Wall Street analysts on Monday viewed as a positive development Research in Motion‘s decision to name a new chief executive. With a bitter note, nevertheless.

… Speaking frankly, the final outcome wasn”t so “impressive” for them.

Thorsten Heins, one of RIM’s two Chief Operating Officers, has been picked to lead the company as president and CEO in what investors hope will represent a bright new era at Canada’s largest technology firm. Heins previously was senior vice president of the handset business unit. He is also a sort of “exotic” component, having worked at Germany’s electronics and electrical engineering giant Siemens AG for more than two decades. He certainly did classify as an outsider, beforehand.

Thorsten Heins, the new CEO of RIM

Analysts were cautiously optimistic that RIM could begin a fresh chapter following the resignations of co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who both remain on the board but have struggled for months to restore confidence in a wireless-device manufacturer that has suffered job cuts, product delays, market-share loss and PR embarrassments.

The Germany-born Heins, however, sought to put to rest speculation that RIM would pursue a sale of the company. “I will not in any way split this up or separate this into different businesses,” The Financial Post quoted him as stating.

Heins on Sunday expressed confidence in the future of the BlackBerry platform and said the company has “learned” from “challenges” it has faced.

Wall Street still foresees a potentially rocky road ahead at RIM, where questions remain over its future and the strategies that Heins will implement.

Here’s a round-up of the latest opinions regarding this very issue:

Simona Jankowski of Goldman Sachs also got the short-term market call wrong, even though she is still not exactly optimistic about the long-term outlook for RIM:

While there is still significant uncertainty regarding RIM’s strategy, we expect investors to view this announcement as a near-term positive, for three reasons. (1) RIM’s Co-CEOs had lost much of their credibility with investors, with the company missing 6 of the last 8 quarters, losing half its market share, and more than 75% of its market cap over the last two years; (2) Mr. Heins has signaled a potential interest in licensing BlackBerry 10 OS, and may be viewed as less of an impediment to a potential sale of the company; and (3) Mr. Heins may be more aggressive in reducing costs. Past the initial reaction in the stock, we would be cautious, as new CEOs often reset guidance lower in their first quarter to more achievable levels; moreover, RIM’s limited application ecosystem – a structural challenge – sets it on a difficult trajectory for the foreseeable future.

Investors don’t seem to be getting the message. That’s probably because, like the vast majority of analysts, they see this as changing very little but the face in charge of the same strategy.

Kevin Dede of Brigantine Advisors, for example, is less optimistic, or maybe more realistic:

We believe many may see the transition as broadly sweeping and a step in the right direction, but we are not convinced that things could change appreciably; first: Heins has been a member of RIM’s management team since 2007, clearly indoctrinated to the existing culture of the firm; and second: judging by comments in the press release, Heins views the company’s current strategies as appropriate adjustments in addressing RIM’s position, which may be enough to say that he is complacent as well as complicit in the current massive smartphone market share losses.  On the positive, we note the firm’s  historic  struggle to execute quickly, and  shifting ultimate decision making to a manager with more extensive operational experience may expedite remediating this characteristic.  Despite the reorganization, we maintain our Hold rating.

Viewed as a response to harsh opinion from the investment community and driven by huge share loss in one of the most explosive consumer electronics markets in the history of man, RIM’s management changes may  serve only as lip service as no divergent strategies have been proposed nor disagreement noted to current  operational tactics.

Tal Liani of Merrill Lynch is less than enthused:

While we view the news as a positive first step toward implementing long overdue changes, we are unclear as to what course of action the incoming CEO will take in order to stem share losses facing RIM. Along those lines, we note that Mr. Heins is an unknown figure to investors, despite being co-President of the company. Hence, this seemingly positive development will unlikely resurrect investors’ confidence in the stock near term until greater clarity is gained on the future direction of the company.

Barclays Capital calls it a missed opportunity:

RIM has suffered from an inability to develop software as rapidly as necessary and has struggled to market the technically competent products it has produced, such as the BlackBerry 7 line.  We hope Mr. Heins will address some of these topics on this morning’s conference call.   He is relatively unknown by the investment community. We thought some video clips made available by RIM last night were not particularly compelling – though admittedly they were not likely geared for an investor audience.  We also believe RIM missed an opportunity to acquire some outside perspective by turning to Ms. Stymiest and Mr. Heins.

RBC Capital also sees this changing little:

it’s unclear to what extent the new CEO will be able to materially impact the vision and direction of the company in light of rapidly changing competitive conditions, and correct RIM’s seeming inability to navigate these challenges. CEO Heins, while a seasoned network executive, has never been a public company CEO, and lacks deep consumer marketing and software experience. Resisting recent calls for change, CEO Heins will be staying the course on RIM’s plans (BB10, PlayBook, new handsets) and focusing on improved execution.

 So now, what do you think awaits RIM and its BlackBerry tradeflag in the near future?

Lots of applications (pretty similar in their features and functions) are out there, naming them would be a simple task, since most of them are truly popular: WhatsApp, LiveProfile, Kik, Ping!, KakaoTalk, ChatON…

What is strange about these applications, these “networks”, is the ambiguous communication they hold concerning the number of respective users they actually have. No matter how hard you try to search for an indicative figure, you won’t succeed; You can only get an estimate by looking at how many times the app has actually been downloaded on all platforms… but this would be really an inflated figure.

What is most definitely sure, is that the most popular of them all would be WhatsApp. I don’t think there’s a doubt about it right now.

WhatsApp enables users of iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Nokia Symbian60 devices to exchange text messages, images, audio and even video messages with one another.

It has become a top-selling iPhone, Android and BlackBerry app in dozens of markets, without a penny spent on promotion or advertising. Mobile operators and analysts have warned it is undermining one of the telecoms industry’s biggest cash cows.

But what I always wondered is how come WhatsApp Inc. remains independent? How come wasn’t it swallowed by some bigger hog, how come it is still not bought by some manufacturer, some network provider, some platform…

How come it didn’t even go public?

How the hell can they sustain their running cost that I think are huge?! Servers, push services, customer support, activation processes, multi-platform development, marketing, media upload… etc.

Going back to the number of users, we really have no clear idea about how many users or downloads WhatsApp has attracted to date, as the company prefers to keep a low profile, but they claimed a while ago to send a billion messages per day. This should roughly mean tens of millions of users. But tens is a rather large “fork”.

What is sure is that WhatsApp’s success has been global. In the UK’s Apple App Store, where it costs a one-off 69p to download, it has rarely been out of the top 10 since December 2009 and has held steady at number 1.

Growth has been slower in the US, where it only entered the top 20 in spring 2010, but it is now the top-selling iPhone app in 61 countries, including the Germany, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Kenya and Taiwan. It is also among the top 10 highest revenue-grossing iPhone apps in 47 countries, alongside much more expensive or high-rolling apps such as TomTom’s navigation system.

WhatsApp was founded by Jan Koum , who formerly managed the Platform Operations team responsible for the critical internal pieces of Yahoo’s infrastructure, and Yahoo’s former VP of Engineering Brian Acton.

Another former Yahoo exec, the company’s ex-Senior Engineering Manager Charles Kung describes himself as an investor and advisor to the company on LinkedIn.

Some signs that the app has already gotten some traction on the market: its iPhone app has received 28,040 ratings and hundreds of reviews on iTunes, while its Blackberry app has garnered 4,050 reviews.

Earlier this year, Sequoia Capital, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm, invested $8m in WhatsApp, which declined to comment on revenues or profits. Sequoia recently participated in a $10 million round of funding for Bubble Motion , which offers a popular Twitter-like voice blogging service in India, Japan, and Indonesia, and has also invested in mobile communications company Clickatell .

Other developers of similar mobile messaging apps have received funding in the past: Kik Interactive raised $8 million from RRE Ventures, Spark Capital, and Union Square Ventures, while GroupMe secured over $11 million in funding from investors like Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, Betaworks and SV Angel.

In a recent interview with Financial Times, Acton said: “Our near-term objectives are focused on food, clothing and shelter, handset models we don’t support today, potentially messaging delays we need to reduce, reliability gaps we need to work on. We focus a lot on the quality of experience, speed, reliability. It’s not sexy from a lot of people’s perspective, it’s not glitzy in the feature set, but it’s what people come to rely on.”

So how much do you think is WhatsApp worth?

It’s been a while, but here we go again.

It is true that my phone reviews took a break some while ago now, but this time around, I chose to do something else: live my Techful life, with all the device changes I am used to, then try and compile a report on my experience, trying to highlight the major differences and nuances between all the phones I have used during this review fasting period.
And here I am; Since October, I’ve used the Nokia N9, the iPhone 4S, the Motorola Razr the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Nexus, not in that specific order, since I was going back and forth between them.
The Nokia N9 was the first device of that selection I had the pleasure to use; when it was sent our way courtesy of the Nokia Levant team, I was honestly thrilled. It was such an expected device, with a totally new OS, and a promising new user interface.
As my notes still remind me, the unboxing experience was up to my expectations: A beautiful minimalistic package, with an extremely sleek designed device inside it. What I felt back then is that Nokia are on “better” tracks. The packaging is nicer, the device is thrilling again, and the actual experience is… rather good.
The N9 did not fail to impress me; It is still a touchscreen smartphone, but it had something new… Its unibody design, its swiping navigation experience. It just felt…new. And it’s been a while since I encountered something truly new in the mobile phones world. So overall, is the Nokia N9 worth it? To speak the truth, if you’re coming from an iPhone, no it’s not, but all other users of all other phones and OSs… Yes it is worth it. The N9 is a device you’d be happy to hold and proud to have. It is powerful, it looks nice and has this “new” feel to it. Nokia aficionados will adore it.
However, there are some drawbacks to be noted: you might encounter some app limitation on the N9; not all your preferred apps are ported to MeeGo, nor will you find a turnaround to make them work, like Whatsapp, all popular Twitter clients like Tweetdeck, Tweetcaster, Hootsuite…, few media sharing apps. If you’re an app hog, you might encounter some frustration there.

After the N9 came the iPhone 4S… well there’s not much to be said here. In my opinion, the iPhone 4 was historically the best mobile phone. The iPhone 4S came to try and hold this informal title until its successor (the iPhone 5 most probably) comes to save the day, again.
Do not get me wrong, the 4S is a great piece of Technology. It has a dual-core processor, and a better camera sensor. But it looks just the same as its predecessor. And to be totally frank and honest, I didn’t use Siri more than a couple of hours, a couple of times. To make it quick, iPhone 4 owners stay away of this one, unless you really like to be on the bleeding edge of Apple products. The experience will just feel the same. Really. All other users from other platforms, if you always wanted to jump into the Apple train but never did it, the iPhone 4S is as good as it gets when it comes to polished/perfect product out there. Now is your chance to do it, and I bet you won’t regret it.
Talking pragmatically now, the iPhone 4S has the best camera sensor on a mobile phone, in my opinion. It is true that you can find better cameras, but this is a camera that is enjoyable, easy to use, a camera that is social and has advantages like Instagram, Path, Hipstamatic. And full HD of course.
As far as the rest of the hardware components are concerned, you won’t feel the difference with the older model, just maybe a tiny bit in smoothness, but really not that much, again. As for the OS, iOS 5 is there like it also is on the iPhone 4. So no deal breaker here.

The Motorola Razr XT910 was not a phone I was eagerly waiting for, to speak the truth. I just got it by pure curiosity. And I would have to say one thing concerning it: stay away. It is true that the Razr looks impressively thin and big, but that’s for it. If you’re coming from anywhere with a better display, you will immediately notice, like really notice, the pixels on the display; the 256 ppi is a true liability when you’re coming from an iPhone 4. In my humble opinion, Samsung’s Galaxy Note ranks far better in this area, with a 5.3 inches display at 285 ppi density, for Droid lovers. And of course the Galaxy Nexus is unbeatable in this area with 4.65 inches and 316 ppi.
The rest concerning the Razr is mere dullness. Battery life is crappy, Android experience is not the best you can get, and we’re still on Gingerbread, no ICS. If you’re a Motorola lover, this is the best device you can get right now (excluding devices sporting a physical keyboard), but I doubt we’ll find deep Motorola lovers out there.

Then comes the Galaxy armada.

The Note was the first of them. I got it with plenty of prejudice and bad, bad thoughts. All the “Is it a phone? Is it a tablet?” talk and you know what I mean. I am going o be very frank and honest about this: I loved the Galaxy Note!
In fact, it is a bit hard to get used to it at first, but after a few hours with it, you’ll love it. Why? Because it will act as everything you will need during your day, at the office, at home, with your friends… you can browse the Internet more comfortably, watch awesome videos on YouTube, and play awesome games on a greatly sized screen. After a while, you will really feel glad you got the Note. Of course the size stil has its drawbacks, but really, hey… use a Bluetooth headset.
The whole experience on the Note was great. The OS runs smooth (and will get ICS support very soon), hardware components are top notch. Only tiny drawback is the full plastic build, but you know, this is Samsung, and we’re kind of starting to getting used to it.

Saving the best for last… the Galaxy Nexus is definitely the device I enjoyed the most during the past few months.
Highly anticipated, the new Google branded phone is the phone every Android lover should own (like the two previous iteration of the Nexus). And it clearly is the best Nexus between the three. It has everything: sleek design, a marvelous screen, the latest Android build (Ice Cream Sandwich) at its rawest (no manufacturer overlay and bloatware). Droiders will love this one.
It is true that the Galaxy Nexus’ build is all plastic, but then again, it’s a rigid high end plastic that looks nice and sexy, and feels sturdy and solid in your hand too. However, its grey color makes it prone to light scratches and buffs that are visible.
Two other drawbacks are the low camera resolution (5 MP) compared to the peers, and speaker sound level. Mitigating the camera comment, let me say rightfully that the camera even though being a 5MP shooter, it does the job pretty well, and the 0-lag feature is truly awesome! You can take movement snapshots that end up being really magnificent. As for the speaker, I guess this is something you will have to get used to. Volume is low: ringtone and alerts are lower than on all other phones, Media also plays low. It is really a bit annoying to feel hampered in this sector, given the fact that you’re holding the a flagship Android device.
The rest is pure joy and awesomeness. You can also read our full review of the Nexus here.

A short comparison between all of these devices? Well, I can’t really say which one is the best… to be fair and square, I still think the iPhone 4S is on top, be it on the software side or even hardware. Or on the App level. But the rest of the devices are not far off. To say it loud and clear, I would definitely still be on the N9 if it had Whatsapp supported and a decent Twitter client. The Razr is something I would never consider for myself, given the fact that there are far better alternatives out there. The Galaxy Note is awesome for people who love bigger devices; if you love big devices, hybrids, do not hesitate go for it, especially if you happen to be an Android fan. As for the Galaxy Nexus, I feel it’s a device that every Android advanced user SHOULD own. It has everything.

The rest is up to you.

P.S.: the funny part is that I ended up using a BlackBerry 9900, because sincerely, I couldn’t make an easy decision concerning all of these. HAH!

Nokia N9 - available in Arabic

The major change in this software update is the addition of a complete Arabic interface to the N9 Smartphone, allowing users to interact with the device in their native and preferred language making the device more pleasurable to use.

Prem Chand, General Manager for Nokia Levant, said:

“Arabic is the third most spoken language in the world with more than 300 million native speakers. Nokia remains committed to providing North Africa and Middle East consumers with a holistic Smartphone experience and the Arabic functionality is the perfect example of this approach. Being able to now offer such support with enhanced features means not only providing a better experience for existing Nokia N9 Arabic speaking consumers, but also the potential to reach new users who only speak Arabic.”

“The new software update makes the Nokia N9 our most user friendly and versatile handset to date as it’s designed to respond to the ever changing lifestyle needs of our Smartphone users with enhanced features such as the Swype keyboard and Twitter photo sharing functionality, which helps connect people by sharing their lives instantly with friends and family,” added Chand.

This update also includes a large list of added-functionalities as well as improvements that will take the N9 experience to a whole new level:

- Enhanced home screen, accommodating more applications in a much simpler manner, guaranteeing users seamless and uncomplicated control of the handset whereby N9 users can instantaneously switch between apps, media players and games
- Enhanced calendar and battery monitoring
- Near Field Communication (NFC) with support of full NFC tag reading
- For photography lovers, Nokia has included a new range of photo editing filters, such as grayscale, sepia and negative effects. These new applications have been added to enhance the quality and opportunity for creative photography on the Nokia handset, rivaling regular point and shoot cameras

Updating the Nokia N9 is a very easy process; once connected to the Internet, users will be notified of the availability of a new software release, and all they need to do is just swipe the notification and follow the steps.

 For more information on the Nokia N9 Smartphone, please go to www.nokia.com/N9

A slip, or a confirmation?

The tweet above comes from Blizzard’s very own Bashiok, who denied the February 1 release date rumors, and seems to confirm the existence of some form of Diablo related console project, be it III or some other spin-off is unclear. It is worthy of mentioning that the very first Diablo project was ported over to the PS1.

More importantly is that this project marks the first release from Blizzard Entertainment to ever come on consoles in over 15 years.

What do you think? Are you as excited as I am to see this game emerge on consoles?

For those unfamiliar to the series. Civilization is a turn-based strategy game in which you control a world civilization ranging from England, the Arabian Empire, the US and even the Aztec Empire. It features aspects similar to other strategy games such as building barracks and battle units but also provides players with more detailed control of the empire with the option to set where each citizen of a city lives as to take advantage of resources within your borders set by the different cities founded by the settler units. You also have control over which technologies to research depending on how you want to go on in the game, whether through power and war or culture and peace. In a nut-shell, it’s a game where regular strategy games meet Risk, the world-conquest board game.

I’ll start off with the things in Civ. V that should stay. The hex-grid system proved to be better than the original square. Limiting one unit per square was also a much needed improvement although it can get irritating when units want to simply walk around but this is a small price to pay to avoid the dreaded ‘tower of death’ (stacking many units on one tile) usually seen in battles. Speaking of battles, these two features vastly improved battles. In previous Civ. Games, I for one tried to avoid battles since they often seemed to be a hassle and would just get tedious in the end due to unfair advantages caused by the ‘tower of death’. The ability for ranged attacks by certain units should also stay as it added a deeper sense of strategy to battles. All these improvements to battle tactics encouraged to me concentrate more on my military and wage wars on my neighbors since it was more evened out and offered a more fun experience.

The hex-grid.

The more specific perks each leader had were also great since they were more relevant to the corresponding civilization and added more realism to the game. Although a minor addition, the animated leaders that spoke in their native language was a nice touch that should stay although what was spoken and the translations given should match and add more variety to the spoken language as a lot of the times the phrases were repetitive.

Ranged attacks.

Moving on to what should change, the biggest thing I missed was surprisingly religion. Why it was removed, I don’t really know. But this was a feature that again added more realism and was a great way for your civilization to increase your culture and expand it without having to wage war. If players found that this was a ‘noob-ish’ way of expansion than maybe limitations can be placed to how much a city can expand from religion. Another thing missing was the transport unit. In a map composed of different islands/continents, this unit proved very useful in quickly transferring units whether workers, settlers or battle units. Instead, each unit in Civ. V can individually travel across the sea after gaining the required technology. This method would get annoying and was very slow in comparison to the transports found earlier. The most frustrating addition to Civ. V was the presence of city-states. When I first read about the, I was looking forward to them as they could have been useful as allies to provide you with units during war or resources during peace time. This was not the case. I instead found them to just be a waste of space occupying a beneficial piece of land, blocking the way to a certain area and constantly badgering you with requests to destroy another city-state.  I often found myself diverting from the main game to destroy these city-states or just adjusting the settings to limit the number to escape notifications about trespassing their territory. Lastly, I would like to see the return of the animations of the world wonders being built which I would always enjoy watching and never really get bored of.

What are some features you’d like to see added or removed in Civilization VI?

In my opinion however, I feel like Sony has brought the most innovation to its PS3 when it comes to new IP’s. With just a quick search you’ll find games like inFamous, LittleBigPlant,  The Last of Us (coming soon), Heavy Rain, Uncharted and many more that literally changed the way we play games especially with the latter two perfectly combining elements from both gaming and cinema. While Microsoft may have revolutionized gaming more than Sony initially, when the 360 and PS3 were released, it seems to be regressing ever since. The release of Gears of War brought with it a relatively new shooter focusing on over the shoulder combat and on a cover system that has yet to be excelled by another game. The 360 also gave us Halo 3 which to this day still remains one of my favorite games to play online and was one of the first few games to allow both split-screen and online multiplayer simultaneously. However, as an owner of both consoles, I often find myself leaning more towards the PS3 which constantly churns out new exclusives that never cease to amaze.

While I just spent the first half of this article commending the greatness of new IP’s, the recent announcements of Twisted Metal, Command and Conquer: Generals 2 and a rehashed Tomb Raider showing us the origins of the iconic Lara Croft all got me more excited than the announcements of the previously mentioned new IP’s. This begs the question: how often should developers release new IP’s versus sequels/reboots of old games? Nintendo is probably the biggest example of how mainly releasing new games based on old IP’s can succeed with games like Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. and Zelda. Wii owners may seem to be content with this system but is it enough? Nintendo can only manage to release a new game in each of these series every 2-3 years leaving Wii gamers with nothing much to do between each subsequent release. It’s in times like these where these new IP’s should come in and entertain the masses and it’s for this reason that the Wii currently isn’t doing as well as it was. Gamers have come to the realization that the higher price tag for the 360 and PS3 are worth it in the long-run since they’re actually getting the most out of the system.

Moving on, there are still two gaming franchises which have remained hidden for too long that I’d like to see resurface. The first is Crash Bandicoot. While no longer developed by Naughty Dog, Activision should still find an appropriate developer, maybe Insomniac or Sanzaru Games (currently working on Sly 4). Whoever is picked in the end shouldn’t try to change much but should just stick to the same mechanics that were successful in the original which would set the nostalgia train rolling. The second game is Warcraft. I really cannot wait until Warcraft 4 is announced. But again, Blizzard seems to be too caught up with World of Warcraft and will soon be even busier with the release of Diablo III.

So what are some gaming franchises you would like to see revived?

So here it is, the new Google phone, the Galaxy Nexus, the third in line after the original Nexus One, made by HTC and the Nexus S, made by Samsung. When both of the original devices were released, they were very similar to their counterparts (HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S respectively) except for the fact that they offered a pure Android experience without the customization and the add-ons that HTC and Samsung offered on their phones.

The Galaxy Nexus is different and unique (at the moment) because it is the only one that offers the fresh version of Android, the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) Android 4.0.

So how does the Galaxy Nexus stand in this competitive market? And Does the ICS build meet all the expectations to give Android an additional push forward? Read on!

1.     The Galaxy Nexus at a Glance
2.     What’s in the Box
3.     Hardware Review
4.     Software Review: Android Ice Cream Sandwich
5.     Verdict

The Galaxy Nexus at a Glance

• Quad-band GSM and penta-band 3G with HSDPA and HSUPA
• Dimensions 135.5 x 67.9 x 8.9 mm, 135 g
• 4.65” Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with HD (720 x 1280 pixels) resolution at 16M colors
• Oleophobic Surface Design
• Scratch-Resistant Display
• Dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 CPU; PowerVR SGX540 GPU; TI OMAP 4460 chipset
• Android 4.0.2 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• Memory of 16/32GB storage
• 5 MP camera (2592×1936 pixels) with autofocus, LED flash; 1.3MP front-facing unit
• 1080p video recording @30fps; touch-to-zoom while recording
• Front facing 1.3 megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
• Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA
• Bluetooth 3.0+HS
• Near Field Communication (NFC)
• GPS receiver with A-GPS
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, TV-out, USB-on-the-go
• Built-in accelerometer, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor

 

In the Box

• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
• Stereo Headset
• Battery 1750mAh
• USB Data/Charge Cable
• Mains Charger
• Additional Documentation

 

Hardware

The Galaxy Nexus has many unique design features; it holds one of the largest screens in the market with one of the highest pixels density, it has an Oleophobic Surface Design, it does not have the usual Android buttons on the front (Home, Menu, Find and Back) and it has this all-plastic body with a back cover made from Hyper Skin material to improve the grip.

Despite its large size, the phone feels great when held and after a while, you get used to it and all other devices just seem too small to use or handle.

The front of the device has a 4.65” Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with HD (720 x 1280 pixels) resolution at 16M colors and a pixel density of 316 ppi (as compared to the iPhone’s Retina Display of 330 ppi). The reason for a lower ppi count is the screen size, as it gets larger, the density is compromised. But the Galaxy Nexus offers a beautiful screen, the display is very sharp, the colors are very vibrant and it has excellent viewing angles.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The top part of the devices has the ear piece grill surrounded by a 1.3 MP front camera as well as the usual light and proximity sensors. Below the screen is a small invisible LED light that flashes whenever you have a new email, sms, missed call or any kind of notification. The LED light can be customized to flash in different colors depending on the notification if the respective application allows so or if you download an app from the Android market that allows you to do so.

The right side of the device has the power/wake button, and the left side have the sound rocker. There is nothing on the top of the device and on the bottom, you will find the USB port as well as the 3.5 mm audio jack.

The back of the Galaxy Nexus is made from the Hyper Skin material, which feels great in the hand and does actually improve the grip where you feel that the phone is resting well in your hand. At the top of the back is the 5MP camera along with the LED flash. One of the main drawbacks of the Galaxy Nexus is the camera as it does not stand well against the flagship devices currently in the market (iPhone 8MP, Samsung Galaxy SII 8MP, HTC Titan 8MP, Nokia N8 12 MP). But still, the pictures as well as the video taken with the phone are satisfactory and the camera takes pictures very fast. A nice addition to the camera is the ability to take panoramic pictures directly without a 3^rd party software. You also get the additional settings of adjusting the following:

• White balance
• Exposure
• Scene Mode (Auto, Action, Night, Sunset, Party)

Another drawback of the device is the battery, at 1750mAh, it usually requires another recharge to make it through the day, especially if you are a power user and like to keep the auto sync feature on.

Finally, the speaker volume is very low; I missed a lot of calls when I was outdoor as I was unable to hear the phone ring. Luckily, this is solvable for the time being by downloading Volume+ from the Android Market. But still, such a device should not have such a low speaker volume, and we are hoping that Google will fix this in future updates.

 

Software/ICS

Android OS has come a long way since its introduction and initial version releases; from the Cupcake (Android 1.5) to Donut (Android 1.6) to Eclair (Android 2.0/2.1) to Froyo (Android 2.2) and finally Gingerbread (Android 2.3) and Honeycomb (Android 3.0 – Only Tablets), with the last few releases (with the exception of 3.0) witnessing some additional required features and some minor changes in the overall look and feel. Enter Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), Android version 4.0, with its renovated look and overhauled functionality, it does feel completely new, and as some would like to put it, even more complete.

Galaxy Nexus - App Drawer

The Galaxy Nexus prides itself as being not only the first phone ever to have this new release, but also as the sole device to offer the pure ICE experience out of the box.

Below are the major changes that you will have with this new release:

a)     The Look

ICS looks and acts different; no one can argue here. The first thing that one notices is that the physical buttons have been replaced by virtual buttons that are Home, Back and Multi-Tasking. The Find button is not longer needed as on the top of each and every homescreen there is the Google Search bar with the a little microphone at the end of the right side for regular and voice searches. At the bottom of the screen you have the app tray that can hold up to four apps of your choice for a quick launch. In the middle of it there is the “Apps” button that opens up the launches button in a nice animation.

The virtual buttons disappear in when they are not needed, like when you are watching a movie or viewing your pictures (full screen mode) and can be brought up again by pressing the screen. Sometimes they are replaced by small dots (when viewing pictures) and will return once pressed. Since they are virtual buttons, they rotate with the screen.

The “Apps” launcher also witnessed a change as now it does not scroll up and down but left and right. At the top of it you have two tabs, one for apps (which displays all the apps installed on the device) and one for widgets (which displays all the widgets available to use on the homescreen).  Hold one of those and you will be able to add either an app shortcut or a widget to one of your homescreens. A nice addition here is that you have new widgets and they are resizable. You can also move between the apps and widgets screen by just scrolling further to the right or left.

Also, at the top of the launcher, you have a small shortcut icon for quick access to the Android Market.

The main apps have also gone through a nice facelift; Contacts are now called People and displays a large image of each and every contact in your list. You have three tabs where the left one displays you groups as well as your Google+ Circles, the middle one displays your contacts list and the right one displays you favorites along with the most contacted.

Gmail as well as the Calendar apps have also been “renovated” to be in line with the overall Google new look (as seen on Google+, web Gmail and so on). They are now easier to use and the buttons have been shuffled around for faster access. You also get pinch-to-zoom in the calendar app as well as the ability to swipe left and right to move between messages in Gmail.

Galaxy Nexus - Front & Back

b)     The Lock Screen

The lock screen of the ICS now has some new unlock features:

-        A circle that can unlock the device by sliding it to the right or can launch the camera immediately by sliding it to the left

-        Face unlock, where the device recognizes your face via the front camera and unlocks automatically. This is pretty accurate and in case it fails, it takes you to another screen where you have to input a PIN to unlock the device

-        The usual unlock pattern

-        The usual PIN

-        A password of your choice

c)     The Notification Area

The notification area now appears on your lock screen, where you can slide it to view all your missed calls as well as messages and emails and so on. Now you have the option to clear all of them at once or one by one by sliding it to the right and keeping the others for later.

Also, the emails and messages display the contact picture if it was added to your phone book.

d)     Multi-Tasking

One of the best features of Android is the ability to smoothly multitask, and now users get to have a tablet-like experience by pressing a dedicated virtual button, which will display the latest apps above each other with small screen caps (from the last activity) and you can scroll up and down to choose the app you want to use or slide left or right to close that app.

e)     Folders Creation

ICS now allows users to create as many folders as they want on any of the home screens by the simple act of dragging and dropping apps on top of each other.

f)      Other Features:

• Improved visual voice mail with the ability to speed up or slow down voice mail messages
• Integrated screenshot capture (accomplished by holding down the Power and Volume-Down buttons)
• Improved error correction on the keyboard
• New tabbed web browser, allowing up to 16 tabs
• Automatic syncing of browser with users’ Chrome bookmarks (must be signed in to the same Google Account)
• Modern Roboto font
• Data Usage section in settings that lets users set warnings when they approach a certain usage limit, and disable data use when the limit is exceeded
• Built-in photo editor
• New gallery layout, organized by location and person
• Android Beam, a near-field communication feature allowing the rapid short-range exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos and other data

 

Verdict

This is the first Android to have ICS and the third Nexus to be released, it has gone through major changes to get to us today, and it is a wonderful device. Android ICS feels fresh and fast and the 720p screen of the device is a pleasure to look at.

However, the Galaxy Nexus is not “yet” perfect; the 5MP camera, the low volume on the speaker and the poor battery life come in the way of making this device an ideal one. With the Mobile World Congress coming in a couple of month, where more powerful devices are expected to be announced and later on launched, the Galaxy Nexus will then be behind the competition until the release of the next version at the end of 2012.

But still, if you decide to go with the Galaxy Nexus, you will not regret it.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

 

This time it was no different, with a PS3 exclusive, The Last of Us, being the game I personally looked forward to hearing about the most. It was revealed that it is developed by Naughty Dog, the company that has brought us one of the best-selling games in history from Crash Bandicoot on the PS1 to the Uncharted series on the PS3. The game is going to be made using the same engine as Uncharted which means we can expect it to have top notch graphics and cinematics. The trailer itself is made using the PS3’s power, giving us a taste of the visuals to expect.

Sony itself describes The Last of Us as “a genre-defining experience that blends survival and action elements to tell a character driven story about a population decimated by a modern plague.” Hopefully this means that we aren’t going to be served yet another hack-and-slash zombie game that don’t really differ from any other shooter other than the fact that zombies want to eat you whereas the human enemies simply want to kill you. With recent TV shows, such as The Walking Dead, actually adding an emotional level to the zombie genre I now believe that such a thing is possible and I truly hope Naughty Dog don’t fail to deliver such a thing. And with the Hollywood-esque story they have given in their Uncharted series, I will give them my full faith to pull off such a feat. To add to my faith, this will be the first M-rated title from Naughty Dog meaning that they’ll have even more creative freedom than usual.

In the debut trailer shown at the VGA’s we are introduced to two characters. We first see a teenage girl rummaging around in an abandoned house. This girl is Ellie, described by Sony as “a brave young teenage girl who is wise beyond her years.” She then walks into the next room where she sees two men trying to kill each other with one eventually getting killed. The victor is the other main character, Joel, a middle-aged man described by Sony only as “a ruthless survivor.” It’s interesting to see that the man Joel killed looked like an ordinary human and not an infected one which could mean that in the game, both humans and the infected are your obstacles between life and death and this could add an extra layer of complexity to the game when choosing between your friends and foes. Another thing we are unsure of is the relationship between Ellie and Joel and whether they are father and daughter or just two survivors who have each other’s backs.

Ellie. Anyone else think she looks like Ellen Page?

Another feature that sets it apart from other games in the genre is that for once the ‘infection’ seems to be caused by nature and not some sort of man-made virus. The initial teaser showed us an ant infected by the Cordyceps fungus, a fungus that takes control of its hosts mind and forces it to go to a place where the fungus can flourish before emerging and killing the host in the process. A nature-produced human-killing infection has previously been seen in the movie, The Happening, where nature killed off the human population in order to try and control the overpopulation to save and protect the Earth. If the game is going to have a similar idea behind the story, I truly hope that they manage to pull it off better than the very mediocre movie. According to Sony, “abandoned cities are being reclaimed by nature and the remaining survivors are killing each other for food, weapons and whatever they can get their hands on.”

Ex-lover maybe.

Why go to the tropics, when they can come to you?

Our two survivors seem to be going on a trip across the US but their destination and motive behind going there have not been announced yet but they are probably going to some protected camp for survivors. Another thing shown through the trailer is that this epidemic has been going on for quite some time which explains why Ellie seems to be very mature and experienced for her age. This will hopefully mean that she won’t be a hassle when following you around and will actually prove helpful like when she is seen in the beginning of the trailer finishing off a fresh kill on her own with a knife.

Multiplayer has not been confirmed or denied yet but it would be interesting to have a co-op mode, both online or split-screen, between the two characters.

So that’s pretty much all the information we have on this PS3 exclusive and I shall leave you with my two biggest hopes for this game. First, that they stay true to the survival horror game since it has been quite some time since a game has properly kept me on edge. Second, that Naughty Dog manage to wow us again with their Hollywood-style games ala Uncharted and not disappoint us with a lackluster story like recent zombie games, such as Dead Island, that only had good gameplay mechanics but little to no story. Keep checking the site, GIGAlb, for more updates!

[update]: Recent registered domains suggest that Naughty Dog could be planning two sequels. Maybe they’re planning on making another trilogy like the Uncharted series.

Today’s news comes from the newly formed Cwerki Studios.

Welcome the fresh new Cwerki Studios

Right off his participation in the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 with the Kinect powered game Tale of a Tree Wisp, Daniel Haddad (Of Lebanese Roots might I add) found a true joy in the world of game development and opened his own indie studio. Shortly after the opening of the studio Daniel recruited a friend of his, Michael Taylor, and the two began working on Cwerki’s first game.

The game, powered by the Unreal Engine 3, now titled Min: A Space Adventure, promises to deliver a unique and “quirky” take on the indie game development aspect that we have all come to love from our enormous catalogues of indie games, even garnering a shout-out from gaming legend Cliff Bleszinski himself designer of the Jazz Jack Rabbit and Gears of War franchise. Check out the trailer below to see what the game holds in store and how you can potentially contribute to the development.

If you are interested in helping out Cwerki studios, be sure to check out their Indie-Go-Go site here.

Cwerki were also very gracious to offer us a world exclusive interview to delve deeper into the realm of both indie game development and Min.

MT: Malek Teffaha

DH: Daniel Haddad

MT: What is behind the name of the studio?

DH: Coming up with a name for the studio was probably one of the hardest parts of our formation. I toyed with a lot of ideas but none seemed to fit right. Fortunately, at the time I had just met a cousin of mine who I had never met before. We got to know each other and eventually she arrived at the conclusion that I was a quirky character and I enjoyed quirky things. That made a lot of sense to me. I always did enjoy things or characters that were quirky or whimsical in nature as I always found them to be fascinating and interesting. It took a fresh pair of eyes and a new perspective but I knew what type of studio I wanted to make: a quirky studio that makes quirky games.

MT: When was it established and how?

DH: Cwerki Studios was officially established shortly after the conclusion of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 World Finals, so I would say mid to end of July. After competing in the Imagine Cup I was filled with enthusiasm. Going there was a fantastic experience and I was fortunate to talk with a lot of important people and they all encouraged me to do one thing, start my own studio. Whether they meant it or whether they were just being polite was not important, it was something I always wanted to do and thanks to that experience I took the plunge.

In July, I came up with the early idea for what eventually became Min and decided to do it under a studio banner. I immediately recruited Michael Taylor to handle the music composition and sound design. He did similar work on Tale of a Tree Wisp and I really enjoyed working with him. From then on we began working on Min and started looking for an artist. We went through a lot of people, firms, you name it, but we never found the right person until Max Cunningham came along sometime in October. Max has everything we were looking for, he is talented, punctual, hardworking, and able to both take our own concepts and develop them, and come up with his own. He became responsible for Min’s visuals and that’s about it.

MT: How many people does it envelope now?

DH: Right now we are primarily three people: I, Michael Taylor, & Max Cunningham. Naturally we recruit a lot of different people to do small things like voice over acting, help with the artwork, and so on.

MT: How was Min envisioned?

DH: The Imagine Cup was winding down. I was sitting in my hotel room, without much to do and I began thinking of my next project. I had a lot of concepts in mind, some I had paused working on to complete Tale of a Tree Wisp, and others were completely new. Eventually I settled on an idea that was nothing like what Min is today. It was a game set in space that involved exploration, different species, combat, and so on. It was an ambitious project so I began thinking of ways to make it more manageable. The end result was a prequel to the original concept that would end right where the original idea began: “A tiny little character, exploring the vastness of space”.

MT: How long has it been in development?

DH: Pre-production began in mid-July, so I would say five to six months.

MT: What platforms do you plan to release it on?

DH: Thanks to the wonderful capabilities of the UDK we can potentially release Min on mobile devices, PC, Mac, and even Xbox-360 & PS3. Initially we are going to release the mobile version followed up by the PC version and we’ll take it from there.

MT: The “Help the Min” budget plan, with early access to releases and beta testing and the statue is something of a rarity in the gaming world. How did you come up with the idea?

DH: When we finally had something we could demonstrate we worked on putting a trailer together. We had no idea how it would be received and our plan was to use it as a promotional trailer to secure some more funding. We often saw a lot of indie developers put up their projects on Kickstarter and other such crowdsourcing sites so we decided to do that and the reception was spectacular. We were contacted by several gamers, people in the press, and even leading figures in AAA gaming studios around the world. We were pretty surprised and invigorated to see how Min resonated with so many people. Unfortunately we did not have any time to promote our CrowdSourcing effort but our main goal was to promote awareness and that was achieved really well.

MT: Any potential publishers? Or is it self published?

DH: We are currently talking with multiple publishers about Min.

MT: How does it feel to be a new indie studio?

DH: It hasn’t really sunk in to be honest, or we haven’t really noticed any difference, but one thing is for certain, it is all terribly exciting and invigorating.

MT: Knowing its a bit too early, does Cwerki envision any form of plan or roadmap for future games and platforms (I.E. Purely iOS, consoles, F2P, MMO, etc…)

DH: This is actually one of Min’s strongest points from a business perspective and something I worked pretty hard to insure while designing it. Min can be easily adapted into multiple platforms and more importantly has a huge viability for DLC, sequels, and even spin-off titles of a different genre or style.

MT: When can we expect to play the full Space Adventure? How long is the game expected to be? How much will the game cost?

DH: Unfortunately we cannot reveal that information yet as it all depends on a lot of different variables we are still discussing, but I can promise you the wait won’t be long.

MT: Any multiplayer aspects (Leaderboards, coop, etc…)?

DH: When we were building Min we made sure it was “Multiplayer Ready” so to speak. We already have leaderboard & achievement systems in there but we would really like to expand on the Multiplayer by building both competitive & co-operative modes, but that all depends on what happens next.

MT: How has the game development scene been treating you?

DH: Quite well I would say, it isn’t all fun though, quite the opposite actually, we work from morning to night all day every day but we enjoy doing it, it is something we love doing and if you love doing something, no matter the hardship, it will be worth it.

MT: Any advice for prospective game developers?

DH: I am definitely not the best person to give advice for prospective developers so if anyone is reading this they should take it with a grain of salt, I would say:

1. If you are eager to get started in the industry and things aren’t working out for you (the probable case) don’t wait around, get involved, do your own games, get involved with mods, fan projects, and so on.
2. Don’t be too ambitious, this is a killer, the first serious thing I tried to do was an expansion pack to the elder scrolls 4 oblivion game. I spent a year working on it, I learned so much, loved every minute of it, but it was 8+ hours of gameplay and nowhere near complete, so I had to abandon it and start on something less ambitious, start small, experiment, see what happens, surround yourself with people who will hopefully point out when you are being too ambitious (as it is often something hard to see)

MT: Any other thing you would like to mention?

DH: Thanks Malek

The Min Adventure Awaits

On behalf of GIGAlb, I would like to thank Daniel and Michael and Cwerki for offering us this exclusive opportunity and wish them the best in their own adventure to provide us with the Min adventure. We will continue to provide you with the lastest and greatest updates in regards to the Min adventure.

Be sure to follow us here, and Cwerki on their twitter account, and check their site for additional info.

What do you think, are you as excited as we are?

Nokia has always attracted us with their innovative and original ideas, and as with the App Patrol campaign, this event is not very different, in fact.

It all started when we were contacted by Nokia with concern to a project that will boost the status of GIGAlb to be within reach of the top developers in Lebanon, all this within a competitive criterion that will make things go wild.

Nokia decided to make influential journalists “date” a developer for a period of two months, the result of this relationship will be an out-of-the-box application.

The journalists who were called to this event were not regular reporters and correspondents; they were geeks by excellence. And they will be combined with the geeks who are able to translate a vision into a usable reality; the developers.

The mission of this relationship is simple: “Each team should come up with an idea for an app”, this idea must be original, big and remarkable in order for any of the teams to win.

The winning team’s application will have the privilege of being funded and promoted by Nokia (all rights reserved to the winning team). Also, both members of the team will win the awesome Meego-based Nokia N9!

Second prize and third prize winners will also “Win Big” as per Nokia’s words.

Two mentors from Nokia will be available for any assistance needed for the teams, since as you know, geeks have their needs.

This is a wonderful opportunity given to all Lebanese Tech Journalists and bloggers, as it is the first time someone will be able to develop a super-app that they always had in mind; and developers will be the ones who will be translating these needs by doing their best to bring those apps to life, in the best possible way.

The teams are as follows:

Stay tuned for more information about this event and about the apps created.

Thank you Nokia.

A site called Paul Gale Network has started the rumor mill for what looks like Sony’s take on a Super Smash Bros. (SSB) game codenamed Title Fight. Moreover, a senior developer, Chris Molina, at Superbot entertainment has leaked some imaged through twitter. For those that aren’t familiar, Smash Bros. is a Nintendo franchise that pits characters in battles against each other; each character with moves similar to those used in their corresponding games. It is one of the most popular and successful Nintendo franchises and is truly an insanely fun game that was one of the best on both the Gamecube and Wii that I spent quite some time playing with my friends.

It will be interesting to see which characters Sony will include in the game and whether or not they’ll include ‘non-Sony’ characters; those that come to mind are Nathan (from Uncharted), Ratchet and/or Clank, Kratos (God of War), Cole (inFamous) and Snake (Metal Gear Solid, who has been featured in Nintendo’s SSB) and maybe even the long-missed Crash Bandicoot. Kratos has previously been featured in Soul Calibur and Mortal Kombat, both fighting games, and was successful in both.

Sony has also recently released a trailer for Playstation that included a host of the consoles major characters so could that have been some form of foreshadowing for this game? Molina’s twitter account has now been removed which may add even more confirmation to this project.

While a game like this can become a hugely successful new IP for Sony, it will need a lot of attention from the company which will have to find a way to please both casual and hardcore gamers. Also, Sony have to be very careful with the decision of including move support or sticking to the classic controller as a decision like that can make or break the game.

Possible taunt for our lovely anti-hero Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal

Furthermore, the PaulGaleNetwork has just been updated with a bunch of new details on this game.

• Colonel Mael Radec (Killzone), Kratos, PaRappa (PaRappa the Rapper), Nathan Drake, Sly Cooper, Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal) and the princess from Fat Princess have all been confirmed as playable characters.
• A LittleBigPlanet level with integrated BUZZ! Support and a Jak and Daxter level have also been revealed.
• Each player will have a 3 level meter that fills up as you fight with increasing levels having a stronger ‘super move’.
• Items such as an RPG, quick boots and level specific items are included.
• The game will support online play with up to 4 players at once.
• There will be around 20 playable characters.
• KO’s are similar to Nintendo’s Smash Bros. with players having to be thrown off stage in order to die. i.e. no health bars.
• No PlayStation Move support yet.

Analysis

What does the Sony SSB, or Title Fight mean for the industry? Well, many of us for the past 15 years have been craving from sony to release such a game. Companies nowadays are not defined by one simple mascot. Nintendo have Mario, Link (Zelda), Kirby, Star Fox; Microsoft has Master Chief (Halo), The Cogs (Gears of War) and the Pinatas (Viva Pinata); Sony has Nathan Drake, Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Sly, Nariko, Kratos and the list goes on. Gamers’ imagination always drifts away to imagine that if a fight were to happen between these heroes (or anti-heroes) of different gaming universes, who would emerge victorious.

This would be the first title in around 5 years to fulfill this wish, and a first outside the realm of Nintendo’s Super Smash franchise. Many of the mascots have been cross featured in several other games, as previously mentioned, and the games that feature said guest appearances tend to sell more due to the popularity of the mascot and the fact that people want to see him/her fight others.

Sony tried this mixture earlier, with the release of Playstation Move Heroes, which was the first game Sony ever made that included a mix of their own first party characters and mascots. However, although gamers’ thirst was quenched, it had a bitter taste to it as the game had a half developed story, coupled with Move exclusive controls and slightly disappointing graphics turned out not to be what gamers have been longing for. And it showed it terms of sales and critical success.

Is that Nariko (Heavenly Sword) being created for the game?

If Sony want to succeed, they have to provide an environment that ensures gamers are gripped to play it and play for long. Some form of story that bridges the universes together, along with controls that are intuitive and varied, meaning not only restricted to Dualshock 3 or Move. They need to offer features that will provide the game with a longevity that can succeed on both single player and multiplayer.

I am sure Suberbot Entertainment are working on their best product, but the game will need a lot of tender loving care and devotion to prove itself in a time where only multimillion franchises succeed and gamers think twice about where to spend their money. New games have a lot of place in today’s gaming world, but to succeed it needs to have the right formula.

I can’t wait to play the game, and i hope you share the same enthusiasm.
Feel free to share feedback and comments.

Elder Scrolls - Skyrim

Just before being beheaded, you are saved in the nick of time when a dragon attacks the base and allows you to escape. Dragons play a major role in this game and are the main addition to the series. You later find out that you are ‘dragonborn’, meaning you have the power to absorb a dragon’s power after killing it. The main quest revolves around you discovering these powers and unlocking your potential at getting stronger in order to protect the lands from these dragons that were long forgotten.

However, you are not limited or forced to complete this main quest as many many more side quests are available for you to complete before venturing on the main one. These side quests can be found from random travellers encountered in the world outside, cities or more commonly in guilds that can be found in some of the major cities. There are 6 guilds in total, each with its own category. For example, the Companions guild mainly features mercenaries and their own little war with other factions but they also have their own dirty little secret which you’ll discover. Also, The Dark Brotherhood is composed of assassins and you can only join it after being contacted directly from them.

Elder Scrolls - Skyrim

You also have variations in combat. You have the choice of wielding a sword and shield, sword in one hand and a spell ready in the other, two spells at once or you can go heavy and carry a two-handed great sword or battle-axe. Combat is pretty straightforward with each button on the mouse controlling each hand and a useful quick access menu which allows you to save your favorite weapons, spells or items. It does not get repetitive since you may want to change around your combos depending on the enemy you are fighting in order to take advantage of any weaknesses they have, such as a weakness to fire.

While combat is probably the fastest way to level-up, it is not the only way. Practically any action you do that improves a certain skill tallies up to your total level meter. If you find a blacksmith in the city, you can create your own weapon or upgrade the one you are using. Find a mage and learn new spells or add enchantments to your own weapons to add perks such as setting enemies on fire or causing them to flee. You can also be your own chemist and make your own potions to heal, restore magicka, etc… that can assist you in battle. But to take advantage of these tools, you will have to explore the land in search of metal for your sword, enchantments from witches and ingredients to make potions. The world made for you to roam and discover is truly fantastic and walking around in it, discovering all the cities, forts, towers, camps and caves alone can take up to a few hours. On your journey, you will encounter many creatures such as giant spiders, trolls, bears, wolves and even wooly mammoths! You can either walk/run around on foot or ride a horse (which you can buy or steal) but it is with the horse that many of the games glitches appear as in some cases, you can literally ride up a mountain completely vertical and parallel to the mountain and in one case, my horse got stuck in a small slope in the ground and I couldn’t use it anymore.

Leveling up is also pretty expansive but can get you confused at times as to which perk to upgrade but in the end, this forces you to specialize in a few fields and completely upgrade and master them. Whether this is good or bad is up to you to decide.

Due to Skyrim withdrawal symptoms, I will have to sum this up. Whether you become a warrior, a mage or a balance between both or whether you choose to kill the dragons or let them soar free and proud, become a werewolf or vampire (or both!), which guilds you pick or even if you want to get married (to multiple wives/husbands if you please) Skyrim is an excellent addition to the series that will keep you occupied for days, weeks and months and will always leave you wanting more.

Journey well, fellow Dovahkiin.

Elder Scrolls - Skyfire Review Summary

GIGAlb opinion: Must buy.

But, are you using it in the way it was meant to be? Are you allowing it to thrive the way it was meant to be? Are you allowing it to unleash its power to make your life better, easier, fun and more enjoyable? Did you install enough applications in order for your Nokia Smartphone to become the ultimate technological device that will add value to every moment of your life?

If you answered no to any or all of the questions above, then be aware, as you have offended your phone’s rights and violated major applications laws, and the Nokia App Patrol is out there to get you.

Nokia App Patrol

Nokia believes that way too many phones are being held hostage in the wrong hands by users who own the latest Nokia devices yet are not installing the right applications that unleashes the ultimate power of these devices and show their potential. So Nokia have created and given a free rein to an “App Patrol”, a group of dedicated “Smartphone law” vigilantes who don’t take application matters lightly and who will be on the lookout for the most serious Nokia application offenders, find them and punish them according to the Smartphone law.
The App Patrol will be watching universities, cafes, cinemas, malls and any location where possible violators are known to be present at.

Through their Official YouTube Channel, the App Patrol has issued clear and detailed warnings to all Nokia Smartphone users to correct their infringement of the Smartphone Law before they come and take proper corrective measures. It is not pretty but it sure delivers the right message.
So, as a Nokia Smartphone User, how can you make sure that you are not violating any laws and treating your device right? You can start by visiting the Nokia Lebanon page on Facebook and reading the Nokia Smartphone Laws explaining what people are risking in case they are not in line with the basic application standards.

Nokia App Patrol

The video warnings and fines that you can receive, can be averted by going to http://store.nokia.com and downloading your apps.

The snitches in Beirut can even tell App Patrol about those that break the Smartphone law and if he/she goes to the store.nokia.com, he/she earns an extra point and gets closer to winning a new Nokia 700.
So what are you waiting for? Start filling your Nokia Smartphone with all the apps before the App Patrol gets you.

You have been warned!

The Video Game Awards airs on the 10th of December

The nominees for the “Game of the Year” and “Most Anticipated title of 2012″ have been announced:

Game of the Year

Batman: Arkham City
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Most Anticipated Game

BioShock: Infinite
Diablo III
Halo 4
Mass Effect 3
The Last Guardian

If you are wondering “How could they nominate games that are yet to be released?”, well the board had the games for quite some time now and they have played all major releases of the year. Moreover, many of the great games released this year were unfortunately omitted from the list, games like Gears of War 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 and more, in addition to the 2012 games such as Starhawk, Twisted Metal, GTA V, Fable: The Journey and more.

What do you think of the preliminary lists? And which game do you think would win? (Answer the poll below)

Do you think other games should have been included?

Be sure to check out the official VGA site here.