Co-op, Not Competition: Nintendo reveals list of worldwide best-selling games of 2012

Nintendo revealed comprehensive lists of the best-selling video games of 2012 to date, shedding significant light on player tastes around the world. What games will publishers be investing in based on current trends?

Regional sales tracking firms like the NPD Group, Media Creates and others are often the only regular source for getting a picture of what people are paying to play in the video game market. As the balance between digital distribution and traditional brick and mortar retail even out, it’s become more difficult to accurately portray just what people like to play besides Call of Duty. It’s surprising then that Nintendo, one of gaming’s most secretive companies, revealed the top twenty bestselling video games from around the world during its recent earnings report. Nintendo compiled data from those previously listed research firms as well as Gfk International.

With breakdowns for the US, Europe, and Japan, the lists show not just what’s performed well this year, but helps gauge what types of games console publishers will invest in over the next few years as the transition to next-gen consoles begins in earnest.

The tops of the charts aren’t surprising based on how the industry’s past half decade. The top two best-selling video games in the United States between January and September 2012 were Madden NFL 13 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Electronic Arts also dominated Europe (Gfk tracks fourteen countries in the region), taking the top three spots with FIFA 13 on PS3 and Xbox 360 in first and second respectively with FIFA 12 on PS3 taking third. Nintendo dominated Japan, with Pokémon Black 2/White 2 taking the top two slots.

It’s deeper in the list that more revealing statistics emerge. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, for example, was only the sixth best-selling game across 2012, beaten out by competitors like Mass Effect 3 and even Borderlands 2 (fifth and third respectively.) This means that while the sales tail on Call of Duty remains strong, it’s diminished from highs in 2010 with Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which dominated for months after their respective releases. The competitive shooting games was not as favored over the first nine months of the year as co-operative, campaign-centric shooters like Mass Effect and Borderlands. The rest of the list bears this out as well. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier came in at eleventh, where EA’s Battlefield 3 came in at fourteenth. Future Soldier was a May release, and it does sport competitive modes, but even that example supports the POV that multiplayer tastes in the US are shifting.

What of Europe? Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, and Mass Effect 3 were on the European list, but that was it for shooters. Nintendo published titles like Super Mario 3D Land, Wii Party and others were far more common in the region, boding well for the Wii U. Gran Turismo 5 also took eighth in Europe, reaffirming the strength of that brand for Sony abroad.

Japan was, again unsurprisingly, dominated by Nintendo and Square-Enix published games for handhelds, with three Capcom titles and two Namco Bandai titles sneaking in as well.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

The metal clad Pantech Flex came by, we put it in front of the camera

It looks like Pantech is serious about becoming a notable player in the lucrative US smartphone market. Following the footsteps of the well-equipped and affordable Pantech Burst, which we tried out earlier this year, the Korean manufacturer has decided to follow with an even better effort. The LTE sporting, AT&T exclusive Pantech Flex keeps the low price tag of its predecessor, but brings seriously solid specs to the table.

The Pantech Flex packs a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset whose Krait CPU cores are clocked at 1.5GHz. The GPU is Adreno 225. There is a gig of RAM and 8GB of built-in memory on board, which can be further expanded via microSD card slot. The display is a 4.3” Super AMOLED unit with qHD resolution. The spec sheet is completed by an 8MP camera, 2MP front-facing unit, full connectivity suite, and an 1830mAh battery.

The build quality of the Pantech Flex is nothing short of impressive. The handset features metal construction, whose finish can rival the best in the business. The same goes for the phone’s measures. At 7.9mm, the Korean offering is one of the thinnest around. The phone is a looker too – it won a Reddot design award this year.

The Pantech Flex boots heavily customized Android 4.0.4 out of the box. A curious addition to the Android OS is the so-called “easy experience”. It simplifies the interface for first time smartphone buyers. Here’s the handset in action.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

EVE Online community mourns American diplomat killed in Libyan attack

The US official killed in yesterday's Benghazi attack was named Sean Smith. He was an EVE player, a member of Goonswarm, and a good friend.

Yesterday, a group of armed militants stormed the American consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi. According to BBC reports, the attack took place during a protest over the anti-Islamic sentiments seen in a low-budget film purportedly produced by American Sam Bacile (although some reports suggest this is merely a pseudonym), and promoted in the Middle East by an Egyptian-American Coptic Christian named Morris Sadek. The attack left the American ambassador, Christopher Stevens, and three other American officials dead. U.S. officials have not ruled out the possibility that the attack was part of a coordinated terrorist action.

Although the names of the three Americans with Stevens were not initially released by authorities, one of the victims was quickly identified by his friends online as Foreign Service information management officer, Sean Smith.

Smith was a huge fan of CCP Games’ EVE Online, and a long-standing member of the infamous Goonswarm, an amorphous group of gamers who initially came together on the forums of the Internet humor site Something Awful. While many claim that Goonswarm exists purely to infuriate other players in whichever game they happen to be playing — Goonswarm is most prominent in EVE Online, but has branched out to a number of other online titles — even these people can’t deny the group’s ability to affect change on a massive scale within a game due to its sheer numbers, dedicated player-base, and surprisingly well-coordinated actions.

Last night Smith (aka “Vile Rat”) was online speaking to his friend and fellow gamer, Alexander Gianturco, who goes by the handle “The Mittani” Gianturco has since posted the exchange as part of a eulogy to his friend. According to Gianturco, Smith was a long-time online gamer who was working as an IT consultant in Benghazi when the attack occurred. Due in part to his work, Smith spent a lot of time on the ‘net, doing the sorts of things anyone else might: conversing with friends, passing the time and playing video games. 

“If you play this stupid game, you may not realize it, but you play in a galaxy created in large part by Vile Rat’s talent as a diplomat,” Gianturco said. “No one focused as relentlessly on using diplomacy as a strategic tool as VR. Mercenary Coalition flipped sides in the Great War in large part because of Vile Rat’s influence, and if that hadn’t happened GSF probably would have never taken out BoB. Jabberlon5? VR made it. You may not even know what Jabberlon5 is, but it’s the smoke-filled jabber room where every nullsec personage of note hangs out and makes deals. Goonswarm has succeeded over the years in large part because of VR’s emphasis on diplomacy, to the point of creating an entire section with a staff of 10+ called Corps Diplomatique, something no other alliance has. He had the vision and the understanding to see three steps ahead of everyone else – in the game, on the CSM, and when giving real-world advice.”

The protests surrounded the film Innocence of Muslims, which depicted the Prophet Mohammed as fraud and a pedophile. Protesters in Egypt had already burned an American flag in front of the consulate in Cairo, and the Libyan protests may have been coordinated. The date, the 11th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, was also lost on no one.  

During their discussion last night, Smith told Gianturco:

(12:54:09 PM) vile_rat: assuming we don’t die tonight. We saw one of our ‘police’ that guard the compound taking pictures

While alarming, this wasn’t particularly unusual for Smith, who’s situation was well known among his friends. A few years earlier while Smith was stationed in Iraq, he also found himself under fire but finished his time there “physically unscathed,” according to Gianturco.  

“He was on jabber [the IM service] when it happened,” Gianturco posted. “That’s the most fucked up thing. In Baghdad the same kind of thing happened – incoming sirens, he’d vanish, we’d freak out and he’d come back ok after a bit. This time he said ‘FUCK’ and ‘GUNFIRE’ and then disconnected and never returned.”

Soon after that conversation, media services around the world began to report that protests outside the American embassies in both Libya and Egypt had begun to turn violent. It wasn’t long before news of American deaths was being reported, and Gianturco recognized that his friend was dead and the EVE Online community was in morning. 

While that’s easier to recognize his influence if you happen to be an EVE player, the end point is that Sean Smith had a huge impact on both the people he played EVE alongside, as well as the game as a whole, both personally and within the digital world he enjoyed. While the name of the fallen ambassador may soon be a household name, the name of Sean Smith will not be forgotten. Since the attack, a number of in-game space stations have since been renamed in Smith’s honor. While that might be a seemingly minor remembrance to the man, it is exceedingly heartfelt.

We recommend you read the blog post in its entirety. It’s equal parts mournful reminiscing and raging at the state at the world for ending the life of such a well-liked member of an online community. But in sum the piece is a touching memorial to a man from those who called him “friend.” 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

EVE Online community eulogizes US official killed in Benghazi attack

The US official killed in yesterday's Benghazi attack was named Sean Smith. He was an EVE player, a member of Goonswarm, and a good friend.

Yesterday a group of armed militiamen stormed the American consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi. According to BBC reports, the attack was the culmination of a protest over the anti-Islamic sentiments seen in a low-budget film produced by American Sam Bacile and promoted in the middle east by an unnamed Christian Egyptian expatriate. The attack left one American official dead and another wounded.

Though the identity of the deceased American official was not initially released by authorities, the man’s online friends have since decided to eulogize his memory. According to this blog post, Sean Smith (aka “Vile Rat”) was a long-time online gamer who was working as an IT consultant in Benghazi when the attack occurred. As a result, Smith spent a lot of time on the ‘net, doing the sorts of things anyone else might: conversing with friends, passing the time and playing video games.

Specifically, Smith was a huge fan of CCP Games’ EVE Online, and a long-standing member of the infamous Goonswarm. For those of you who are unaware, Goonswarm is an amorphous group of gamers who initially came together on the forums of Internet humor site Something Awful. Many will claim that Goonswarm exists purely to infuriate other players in whichever game they happen to be playing — Goonswarm is most prominent in EVE Online, but has branched out to a number of other online titles — but even these people can’t deny the group’s ability to affect change on a massive scale within a game due to its sheer numbers, dedicated player-base and surprisingly well-coordinated actions.

As a result, it seems fitting to eulogize Smith by praising his abilities within the game’s universe:

If you play this stupid game, you may not realize it, but you play in a galaxy created in large part by Vile Rat’s talent as a diplomat. No one focused as relentlessly on using diplomacy as a strategic tool as VR. Mercenary Coalition flipped sides in the Great War in large part because of Vile Rat’s influence, and if that hadn’t happened GSF probably would have never taken out BoB. Jabberlon5? VR made it. You may not even know what Jabberlon5 is, but it’s the smoke-filled jabber room where every nullsec personage of note hangs out and makes deals. Goonswarm has succeeded over the years in large part because of VR’s emphasis on diplomacy, to the point of creating an entire section with a staff of 10+ called Corps Diplomatique, something no other alliance has. He had the vision and the understanding to see three steps ahead of everyone else – in the game, on the CSM, and when giving real-world advice.

While that’s easier to understand if you too happen to be an EVE player, the end point is that Sean Smith had a huge impact, not only on the people he played EVE alongside, but also on the game as a whole. As a result, since the attack a number of in-game space stations have since been renamed in Smith’s honor.

We recommend you read the blog post in its entirety. It’s equal parts mournful reminiscing and raging at the state at the world for ending the life of such a well-liked member of the EVE community, but in sum the piece is a touching memorial to a man from those who called him “friend.” 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Shimi, the intelligence musical companion you’ll want as your personal DJ

Shimi is a sophisticated robotic smartphone and MP3 player dock that will play your songs and enjoy it without judging your taste in music.

If you’re lonely on a Friday night or looking for a pal that won’t criticize your taste in music, Shimi just might be the robotic companion and personal DJ for you. Tovbot’s Shimi, developed by engineers from Georgia Tech, IDC Herzilya, and MIT Media lab, shimmies to music playing from your smartphone or MP3 player, can understand commands, and learn your musical preferences.

The Shimi, at first glance, just looks like a toy — but it took the minds of weathered PhDs to program and design this rather sophisticated piece of machinery. 

“We saw first-hand the level of excitement and interest that we were getting from our amazing robotic musicians like Shimon. So, we decided to use our experience with those larger, much more expensive robots to create Shimi, an extremely intelligent personal robotic companion with a personality and high-quality audio that consumers can afford,” Tovbot Co-Founder, Gil Weinberg, tells us.

Right away, we can recognize that the Shimi sports a “face” with speakers that protrude from the ends of its wing-like facade, resembling that of a hammerhead shark. The robot’s left foot serves as a dock for your MP3 player or smartphone, while its right foot is built for the sole purpose of tapping to the music.

The Shimi’s existence is almost comical because at its core, it’s really just a glorified speaker dock for your Apple device. At the same time, it’s highly sophisticated and capable of natural language processing, machine learning, motion tracking, and its gears are silent, contributing to smooth movements that might make us forget for a moment that Shimi isn’t a robot.

When you turn on the music, pivoting on five strategically placed motors, Shimi will groove to the music as it bobs its head to and fro, while its foot taps on beat with the music that’s currently playing. And no dance is the same, as its movements depend on your song choice.

You can also call out commands for Shimi to play specific songs from your connected mobile device, or ask it kindly if a certain song can be found in your music player’s library or even a streaming service like Spotify, to which Shimi will offer gesture responses of “yes” or “no.”  A secondary option to search for music, if you’re rhythmically talented, is to tap out the beat of the song that you’d like Shimi to play. It will for the most part recognize the beat and select the song accordingly.

Using its motion tracker, it can recognize your movements and direct its speakers toward wherever you are, but according to its creators, the next stage is app development that will enable Shimi to recognize your facial expression, learn what types of music you like, and recommend new music. ”Shimi will continue to evolve based on crowd-sourced ideas, including adding Android compatibility, Bluetooth connectivity and LED lighting color schemes,” said Weinberg.

The creators of Shimi have taken to Kickstarter to help complete their vision. The musical companion will cost $149 for the duration of the Kickstarter campaign, although a limited supply of 100 Shimis were up for grabs at a cost of $129, until that offer sold out.

Check out the video of Shimi in action below.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Insomniac Games joins EA, is finished making single-player-only games

Like its publishing partner for multiplayer shooter Fuse, Insomniac Games is done with single-player-only games.

Earlier this month, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau proudly touted that he was finished greenlighting development on games that are only for solo players. The Insomniac-developed, EA-published Fuse, formerly OverStrike, certainly fits the bill. Like so many shooters these days, Fuse is playable solo but it’s built with four players in mind. Resistance 2 and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One are Insomniac’s experiments in co-operative play that gave birth to Fuse, but the studio has a rich heritage in single-player games. Is it giving up the single player ghost?

Just like Electronic Arts, Insomniac is done developing single-player-only games.

Speaking with Gamespot, Insomniac CEO Ted Price said that the nature of the modern game industry means that the era of games like the original Ratchet & Clank is over. “I can’t imagine that any game we’d do from here on out will be single-player-only,” said Price, “The [industry] has changed. As gamers, we have always been social, but thanks to the way technology has evolved, it’s much easier for us to play together. And it’s much easier for developers to create experiences where you can play together. So we want to encourage that with all of our games because ultimately, in my opinion, it’s often more fun to play with a friend.”

To reiterate, solo campaigns aren’t disappearing from EA or Insomniac’s games. After Gibeau’s words circled the web last week, the executive was quick to say that EA would still make single-player content. “You can have a very deep single-player game but it has to have an ongoing content plan for keeping customers engaged beyond what’s on the initial disc,” Gibeau told Kotaku, “I’m not saying deathmatch must come to Mirror’s Edge.”

Price mirrored the sentiment. “We understand that a large portion of players are interested in that single-player experience. A lot of us gamers are interested in both. I love single-player games but I also love multiplayer games, and I think Fuse offers you the opportunity to do both without having to skimp on either side.”

Skimping on either side is definitely the concern when it comes to incorporating online and social elements into every game. EA’s SSX for example would have benefitted from a greater focus on how the game played by a single person rather than incorporating intrusive annoying social features and micro-transaction-based gear acquisitions. Insomniac games have often benefitted from that sort of focus. Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time is a crafted single-player-only game and it happens to be the finest thing the studio has ever made.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Ubisoft drops always-on Internet connection DRM from Assassin’s Creed, other PS titles

Ubisoft's stringent DRM policies are dead according to the company, at least for single player PC games.

 

Assassin’s Creed 3 director Alex Hutchinson described himself, his team, and his game as dinosaurs in a recent interview with Edge Magazine. “We’re the last of the dinosaurs. We’re still the monster triple-A game with very large teams [and] multiple studios helping out on different bits. There are fewer and fewer of these games being made, especially as the middle has fallen out.”

The disappearance of “the middle,” B-list games like Ubisoft’s own Beyond Good & Evil that could succeed without selling millions of copies at retail, is really only one reason that the triple-A release is an increasingly rare bird in video games. Piracy, at least according to Ubisoft, has crippled its PC gaming business so not only do triple-A releases have to duke it out in the risky, competitive console market, they face impossible odds earning a buck on PC. How bad is PC piracy? Ubisoft claims that 95 percent of its PC players don’t play illegally obtained video games.

For the past few years, Ubisoft has combatted the problem by bolstering its triple-A games with aggressive digital rights management, namely through the Uplay network. Ubi was amongst those publishers that thought the key to protecting its intellectual property on PC was to require players to have a persistent Internet connection while playing. In other words, it tried to protect its dinosaurs with dinosaur anti-piracy measures.

It’s interesting then that, in a week where Ubisoft admits that the era of the blockbuster game is ending, it’s also abandoning its archaic DRM. Speaking with Gamasutra, Ubisoft’s VP of digital publishing Chris Early said that customer outcry has allowed it to change its policies.

“If you look back to early 2011 and before, we did at one point in time go with always-on activation, for any game. We realized that while it was probably one of the strictest forms of DRM, it wasn’t the most convenient for our customers. We listened to the feedback, and have removed that requirement from those games, and stopped doing that going forward.

For some games, but not all. “It depends on the type of game, but in a single player game, we require a one-time authentication, then we allow offline play,” continues Early, “Then for online multiplayer, obviously when you’re playing online, you’re authenticated and then you remain online. It’s basically as simple as that.”

Ubi’s change of heart could be construed as a feint though. Even more endangered than the triple-A game is the single player triple-A game. If all games require some kind of online play in the future, Ubi won’t have to worry about offending players that want to play offline. What will those Ubi games look like? Watch Dogs. That’s precisely what they’ll look like.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

EA: No more single player-only games on PlayStation 4, Xbox 720

EA talks up its future as a purveyor of free-to-play games played across all platforms. The casualty of this strategy? Single player games.

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau has been particularly vocal about the future of EA lately. The executive is adamant that the company’s new focus doesn’t mean EA will abandon the game console market in favor of mobile and PC. It’s all the same ecosystem after all.

“For all the investments we’ve made in mobile and social, we never abandoned consoles,” says Gibeau in a brochure distributed at the Cloud Gaming USA Conference and Exhibition, “We are working closely with the console manufacturers and we are VERY excited about the Gen4 consoles that will be launched in the months and years ahead.”

“Gen4” consoles are Microsoft’s Xbox 720 and Sony’s PlayStation 4 respectively, and possibly machines from other competitors as well, like Boxer8’s Ouya and Valve’s rumored Steam Box.

Fans of Electronic Arts single player games of the past five years don’t have much to look forward to on those platforms though. If anyone is waiting for the return of creative visions like the original Dead Space, DICE’s Mirror’s Edge, or classic BioWare efforts like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins, Gibeau’s got bad news: EA is done with single player-focused games.

“I have not green lit one game to be developed as a single player experience. Today, all of our games include online applications and digital services that make them live 24/7/365.”

That’s not to say that EA’s games will be devoid of single-player campaigns, only that they will all be augmented with multiplayer and social modes. Mass Effect 3 is a perfect example. The game can be played and enjoyed alone, but to get the complete story experience you have to buy additional DLC as well as play online with others.

In the wake of E3 2012, Electronic Arts’ executives have been preaching a new gospel. You’ve heard the goods news! The future is a place where we all play together, on every device simultaneously, and pay what we want for the privilege, forever and ever amen. EA’s future is free-to-play. It’s cross-platform play. It’s day one DLC for triple-A releases like Mass Effect. Is the pattern emerging for you? Do you see EA’s path forward?

Comedic drama aside, yes, Electronic Arts is aggressively redefining its entire business to accommodate for the new gaming market, a place where people expect to be able to play a game of Sim City on their mobile phone, then continue it on PC, and even on their living room console and each base level version of it is free. Grand! Shareholders should have faith in the new model.

EA is sacrificing a vital element of its business, though, in its mad dash to make every game appeal to every potential customer. Single player games still thrive when done right. Look at Bethesda’s Fallout and Elder Scrolls series, Mr. Gibeau. Something to keep in mind as you force studios like BioWare that specialize in single player games to change.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Life’s Good at LG: How it could make a smartphone comeback

HTC is in a slump, Samsung has just been dealt a blow by Apple, the stage is set for a new smartphone player. Could it be LG?

The news that LG is launching a new line of Android smartphones wasn’t a huge surprise, but the specifics definitely were. The new LG Optimus G looks like the most powerful Android smartphone on the horizon right now. The South Korean company also announced the Optimus L9, which looks like a nice update to the L-Series. That follows the reported success of the “phablet” (it’s a 5-inch phone and tablet crossover), the LG Optimus Vu in Korea, which is due to launch in the U.S. soon.

The exciting news extends beyond the hardware. Features like live zooming on video, the ability to stream content to your TV and simultaneously have something different on your phone’s screen, a voice activated camera, and an easy note system called QMemo all look promising. On the back of those announcements, LG Electronics stock rose 4.5 percent. Could LG step out from the shadow of its compatriot Samsung and grab a larger share of the smartphone market?

Changing focus

In the second quarter of 2012 mobile handset shipment charts, LG ranked number five with a 3.6 percent share. Shipments actually declined and the company posted a loss, which it attributed to the collapsing feature phone market and increased marketing expenses.

Going forward, LG’s focus appears to be on high-end 4G LTE smartphones. That means going up against Samsung, HTC, and Motorola on the Android platform, and there will be stiff competition from Apple’s new iPhone and possibly Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 line-up. Can LG compete in this space?

Big plans

There is no doubt that LG Chairman, Koo Bon-moo, is determined to push the company to greater heights. According to the Korea Times, he ordered the divisions of the LG group to “actively create synergy together to develop new products that will lead the market in the future.”

The first fruit of their labor was the new LG Optimus G, but that’s only the beginning. Spending on research and development has been increased, more mergers are being pursued, and the company is planning to focus greater effort on green innovations.

A pooling of knowledge by the various LG divisions – LG Electronics, LG Chem, LG Display, and LG Innotek – has real potential to produce quality devices. As Park Jong-seok, head of LG Electronics’ mobile division, optimistically suggested, “(The launch of the Optimus G) will give a certain momentum to our smartphone business and be an opportune turning point for LG to secure leadership in the world market.”

Digging deeper

This all sounds great, but can LG keep up with Samsung and Apple? In terms of research and development, estimates vary and the waters are muddied by the fact that most big tech companies are working on a range of products, not just mobile. Samsung is spending billions of dollars annually while Apple actually doesn’t spend that much. However, LG is certainly devoting enough resources to its mobile division to make a real difference. This Fierce Wireless article suggests a major refocus and investment on its smartphone business.

Does it need an image change?

LG is a well-known brand. This comScore report reveals that LG devices accounted for 19.4 percent of US mobile subscribers in February 2012 and that fell to a still impressive 19.1 percent by May 2012. The trouble is that the bulk of those devices were feature phones or smartphones in the budget or mid-range category and so LG may need to do some work to get people to see them in a new, premium light.

The fact that LG has always ranked well in consumer satisfaction surveys (generally above Samsung) bodes well for them. There’s also the fact that LG Display manufactures touchscreens for Apple’s iPhone and iPad range.

Is quality enough?

Benchmark tests of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processors at AnandTech rank the chip that LG is using in its Optimus G way ahead of its Android rivals. In theory it should outperform current market leaders like the Samsung Galaxy S3. How many people are swayed by specs though? As we know from HTC’s decline, it’s not enough to have a top class product, you also need some marketing muscle and that’s where Samsung and Apple are ahead of the game.

Much will depend on the early reviews, the carriers, and the all-important pricing. There’s certainly room for LG to make a splash and capitalize on Samsung’s war with Apple and HTC’s rough patch.

Staying out of the patent war

LG signed a licensing deal with Microsoft back at the start of the year which covered its use of the Android platform and also the Chrome OS. While Apple has sued a number of Android manufacturers it seems to have steered clear of LG so far.

When it comes to patents, LG apparently has a decent portfolio, and it doesn’t shy away from litigation. There has been a patent battle with Sony in the past, but no fight with Apple. In fact, Woo-Young Kwak, head of LG Mobile’s Handset R&D Center, famously said at a press conference back in 2007, “We consider that Apple copied the Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006.”

There was talk of LG suing Apple at the time, but it never happened. Evidence presented by Samsung at the trial included photos of the LG Prada. The LG Prada was definitely no iPhone, but it does make you wonder. In any case staying out of the current patent war could be good for LG.

Shooting for third

A hands-on with the Optimus G will help decide if the company’s prospects are truly rosy. Taking on Samsung and Apple at the premium end of the smartphone market may be beyond it, but there’s no reason LG can’t shoot for third. What do you think? Do you fancy LG’s chances?

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung discovers a screen size it hasn’t used yet, quickly launches the Galaxy Player 5.8 to compensate

Samsung has announced the Galaxy Player 5.8, a new media player based on its Galaxy S3 smartphone, but with an even larger screen.

The morning Samsung realized there was a screen size it hadn’t already used on a Galaxy product must have been a stressful one, but not to worry, as the new Galaxy Player 5.8 is here to ensure that glaring oversight has been rectified.

Announced by way of a press release on its Korean-language Samsung Tomorrow blog, here we have the Galaxy Player 5.8, the company’s latest Android-based, touchscreen music player.

As you’ve probably guessed, it has a massive 5.8-inch screen, boasting a 960 x 540 pixel resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The design of the Galaxy Player 5.8 is highly reminiscent of the Galaxy S3, but the keen-eyed will spot the addition of stereo speakers at the top and bottom of the front panel.

Increasing the screen size by an inch over the Galaxy S3 means the overall size of the device has increased too. The Player 5.8 measures 165 x 85 x 10.8mm, making it considerably larger than the S3, at 136 x 70 x 8.6mm.

Like the S3, the Galaxy Player 5.8 uses Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as its operating system, which has been covered by Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface; plus it’s available with either 16GB or 32GB of internal memory. A microSD card slot is on hand to boost this by another 32GB too.

Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a 2500mAh battery — slightly larger than the S3’s 2100mAh cell — and a forward facing camera for video calls. Samsung hasn’t provided any details on the inner-workings of the Galaxy Player 5.8, so we can’t confirm the presence of the Exynos 4 Quad processor or the exact amount of RAM.

The price and the device’s release date are similarly unknown, but it’s possible the Galaxy Player 5.8 will make an appearance at one of Samsung’s two IFA 2012 press conferences at the end of this week.

For those keeping count, the Galaxy Player 5.8 joins, in descending order, the Galaxy Player 5.0, the Galaxy Player 4.2, the Galaxy Player 4.0 and the Galaxy Player 3.6 in Samsung’s ever-expanding media player range.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung announces the Galaxy Player 5.8

If you thought the Galaxy Note was big, wait till you get a load of this. Samsung has just announced the new Galaxy Player 5.8, where 5.8 is not just a random number but actually the size of the display. This should dwarf even the display on the upcoming Galaxy Note II, which is rumored to be around 5.5-inch in size.

Surprisingly, though, for something the size of a small country, the display has a resolution of just 960 x 540, giving it a pixel density of 190 ppi. Samsung has also dropped their favorite Super AMOLED in favor of LCD technology for this panel.

Other details are rather sketchy at this point; we don’t even know what the back looks like. What we do know is that the Galaxy Player 5.8 will have Android 4.0 and a 2,500mAh battery. It will also be available in 16GB and 32GB variants (with microSD card slots) and black and white color options.

The pricing and launch dates are also unknown as of now but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out. Perhaps Samsung will provide more details at its upcoming August 29 event or at the IFA 2012.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com