PC World reports that women are more likely to buy an iPhone for their next smartphone purchase, while men prefer Android devices. According to data collected in October 2010, 31 percent of women wanted to buy an Apple iOS device next, followed by 22.8 percent interested in a Google Android device while among men preferences were reversed with 32.6 percent of men interested in an Android purchase and 28.6 desired an iOS phone. 'So where is the extra appeal of Android to men coming from?' asks Tracey E. Schelmetic. 'More male-targeted commercials that emphasize cool gadgetry versus usability? More techno-macho phone brand names like "Droid"? Extra advertising on the Spike channel by phone makers using the Android platform?

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/1...ids-Ladies-iOS ...

It seems that folks hoping for the Apple's Camera Connection Kit to solve all their USB-related iPad problems just can't catch a break. First the kit was nearly impossible to find, and now we're seeing a slew of user reports saying that iOS 4.2 has made the USB portion of the camera kit nearly useless for many USB devices that were previously supported. As 9 to 5 Mac reports, the problem seems to boil down to the amount of power that can be emitted from the iPad's 30-pin connector -- it used to be 100mA, but iOS 4.2 appears to have cut that down to just 20mA, presumably in an attempt to conserve battery life. The big issue there, of course, is that everything from USB keyboards to microphones and even some cameras no longer work, and there isn't much for users left to do other than to hope that Apple brings back support in a future update. Feel free to share your own tales of woe in comments, or let us know if you're having problems with the iPad camera kit.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/06/i...rting-some-us/ ...

It seems that folks hoping for the Apple's Camera Connection Kit to solve all their USB-related iPad problems just can't catch a break. First the kit was nearly impossible to find, and now we're seeing a slew of user reports saying that iOS 4.2 has made the USB portion of the camera kit nearly useless for many USB devices that were previously supported. As 9 to 5 Mac reports, the problem seems to boil down to the amount of power that can be emitted from the iPad's 30-pin connector -- it used to be 100mA, but iOS 4.2 appears to have cut that down to just 20mA, presumably in an attempt to conserve battery life. The big issue there, of course, is that everything from USB keyboards to microphones and even some cameras no longer work, and there isn't much for users left to do other than to hope that Apple brings back support in a future update. Feel free to share your own tales of woe in comments, or let us know if you're having problems with the iPad camera kit.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/06/i...rting-some-us/ ...

A software keyboard may sound anathema to Palm, with its rich history of wonderful QWERTY keyboards, but you had to feel it was coming, what with the wild consumer adoption of slate devices and, you know, the economy these days. Well, after a short history of hints in webOS 2.0's code and a longer history of hacks, a full-on Palm-developed software keyboard has been found in shipping webOS 2.0 devices. It takes a little bit of a hack and a restart, and apparently it's buggy as well, oh and you have to use the physical keyboard to enter the Opt+Sym+K command that opens the virtual keys. Still, none of these shortcomings are going to stop us from sketching out slick, slim slate phones in our diaries, translating that understated elegance of the Pre 2 into a screen-dominated form factor with our unbridled imaginations, leaving the Pre's cramped hardware keyboard in the past as we sprint into a glorious future of tangible webOS 2.0 market share and maybe a threaded email app or something. Sorry, we're done. Check out a video of the keyboard in action while we wipe the drool off our chins.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/06/s...-palm-slate-p/ ...

Neil Thompson, the general manager for Xbox in the UK and Ireland, has put an end to any rumours that Kinect shortages may have been managed to stimulate demand by making the product appear more sought after.

The shortages, he told GamesIndustry.biz, are entirely down to the vast logistical challenges involved in bringing a new consumer technology product to market worldwide – Microsoft has done everything it can to ensure a continual supply of stock to retailers.

"Anyone who actually works in the business of producing new technology, especially hardware technology, will know that these things are never managed. Everyone else loves to think that they're managed, but they will know it's not. It's a function of coming to market with a brand new innovation and you have to scale up," said Thompson.

Previously, Don Mattrick had warned US consumers to order their Kinect units early to avoid disappointment, as Microsoft were anticipating stock shortages before Christmas.

This led some to believe that Microsoft was controlling the flow of hardware to retailers in order to accentuate demand – an accusation which has also been levelled at both Nintendo and Sony in the past. Thompson, however, made clear that any large-scale technology launch will have to make compromises on available units in order to meet release schedules.

"The choices you always have are: do we launch in November or do we wait until February, March when we could hit some bigger launch numbers but then we miss Christmas. So you're always in this fine balance, saying 'well, we want to give people the product as soon as we can, but you can't switch on the manufacturing like water.' It takes time to scale."

"It's absolutely not a strategy, we want to get the product into consumers hands as quickly as we can because we think its exciting, it's innovative. We wanted to do that for Christmas and that's what we've done. We've built a really strong supply and resupply chain over the coming weeks."

Thompson was speaking as part of an interview with GamesIndustry.biz on the future of the Xbox 360 on its fifth birthday.

Also in the room was UK Xbox marketing manager Stephen McGill, who made the point that Kinect had seen a very accelerated release schedule worldwide, eschewing the staggered strategy which many manufacturers adopt.

"Often consumer electronics companies and games companies have staggered their launches by territory by some quite considerable margins. With Kinect we launched around the world in three weeks. That was a huge task. No region is being penalised," said McGill.

"We're trying to make sure every region has a good amount of stock every week. That can't be underestimated either."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...not-engineered ...

Gran Turismo 5's brief reign at the top of the UK chart has been ended by a resurgent Call of Duty: Black Ops, with Sony's racer dropping down to fourth below FIFA 11 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Ubisoft's Michael Jackson: The Experience shoots up the chart to sixth from its debut at 32 last week, likely a result of some premium TV advertising spots, particularly during ITV's X Factor.

Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country Returns only manages thirteenth in its opening week, below four other Nintendo published titles in the chart.

This Week Last Week Title
1 2 Call of Duty: Black Ops
2 4 FIFA 11
3 3 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
4 1 Gran Turismo 5
5 5 Just Dance 2
6 32 Michael Jackson: The Experience
7 6 Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
8 7 Wii Party
9 13 Wii Fit Plus
10 11 Professor Layton and the Lost Future
11 10 Fallout: New Vegas
12 20 Mario Kart Wii
13 - Donkey Kong Country Returns
14 25 Medal of Honor
15 14 Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
16 8 Art Academy
17 23 New Super Mario Bros.
18 8 Art Academy
19 16 Sonic Colours
20 12 Kinect Sports
21 17 New Super Mario Bros. Wii
22 - Super Marios Bros 25th Anniversary
23 9 Wii Sports Resort
24 18 WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2011
25 21 Toy Story 3
26 19 LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4
27 15 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
28 26 Just Dance
29 22 Football Manager 2011
30 Re-entry Dead Rising 2
31 34 Goldeneye 007
32 30 Dance Central
33 29 Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
34 35 Halo Reach
35 28 Star Wars The Force Unleashed II
36 33 The X-Factor
37 31 Fable III
38 40 007 Bloodstone
39 27 F1 2010
40 36 Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...op-of-uk-chart ...

There's a new Quest system heading to the PlayStation Rewards scheme, Sony has announced.

According to the PlayStation Blog, the new system will reward you with progress points for successfully completing various grueling tasks.

For example, the "No Place Like Home" quest asks you to visit the central plaza in PlayStation Home, "Check Your Pulse" demands you watch PlayStation Network's Pulse in HD and "Move It" is completed by booting up a Move title.

There will be nine quests added to the PlayStation Rewards beta tomorrow, with plenty more promised in the coming months.

Not up to speed on what PlayStation Rewards is all about? Let Sony's Chris Hagedorn explain:

"PlayStation Rewards was made to recognise and reward members for doing the things they love – interacting with and experiencing the entertainment that PlayStation offers.

"As users play games, check out PlayStation Network's original programming, review games and explore PlayStation Home, they will earn progress toward the program's three tiers – Select, Pro and Legendary status.

If you're not part of the beta, you'll have to wait until the full launch in April 2011.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...tation-rewards ...

An early prototype for Sony's Move controller featured a thumbstick and a trackball, among other bells and whistles.

The revelations come courtesy of a Sony patent dug up by PlayStation Lifestyle.

Regarding the thumbstick, the patent clarifies, "In some embodiments, the joystick 114 is used to control aspects of a game console such as manipulating an onscreen cursor. In other embodiments, the joystick is used to control movement or actions of onscreen avatars."

The trackball is perhaps the more interesting idea though. Apparently, it was to be a detachable module, allowing for interchangeable add-ons such as a button cluster that could turn the wand into an old-fashioned joystick (see fig. 4a).

The patent goes on to reveal unfulfilled aspirations for the sphere on top of the controller too. In the prototyped version it could act as both a pressure sensor and a controller in its own right (see fig. 5a).

Alas, as we know, these features didn't make the final cut. It's not clear why, but it's possible Sony's bank manager stepped in. The kind of magic tricks mooted by the design sound like they might not have come cheap.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...all-thumbstick ...

Games industry trade association TIGA has responded to Panorama's investigation into video game addiction.

In 'Addicted to Games?' Panorama "hears from youngsters who've dropped out of school and university to play games for anything up to 21 hours a day".

"TIGA has yet to see the Panorama documentary, so cannot comment on specific points raised in the show," Dr. Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said.

"However, what we can say is that there is absolutely no proven link between video games and addiction. The World Health Organisation has no official medical diagnosis of video games addiction. Playing games is a hobby and people can certainly become passionate about them. This is no different from a passion for a particular book, TV programme or sport. In addition, playing games such as Wii Sports of Xbox Kinect can improve fitness. Games can also be educational. A fifth of UK games businesses make educational or serious games."

He added: "There is a world of difference between people who claim, in the colloquial non medical sense, that they are addicted to games, music, football or a TV programme and people who are clinically addicted, in scientific parlance, to drugs or alcohol. People may claim to be addicted to something like games or football, but in most cases they are not."

In the episode, due to air tonight at 2030 GMT on BBC One, Panorama reporter Raphael Rowe meets a mother who cut off her internet connection at home because she was worried about the amount of time her 19-year-old son was spending playing computer games.

Which computer game? MMORPG World of Warcraft. Expansion Cataclysm is out at midnight tonight.

Blizzard told Panorama in a statement: "Our games are designed to be fun... but like all forms of entertainment... day-to-day life should always take precedence. World of Warcraft contains practical tools that assist players and parents in monitoring playing time."

"TIGA would welcome additional independent research in to this topic and takes this issue very seriously," Wilson continued. "As with all hobbies we advocate that video games are played in moderation, with gamers taking regular breaks. Parents and retailers should also ensure that children only play games that are age appropriate. Games are clearly marked with PEGI or BBFC age ratings to inform parents about which games are suitable for their children."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ck-at-panorama ...