the mobile phone and gaming magazine www.phonicamagazine.co.uk
Issue 3
EDITOR IN CHIEF Kevin Leonce
GAMING EDITOR Sco Tierney
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Peter Gray
CONTRIBUTORS Rob Hobson Ian Duncan Paul Park
CREATIVE SERVICES & DESIGN Sco Tierney www.sco - erney.com
EDITORIAL editorial@phonicamagazine.co.uk
ENQUIRIES info@phonicamagazine.co.uk
ADVERTISING adver sing@phonicamagazine.co.uk
WWW.PHONICAMAGAZINE.CO.UK Become a Fan of Phonica Magazine UK on Facebook & Twi er Phonica Magazine Š All material in this publica on is covered by copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this publica on may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmi ed in any form electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, in whole or part without wri en permission of the publisher or the copyright owner. Please note that whilst every care has been taken to ensure that all the data in this publica on is accurate at the me of going to print, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, or for any loss, however caused, occasioned to any person by reliance on it; and hereby disclaims any liability for it. Opera ons and some features are network dependent; please refer to your network provider for full details.
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EDITOR’S LETTER A NEW ERA DAWNS While preparing for this issue I’ve no ced how the balance of power is slowly shi ing from hardware manufacturers to so ware developers. Phone and game manufacturers are realizing that having a well designed mobile or console is no longer good enough to wow consumers. Through social media and networking we see a new form of convergence; where your game console can be your instant messenger or digital TV and your mobile is now your virtual mobile office. Some have responded to these changes earlier than others, doubling research budgets and heavily inves ng in or buying companies focusing on social network integra on. Whichever route is taken, it is s ll a new found goldmine. The so ware era has arrived. Do enjoy and spread the news. Your Editor in Chief
Kevin Leonce kevin@phonicamagazine.co.uk
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FEATURE
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FEATURE
TIME IN YOUR HAND Time is something that can never be possessed. Yet it is something that can be mastered, as the history of TAG Heuer shows. Step by step, always at the very limits of the possible, we have split me into ever more precise increments, and expressed our technical breakthroughs in chronographs of the highest pres ge and quality. Now the challenge has extended from the mastery of me to the mastery of communica on. The result is the Meridiist, the communica on instrument that is the culmina on of all our experience, gained with unwavering commitment to the principles of perfec on since 1860, when Edouard Heuer opened his first workshop high in the Swiss mountains. The Meridiist is the complete modern expression of everything for which TAG Heuer stands. As the first instrument of its kind ever made by a Swiss watchmaker, it is true piece of avant-garde engineering, one that will give its owner a unique quality -– the ability to put the same faith and pride into communica on that they do into mekeeping. But the Meridiist goes even further than this. Through the use of two unique design features: the dual display screens and the TAG Heuer switch, which allow for discreet checking of the me and call management. It endows its owner with the ability, for the first me, to use their communica on instrument in the elegant and refined manner befi ng of their true personality.
TIME FOR QUALITY In an era when technology is advancing at such a rate that new products are forced into obsolescence at astonishing speed, one key ques on presents itself: How can a communica on instrument a ain classic status? The Meridiist provides the answer, by adhering to a belief that is intrinsic to the DNA of TAG Heuer. Put simply: there is no subs tute for quality.
Each material used in the Meridiist brings a dis nct and irreplaceable value to the finished product, while their provenance creates echoes with TAG Heuer’s legacy. Its 316L steel allows for perfect polished mirror surfaces, as well as being corrosion-resistant and hypoallergenic. The display front is made from unscratchable 60.5 carat sapphire glass, combining excep onal light transmissivity with great stability in all thermodynamic condi ons. Both the steel and the glass present examples of how the Meridiist embodies the most pres gious materials used in horology.
“THE MERIDIIST WILL GIVE ITS OWNER A UNIQUE QUALITY.” The designers have invested all of their flair and exper se into envisioning a communica on instrument that bears the classic, unmistakeable hallmarks of TAG Heuer. The Meridiist refers visually to the Monaco series of chronographs, which a ained iconic status on the wrist of Steve McQueen in the film Le Mans, adding subtle yet dynamic curvature to the angularity and bold sharpness of the wristwatch to create a new design classic. The process of bringing the Meridiist into the world cannot be completed on a construc on line – each individual instrument requires the a en on of a skilled ar san. This level of cra smanship shines through the finished product, so that the Meridiist gives the unmistakeable sa sfac on that can only be derived from the most premium of products. The excellence of the finished product is guaranteed through the partnership of TAG Heuer, throughout the development of the Meridiist, with Modelabs, a mobile communica on development company comprised, like TAG Heuer, of a small and dedicated team of experts in their field.
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NEWS TIME FOR COMMUNICATION The ideals of purity and permanence that inform the design of the Meridiist are intrinsically linked to its func onality as a communica on instrument, which has been honed to provide unsurpassable service, and streamlined in response to the specific needs of its owner. Using the Meridiist ensures the best recep on possible, as its antenna, op mised through five prototypes and over 200 engineering hours, is twice as sensi ve as other radio standard-compliant products. As a dis nc ve touch, the Meridiist features the aforemen oned dual-func on TAG Heuer switch, designed for the needs of the execu ve in important business mee ngs: with a touch of this switch a polite call rejec on message is issued; it also illuminates the unique me display mounted at the top of the Meridiist, and switches the direc on from which the me can be viewed. This dual display offers the user a new level of refinement in their manner of viewing the me and addressing incoming calls.
Design and finishing
The Meridiist provides nothing less than the most accurate acous cs possible, giving a crystal clarity created by our engineers’ fine tuning of sound processes and chamber design. Technical advancements include an earpiece located beneath the sapphire crystal glass display for pris ne sound reproduc on, and a loudspeaker with the capacity to produce 100dB at a distance of 5cm, ensuring remarkable clarity in hands-free mode, as well as excep onal quality for ring tones and music playback.
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316L stainless steel case with hand brushed and polished finishing Black PVD - Titanium carbide coa ng on 316L stainless steel Backlit mechanical stainless steel keypad Mul func on TAG Heuer switch 60.5 carats of sapphire crystal glass on dual display screens High quality rubber, calfskin leather and genuine alligator back plates Dimensions: 112mm x 46mm x 15.5mm Weight: 155g
Performance 28 days stand-by me, 7 hours talk me Imaging: 2 mega pixel high-quality camera sensor Image quality-maximising and colour rendering so ware Image formats supported: JPEG, GIF, BMP Audio: Music playback (MP3, AAC, AAC) Available exclusively online at Goldsmiths prices start from £2950, for further informa on go to: www.goldsmiths.co.uk
NEWS BLACKBERRY STORM2 AVAILABLE FIRST THROUGH VODAFONE UK SECOND GENERATION SMARTPHONE FEATURES A RANGE OF NEW ENHANCEMENTS INCLUDING SUREPRESS TECHNOLOGY AND WI-FI. The highly-an cipated BlackBerry Storm2 can now be ordered online on Vodafone UK. Customers who pre-ordered started receiving their new smartphone from 26th October. Available first in the UK through Vodafone, the BlackBerry Storm2 is available for free on pay monthly price plans from £35 with 600 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited BlackBerry Internet Service, unlimited Vodafone Mobile Internet and broadband on a 24 month contract. The second genera on of RIM’s innova ve and award-winning smartphone significantly improves the BlackBerry touch-screen pla orm with new technology and features among its hundreds of hardware and so ware enhancements. The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone from Vodafone features: New SurePress technology based on an electronic suspension system that provides the user with tac le feedback when the touch-screen is pressed Fast performance Wi-Fi capability 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording (with enhanced speaker performance) Flexible storage, including 256MB flash memory and an expandable microSD/SDHD memory card slot Thinner, sleeker and cleaner lines than its predecessor, the BlackBerry Storm 9500 Enhanced BlackBerry OS 5 www.vodafone.co.uk
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FEATURE
SONY PSP GO AND IT’S GO GO GO FOR THE PORTABLE CONSOLE GRAND PRIX!
Thoroughly content with the weight saving job they did with the PS3 Slim, Sony has now moved their focus onto slicing a few extra pounds off the PSP. With a quick slice here, a quick slice there and a few internal parts ripped out for good measure, the rejuvenated PSP GO is now looking fi er and sharper than ever. So is this new portable plaything any good? And is it more than just a light weight PSP?
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FEATURE From the outside, the PSP GO is a very swish looking piece of kit. Thanks to a clever li le sliding screen, which upon sliding up reveals the revamped bu on layout, the PSP GO is now approx 30% lighter than its predecessor. Most of this weight shedding is mainly due to removal of the UMD drive. Instead of reading games from UMD disks, the PSP GO only plays downloadable content, via the PSN network. I’ll get back to this shortly, as it’s a touchy subject, but let’s con nue to focus on the PSP GO. Now that all games, music and films have to be downloaded directly to the PSP GO, a meaty hard drive is a must have. At 16GB, there should be plenty of space for all your files, but it you start to run low, Sony’s 2-16GB memory card range should keep you going. But when compared with the iPhone, or any standard MP3 player, the PSP GO’s 16GB is surprisingly small.
“SONY SEEMS TO HAVE THIS WAY OF THINKING THAT, AS SOON AS A NEW PRODUCT COMES OUT, THEY CAST ASIDE EVERYTHING THAT CAME BEFORE IT.” As for the bu on layout, all in all it’s reasonably good, although maybe not be as comfortable for long-term play as the original PSP. Although the sliding screen is a nice feature, it does get in the way of the shoulder bu ons, leaving the knuckles of your index fingers slightly raw a er a long session. Also, the sound is a bit ‘ ny’, but chances are you’ll be using headphones, so it’s not a major issue. One thing that does surprise though is the ba ery life. The Original PSP had a play me life of approx 4-5 hours, and a video me of around 5-6 hours. But the new model has the same video viewing me, and only an extra hour of play me. Considering that the PSP GO doesn’t have to power a UMD drive, has a smaller screen and should be more efficient, we’re a li le shocked at this. And the ba ery is non replaceable. Talk about kicking you when you’re down.
But back to the main point, and the touchy subject of the PSP GO not having a UMD drive. Sony seems to have this way of thinking that, as soon as a new product comes out, they cast aside everything that came before it. When the PS3 and PS3 Slim consoles were released, they were devoid of any back conversion so ware, meaning you couldn’t play your highly prized PS2 games on your new console. It’s the same with the PSP GO; with no UMD drive, you’ll have to download all your old games and films again, at a price. And what if your hard-drive goes bang? And how the hell do you trade in your old games now?! To sum up, the PSP GO, on its own merits, is a very sleek piece of kit. But when you add in the equa ons of no back conversion, having to download all your new games, having to re-download all your old games and the fact that the PSP GO isn’t a huge amount be er than the standard PSP, the verdict isn’t all that great. My advice; s ck with your old PSP. It might be a bit fa er, but at least it won’t cheat on you. Sco Tierney
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