The (Apple) Empire Strikes Back...

Apple has had their developer conference, and has delivered what everyone was expecting (which was a fair bit), plus a bit more to compensate for the over-zealous early advertising.

And so, i hear you ask, (No, I'm not standing at your door, listening to you mutter to yourself because you think this particular ferret may have finally 'lost it'. I'm just guessing. Legal Note: You may not in fact actually ask this question at all. The Publisher waives all liability to any losses, physical or otherwise that may have occurred due to misinterpretation of the abovementioned statement.) (to continue from above) what happened?

In a few short words, quite a lot. Just not all of it would be particularly interesting to you. The biggest thing that everyone was looking for was the new June 26 iPhone 3GS. It is not quite an overhaul, but more an answer to what users have been demanding for ages. Things like:

• Autofocus camera
• At last, real photos, kind of. It's now also 3 megapixel
• Video Recording
• Also useful, and something my old Motorazr V6 has been doing for a long time...
• It's faster
• Useful. As always, there is no such thing as a too fast processor. And the iPhone's was getting pretty far from that imaginary boundary, if you get my drift
• It's battery lasts longer
• Not just useful, it's about bloody time. The battery wasn't pathetic, but as with everything else about the iPhone, it wasn't as good as some of it's competitors
• Voice Control
• Useful. Sort of. I've never run into a situation when i thought "I wish i had set up Voice Control". And i don't think i'm going to yet. Still, the voice control even extends into the iPod functions and everything. Cool.
• A Compass
• A Compass? You mean one of those spinny things. Yes, the iPhone has a compass, but it's not just about telling which way north is, (which you can do with any analog watch), but enabling far better Google Maps, and thanks to TomTom, turn-by-turn satnav. Yay!
• Lower prices
• Always good, especially when they cut old model prices too!

As always, there is still a considerable list of stuff that isn't there. Anything from user-replaceable batteries (when Hell freezes over) to USB Storage support is still missing. Oh well, it's still good.


Now to less important news, and because i'm lazy i'm going to let my good friends over at Crave do the work for this bit:

• MacBook range revamped
• iPhone 3.0 software
• OS X update
• Safari 4
• and some other useless stuff
• see here: http://tinyurl.com/Crave-WWDC

Anyway, that's it for my WWDC coverage, but have a look around Crave for more info (they are disturbingly interested in the WWDC coverage game)...

E3 continues...

Having had Nintendo and Sony present their anticipated press conferences, it thought it apt to refresh my E3 coverage. They had big targets to meet after the Microsoft bombshell, and they were impressive, but was it enough...

We'll start with the Sony camp. One of the biggest unveilings (and the worst kept secret) was the PSP Go! Official details were released which was pretty much the same as the pre-release specs. Lighter, smaller, no UMD, now with Bluetooth, slide-out controls, and still no second analog stick. Also interesting was the online-style features. A partnership with eMusic for PSP-based music on the go, PS3 inter-operability, and a couple of other nice bits, apart from the obvious DLC-only gaming.
The PS3 has also been hit with a possible future revolution, with Tretton premiering not just an incredible volume of new games, but also a motion senitive controller, that is even capable of doing soft touches, such as knocking over dominoes. Impressive, and definitely a Wii-hunting move.

Now with Micorsoft and Sony going Wii-hunting, what would Nintendo's response be?
Pretty much nothing as it turns out! Their biggest announcement was a couple of DLC titles for the DS platform and the improved Wii Motion Plus. Yawn!

So that's it for the big three for this year. Let's hear it, who do you think won it? Who was most impressive? Who was an absloute dud?

UPDATE: I almost forgot. Nintendo released a heart-rate monitor for the Wii! Yes, i know it's pretty weird, but they were struggling...

E3 is here!

E3 2009 has started, and some of the big guns have already thrown in bombshells on the first day!

Biggest news of the day was, of course, Microsoft's big press conference. They were starting to look a touch like the lame duck of the console business, but they've just delivered a whopping great slap to the Wii! The next Xbox 360 add-on is based on the idea of your body controlling the game. Details are still a little on the sketchier side, but it seems that rather than having something like a Wiimote, the Xbox 360 add-on, codenamed Project Natal, uses a bar setup with camera, motion, sound, and even suggestions of 3D perceptions. If it works as well as they claim, it should be really impressive. But it still has no name, no price, no release date, no specs, no (or barely any) compatible games, and not really anything concrete at all. Crave even thinks that it won't be ready for E3 2010! My bet? When the Xbox 360 gets replaced, Natal will be ready and waiting.
Microsoft also announced a swag of new games for their soon-to-be-reborn console. Not too many gorundbreaking titles, but interesting nonetheless. Many sequels. Rock Band, Tony Hawk, Final Fantasy, Crackdown, Left4Dead, Splinter Cell, Forza Motorsport, and Halo (two of them) are all current franchises about to be given a boost. In fact, there was really only two new games, and one of those was a lightweight online-only game...

Yet more suprising Microsoft news :  Facebook and Twitter are coming to Xbox Live. Now i've always thought that Sony would throw in a port of either Facebook or MySpace (or new kid Twitter) into the PS3's PSN capabilities. But i've stopped waiting. And now Microsoft has jumped in and is (to be brutally frank) holding Nintendo and Sony by the balls. Only sign of light on the horizon is the Facebook Connect Standard which may yet make the jump to the PlayStation family. Wouldn't it be awesome to have Twitter on a PSP!

There are some other nice games from the likes of Ubisoft, but none seem earth-shatteringly new or particularly attention-grabbing, so i won't waste your time now.

Keep your ears (and/or eyes, unless you are somehow text-to-speeching my blog which is just weird) peeled as i try to keep you updated as Nintendo and Sony hit back tomorrow at 9:00 and 11:00 respectively (American time)...

CES 2009 hits off!

CES 2009 has finished and is looking very good indeed...

Suitcases that climb stairs, taps with gearshifters, a new Palm phone, and Wi-Fi on freakin everything...

And here is my list of the best hits: (Many thatnks to Crave for their comprehensive coverage)

1. Motorola finally releases a smartphone. Yay! It's Windows Mobile. Booo!

2. A Mad Catz joystick that not only looked like the Terminator had dropped his pants, but also has 11 programmable buttons...

3. PLenty of manufacturers announcing Tablet-style Netbooks. Oooooooooh...

4. 300,000 dollar stereos and 1,400 dollar headphones. Lotto, here i come!

5. Wi-Fi Blu-Ray players with Profile 2.0 Compatability, stream functions and connections to Netflix.

6. Wireless Laptop Monitors. About Time

7. Camcorders with Wi-Fi and even a web browser. Who said you couldn't do it, and who said you didn't need it? Of course you need the Net on your camcorder

8. Sony's little tiny little small, miniature little tiny little Vaio. How small can we get? Still no match for Sony's original mini-Tablet sliding Vaio...

9. Keyboards that have little robotic thingummies on them so they move around while you type. Cool. Sort of.

Number one hit, which also happens to be number one Gimmick:

The LG Watch Phone

1.43 inch touch screen, stereo bluetooth, text-to-speech, and everyone who uses one think they are a spy but is actually an absolute dickhead...