Palm Pre Review Matrix: What Everybody's Saying

When a bunch of reviews hit, it's useful—and sometimes funny—to see how they echo each other, and how they differ.

In the Palm Pre reviews, nobody used the word "iPhone" as much as WSJ's Walt Mossberg—he was a third more likely to use it than his colleagues David Pogue (NYT) and Ed Baig (USA Today) were, and he even lead with a discussion of it, before mentioning the Pre. Nobody wrote nearly as long as Josh at Engadget: His review is over 10,000 words; ours, the next longest, was just over 3,000. There was a lot of consensus here, though notable disharmony when it came to Sprint service and the Pre's tight keyboard.

And nobody, but nobody, mastered the metaphor like Jason Chen. Except maybe David Pogue. Read on...

Of course, there's no way to fit even all the main points into the review matrix, so if you want to go and check out the other reviews for yourself, damnit, you should!

*Apologies for not including Steven Levy's piece from Wired. We saw it too late to include it in the mix.

• NYT - David Pogue
• USA Today - Ed Baig
• WSJ - Walt Mossberg
• Engadget - Josh Topolsky
• Gizmodo - Jason Chen

Check Out All These Other Palm Pre Reviews
• Time - Josh Quittner
• Newsweek - Dan Lyons
• PC Magazine - Sascha Segan
• Laptop - Mark Spoonauer
• SlashGear and MyPre - Vincent Nguyen
• PC World - Ginny Mies

"Leaked" Fido 2009 Roadmap Points at $99 4GB iPhone with iChat

We talked about 4, 8, 16 and 32GB models for the iPhone 3G (3rd-Gen) Summer 2009 line before, and now BGR is pointing at a new $99 iPhone 4GB with iChat AV.

They claim that this image comes from an allegedly leaked Fido network presentation. According to their source, the Canadian network provider will sell a three-year contract $99 iPhone with 4GB, Quadband GSM, HSDPA 850/1900/2100, 2.0MP camera, and video calling via iChat. The slide actually says that the image is "not the actual product."

While I have no problem in believing that the iPhone 3G Summer 2009 screens are real, I have a hard time believing this. However, the news are in line with Engadget's "trusted" source, so maybe something is cooking.

Like always, follow our first rule of rumors: Never believe in them. We all will know soon enough. [BGR]

Sony announces new PS3 motion controller

Sony just announced the rumored new motion controller for the PS3 -- the prototype looks like a wand with a color-changing ball on top. It's designed to work in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye, with the wand overlaid on-screen with a weapon or tool. Unlike Microsoft's Project Natal, Sony says they've learned "some experiences need buttons," which is why there's still a controller involved. The system is said to be "sub-millimeter" precise, and it was demoed drawing and playing a shooter -- it's sort of the middle ground between Natal and Wii Motion Plus. Sony says it'll launch in the spring of 2010, but we don't know what pricing will be like yet.

1+1=3 Design

09 Stockholm Furniture Fair / photo © Peter Teigene

(detail) 09 Stockholm Furniture Fair / photo © Peter Teigene

1+1=3 A Meeting Between Two Creates Something New
Beckmans School of Design showcase

This year, the final-year students in Product Design at Beckmans College of Design have created an alternative meeting place in Greenhouse at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.
The students have created a space to inspire informal gatherings of people, in the same way as you would meet spontaneously about town - sitting at the edge of a monument, on a front porch or a flight of stairs. The furniture in the showcase are based on indivdual briefs to create a specific type of furniture. In contrast to what is usually the case in Greenhouse, where many prototypes are for view only, the students have encouraged the visitors to interact with the furniture and the space. As a a bonus this year, the third-year students have collaborated with the second-year Advertising and Graphic Design students in creating a catalogue and a film.

09 Stockholm Furniture Fair / photo © Peter Teigene

(detail) 09 Stockholm Furniture Fair / photo © Peter Teigene

Sandra Gustafsson / photo © Peter Teigene

Karolina Lagerkvist / photo © Peter Teigene

Karin Widmark / photo © Peter Teigene

Helena Svensson / photo © Peter Teigene

Evelina Johansson / photo © Peter Teigene

Emma Mierse / photo © Peter Teigene

Microsoft's Project Natal demo video has us jumping with anticipation

We're itching to get our own, uh, body time with Microsoft's Project Natal real time motion-capture accessory for the Xbox 360, but until that happens we're eagerly soaking up every last bit of footage we can -- like this teaser video shown during this morning's keynote. Lots of little tidbits here, like voice and face recognition, custom texture scanning and mapping, video chatting, and all sorts of use-your-whole-body gameplay applications. Of course, we don't know how much of this is real and how much is TV magic, but it certainly seems like Natal's got tons of potential -- check the video after the break.