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The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets
I've always thought that rulesets are a golden opportunity for MMO developers to get creative with their products and try something fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, most every MMO these days, new and old, adheres to the four "vanilla" rulesets that have been in place since Pong. You have your default PvE, your same-as-PvE-except-we-have-a-naming-policy PvE-RP, and the two player vs. player variants: PvP and PvP-RP. Those are all well and good, but... y'know... couldn't rulesets be used to create fascinating variations on these games? It turns out that yes, yes they can. While the vanilla rulesets are the vast majority, there does exist a group of fringe rulesets that dared to walk the different patch, er, path and made versions of MMOs that are a bold and refreshing flavor. Like blue! Sometimes these new rulesets were whipped up to inject new life into an aging title, giving players a valid reason to come back and see the game from a different perspective. In this week's Perfect Ten, we're going to check out just how wild 'n' wacky server rulesets can get!
Three of i-mate's five Ultimate devices canceled?
We wish we could say we were surprised about this, we really do. It seems that i-mate has canceled arguably the three most interesting versions of its Ultimate line: the 5150 slider, 7150 QWERTY flip, and 9150 numeric flip. Remaining and now apparently scheduled for October production are the 8150 numeric candybar and keypadless 6150, devices that could be considered pretty uninteresting by the time they enter a market rife with 3G capable Windows Mobile 6 hardware. So far, this is all unconfirmed -- it's being reported by a UK retail firm, Clove Technology -- but it seems plausible considering that the 7150 and 9150 have taken on a certain air of vaporeware-ness that the FCC approved 6150 has not. We have to admit, we're a little surprised that the 5150 bit the dust since it's nothing more than a slider grafted to a 6150, but considering the strength of its competition, it's probably for the best.[Via All About Symbian]Update: Crave Asia is reporting that i-mate says all five devices are still on track, but will be released on a "staggered" schedule starting with the 6150 and 8150. We'll keep you updated as we hear more.
All five i-mate Ultimate devices to land in September?
It seems i-mate is making good on its promise from earlier this year by delivering its Ultimate line handsets in one 5-round salvo. While i-mate has chosen Singapore as the base of operations for its spring into new Asian markets, we do hope some of these will still trickle over here -- though we doubt they will carry any North American-carrier branding. i-mate CEO Jim Morrison commented on i-mate's ability to customize the new handsets to individual user's needs, and while we're loving the idea of customizing something, we're worried about the process. Another tasty tidbit is i-mate's newfound focus on the bundled software; its new suite will apparently offer tools for remote wipe, the ability to push updates (corporate users rejoice) and even the ability to remotely lock the handset down. We were a bit down on its last announcement, but this news has certainly renewed the shine we all once held in our hearts for Dubai's best, now let's get those shipped.[Via the::unwired]
i-mate goes deep with Ultimate line, five models promised
i-mate is taking a pretty interesting approach with its newest range of Windows Mobile devices -- the WM6-equipped "Ultimate" range -- by shoving a full five models out the door, all differing only in form factor. Clockwise from the upper left, we have all five in purely theoretical, rendered form: the 5150, 6150, 7150, 9150, and 8150. The strategy makes sense, really; everyone wants a solid spec sheet, but getting everyone to agree on a single shape is an exercise in futility. With 256MB of ROM, VGA displays across the board, tri-band 3G radios, Bluetooth 2.0, and FM radios, the Ultimates definitely hold their own in the spec department -- the only question, then, is whether they've nailed the industrial design. The first model being shown all public-like, the 5150 slider, is admittedly an acquired taste, but some of the others really caught our eyes (7150 and 9150, we're looking at you). Gallery: i-mate's Ultimate line
i-mate Ultimate 5150 in the wild
That gold sheen just oozes tri-band HSDPA in its natural environment, does it not? This here is one of i-mate's new Ultimate devices, the 5150, packing pretty much every specification we could hope for in a Windows Mobile 6 package: quad-band GSM / EDGE plus the aforementioned tri-band UMTS / HSDPA, 802.11b / g, 256MB of onboard ROM and 128MB RAM, microSD expansion, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio, 2 megapixel camera, and VGA (yes, we said it, VGA) display atop a 533MHz XScale core. The unusual layout and style of the navigational controls could throw users a curveball, but, uh... did we mention it does tri-band HSDPA? Check out the gallery for some more champagne-hued hotness.%Gallery-1574%
