Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video
We’ll tell you that when we first got a chance to handle Apple’s latest generation of the iPod touch on Tuesday, our gadget-nerd alarms went clanging like there was a really, really bad fire somewhere. The improvements the company has made in design aren’t remarkable, but they are entirely welcome. The new housing is smooth, incredibly thin, and feels like a solid metal brick in your hands. The built-in speaker is a nice addition, as are those volume controls (finally!) — the screen is incredibly bright (on par with the iPhone 3G), though it also looks like it got the 3G’s new color temperature. On the software side, 2.1 is definitely feeling smoother and slicker than previous versions, the Nike+ inclusion is huge if you’re a runner, and the implementation is well integrated — overall, we’re leaning towards a thumbs-up on those bug fixes too. Unfortunately, we couldn’t seem to get the Genius function working on the device (anyone else having this issue?), though that may be more of a server-side conflict than something funky with the player, as we were getting errors in iTunes when trying to flip the switch. We’ll be blowing this out with a full review, but for now you can enjoy the succulent pics in the gallery below!
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Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Gaming, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video
We’ve heard Microsoft make vague references for some time about a Zune-like experience involving non-Zune devices (Windows Mobile phones, Xboxen), and it looks like they may be making real moves in that direction. A recent job posting from Redmond for a “Software Development Engineer in Test” calls on someone who “dream[s] about having a mobile phone based entertainment experience powered by a unified entertainment service across devices such as Zune, Xbox and PC.” Someone, the ad reads, who will, “create a ‘Connected Entertainment’ experience, realized through the Zune service, that spans multiple devices such as Zune, Xbox, PC and Mobile phones.” Sure, it’s not exactly a bold-faced advertisement for a cross-platform Zune environment — but it’s pretty damn close.
[Thanks, Ryan]
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Filed under: Gaming
According to an interview with Epic Games’ senior producer Rod Fergusson, developers for the Xbox 360 may be reaching the outer edges of what is graphically possible with the console. In an interview with Gamasutra, the Gears of War / Gears of War 2 head says that recent advances and refinements are pushing the system further than expected, though he still believes there’s some room to grow. In Fergusson’s words: “I think we’re certainly approaching the upper end of it, as far as what developers are able to do with it, but just looking at all the demos we saw today — ours and others — it’s clear that all the games just keep improving, and keep pushing that bar.” Of course, there’s a long gap between pushing a system to its limits and starting to look around for its replacement, though since we all know another iteration of the Xbox is inevitable, none of this news should come as any surprise. They have a name for things like this… progress.
[Via GameDaily]
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Filed under: Gaming
According to a GameSpot interview with Sony’s US director of hardware marketing John Koller, that new PSP-3000 screen may look a bit better… but it’s going to cost you about 20 minutes of battery life. Luckily for you gamers with endless pockets out there, Koller assures that minor wrinkle will be offset because, “We’re going to have the extended life battery that’s still available for consumers, so we’re still going to get the eight-to-ten hours out of that battery.” So just to make that clear, the regular battery life will be diminished, but you can buy a new, larger battery from Sony to extend your gaming time. Got that? Good. Watch him say it for real in the video after the break.
[Via T3]
Continue reading PSP-3000 battery life diminished by new screen, Sony suggests buying a bigger battery
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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds
We’ve already seen early pictures and heard a release date for GamePark’s newest handheld — the Wiz — but now Engadget Spanish has gotten their hands and eyes all over the device, and they’ve brought back photos to prove it. As you can see from the pics, the portable console will be offered with more than one style of casing, and apparently the company is setting up some type of App Store-like service which will allow users to purchase and download software, as well as share their own homebrew apps. According to our team, it looks like that October 8th street date will be pushed back till sometime in November due to issues with the right control pad (which GamePark is working to correct). Until then, you can just feast your eyes on the gallery below.
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div style=text-align center; divnWe have to hand it to Sony, they’ve followed up nicely on their worst kept secret a href=httpwww.engadget.com20090602engadget-and-joystiq-live-from-sonys-e3-2009-keynotetrade show jokesa with an ad campaign that is fittingly self aware. Our only gripe That cheap shot at Bernie Buncalan — his blog is pretty good. We also packed in another video after the break. Enjoy.pa href=httpwww.engadget.com20090827sonys-new-ps3-slim-ads-prove-it-gets-the-internet rel=bookmarkContinue reading emSony’s new PS3 Slim ads prove it ‘gets’ the internetemappFiled under a href=httpwww.engadget.comcategorygaming rel=tagGamingapp style=padding5px;background#ddd;border1px solid #ccc;clearboth;a href=httpwww.engadget.com20090827sonys-new-ps3-slim-ads-prove-it-gets-the-internetSony’s new PS3 Slim ads prove it ‘gets’ the interneta originally appeared on a href=httpwww.engadget.comEngadgeta on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 191500 EST. Please see our a href=httpwww.weblogsinc.comfeed-termsterms for use of feedsa.ph6h6a href=httpblog.us.playstation.com20090827it-only-does-everythingReada a href=httpwww.engadget.com20090827sonys-new-ps3-slim-ads-prove-it-gets-the-internet rel=bookmark title=Permanent link to this entryPermalinka a href=httpwww.engadget.comforward19143292 title=Send this entry to a friend via emailEmail thisa a href=httpwww.engadget.com20090827sonys-new-ps3-slim-ads-prove-it-gets-the-internet#comments title=View reader comments on this entryCommentsa
