The iPad 3G has reportedly been hacked by the guys over at iPhoneIslam to enable full Phone and SMS funtionality. This hack requires no additional hardware as the iPad already has a 3G modem and you’ll perform every cellular operation that you would perform on an iPhone. Â The video of the hack in action after the break.
[box] A hack that will change the game. Can you imagine turning your iPad to a fully functional phone. With No Special Hardware all what you need is Jailbroken iPad 3G and your iPad 3G will do anything you expect from iPhone… Phone Calls, SMS, FaceTime by Phone Number… ETC[/box]
It is not yet confirmed if the video is fake or real but it is highly unlikely that this would be just a publicity stunt as iPhoneIslam has a good reputation in the jailbreaking commmunity and they’re the same guys who were behind FaceIt-3GS, a hack that enables FaceTime video calling on an iPhone 3GS. iPhoneIslam hasn’t given a released date but says PhoneItiPad will be available on the Cydia Store “very soon,†and before WWDC.
NDP, a research firm, has released this year’s sales numbers from the gaming industry and they are not pretty. Sales have dropped by 38 percent in the overall gaming market. One console still stands out from the rest, Xbox360 still sits firmly on the top of the sales numbers of 2011. Check out the graph below:
Microsoft said the reason behind the success of their prized console was the release of Kinect. People went crazy after the motion sensor for the 360 and it lead to an enormous increase in sales for the console itself.
Meanwhile, other consoles such as the PS3 and Wii are still falling behind. This report was shocking as PS3 saw more exclusive releases this year, Uncharted 3 being one of the major ones.
Ti’s a sad day for Pakistani mobile phone users (all of Pakistan). Two of the telecom majors of Pakistan, Mobilink and Telenor, have both announced they have increased the deduction on reloads by a whopping 7%. This came as a shock to not only the avid mobile users, but to the lower class folk who hardly have enough to get a 100 RS. recharge per month.
While people are appalled by this enormous increase in “service” charges, the telecom giants are deeming this as a fair return to the service they’re providing and the quality of the network. On top of this service charge of 7%, they already had the tax deduction at 10% which in the end makes it a total of 33.19 Rupees being cut from your 100 Rs. reload.
So here is the simple version, you get a 100 RS. reload on your account, you lose 33 RS, you get only 66 Rupees out of your total 100 rupees paid. And this is not the end of it, this service charge increased in just six months. I think we’re heading towards a time where people will get 200 rupees reloads to get 50 rupees in their accounts.
Hasbro, the famous toy manufacturer, has acquired a license to develop some awesome toys based on some of the more memorable games by Zynga. Zynga has created a dozen Facebook games which became phenomenal due to their addictiveness and huge following. The possibilities of real life incarnations of some of the most played games on Facebook are endless.
I can just imagine playing a physical version of Words With Friends or Farmville. Mafia Wars might also make an appearance. Hasbro owns the rights to a lot of famous IPs, from super heroes to fairy tales. Combining these two together could result in some of the most fun action figures / board games we’ve seen in a while.
Zynga was knee deep in accusations from various game manufacturers for copying their ideas and mimicking them into their own games, but Zynga still stands strong as being a larger part of Facebook revenue and one of the most notable gaming studios.
Apple Store goes blitzkrieg on their rip-off games. Apple has their fair share of submissions in the app store on a daily basis, especially for the games. Some creators who actually spend time and money thinking of an original game end up being enormously famous, while the others who just take one game and imitate it into their own get the boot eventually. Keep in mind though Zynga is not included in the mix, no matter how many copies they make they’re still a big company and will stay that way, sad but true.
Apple Store deleted some of the most openly inviting imitation titles from their infamous app store as of today. Some of them are listed below:
Angry Ninja Birds
Tiny Birds
Temple Jump
Numbers With Friends
Plants Vs. Zombies
All of the above and about 60 more were removed and can not be added back to the app store. This is still a question of choice though, these games weren’t complete copies of their originals, should they be allowed to do business? Are we forgetting imitation’s link to flattery? It’s not like these rip-offs can take anything away from the original giants, why not let them have their fun too?
Volition (THQ) designer Jameson Durall behind the recent Mars shooter Red Faction: Armageddon says that the next Xbox’s used game blocking feature would be “a fantastic change for our business,”.
He claims that gamers don’t realize how much used games are hurting the industry and is genuinely excited for a platform wide online pass system similar to what Sony, EA and others are doing. A few notable quotes from his article are below:
I could see Microsoft implementing their own rental service which would maybe give them a code that activates the game for X days and they are charged a small amount,
This could work when you borrow the disc from someone or even with digital download of the full version. It would also send a percentage of the rental to the Developer with each rental… likely improving the overall revenue we would receive from it.
In the end, I fully believe that we have to do something about these issues or our industry is going to fall apart.
People often don’t understand the cost that goes into creating these huge experiences that we put on the shelves for only $60. They also don’t seem to realize how much they are hurting us when they buy a used game and how pirating a copy is just plain stealing.
I know that some will say I’m not considering the retail games stores and the impact something like this would have on them…but remember they were doing fine well before the Used Games market became such a staple of their business.
The truth is, they aren’t concerned with how this business is affecting us so why should I care how these changes will affect them?
Definitely a good argument but in the end it all depends on the end customer – you. So tell us what do you think? Should Microsoft go for a platform wide pass system and support the developers or leave things as they are and allow gamers to buy cheaper games? Let us know in the comments below.
Just a few days after Facebook announced that it will be going Public by applying for a $5 Billion IPO, the social networking giant has announced that their mobile users will start getting in-line ads next month.
Not a lot of detail is public at this point but it’s suggested that users will get these ads as sponsored stories in the timelines, which I have to admit is not a bad idea. These ads will be much bearable than pop-up or sidebar ads since the mobile Facebook is cluttered as it is. Currently it’s not known whether both the Web and App versions of Facebook will be affected but we’ll find that out soon enough.
At the Tokyo Game Show, last year in September, a Final Fantasy X for the PS3 and Vita was announced, with no release date. At that time, it was unclear whether this would be a remake or a remaster. For those of you who wanted a remake (like me) , prepare to be disappointed.
Shinji Hashimoto, the producer of Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, Final Fantasy IX and (currently) Final Fantasy Versus XIII, said at an interview at the Taipai Game Show “It’s being developed like a remaster, but the visuals will be much more improved compared to the original game”. This statement confirms that the game will be remastered, and not remade.
So basically, we’re just getting the old game with better graphics. Just like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus for the PS3.
However, this statement by Hashimoto-san contradicts that of Yoshinori Kitase who said that he will “ensure that the remake of the game will have the same quality as the original.” (Note the word ‘remake).
But since the statement by Hashimoto-san is more recent, I believe that should be followed for now. There is still no release date for the game.
The HTC Explorer is HTC’s first budget oriented smartphone running on Google’s Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with the Taiwanese company’s latest Sense 3.5 property skin on top. HTC is mostly known for it’s mid range and high end phones like the Desire and Sensation but the Explorer is sort of a first for the company. At the time of released the HTC Explorer will be one of the cheapest Android phones to be available in the market, being free on most carriers.
Unboxing
Box
The HTC Explorer comes inside a small rectangular box, sliding the top cover off presents you the phone. Under the phone is the charger, USB cable, the standard manuals and warranty information. Although the Explorer is a budget oriented smartphone we were hoping for some earphones, Samsung cared to pack them in their Galaxy Y so we can’t understand why not HTC.
Specifications
The HTC Explorer has the following specifications:
Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support with no CDMA version available as of yet.
14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
3.2-inch 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of HVGA resolution (320 x 480)
3MP fixed-focus camera with geotagging and face detection
VGA video @ 24fps
microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
microSD slot (up to 32GB)
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer, proximity sensor
Stereo FM radio with RDS
Hardware
The HTC Explorer sports a Quad Band GSM radio with dual band 3G along with HSPDA and HSUPA support which will make sure your phone works almost everywhere and you receive the fastest 3G speeds. The screen on the Explorer is a 3.2-inch TFT touchscreen with 256k colors and a resolution of 320 x 480 (HVGA). The screen as you must have guessed by now is of very low quality with bad viewing angles, but it’s bearable.
The camera on on the Explorer is a fixed focus 3MP camera which is pretty mediocre by today’s standards. It records video in VGA resolutions at 24 frames per second, video and still samples are later in this review. The 600 MHz Cortex A5 is kind of on the slow side for Android, multitasking can really bring it down to it’s knees. There’s also 512MB of RAM and an Adreno 200 GPU powering the Explorer.There’s 90MB of built in memory which can be expanded up to 32GB thanks to it’s microSD card slot. The other standard stuff includes WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, standard microUSB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and GPS. The speaker on the Explorer is very mediocre but a guy on a budget can’t really complain.
Design
The HTC Explorer takes part from the standard aluminum HTC build and is made from a special sort of plastic which has a rubbery feel to it. I must say the phone feels very good in the hand, much better than the Galaxy Y which is sort of a direct competitor to the phone. The phone has a strong feel but it still creeks when squeezed from the sides, which is a huge disappointment.
The Explorer measures in at 101.3 x 59.4 x 12.4 mm and weighs just 108 g. The phone is much smaller in real life than what I expected from the pictures and looks like one of those oval rocks you find on the beach. The phone will be available in a variety of colors; namely in Black, Purple, White, Orange and Light Blue.
The front of the HTC Explorer has the 3.2-inch screen with the HTC logo on top and the four standard Android capacitive buttons below which are nicely spaced and are easy to press. Above the screen are the proximity and ambient light sensors. On the left side of the phone we have the microUSB slot which unfortunately doesn’t have a cover and on the right side we have rubbery volume rocker. On the back we have the fixed focus camera and a brushed metal strip with an engraved HTC logo in the middle which looks very nice. You can remove the back by pressing your thumb against the top of the phone. Removing the back presents you the 1230 mAh battery, SIM cart and microSD card slot.
Video Sample
Camera Sample
Software
The HTC Explorer runs on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with HTC’s Sense 3.5 propriety UI skin. As I mentioned in my HTC Rhyme review, HTC Sense 3.5 is a brilliant custom skin and it shows on the Explorer.
Sense 3.5 features new and updated widgets along with a brand new menu and app drawer background. Although Sense 3.5 is pretty light you can notice a bit of lag due to the Explorer’s slow CPU. This can be tackled by overclocking the CPU and sacrificing battery life but that certainly isn’t recommended. HTC Sense 3.5 has also been tweaked a bit to cope with the Explorer’s lower resolution screen.
I had doubts on how the slow processor will perform while browsing the Internet, surprisingly it did pretty good. Full web pages with flash content loaded much quicker than I thought they would, don’t expect it to play 720p videos from YouTube, though 480p ones should work fine.
The 1230 mAh battery of the Explorer coupled with the small screen and Sense 3.5 result in awesome battery life. It lasted me a day and a half on average usage with occasional gaming, watching videos and browsing the internet.
Just like the the Rhyme, the HTC Explorer is also fully integrated with HTCSense.com. You can download wallpapers, themes and other neat content along with backing up your phone’s data and even delete it if your phone gets stolen.
Performance
Performance on the Explorer is pretty good considering the price, benchmark scores are above. It scored 2200 on the AnTuTu Benchmark, 944 on Quandrant which is impressively more than the Samsung Galaxy S, 18.84 seconds on Linpack, 3262 on CF-Bench. Pretty decent scores don’t you think?
The Explorer also has excellent telephony capabilities, I had no reception problems or dropped calls throughout my testing.
Conclusion
The HTC Explorer is a very good budget phone, dare I say it better than the Galaxy Y. HTC has always been known for their high class and elegant designs and have managed to maintain their signature style with the Explorer while keeping it affordable. Our only complaints are the mediocre camera, no microSD card and earphones in box and creaky body. Overall the Explorer impressed us a lot, both hardware and software wise and is definitely recommended.
“A Red Letter Day”. What is it, you ask? Let’s just say it is an event organized to show Valve that Half-Life 2 is not forgotten.
The event is scheduled for 4th February, at 11:00AM – 11:30AM PDT, 30,000 gamers will be playing Half-Life 2 in order to show their support for the game. A steam group, calling themselves “A Call for Communication”, has organized this particular event.
Why are we doing this? It will be a fun way to rally together, put Half-Life back in the spotlight and draw more people to our cause. We are not asking or demanding for anything; it will simply be a huge group of Half-Life fans playing one of the best games ever made. Who knows, maybe Half-Life 2 will even reach the top ten games played for that day.
Not only will this event cause Half-Life 2 to venture into the list of top ten games played today, but it will show Valve how much people love this franchise, and how they desperately want a Half-Life 3. Basically, the group is indirectly asking Valve to get on with HL 3 and bring joy to the hearts of so many gamers.
Valve does listen to it’s fanbase, and this may actually work. And even if it doesn’t, why would you object to playing an excellent game? Sure, this is a single player game. But it’s one hell of a single player game.
So, will you be participating in this event? because I know I will.
