Is Sony Becoming the Next Sega?

As many tech journalists and bloggers lament the difficulties that Sony is having with the Playstation 3, echos from another console game maker that stuggled and floundered can easily be heard. Just before the original Playstation hit the market, Sega brought out the Saturn in hope that they would be able to move their base of Genesis playing users into the 32 bit world in the mid 1990's

At 399 dollars, about the same as current selling price of the Playstation 3, many gamers all those years ago opted for cheaper systems such as the original playstation and the Nintendo 64. Because of an earlier than expected launch date the selection of games was very limited and grew very slowly, while Playstation 3 launched exactly when Sony said it would the game selection was limited and grew slowly just like it did for the Sega Saturn. The market share for the Sega Saturn lagged behind Sony and Nintendo and as the competing systems became more and more popular some retailers dropped Sega products from store shelves. While Sony hasn't lost any retailers yet, they are making it appear that PS3 products are gaining shelf space by taking it away from Playstation 2 products.

Since the days of the original Sega Master System vs Nintendo Entertainment System battle at the close of the 1980's exclusives were used to sell game systems. When Sony entered the game market they brought their money to game developers and Sega and Nintendo lost most of their exclusive titles. Most games became cross platform and a few became Sony Playstation exclusives. After Microsoft comes into the console gaming market, the Microsofties bring their money to game developers and now it's Sony that lost many of their exclusive titles.

Just three and half years after launching the Saturn the Dreamcast became Sega's next and last game system. Sony has a lot to do to make sure that the Playstation 4 doesn't become another Dreamcast.

Why Canadians Should Care About DTV

Last week's changeover to digital television broadcasting in the United States went off with very few problems. This at least negates some of the excuses that Canadian TV stations give for sticking to analog only with just two years before the Canadian deadline to shut down analog. The only TV stations in Canada that have begun broadcasting in Digital are those in southern Ontario and in BC with densely populated areas close enough to the border with access to American over the air DTV signals. For the rest of us in the rest of Canada are restricted to analog only, no access to DTV converter boxes and plenty of analog only TV's still on store shelves this is not a very good sign.

The Canadian broadcasting companies claim that it would be too expensive to buy and operate digital transmitter for the 9 percent of TV households that depend solely on over the air broadcast signals. They don't factor in the households where there is at least one TV set with an antenna because people don't like paying fees for extra outlets or renting additional set top boxes. What TV station operators need to realize is that the sub-channels that broadcasters can send out with DTV can be used as a source of revenue for broadcasters. Digital Television allows TV stations better reach viewers who currently receive such poor reception that they are cable or satellite subscribers because of poor over the air reception.

Canadians are known for hating their cable, satellite and the telephone providers, so any new competition will be very welcome, switching to DTV will free up radio frequencies to allow for wireless broadband and advanced services such as VOiP and IPTV using WiMax or other wireless technology. Digital television is bringing an exciting new world but most Canadians are being held back. Start calling your local TV stations to start asking about DTV they will need to start providing answers sooner or later.

PSP Go, more like PSP No

The worst kept secret in the video game industry was revealed officially when Sony took the wraps off the new Playstation Portable, the PSP Go at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The new PSP Go is a smaller and lighter version of the PSP. The controls slide out similar to a cell phone. The PSP Go comes with 16 GB onboard with the ability up to 16 GB more using a Memory Stick Pro Duo card.

The most distinctive difference betweent the PSP Go and all previous PSP's is the lack of a UMD drive. Games are purchased online and downloaded and installed on the PSP go. This may give Sony a chance to dictate how games are sold in the future the still have to convince retailers to give the PSP go a reason to give shelf space to a system when retailers won't even have a chance to sell the games.

A UMD disk holds 1.8 GB of data this means that PSP go could only hold 8 games if you assume that game developers use the entire capicity of the disk. The PSP go is the most expensive portable game player to date and will be a very hard sell for Sony coming so soon after the launch of Nintendo's DSi which does so much more than previous DS's but still maintains backward compatibility with all Nintendo DS game cartridges. Right now Sony just hasn't justified the PSP go.

Save "Local" TV, They Can Save Themselves

For the past couple of weeks CTV stations have been running ads promoting their savelocal.ctv.ca website. These ads and their web site are an attempt to create public support for a proposal from CTV and their competitor Canwest Global to charge a carriage fee to cable and satellite providers for the use of their signals. Cable and satellite providers have been very up front that any carriage fee would be passed directly onto subscribers.

Making cable subscribers pay for the same old analog signals that those using antennas will still get to use for free just creates an unfair subsidy. Subsidizing those who do not have access to cable or satellite tv service simply is not acceptable.

The broadcast networks claim that their situation is critical and the would be forced to shut down over the air stations. Their current "crisis" has come from using the same old business model from the time before cable TV came into people's homes in the 1970's. Running the same shows from NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox simply won't cut it any more. There are many many shows that don't even get a chance to be seen on Canadian television. Maybe picking up some of those shows will give people a reason to tune in to their local CTV or Global stations.

Don't expect me to save CTV and Global from their outdated business practise, they can save themselves.

Canada's Slow Road to 4G

Within the next couple of years the cell phone industry is going to be making a change that is as big as the change from analog cellular to digital back in the mid 1990's. Cell phone carriers are going to be making a change over from current GSM and CDMA networks to new networks using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) . While LTE is true 4G right from deployment UMTS is 3.5 G with supporting carriers claiming that UMTS will be 4G equivilant.

The largest GSM carrier AT&T and the largest CDMA carrier, Verizon will be making the switch to LTE, T-Mobile will be using UMTS. The 4th cell carrier, Sprint will be using WiMax as their technology for their 4G services. In Canada the picture looks very different. Only Rogers is planning to deploy LTE based 4G, Canada's other cell carriers Bell, Telus, and the other two regional cell carriers are going with UMTS.

This presents an issue for cell phone toting snowbirds on Bell or Telus, Any UMTS phone will need CDMA fallback in order to work in any area where there is no service provided by T-Mobile. Without the ability to fall back to CDMA a customer on Bell or Telus may find themselves without cell phone service in Manitoba or Saskatchewan because the regional cell carriers in those provinces will not have UMTS deployed in many areas for may years to come.

Just like the days of the switch over from analog to digital, the change to 4G will bring services that are not yet even imaginable. But just like that earlier transition the switch to 4G the ability to fall back to 2.5, 3G systems will be be just as essential.

Canadians Getting Android Phones and Palm Pre

Two of the most sought after smartphones by Canadians are set to arrive in the Great White North. Google's Android will make it's Canadian debut on two phones on the Rogers Wireless network. The HTC Dream, sold in the United States as the G1 and the upcoming Magic also made by HTC will go on sale on June 2nd. That other got to have smartphone the Palm Pre will also be coming to Canada on Bell Mobility some time in the second half of 2009. The Pre has yet to launch in the United States but it is expected within the month.

The agreement that brings the Palm Pre to Canada is an exclusive agreement with Bell which means that for Western Canadians most of which cannot subscribe to Bell mobility the Palm Pre will still be out of reach. Rogers bringing Android based phones to Canada comes to a surprise to many because none of the Canadian cell phone carriers are members of the Open Handset alliance but with new competition coming within the year and a half it really isn't surprizing that the existing carriers are going to snap up the most popular phones in advance of the launch of any new competitors.

What The Possibility of a CDMA iPhone Means For Canadians

Apple is talking to Verizon to bring the iPhone to the CDMA network carrier once Apple's exclusivity deal with AT&T ends at the end of the year. (USA Today Story) The potential for a new iPhone that runs on CDMA already has some Canadian subscribers excited because that would give people an alternative to Rogers with the high cost of their data plans.

Most phones offered by Verizon in the States usually turn up on Telus in Canada. For Telus getting a CDMA iPhone would be a natural fit especially if Bell snags the Palm Pre. The iPhone is a proven product that people have already switched carriers to get one, the Pre on the other hand is unproven so it will be a risk for whatever carrier gets carry it. For Apple using Telus as the official carrier for the CDMA iPhone would give them national exposure which is something that Bell cannot offer. For Telus the iPhone would give them something that would help them gain market share in Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

From the first day that the CDMA iPhone becomes available, it probably won't be available in Canada since Apple would still have an exclusivity agreement with Rogers. Sounds like the same old story yet again.