Thursday, May 13, 2004

After a quick browse of The Register's headlines it seems Nintendo and Sony are about to release new handhelds. The Nintendo DS will offer a voice recognition capability, allowing Nintendo to forecast a future where in-game avatars are literally told where to go and what to do.

"Nintendo's discussion of the unit's power management system notes that "if the user receives a message from a friend or user nearby, DS activates itself from Standby mode" (our emphasis). So there's clearly some kind of instant messaging facility built into the device - again, it looks like Nintendo is thinking beyond the console to a more general youth-oriented communications device."

The stylish Sony PSP is very different in appearance from the Nintendo which is a a retro style clamshell case packing 2x 3 inch screens. The PSP offers a massive 4.3in 16:9 ratio, 480 x 272, 32-bit colour TFT LCD, with the classic PlayStation controls on either side. Inside the box are stereo speakers - there's an earphone socket too - and screen controls. Like the DS, the PSP has 802.11b built-in for multi-player gaming.

Jon 2:37 PM Permalink