gadget news and reviews

Upcoming PSP Games: April 1

The following is the Offical list of games, as published by SCEA, that will be released for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) in North America for April 2006. Note: This was the accurate list of games as of 03.29.06, games may be removed and new ones may be added later. Check PlayStation for any future updates. Also search our archives for previous title releases.

• 007: From Russia With Love – Electronic Arts
• Astonishia Story – Ubisoft
• Bust a Move: Deluxe – Majesco
• Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts – Activision
• Field Commander – Sony Online Entertainment
• FIFA World Cup 2006 – Electronic Arts
• Major League Baseball 2K6 – Take Two
• NBA Ballers®: Reboundâ„¢ – Midway
• OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast – Sega
• World Poker Tour – Take Two
• WRC: FIA World Rally Championship – Namco

Links: PSP Games Released in March 2006
Related: Play Station One Terminated | iTrip & iFM PSP – Griffin

PlayStation One Terminated 1

Sony’s first gaming console, the PlayStation, was pushed into the market in December 1994. Six years later, Sony released a re-designed smaller unit called the PSOne. (same hardware specs, only smaller than the original) The PS1 line has been on the market for over 11 years and as the PlayStation 3 (PS3) launch approaches, Sony has decided cease all PS1 production. (Over 100 million PSOne units have been produced) Even though all production has ended PS1 games won’t be going away too soon. SCEA has announced that they are working on an emulator to allow running PS1 games on the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Since the PS3 is fully backwards compatible, it will be able to play both PS1 and PlayStation 2 (PS2) games. (PS2 can already play PS1 games) Sony also mentioned that they expect to keep the PS2 in the market for at least another 4-5 years. PS1 fans and others who own many PS1 games should be very excited to hear this news.

Links: PlayStation Products | PS1 Specs
Related: Wikipedia: PlayStation | PlayStation Briefing

Google Finance Is Here +

Google Finance, which started up as a small project in Bangalore, India, and is still a BETA project has finally been introduced to the public today (March 03, 2006). Google Finance helps people find North American stocks, mutual funds, public/private company profiles, financial news, and more data results. Google Finance is very similar to Yahoo! Finance, except that Google offers more content and new ways to present it. For example, the service automatically pulls stories from Google News, which already accesses over 4,500 reliable news sources. Google Finance no longer requires remembering company stock symbols, but automatically forwards searches to the appropriate page. (a search for Microsoft goes to MSFT)

“We hope Google Finance lives up to that aim by offering a fresh perspective on company-related searches” – Google Finance Team

Instead of using pre-generated images to display stock price timelines, Google Finance uses interactive flash powered charts which are fast and easy to use. The charts can be set to display different time periods and will also displays links press releases from that time. Using many algorithms and ratings, the service displays links to blogs about the company. The product also automatically creates profiles from private companies, which competitors such as Market Watch and The Street don’t offer. If logged into a “Google Account”, a portfolio can be created for favorite stocks.

Links: Google Finance | Google Press Release
Recent: Google Mars Lanuched

iTrip & iFM PSP – Griffin 3

Griffin Technology recently announced three new products for Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP): iTrip PSP, iFM PSP, and SmartShare PSP. Their first product, iTrip PSP, is a FM tuner which streams audio to stereos. The second item, iFM PSP, allows listening to the radio and/or controling PSP music. Their third product, Griffin SmartShare, splits the audio for two headsets. All three of these look amazingly good because of their PSP-styled look. Although all three are a bit pricy, they are all brand-name products and seem very reliable. (Griffin iTrip Nano was amazing)

The first item, the Griffin iTrip Transmitter, is pretty much a “dock” in which the PSP can be placed into. (Similar to the iTrip Nano concept) The unit has a built in antenna, hardware controls, and a LCD display. (requires 2 AA batteries) The iTrip can broadcast 88.1 – 107.9MHz within a 10 – 30ft range. This unit currently available on the market for $50.

The second item, the Griffin iFM, is a FM Radio tuner for the PSP which connects to the PSP using a cable. (currently costs $50) The iFM is powered by the PSP and does not require any additional power supply. The unit can tune into stations 87.9 MHz – 107.9 MHz. The iFM will also functions as an external remote for the PSP (volume, track, play, etc.) and has a small LCD to display information. (has a pass-through port for headphones) Read More

Sony PlayStation Briefing +

On March 15, 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) held two press conferences. The first announcement came from Tokyo, Japan revealing the launch date for the PlayStation 3 (PS3). The second announcement came from Foster City, CA revealing their future plans for the 1-year-old PlayStation Portable (PSP).

At the first briefing Sony announced that the PS3 would have a world-wide launch (North America, Japan, and Europe) in early November 2006. They expect to have about 1 million units available during launch. SCEA has also confirmed that the PS3 will be using Blu-ray technology, which will be able to store a total of 50GB on a single disc. Sony also guaranteed that the PS3 would have 100% high-definition support as well as standard-definition for older TVs. The PS3 will also be able to access plenty of online content and can connect to millions of other users through any high-speed broadband network. Many expect a shortage of units since only 1 million units will be available at launch. SCEA has not yet confirmed the official price on the unit, but is expect to cost around $400-500. Some other items that SCEA mentioned was that the PS3 would come standard with a 60GB HDD and would be 100% backwards compatible with both PS1 and PS2 games. Read More

MacBook Pro Problems 62

Despite all the articles of defective Mac Book Pros, we decided to order one. We were disappointed when we saw how many problems the unit had. The first problem encountered was the loud hissing sound, which occurs when the LCD’s brightness was turned up all the way and the CPU wasn’t being put to work. The sounds didn’t seem too bothersome at first, but became extremely irritating after working with it for about 30 minutes. The biggest problem we ran into was with the touchpad. The touchpad on the unit we received was smashed in the top and was pushed off to the right. It wasn’t noticeable at first glance, but after working with it awkwardly for a few minutes we could tell that something was wrong. Read More

Google Mars Launched +

On Monday March 13, 2006, Google launched a new service called “Google Mars“. This new application allows browsing multiple scientific maps of the Mars from any browser. Only three types of maps are currently available. These maps will display elevation levels, visible imagery, and infrared maps of the surface. Google Mars uses the same user interface as Google Maps making it easy to navigate. Google also has added pinpoints to hundreds of major landmarks, which are accessible through a menu on mars.google.com. (This program was created with the help of NASA researchers from Arizona State University) This is a 2nd space-related project for Google, they had launched Google Moon in July ‘05.

Links: Google Mars | Google Blog
Related: Google Moon | Google Maps

The World’s Richest – 2006 +

On March 9, 2006, Forbes published their annual report on the world’s richest people. (Entitled: The World’s Billionaires) According to Forbes there were only 140 billionaires just 20 years ago, but the number rose to over 476 in the last 3 years and is now 793 in “06. India’s market grew by over 54% over the last 12 months and has now become the home to 10 billionaires. Other countries that recently got a boost in their economy include China and Russia. Bill Gates, the first on the list, has been number one for his twelfth consective year. (see link below for full list)

The Top Five: (Name – Country – Source – Value in Billions)

1. William Gates – USA – Microsoft – $50
2. Warren Buffet – USA – Berkshire – $42
3. Carlos Slim Helu – Mexico – Telecom – $30
4. Ingvar Kamprad – Sweden – Ikea – $28
5. Lakshmi Mittal – India – Steel – $23

The next five people on the list are Paul Allen, Brenard Arnault, Bin Talal, Kenneth Thomson, and Li Ka-shing respectively. Another notable person is Albert von Thurn, 22, who is now the youngest billionaire. Twelve people who left the list last year returned for some more, while another 39 were dropped from it. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, are both now valued at over $13 billion.

Links: The World’s Bilionaire (Forbes) | The Complete List
Related: Forbes’s Rich List | All Forbes’s Lists

NeWs Up^2-DaTe (31) +

CL2 | Comedy Central on iTunes | MS Origami | MSN Live

1) Google Calendar screenshots have been revealed by TechCrunch, a popular Web 2.0 blog. (Yahoo! apparently fed them the info) Anyways “to be launched” service is an online AJAX based calendar service, which is suppose to be called CL2. The service has a gmail-like user interface and will have plenty of colaboration features, including RSS. It should also become intergrated with many of Google’s other services.
Links: Tech Crunch | CL2 Login Screen

2) Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been added to the iTunes Store. The “season pass” will cost only $9.99 and will download the current episode plus the next 16 shows when they become available. Epsiodes can still be purchased individually for $1.99.
Links: Daily Show | Colbert Report
iTunes Links: Daily Show | Colbert Report Read More

Google Acquires Writely +

On Thursday, January 9, 2006, Google publicly announced that they had acquired Writely. Writely is a company that offers a web-based word processing, which allows sharing documents online and collaborating among multiple users. The service does not require any additional software, but instead runs completely from any standard web browser. (AJAX powered) A BETA edition was released in August 2005 became extremely popular, with thousands of signups. No more signups will be allowed until the full transfer onto Google’s servers and protocols is complete. (sign up for the wait list)

Writely has publicly stated that they would keep offering their current services and no features would be compromised due to the acquisition. Since they are part of Google, many new search and collaboration tools with current Google Services will be integrated into the program. Even though saved documents may become indexed by Google’s servers, Writely stated that they would ensure user privacy. This may also be part of Google’s future plan to create a “Google Office” suite to compete with Microsoft Office Live. (google online calandar service expected soon)

Links: Writely | Writely Press Release
Related: Google Blog Annoucement
Recent: Digg Widget | iPod Nano AV