According to the Wall Street Journal, sources have revealed that Google is likely to soon introduce developers to their new Android-based software for TV.
It is believed that over 3,000 developers will attend Google’s annual I/O conference to be held in San Francisco on the 19th and 20th of this month. Google might introduce their new technology at the event, so that developers can start developing apps for Google’s TV platform.
Google’s new technology is meant to allow set-top boxes and new television sets to draw more content from the Internet.
Sony, Intel and Logitech are already believed to have shown an interest in Google’s offering, though nothing has been confirmed as yet. Even more rumours claim that Sony has already agreed to use Intel’s Atom chip in some of their future products in order to give them similar functionality to netbooks.
If developers take an interest in this platform, the market could soon be flooded with apps for TV, just as it is for smartphones. Hardware manufacturers will need to commit to the technology first, though.
Google is also conducting a limited search service with the Dish Network, according to some reports. This service will enable users to search for various TV programmes on the Internet.
If Google’s entry into the television market is successful, it will provide a lot of value-based content to viewers, while Google will drive more ad revenues via a whole new medium. It could also bring down the package prices of other cable providers, thus making it a win-win situation for both Google and the user.
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Sony Reveals God of War: Ghost of Sparta, PSP Exclusive
No doubt plotting to resuscitate its flagging portable powerhouse, Sony today revealed God of War: Ghost of Sparta is in the offing, another prequel in the company's myth-themed meat-tenderizing series exclusive to the PSP. The last one, God of War: Chains of Olympus, sold some 2.5 million copies. A sequel (or post-prequel prequel) was probably inevitable.
Where Chains of Olympus sets up just before the original God of War for the PlayStation 2, Ghost of Sparta slots in right after, "telling the story of Kratos' ascension to power as the God of War." The presser alludes to Kratos' nightmares, lost worlds, and answering "long-awaited questions about his dark past" (really, did we need to wait for the prequel to get these?). Kratos' trademark chain-slung Blades of Chaos are back, as are ye olde panoply of "mythological monsters," "legions of undead soldiers," and--wait for it--"amazingly dangerous and brutal landscapes." Amazingly!
You might find the tech specs more interesting. Sony promises the game will have "higher quality environments" and "give players a realistic feel that has never been seen before on the PSP or any other portable platform." SCEA PR manager Eric Levine adds "I can also tell you from first-hand experience that we are pushing the limits of what PSP can do with state-of-the-art visual technologies, higher resolution environments, and greater depths of scale."
Big words, and here's some big math to go with it: "25% more gameplay," which if memory serves means a couple extra hours of monster mangling (you can dash through Chains of Olympus in about five).
All I care about is that Ready at Dawn (the Chains of Olympus guys) are handling it. Chains of Olympus didn't knock my socks off, but it translated the God of War experience as well as anyone could to a single-analog-thumb-nub, tiny-screen interface.
Look for Ghost of Sparta later this year, and hands-on impressions at E3 2010 in June.
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Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman Review
The Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman is a stylish handset available in a flip design. It looks unique and stands out in the crowd. It is offered in different color options, such as Forest Green, Metal Grey, Poetic White, Midnight Summer, Radial Blue and Myterious Graffiti. The weight of the device is 3.5oz, while its dimensions are the following: 93.5mm x 50mm x 14mm in size.
The W508 comes with a Monochromatic OLED screen that offers the resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and displays up to 262k colors. The screen measures 2.2 inches.
The handset features a Walkman player system. There is also an integrated FM Radio with RDS, Mega-Bass with the help of which tunes can be boosted, Album Art, and TrackID. As for music formats, it is able to support AAC as well as MP3. The Sony Ericsson W508 offers 100 megabytes of internal memory. But if it is not enough for you, you can boost it with the Memory Stick Micro M2 up to 16 GB.
You can take pictures with a 3.2-megapixel camera that offers a 3.2x digital zoom. Among imaging features you can find Geo Tagging, Photo Fix, Picture Blogging as well as Photo Feeds.
Access to the internet can be done by means of Access NetFront, Web Feeds, WAP 2.0 as well as WAP 1.2.1. It is easy to connect to other compatible devices, as you are provided with a few options, such as USB Mass Storage, USB support and Bluetooth.
The Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman is a stylish handset which provides excellent built-in features.
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