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Seems like every day there's some newfandangled
Skype device that combines Skype along with some combination of a speakerphone, a mouse, a keypad, an LCD, a toaster, a blender, etc. etc.
Remember the
Sony Skype device I wrote about? Let me refresh your memory with 2 pictures...
Sony VAIO VNCX1-B Mouse
Now
word comes about a
new combo Skype device called the Skype USB Phone ASG-142 SkyGenie MouseFone.
It features an 800 DPI optical sensor, Skype speakerphone, an a 1.3-inch LCD for caller ID display. Although it is USB, it only works on Windows. Unlike the Sony VAIO Skype mouse combo gadget, the MouseFone does have a number keypad and a funky glowing green scroll wheel. Not sure how you are supposed to talk on Skype and use your mouse even if it does have a speakerphone. Some of these combo devices just seem silly to me. Who buys these things?
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on October 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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Not to be outdone by Dell's deal with Alienware (and not to be confused with the Congressional hearing (aka "HP FUD" -- Fear Uncertaincy and Doubt) now going on, Hewlett-Packard plans to buy niche PC manufacturer Voodoo Computers.
Voodoo makes cool looking, high-end PCs (expensive!) that are popular with gamers. We've blogged about them previously -- some hot boxes!
Will be interesting to see how the PC companies (Dell and HP) fare against game-console manufacturers Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.
Another battle of the titans to enjoy ...
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 29th, 2006 with no comments.
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7 million -- that's right. That's what Sony's looking at with the latest news on a GLOBAL notebook battery recall.
We've got Apple, we've got Dell, Toshiba and Lenovo (IBM) all facing problems with Sony's batteries in their notebook computers.
I'd be worrying even if my notebook battery was part of this massive recall.
This seems to be one of those problems like spinach and E.coli that that just goes from bad to worse and beyond ...
... Is there more bad news on the way?
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 29th, 2006 with no comments.
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Everybody loves a format war; by "everybody" I really mean the media. Format wars are no fun for the companies backing each format, the companies manufacturing the competing products and the consumers who must ultimately vote (with their pocketbooks and wallets) to determine which side is the winner.
Now, according to a press release, the war is over -- maybe -- before it has begun. 
(The war we are talking about is between two new high-capacity DVD formats: Blu-Ray, which is backed by Sony (see hardware below); and HD-DVD, backed by Toshiba. The reason for the battle? High-capacity DVD disks are needed to store High-Definition movies on a single disc.)
This according to UK-based New Medium Enterprises, which claims it has solved a technical production problem that makes it possible to produce a cheap multiple-layer DVD disc containing one film in different, competing formats.
What's really interesting is the production cost of the new disc, estimated at approximately 9 cents each -- compared with the 6 cents for a standard single-layer play-back DVD. (These figures are from ODMS, a Dutch company that is one of the world's leading makers of production lines for optical disks.
(So why do we shell out $20 for a DVD? Very nice profit margin for the big boys ...) 
What a coincidence that this announcement comes only a week after three employees at movie studio Warner Bros. filed a patent for the application of multiple formats on a single DVD disc.
So out with the old and in with the new -- Is the new war going to be between the competing multi-layer technologies?
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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FOX News reviews the Sony Mylo (technically an AP writer) which supports WiFi, Skype, IM, WiFi, Opera browser, music, photos and MPEG-4 video file support, and more.
check it out
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
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Can you believe this?
Now Toshiba is recalling 340,000 batteries from their notebook computers that were made by (who else!) Sony 
apparently because of problems with recharging them.
Interestingly, this problem is not directly related to the one behind last month's recalls by Dell and Apple that cited concerns the batteries could overheat and catch fire. This time, the batteries sometimes stop recharging or simply run out of power; no injuries have been reported.
Hey, let's do the numbers:
- Dell -- 4.1 million faulty batteries
- Apple -- 1.8 million
- Toshiba -- 340,000
(If we graph this numbers, does this indicate a downward trend in battery problems?)
The Toshiba recall involves batteries for Dynabook and Satellite models made from March through May; they will be replaced for free.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 19th, 2006 with no comments.
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While Sony PS3 delays (at least not in Japan and the U.S.) have been making the rounds lately, the big news today is that Nintendo's new gaming console -- the oddly named Wii -- will cost $250.
Now that's a good thing right? Well, as in all things, you get what you pay for, so while this will be a lot less than the other big boys' consoles (think PS3 and Microsoft), will this deliver on its promise?
Only time -- and gamers (aka "the marketplace") -- will tell.
In the meantime, check out this report on pricing, dating, games and more.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 14th, 2006 with no comments.
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According to a published report in the Los Angeles Times, Sony has regained the top spot as the Number 1 (Numero Uno) television manufacturer.
(How about a bit of good news, eh?)
Sony fell behind in the late 1990s because of its slow recognition of flat-panel TVs. Sony's entrance into the LCD market has helped the company increase its share of the total market to 28%.
Underscoring its continuing commitment to spend behind the Sony brand, the company hopes to gain even more ground with a new marketing campaign, consumer education and brand recognition.
Let's see if the battery fiasco impacts the TV market -- or any other of the oodles of Sony products out there ...
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 6th, 2006 with no comments.
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As if we haven't already had enough (too much! actually), now Matsushita is recalling 6,000 notebook PC batteries that could overheat when subjected to a strong impact.
According to published reports (thank you, Reuters and VARBusiness for the news ...), a Matsushita spokesperson declined to identify the supplier of the batteries in question, but said that neither Matsushita (best know here for its Panasonic brand) nor Sony had made them.
(Sony and batteries ...) 
When a notebook PC using the battery in question had been accidentally dropped on the floor or suffered any other strong impact, there was a chance that a tiny metal spring used in the battery pack could fall off and onto the battery cells, causing overheating. There have not been any cases of the batteries in question catching fire and no one had been injured.
The batteries are loaded in some of Matsushita's notebook PCs made in April and May 2005 and sold in Japan.
(Let's see if this bad news spreads to notebooks sold in the U.S. ...)
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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Love this show!
DigitalLife, "the leading consumer electronics and video gaming event," will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, next month! October 12-15, to be exact,.
This year’s show will feature more than 200 leading consumer electronics and entertainment companies, including Microsoft, Intel, Sony, Toshiba, HP, Kodak, TiVo, Verizon, Nintendo, SEGA and many more.
(And to be sure some of the best new products will be from companies you barely heard of ...)
www.digitallife.com
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 1st, 2006 with no comments.
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Not surprising to see Sony taking a stock hit on its 10 days of woe (Dell battery problems, Apple battery problems -- is there more coming?).
(Actually wondered why Dell got raked through the fire -- no pun intended -- when the problem was with Sony-supplied batteries.)
Marketwatch reports today on the financial hit, but what about Sony's brand image, which has been consistently ranked very high and which they have spent millions to nurture? How much of a hit will that take?
Let's hear from the people! Will you think twice about buying a Sony product?
The phone lines are open ...
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 25th, 2006 with no comments.
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Ten years ago, camera companies had nothing to worry about except each other.
But poof! along came digital cameras and the Kodak, Fuji and Nikon's of the camera world had to worry about consumer technology companies like Sony or IT companies (at least back then) like HP.
Funny thing is, while the camera companies -- both old and new -- battled each other for survival (market share) their core imaging technology got scooped up as a cool feature in mobile phones.
Today, there are now more camera phones in the world than there are film or digital cameras. According to digital imaging analyst firm Lyra Research, the installed base of camera phones will reach approximately 850 million units in 2006, and this number will grow to more than 1.5 billion units in 2010.
Here's what Steve Hoffenberg, Lyra's director of consumer imaging research, had to say:
"In less than five years since the very inception of this product category, camera phones have gone from nonexistent to predominant. We're still in the early stages of market development for mobile imaging. Picture quality is still immature, and market penetration has largely been supply-side driven.
"But camera phone picture quality will improve substantially over the next several years, upstream transmission bandwidth will increase and consumers will become increasingly familiar with the incredible inherent benefit of wireless connectivity for images."
Will be interested to see what 2010 looks like ...
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 21st, 2006 with no comments.
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While it may seem funny -- exploding laptops, burning laptop batteries -- make no joke about it, this is serious business.
Dell's announcement to recall 4.1 million notebook batteries (made by Sony) is scary stuff if you have seen the destruction a burning notebook battery can cause or have read about the numerous instances of fires at factories, on plane, in cars, etc., apparently caused by these batteries.
Follow the sage advice and remove the battery and run the laptop on AC power until a replacement battery is received.
The Dell website at www.dell.com has detailed information or you can click here to read the recall notice.
Don't wait!
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 15th, 2006 with no comments.
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Sony no baloney.
Sony has a GPS add-on (GPS-CS1) for its digital cameras that records the location and time data every 15 seconds. The time on the device can be matched with the timestamp on the photo, and the exact location of the picture is added to the JPEG file's meta data, which will allow users to search photos by location!
Now how about that!
Check out Macworld for more.
Here's some more from the Sony press release:
The 12-channel GPS unit is 3-½ inches long, weighs two ounces and is sold with a carabineer to easily attach to a backpack or a belt loop. To arrange pictures geographically, import the logged data from the GPS device, using the supplied USB cable, and then download the digital images to a computer. The supplied GPS Image Tracker software synchronizes the images on your digital camera with the latitude, longitude and time readings from the GPS-CS1 device.
Once synchronized, photos can become virtual push pins on an online map by activating the Picture Motion Browser software bundled with the latest Sony cameras and camcorders released after July.
MSRP: $150
www.sonystyle.com or Sony Style retail stores (www.sonystyle.com/retail) and authorized dealers nationwide.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 14th, 2006 with no comments.
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Not since the PSP has Sony launched a consumer electronics device that falls into the must-try category. However, MyLo (my life online), a WiFi based handheld that is part-Nokia 770, part Sidekick, part OQO and part SkypePhone wrapped in a PSP-like body might change all that.
You cannot argue with the release of this device. Research shows that WiFi usage inside homes is only going to increase. There will be 160 million broadband enabled, networked homes by 2010, according to The Diffusion Group. This trend offers opportunities to sell devices specially designed for this type of environment.
Nokia was the first one to realize that when they released Nokia 770. Sony’s PSP only offered limited features, but lacked the true portability. Any communicator-type device that wants to be successful in the US, needs to have a keyboard and with MyLo, Sony has done precisely that.
The new device which is optimized for post PSTN communications - IM, email and Skype is targeting the MySpace set, that would rather thumb than talk on the phone. It can playback music, and has 1GB flash-based storage, and can also take additional memory stick slots. It truly does leverage the wireless network, and the feature which could be a killer in the long run is ad-hoc music sharing.
Providing networking possibilities without a wireless network, the mylo personal communicator detects when it comes into the presence of other mylo units. With the ad-hoc application, you can share play lists and stream music between mylo communicators one at a time.
The device has “presence” management features and allows you to track your social network of upto 90 people from a screen called “What’s up.” It also has a built in browser which makes sending emails via web interfaces easy. Now it won’t be Sony if they didn’t trip up a little - the device supports only 802.11b networks and is expensive, about $350. It will be available next month.
Full review at Engadget.
Written by Om Malik on August 8th, 2006 with no comments.
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Sony's Mylo ("my life online")
personal communicator is a new gadget that provides users access to online instant messaging services, Web pages (fully-featured Opera browser), e-mails, play music, and view photos. Most interestingly, the mylo communicator comes with
Skype software built into it for VoIP calling. It also has
Google Talk and
Yahoo! Messenger embedded, but it's not clear if these two applications will only support IM or VoIP as well. Like a competing gadget, the
Nokia 770 internet tablet, the Sony Mylo skips a SIM card in favor of WiFi only.
Sony Mylo with and without thumbpad displayedNo that's not a Sony PSP, but they sure damn look alike. The slim, oblong-shaped device features a 2.4 inch color LCD (measured diagonally) with a slide out QWERTY keyboard for comfortable and quick thumb typing. The product includes JiWire’s hotspot directory listing more than 20,000 WiFi networks in the United States. so you can find a hotspot near you.
Using the mylo you can send and receive text emails with web mail services like Yahoo! Mail and Gmail. 1GB of flash memory is available on the mylo personal communicator to store music, videos, and images. It supports the playback of MP3, ATRAC or WMA (secure and unsecure) files. The mylo communicator has a built-in speaker for listening to music so you can share your music with those around you. You can also view MPEG-4 personal videos by transferring files via USB cable or with Memory Stick Duo media. You can also store JPEG pictures from the Internet or your digital camera.
The mylo device uses a lithium-ion battery that offers up to 45 hours of music playback, around seven hours of chatting and web surfing and more than three hours of continuous Skype talk time. It comes with a microphone, stereo headphones, a USB cable and a neoprene case.
The mylo personal communicator will be available in September for about $350 online at sonystyle.com, at
Sony Style retail stores
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 8th, 2006 with no comments.
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It may be flying a bit under the proverbial radar when it comes to the land of gadgets, but gadgets with GPS navigation technology built-in are expected to become an 88 million market in 2010, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
In case you didn't know, Garmin is the market leader in this space, but Sony has already jumped into the fray and Royal Philips Electronics and others have product launches in the works.
This from the CEA SmartBrief newsletter, which pulled the story from the Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul)/Associated Press.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 31st, 2006 with no comments.
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Don't know how many of you remember Sony's advertising with "Sony. No Baloney" as the tag line?
Don't know how many of you remember when Sony had it's headquarters in the warehouses of Queens, rather than a swanky building in NYC?
Anyway, while the company has taken hits on many fronts over the past few years, one thing remains intact -- the power of the Sony brand.
According to a recent Harris Poll reported in MarketWatch, the Sony brand was the top brand in the minds of U.S. consumers -- for the seventh consecutive year!
Dell was second, and electronics products (what they really meant were "gadgets") were represented in half of the top 10 positions.
www.marketwatch.com
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 25th, 2006 with no comments.
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Nintendo just boosted their profit estimates for the coming year by $150 million from over half a billion dollars, indicating that the company might be one of the unlikely winners in the console wars.
I would have laughed at that thought even a year ago, but the numbers speak for themselves. The Kyoto-based company is on a seemingly unstoppable path to winning the Japanese side of the next generation console war.
For the longest time, Sony and its Playstation series appeared unbeatable, with Microsoft’s Xbox system a distant second, and Nintendo’s Gamecube making up the rear. Its’ cutesy branding (think Mario) had relegated it to be a player for the pre-teen set.
But Sony’s appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo tradeshow last May was generally considered a disappointment, with a collective balking at the nosebleed-high $499 pricetag ($599 for the full-featured version) attached to the Playstation 3, when it hits the US market this November.
Game industry analyst DFC Intelligence goes so far to predict the pricey PS3 will drag down industry sales in general, and without course corrections, wind up in third place behind Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s upcoming Wii console. The company predicts they’ll sell 6 million units of Wiii next fiscal year.
All three next-gen consoles come integrated with broadband support, it’s worth pointing out here, while both the DS and PSP come with Wi-Fi functionality and Web browsers– making the console wars a battle for the broadband platform of the living room, and for the dominant PDA of the gamer generation.
Nintendo’s fortunes have been boosted in large part by robust sales of its DS handheld gaming console (21 million sold — and in my view, by innovating more than its rivals. With its action-predominant games and movies, Sony’s PSP handheld (17 million sold) is aimed squarely at the dude demographic of 18-34 males.
Nintendo, by contrast, has consciously cast its net wider with the DS, which comes with an intuitive, easy-to-use stylus control, and a library of unique, risk-taking games with far broader appeal, including Nintendogs, in which you care for a puppy (worldwide sales 4.5 million units), and Brain Age, an educational game, for God’s sake (worldwide sales approaching 3 miilion units.)
It’s too soon to write off Sony, of course, and you have to believe they’ll make some drastic moves to stay competitive. Then again, the president of their game division recently suggested that if consumers think the PS3 is too expensive, they should just work harder. So even that’s hard to say.
Written by Wagner James Au on July 25th, 2006 with no comments.
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Is there a second act for Sony's Walkman?
Can the product that originally defined "personal audio" make it back to the top?
In fact, can the company that once topped the consumer gadget mountain, once again ascend to that lofty perch?
(So many questions ...)
While some of Sony's major products, such as TVs and digital cameras, are now regaining momentum, Sony president Ryoji Chubachi said the Walkman is a critical product "to reinforce Sony's resurrection."
He hopes to create demand for the Walkman by marrying software and hardware.
Once again, one of the best reads of what's happening in gadgets has the full story -- www.wsj.com.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Have you heard about Sony selling electronic products in automated kiosks?
Yes indeed! Reminds me of the amusement park game (or diner lobby game) where you put your buck into the machine and you get to operate a giant claw that tries to pick up a stuffed animal or some other goodie.
(Please, if you have ever won that this game, let me know. I am sure to be impressed.)
Actually, what Sony is doing is installing branded kiosks in three shopping malls this week that will allowing purchasers to see the selection of electronic items behind glass walls, touch the screen to read about product information or watch movie trailers and then make a purchase delivered by a robotic arm.
According to the New York Times, Sony hopes the vending machine-like kiosks, called "robotic stores," will help boost sales by offering consumers a way to combine the immediate gratification of a store purchase with the ease of buying products online.
Only time will tell ...
(Oh, and if you come across one of these things, please let me know.)
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on June 12th, 2006 with no comments.
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Sony and Microsoft used to compete head to head in video gaming consoles, but with Sony announcing PlayStation 3 prices at $499 (basic) and $599 (souped up), they now seem to be at a major competitive disadvantage with Microsoft on a key issue -- price. Xbox 360 is at $299 and $399.
And where does the new Nintendo box fit into all of this?
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 9th, 2006 with no comments.
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The
Sony VAIO VN-CX1 is a strange convergence gadget - it's a mouse that doubles as a
Skype phone. You simply press a button on the side and the mouse flips open to become a clamshell-style phone.
I guess the idea is to combine two peripherals into one, but really this device seems pointless. For one, I read that when it is operating as a
Skype phone, the mouse functions are disabled. It's a fine novelty device, but I wouldn't use it regularl and at £59.99 it's quite pricey when you can get a good quality USB headset/handset for less and there are plenty of USB ports available for connectivity.
Features
- Can be used as conventional handset or hands-free (speakerphone) operation
- LED on top of the mouse lights up when there's an incoming call
- USB powered
- 800 dpi resolution
- Lightweight: 67 g
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 9th, 2006 with no comments.
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Gaming enthusiasts unite!
Tomorrow, E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), the world’s largest gaming conference, opens in the city of angels (Los Angeles); it runs through May 12.
New programs will be unveiled by such leading companies as Entertainment Arts, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, but the biggest buzz this year will be new gaming consoles. Will the new Sony Playstation 3 blow away Microsoft’s Xbox 360? What do you think?
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 9th, 2006 with no comments.
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The Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) SmartBrief newsletter is always full of interesting items.
Here’s one for your: Sony has discontinued AIBO, its robot pooch, but South Korea's DasaTech's Genibo, an LED-eyed robot dog, may be on the market sometime next year.
For the full story, log onto PC Magazine.
To subscribe to the CEA SmartBrief, visit www.smartbrief.com.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 4th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Uncategorized and Home Entertainment and sony and cea smartbrief and dasatech and genibo and pc magazine and robot dog.
According to an
IGN survey, 14% are unsure about their next next-gen videogame console purchase.
Microsoft has a headstart over both Sony and Nintendo, however the Sony Playstation 3 sports a 36% allegiance versus
Microsoft XBox 360's 28%. Having trouble deciding - I say just buy one of each.
Here's the IGN survey synopsis...
Console Makers Must Court PlayStation 2-Owner Fans of "Lost" who Listen to Gorillaz on their MP3 Players and Eat at Taco Bell, According to IGN May 1, 2006 - Brisbane, Calif. - In the race to be the leading next-generation console, any of the three manufacturers can take the prize, according to results of a recent study by IGN Entertainment's GamerMetrics and IGN Research Solutions. The "IGN Research: Next-Gen Console Allegiance" survey shows that while 36% of the IGN.com audience claims loyalty to the PlayStation 3, the spread is narrow enough for the undecided 14% to make the critical difference. 28% say they have the strongest allegiance to the Xbox 360, while 22% pledge their faithfulness to the Nintendo Wii.
IGN's survey also profiled and analyzed the undecided gamer by lifestyle choices, media consumption habits, favorite brands and game genre preferences to understand what Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony need to consider as they strategize to emerge as the victor. One noteworthy quality about the undecided gamers is the fact that they prefer role-playing games (RPGs), while the favorite genre of the entire survey sample is Action. This, coupled with the fact that 79% currently own a PlayStation 2 - traditionally considered the top console for players of RPGs - might give Sony the edge over their competitors. Favorite brands of the undecided gamers include Google, Apple, Coke, Taco Bell, Target and Dell. The group's affinity for youth-focused brands that offer quality products for reasonable prices might favor Nintendo's next-gen approach.
Gamers undecided about their next-gen purchases seem to spend more time and money consuming their entertainment at home. More have sizable DVD collections than go out to the movies (67% own at least 20 DVDs, while only 50% went to see a movie within the 30 days before taking the survey), and many (47%) plan to buy an HDTV. They won't be using it to watch MTV, however. Only 17% watch "Punk'd," while an even smaller 10% watch "The Real World." Undecided gamers will instead be watching their choice television drama, "Lost," as will those allied with the Xbox 360, a positive sign for Microsoft. PlayStation 3 enthusiasts by and large prefer "24," while Nintendo Wii devotees favor "Smallville."
Other findings about the undecided gamer include:
• 70% own a handheld gaming device (their preferred handheld being the PSP)
• 90% regularly download music from the internet; 60% own MP3 players
• Favorite band is Gorillaz (which is true also for those most excited about the Nintendo Wii. Xbox 360 fans prefer Nirvana, while those awaiting the PlayStation 3 most enjoy Eminem.)
IGN's research suggests that Microsoft must lose its reputation as being first and foremost for the First-Person Shooter crowd to appeal to a broader market. Nintendo must appeal to the consumer who can not afford to spend close to $500 on a new console and Sony must reach out to their loyalists by promoting backwards capability with the PlayStation 2 and offering functionality with the PSP. IGN Entertainment's network of videogame-related properties which includes IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others is the web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. GamerMetrics data is based on more than 30 million users' activity on these, and on a pool of more than half a million users volunteering which titles they own, want and are evaluating. IGN's "Next-Gen Console Allegiance" survey is available at no charge to members of the press, industry analysts and clients of IGN.
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