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Microsoft Xbox turns X years old today, celebrates decade of console prowess
One decade ago today, on November 15, 2001, the Xbox gaming console was born, hitting stores across North America on the same day. That Pentium III-based black box found its way into tens of millions of living rooms around the world, and wasn't discontinued until after its successor was announced in 2005. Now, halfway through its lifecycle, the Xbox 360 is still selling strong -- perhaps spurred by the company's release of Kinect in 2010 -- with about four years left to go before Microsoft is expected to unleash its nex-gen console. An updated system may be inevitable, but regardless of what's inside, we wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft's blockbuster game machine don its familiar Xbox handle for decennia to come.%Gallery-139419%
More details of Tectoy's Zeebo 3G gaming console emerge
We recently caught wind of the Zeebo, a new 3G network-based gaming console that's supposedly launching soon in Brazil. Details were pretty hard to come by initially, but now we've gotten some more solid information on the upstart system. It turns out that manufacturer Tectoy is partnering up with cellular carrier Claro, whose 3G network will enable the system to have a constant, free-of-charge connection -- and Qualcomm, which holds a 43 percent ownership in the company. As far as specs are concerned, the Zeebo will apparently run on a BREW-based OS and house an ARM CPU running at 528MHz, with a Qualcomm Adreno 130 graphics core (?), 1GB NAND flash memory, 160MB RAM, 128MB DDR SDRAM and 32MB stacked DDR SDRAM. Marketed to the "growing middle class" of developing countries, the Zeebo will launch in Brazil, where its developers say the downloadable-content format should help combat rampant piracy. The cost of the system is expected to be 599BRL (about $264) with games costing between 7-30BRL (around $3-13). Hit the read links for more details.Read - Zeebo Incorporated Read - The Zeebo Console[Thanks, Francisco]
Tectoy's Zeebo gaming console to run on 3G network in Brazil
Tectoy's announced the Zeebo, a 3G network-based gaming console that will supposedly launch in Brazil in July of 2009, then spread to other markets in the following months. The console will apparently be constantly connected to a 3G network for no cost to the gamer, with all games and content paid for and downloaded via said network (which sounds suspiciously like the never-realized Phantom). In theory, this would mean lower costs for the consumer while cutting down on piracy. Titles that are to be preloaded in the Brazil launch of the system include the mobile game Action Hero 3D, Evil Prey, and Quake... not exactly state-of-the-art, but according to its manufacturers, the Zeebo is not meant to directly compete with platforms like the Wii, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Instead, the system will be aimed at "emerging" gaming markets, including those which could not normally afford expensive hardware and games. Confusingly, the price mentioned for the console is a steep $599, with games set to cost between $10 and $30 -- not exactly the most affordable item we've ever heard of, but we'll keep our ears to the wall for further updates should the Zeebo ever come closer to existence. And, comparison to the Phantom aside, we hope it does.Update: We're aware of the craziness of the $599 US price tag, but the source does specify US dollars, though we're unsure of whether it's a typo or the actual price. Update II: Thanks to a tip from a reader, we've confirmed that the US dollar price of the Zeebo will be $258, or $599 in Brazil. Not a bad deal![Via Folha Online; thanks Fabio V.]
