When Santa comes around this Christmas (assuming you\u2019ve been nice, rather than naughty) there are numerous wonderful toys and gadgets that he might bring for you, and MyADSL gauged the reactions of several industry insiders to find out just what they would like to find in their stockings this Festive Season.<\/p>\n
Apple features prominently in the dreams and wishes of the people we spoke to (not too surprisingly, since most of those canvassed have a tendency to avoid certain large, proprietary software manufacturers\u2019 products).<\/p>\n
First up we have Apple\u2019s iPhone, a multimedia, Internet-enabled mobile phone that has a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons, and its functions include a camera, a portable media player and visual voicemail, as well as offering Internet services including e-mail, Web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity.<\/p>\n
Named as Time Magazine’s \u2018Invention of the Year\u2019 for 2007, it features a rich HTML e-mail client and Safari \u2013 reportedly the most advanced Web browser on a portable device, which automatically syncs bookmarks from a Mac or PC environment and includes built-in Google and Yahoo! search.<\/p>\n
Another Apple device some would like in their stocking \u2013 although how it would fit in there is beyond me \u2013 is the 24-inch iMac, which features the latest Apple technology packed behind a massive flat-panel display.<\/p>\n
The 24-inch iMac has a 64-bit, 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB of shared L2 cache (twice the cache of the Core Duo iMacs), connected to the system with a 667MHz frontside bus. It comes standard with 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, although that RAM is split between two 512MB DIMMs.<\/p>\n
The iMac is aimed at the consumer market, although it will probably also catch the attention of many graphic designers and other digital media players.<\/p>\n
The last of the Apple gadgets people are eager to get their hands on is the iPod Touch, a portable media player unveiled earlier this year that can be purchased with eight or 16 GB of flash memory. It also has Wi-Fi and includes Safari, Apple’s Web browser. The iPod Touch is the first generation of the iPod line to include wireless access to the iTunes Store.<\/p>\n
Finally, for those of a gaming persuasion, the major choices lie in one of three core consoles.<\/p>\n
The first is the new PlayStation 3 (PS3); it is the first console to use the next-generation primary storage media, Blu-ray Disc, although it also supports DVDs, CDs and HDDs, among others.<\/p>\n
All its games are available in high-definition, although compelling exclusive games are still few and far between; it offers a built-in Wi-Fi and flash media reader, 60GB hard drive and backwards compatibility that is hardware based, although its lack of an infrared port means non-Bluetooth universal remotes aren’t compatible.<\/p>\n
Secondly, there is Nintendo\u2019s Wii, a direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube that offers a wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect acceleration in three dimensions. Another is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.<\/p>\n
Although it was once considered to be the laggard in the console race, Wii appears to be the top runner in the global Christmas rush, welcome news for Nintendo, whose console dominance dipped with the release of the Sony PlayStation in 1995.<\/p>\n
The last of the bunch is Microsoft\u2019s Xbox 360, which is using the release of the globally popular exclusive game, Halo 3, as the hook on which its sales are hung. The Xbox 360 Halo 3<\/a> Special Edition Console features an exclusive \u2018Spartan green and gold\u2019 finish and comes bundled with a matching Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, 20GB Hard Drive, Headset, Play & Charge Kit, and exclusive Halo 3 gamer pics and theme.<\/p>\n Halo 3 is said to be not only the best game of the series, but also the best Xbox 360 game to date, offering both a single-player game that is excellent and ends the story beautifully, and a number of amazing multiplayer offerings and cutting-edge technology that will help the game stand the test of time. Some reviewers have claimed it is a game that will still be played religiously until the end of the Xbox 360\u2019s lifecycle, so fans of the game or the genre will no doubt now be frantically writing their last minute letters to Santa.<\/p>\n Personally, I can think of far nicer things to find stuffed in a pair of stockings by my fireplace, but that\u2019s a tale (or should that be tail?) for another day!<\/p>\n