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Homepage: http://www.jadedmoonstudios.com
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Would my PSP library be homeless if I got a PSP Go?
Jun 13th
Sony’s new handheld is upon us in the form of the PSP Go (which was E3′s worst kept secret this year but that’s for another post). As a consumer, I wonder what this new iteration of the PSP platform would offer me that my current PSP-2000 doesn’t. (The PSP Go definitely doesn’t have the limited edition Darth Vader print on the back of it. Score 1 for PSP-2000).
Soon to be homeless library of UMDs?
New PSP Go Features (and why I don’t need them)
1. No UMD Drive. The UMD-less design does not appeal to me because it makes my library of games useless. Sony has mentioned that a large number of UMD titles will be made available digitally but Sony has not commented on how this affects current UMD owners. Would UMD owners be able to download the digital equivalent of their game, much like DVDs that have digital versions available for owners to download?
2. Internal Memory. It’s nice to see that the PSP Go has internal memory, 16 GB plus a memory card slot for addition storage. This is a no-brainer since the Go doesn’t have a UMD Drive (see above). My concern is that 16 GB may disappear quickly if the user plays with the PSP Go quite often. The re-release of Final Fantasy 7 easily takes up 1.4 GB of space. If early UMD titles make it to the digital distribution channels that Sony has spoken about, would they be optimized for space or would they be “digital rips” of the games, consuming the same amount as they would on a UMD disk? As the price of solid state memory continues to fall, my PSP-2000 is still relevant because I can cheaply add memory to it.
3. Bluetooth. I see no reason for me to ever use this while playing on my PSP. ‘Nuff said. I’m sure it could have some application, such as using headsets for multiplayer games but this only interests me if I can use a bluetooth headset I already own. Having to buy a new Sony branded headset for this to work is a no-no in my book.
4. Universal Connector. This would have been great, if only it was a part of the original PSP’s design. With a slew of accessories already available on the market, it would be hard to convince me to trade up to the PSP Go AND have to buy new accessories to replace the older ones.
5. UMD Rentals. If I ever needed to rent/borrow a UMD, I could. Digitally, there is no equivalent.
And for these 5 reasons, I will hang onto my PSP-2000 for a while longer.
Life with iPhone (told by a Nokia User)
Dec 14th
In the smartphone world, it’s quite easy to get lost in the wide selection of phones available. Are you a corporate email junkie? Maybe you’ll get a Blackberry to satisfy your email fix. Are you addicted to Outlook? Maybe you’ll get yourself a Windows Mobile powered smartphone. From form factor to operating system, there are many variables to consider before choosing your smartphone.
For me, I needed a smartphone that handled my email needs, had a qwerty keyboard and didn’t make my pocket look like I was happy to see you. Being comfortable with Nokia handsets (previously owning the Nokia E61, Nokia N82), the Nokia E71 was my choice and I was satisfied with it’s feature set (qwerty keyboard, gps, wifi, 3G).
When I decided to start developing applications for the iPhone / iPod Touch, I thought it would be wise to get my hands on a used iPhone (1st Generation). In order to acclimatize myself to the iPhone experience, I decided to spend the Christmas holidays with just the iPhone.
How has the experience been so far?
Here is what I miss about my Nokia E71:
- The keyboard: as small as it was, I miss the tactile keyboard for rattling off quick emails and messages
- Push email: Nokia’s Push Email service isn’t perfect (hey, it’s still in beta) but it did a reliable job of getting my email on my handset. Integrated hotmail support was also a plus.
- Worldmate: Living in Michigan has made me weather conscious. I set up Worldmate (www.mobimate.com) to read out weather reports to me twice a day and I definitely miss it.
But with the bad comes the good.
Having been using the iPhone for about a week, here are some of the features that I do enjoy.
- AppStore: Apple has set the bar on centralizing and distributing applications for it’s mobile handset. I can easily jump into AppStore and search for games, tools and productivity apps whenever I feel like it.
- The Touch Screen: There is a learning curve when you move from a tactile keyboard to a touch screen device. Once you overcome that, using the device becomes a joy. Tapping, sliding and pinching all become fun finger gestures on your phone’s screen.
- Games: I will always say that the mobile market was neglected as a viable gaming platform…until now. Nokia tried with N-Gage and then tried again and still haven’t nailed it yet. The same goes for blackberries and window mobile handsets. Although the iPhone doesn’t have it’s killer iPhone game yet, my hours spent playing Bejeweled 2, Frenzic and Scrabble rival my time spent playing on my Nintendo DS and my Sony PSP.
- Photo App: Using images and pictures as wallpapers and contact images is a breeze. Anyone coming from a Nokia E-Series background knows it takes some needlessly convuluted menu navigation to get these things done.
For now, the experience has had it’s ups and downs but is positive overall. As my “weekend” phone, the iPhone hits a sweet spot of productivity and entertainment. After I post this from the iPhone WordPress App, I’ll load up Bejeweled and see if I can’t beat my high score!
Updated to WordPress 2.6 and WordPress for iPhone
Jul 24th
I have taken the plunge and updated my website’s version of WordPress to 2.6.
Now I can update my site using my iPod Touch. So much for listening to music on this awesome, little device.
I got FIFA 08 for the N-Gage for free !
Apr 20th
I am a big football fan. I watch it more than I play it but I think I play the video games more than I watch it. I stumbled across an article on the Symbian Weblog said Nokia was giving away 15,000 free licenses for FIFA 08 on N-Gage.
I was overjoyed until I realized that the offer did not extend to America and was limited to Europe. Nokia, in future, do recognize that your product base is growing on this side of the world (not everyone is in bed with Apple and rocking and iPhone) and you need to show us some love too !
Initially disappointed that I could not secure a license for FIFA 08, I selected the United Kingdom as my region and got my activation code sent to my sister’s phone in London ! After scribbling down the 3-line URL and checking it twice, it failed when I used my N82′s browser but I was successful in downloading the license onto my pc. Go Firefox !
So regardless of what happens on this week during Manu’s match against Barcelona, I can relive Manu’s glory on my cellphone, anywhere, anytime !
Mobile Codes
Apr 14th
Ever since I got my Nokia N82, I’ve always wondered about the utility of the Barcode application. I’ve seen a lot of bloggers generating Mobile Codes for their websites but other than that, I haven’t seen much utility from it.
The Barcode application utilizes your Nokia’s camera to "scan" the barcode and extract data that is embedded into the barcode image.
If you have the Barcode application on your phone, you can scan this barcode to link to jadedmoonstudios.com
You can also check out Nokia’s mobile code site here.
Please Take This Survey
Apr 9th
Hey all,
I’m currently undertaking a design course and my group and I have generated a survey that we hope you would take some time out of your busy day to fill-out. The general idea of the survey is to view a video-game trailer (that we will provide) for an up-coming game and fill out our survey after. You do not need to know anything about the game before hand, we just want you to react on what you see and answer the questions that follow.
This survey will only take you 5 – 10 minutes. If possible, we would appreciate if you can help us out and fill in our survey by Sunday April 13th, 2008 by 11:00pm.
Let’s Begin !!!
Please watch this video:
And now for the fun part, please proceed to our survey.
Thank you all for your help ! It will be most appreciated !
***Update***
Some of the survey takers commented that the acronyms used were not expanded and non-gamers did not know what they meant. Here they are for your info:
R.T.S. : Real Time Strategy (e.g. Warcraft, Starcraft)
F.P.S. : First Person Shooter (e.g. Halo, Quake, Doom)
New N-Gage client is out for Nokia Handsets
Apr 3rd
Nokia has released a new version of the N-Gage client for N-Series phones. N81/N81 8GB, N82, N95/N95 8GB are all getting the N-Gage treatment this time around.
After installing, I ran into a "system error" when trying to run the app. A few posts on the N-Gage forum later, I found out that the error was caused by having access point names with apostrophes in them. After deleting those, the client ran perfectly.
Now the question is, do I want to pay $13.49 for my first N-Gage game?
Check me out on N-Gage.
N-Gage Gamertag: JadedMoon
April Fool’s Day Pranks
Apr 1st
So I checking out all the April Fool’s Day pranks that tech bloggers keep recycling and I have to say, the funniest one I’ve seen all day is Super Pi Pi Brothers for the Wii.
Seeing is believing. Courtesy of ThinkGeek.
Jaded Moon Studios is alive.
Mar 22nd
Welcome to my blog about mobile gaming, serious gaming, mobile hardware, dogs, life and everything else in between. Although I have not decided on a theme and I should, I look forward to you all reading what I have to say. Funny, insightful, witty and informative. It will all be here. Cheers !
