Take a peek at the Sony PSP Go

Thanks to technewsworld.com for this information.

A YouTube video of what appears to be the next issue of the PlayStation-focused video magazine Qore has revealed that Sony will use its event to unveil a new PSP model, the PSP Go.

Sony is expected to unveil the PSP Go at its press conference Tuesday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

As had been widely rumored, the PSP Go will have a sliding form factor like the Mylo, Sony's ill-fated Internet communicator device. The new handheld--which does not sport a second thumbstick--is shown several times in the video, which features Qore host Veronica Belmont and John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

According to Koller, the main differences between the PSP Go and the PSP 3000 are "on-board memory, the flash memory, and 16 gigs of space. There's Bluetooth on board as well, so you can use a Bluetooth headset, and you can actually tether it to your cell phone as well. But ultimately, it's the portability. Since you can bring all that content with you in a smaller form factor, you've got the most immersive games to play, and now you've got a smaller unit to do it with."

Though he does not say that the device will not have a UMD (Universal Media Disc) drive--as is rumored--he did say that the emphasis will be on downloadable games. "Little Big Planet, Jak & Daxter, Metal Gear Solid--all those will be available. So will all the movies you can rent or buy on the PlayStation Network. So you can bring so much content over with you and fill up that 16 gig of flash memory."

Koller also appears to reveal that the long-lost PSP Gran Turismo Mobile game--first shown off in 2004--will resurface at next week's expo. "There are games like Gran Turismo being announced at E3," said the executive.

Host Belmont then asks, "So since it's called the PSP Go, I would image it will work with Remote Play as well." Koller responds with the following blanket statement: "Integration with the PS3 is very important, and it works just like the PSP 3000. A lot of people like to be able to take their PS3 content with them on the go."

As for the PSP Go supplanting its predecessor, Koller said flatly: "It won't replace the PSP 3000. We're going to keep them both on the market." Koller did not mention a price, release date, or whether it would have a touch screen when closed. Sony Computer Entertainment America reps had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Samsung Jack

Thanks to news.cnet.com for this information!

Editors' rating: 3.5

The good: The Samsung Jack brings a fresh, updated look over its predecessor and includes a faster processor and better camera. Call quality is excellent, and the Windows Mobile smartphone offers 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth.

The bad: The Jack uses Samsung's proprietary ports, so you can't use a standard USB cable or headset. The phone feels slippery.

The bottom line: As the successor to the BlackJack series, the Samsung Jack brings a fresh look and some nice feature upgrades to make it one of ATandT's more solid and affordable messaging smartphones. However, we tend to favor the Nokia E71x's design.

Photo by Corinne Schulze/CNET

Read the full review at news.cnet.com

HP Mini 1151NR

Thanks to news.cnet.com for this information!

Editors' rating: 3.5

The good: HP's already excellent Netbook adds 3G; subsidized Verizon price.

The bad: Expensive total cost of ownership with two-year data contract; fewer ports and connections than other Netbooks.

The bottom line: The HP Mini 1151NR's marriage of 3G with a Netbook feels like an obvious mashup of two useful technologies, but the overall package ends up being somewhat expensive.

Photo by Corinne Schulze/CNET

Read full review at news.cnet.com

ASUS Eee PC 1008HA

Thanks to news.cnet.com for this great information!

Editors' rating: 4

The good: New slim design; clever hidden ports and connections; thin LED screen.

The bad: Near the upper end of the Netbook price scale; hidden ports and VGA dongle can take a little effort to access.

The bottom line: Asus reinvents its iconic Netbook with the slim, attractive Eee PC 1008HA, a bold experiment that largely works.

Photo by Asus

Read full review at news.cnet.com

Meet Microsoft's BING

Microsoft on Thursday unveiled a new Web search engine, Bing, designed to intuitively understand what people are seeking on the Internet and challenge online king Google.

The US software colossus described Bing as a "Decision Engine" and said it will be deployed worldwide at Bing.com by Wednesday.

Bing's launch comes in the wake of Google and Yahoo! announcing refinements to their search services and the launch of a Wolfram Alpha query engine that delivers answers instead of lists of websites.

"Today, search engines do a decent job of helping people navigate the Web and find information, but they don't do a very good job of enabling people to use the information they find," said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"When we set out to build Bing, we grounded ourselves in a deep understanding of how people really want to use the Web."

Bing relies predominately on algorithms and key words to provide results for online searches but has infused some semantic technology that deduces intended meanings of phrases, according to Microsoft.

"The Bing service is a first step," said Whitney Burk, director of communications for Bing. "We still have plenty of work to do and we are excited to get it out into the wild next week."

Bing will replace MSN Live Search, which has languished in a distant third place behind market-leading Google and second-place Yahoo!

Bing is vastly better than Microsoft's Live but doesn't outshine Google when it comes to general Internet search, according to analyst Matt Rosoff of private firm Directions On Microsoft.

"They want to give you more information without having to click through to a lot of other sites," said Rosoff, who has used Bing during the past month as part of a Microsoft test program.

"I like it, but I don't think it will get me to switch from Google entirely. They are not naive to the scope of the challenge. They are going to keep throwing money at it for awhile."

The search engine is aimed at online shoppers and will initially focus on helping people make buying decisions, plan trips, research health matters, or find local businesses.

For example, people using Bing to shop online will automatically be provided product reviews and those planning trips will get information regarding travel bargains.

Bing has a "Best Match" feature that identifies and gives high priority to answers that seem to best fit queries.

"Quick Tabs" that appear automatically on search results pages recommend query refinements.

As examples, searches on cities could trigger tabs for information regarding weather or tourist attractions while queries on films might prompt tabs for movie sound tracks or actor biographies.

Semantic technology is used for online research quests on topics along the lines of "Was Albert Einstein married?"

Documents or videos can be previewed without clicking through to links.

"The most popular button in search today is the 'Back' button," Burk said. " "You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to find something on the Internet. Bing is really designed to help people narrow in on things faster and make smarter decisions."

Bing gives Microsoft "a leg up" on competitors but is more likely to lure users from Yahoo! because "Google is too much of a habit for everyone," Forrester analyst Shar VanBoskirk said in a blog post.

"Microsoft's Bing will change the face of search," VanBoskirk wrote. "Bing focuses on delivering answers, not Web pages."

In what is a growing online search trend, Bing delves into websites to summarize what they have to offer in easily scanned preview boxes.

"We are trying to surface functionality right to the top so people don't have to look for it quite so hard," Burk said.

Microsoft cited study results indicating that an estimated 30 percent of online searches are abandoned out of frustration and that searchers often fail to get what they seek on a first try.

(from Yahoo News)

Skyfire Lets Fly With Speedier Mobile Browser

Skyfire stirred up the smartphone world further on Wednesday with the release of a full 1.0 version of its mobile Web browser.

More than 1 million mobile phone users have installed and used the beta version of the browser over the past five months, according to company officials.

The new browser supports Windows Mobile(versions 5 and 6), as well as Symbian with Nokia's platform. A new version that also supports BlackBerry platform may be released in beta form soon.

"We just launched a private closed alpha version of the browser for BlackBerry devices. We are working towards a public beta this summer," Tracy DeMiroz, vice president of marketing for Skyfire, told TechNewsWorld.

Feature Rich

Skyfire's full-function Web browser for mobile phones supports popular Web standards and plug-ins such as Flash 10, Silverlight 2, Ajax and JavaScript, DeMiroz said.

Its ability to provide users with a means to view the rich media on Web sites from their smartphones may give Skyfire an edge. The browser lets users watch any Web video and live event on a small-screen mobile phone.

Skyfire users can customize their start pages with RSS feeds from their favorite Web sites. They can also integrate their Facebook and Twitter accounts to import status updates and tweets and easily publish their status to these networks with a single click.

What's New

The architecture stayed the same from the beta to the full first release version, according to DeMiroz. As they built version 1.0, however, developers focused on two things: user experience and speed.

Power optimization and search functions were also improved from the beta release.

"What is unique is that the complexity of processing the Web page takes place on our servers. That's how we get the faster performance and quicker page loads. That's how we can render the full Web page on the mobile phone," said DeMiroz.

Job One: Speed

Having previously delivered rich media and text readability on a small screen, the focus of the latest release was to help users get to content they want more quickly, added DeMiroz.

For example, users can enter a search term or Web site location while Skyfire is connecting to the network, she noted. After a Web page loads, the user can scroll and zoom; the experience is much like using an iPhone. Also, users can click on links on the first page load without having to zoom first.

"People say that we give an iPhone-like browser experience on other platforms," said DeMiroz. "We actually take that a step further by supporting Flash 10. Many Web sites are built with Flash and Ajax, and the complexity of the Web continues to grow."
Big Deal?

Though Skyfire joins the likes of Opera Software, which has offered a mobile browser for years, and Mozilla, whose Fennec mobile browser is just beginning to get off the ground, it remains to be seen whether an impending mobile browser battle will be anywhere near as fiery as the fight for desktop supremacy.

"My first response is, better than what browser? Especially with handsets, you have multiple browser functionality already," Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist for In-Stat, told TechNewsWorld.

Many applications running on smartphones can access the Internet. While these apps are usually not general browsers that people will use to surf the Web and look at various sites, most people do not use their mobile phones for the same kind of surfing they'd do on a desktop. Instead, they use very specific application functionalities that are tied to the Internet in some way, he explained.

"So it begs the question: OK, is it really that important? I have several browsers on my various mobile phones, including Opera. Surfing on most cellphones still is not a very pleasant experience," he argued.

(by Jack M. Germain of TechNewsWorld)