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Behind the Mask: The responsible microtransaction
It's no surprise to anyone that I am a pro-microtransaction gamer. Microtransactions make lots of money for the publisher and focus more on pleasing the game's core audience instead of relying on the silent majority of its subscriber base. However, microtransactions can quickly feel like exploitation. When a publisher overcharges or underprovides, it can cause cascading failures as the game's core customers become upset. Champions Online has jumped into the freemium market, and the game itself is pretty fun without the player needing to pay any money at all. Gold subscriptions, which allow for much wider customization and access to numerous fun features, are also a reasonable expenditure. There are quite a few other things to buy in the store... some of which are a little more responsible than others.
Litl Webbook plummets from $699 to $399, still can't catch an eye
It's tough out there playing second (or third... or tenth) fiddle. Just ask Fusion Garage. Similar to the path we saw Celio's REDFLY take, Litl's Webbook is slowly (but surely, we're afraid) creeping towards complete and utter irrelevance, boasting a design that's too niche to gain traction in the mainstream, a hardware lineup that's too last year and a price that's still far higher than some of the more reputable netbooks on the market today. After just six short months on the market, the company's easel-styled laptop has fallen from $699 to $399, but during that same window of time, Intel has launched all new Atoms, tablet PCs have begun their assimilation on Planet Earth and HP has purchased Palm. Yeah, that last tidbit has precisely zero pertinence to the discussion at hand, but we bet even the engineers at Litl would've laughed you out of town had you told 'em that would happen back in November of '09.
Litl Easel Webbook gets the extensive hands-on treatment (video)
Wait a minute -- you say you've been longing to get your hands on an overpriced netbook that you can use upside-down? Well, kids, the time is drawing nigh. Mere days after the Litl Easel Webbook went official we've become privy to a lengthy video of the bad boy in action. Indeed, things are as you expected: a 1.6GHz Atom-based machine running a proprietary web-optimized OS, this guy has been specially designed, in the words of the company's CEO, to do away with "the computery stuff." To that end, users will see no icons or folders in the desktop. Such tried-and-true stalwarts of computer interface design have been eschewed for "web cards." Indeed, you won't be able to overlap or resize windows at all, at all: unless you're in easel mode, in which case you scroll through cards one at a time with a wheel. But there's more! Users may "liberate the photo" in a manner not unlike a digiframe the fraction of the cost, thanks to the device's integration with several photo-sharing services (including Shutterfly and Flickr). Still curious? I bet you are. Hit up the video after the break and prepare to have all of your dreams fulfilled (well, maybe not).
Litl Easel Webbook now official, unbelievably overpriced
How much would you pay for a netbook? $200 on contract? Maybe as much as $599 for a so-called premium model? How about $699 -- a price that doesn't even include the $19 remote control? Well, what if we told you that the Litl Webbook, a 1.6GHz Atom-based machine running a proprietary web-optimized OS that pumps accelerated H.264 content at 720p over HDMI-out, has a unique hinge that allows it to bend backwards and stand upright like an easel? Sorry, no touchscreen... but that display is 12.1-inches and you get Flickr and Facebook content as well as custom "channels" like The Weather Channel displayed in a "fun" and "engaging" way. You can even scroll between content via that baby-blue scrollwheel on the hinge. Not enough? What about the 2GB of storage, 1GB of memory, 802.11b/g WiFi, headphone and USB 2.0 jacks? Still not sold? Us neither. %Gallery-77267%
Microsoft defends 120GB Xbox HDD price
Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's group product manager, told Game Theory yesterday that the 120GB external drive for the Xbox 360 is not overpriced at $179. Said Greenberg, "If you compare what we are offering with a real plug-and-play drive the closest thing would be to take a 120-gig self-powered external PC drive, and in that case we are seeing those retail at anywhere from $160 to $200 for comparable laptop-sized external hard drives."Greenberg probably doesn't want you to know that he's wrong, but he's wrong. Sure, you can pay $200 for a 120GB drive if you really want to, but as with most products, there are plenty of deals to be had; unless you're locked into buying peripherals from a single manufacturer that controls its monopolistic pricing with a proprietary vice-grip. Which, in the case of the Xbox 360 ... you are. Though if Greenberg had said, "We own you. Deal with it," that might not have been as good for PR.They own you. Deal with it.
Intec offers up another Xbox 360 cooling solution: the $100 Power AC Adaptor
If you're not exactly down with tossing a water-cooling system into your Xbox 360, and don't want to get burned by a possibly scorching Nyko Intercooler, you should run right out and pick up Intec's Power AC Adaptor -- if you've got $100 to kill, that is. You heard right, Intec has unveiled a third-party power brick "to replace your lost or malfunctioning" one, which sports an internal cooling fan "to keep your Xbox 360 cooler during operation." It also boasts three status lights of the green, orange, and red variety, which informs you if the brick is "OK, in stand-by mode, or currently malfunctioning." Aside from having a built-in indicator for telling you just how bad things could get, the 0.85-pound device doesn't even include the wall plug to connect your newfangled power supply to an AC outlet. So even if you had the slightest inclination to save your Xbox 360 from impending overheating via this overpriced accessory, be sure your power cord isn't of the recalled variety before plugging up.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
The million dollar cellphone
How much would you pay for "the Bentley of cellphones"? $1,000? $10,000? Try a cool million bucks. This one-of-a-kind quad-band handset by Goldvish sports a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit, and as you'd expect from a seven-figure phone, features such amenities as Bluetooth, a camera with 8x digital zoom, MP3 playback, FM radio, included 2GB memory card and an EDGE connection (though curiously no 3G option or WiFi -- it seems a million bucks isn't what it used to be). For those of you not willing to drop such an obscene amount of money on a phone that even the designer likens to a boomerang, Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600.[Thanks, Langer]
