The long awaited Skype app for iPhone has been released. Rejoice! Now I can make calls for 1 cent a minute over wifi with my iPhone. It has all the same features of the phone app, speaker phone, mute, integrated contacts list, the only thing missing is support for bluetooth headsets. Call quality is great, much better than fring [see my review of fring], nearly as good as AT&T, perfectly acceptable for daily use.
This initial release is not without some problems. I frequently experience “call failed” when trying to dial landlines, successful calls sometimes take 2 or 3 attempts. But once connected I did not experience a dropped call. Just like any other app, I expect future updates will improve the reliability and add features.
I’ve always wondered when broadband internet and server-side computing would turn the game console model upside down. Instead of every game purchasing a Wii and 360, they could access high-end gaming servers through their broadband connection. With strict QoS, gamers would enjoy the newest games from every publisher without the tangle of hardware interoperability and upgrade cycles.
OnLive has announced an ambitious goal, delivering a high quality game service over broadband. Publishers EA, Ubisoft, and 2K games are already on board so OnLive has great momentum. I’m really curious to get my hands on this and see if they truly solved the latency problem. Eurogamer suspects onLive’s new compression method may be over exxagerated, and points out onLive may need to partner with ISPs to achieve acceptable QoS.
Apple for shame!! How dare you let another company beat you to the punch on wirelessly charging cell phones! Palm’s Touchstone wireless induction charger is badass! This optional accessory comes with a replacement battery cover, which allows you to simply drop your phone onto the base. Magnets help align the phone, no more drunkenly fumbling charger cables in the dark!
Another area where the Pre trounces the iPhone is it’s ability to multitask. This whole segment on the Palm Pre from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is pretty good. It’s got some dude from Engadget. Yes, I know I hate Jimmy Fallon, but I can’t resist his coverage of technology. It’s nothing but twitter and Facebook and iPhones with this guy! He’s said that he want to cover video game premieres as if they were Hollywood premieres for god sakes! He gives out Apple store gift cards as prizes! He’s so just so damn with it!
simon | Art, Games, music | Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
A Rock Band game for Beatles music comes out 9/09/09. It’s going to be awesome because it’ll take you on a musical journey through the history of Beatles music. It will also include never before released tracks. What’s more awesome is it works with my existing Rock Band instruments so I don’t have to buy the $250 bundle. Music games keep getting more and more expensive. Games should not be more expensive than consoles! Is it so expensive because it introduces a keyboard instrument to the franchise? Maybe.
Rigopulos refused to give a definitive answer on whether Rock Band 3 will support a keyboard controller, settling on a “maybe.”
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