 2 tersedia dalam warna hitam dan putih. Hal yang masih sama dengan pendahulunya adalah tidak ada memory card slot atau USB port dan tidak Flash "support". Harganya juga tak makin mahal dibanding sebelumnya, mulai dari 499 dolar hingga 829 dolar di AS.

Sistem operasinya telah diperbarui yaitu IOS5 dan sejumlah aplikasi baru di antaranya yang menyangkut movie editing dan uploading video clip.

Tersedia juga alat musik virtual yaitu grand piano, drum dan gitar. Layarnya 9,7 inci, 1024x768 LCD, prosesor 1,2GHZ Apple A5, RAM 512 MB.

Aksesorinya antara lain kabel HDMI video-out. Tampilan di iPad akan sama persis dengan di layar monitor, kata Jobs. Harga kabel itu 39 dolar.

Lebih menarik lagi, kata Jobs, adalah Smart Cover yang bisa dilipat sehingga jadi sandaran iPad. Aksesori itu juga otomatis membangunkan iPad saat anda membukanya. Saat ditutup, Smart Cover otomatis membuat iPad dalam mode sleep. Hal itu bisa dilakukan karena Smart Cover dilengkapi magnet sehingga selalu menutup dengan pas. Jobs mengatakan bahwa tersedia 5 pilihan polyutethane seharga 39 dolar atau kulit seharga 69 dolar.

http://www.antaranews.com/berita/248387/ipad-2-lebih-tipis-dari-iphone-4