At the recent E3, Nintendo once again proved that it is still the king of innovation with the unveiling of the Nintendo 3DS. We might remember a few years back that Nintendo also took a similarly unconventional path with the Nintendo Wii, the first motion-controlled gaming console ever released in the market. Nintendo side-stepped the hardware wars between Microsoft and Sony to resounding success. Not only did it propel Nintendo back to the gaming scene, it also brought forth a paradigm shift in the way people interacted with the virtual world. Suddenly, tech companies took notice on the importance of user experience on the value of their devices. Shortly after, the accelerometer which was at the heart of the Wii controller sprung up on all kinds of devices. It is only now that Microsoft and Sony are playing catch-up with the respective releases of Xbox 360 Natal/Kinect and the Sony Move/Wii copycat. With the release of the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo introduces the world to the first 3D experience without the use of 3D glasses. Expect it to have a similar paradigm-shifting effect on the tech world.
New Mobile Platforms - Android 2.2, IOS4, Symbian^3, Palm WebOS, MeeGo, Bada OS, Blackberry 6.0.
Competition has always been the way forward in this market economy, and mobiles are no different. Apple has been the trailblazer in this arena, pushing the aesthetics and functionality of mobile devices to the limit and blurring its line between computers in the process. Apple has recently reinforced its foothold in the market with the IOS 4, but its lead is hardly secure. Because of this convergence, this arena has become a lucrative avenue of growth for tech companies, and everyone wants a slice of the pie. Google has proven to be the most formidable opponent to Apple, with its open-source Android OS distributed for free to dozens of hardware manufacturers. Although it has the disadvantage of hardware fragmentation, it has become the fastest rising OS in the market. Right now, it's still a showdown between the walled garden of Apple and the open, customizable, and free platform of Google. However, the other heavyweights are joining in the fray as well. Blackberry, the leading smartphone service in the world, is coming out with an Iphone-slaying Blackberry 6.0 to redeem itself from its lackluster lineups. Palm WebOS has survived financial trouble with a knight in shining armor in HP in a partnership that's potentially game-changing. Palm has the innovative and well thought-out system, while HP has the resources to bring it to scale. Samsung has also learned from its partnership with Google Android, and is coming out with its custom-made OS that will leverage its number two position in the worldwide market. Finally, there's Nokia who is staging a comeback with the Symbian^3 on its new flagship N8. More intriguing still is its partnership with Intel on the MeeGo OS, which could also prove to be a gamechanger with the massive resources of the two companies. It's definitely an interesting battle. We'll see how this goes. No matter who comes out on top though, the consumer will surely be the winner in the end.
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is now open. Harry Potter fans all over the world rejoice! The magical text of J.K. Rowling springs to life in where else.. the magic kingdom of Orlando, Florida. Imagine the thrill of actually playing Quidditch, or the terror of being chased by dragons and hippogriffs, or the excitement of walking along the grounds of the Forbidden Forest. It's just amazing how one woman's imagination can create the seven greatest novels of all time, eight epic movies, and now, a theme park. I practically grew up with Harry Potter, and I owe my love for reading and writing to this enchanting series. Hence, visiting this theme park would be a sort of Mecca for me, a pilgrimage to magic. I hope to visit this place someday, it would be a dream come true to be a wizard for a day and just be an awe-struck child again in the spellbinding world of Harry Potter.
Some interesting videos:
Wireless Power
Live Curious :)
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