Monday, December 13, 2004

Fear and Loathing in Tokyo: Exclusive PSP Street-Launch Video Coverage from our Live Correspondents (Video, Photos) 

Fear and Loathing in Tokyo: Exclusive PSP Street-Launch Video Coverage from our Live Correspondents: "After the First Impressions on Tuesday and the Opening Session yesterday, Lik Sang received today some fresh off-the-cuff reports about the situation in Tokyo, from our special correspondent on the ground, Tim Rogers and his man FFD. Tim Rogers, known as a loose cannon in the video games press, delivers his thoughts in his traditional crazy and hilarious style which some of you, familiar with his previous writings for various portals, might recognize, and which all of you will for sure enjoy.

Not only did Tim describe what happened at the streets of Tokyo this weekend, he caught it all on tape. Download all the videos, including the final count down, Ken Kutaragi's speech, and some crazy midnight action, right here. More than 100 MB action as Windows Media files, this is as close as you can get to any Japanese console release."

Sunday, December 12, 2004

ASIAN POP The Gadget Gap / Why does all the cool stuff come out in Asia first? 

ASIAN POP The Gadget Gap / Why does all the cool stuff come out in Asia first?: "Let's call him Johnny Sokko. A deputy assistant office manager and aspiring rock guitarist, Johnny lives in Tokyo in a cramped three-bedroom apartment shared with his parents and his teenage sister. Upon waking up in the morning, Johnny stumbles to the bathroom to answer the call of nature using the household's amazing Matsushita-brand Smart Toilet, which automatically measures his weight, body fat, blood pressure and urine sugar and sends the results to the Sokko family physician via the Internet. Over breakfast, he checks his daily schedule on his Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000 -- the first PDA to feature a 4-gigabyte internal hard drive -- and confirms he's free until noon. Great; he can spend the morning trying to beat the Puzzle Bobble Pocket high score his sister rang up on his brand-new Sony PlayStation Portable.

Japan's trade surplus with the United States remains astronomically high, at over $6 billion; yet any regular reader of technophile Web sites such as I4U, Engadget or Gizmodo knows that the world's biggest exporter of consumer electronics regularly keeps its most innovative and exciting widgetry to itself, selling it only to the domestic market. Cell phones that do everything but make toast (although appropriate attachments are probably available from third-party accessory vendors). Gigapixel digital cameras. Laptops so tiny that "My dog ate my homework" is once again a valid excuse. And, of course, the most incredible toilets in the history of humankind. "

by Jeff Yang,
Special to SF Gate
San Francisco Chronicle

PCWorld.com - We Test Drive Sony's PSP 

PCWorld.com - We Test Drive Sony's PSP With the launch of Sony's PSP (PlayStation Portable) on Sunday, we finally have a chance to put the device through its paces. While it will be some time before all of its features are given a thorough testing and its quirks identified, my initial reaction is positive.

Everything about the PSP indicates quality, solid manufacturing, and a value far beyond its $200 retail price. Analysts have speculated that Sony is losing several hundred dollars on each machine, something that Nintendo has said it is not doing with its recently launched $150 DS (Dual Screen) handheld device.

Even the packaging of the PSP is well designed. An inner cardboard assembly holds the power adapter and cables in separate compartments and unfolds, the way any good present should, to reveal the treasure inside.

Music, Movies, and More
The system settings have their own menu and there are also main menus for games, movies, audio, and photos. Currently, those last three work only with content stored on a Memory Stick, but Sony plans to release audio and video content on discs at a later date.

Music and video can be stored on the Memory Stick directly or by connecting the PSP to a personal computer and switching the unit to USB mode. The Memory Stick appears as a USB mass storage device and so should work with almost any modern operating system. Windows identified the device as "PSP Type A," which is sure to lead gamers to speculate on what other types of PSP may be coming in the future.

Martyn Williams,
IDG News Service