Eli Blumenthal
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Homepage: http://teenstalktech.com/
Posts by Eli Blumenthal
Nintendo 3DS VS Sony NGP/PSP2– What’s the Difference and Why to Go With Each
Jan 27th
So by now you’ve heard the news. Sony’s finally back in the portable gaming space in a HUGE way with their announcement of their new Next Generation Portable/NGP/PSP2. You’ve also probably heard that Nintendo is planning to release their next big portable game system, the 3DS, in exactly two months from today. Both are major products and really usher in the next generation of gaming on the go. But what’s the big difference between the two you ask? A lot actually.
Read on for a everything you need to know about the NGP/PSP2 vs the 3DS.
More >
Sony Finally Announces True Next Generation of PSP– The PSP2 Is Real!!!
Jan 27th
It’s finally here. After years of wishing wanting and waiting Sony has finally come out today with an all new next generation to the PSP– and no it’s not the PSPhone (now said to be called the Xperia Play). Called for now “Next Generation Portable” (or NGP), this guys a beast, and everything any of us would want in a dream PSP!!!
- 5 inch OLED touchscreen with a crazy 960×544 resolution– read: AWESOME screen!
- Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor– Desktop power in your pocket. WOW!!!! Makes all those dual core phones seem ridiculously old– and their not even here yet!
- PS3 quality graphics !!!!– Yes, PS3 graphics in something you can carry!
- Full array of buttons– As you can see from the pic above, it looks like the original PSP with all the buttons you’d expect– dual analog sticks, D-Pad, PlayStation buttons, shoulder buttons. Everything you’d expect on a PSP.
- Front and rear cameras
- Touch sensitive pads on front and back– For controlling the device without getting in the way of the screen as well more crazy ways to play games (the touch sensitive panel on the back spans the length of the front screen– so you can control from the back by touching where you would want on the front. This offers better control while not having your fingers get in the way, which often happens in touchscreen gaming).
- 3G and WiFi– And this isn’t a phone!
- Memory cards for games– Games that will include PS3 favorites like Killzone, Uncharted (seen above. Pic from Engadget), Metal Gear Solid, Call of Duty, and Little Big Planet!!!!!
- All new UI– Which looks to be pretty sick in its own. And yes, a PlayStation Store will be present for buying games on the go.
- Coming Holiday Season– Yeah, this part stinks…
That’s all we know for now. Full specs are available here and more pix at Sony’s PlayStation Flickr page. But wow– the PSP is back and in a HUGE way!
The Top 3 Tablets We’re Looking Forward To, January Edition
Jan 26th
Tablets!!!
Sure 2011 is looking like a crazy year for cell phones, but as we can already see, it also is looking like an awesome year for tablets. At CES in the beginning of the month over 100 tablets were announced, and while that’s a whole lot of tablets, here are three of the tablets that we’re looking forward too and the ones we expect will definitely give the iPad a real run for your money.
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Webb School in Tennessee To Make iPads Mandatory, Makes All of Us Hate Our Own Schools
Jan 26th
If you are a student at the Webb School in Tennessee, I envy you. You who starting in August HAS to have an iPad in class, whether you’re in 4th grade or 12th grade. An iPad the school is letting you KEEP, as in take it home at night, put your own apps on, use it in the summer keep. Seriously, why can’t all schools do this?!?!
Now ever since the iPad first was announced last year, I always thought it had great potential for students, and after using one myself in school last year I thought it was the perfect school computer for students. But this is just incredible. For a school to see the potential in a tablet to make it available to all students and teachers? Wow.
Now for those of you wondering about why the Webb School would do this, these are their stated goals for the program:
- To provide teachers new and enhanced ways to engage students
- To open the classroom up beyond the physical constraints of the building via a web-enabled device
- To replace bulky, expensive textbooks, readers, books, and other written material with a mobile digital platform
- To provide all students with a mobile computing device that meets most of their day-to-day academic needs
- To provide a set of tools to our students that will encourage them to interact with instruction materials in new and better ways and collaborate with each other and teachers
Basically, they are looking to taking the learning we’ve all been doing and finally utilizing all the tech around us to make it more meaningful. Sure there are concerns on if students will really be using the iPad in class for productive uses like notes, research etc. and not just playing Angry Birds or going on Facebook, but I personally think this will be a great success. I mean what are the top reasons any of us get bored in class? We find the stuff we’re learning to be either irrelevant or being presented from a textbook written what seems like 100 years ago (and in some cases both). This idea looks to fix both of those problems by showing students the real practical uses of what we’re learning and in ways that are what we’d expect in 2011. (And let’s be honest, the kids that are gonna wanna tune out will do so whether they have an iPad, laptop, textbook or pen and paper in front of them).
So please students at the Webb School, make this a model for all our schools to embrace technology and see its benefits so that we can all one day share in your school’s awesomeness.
What do you think about all of this? Do you think this will work or will it be an epic failure? Do you want more tech in the classroom, will you learn better if you had an iPad in class? What do your high schools think of technology, do they allow you to use an iPad or laptop right now in class (mine doesn’t– don’t ask…)?
You can learn more about the Webb School’s program here.
New Info on Four New BlackBerrys Leak, Look Awesome!
Jan 23rd
We know, a lot of you want a new BlackBerry. You want to BBM your friends who all seem to have one. Thing is, you look at a phone like an iPhone, Droid or Windows Phone 7 and really want something, well, faster, with a cool OS, a lot of apps, and that is well, more 2011. If this describes your dream BlackBerry, then listen up, as thanks to BGR a whole bunch of info on four (count’em FOUR!) new BlackBerrys– major updates to the Bold, Curve, Storm and Torch lines– have come out and they look incredible!
More >
Nintendo 3DS US Price and Release Date Official– March 27th for $249
Jan 20th
After over a year of wishing, waiting and watching from afar Nintendo’s highly anticipated glasses free 3DS is finally almost here, taking a crucial step to finally being in your hands with an official announcement of a price and release date. The best part? That rumored $300-$400 expected price is actually HIGHER than what the real price is, a solid $249.99 when it comes out as was rumored, this March 27th in either blue or black.
But price wasn’t all Nintendo let out of the bag, read on for all the details on what’s new in the 3DS.
Planning on Upgrading to a Sprint BlackBerry Anytime Soon? If So You Better Hurry
Jan 19th
On Sprint with an upgrade now or before January 30th and want a BlackBerry or other 3G smartphone as your next phone? Well, then consider yourselves one of the lucky ones as if your upgrade is on or after January 30th (not February 1 or even January 31st, but January 30th), if you get any new 3G smartphone– i.e. a BlackBerry– you’re gonna need to pay an extra $10 “premium data” fee every month on top of the normal data plan for that phone. Yes, this is the same premium data add-on requirement we’ve seen on Sprint’s 4G phones like the EVO, Epic and EVO Shift, just now you’re not paying for any extra speed.
Why is Sprint doing this you ask? Well, they say it’s because of keeping up a strong, always working network with unlimited data still being offered:
The charge will assist Sprint in offering simple and affordable unlimited plans for its customers while maintaining a wireless network able to meet the growing appetite for a richer mobile experience.
And seeing as more and more people are using internet on their phones (just think of how many people you know have recently gotten a BlackBerry, Android, iPhone or other smartphone recently– on any network, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile– and are always on it viewing data-heavy sites like YouTube or live TV or listening to internet radio like Pandora), if this means that Sprint won’t have to deal with any of the issues AT&T had to deal with when the iPhone first came on (like not being able to even use the network to check an email, send a text or make a call because so many people were on it) then I guess it kinda makes sense (and you still have unlimited data which is also a big plus).
And if you already have a BlackBerry or other Sprint 3G smartphone (or if you upgrade to any non-smartphone, even those with full keyboards) you won’t need to pay the extra $10 a month for data, this is only for new smartphones bought on or after the 3oth.
Anyways, if you’re on Sprint and looking to upgrade to a BlackBerry or other non-4G smartphone, now is probably be the best time.
You can check if you have an upgrade using your login (or that of who ever is in charge of your family plan) at Sprint’s My Sprint site here, or by calling into Sprint directly by doing the following: Call *2 on your phone. Press 1. Enter your phone number. Then Press 1 again to check upgrade eligibility.
T-Mobile Wants to Help You Choose Between a Verizon iPhone and an AT&T One
Jan 12th
Having trouble choosing between getting that new Verizon iPhone or going for the AT&T one? Well, T-Mobile (whose not new at attacking the iPhone and AT&T with ads) has put out a new ad today to help, touting their speedy myTouch 4G, fast 4G network and $10 200 MB data plan (the cheapest of any of the carriers data plans and great if you want internet but are mainly using it for email, IM, light web browsing– like going to ESPN or Facebook– and not watching a ton of YouTube or video chatting when not on WiFi).
Of course, if you’re on T-Mobile and really wanted only an iPhone 4 as your next phone you’d have to think about either switching to Verizon or AT&T (or unlocking one and using it on T-Mobile’s much, much slower 2G– not 3G or 4G– network), but something tells me that’s not the message T-Mobile is going for here.
Watch the video of the ad above and let us know what you think.
Verizon iPhone 4 Is Official, Launches February 10th
Jan 11th
It’s official, Verizon will be launching the iPhone 4 beginning early next month.
Starting February 3rd, existing Verizon customers can pre-order for the February 10th launch date for everyone. Pricing will be the normal $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32 GB with what appears to be the same data plans Verizon requires for their other smartphones ($30 unlimited, $15 for 150 MB. This still though may change. UPDATE: Verizon has been making a point to clarify that no data plans have been announced yet for their iPhone 4, so as we wrote above, it may be the same as any other Verizon smartphone or it may have new data plans. We’ll keep you updated once they announce final pricing).
As for what type of iPhone it is, it’s the same black iPhone 4 AT&T’s had for months just with the ability to use Verizon’s network (with some antenna changes to reflect this– let’s hope this also gets rid of the antenna problems of the first iPhone 4) and a new Personal Hotspot feature that let’s you finally turn your iPhone 4 into a WiFi hotspot for up to 5 devices (so you can share your iPhone’s Verizon 3G with your laptop, friends iPod, etc.). Otherwise, same 5 megapixel camera, Retina Display, front camera for video chat, etc.
And yes, its like every other Verizon 3G phone so you can’t do a call and go online at the same time.
More info at Verizon’s site here.
The Verizon iPhone is Coming Tomorrow: What We Know (and Don’t Know) Right Now
Jan 10th
It’s almost time. In under 24 hours the 4 year-long wait for Verizon to get the iPhone is expected to finally be over (with respected news outlets like the Wall Street Journal already confirming that the iPhone will be what Verizon announces tomorrow). While it’s been one heck of a ride, there are a lot of questions regarding how things will work for a Verizon iPhone. Questions like which iPhone will it be, when will it be available and what kinda of data plans will be available.
We’ve got all those answers and more, Q&A style, after the break.
