Future - Review » Tech

Zune HD expected release date

Tristan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:01:41 +0000

The Zune family has not been in existence for long and is also Microsoft’s first attempt to combat the mighty Apple IPod which under Microsoft’s eyes is probably the jewel of jealousy. After a couple of years trying to be noticed by the public, they went a step further then their rivals to bring us a device that might just make it in peoples wish list. The ZUNE HD! OLED screen which is the same technology as Samsung’s latest model phones , Nvidia’s latest Tegra processor, and comes in two delicious flavors, 16GB and 32GB. Not bad looking at the advancements it has over its predecessor. Let’s just hope they advertise it a lot and make it appear to the public’s eyes.

The fast processor (I think it can be clocked at 1 GHz), the beautiful and vibrant screen , and all the features embedded on this device might make Microsoft admit into the multimedia battle going on here, having to face companies like Samsung, Sony, SanDisk and of course Apple as the Boss might take long but at least they have a good start.

From rumors the Zune HD should ship September 8th, even though it’s a rumor, the possibilities that this is true are high. The only thing I don’t know for the moment is the price, but looking at the specs, there is a possibility that it will be on the high side. But Microsoft might impress us. You never know.

What do you think? Keeping it alive in the Forum!

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Iphone 3Gs VS Samsung i8910 HD

Tristan — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:52:13 +0000

The newly announced Iphone by Apple has once again created a product that everybody will be craving about. The Iphone 3G speed has many improved features over its predecessor. Having a better 3 megapixel camera which is able to shoot video is one example. But of course looking at other phones like the i8910, the camera is a joke. We have to put in mind that Apple is not really attracting its customers by releasing a new high-end device. Because no matter what the Iphone is not a high-end device. Apple has a way to sell its product in a more hypnotising way. It seems whatever Apple releases must be the best and definitely worth the upgrade. With new improved products coming out every 6 months, Apple has definilty found the way to sell what it wants. Now this is different in other countries like Russia or Japan and even Europe, the phone doesnt sell as much as in the US and even mac computers are not as used over there. Maybe everyone exept America has found that Apple is not the god of gadgets, and that there are better alternatives.

The Iphone though has sold like crazy and the App store is what to thank. Having just delivered 1 Billion downloads from it, it has definitly made the Iphone a popular device. Many companies now are opening up app stores for their platform. Nokia just released its app store called Ovi store which will let Symbian users download apps over the air like the Apple app store. You can even download specific apps based on your location. This is a nice feature but will probably effect only a small amount of apps. And even Ovi has a long way to go to even compete with Apple, but Symbian is the most used mobile platform in the world so they might have a chance to catch up.

The Samsung i8910 runs on Symbian which means that the Ovi store does run on it and you are able to download apps when connected to the internet. Samsung has also built its own app store but there is still some work to be done to make it fully functional (link).

So let’s talk about the differences between the Samsung i8910 and the Iphone 3G S. One is made by Apple and the other by Samsung. Samsung has been making phones a lot longer then Apple and thus has more experience and knowledge with what people want. Apple has to but they are still a little behind.

Spec wise: Here is a comparison.

Display:

Omnia HD i8910

Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size	360 x 640 pixels, 3.7 inches
	- Accelerometer sensor - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Scratch-resistant surface

Iphone 3G S

Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size	320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches
	- Multi-touch input method - Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Scratch-resistant surface - Ambient light sensor

Camera:

Omnia HD i8910

Primary	8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Features	Geo-tagging, face, smile and blink detection, image stabilization, wide dynamic range, ISO 1600
Video	Yes, HD 720p@24fps, D1 (720×480 pixels)@30fps, QVGA time-lapse and slow-mo video recording

Iphone 3G S

Primary	3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus
Features	Touch focus, geo-tagging
Video	Yes, VGA@30fps
Secondary	No

Features:

Omnia HD i8910

	OS	Symbian S60 rel.5
	CPU	ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz; 3D Graphics HW Accelerator
	Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Opera 9.5
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	Games	Asphalt 4 HD, incl. motion-based + downloadable
	Colors	Black
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.0
		- Digital compass - MP3 player - DivX/XviD/WMV/MP4 player - Organizer - TV-out (for SD content only) - Turn-to-mute - Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Voice memo

Iphone 3G S

	OS	iPhone OS (based on Mac OS)
	CPU	ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX graphics
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email
	Browser	HTML (Safari)
	Radio	No
	Games	Downloadable, incl. motion-based
	Colors	Black, White
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	No
		- Digital compass - Google Maps - Audio/video player - TV-out - Voice command/dial

Conclusion:

As you can see the Iphone still has a long way to start competing with European and Asian phones. The i8910 is better, cheaper at $650 unlocked which means that you can use it with T-Mobile and At&t. The only thing that I prefer over the i8910 is the fact that Iphone has multitouch and the app store. But in almost every other feature, the Samsung Omnia HD takes it away by a mile.

What do you think? Talk about it in the Forum

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Will the Future be all about cellphones?

Tristan — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:10:45 +0000

Thanks to Gizmodo, I found this video quite interesting on how cellphones will effect our future dramaticly. The future is headed to a more simpler lifestyle, where people would only need one device to do all tasks that today demand more then one gadget to accomplish. We can see how smartphones these days have become almost the most important device someone owns. We can talk to other people with them but instead of being social, they can bring a sense of freedom by being able to play movies, music, offer full HTML internet and also a high-end camera. As technology evolves and becomes smaller, expect camera sales to go down and also Mp3 players as all of those will be available on your phone. What do you think? Talk about it in the forum

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Zune strikes back, showing some HD-ness

Tristan — Sat, 30 May 2009 02:55:16 +0000

It all started as a rumor back in the day that the Microsoft Zune family will get an upgrade to a more awesomer Mp3 player. Well it all came true with the introduction of the Zune HD which was just shown off not long ago.

3.6 inch OLED touch screen
NVIDIA Tegra powered. (fast processor
4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB versions.
HDMI Connection to stream straight to your TV.
HD Radio.
Web Browser.
WiFi compatible, with marketplace.
Released, early fall.
Home AV packs, Car packs, Charge packs.

Looking good if they are trying to compete with the Ipod touch. We might have ourselves a winner?

What gaming will become in 50 years

Tristan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:08:37 +0000

Just imagine the possibilities, with technology growing in performance and shrinking in size at the same time means that we can accomplish the same goal that we did with a supercomputer but now instead we have a microchip. Portability and performance are what gadgets and game consoles are becoming. With the evolution of consoles, from NES to Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 for example, we see that we can do more with our consoles these days then before. All this in the same sized box. Today consoles can play Blue-ray or DVDs (which will become extinct in the near future thanks to media streaming over the internet, OnLive for example). They are basically a computer meant for video games.

Now i want you to imagine what you think companies like Microsoft or Sony, even Nintendo will come up with for their “next,next,next generation consoles”.

Take a look at this video and imagine what we can do with that technology. Having full freedom of movement but still be stuck in one place can be a space saver, but also can introduce a new way to integrate yourself into the video game you are playing. Now this video was uploaded 2 years ago, so you can imagine that this technology has progressed.

Now you just need some glasses and they need to make the area able to shape itself form the ground to create obstacles or cover. Now this might be possible with the growth of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology, if you don’t know is working with objects, or creating objects that are one billionth the size of a meter. Companies are already making robots the size of 100 nanometers. And Intel is working on self-building nanostructures they call programmable matter

I see this technology grow and be able to form whatever you want. The point is to create a full 3d space that you are believed to be in. The only factors that need to be checked is that you feel and can walk at your free will like you are with your analog sticks. Then visually see the map and the virtual allies or enemies and also the terrain. The third part is the feeling, being able to feel your surrounding. The feeling of when you touch an object in the map, or when taking cover against the wall is probably going to be the hard part. But maybe we will see an advancement in nanotechnology were fake objects will be roboticly built in front of us in no time at all.

Now I am just writting this for my and hopefully your amusement but I am seeing what i have experienced going through the internet and collecting information on new technology that have been out or just came out. And then make my best prediction on what might happen in the next century.

Archos 5 on sale

Tristan — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:20:59 +0000

If you are looking for one of the best internet media tablet out there, then you should take a look at the Archos 5. It has a nice 4.8 in screen with 160 gb of memory. Check it out at amazon. Be quick the deal might end soon. $280 is not bad.

New technology for our future

Tristan — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:20:08 +0000

Windows 8 concept

Tristan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:21:33 +0000

Will this be after Windows 7?

Copenhagen User Experience from Copenhagen Concept on Vimeo.

The future of mobile technology

Tristan — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:33:25 +0000

Will our sixth sense simply be a gadget?