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13 Jan 07
Sorry, we had another big attack of content spam. I spent time backing things up to do some security upgrades. I'll be finishing those soon. Thanks for your patience.
It's time for some Game of the Year voting. Either start emailing nominations to me or posting them in the forum. It was a pretty solid year all around. I'd guess that Company of Heroes is the favorite early on, but there are plenty of solid contenders. I'll put up all the nominations I've received by Friday, and we can decide if we need to keep nominations open longer or if we can start voting. Don't hesitate to lobby for your favorite game. Remember games had to be released in 2006 to win the award.
Sorry, I haven't gotten as much done on the site as before. Hopefully things will settle down soon. Here's something to keep you occupied. Microsoft has a new viral campaign going for the Vista launch. It includes some neat puzzles and a contest. More puzzles go up each week. I'd love to see a Talk Strategy team working on it. Besides, I could use the help, I've been having trouble on the easy puzzles. Not getting enough sleep isn't doing wonders for my cognitive abilities. Check out the Vanishing Point game Here.
Jason
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10 Jan 07
I didn't mention it yesterday, but if you got all caught up in the excitement of MacWorld, you can order the AirPort Extreme right now and preorder Apple TV right now. I even have convenient Apple Store links on the site. I talked to my brother today. He's a big Apple supporter. He was actually disappointed in the limited amount of storage on the iPhone. What an amazing world we live in.
I haven't mentioned Bill Harris for a while. He's got a new 'dream game' idea up on Dubious Quality. I'm sure he'd appreciate your feedback. I might provide some once my brain stops feeling like mush. Check it out.
Some people have noted that the Playstation 3 is already losing steam because it can be found more often online and in brick and mortar stores sometimes even without bundles. I'm not too worried about that. I think it's more a function of the price point than anything else. I know looking at my holiday bills coming in, it's harder to justify any purchase over $500. I feel a bit more confident in that assertion knowing what's going on with the Wii. No one claims that demand for the Wii is exhausted, but I notice that EB and Gamestop dropped their $700 Wii bundle shipping mid month and replaced it with a $600 bundle. Given the extremely limited odds that they might be doing that out of the kindness of their hearts, it's safe to assume that the higher priced bundle wasn't moving. Since their answer was a lower price point, we can say that price was the limiting factor not demand.
I don't know if you've been following the Hellgate: London MMO saga, but Shacknews has done a good job keeping on top of the story. Read this first. Then read this update. If you have an opinion on horse armor and MMO's and additional revenue streams, you might want to let EA, Namco and Flagship studios know.
Jason
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9 Jan 07
This lack of sleep is getting to me. I wrote something up last night. I was too tired to finish. I read it back this morning. It was gibberish. I could pretend that I was just waiting for the big iPhone announcement, but that would be a lie.
It does bring up the question, how do I, as someone who recently surveyed the mobile market, feel about the iPhone? First, it looks really cool. It's also in the price range of a Playstation 3 (with a 2 year contract). Those were pretty much my initial thoughts.
I don't feel too bad that I won't be getting one. I'm sure it will be a great music player and do well with video. I'm not too sure about that touch screen keyboard. If I'm reading it right, you can't download songs directly from itunes over the air. That might be explained by the lack of 3G internet. There's no expansion for memory, batteries or third party software.
On the other hand, the screen looks gorgeous. The Wi Fi support is great (and does a lot to mitigate the lack of 3G). 4GB or 8GB is a ton of storage. The interface looks great and easy to use. First party software support will probably be better than most third party offerings for other phones.
In short, fans have much to cheer about. Haters have plenty of ammunition. If I wasn't already in the middle of a console war, I might pay more attention. Once it releases, I'll have to swing by the Apple store or Cingular to check one out. I guess they're talking about June. I always enjoy it when markets are shaken.
Jason
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5 Jan 07
I'm still not getting enough sleep to do much gaming. I'm lucky to get any reading in. However my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. Even with a big backlog, I'm still looking forward to some great gaming this year. Here are some of the morsels whetting my appetite.
Supreme Commander -- What's not to like here beyond the expected system requirements. It's got huge scale battles but promises control to let you focus on the big picture.
Command and Conquer III -- Though I've been more of a Red Alert fan, I'm quite interested in what they're planning here. Will it be old school with glossy eye candy or will it move the series forward?
Maelstrom -- Though I couldn't get into Perimeter, I do like developers who take chances. It might not be a day one purchase, but I'll keep an eye on it.
Sins of a Solar Empire -- Obviously, I'm a fan of the subgenre. Each set of screenies looks better than the last. As long as there's some meat on the bones, I know I'll have a good time. Who doesn't want to send massive fleets cruising across the galaxy?
Heart of Empire: Rome -- It's from Deep Red. I know we're suddenly awash in Roman city builders, but I keep hoping for a return of the magic of Monopoly Tycoon.
Field Ops (formerly Ghost Wars) -- You may recall the interview I did a while back when it was still called Ghost Wars. Though it's had its publishing problems, the core gameplay always sounded compelling. I can't count the number of times that I wished I could take direct control of a unit doing something other than following orders.
Disciples III -- I have Disciples II installed on my desktop and my laptop. I don't love everything about the series, but I keep playing. We'll see if the new version keeps that magic.
Mythic Wars -- This looks to compete with the new HOMM game. We'll have to see if there's any meat there.
Spore -- Who knows if this will make it out this year? It will either be a great game or another much hyped game like Fable. I want to believe.
Combat Mission -- It's possible that both Shock Force and CM3 will come out. I wouldn't bet on it. Either one would be a welcome addition.
World in Conflict -- It's no secret my fondness for the Ground Control series. This is the latest effort from Massive playing around with some cold war alternate history. I'm thinking something like a Operation Flashpoint RTS, but we'll see how things progress.
Wow, that's a lot of gaming, and it's just the PC strategy side. I also note that despite my best intentions, I missed the Game Tunnel strategy game of the year awards again. I have played Defcon though. There's definitely too much gaming and too little time. Have I mentioned that it's a great time to be a gamer?
Jason
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3 Jan 07
So back to my Helio impressions. The screen is amazing. That's the first thing I noticed. The Helio handsets all use the QVGA standard. I only compared the Drift to the Hero, but the Drift screen is better. The most important thing is that it's actually pleasant to read on that screen. Even smaller text is clear and easy to read. That means I use it more. Images look great, text is easy on the eyes, the color response is top notch. I wouldn't want to go back to a lesser screen after using the one on the Drift.
Helio is an open and closed network. They have local content including videos, applications and games that are locked in to the device. That means that you have to use the Drift to access them. Some items like rings, video rings, and some applications are store items. You can only use items you purchase (plus your initial allotment) for those functions. At the moment, I don't see a way to convert your media to rings or video rings. It does support uploading of legacy MMF files for rings if you wish to jump through those hoops. They've also locked out java applications that you don't obtain through Helio. One other drawback is that the Helio music store isn't up and running yet. Once it is we'll have to see on price and selection.
By open I mean that your browsing isn't restricted to the Helio network. You can go anywhere on the web. The default Yahoo search engine does mobile conversion, but you can read the direct HTML. At the moment there's no Opera support. If you want to hack and home brew your cell, this probably isn't the network for you. The key here is easy to use functionality.
Helio achieves ease of use through their interface. Yes, they have a series of menus, but presentation counts. The main menu is iconic and easy to read. Subsequent menus have the most used functions at the top. They make full use of the directional, menu and back buttons to ease navigation. I don't find myself lost trying to find a function.
Performance is very good with the Drift. Call quality is as good as any I've used. Signal strength is good with a bit of variability in the 3G connectivity. I certainly wouldn't use it as my primary broadband connection even if they allowed such a thing. I believe it's possible in the future with the right application. Most downloads are quick and painless, but sometimes getting a connection can be difficult. Helio also has a HOT application that will stream headlines from selected sources to the top page of the Drift. The headlines can be selected, and you'll get the full story.
The picture and video quality from the camera are good. The lens is a bit small, and that limits some of the functions. The performance won't replace a dedicated device but will do in a pinch. There's a built in photo editing utility. It's limited but can do some neat things like color conversions and text balloons.
The music player works great with high quality stereo sound. It doesn't have all the features and ease of use of an Ipod but supports most of the functions. It has 100 MB of internal memory and a micro SD slot for more. That will hold a good amount of music but is pretty limited for video.
The GPS functions are pretty cool. The Google maps will do directions to and from your current location. It will help you find businesses. It will track you as you move. However, it won't do real time turn by turn directions or speak directions. There is also a noticeable delay between location updates with no way to change that setting. That could be problematic if you're doing some rapid maneuvering. However, if you want to find a nearby sushi restaurant, it's great.
In short, beyond its core cellular functions it's not going to match or beat a dedicated device. Depending on your needs, an easy to use all in one device may not match you as well as it does me. If you're like me, it's nice to have all that in one small package that I actually use. I'll let you know as more features, applications and upgrades become available. Recommended.
Jason
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1 Jan 07
Happy New Year. I can't fluff off any more. I'm starting off with my Helio Drift. In case you're not familiar, Helio is an indirect cellular provider. They lease access and bandwidth from Cingular and Sprint. They're a joint venture between Earthlink and South Korea Telecom, so they're not as fly by night as some indirect providers.
Helio markets to a younger, more connected crowd. Their plans are centered around unlimited messaging and internet access over high speed 3G networks. They've selected phones to take advantage of those features. It's possible to get ala carte plans and service outside of 3G service areas, but those make Helio less attractive as a provider.
The Drift is the newest handset from Helio. It's a Samsung slider available in white or black. The Drift really symbolizes Helio's goal of social networking. It's most notable for its GPS locator. It also has Bluetooth (including stereo headset support), built in MP3 and MPEG 4 video players, a 2 megapixel camera with flash and video capabilities.
So why was I interested in Helio? I'm a bit beyond their prime target demographic. I don't have a bunch of friends on Helio to use the in network features. I have a myspace page, but it's mainly for the site and professional networking. I certainly wouldn't change networks for myspace mobile. It's pretty simple. I had a plan that had a set download amount per month. I had to pay per message. My phone didn't make the features easy to use. The net result was that I almost never used those features beyond checking the occasional sports score.
Basically, I wanted an unlimited plan. Cingular's rates were crazy. Verizon upset me years ago, and I haven't forgiven them. Sprint was a good deal and a primary provider, but Helio was cheaper, promised easy of use and improved connectivity. They also had a happiness guarantee.
I can see now that I'm not going to get this all done in one shot. I spent too long watching the incredible Fiesta Bowl game. I think I said it last year, but I can't see how the BCS will top that game this year. What a great game.
Anyway, I'll finish this tomorrow. Keep in mind that my last phone lasted over four years. So even though I'd played around with some neat phones since, I'm still a little techno awed by what's available now. I'll get into my impressions of the device and the service tomorrow. For now, I'll just say that I don't plan to use that guarantee.
Jason
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