Sony Ericsson + Unlimited Music Download?

This week, we have been hearing alot from Sony Ericsson. First, they announced the SE G705, and then they have SE Xperia X1 dated. And now, a report published in the Financial Times indicates Sony Ericsson will take a cue from Nokia and offer an unlimited music downloading service for all Sony Ericsson mobile phones.

Sony BMG, EMI and Warner are all onboard with the project, although it's still unknown if Universal will hop on the music service bandwagon.

Sony Ericsson is one of several phone manufacturers that have a line of phones specifically dedicated to playing music and utilizing other entertainment purposes. The company already has its PlayNow Arena music store for phone owners, with the service receiving an upgrade within the past month. PlayNow Arena users must pay for each downloaded song.

Sony Ericsson has fallen to the fifth-largest phone manufacturer in the world, and has had recent troubles, issuing two profit warnings so far in 2008. Analysts have been perplexed as to why Sony Ericsson would promote the Walkman phones but do so little to try and create a service for consumers to acquire content in a more efficient, cheaper manner.

The largest phone manufacturer in the world, Nokia, recently announced its Comes With Music service will be ready to launch next month, with some phone owners given the ability to download unlimited music to their phones. Even though both companies have pay-per-track music stores, poor music sales have led the record industries to pressure manufacturers to try and help increase digital music sales.

The new unlimited song download service from Sony Ericsson is expected to launch in Europe prior to the 2008 holiday shopping season.

Skate 2 Details

If we look back at the gaming industry, there's no other skateboarding games other than Tony Hawk Pro Skater. But it's all changed when Skate arrives. And now, EA and Black Box have let slip a handful more features to be included in Skate 2, the upcoming sequel to the game that redefined the skateboarding genre last year. Firstly, you'll find the new Thrasher Hall of Meat this time around. Fans of the first game will remember a number of the highlight reels made from some of the craziest bails in the game. This time around, you'll be rewarded for it. Slam challenges will have you hurting your skater more than any knee pads will help, while new bail gestures will let you add some style to your crashes - just before you smack the pavement, that is. You can hop off your board and push and pull objects around the environment to set up new lines. You'll also be able to upload your custom spots and download the creations of others as well, and vote on the best of the best. Speaking of online, Black Box and EA promise a seamless transition from offline to online (think Burnout Paradise, perhaps), and a set of new competitive online modes. What these are will remain to be seen. Last, but most certainly not least, the new Graphics Creator will allow you to build custom graphics and slap them on your clothes and board to further customize your skater's look. Online skating teams will certainly find this to be a welcome addition. That's all of the new stuff that EA and Black Box were willing to share for now, but there's still time until its release, so we'll see what other tricks lay up their sleeves.

Transformers 2

Transformers was sure a huge blockbuster last summer. I really enjoyed the movie and own the DVD. All that computer generated giant robots were blend so well in the movie and looked real. But, as huge as it was, that's all in the past. We're looking towards the future now and what do we see? A sequel. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. The sequel is still directed by Michael Bay who directed the first one. And new report online claims to know what giant robots will make the scenes other than Optimus Prime.

Transformers World 2005 says it has "received confirmation that the combiner Devastator will appear in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." According to the site, "Seven construction vehicles merge to form Devastator." IESB reported the rumor first awhile back. In Transformers universe, these vehicles are referred to as Constructicons.

TFW2005 also says that the sequel's Devastator will possess great upper body strength and will be green, red and yellow in color. Devastator appeared in the first Transformers film in the guise of a modified M1 Abrams tank.

I really hope that it can surpass the first one and not just another money milking project. It's scheduled for June 26 2009 release.

Star Ocean 4 and Last Remnant Playable at TGS

We all know that Tokyo Game Show is the biggest game event in Asia, even the world, and the great thing is that it's open to public unlike some of the gaming event i know of. But Microsoft never be a big player at TGS. The fact that their console is a failure in this rising sun country is not helping either. But things get better with the Xbox 360. It is definitely more popular than the original Xbox. It is partially thanks to the many RPG games that available on Xbox 360. Japanese just love RPGs, they don't like first person shooter games like the Americans do. So, the japanese gamers might notice Microsoft's booth at TGS this year more. Why? Because they have a playable exclusive RPGs from Square Enix. What are the games? You might guessed it right. Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope and Last Remnant will be in a playable form at Microsoft's booth. But it's not available in Square Enix's booth. Weird huh? Square Enix will play a new footage of the games instead. I posted earlier about Square Enix's games that will make an appearance here.

HTC Touch HD Leaks

A never before seen footage of HTC Touch HD appeared online today. The pictures look like it were taken by a spy cam. This Windows mobile device has some serious features in its 115 x 62.8 x 12 mm body. Pretty slim body. As a high end handset, bluetooth, Wifi, HSDPA and GPS are all on board along with 5 megapixels camera. The weird thing is, there's no flash of any kind, not Xenon nor LED. What's the point of 5 MP without flash, HTC? That aside, it has a very big screen for a windows mobile device, a 4" 800 x 480 screen. It is powered with a 528 MHz Qualcomm CPU, 288 MB of RAM and 512 MB of flash memory. This handset is due out this christmas time.

It is still unconfirmed yet, but the specifications of HTC Touch HD are as follows:
~900/1800/1900 GSM
~900/2100 UMTS HSDPA
~4" 65k 480 x 800 resolution touchscreen
~512 MB ROM with 327 available to the user
~288 MB DDR SDRAM
~accelerometer
~Wifi, GPS, bluetooth
~microSD HDTC upto 32 GB
~FM radio with RDS
~5 MP auto focus camera with no flash
~320 x 240 @30fps video recording
~secondary VGA camera video call
~3.5 mm audio jack
~1350 mAh battery

Sony XPERIA X1 Finally Dated

Today, Sony announced that the long awaited handset XPERIA X1 will finally hit the stores starting September 30 in UK and the rest of the world later on. For all that doesn't know what XPERIA X1 is here's the recap.

The XPERIA X1 is a windows mobile handset with a 3" WVGA 800 x 480 touchscreen display and a full QWERTY keyboard. It's a four band GSM and three band HSDPA, HSUPA handset powered with a 528 ARM CPU and 256 MB of RAM. It also boast a 3.2 megapixels camera, GPS, bluetooth, 3.5 mm audio output, FM radio and 400 MB of internal memory that's expandable through microSD card slot. This handset is sure going to create some more hype, but we'll see if it's worth it.

Phantasy Star Coming DS Way

This winter, Japanese gamers will have a chance to revisit the Phantasy Star universe again wit Phantasy Star 0 (that is a zero, not an O) for the Nintendo DS thanks to Sega. Players will have access to four player multiplayer mode that offers both local and Wifi connection based play. What's interesting about this new game is the visual chat. Players have access to the scratch pad on the bottom screen which they can fill with drawings and send to another player. The drawings appear as bubble above the character, giving the comic look to the game. Players will also have a pre set symbols to communicate. The Phantasy Star 0 will feature characters from both the old and new games although they will look a little bit younger. The North America release is not set yet.

Apple's New iPod

After weeks of rumours, speculations, and anticipation, Apple finally introduced the latest line of iPods at the "Let's Rock" event in San Francisco. It is not a surprise though because September is always the month of iPods. Since the year 2005, Apple introduced new iPod in September every year. Last year, iPod Touch, the sixth generation of iPod classic and the third generation of iPod Nano were introduced. This year, it's time for the second generation of iPod Touch, the fourth generation of iPod Nano, and a slimmed down 120GB of iPod Classic.

The new Touch is almost the same in appearance as the first generation. Its new casing will feature a contoured metal enclosure with a series of integrated volume controls and an all new built in speaker. It will include support for Apple's Nike + iPod feature so it can act as a workout companion with an attachable sensor that is placed within a user's shoe to track the total miles traveled during a period of exercise. It will also support the newly iTunes 8's games offering and intuitive Genius feature. The new iPod Touch will be available in three models, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB priced at $229, $299, $399 respectively.

The new Nano features a shape and size change. It returns to the vertical style of the first and second generation Nano with an elongated vertical shape. It is the thinnies Nano to date with all new curved alumunium and glass enclosure, a first for a Nano. The user interface has also been redesigned to better accentuate its high resolution portrait display. It has a built in accelerometer which automatically switches to Apple's Cover Flow Album art display system when the player held it horizontally. The accelerometer will also engage the Nano's shuffle mode when shaken. It has a 24 hours battery life when used for audio and 4 hours for video. It will come in 9 different colors, black, silver, red, pink, blue, purple, green, orange, and yellow. The 8GB Nano will be available for $149 while the 16GB version for $199.

New iPods are not the only new things that Apple announced. The hardware line up is backed with the software. Meet the iTunes 8, the new iteration of the wildly popular music software. It will include a host of long awaited features primarily high definition television downloads, improved browsing, and a new intuitive shuffle feature. NBC will be returning to iTunes with the series of Monk, The Office, 30 Rock, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes. Last year, NBC removed its content from the iTunes music store after a failure to reach an agreement with Apple over revenues. The new high definition will be available for $2.99 per episode, a $1 increase from their standard definition offering. The browsing interface of iTunes 8 will also be improved for better usability. It features Voice Over for voice command browsing, Genius function will actively select music that goes great together with just one click. Genius will also be able to automate copasetic playlists given a certain style and mood of music. The software is available now via software update and Apple.com.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 3 Set for PSP

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH announced the return of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series to PSP. The new Tag Force 3 set for release in November 2008 in Europe. The game sets in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX tv series universe, utilises characters from the third and fourth series of the show with players charged with assembling the ultimate card deck by defeating their peers in thrilling duels. Over 3500 cards can be collected and used. It's the most advanced Yu-Gi-Oh! tittle to hit PSP to date. (It should be! There's no point of releasing a new game if it's worse than the previous installment technical-wise.) The interface is simple yet effective to make game faster and easier to manage. The game's 3500+ cards are sampled from the most recent trading card game packs including "The Duelist Genesis" set and offer a wide range of traps, monsters, and spells for the user to use in their strategy. Online capability to download additional contents including entire decks or individual cards will enrich the experience playing the game. Expect enhancement in every aspect includhng the all-new AI routines adapting to the way the game flows, while the social aspect of the trading card games is showcased as up to four players duel together via the PSP ad hoc LAN mode. A new gallery feature is also introduced and provides a visual record of defeated monsters and key events.

Sony Ericsson G705

Today Sony Ericsson just announced a new mobile phone in their portfolio, the SE G705. This slider phone has a 2.4" QVGA display with quad band GSM and either UMTS 2100 MHz HSDPA or UMTS 850/1900/2100 MHz HSDPA and HSUPA. The screen can be auto rotate that works in the menu and in the browser, thanks to the accelerometer built in. It comes with GPS receiver that supports A-GPS. The GPS works with the preinstalled Google Map and Wayfinder with three months of free navigation license. Image geotagging is also supported. The camera is 3 Megapixels with LED flash. Too bad it has no auto focus. One thing unique though is that the video captured by the camera can be uploaded directly to YouTube. YouTube downloads will also be possible. A stereo Bluetooth and FM radio with RDS, Wifi with DLNA certification, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync complete thd handset. It will come with 1GB M2 memory card in the retail package. The SE G705 will be available in Silky Gold or Majestic Black in early Q4 2008.

I don't know what's up with all of this company. A high end phones should equip with an auto focus camera whether it's a camera oriented phones, music oriented phones, or bussiness phones. It's not that hard to do right?