Schmadget: November 2006

Thursday 30 November 2006

Wii Experience

I came across this site the other day (not really sure why I didn't find it before?) which has loads of videos of people using the Wii controller for the first time.

It's really interesting to watch how people react and use the controller to swing virtual tennis rackets, golf clubs and baseball bats. I can't help but smile when watching the fun they all seem to have when using the motion sensitive controller.

They quite deliberately have a wide range of people in the videos with plenty of girls and oldies using it to show how they hope it will appeal to lots of different people.

Anyway, if you have any interest in using the Wii, check it out. I think it looks awesome and can't wait to get my hands on one at Christmas to wipe the floor with my family at Wii tennis!

Wednesday 29 November 2006

Gear4 BluEye - bluetooth for your iPod

So you've got an iPod right? And a bluetooth enabled mobile phone?

But when you're listening to your iPod and the phone rings, you don't necessarily hear it or you have to fumble around taking your earphones out and grabbing your phone, by which time you've missed the call.

Sound familiar? I know it happens to me all the time. That's where the BluEye comes in and it may just make your life a bit easier. It looks like a pretty awesome little device.

Basically, it does what the Apple iPod remote does i.e. act as a radio receiver as well as a remote control for your iPod but it has one other key feature - it connects to your mobile phone via bluetooth.

So now when you're listening to your iPod and your phone rings, the BluEye automatically pauses the music and displays the incoming phone number on your iPod's screen. You can either accept or reject the call and it routes the caller's voice from your phone through your iPod earphones!

Your voice is picked up by an integrated mic in the BluEye device, so it will effectively act like a hands free kit. And when you finish the call, your music resumes! How cool is that?

You can even use it to make calls via voice dialling and bring up the recent callers list on your iPod screen to dial. All that as well as being a radio receiver and remote control? Pretty impressive stuff.

The full features list looks like this:

Make and receive calls on your iPod
Plug' n' Play with most Bluetooth enabled mobile phones
Caller Number ID displayed on iPod screen
Automatically pause and resume music for incoming calls
Last 9 numbers redial from your iPod
Voice dial when paired with supported Bluetooth phones
15 Presets and auto scan FM Radio
Use your own headphones
No need for batteries
Bluetooth 2.0
Available in black and white

It's already available in the UK at Carphone Warehouse and will be shipping directly from Gear4 on 3rd December. It recently also got a 90% rating in a review from The Register.

Definitely one of the cleverest and most useful gadgets I've seen in quite a while and at £49.99 not too pricey. I'll be adding it to my wish list!

Tuesday 21 November 2006

PS3 and Wii launch in the US

The US market is the first to get the next generation holy trinity of 360, PS3 and Wii.

The two new kids on the block joined the 360 and launched in the US at the weekend. As you might imagine, chaos reigned as people queued for days to get hold of them. The PS3 was in particularly short supply and caused a mini crime spree with armed robberies and shootings - only in America!

So, what happens next? Well, the reviews have been flying, mostly positive for the PS3 and Wii but both have also had some negative press, most notably the New York Times panned the PS3.

Both have suffered with some technical glitches as well, some Wiis are getting 'fatal errors' when upgrading the firmware and the PS3 is having backwards compatibility, HDTV compatibility and a few other issues. All to be expected these days with new technology unfortunately.

I still remain quite skeptical about the PS3, technical glitches and game compatibility issues not withstanding, it's inevitably getting compared to the 360 and the comparison doesn't look that great for the PS3.

The 360 has had a year's head start on the PS3 to iron out it's own issues, enhance it's multi-media offering and for game developers to learn how to harness it's graphical power.

People are looking at the considerably more expensive PS3 and wondering why they need to pay so much extra for something that doesn't really do anything more than the 360 and at this stage doesn't offer the superior graphics or game play that Sony promised (the launch line-up of games on the PS3 is pretty lacklustre). That will change over time I'm sure but for now, today, it's got no real advantage, unless you want a cheapish Blu-ray player.

And what of the Wii? Well, in some ways it's off on it's own because Nintendo never got into the technical arms race, so they aren't necessarily being judged on the same criteria. For the Wii, it's all about the innovation. Most people seem to think it lives up to it's potential so far and is great fun to play. Whether that feeling can last and whether it turns out to be a novelty only time will tell but the DS vs PSP battle has seemingly proved that innovation and interesting game play can win the day over pure graphical power and multi-media capabilities.

Today though, I put my money where my mouth is and pre-ordered a Wii from Amazon, ready for it's UK launch on December 8th. And I expect that next year I will be getting a 360, purely for Halo 3. So that's my decision made. I'll let you know next year whether I think I made the right one.

Where do you stand with the next-gen consoles? Post your thoughts and what you intend on buying in the comments!

Updated: Typos and stuff.

Thursday 16 November 2006

New Halo 2 maps and Halo 3 beta

Well well well, Microsoft want some of Sony and Nintendo's PR action this week and have announced that in spring next year they will be releasing new Halo 2 multi-player maps and a public beta of the online multi-player component of Halo 3.

Both the new maps and the Halo 3 beta will of course be exclusive to the Xbox 360, giving people a few reasons to pause for thought before they reach for their wallets this Christmas intent on buying a PS3 or Wii.

I've always thought that I'd wait until Halo 3 is released before getting a 360 but maybe, just maybe, this might speed up my decision.

But that's next year. First, I've got something far more important to buy...

Wednesday 15 November 2006

Zune goes on sale in US

After all the talk and build up, Microsoft finally launched the Zune on Tuesday as their challenge to the ubiquitous iPod.

The reviews and comments so far haven't been particularly favourable. It seems odd that Microsoft have released what seems to be such a half-baked product if they truly want to dethrone the iPod.

Most of the reviews so far have picked out the major short-comings of the device as being it's significantly larger size, worse battery life and less attractive design compared with the iPod; the lack of compatibility with the PlaysForSure standard Microsoft has been touting until now; it's lack of integration with the Xbox 360; the lack of video available in the Zune Marketplace; the mixed experiences with the Zune software and perhaps most surprising of all, the fact that the software appears to be incompatible with Windows Vista - Microsoft's own new operating system!

It does have some advantages over the iPod though, like it's built in FM radio, larger screen (although with the same resolution as the iPod) and the ability to share songs wirelessly, albeit with some significant restrictions.

But will it be enough? To truly compete with the iPod it needs to be pretty much perfect; Apple has spent the last 5 years perfecting the iPod and iTunes eco-system and has 3 models to choose from. Zune has just one 30 GB model. For now at least, there's no direct competitor to Apple's nano or shuffle.

If Microsoft can't even get the basics right - small size, excellent industrial design, great software integration and experience - what hope have they got?

The wireless capabilities are pretty much pointless unless there are a lot of other Zunes around and somehow, I think that is going to be highly unlikely - particularly as Microsoft have no current plans to release it outside of the US.

So if you see a Zune, take a picture, I think it's going to be a pretty rare sight.

Saturday 11 November 2006

PS3 goes on sale in Japan

Sony today released the PS3 to thousands of queuing fans in Japan. People started getting in line yesterday and by 7.00am local time today they were being turned away before the shops were even open!

There were only 100,000 units available in Japan at launch and as you might expect they have completely sold out. When the console launches in the US next Friday there will be 400,000 units ready to be snapped up.

As you probably know by now, we in Europe will have to wait until March next year to get our hands on a PS3, by which time Sony says it will have shipped 6 million of the next generation consoles worldwide.

In contrast, Microsoft, who launched their Xbox 360 a year ago, have already sold 6 million units and expect that figure to be around the 10 million mark by the end of this year.

Nintendo's Wii enters the fray in the US on November 19th just two days after the PS3, followed in Japan on December 2nd and then Europe on December 8th.

The next generation console war has begun. It will be fascinating to see how the 3 machines fair in the coming months once supply and demand reach a balance and the initial rush subsides.

Is the Nintendo going to get trampled under foot in the stampede for the PS3 and can the PS3 catch up with the 360 after it's year long lead?

Only time will tell. We'll keep you posted.

Wednesday 8 November 2006

MacBook goes Core 2

Hot on the heels of the MacBook Pro update last week, Apple today announced a revised MacBook notebook range sporting Core 2 processors ranging from 1.83 - 2.0 GHz.

The 2.0GHz models now also feature double the memory at 1GB, bigger hard drives, 6x dual-layer-burning SuperDrives and 4MB L2 cache as standard. Otherwise the specs remain the same.

There's still a price premium for the top of the range black model and all you get for that is a larger 120GB hard drive (80GB on the 2.0GHz white version), it is only £20 more than the white model with the same hard drive though.

But with prices starting at £749 for the lower end 1.83GHz model and only £999 for the top end blackie, they still represent excellent bang for your buck.

See more over at Apple.

Tuesday 7 November 2006

Xbox Live Video to offer HD downloads

Microsoft have announced that they will start offering movie and tv downloads through Xbox Live on November 22nd in the US.

This is a significant announcement for a few reasons, perhaps most importantly that some of the content will be in high definition, which places them at the cutting edge of video downloading.

They're clearly moving to counter on two fronts: firstly to compete with Amazon's Unbox service and Apple's iTunes and iTV; and secondly to differentiate the Xbox 360 from the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii.

It's a very interesting move that gives Microsoft a leg-up on their competition in a few ways. If they decide to link the Xbox 360 with the upcoming Zune, it could give them an interesting eco-system with which to properly compete with the iPod, with the full living room through to portal device strategy that Apple is now obviously pursuing.

Could Microsoft actually get there before Apple?

And it kind of neuters one of Sony's key points about the PS3 and it's Blu-ray drive. In some ways it's a leap beyond the next-generation DVD battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray. Why buy physical high definition media when you can just download it to a device that is already plugged into your TV?

Everything is converging as the technology becomes more pervasive - where do you draw the line between the battle for the living room, next-gen consoles and high definition media or are they just part of a much wider war for our homes, content and entertainment in general? I think so.

For more details of Xbox Live Video head over to Engadget HD.

Saturday 4 November 2006

iPod shuffle shipping and RED 8Gb nano (Updated)

UPDATE: Hmm, this post seemed to get lost amongst the blogger problems on Saturday, so am reposting it.

Apple keep busting out these new iPods. Friday saw the expected official launch of the tiny second generation shuffles (left) which are now shipping.

We also saw a surprise 8GB RED nano launched as well. So the RED nanos now come in 4 and 8GB options!

Which new iPod do you want? I picked up an 8GB nano a couple of weeks ago and I love it.

Schmadget