The PlayStation Phone

It’s hard to believe that what we’re looking at is real but we assure you, the picture above is in fact the PlayStation Phone you’ve long been waiting for. The device you see is headed into the market soon, likely boasting Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread), along with a custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform. The device snapped up top is sporting a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 (a chip similar to the one found in the G2, but 200MHz faster), 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and the screen is in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches. Looking almost identical to the mockup, the handset does indeed have a long touchpad in the center which is apparently multitouch, and you can see in the photos that it’s still bearing those familiar PlayStation shoulder buttons. For Sony buffs, you’ll be interested to know that there’s no Memory Stick slot here, but there is support for microSD cards.

The particular model in this shot is still in prototyping mode. As such, the unit doesn’t have a custom skin (not even SE’s Timescape design seen on the Xperia devices), and is said to be rather buggy. We’re digging into more facts as we speak. Though the device could still be headed for a 2010 release, 2011 is looking much more realistic. Still, there’s a lot of time between now and the holidays… so keep your fingers crossed!

NOOK kids announced by Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble has just announced something for the little ones while the adults can have fun with their NOOKcolor – we’re talking about NOOK kids. This is a state-of-the-art digital reading experience that will target little ones, making NOOK kids the first-ever platform which can deliver the largest and growing collection of nearly 12,000 popular children’s picture and chapter books in an enhanced and engaging digital format. It will range from beloved children’s classics to new releases, where NOOK kids will launch with over 130 digital picture books, doubling before 2010 comes to a close. We will look at NOOK kids in greater detail in the extended post.

Barnes & Noble children’s chapter books will come with a wide range of favorites which will be part of the company’s vast array of over two million digital titles, making it one of the world’s largest digital content catalogs. NOOK kids will also premiere on the newly announced NOOKcolor by Barnes & Noble, which we covered earlier this morning with it being the first full-color touch Reader’s Tablet.

Reading is a good habit to have, and starting young is always recommended. NOOK kids will offer parents and children a new method of experiencing and enjoying reading together. Storytime moments come to life using Barnes & Noble’s exclusive, patent-pending AliveTouch technology, where kids are invited to interact with words and pictures on the page, letting them find their favorite story in a jiffy, and others can also have some read aloud to them. In due time, NOOK kids eBooks will also feature light motion graphics and interactivity which fits into the story and plotlines. NOOK kids on NOOKcolor allows parents to take their children’s entire digital library wherever they go, regardless of whether the trip is long or short.

We do wonder though, with a device like this, would adults want to share it with their kids? Why not manufacture a kid-friendly model instead that can stand up to the rigors of unruly kids?

NBA 2K11 Ratings

What they got right: They avoided the overreaction-fest and avoided ranking the Heat first. Instead, the Heat are the fourth highest rated team, which seems about right. Yes, they have three great players, but they also filled out their roster with second round draft picks, cheap leftovers, and Udonis Haslem. It will be interesting to watch and see how it works, but to assume that that trio immediately formed the best team in the league is folly. And hey, LeBron this much really isn’t about race.

What they got wrong: Joe Johnson is not only rated higher than Dirk Nowitski, but he’s significantly higher. This is mostly about Dirk being underrated continually by this gaming series. He doesn’t have the inside game typical of a Power Forward, but he can actually play in there, and he should be considered one of the top ten players in the league for now. What’s curious is the 5 point jump Joe Johnson received-he went from an 83 last year to an 88 overall this year even though he’s been basically the exact same player for five years. I’d need to see the overall breakdown to figure out just how accurate this might be. Based on pure skills, JJ has the abilities that translate really well to video games, but his constant overusage in Atlanta actually marginalizes him to an extent.

What they got right: Josh Smith got his ratings jump. In truth, his skillset has changed not one iota from last year, he’s just coming off a healthier year where he played mostly smarter (until the playoffs started). By rating, he’s the fifth best starting PF-tied with Dirk Nowitski, but I’ve already addressed that problem. If ever there was a player made for video games, it’s Josh Smith.

What they got wrong: The Hawks are underrated as a team. They’re clearly not elite, but they’re top ten in the league. Al Horford is not as highly rated as he ought to be, Marvin Williams is being treated a bit unfairly, and I’m just not that high on the Jazz. The unfortunate thing is that the Hawks are still much closer to being average than being great, and I can’t even make an argument otherwise.