Nintendo has announced in a press event today that the Nintendo 3DS will hit the shelves on March 27. Along with this, the company also provided more details about the 3DS. The 3D console will come with two-screens where the top screen is a 3D one. The 3DS will come with a 2GB SD pre-installed and a charging cradle. The new 3D console from Nintendo will also sport a game slot at its back which will accept both 3DS and DS games.
The Nintendo 3DS will also feature a Gyro sensor and a built-in motion sensor for a more real life gaming experiencewhere the games will react to a gamers action.
The top left corner of the console will sport a notification LED light which will blink according to the status of the device. The back of the console will sport a couple of cameraswhich are capable of taking 3D pictures while the front cam is a 2D one only.
The 3DS will also feature a 3D depth slider which will allow users to adjust the ‘intensity’ of the 3D effect on the console. Along with this, the console will also sport a ‘Control Pad’ which will provide gamers with full analog control in 3D games. At the time of its launch, the 3DS will have popular 3D gaming titles like the Pilotwings Resort, Super Street Fighter IV, Steel Driver and the Asphalt 3D.
The 3DS will also sport two new interesting features – StreetPass and SpotPass. Readers can find more about these features and read more about the 3D console from Nintendo on the officialNintendo 3DS website.
The Nintendo 3DS will hit the stores on March 27 with a maximum retail price of $249.99.
The Motorola Xoom is the first “Google Experience” Android tablet which will be running the latest version of the Android OS optimized for the tablet form factor – Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It is powered by the NvidiaTegra 2 platform, and will be the most powerful tablet when it is launched. It was showcased by Motorola at CES 2011 and has set the blogosphereabuzz with speculation. Almost everyone is trying to get some information on when it will be launched and what it will be priced at. We got the answer to the latter, when we discovered that it might bepriced at $799 for the unsubsidized version, but we still didn’t have any idea when it will be released.
Well, now we do. Engadget has stumbled upon an internal Best Buydocument which states that the Motorola Xoom Android tablet will be launched on February 17 at Best Buy. The stock of the Motorola Xoom tablet will arrive at Best Buy on February 16 and it will be on sale the very next day. We still don’t have any confirmation about the price of the Motorola Xoom yet, but we surely hope that it’s much less than the rumored $799.
Head over to Engadget to check out the leaked Best Buy documents which state the price of the Motorola Xoom.
Wait for it: It’s another tablet prototype running Android and powered by the Tegra 2, this time from MSI.Engadget found it “a bit thicker and heavier than we’d like,” but on the plus side its 10-inch screen is “plenty responsive.”
One last prototype running Android on the Tegra 2 chip: the Quanta tablet got some early dings in terms of usability. Still, it is only a prototype, so the Wi-Fi and 3G-enabled tablet device could still be a contender in the about-to-be-crowded tablet space.
Seattle-based startup Innovative Converged Devices announced its Vega tablet back in November 2009, and now the device is officially headed to T-Mobile UK sometime before the end of 2010. Yet another tablet based on Android, the Vega will have a large amount of screen real-estate at 15.6-inches
This one is sadly of the purely rumor variety, but it’s worth mentioning for its potentially game-changing effects. Like it did with the Nexus One, if Google were to take a direct hand in developing a tablet computing device with a trusted partner, it could be a serious contender in the newly emerging tablet wars.
The cited report says the Google Tablet has already been in development for the past 19 months. HTC is a plausible logical choice for the trusted partner as well, given its existing relationship with Google and the Android operating system. Still, with nothing yet official on the books, the Google Tablet is the most speculative entrant on this list for now.
Another tablet running Android and powered by the Tegra 2 chip is the Adam, a 10-inch tablet from Indian startup Notion Ink. It uses a screen technology from Pixel Qi that combines the best of a full color multi-touch LCD display with a low-power reflective mode that’s readable in direct sunlight.
Notion Ink says the Adam should come to market in the second quarter of this year, with a target price somewhere between $300 and $800. Slashgear got a lengthy video demo (embedded below) and oodles of pics of the device.
This working prototype was shown off at CES 2010. Made by Compal, the 7-inch Android 2.0 tablet runs on the new, high-powered next-generation Tegra 2 processor NVIDIA announced at CES. With this chip, a device can support 1080p video playback, yet retain startlingly good battery life. NVIDIA says it already has several partners lined up to make Tegra 2-based tablets, so expect more of this type of device in the near near future.
During its CES 2010 keynote, Dell talked about working on multiple “upcoming slates,” including one prototype it showed off, which is currently called the Streak. This particular model is only 5-inches, though, which puts it less in the direct path of the iPad and makes it more akin to the existing line of mobile internet devices (MIDs) like the Archos series of Internet tablets. Not much else is known yet about the Streak, or what other kinds of tablets Dell might be cooking up, but Engadget did snag some hands-on photos of the device.
Asus is the company responsible for kicking off the entire netbook craze. They were also showing off a prototype of a 9-inch tablet at CES this year. The device has four control buttons reminiscent of the favored layout for an Android-powered phone, leading to the logical speculation that the Asus tablet might well run Google’s mobile operating system.
JKK Mobile snagged a video of the prototype, embedded below.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off this HP tablet prototype very briefly at CES this year. It wasn’t theApple iPad thunder-stealing moment predicted by the media, but it is one of many indications that the tablet form-factor is about to become practically ubiquitous.
Aerosmith was formed in the early 1970s and, despite dips in popularity and battles with drug addiction, have survived to the present day. Perhaps because singer Steven Tyler shares some physical resemblance with Mick Jagger, Aerosmith have at times, during their earlier years, been cast as Rolling Stones wannabes. However, their music, which has developed into a unique sound over the years, does not sound much like that of The Rolling Stones, and the accusation has been mostly dismissed.
1975's Toys In The Attic was the first major hit for the band, including the singles "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way". Guitarist Joe Perry left the band in 1979, but rejoined in 1984. The album Pump was released in 1987, featuring classics like "Janie's Got a Gun" and "Love in an Elevator". The 1990s saw Aerosmith become balladeers with the release of Get a Grip, which featured the singles "Cryin'", "Crazy" and "Amazing". They continued in similar style with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for the Armageddon soundtrack, a number 1 hit for the band. Their last studio album, the blues based Honkin' on Bobo, was released in 2004.
Discography
Aerosmith1973 Get Your Wings1974 Toys in the Attic1975 Rocks1976 Draw The Line1977 Live Bootleg1978 Night In The Ruts1979 Rock in a Hard Place1982 Done With Mirrors1985 Permanent Vacation1987 Pump1989 Get A Grip1993 Toxic Graffiti1993 Pandora's Toys1995 Nine Lives1997 A Little South of Sanity1998 Just Push Play2001 Honkin' On Bobo2004 Rockin' the Joint2005
Band members
Steven Tyler vocals Joe Perry guitar Brad Whitford guitar Tom Hamilton bass guitar Joey Kramer drums
Verizon Wireless will reportedly unveil the HTC Thunderbolt 4G Android smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show, to be held in Las Vegas next week.
The Verizon Thunderbolt from HTC
This could be one of several new Android devices for the carrier's 4G LTE network.
LTE devices will be available by mid-2011, and the lineup will consist of smartphones and tablets, Verizon Wireless spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson told TechNewsWorld.
Droid Life has published several photos purportedly depicting the Thunderbolt. A Phone of Many Names
The Thunderbolt was reportedly formerly known as the "HTC Droid Incredible HD" and code-named "Mecha."
It is expected to have a 4.3-inch touchscreen with WXGA resolution -- 1,280 by 800 pixels. If true, this could be the highest resolution screen on a smartphone.
Prototype Thunderbolts were reportedly running Android 2.2, but the device is expected to run the latest version of Android by the time it's released to market. HTC will apparently layer its Sense user interface on top of Android.
It will have one 8MP camera with dual LED flash on the back that can record 1080p HD video and a front-facing camera for videoconferencing. It will also have a kickstand, a 3.5mm headset jack and a microSD card slot, according to reports.
For now, however, neither Verizon nor HTC are commenting on details regarding the phone.
"We haven't announced anything by that name so we won't be able to confirm anything," HTC spokesperson Ashley Keller told TechNewsWorld.
Several photos supposedly depicting the Thunderbolt have been published on the Web recently, and reports indicate HTC purposely leaked the images. Keller, however, brushed off the allegation: "We get one of those stories every month," she stated.
VZW's Hedging its Bets
The Thunderbolt will reportedly include support for Verizon Wireless' EV-DO 3G service in addition to 4G, since LTE service will be available only in select areas throughout the United States.
"Timing is an issue because no one wants a device with no network support, and at the same time, no carrier wants to spend billions building out an LTE network that has no phones on it because that won't be cost effective," Carl Howe, director of anywhere consumer research at the Yankee Group, told TechNewsWorld.
"Verizon is focusing on building out some key markets, which will sell a few phones, which will in turn justify more build-outs," Howe added. "It's all part of Verizon's business plan for building the LTE market."
Verizon turned on its LTE network in several metropolitan areas and at a number of airports earlier this month.
Metropolitan areas include Athens and Atlanta in Georgia; Boston, Mass.; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago, Ill.; Houston and other areas in Texas; Las Vegas; New York; and several cities in California, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Not the Full Monty
Rear view of the Verizon Thunderbolt
Verizon Wireless has a press event planned for Jan. 6 at CES 2011, at which time it may showcase several Android devices, including smartphones and tablets.
"We will be providing a sneak peek at a suite of LTE consumer-oriented devices," Verizon Wireless' Nelson said. However, he declined to provide specifics about the devices when asked.
LTE smartphones and tablets will be available on the market by mid-2011, Nelson added.
"I've heard of the Thunderbolt and expect it to hit later in the year," Yankee Group's Howe said.
The Android-iOS Dichotomy on VZW
Rumors have been bubbling for months that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will release a version of the iPhone on Verizon's network early next year. More recent speculation points toward a CDMA iPad as well.
Verizon Wireless has made Android devices the lynchpin of its marketing strategy this past year or so. Would introducing iOS-based devices cannibalize its market for Android products?
That's not likely because of the staggered rollout of Verizon's LTE services, Howe stated.
"I think a CDMA iPhone and the Thunderbolt will coexist just fine," Howe said. "When the network is there, Apple will then introduce an LTE phone."
