Sony said that worldwide shipments of PlayStation 2 surpassed 100 million units this week. Launched in March 2000, the console needed five years and nine months to reach the mark, while the original PlayStation took almost ten years to do so. The company plans to unveil the PlayStation 3 sometime next year. It will battle Microsoft’s recently unveiled Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s upcoming Revolution.
After months of expectation, Microsoft today launched its Xbox 360 console, hoping to guarantee a comfortable head start over rival Sony’s PlayStation 3. As anticipated, the videogame is available in two versions, a basic Core System (USD 300) and a premium edition (USD 400), which includes a wireless controller, a 20 GB HD, an Ethernet cable, a headset, chrome finish and a limited free media remote. There are more than 50 titles available at launch. The Xbox 360 is based on a Power-like CPU featuring three separate cores running at 3.2 GHz. It uses a custom ATI GPU clocked at 500 MHz and sports 512 MB of RAM.
Nikon has issued a recall of 710,000 of its EN-EL3 rechargeable battery pack after four reported incidents envolving short circuit and consequent overheat. Owner of affected products should contact the company for a free replacement. The lithium ion battery was distributed worldwide with SLR D100, D70 and D50 digital cameras and also sold separately under model number 26265.
Creative has updated its music player lineup with a Photo version of the Zen Sleek. The 20 GB device has a 1.7-inch color OLED display and is said to run for 19 hours on a single battery charge. At 4x2.2x0.6 inches, it is almost the size of the now defunct iPod mini, though heavier, with the benefit of adding an FM tuner and a voice recorder. The buttons have blue backlight and users are allowed to choose among eight color themes for its interface. Suggested price is USD 300.
As anticipated, Apple has unveiled new iPods capable of screening videos on its 2.5-inch TFT display. The players will be available next week in 30 GB (USD 300) and 60 GB (USD 400) capacities. Apple said the new iPods, to be sold with black or white cases, will have superior battery life of 20 hours. The company also cut deals to offer video content, including primetime TV shows, through its iTunes store.
Apple this week stirred speculations that it might soon introduce an iPod with video capabilities. The company distributed invitations to analysts and reporters to a special event next week in San Jose saying simply “One more thing…”, the same tactics used before last month’s introduction of the iPod nano. Though observers see great potential in an iPod that goes beyond audio and photos, Apple’s chief Steve Jobs recently downplayed consumer interest in such a product.
Ex-rivals Palm and Microsoft have announced a partnership that will result in a Treo smartphone running on Windows Mobile 5.0. Detailed specifications were not disclosed, but the new device will feature Intel processor, color touch screen, QWERTY keyboard, internal camera and SD expansion slot. An early prototype presented at the press conference looked similar to current Treos. Verizon Wireless said that the phone will be commercially available in early 2006.
Dell has officially introduced the DJ Ditty, its first flash-based audio player, weighing only 1.29 ounce and measuring 3.6x1.1x0.5 inches. With 512 MB of storage capacity, the device has a 1x0.4 inch LCD screen and integrates FM tuner. The rechargeable lithium polymer battery promises up to 14 hours of continuous play. The pack includes earbuds, lanyard and black-and-blue USB cap. Suggested price is USD 99.
Panasonic has announced what it calls the world’s first 3-CCD digital video cameras capable of recording MPEG2 onto SD memory cards. The S100, which will be the first to hit Japanese stores in October, measures only 1.96x3.8x3.16 inches and weighs 5.3 pounds. The S300 is nearly identical, but has carbon reinforced polymer on the grip and LCD exterior. The cameras record in widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and feature proprietary MEGA O.I.S. (optical image stabilizer). A 2 GB SD card is included.
Nintendo presented the last unknown piece of its next-generation Revolution console – and it is a quite revolutionary one. President Satoru Iwata introduced during this week's Tokyo Game Show a new one-handed controller equipped with motion detection sensors that can act as a virtual sword or baseball bat. It looks like a small TV remote and includes a traditional directional pad and several other buttons. An expansion port allows users to plug traditional two-handed controllers or joysticks. The Revolution is expected to launch in 2006.
