Wish You Merry Christmas + Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Gadgets Watch Blog. Hope you enjoy the gadgets posts and the holidays....:)

Just wanna repeat "Adele Comandini and Edward Sutherland" words:
There are no strangers on Christmas Eve.

Ericsson won broadband order in Nigeria

Ericsson- Telecom equipment maker
Telecom equipment maker Ericsson announced on Thursday that it had signed a deal to provide a network for 21st Century Technologies in Nigeria.

Ericsson, the world's biggest mobile network maker, said in a statement the order was for a nationwide residential fiber-optic broadband network.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Will update you....

Sony New God of War III Trailer

Sony set to release next year on the PlayStation 3, God of War III continues where previous installment left off, with plenty of new enemies and refreshed graphics to top things off. I'm waiting for this, are you, tell us....

Sony PlayStation Home Hacked?

Sony PS Home Hacked SnapshotA poster by the name of StreetskaterFU has outlined what he claims a method of hacking into PlayStation Home's servers for download, uploading and deleting files.



We're not able to verify his directions, but if true it would be a potentially calamitous oversight on Sony's part. Additionally, a PS3hax forum poster claims to have used StreeskaterFU's method and changed the movie posters and trailers.

We haven't seen any signs of hacker malfeasance during our time with Home, but let us know if your virtual moviegoing experience has been drastically altered.

Trouble With iPhone Apps Business

Apple iPhone Apps BusinessIt's no secret that being an iPhone app developer is at times rough business, mostly due to Apple's goofy authoritarianism. But judging by some recent soul-spilling by a few leading devs, things are getting rougher.

Craig Hockenberry of Iconfactory, developers of Frenzic and Twitterific, started things off with a post lamenting the difficulties of rising above the iPhone app's endless sea of 99-cent mediocrity (a sea I’ve spent plenty of often painful time wading through for our Week in iPhone Apps column). In his post, he worries about being damned to endlessly constructing 99-cent so-called "ringtone" apps rather than well-designed and innovative apps that take more resources to develop.

Hockenberry's "Dear Steve" states that an iPhone dev's life would be a lot easier if they could accurately track who exactly is downloading their apps (and which ads/links they clicked on to get to the store), and the ability to offer free demo version of apps that expire after a given time, prompting people to purchase the full app.

After setting off quite a ruckus of folks accusing Hockenberry of groundless complaining, the folks at Appcubby came to the rescue with a full monty on their financial records, showing, down to the dollar, what goes into keeping food on the table for an iPhone app developer (wherein we learned just how much Jason's post on Gas Cubby spurred sales). The Cubby folks backed up the call for free demos and more ad-tracking capabilities as two things that would greatly help the situation.

LEGO Brick iPod Speaker at 19.99$

LEGO Brick iPod Speaker snapshotThis nifty LEGO brick iPod speaker from ThinkGeek plugs right into the base and "actually sounds great - thanks in part to its 'Active Bass System.'" Available now at priced at $19.99.

Looking just like a blue building brick, this sucker just plugs into your iPod (supported models listed below) and that's that. The center bottom pegs are really volume up and down buttons.

Sony Home- Online Virtual World Launch Very Soon

Sony said that it would launch its online 3-D social networking service (Home) for users of the company's PlayStation 3 video-game console. Home is similar to Linden Lab's Second Life in that it lets people create virtual characters, or avatars, to interact in cyberspace. PlayStation 3 users will be able to join the virtual world through a free software download.

Home is the latest online service for the PS3. Sony recently added video downloads to the PlayStation Network, which, according to the company, has 15 million subscribers worldwide. Nevertheless, Sony is seen as behind rival Microsoft, which makes the Xbox 360, in launching online gaming and video-download services.

In addition, Nintendo, which launched its Wii video-game console the same month as Sony launched PS 3, November 2006, has outsold Sony more than 2-to-1. Nintendo has sold 34.5 million units worldwide, compared with Sony's 16.8 million units.
Sony is hoping Home will help take its struggling video games unit to profitability. The unit has lost about $3.8 billion over the last two years, according to BusinessWeek magazine.

While PS3 users will enter Home for free, Sony hopes to make money by charging companies to interact with participants. The first companies to join Home include clothing designer Diesel, furniture designer Ligne Roset, energy drink maker Red Bull, film studio Paramount Pictures, and video content providers Hexus TV and Eurogamer.

Besides offering mini-games, videos, and special events, Home will craft it possible for users to create their own social networks and set up meetings in their own virtual apartments or in public gatherings. Home will offer instant messaging, voice, and video communications.

Sony first announced Home in March 2007, saying it would launch the service later that year. The company announced the first delay in October 2007, and again in April 2008. Sony launched a trial of the service to a limited number of PS3 users in August.

Mirror's Edge PhysX Trailor

Unlike its game console predecessors, the PC version of Mirror's Edge is able to make full use of NVIDIA's PhysX engine for some stunning gameplay effects.

Check out the cool video here: http://www.viddler.com/explore/techeblog/videos/88/

Playstation Home Will Launch in December- Statement

Sony Computer Entertainment America confirmed the rumors that Playstation Home will be launching later this month.

Playstation Home Launch in DecemberPlaystation Home, Sony’s answer to Xbox Live, features a graphical virtual world where users can own a customizable apartment, play casual games with others, shop for products, and eventually access online media content.

BTW, It’s a free service. Will Sony have enough resources to maintain the quality and consistency necessary for a thriving online community? This is the one gamer that certainly hopes so.

Desktop or Gaming Console For Christmas gift?

Desktop vs gaming console snapshotIf you’ve cash this Christmas—having saved up for gift to yourself or someone else then chances that you’re interested in upgrading video game experience this holiday season. But the question is: desktop or console gaming?

I’ve always preferred playing games on the desktop, with good reason. Though I’m thankful for not missing out on Metal Gear Solid, a classic that was only available on the PlayStation, I’ve more or less stuck to gaming PC style (Mac gaming, while vastly improved compared to a couple of years ago, is still way behind).

In a word, desktop gaming is versatile. There are a lots of things you can do with the mouse-keyboard combo. Have you tried playing a shooter on a console? It’s definitely a less responsive experience. And there are USB controllers. A gaming rig can easily surpass even the most advanced gaming console out there; it’s just a matter of the right specs. On top of that, a powerful gaming rig will most likely handle the most demanding apps out there.

On the other hand, the dedicated nature of gaming consoles is their strong point. The XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 are much cheaper than an equivalent PC capable of providing the same experience for instance. Which PC retailer offers full frame-rates for less than $200?

And let’s not forget the constant upgrade neurosis PC owners face. A new game with high required specs? Time to shell out for a new system! This may change soon, but with consoles you can at least count at least two upgrade-free years.

In short, it’s a matter of versatility and affordability. But I leave the question to you, dear readers. A PC or console for gaming?

Nokia N97: Snapshot and video- iPhone Competitor

Nokia N97 SnapshotNokia has a new flagship phone. The N97 packs a 3.5-inch, 640 x 360 pixel (that's a 16:9 aspect ratio) resistive touchscreen display with tactile feedback and QWERTY keyboard into this sliding communicator with an "always open" window to favorite internet or social networking sites.

Nokia calls it the "world's most advanced mobile computer." To back up the claim they've dropped in HSDPA, WiFi, and Bluetooth radios, A-GPS, a 3.5-mm headjack, 32GB of onboard memory with microSD expansion (for up to 48GB total capacity), and a battery capable of up to 1.5 days of continuous audio playback or 4.5-hours video. 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss glass and "DVD quality" video capture at 30fps, too.



The specs are certainly impressive, let's see if the S60 5th Edition OS can support it. The N97 will launch with a retail price set at around €550 ($693) excluding subsidies and taxes, phone to ship in H1 2009.