André’s Weblog

As promised, here is the part two of my Playstation 3 preview.

In my previous post, I previewed what the PS3 looks like on the outside and what its features are. In this post, I will explain what makes the PS3 appear so powerful and why Sony is claiming that it is not a mere video game console, rather, a supercomputer. Before I go on, you have to understand that Sony pours in a lot of money for their marketing campaign. Sometimes, they even go beyond what is actually achievable by the PS3. Sony is flaunting the capabilities of the processor inside the PS3: The Cell Broadband Engine.

The Cell Broadband Engine, more commonly known as The Cell, is a ground-breaking chip developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM. The picture above is the actual chip. What makes this a technological leap forward is the fact that it has 8 Synergistic processors. It’s synergistic because all 8 processors can perform different functions at the same time. I’ll give you an example of their claimed benefit.

When you use your computer, you don’t usually do a lot of stuff at the same time. You don’t download music, perform hard drive tune-up, watch movies, and play games at the same time right? Not because you don’t want to, but because you know the performance is going to bog down. That’s because you only have once processor. With The Cell, it is a different story. The Playstation 3 can perform 8 (just to make a clear example) different functions at the same time, without bringing the machine down to its knees. If what Sony claims is true, you can download download a movie trailer, communicate with your friends via video conferencing, record digital music, and play a game all at the same time, without ever seeing a performance hit. Sounds amazing eh?

With the Cell, games on the PS3 would look, feel, and play out of this world! Sony has actually released a TV ad on why consumers should care about the Cell processor. It’s on YouTube. You will see how serious Sony is on their marketing campaign.

Here are the videos that demonstrate the prowess of the Cell

TV Ad: “Smarter“

TV Ad: “Capacity“

If you’re on broadband, visit PlayB3yond.com for the videos. They are original source of the TV ads.

Of course, this is all on paper. The real life application has yet to be seen. If you want my opinion, I believe Sony is making things sound too good to be true. However, I do believe that this has a lot of potential. If game developers are really good, they can squeeze out tremendous power from the Cell Broadband Engine. If you’re thinking that they will release this for consumer PCs, think again.

It’s been a while since I last posted something. It’s time for another Gadget post. A little something that will interest gamers or any die hard Playstation fanboy.

If you haven’t heard, the Playstation 3 will be released in North America on November 17, 2006. It’s about time if you ask me! They have been marketing the PS3 since last year! The PS3 will not come cheap though. It will be expensive. There are two versions: $499 and $599. The $499 PS3 will only have a 20GB hard drive built in. The $599 PS3, however, will have a 60GB hard drive, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth, and a memory card reader. As you can see, the high-end PS3 is technologically advanced. If you don’t know how to use them, better stick with the low-end version. Don’t get me wrong. The price increase is only for the added stuff. The games won’t play any differently on either machine.

The controller looks similar to that of the Playstation 2. The difference lies under the hood. It’s wireless (Bluetooth) and has gyroscopes inside. The gyroscopes are awesome. Let me give an example of their use. The player usually controls the game, let’s say an aircraft fighting game, with the directional buttons. With the gyroscope, you can control the aircraft by moving the controller itself! It’s hard to explain, but I’m sure you get the gist. Let your imagination do it for you.

The Playstation 3 will also have an online gaming service. It will be free. Sony aims to create an online world where gamers can play their favorite games, communicate with their friends, and download free stuff. By the way, if you have a huge PS and PS2 game library, you can still play them on the PS3. No accessory required.

So, is the PS3 awesome? Yes. Is it worth getting? If you want my honest opinion, maybe. It’s hard to call because the XBOX 360 is a year ahead, and the Nintendo Wii is cheaper and looks really fun to play, especially if you have your friends come over. The games are also believed to be expensive in the first couple of months. This is because of the disc that Sony uses. They made their own. The Blue-Ray Disc. It can hold up to a whopping 50GB of data. Roughly translated in human language, you can have all the Tekken games in one Blue-Ray Disc. You can have the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy in one BD-Rom! It’s still expensive to manufacture. So, you decide.

This is only part one of my Playstation 3 preview. Come back over the weekend if you want to learn what’s the driving force that makes the PS3 an alleged supercomputer.

*Shirokishi (working title) for the Playstation 3

Time to add a new category for Gadgets! As my first post for this category, I will focus on the new iPod Nano (PRODUCT)^RED

About a month ago, Apple released the 2G iPod Nano. It generally combined the old iPod Mini (remember that?) and the first-gen iPod Nano. The 2G had the anodized aluminum casing of the iPod Mini, but still retained the form factor the the Nano. It also introduced ground-breaking capacity for flash-based memory: 8GB worth of music! That is enough to carry 2,000 songs in an incredibly thin device. When you buy an iPod Nano (PRODUCT)^RED, $10.00 of it will go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. This is an awesome device for an awesome cause. It still has all the features that you will find in the regular iPod Nano.

I think I might consider getting an iPod now. I’d rather not get the 5G iPod because I have no use for playing videos on such a tiny screen anyway. I was waiting for them to release multi-colored iPod Nanos so that I would be different from the rest. I find it extremely annoying if I have a specific thing that everybody else has, in this case, color-wise. I’m pretty sure that they must have improved the sound quality on the iPods. As an audiophile, I know what sounds good and what doesn’t. I will finally use my Bose headphones again. By the way, if you’re serious with your music listening experience, don’t settle for Sony earphone crap or the ones that come with your mp3 player. Get the Bose Triport Headphones. It’s absolutely amazing. By far, it’s the best investment I ever made.

I might go for (PRODUCT)^RED because not only will I enjoy my purchase, I will also help someone have a chance in life.

Link: iPod Nano Product Red homepage