Posted in Computing, Wireless
Posted on 09 May 2013. Tags: activision, apple, ceo, computing, conference, during-the-very, ghosts, microsoft, nintendo, point-investors, such-as-pricing, uncertainties, video, video-game, year
Activision continues to break records with games like Call of Duty and Skylanders, but the video game industry’s No. 1 publisher has concerns about next-generation consoles.
“We continue to face the uncertainties of the console transition,” said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in an earnings conference call picked up by Expert Reviews.
“There are still many unknown factors, such as pricing, launch dates and quantities, [and] the level of first-party support.”
To that point, Microsoft has yet to announce the new Xbox, which is expected to launch this year, and Sony has unveiled only its initial plans for the holiday 2013-bound PS4.
The new class: Smartphones, tablets
Kotick acknowledged that non-traditional video game devices from companies like Apple and Google have become a competing factor in the minds of buyers.
“[More] importantly, consumer purchase intent in a world where consoles are no longer just competing with each other, but also with new platforms, such as smartphones and tablets.”
This echoes what video game analysts told TechRadar at the PS4 unveiling in February, citing “$.99 titles” as a reason Xbox 720 and PS4 may not meet expectations.
Kotick on Wii U
The Activision CEO only needed to point investors on the conference call to the Wii U, which launched last fall.
“In addition, the newest console, the Wii U, has had a very slow start,” he said of the Nintendo console’s struggling sales and lack of games.
“All of these factors further heighten our concerns heading into the back half of the year, particularly during the very competitive fourth quarter.”
Kotick sees the PS4 vs Xbox 720 debate as too narrowly focused, especially in an expanding marketplace with smartphones, tablets, and new devices like Ouya taking up consumers’ time and money.
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Posted in Computing, Mobile Phones
Posted on 09 May 2013. Tags: among-the-first, computing, gadgets, internal-memory, new-generation, rather-sizeable, sizeable, speculation, taiwanese, the-speculation, windows, year
HTC is reportedly preparing to launch its first Windows RT tablets once Microsoft launches the long-awaited Blue software update, and judging by today’s rumours, the machines look like a pair of beauties.
According to a PhoneArena tipster, the Taiwanese company is preparing two high-end tablets, the 7-inch R7 and the 12-inch R12 for launch later this year.
The R7, the source claimed, could bring a full HD, 1080p display and will be powered by a rather sizeable 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and 2GB of RAM.
The device may also tout a 13-megapixel camera, 16GB of internal memory plus a microSD card slot, along with a Bluetooth 4.0 and a 4G LTE radio.
Invasion of the 7-inchers
If the speculation proves to be genuine, the HTC R7 (with the R presumably named after Windows RT) would be among the first of a new generation of 7-inch Windows tablets.
The new Windows Blue update, which Microsoft plans for release later this year, is expected to relax specification requirements, allowing for smaller Windows RT tablets for the first time.
Beyond the R7, the HTC R12 is reported to be touting all of the same core specs along with a few more connectivity options, plus a super hi-res 2048 x 1536 display, which would match the iPad’s Retina display.
The report claimed both tablets have been slapped with a tentative launch date of Oct. 13, but we’ll be on the look out for firmer facts about these gadgets.
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Posted in Computing, Gadgets, Software, Wireless
Posted on 07 May 2013. Tags: amazon, apple, buying-guide, computing, description, guide, intel, microsoft, street, street-journal, surface, whether-or-not, windows, year
Whether the rumored Microsoft Surface Mini device is on its way is still unclear, but Asus is determined to release smaller and cheaper Windows 8 tablets starting within the next few months.
The Taiwanese manufacturer’s CEO Jerry Shen said that W8 tablets are likely to fall below $300 (UK£194, AU$295), according to the Wall Street Journal.
This move, expected to happen sometime this year, would allow tablets running Microsoft’s struggling operating system to compete with Apple’s iPad Mini and Google’s Nexus 7.
“We’re very optimistic about sales for Windows 8 tablets this year,” said Shen in a follow-up comment to the newspaper.
Falling prices, shrinking screens
The cheaper price of these tablets would also mean reduced screen sizes which, surprisingly, would be a first for the Windows 8 operating system.
The current Asus VivoTab, for example, is a 10-inch device, and that’s among the smallest of the W8 tablet screen sizes so far.
Although there are two versions of the VivoTab, one that runs Windows 8 and another ARM-powered Windows RT model, it’s unclear whether or not a smaller Asus tablet would be limited to Windows RT.
From Asus to Acer
Asus may not be the only Taiwan-based tablet manufacturer looking to get into the mini tablet market.
A leaked set of product images for an Acer tablet fit this description on Amazon.
The 8.1-inch device, able to be gripped single-handedly, had enough room to pack a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 1280 x 800 resolution display, according to the leaked specs.
Listed as the Acer W3-810, this tablet was priced at $379.99 (UK£246, AU$374) on the quickly pulled Amazon product page.
With manufacturers like Asus and Acer willing to try out new sizes, from really big to small, they may be able to peak the interest of tablet consumers who are flocking to Apple and Samsung.
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Posted in Computing, Software, Wireless
Posted on 05 May 2013. Tags: apple, consumer, gadgets, kickstarter, pebble, People, portable, smartwatch, technology, time, year
Unless you’ve somehow created a technological void or have stumbled upon this site through some kind of clicking frenzy, you’ll know it’s been a fascinating few years for portable technology.
There’s an extremely high likelihood you could be reading this on a smartphone or tablet right now and as these all-in-one devices fulfill the gadget gaps in our day-to-day lives considerably well, you’d never have thought there would be a need to be any more personally connected than you already are.
Samsung already confirmed
If the rumours are to be believed then almost every major technology brand out there thinks this clearly isn’t the case. Samsung – who shipped more smartphones than anyone else in the UK last year – have already confirmed they’re working on a smart watch.
Of course, any modern-day rumour mill wouldn’t be complete without a nod to Apple, who have filed a variety of patents that lend to the credence of a possible ‘iWatch’ arriving at some point later this year, if not sooner.
Lesser known brands have also taken the wearable market by storm such as Pebble with their smartwatch. Though not so independently intelligent as Google Glass or even Sony’s smartwatch, Pebble was clearly seen by the 85,000 or so Kickstarter backers as something more plausible as an accessible entry in to the world of wearable tech.
Without a tether to a compatible Android or iOS device, the Pebble on its own isn’t actually particularly smart – its capabilities are reduced to telling the time in a variety of fashions.
With Bluetooth connection to a smartphone though, the Pebble comes alive with a feed of notifications as well as returning intents to the smartphone of choice – such as control over music and many other possibilities – that no doubt developers will realise the full potential of once Pebble makes its way in to the hands of the masses, (many of the Kickstarter supporters are still waiting for their own to arrive).
Google have already laid out their future wearables quite clearly with Google Glass. Though the project has split opinions on whether people actually want to wander around with a prop straight out of Star Trek on their face, the technology is incredibly alluring and enough to make us think we’re truly living in the visions of the future laid out for us in films and TV sci-fi series for many decades.
Google in the lead
Google, however, are pretty much on their own when it comes to so-called smartglasses, other than the utterly uninspiring competitor product being touted by Vuzix. It’s clear that even manufacturers are not sold on the idea that wearable tech could be so brazenly obvious and literally in your face.
A large portion of the group that Google has chosen for their #IfIHadGlass ‘competition’ are mostly part of the elite, celebrities, high-profile technology journos and ultra-cool extreme sports types that will no doubt have been hand-picked for their circle of influence.
Google is hoping that these folk can convince the average person that wearing $1,500 of advanced technology on their head is the way forward, but it’s more likely that over the next couple of years it will just be considered the top-end in wearable possibilities and likely something that most people just aren’t ready for.
A smart watch, on the other hand (or wrist), costing a fraction of the current price-tag of Google Glass is much more appealing to the general public.
They could have a trendy wrist adornment supplying them with all the important stuff they need to be aware of without causing the social faux-pas of getting out their smartphone at the most inopportune moment.
Conversely, believing that colleagues, partners or bosses would be comfortable with us having a constant stream of distractions fed to our retinas in the form of some kind of headwear still seems a little far-fetched.
With the additional accessory of a high-resolution camera, the smartglasses become not only a potential privacy debate for tabloids to faun over but also something that will likely be banned in a variety of locations or institutions.
Smartwatches will be first to mass-market
So for now, smartwatch it is. The Apple iWatch, iWrist, iTime or whatever iNalogy they decide to call it will of course be incredibly popular.
It isn’t going to be the cheapest of the wearables by a long way but Apple’s intentions with the previous generation iPod Nano and wrist-strap accessories showed a glimpse in the direction Apple is likely to go.
It’s difficult to see them making it as just an accessory to a smartphone akin to the Pebble, because as with every other portable device they’ve ever produced, it has to stand up on its own if it’s going to be the consumer’s device of choice for pouring money in to Apple’s lap; indeed it could even be marketed as the ‘Next iPhone’.
It goes without saying that Samsung will introduce something similar, likely at a cheaper price point than Apple, and many other brands such as LG will jump on the wagon right behind them.
If this year isn’t, then 2014 will be the year of the smartwatch, when being concerned with details such as the time and date will be a minor function of whichever brand you choose.
You’ll be wondering what you ever did without one and we can only hope that being head-down and glued to your smartphone will be replaced by scores of us checking our watches repetitively as if time had suddenly gained a whole new level of importance.
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