in Latvia. The chorus goes "Wii, Wii, Wii all the way home.” Anyway,
in the battle for second place, the situation is hotting up. With
Microsoft announcing 40 million worldwide Xbox 360 sales the question
now is how far behind is the PlayStation 3. If we look at the figures,
the answer is ‘not very’.
Although US hardware sales usually have the Xbox 360 in the
lead, or neck-and-neck with the PS3, the worldwide situation is very different. Ever since
the launch of the PS3 Slim and its adjoining $100 price cut, sales have
taken Sony by surprise. So much so, that the company has cited hardware
shortages. A little foolish, but the problems may have something to do
with the latest PS3 redesign.
Microsoft has now announced 40.2 million Xbox 360’s sh... Read more »
A front-facing iPhone camera means video calling, but it's
also a sign of something bigger. Combined with other recent leaks, it
means that Apple is bringing iChat to the iPhone. Everything about voice
calling may be about to change.
iChat, You Chat
So, how does the appearance of a front-facing camera change standard
voice calling? Let's connect the dots:
• Front-facing camera means video calling
• Leaks suggest video calling is part of overall iChat
• iChat software and new VOIP provisions in OS means voice chat, too
(maybe even for older iPhones)
• iChat branding, arrival of iPad and new OS multitasking all suggest
compatibility with desktop app and standard buddy lists
• iPhone-to-desktop compatibility means everybody talks to everybody, no
special ... Read more »
Apple virtually dominates the Japanese smartphone market, MM
Research Institute found in a new study. By the end of the fiscal year ended in
March, the iPhone had 72.2 percent of the field with 2.34 million units
on Japanese. Its next-closest rival, HTC, had just 11.1 percent, while
local phones didn't register until third place Toshiba's 6.8 percent.
The
shipments were more than double the 1.1 million iPhones that were
shipped a year earlier. Apple in its latest quarterly results had
already noted that quarterly shipments for early 2010 were up 183
percent in Japan compared to a year earlier.
Apple's lead wasn't enough to get the lead in the total Japanese phone
market but was enough to let it eclipse a number of smaller Japanese
companies. Sharp for the fifth year in a row held a comfortable lead
with 26.2 percent, helped... Read more »
Following yesterday’s revelation of a possible release window
for Electronic Arts and Crytek’s forthcoming Crysis 2, Electronic Theatre has
received the box art for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions of
the title. Crysis 2 is the follow-up to 2007’s groundbreaking Crysis,
and is expected to have just as big an impact.
Aliens are invading once again in Crysis 2, and
it’s up to the player and their combat enhancement technology of the
future, the Nanosuit 2, to save the day. Set in New York, Crysis 2 is a long way from the
dense jungle environments of the first title,
and the player will face all-new challe... Read more »
They used to happen on Fridays, The PSN Store Updates. Until one day when the Man That Presses The
Button fell asleep and there was nothing all weekend, that was the day
they moved them to Thursdays. Thursdays have been fine – I quite like
the ring that F5 Thursday has to it – but with Xbox 360 Marketplace
updates happening on Wednesdays PS3-only owners have always been a day
behind.
We reported back
in March that the Store updates were moving to Wednesdays, it’s the
middle of the week and ties in nicely with the 360 updates, so there’s a
bit more parity between the consoles. However, a comment made by our friend Mike Kebby in
yesterday’s penultimate Thursday update suggests the move was nothing to
do with Microsoft’s day long leap on the download goodies after all.
Let’s ... Read more »
