Gadget

iPhone 4S – Should you get one?

Leave a comment

iPhone 4S is sure attracting lots of attention online. This all new iPhone while similar to its iPhone 4 physically, is actually packed with more power internally. Four main features to look out for:

  1. A5 dual core processor (the same processor that powers the iPad 2)
  2. 8 MP camera with new CMOS sensor – time to throw away that point and shoot camera?
  3. Dual Antenna – to solve the ‘grip of death’ problem of iPhone 4
  4. Siri – your voice command butler that may not understand Singlish (wonder if Apple is working on this…hmm…)

If you have a iPhone 4, probably it will probably be better to wait for the real next-gen iPhone 5 which is rumoured to be announced Q1 next year.

Here’s another more in-depth review from CNET for iPhone 4s

 

Siri

Here’s a video that showcased the potential problem with Siri for Singaporean. Siri doesn’t understand accent well! I really pity the Japanese in the video..

Spoiler: Jump to 0:57 and see how Siri misinterpret this Japanese.

Of course, it is make for the American and British accent but what about user outside this two countries? May Mr Brown’s Simi will serve us better!

Siri has a sense of humor too! See the video below:

 

When is iPhone 4S coming out?

iPhone 4s is coming to Singapore on all three telcos on the 28th of October 2011. Check out the individual telcos for their iPhone 4S offer.

Game Preview

GTA + Heavy Rain = L.A. Noire

Leave a comment

I can’t stop thinking of Heavy Rain when I first saw this trailer for L.A. Noire. Of course, this game is not surprisingly similar to GTA since it is developed by Rockstar Games. I am glad that Rockstar moved away from GTA IV. The novelty of an open world concept whereby you can commit all sorts of vices is dying off. Personally, I find that chasing cars, killing people and racing on GTA is getting mundane and repetitive with GTA IV. I stopped at the 20th mission when I keep failing to chase down a car and having to repeat it all over again.

So now Rockstar wants you to be the good guy. In L.A. Noire, you play as Cole Phelps, an LAPD officer in the turbulent time of 1947 Los Angeles. Instead of having mission to kill a certain gang leader or to fight off some gangster, you are now presented with cases. As a detective, it is your job to interrogate suspect, interview witness and gather evidences to bring justice to L.A.

Tech

The facial express is really sophisticated and the level of details is simply amazing. Compared to GTA IV, this is definitely a giant step forward. I had to compare this with Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain.

The level of details seen in Heavy Rain, published about a year ago, managed to achieve fairly realistic facial expression as well. However, the two technologies used by Quantic and Rockstar are slightly different. In Rockstar implementation, there is a mix of 3D video with mesh animation whereas in Quantic Dream is purely mesh animation. In other words, what you see on Rockstar is essentially a 3D video of the facial expression captured by the cameras.

Gameplay
In this game, you have to solve crimes ranging from homicide to arson. While interrogating suspect and gathering evidence is part of a case itself, Rockstar also dishes out the regular high-action shooting and chasing mission. A fresh game compared to the usual GTA. And yes, this game is also having the same open world concept. You are free to explore the city. Check out the review by IGN below.

Game Preview

Michael Jackson: The Experience for PS Move and Kinect

2 Comments


Michael Jackson: The Experience for PS Move and Kinect is due middle of this month! Personally, while I am excited about this game, I will probably not get the game immediately when it is released.

First of all, for the PS Move version, I am suspecting that the experience is going to be similar to the Wii version released in November last year. With only the capability to track the movement of an arm, I doubt the PS3 version will be any difference from the Wii where the player can perform the ‘dance’ with just a a controller in their hand. For a dancing game, this is unacceptable. The PS3 version would definitely has a better graphics. Till this stage, it is also not known if the PS3 version will support the karaoke-like feature as seen in the Kinect version. My bet is that the Move version of the game is going to be pale in comparison to its Kinect counterpart

Yes the Kinect version! As a disclaimer, I should point out that I am not a fan of Xbox nor do I play the Halo series. I have both the PS3 and Xbox 360 system. But to be honest, this game may look a lot better for Kinect than for PS Move. After the success of Dance Central (Harmonix is working on the second Dance Central as we are speaking), gamers like me are confident of what Kinect can deliver as a platform for dance game. However, we can’t assume that Ubisoft can deliver the same quality as Harmonix which after all is a veteran in making such games.

The Kinect version includes a karaoke feature whereby you will sing a portion of MJ’s song during the performance. While this maybe a bane to some who don’t like singing, this could probably be an option that can be turned off. For those who are into getting special editions of game, MJ: The Experience has a Collector’s Edition which features MJ T-shirt, poster and a microphone.