It’s a very busy time of year – E3 and Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference. We have already heard the buzz from E3, and next week we will find out how many of the rumors circulating around Apple are true.
The first news we heard was of the latest Zune coming to market this fall. This is version 3 of Zune – and with this release Microsoft will be taking on Apple’s iPod touch head-on. OLED screen, HD video, HD radio, Wi-Fi, touch screen and more, this Zune is setting itself up to be a viable iPod Touch competitor. The device itself sports a 3.3”, 16×9 aspect ration OLED screen with a resolution of 470×272 – not hi def. To get HD video, you will need to play back your HD content through the optional AV dock connected to an HDTV, and then you will get 720p.
Zune will also get integrated into Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem.
We all love good technology challengers to the ubiquitous iPod! It will be interesting to see how successful Microsoft is this time around.
One thing not yet released is what types of storage options will be available – flash or hard drive, and in what capacities. Carrying around HD content (even 720p) takes quite a bit of space. I would expect to see both flash and HDD versions due to this storage requirement.
Another poorly kept secret was unveiled this week when Sony took the wraps off it’s latest PSP – the PSP Go. Smaller and lighter, the PSP Go is designed to take on both Nintendo’s highly successful handheld game systems, as well as Apple’s iPod franchise, providing not just a gaming platform, but a full featured, high quality personal media player. This unit will have it all. It loses its UMD optical drive in favor of high capacity (it will come with 16GB of flash) internal memory and a Sony Memory Stick Micro slot for expansion. The PSP Go will of course be primarily a gaming device, but it will also interface with the PS3 platform, and support movie rentals and downloads, as well as music and photos. So, add this to the list of contenders in the portable media space!
Apple iPhone, iPod and More!
Next week, Monday to be exact, is the kickoff of Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference. The internet is full of rumors about what will be announced, and even who will be announcing it! With Steve Jobs expected to return from his medical leave by the end of June, some people are now speculating that he will show up to give the keynote speech next week, and personally deliver the new product and feature announcements.
Expected are the details of the iPhone 3.0 software update, as well as new versions of the iPhone and iPod. Rumors have included things like video capabilities, both video conferencing as well as video recording, MMS capabilities on the iPhone, higher resolution camera capabilities, and more. I believe that many of the new features and products have been kept pretty quiet, as I have not yet heard any serious reason for upgrading products yet. Of course there will be higher capacity products, with the iPhone expected to have a 32GB version.
Even given the still tenuous economic environment, advances in technology continues, and interest levels are higher than ever before. But with all this coming, I want to know – What are YOU most excited about?
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