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Qualcomm's 7x30 offers stellar 3D and multimedia performance, coming this year (video)
Feeling the post-MWC blues? Not enough smartphone hardware talk to get you through your Monday trudge? Fear not, we've grabbed a pair of Qualcomm demo videos from this year's event in Barcelona that show off its MSM7x30 smartphone platform (first announced in November of last year). It has now made its way into some demo devices and its early performance points to a very happy future for all of us mobile media vultures. Equipped with the same CPU as resides inside Qualcomm's Snapdragon, this system-on-chip comes with an HDMI output and the ability to play back 720p video on both its host device and your nearest HDTV. There's also some very welcome 3D gaming on show as well as YouTube playback using Flash 10.1 (smooth and silky), but our attention was captured by a nifty picture browser provided by Scalado. It allows you to view up to 1,000 images at the same time, zoom into each individual one, or sort them by name, color and other attributes. Being able to handle all that, with only minor perceptible lag, shows we're looking at what's shaping up to be a pretty beastly chip. Check it out after the break, and expect it to show up in a lust-worthy smartphone near you by the end of 2010. [Thanks, TareG]
iPhone 3GS pitted against Nexus One in 3D frame rate test (video)
We'd already seen first hand what kind of GPU improvements Apple made with the iPhone 3GS (in comparison to the iPhone 3G, anyway), but if you've ever wondered how Cupertino's latest stacked up against Google's Nexus One in the graphical department, your answer is just a click away. The technical gurus over at Distinctive Developments set out to determine which handset was capable of pushing more frames per second when really taxed, and through a series of pinpoint tests, they discovered that the Nexus One (in general) lagged behind. The reason? Reportedly, Google's phone isn't using Neon floating-point optimization, but if it did, the scores you'll see just past the break could be quite different. Hey Mountain View, you getting all this?
PS3 getting 3D firmware update this Summer
Get your active shutter glasses ready: your PS3 is going to go 3D this Summer. In conjunction with the release of its 3D BRAVIA LCD sets, Sony is planning to release updates to turn the PS3 both into a stereoscopic 3D gaming platform, in addition to a 3D Blu-ray compatible movie player. Sure, we knew Sony was planning to give us 3D sometime this year, but now that we've got a summer time frame we can plan our wardrobe decisions according -- jean cut-offs, here we come!
Zune HD Marketplace now loaded with free 3D games
That latest update to the Zune HD's brainstem has unlocked an extra dimension to the multifunctional device, which can now boast "3D gaming device" among its many accolades. Aside from fixing a significant issue on the music side, the firmware refresh has given the green light for the following games to enter the Marketplace: PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Piano, Checkers, and Audiosurf: Tilt. Yep, the music-surfing game that seems almost tailor-made for accelerometer-equipped media players is ready for your ownership and enjoyment. The best part? All the titles are free. So what are you waiting for, pilgrims, get downloadin' and do come back to tell us how well that Tegra chip performs, won't you? Full PR after the break.
New Pre Classic emulator video shows off 3D gaming prowess
The last time we saw the Pre's Classic Palm OS emulator in action, we had a few lingering questions in our mind, chief among them being how well can it game? From the looks of this latest video, released by Motion Apps to answer that very question, pretty well so far. In addition to confirming sound support for the latest build, we also get a brief glimpse of the software handling 3D driver GTS World Racer. Of course, seeing this makes us even more curious about the gaming potential for the native webOS, but alas, we're in the cold there. In the meantime, check out some classic 3D racing in the video after the break.
Game exec hints at 3D gaming on Sony's PlayStation 3 in 2009
Take this one with a sizable dose of salt, but one Neil Schneider, President and CEO of Meant to be Seen (MTBS), Blitz Games Studios, has made known that Sony "fully intends" to throw in its support for "stereoscopic 3D gaming and Blu-ray 3D on PS3 in 2009 with the Blitz Tech engine." Granted, MTBS is a stereoscopic 3D certification and advocacy group, thus the whole "salt warning." The meat of the story is that 3D gaming on consoles will likely need a BIOS upgrade to work with its technology, and that capability could be unique to Sony's PS3. Like we said, this here is far from carved in stone, but given how emphatically movie studios, cinemas and home entertainment companies are pushing the third-dimension on us, we wouldn't be surprised one bit to hear that the next installment of Madden is one that requires tinted glasses to fully enjoy.[Via HDTV Expert]
Digital Cube Telson UMPC reappears, could break into reality soon
Before we go any further, we'd like to inform this here Telson UMPC that if Pandora can finally get out of the starting blocks, so can you. Today, we're looking at new evidence that Digital Cube (the handheld's new parent) could be inching ever closer to bringing this shockingly thick gaming handheld to market. Out of seemingly nowhere, images have emerged of the portable posing beside a USB 3D camera dongle (saywha?); additionally, we're told that it will pack a 1.2GHz VIA C7M CPU and feature a 4.3-inch display, 512MB of RAM, 30GB hard drive and Windows XP. Oh, and we're also informed that it'll be "released in October" in at least one section of the world, so we've got T-minus 27 days to see if that claim is legit.[Via Pocketables]
