Konami handed out a lot of details and images for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories this week, brightening up the Wii scene with dark, bloody goodness. More good gaming news came in with Wii Sports Resort, with the title expecting to come out a month earlier. Also check out the DSi ad, and say hi to the "other" DS that we caught whiff of earlier this week. Check out all that and more in this week's recap.

Has Final Fantasy Agito XIII - the mobile component of Square Enix's Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation - been canned? A recent statement given by Square Enix big boss Yoichi Wada has people wondering about the mobile game's future. More in the full article.

The next big thing in mobile technology is 4G, but NASA isn't content with that. While tech is still content with the number 3, the space agency already has plans to launch a new armada of satellites that will introduce 5G technology. Details in the full article.

Motorola has developed a WiMAX chipset for cellular phones. This is part of the company's move to create "controlled application centric architecture" which supports both 3G and 4G devices.

WiMax or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access provides gadgets to transfer data wirelessly at a high speed comparable with a DSL or broadband connections. Cellular companies have been looking into this technology as a method to increase the bandwidth of phones allowing a variety of data intensive applications to be used.

The new chipset that Motorola has developed is said to be superior in many ways to the current 3G technology in cost, size, speed and most importantly, power. We won't have to wait long to get our hands on this kind of technology either since the company will be releasing new phones with this chipset by next year. Vice president for Platform Planning and Systems Architecture at Motorola Gary Koerper was understandable very excited about this saying:

The introduction of the WiMAX chipset modem solution marks yet another significant milestone in Motorola's end-to-end WiMAX solutions portfolio, allowing users to enjoy a superior Mobile Internet experience. With this chipset, Motorola has been able to redefine what is possible for WiMAX mobile devices, enabling a wider portfolio of devices, from voice-centric handsets to multimedia terminals.

In the past few years, Motorola has been very aggressive at marketing their WiMax infrastructure products. If the sales of these new WiMax enabled phone picks up, then their investments in developing this technology will be paying off with large dividends.

Wireless carrier AT&T allegedly released an internal memo to its staff regarding critical information on iPhone and its launch this coming June. Basically, the company reiterated that employees will be given the proper training to help prepare for the release next month.

Quite interestingly, the document also mentioned that there is still no concrete date and employees shouldn't allow wait listings and/or pre-selling. The exact statements were:

• iPhone release date will be  sometime in June. The exact date has not been announced, specific dates should not be provided to customers.
• Sales for the iPhone will be on a first come, first served basis. No wait lists of names will be taken and NO pre-selling is allowed.
• Two models of the iPhone will be available, a 4GB will retail at US$ 499 and an 8GB will retail at $599. If asked what the price will be, answer that the prices have been announced as $499 for the 4G and $599 for the 8G, respectively.
• There should NOT be any additional speculation/discussion about pricing.
• AT&T will be the only wireless carrier in the U.S. launching the iPhone and will have exclusivity for the foreseeable future.

iPhone is obviously one of the most anticipated products by consumers because it really is a good innovation in the part of Apple. Aside from being your regular phone, iPhone is also a widescreen iPod with touch screen controls as well as an Internet communication device.

Curse-Gaming's weekly Auction Reports, the handy dandy pricelist for the World of Warcraft Auction House, have arrived. The list basically includes the best selling consumables, ingredients, trade goods and others. The compilation is based on a median sale value which means this would be a reliable guide for the shopping in the AH.

Like every MMORPG, Blizzard's WoW has its very own economy and the mini virtual economies may vary per realm. Here's the list:

High Selling Consumables
Flasks

• Flask of Fortification - Global Value: 89G 40S 50C each
• Flask of Relentless Assault - Global Value: 85G 70S each
• Flask of Mighty Restoration - Global Value: 68G 49S 75C each

Elixirs

• Elixir of Major Firepower - Global Value: 30G 50S per 5(6G 50S each)
• Elixir of Major Mageblood - Global Value: 28G 50S per 5(5G 70S each)
• Elixir of Major Defense - Global Value: 20G per 5(4G each)

For the rest of the list, click Full article below.

 

Very little is known about about Square Enix's mobile version of their Final Fantasy XIII project. Yes, we know about XIII and Versus XIII, but we don't have much about the third part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis arc, the mobile game Final Fantasy Agito XII.

What we do know though, is that even if the mobile game appears to be a long ways off, the timing for the project seems to be just about right. IGN recently reported that Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura has commented in an interview with Japan's monthly Ge-maga magazine, that they won't be able to do the game on current generation phones - meaning 3G phones in Japan – and they're considering doing it for 4G sets.

Given that development is only at the point where the game's huge huge plot has been completed, the wait for 4G seems apt - especially since 4G sets are yet to be announced. Unlike Before Crisis, which was distributed in parts, IGN claims that Square Enix plans to release Agito XIII in full right from the beginning.

We'll update you folks on this hot mobile game as soon as more info is available.

  

It's small, it looks like a mini-Gameboy SP, it's powered by the sun. What could this gadget be? Nothing else but the ultra-handy "super phone" by NTT DoCoMo. Yup, it's a cellphone, and it just might be the face of the next-gen mobiles.

The sunny gadget was demonstrated along with other wonder 4G">4G phones and GPS Mobiles over at the recently concluded Tokyo mobile tour. For now, it remains to be a rather pretty concept, so we'll just have to wait and see how this dude lights up the telecommunication industry once it gets into production.

Spread some ray of sunshine. Hmmm... just a question, though. What happens to it at night?

Okay, you guys already know how bad online translation engines churn things out. So here's Takka's unofficial version of the GBA Emulator GPSP for the PSP. Just in case you've been living under a rock gpSP is a GBA emulator released for the PSP with great compatibility and performance. There, refresher done, no more words for the unfamiliar. If you're really curious click on the link.

Anyway, the web-lator for Takka's release says:

The acceleration of save state With this environment
With sony 1G [memosute] approximately 25 seconds - > approximately 2.5 seconds (acceleration of approximately 10 times)
With san disk 4G [memosute] approximately 2.5 seconds - > approximately 2.5 seconds (almost the change)
Was.

Yep. Online translation rules! [enter Homer's signature D-oh! here] Nice version though Takka! Good job.

Download [gpsp0.8 kai 2.2]

It's happened all too often. You save up for the current hot Apple product, wait it out until about several months later into its launch for that price dip, and then pounce on your goodie. You feel happy that at long last, you purchased that darned gadget, and it was a good one at that. And then you brag about it to your friend, only to be told, "That's nice. But it would have been better if you just waited a couple more months. They're releasing the updated version soon, you know."

Well, apparently, you did not know. And even if you did know and wait out for it, there's a slightly big probability that that scenario will still happen anyway. So, when is it exactly a good time to buy that Apple product? iLounge's editors seem to have gone through this all too much, that they thought of coming up with a "ten-step guide to happy purchases of new Apple products".

The list basically tells you to expect a whole lot of constant improvements and upgrades on their products. Particularly, for the iPod, the changes would most likely be on the storage and enclosure. Also, not all changes come with a bang. Sometimes, you'd just find yourself holding an Apple product that's got newer stuff (brighter LCD screens in Cinema Displays, iMacs or iPods, probably), or exhibit fewer failures/problems, "which Apple will almost never publicize (MacBook/MacBook Pro logic boards), or will play down (replacement of iPod 3G/4G screens or nano 1GB screens with less bright versions).

Other than that, the list also warns you against staggered launches. According to them, it happens most often that the company will stagger new product launches at different times throughout the year, making it possible that a new model could arrive at any time, and on short notice. The witty thing about this tactic is that it does not necessarily aim to confuse consumers-it's done to keep competitors on their toes-but it does both.

And the list goes on. But basically, at the end of the day, as to the question of whether or not you buy now or wait, the answer is simple. If the existing product already has the features that you need, go ahead. Buy it and enjoy it. If not, then obviously, you'd want to wait it out. Then again, if you buy something that Apple replaces soon thereafter, you can probably return the item to the store where you purchased it for a complete or partial refund. Just make sure that you do it within the allowable time to do so.