This past year saw many games come and go, but there were only a few standout gaming devices. The Nintendo DSi made a big splash in our office and your homes alike, while the iPod Touch made its mark on the industry as a legitimate gaming console. The PSP Go also made its debut at this year's E3, and there were too many game-worthy PC and Mac laptops to hit the market to count. So tell me — which is your favorite portable gaming device of 2009?
During my travels through Japan, I just had to stop by the Akihabara district. Known as "Electric City," it's packed with blocks and blocks of gadget shops, game arcades, and stores where you can get every kind of cable known to man. It was a geek's dream, and I was living in it.
Cruising around one shop in particular, I noticed how awesome Japanese phones are. Let me start out by saying there aren't many iPhones in Japan — they're way too expensive — and people don't seem to mind. Why? Well, on their slim but lengthy solar-charged flip phones, they can stream TV and watch movies from anywhere in the country. I couldn't help but be jealous of their advanced cell phone tech (and prices — these high tech babies were only about $150 bucks in-store). I say, forget the Solio and give me solar panels on my iPhone!
Check out more pics of the gadgets I found in the Akihabara district of Japan when you read more
Although I'm not in Germany attending the GamesCom 2009, I've been anxiously awaiting the announcements to flow in from the upcoming conferences. First up, and admittedly the one I've been waiting for, is Sony's announcement of a thinner and cheaper PS3.
Launching on Sept. 1, the PS3 Slim will come with a body that's 33 percent smaller, a big 120 GB hard drive, and will set you back just $300 — $100 less than past PS3 price tags. But if you don't mind the current PS3 heft and can't hold off until September to get your hands on a console, you can now purchase an 80 GB PS3 for the same $300 price. Plus, getting your presale on has never been easier, as both Kmart and Sears have listed the PS3 Slim on their websites for presale already.
But that's not all coming out of the Sony camp today in Germany. Get the deets on the new PSP Minis when you read more
With E3 last week and WWDC this week, I know I've been throwing a ton of product announcements your way — the PSP Go and iPhone 3G S just skim the tip of the tech iceberg. And on top of those two big annual events, this week also brought the release of the Palm Pre and the Kindle DX. I'm already impressed with all four of these products in their own right, but I'm interested in knowing if there are any that you are going ga-ga over?
I got the chance to check out LittleBigPlanet on the PSP yesterday, and put it to a head-to-head test on Sony's latest console, the PSP Go. So after fiddling around with both for a few minutes, I asked myself: "Which is better?" It's really hard to say. I mean, you'd think that moving from one PSP to the other would be as simple as moving from the DS to the DS Lite, but then, you would be wrong.
The PSP Go is notably more compact than the PSP, making the controls closer together, which is perfect for smaller, ahem, more feminine or childlike hands. Good marketing ploy perhaps? Either way, the PSP Go has an amazing screen, is 40 percent lighter than the old version, has the same general control layout, 16 GB of on-board memory, and an online shop to download games straight to your console.
But getting down to the nuts and bolts, which of the two PSPs is more comfy to play with? Find out my take when you read more
