Sonic 4 to arrive on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii this summer
SEGA has announced that Sonic the Hedgehog will be back on our consoles in 2D this summer, with the launch of Sonic 4 for Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (very Star Wars-esque there) will be available to download for the big three consoles, with more episodes expected later in 2010.
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SEGA’s signature character is returning to the chronology of the original series, sixteen years after Sonic 3 was released to GTA-like fanfare for the once-mighty Megadrive (for an RRP £59.99 no-less).
As you can see from the teaser trailer below, not a lot appears to have changed in that decade-and-a-half, with the same ring-collecting, Dr Robotnic-bashing, hold-A-to-spin gameplay. Even the trademark "SAY-GAH" reminds us of those carefree days when bouncing through that invincibility box and going on an all-out whopping spree was the only goal in life.
Sonic’s adventures in recent years (especially on the Wii) have been less than illustrious so we’re happy to see him back on a solid platform so to speak. No news yet on how much the download will cost and the exact date of availability.
Link: Sega (via ScrewAttack | Picture: Gamespot)
Dell adamo XPS review
Two years ago the MacBook Air started a minor revolution. It aimed to turn the humble notebook from a work tool of seemingly never-changing design into something iconic to be lusted after.
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The resulting product was selling to something of a niche market, but other manufacturers have also made a play for the “give me slim stylishness or give me death” crowd, with Dell’s Adamo XPS being the latest Air rival.
The original Adamo altered perceptions of Dell computers as dull boxes for grey men, but the Adamo XPS is even better: it’s stunning looking. The chassis is fashioned from a single piece of aluminium giving it a seamless look and high-quality feel. At a fraction under 10mm deep, it’s the world’s slimmest notebook and looks like little more than a folded sheet of exceedingly stylish metal.
The flat keyboard doesn’t suffer at all from being crammed into such a tiny space – it cunningly fits into the display when it’s shut. Typing on it is such a pleasure, we actually preferred it to the MacBook’s keyboard, although the trackpad isn’t a patch on the Air’s multi-touch.
You get 128GB of solid state storage. You can hook up an external drive if it’s not sufficient, although that’ll take up one of only two USB sockets. You’ll also need to shell out for a USB DVD drive because there’s no room for one inside the Adamo XPS’s tight little casing.
Other connectivity is minimal. DisplayPort lets you add a monitor, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone socket. 801.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 are built in. There’s ethernet too, but only via a supplied adaptor.
At 13.4 inches the classy screen is a good size for viewing movies in 720p hi-def, with LED backlighting giving improved colours and helping to muster up a detailed picture. The tiny speakers lack depth and volume, though.
The Intel Core 2 Duo processor is fine for day-to-day tasks and you can have multiple apps open without suffering undue sluggishness. With just an integrated graphics card, gaming isn’t really a possibility, however.
The battery doesn’t impress, giving a pitiful 86 minutes of DVD playback and about two hours when running the internet via Wi-Fi and knocking up a few Word documents. Dell’s optional, larger battery with double the stamina is an advisable purchase – price TBC, alas.
Dell’s Adamo XPS makes a major style statement, but it’s a solid performer too. The keyboard and screen are particularly fine, and the processor’s good for anything that’s not too data intensive. Even with the premium feel, the £1,750 price tag is a bit much, though.
Link: DELL
Lenovo IdeaPad U1 tablet laptop hybrid video hands-on
We have to doff our collective caps to Lenovo. While the world tries to decide whether need a tablet to either complement their laptop or replace their netbook, the clever so-and-sos produce the first device to completely tick all the boxes.
On the surface, the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 appears like a regular compact laptop, running Windows 7. However, a slight tug at the screen releases it from the dock and transforms it into a fully functional 11.6-inch HD LED touchscreen tablet. Ingenious.
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The U1 runs on the Sylight Linux OS, with a drag-to-enlarge, 4-panel touchscreen media centre, which Lenovo is calling the "Me" UI. An alternate layout showcases several other homescreens, each housing six apps and widgets that open full-screen with a tap of your index finger. There’s plenty of mutlitouch-enabled action to choose from, with music, photos, videos, e-books, weather, social networking and word processing all catered for.
It also has it’s own processor, a 1GHz Snapdragon chip to keep it nifty, and comes with a 16GB SSD. It’s also boasting a SIM-card slot for 3G connectivity. Once it’s back in the dock, it’ll be displaying your Windows 7 OS again within three seconds.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 really is a cracking idea that’s sure to leave many tech manufacturers kicking themselves for not thinking of it first. Check out our video report for an closer look.
Link: Lenovo
Nokia C5 Series smartphone pictures leaked online
The rumour mill for this year’s Mobile World Congress is well and truly underway, with the latest speculation suggesting the release of a mid-range Nokia C5 Series smartphone.
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Yet to be officially announced pictures of the device have appeared online along with a pretty definitive spec list. The latest smartie is expected to run on Symbian S60, sport a 2.2-inch QVGA screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, HSDPA/HSUPA, 50MB internal memory and some free Ovi Maps action with onboard GPS and AGPS.
No news yet on when the phone is likely to hit the shops or a price, for now peruse the Nokia C5 Series pictures and expect a whole lot more mobile news over the coming weeks.
Link: Nokia (via Daily Mobile)
Modern Warfare 2 beats Wii games sales
Four out of the top five best selling games last year were for the Nintendo Wii as the console continues to win mass market appeal.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was unsurprisingly the world’s biggest seller but Nintendo’s success is quite an achievement for a platform that has been derided by some games enthusiasts.
The games in order of popularity are:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 11.86 million copies sold
- Wii Sports Resort – 7.57 million copies sold
- New Super Mario Bros: Wii – 7.41 million sold
- Wii Fit Plus – 5.80 million sold
- Wii Fit – 5.44 million sold
The chart uses data from market research agencies NPD group, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain which cover three largest markets for video games.
Via: Kotaku.com
Tech News @ 10: New iPhone codename revealed
Serving up the latest, breaking news from the tech-filled Twitter airwaves. Enjoy your morning cuppa and catch up with what has been going on in the world of tech.
WEDNESDAY
IPHONE
@Engadget – Next iPhone codename, new iPod Touch revealed in latest SDK
NEXUS ONE
@Hexus - Google Nexus One gets multi-touch
IPAD
@Engadget – Major textbook publisher partner with Scrollmotion for ipad development
PHONES
@Engadget – Ovi Maps downloaded 1.4 million times in first week since going free
GADGETS
@CrunchGear – Vote to choose the next Pleo colour
PHONES
@Engadget – Nokia Ovi Maps racing now available, makes the world your course
Get more news, views and tech tips:
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Arsenal Matchday TV+ for Sony PSP launches
Sony and Arsenal FC have launched an app for the PSP handheld console, which will give Gunners’ fans watching the game at the Emirates Stadium access to a live video stream as well as action replays and live match stats.
The application, called Arsenal Matchday TV + will utilise a secret, secure Wi-Fi connection at the North London club’s new ground, enabling fans to also recieve slo-mo footage, player profiles and the chance to vote for Man of the Match.
The ground-breaking app will also allow fans to tag key moments from the game that they want to watch again and will also serve as somewhat of a digital match programme with club news also available.
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Sounds great to us, but being an Arsenal app, it could cause some problems. Watching back replays of the "champagne football" exhibited by Arsene Wenger’s flash troops, means that fans will likely be missing another fruitless 1,614-pass move.
It’ll be available from Arsenal.com in the coming weeks and will cost £10 for the remainder of the season, giving fans a voucher to download it from PlayStation Network. Gooners will be able to buy a season ticket for the start of the next campaign.
Of course, there’ll be a slight delay on the live footage, but that’s almost the beauty of it. If you’ve had a sublime piece of Cesc Fabregas skill blocked by the sight of a lumbering defender, take a quick glance at your handheld and you’ll see it again.
Reportedly, the man most delighted by this launch is Arsenal boss Wenger, who has often struggled to see controversial incidents involving his team (for example the years Patrick Viera spent kicking people up in the air), when quizzed in post-match interviews. Someone get that man a PSP!
Link: Sony PSP
Lenovo IdeaPad U1 tablet laptop hybrid video hands-on
We have to doff our collective caps to Lenovo. While the world tries to decide whether need a tablet to either complement their laptop or replace their netbook, the clever so-and-sos produce the first device to completely tick all the boxes.
On the surface, the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 appears like a regular compact laptop, running Windows 7. However, a slight tug at the screen releases it from the dock and transforms it into a fully functional 11.6-inch HD LED touchscreen tablet. Ingenious.
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The U1 runs on the Sylight Linux OS, with a drag-to-enlarge, 4-panel touchscreen media centre, which Lenovo is calling the "Me" UI. An alternate layout showcases several other homescreens, each housing six apps and widgets that open full-screen with a tap of your index finger. There’s plenty of mutlitouch-enabled action to choose from, with music, photos, videos, e-books, weather, social networking and word processing all catered for.
It also has it’s own processor, a 1GHz Snapdragon chip to keep it nifty, and comes with a 16GB SSD. It’s also boasting a SIM-card slot for 3G connectivity. Once it’s back in the dock, it’ll be displaying your Windows 7 OS again within three seconds.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 really is a cracking idea that’s sure to leave many tech manufacturers kicking themselves for not thinking of it first. Check out our video report for an closer look.
Link: Lenovo
Sony Dash tablet PC hands-on video review
Have you ever wondered what the world’s most advanced alarm clock would look like? Well cease your pondering post-haste and allow us to introduce you to the Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer.
With up to 1000 video, weather, social networking, gaming and photo widgets packed into an extemely slick UI, the Dash was perhaps the only thing that stood out at the Sony stand in an unusually quiet CES show for the Japanese giants.
This nifty little tablet, which will sit just as well on your bedside table or your kitchen worktop, will also enable you to store music and photos as well as stream them live from the internet. Best of all, the RRP over in the States is a very un-Sony-like only $199.
We might not ever see the Dash in the UK, so this might be your only chance to get up close and personal with the Dash so check out our video report from Las Vegas. A full gallery of hands-on pics will follow shortly.
Link: Sony
Google Nexus One gets onscreen multitouch
While here in the UK we’re still waiting for the Google Nexus One, the lucky folks in the US have recieved their first software update that delivers tweaks to Google Maps and more importantly multitouch support.
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Available over-the-air from today, early adopters will now have pinch to zoom functionality when using the gallery, maps and browser. Google, in a giving mood, has also fixed some of the niggles with 3G connectivity on its must-have phone.
Google Goggles has also been added along with updates to Google Maps including synchronising with your desktop for access to your favourite haunts, search suggestions and night mode.
Fingers crossed when we finally get it here, likely on T-Mobile or Vodafone, it’ll be just right.
