Apple Inc., the tech industry’s golden child goes for the jugular. And this time, payback is for REAL! Their newest iteration of the iPhone, aptly named the iPhone 4, is already a hit.
Apparently there was so much demand for it that Apple’s and AT&T’s websites couldn’t handle the surge in orders. Even with a less than perfect launch, they were still able to sell 600,000 units.
Being a current iPhone 3G owner, I too am stupefied by Apple’s genius and would love to get my grubby little hands on the new iPhone. The new iPhone 4 comes with a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 3.5” HD resolution touch screen, and sleeker styling. But the most anticipated feature has to be the front facing camera that can be used to video chat with other iPhone 4 users.
One of Apple’s biggest rivals, Microsoft, was breaking some news of their own at the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles, CA. They unveiled the Kinect “controller” for the Xbox 360.
The Kinect is an attachment with a high tech motion sensing camera and microphone and makes the Xbox 360 similar to the Wii. The main difference between the Kinect and Wii is that you don’t need an actual controller in your hand for the Kinect. That’s right, the Kinect is the controller. No doubt that Microsoft is going after the Wii’s target market, but they might be a day late and a dollar short on this one.
Well, for one thing, for all its hyped motion sensing capabilities, the Kinect probably isn’t going to be cheap. Rumors about its price have put it in the range of around $100 to $150. Considering that you can get a the whole Wii gaming system with a game for around $190, the Kinect sits in a premium price point for being just an accessory for a gaming system that already costs $200.
However, the Kinect does come packed with some nice features for its price. For one thing, you just use your hands to navigate any on screen menus and play games. In addition to controlling the device with just your hand you can also do it by voice commands. Imagine never having to lift a finger (literally!) to control playback for all of your favorite movies and TV shows.
While Apple and Microsoft are off releasing new toys to the awaiting public, it’s trendy again to be 3D. Nintendo debuted their new 3DS handheld gaming system which basically is a, you guessed it, a 3D version of the Nintendo DS. With its less than impressive execution of 3D technology, it does have one saving grace. A switch to turn off the 3D. At Computex, a tradeshow for PC manufacturers held in Tapei, MSI and Asus released their new 3D PC lines.
These PCs can show 3D games, movies, photos, and TV. If you’re tired of the 3D then you just press a switch to come back to 2D. What would a man who has a 3D PC and a 3D TV to complete his arsenal? How about a 3D camcorder?
Hammacher Schlemmer has the answer. Their new camcorder, listed as item 78649 on the website, shoots 3D video using a 3 megapixel camera and the records video in 640 x 480 pixel resolution. For $600, I would say it’s more for the amateur “filmmaker” that wants to expand their craft rather than someone looking for a good HD camcorder that doesn’t focus on gimmicks.
