THIS Is The PSPgo Everyone Can Afford; A Fake China Gadget.

By Benedict Wee

Sony made a big mistake when it decided to maket a smaller-screened, non-removable battery, expensive hardware and software version of the PSP (a.k.a PSPgo), proving that they have no idea how to cater to the gaming market... wait. We did this already.

If you have do not own a PSP Slim to modify into Tim's PSPgo killer then perhaps you might want to give this China-made knockoff a look.

The PXP-2000 is a power-packed handheld that runs NES/Famicom, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, SFC and MD (32-Bit Rom) games and plays a whole list of video extensions such as RM, RMVB, WMV, ASF, MPG, MPEG, MOV and MP4. It also has a voice recording function, speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, camera with photo and video recording and a TV-Output that supports PAL/NTSC televisions.

The price of this knockoff? US$84/NZ$114.40, a pretty good deal considering this has more functions than the US$250/NZ$340.48 PSPgo. Yeah it won't play PSP games but they're way more expensive to download compared to their UMD counterpart anyways.

Note to Sony: When a China knockoff has better functions than the original product you're selling, it means you have failed big-time.

Source:

PMP Today - PXP-2000 MP5 Player and Gamer > Than PSP Go?

THIS Is The PSPgo Everyone Wants.

By Benedict Wee

Sony made a big mistake when it decided to maket a smaller-screened, non-removable battery, expensive hardware and software version of the PSP (a.k.a PSPgo), proving that they have no idea how to cater to the gaming market. Thankfully someone from JoblessPunk DESIGNS has managed to create the Sony handheld many have been waiting for.

Tim Magoolaghan has modified an old PSP Slim by giving it dual nubs, a second USB port for charging, an integrated camera, 32 GB worth of storage space and custom firmware capable of playing SNES, Genesis and Nintendo 64 games.

This 20-year old young man has single-handedly destroyed the PSPgo, he's even provided a tutorial on how to modify the PSP by yourself. Sony, Nintendo... hell even Microsoft should consider hiring this guy for their game hardware division.

JoblessPunk DESIGNS PSP Link.

Source:

Engadget - PSP O Rly? Modder Adds Camera, Custom Firmware To Slim, Films His Own Informercial.

'My Phone' For Windows Mobile Now Live

By Benedict Wee

With the release of their latest mobile OS -Windows Mobile 6.5 (a.k.a Windows Phone)- Microsoft has launched their new My Phone service for all mobiles running Windows Mobile 6 and up.

My Phone allows you to backup and arrange data stored in your mobile such as contacts, texts, photos, calendar events, documents and music to a personal account so should you ever lose your phone or purchase a new one the information can be easily retrieved from their servers. Though you can only store up to 200MB worth of said data, there are plans to expand the storage space for an additional fee.

Speaking of additional fees, paying an additional US$5/NZ$7 gets you the Premium service which allows you to:

You can try this service for 60 days for free. To see if your WinMo phone is compatible go to Start -> Settings -> System -> About on your mobile.

My Phone for Windows Mobile Link.

Android + TouchWiz = Samsung Behold 2.

By Benedict Wee

While we're being starved with only one (expensive and flawed) Android smartphone in New Zealand, the rest of the world is being overrun with these things.

Behold.. the Behold II, an Android-operated mobile by Samsung running their TouchWiz interface. The phone comes with your standard specs like Bluetooth, a 5MP camera, microSD card slot, 3.2-inch touchscreen and the trinity of connections (3G, WiFi, GPS). There are no pricing details nor launch dates yet but Samsung says it'll be out in the US around the holiday season.

This makes 3 Android smartphones by Samsung, the first two being the Galaxy and Galaxy Lite.

(Edit: It's actually 4. Forgot about the InstinctQ)

Source:

Gizmodo - Samsung Behold II Hits T-Mobile, Pairs Android With TouchWiz Interface.

Flash 10.1 For All Mobiles! .. Cept The iPhone.

By Benedict Wee

The people at Adobe have announced that their next version of Flash - version 10.1- will come to Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, WebOS and Windows Mobile phones and will be GPU accelerated which means watching flawless YouTube videos in HD.

Though the full software will only be available mid-2010, the beta version will be released to Windows Mobile and WebOS phones by the end of the year with Android and Symbian following early next so expect to stream television shows on your mobile in just a couple of months.

Too bad for iPhone users however. Given Apple's overprotective attitude towards their smartphone Adobe is reporting that there isn't much progress in developing Flash for the system. Sad, Flash support could work wonders on a device that relies heavily on a touch interface.

LOS ANGELES — Oct. 5, 2009 — At Adobe MAX, Adobe’s worldwide developer conference, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM; TSX:RIM) today announced they are working together to bring Adobe® Flash® Player support to the BlackBerry® platform. RIM is joining the Open Screen Project, a broad initiative dedicated to enabling standalone applications and richer Web browsing across mobile phones, televisions, desktops and other consumer electronic devices through the Adobe Flash Platform. The collaboration is expected to bring the full Flash Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones.

“As an industry leader for innovative smartphones and wireless solutions, RIM delivers superior mobile user experiences to customers around the world,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Flash Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “It’s a natural fit for both companies to work together to bring Flash technology based video and Web content to BlackBerry smartphone users.”

“As part of the Open Screen Project, RIM will be working with Adobe to deliver a great Flash technology experience on BlackBerry smartphones and to enable users to enjoy the exciting content and services that Flash technology developers and content creators are bringing to the Web,” said Alan Brenner, SVP at Research In Motion.

Led by Adobe, the Open Screen Project includes close to 50 industry leaders working together to provide a consistent runtime environment and user experience across mobile phones, desktops, and other consumer electronics devices. The initiative addresses the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of devices, and removes the barriers to publishing content and applications seamlessly across screens. For more information, visit www.openscreenproject.org.

Source:

Gizmodo - Flash 10.1: Full Flash For Everyone But iPhone, Actually Playable HD Vids

Adobe - RIM joins Open Screen Project

Sidenote: Doesn't Ming the Merciless look kinda like Steve Jobs with a beard?!

Budget Android Phone Now Available In The UK.

By Benedict Wee

If you've been thinking about getting an Android smartphone and got friends or family in the UK, the T-Mobile Pulse we previously reported on is now available for 186.16GBP/NZ$414.08 on Prepay. With that low a price the Pulse is currently the cheapest Android mobile sold in the world right now.

The specs of the phone are as follows:

T-Mobile UK Link.

ODROID: An Android Handheld Console.

By Benedict Wee

Firstly, let me say that I don't buy Apple's statement about the iPod Touch being a gaming device. It's more a gadget that has the extra function of playing games like the old Nokia mobiles which came with the pre-installed Snake game. To call something a portable gaming console you've got to a) focus primarily on games, b) get big name publishers making aforementioned games and c) have more than one button and a physical D-pad. Oh, they also must come with a decent narrative as games are, after all, interactive stories.

Seeing as Android is a free mobile OS, it was bound to pop up on anything with a screen so it isn't surprising to see it appear on what is being marketed as a handheld console. The ODROID comes with an impressive spec sheet; a Samsung 833MHz Processor (what the iPhone 3GS runs), 512MB RAM, WiFi & Bluetooth connections, 3.5mm headphone jack and a HDMI connector for HD (720p) viewing, all incased in what looks like a WonderSwan housing.

The ODROID doesn't stand up as a gaming device unfortunately as most games currently on Android are of the iPod Touch/iPhone variety which -as I've previously mentioned- does not count as proper games but what it does do is provide a cheaper Personal Media Player alternative to Creative's Zii Egg, if you do not mind the lack of GPS and dual cameras and full HD output support.

The developer's version of the ODROID is now out for US$320/NZ$442.11 and it'll ship in November but I recommend you waiting for a month as the consumer version will only retail for US$250/NZ$345.40.

ODROID Link.

Source:

Gizmodo - ODROID Gaming Handheld Runs Android; Now Available For Pre-Order.