For the past week I have been testing a 3D home entertainment setup in my lounge thanks to the guys at LG that sent me some equipment to combine with my own system. The picture above is of the wall in my lounge. Before we talk about the realities of 3D television, let’s take a look at the bits and pieces and their prices.

1. LG LX9500 47” LED LCD TV - This is the heart of the system: a beautiful 47″ monitor with 4 HDMI inputs that handles five different ways of producing 3D imagery. This is honestly the most ridiculously thin television I’ve ever seen and does a great job of rendering 1080p high definition visuals and, of course, 3D. More about that later. Price: R42000
2. LG AG-S100 3D glasses - The LX9500 television comes with two pairs of glasses and additional pairs can be bought separately. The glasses are charged using included USB cables and a micro USB port. A 2 hour charge and they’re good to go for at least a week of moderate viewing. Price: R1000 per pair.
3. Microsoft Xbox 360 - The Xbox 360 with HDMI port is 3D compatible, but older XBox 360 units without HDMI don’t cut the cheese. The only game I had to test with the Xbox is Avatar, which was provided by LG. The Korean company has allied with Microsoft for the development of 3D gaming. Price: R3000
4. Sony PS3 Slim - The Sony Playstation 3 is also 3D compatible, but I don’t have any 3D games to test it with. Time will bring them though. Price: R3300
5. LG BX580 Blu-ray player - LG’s latest model of Blu-ray player handles 3D and also has n-class wireless for accessing network media silos and online services like YouTube. That said, the n-class settings are curiously missing from the menu. It did produce the goods in 3D, however, with a disc of demo 3D footage provided by LG. Price: R3500
6. Sony HT-CT150 - This is a compact sound system that makes use of a speaker-bar and woofer to produce 3.1 sound. It also does a great job of playing 5.1 surround sound audio. Most importantly, it has 3D-passthrough for compatible devices. Price: R3000
7. Logitech Harmony 1100 - A universal remote is a must when you’re dealing with this many components. The 1100 is overpriced but does the job fantastically and is programmed via Logitech’s online Harmony service where just about every device known to man is catalogued. Price: R2500
8. Dude with a camera - That’s me. For 3D effects to work properly I need to be at least two meters away from the TV with powered-up glasses on my face. Price: Name it.

Now my only problem is that all I can watch in 3D is the demo Blu-ray disc that LG sent me to play with and the Avatar game for Xbox 360. But it is early days. If I was in the USA and signed up with a compatible pay-television company I’d be able to watch live sport in 3D on ESPN. Japan has also commenced live 3D broadcasts. In South Africa none of our pay-television providers have plans to do that just yet but we should have 3D movies on Blu-ray and console games arriving soon.

I am suitably impressed with the footage on the LG demo disc. High definition 3D is a fantastic experience although there is some noticeable blurriness here and there. The only real disappointment I’ve had is with the Avatar game for Xbox 360 which doesn’t look very good at all. The 3D works, but when you start running around in the game things get blurry and unplayable. It’s also a crap game. Definitely not a shining example of what the LG television can do.

It’ll be interesting comparing 3D gaming on Xbox and PS3 in future. PC gaming is also entering the fray with 3D monitors now making their way into the market and technology from Nvidia that even converts existing titles into 3D.

3D is a nice to have, but it’s not indispensable and I would wait for prices to come down before investing in a compatible HD TV. That said, this is one of the most fantastic monitors I’ve seen and if I could I would definitely keep it attached to my wall. As I continue to use it I’ll post more reviews in the various publications I write for, and on Twitter.

On Tuesday I tweeted that I was pleased with DStv making it simple for subscribers to cancel their accounts. This prompted replies from people wondering why I cancelled my subscription. I can’t answer that with a character limit of 140, so I decided to put my answer here instead.

About a week before the 2010 FIFA World Cup I bought the new HD PVR 2P decoder for DStv. I had been without DStv for almost two years but made an impulse buy of the decoder when I saw the price – R2000. I wanted to check out DStv’s high definition channels and thought it would be worth having for the World Cup. I set it up myself, after returning the decoder because the first one I was sold had a mismatched smart card.

Watching the World Cup in HD was totally worth it – mostly because it was a great excuse to have friends over. Now, about a month after the event, I have cancelled my subscription. These are some of my reasons:

• There’s nothing on. I really can’t think of anything on DStv that I have an interest in watching. Now and then Discovery HD Showcase will have a decent enough documentary that’ll keep me interested for a short while, but that’s about it. I can’t stand puerile, imported-and-knocked-off reality bullshit like Idols and TV series that are outdated.
• TV is a waste of time and cognitive energy. It’s depressing how much time our species spends lying in front of televisions with our brains idle. I like making things, reading, spending time with my kids and fitting as much productivity into the finite time I have on earth as possible. What do I get from watching television? Even documentary channels have been dumbed down with shows like Ice Road Truckers on History Channel. How the fuck can watching barely-literate Canadians driving trucks in the snow be classed as History? And if you tune into Discovery you get to watch a fat guy building a motorbike. Seriously?
• It’s expensive. Considering the return – null – paying close on R600 per month is just too much for subscriber television. Some things are a waste of money no matter how rich you are. Television is one of them.
• It makes my kids sad. Gone are the days when children’s television consisted of 30 minutes on a Saturday morning. Now there is 24/7 content across multiple channels and the sprogs know it’s on whenever they want it. Thing 1 (my oldest son – I have two) is addicted to CBeebies. As kids’ content goes CBeebies is brilliant and educational. But it’s on all day – and he knows it. It makes him tense when he isn’t watching and he nags for it. I’m sure that CBeebies has its shows available on DVD. I’ll use the money I’m saving to buy him a few. Tonight our house was quiet and Thing 1 spent time playing with his brother, who fell asleep soon after. Win.
• I don’t like sports. I enjoyed the World Cup, but I don’t get sports in general. Grown men watch other grown men throwing balls around and then either celebrate or get depressed based on the outcome. I am yet to hear a cogent argument for why sport matters. I choose to get happy or sad based on meaningful events. There are enough real things to worry about in the world without having to care about who kicked a ball more accurately. I know a vast majority of people will disagree with me on this, but let’s get back to DStv – without sport, what else does the service have going for it?
• I get my news and entertainment on-demand, online. I don’t think I need to do much explaining on this point. We all know how iTunes and YouTube works. I also love watching next-level online broadcasts like This Week in Tech where I can engage with hosts and other viewers in real time.
• Content licensing is retarded. It’s 2010. The world is connected. And yet we still have douchebags in suits that think it makes sense to license things by country and roll out content to different territories at different times. I want to buy my content online and download it at will. Legally. The way content is licensed for pay television windows (an industry term) is silly.
• There are better things to do with 42 inches. Plug a modern gaming console or a Mac Mini into your television and put all that screen real-estate to better use. Even the most inane of video games are more mentally stimulating than Idols and contain a more accurate view of reality than Oprah. Your HD TV makes a really good screen for your computer.
• DVDs are cheap. If I really want to see something I can get it on DVD or Blu-ray and watch it with better quality and less advertising. For less money.

These are just the most front of mind reasons for why I don’t see the value of having a pay television subscription. If television channels were provided as part of a triple-play telecommunications package I might take them. In their current form there is just no value. I’m not a TV guy.

What are your reasons for not having pay television? And, if you disagree with me, why do you see value in having it?

Today I spent some time with the folks from Nokia South Africa and got to play with the N8. This is the second time I’ve checked out the device, but I’m not allowed to talk about the first.

The N8 is a make-or-break play for Nokia. The Finnish cellphone manufacturer is the dominant mobile device vendor in the world but has been lagging behind in the smartphone market where it has had its ass handed to it by the likes of Apple and BlackBerry. The Nokia N97 was a bit a of a fail, but Nokia has astutely focused on services such as Ovi Maps and its Music Store – and services are key to winning in the smartphone space. That doesn’t mean you can get away with having crappy hardware, however.

The N8 is Nokia’s answer to the iPhone and the plethora of Android devices that are flooding the market. After playing with this device and seeing it in action these are the most important things I think you need to know:

• It’s cheap. And I mean that in a good way. The N8 will go to market in South Africa with a retail price of R5500. That’s almost half what you’ll pay for an iPhone. I can’t actually believe a phone this awesome will be so cheap. Win.
• It’s a little underpowered. The N8 runs a 680MHz ARM processor which is a little slow compared to the 1GHz Qualcomm and Apple A4 processors  in use by its competitors. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it provides better battery life, for example. That said, the phone is a little sluggish when using multitouch and doing other more demanding tasks and I think the processor is to blame.
• The battery life rocks (apparently). Real life users of the device claim they can easily get two days of battery life out of the N8. I obviously couldn’t test this in the short time I had with the phone but I have good reason to believe them. Hey, they smiled while they were talking. And the hardware setup of the N8 definitely lends itself to improved battery life.
• It’s open. The best thing about the N8 is how it doesn’t hold back on features. It comes with an adapter that gives it a standard USB port and you can attach cameras and external drives to the N8. Rocking. Another adapter enables it for full HDMI output which will take video and sound from the N8 to a television monitor or projector. I watched a 720p video being played from the N8 on a 42″ LCD monitor and it looked amazing. Imagine using this in a hotel room…
• The camera pwns. The N8 has a 12 megapixel camera that will knock your balls flat (if you have a pair). The only downside is that the camera lens protrudes from the casing a bit. But the xenon flash and radical results are worth it. It also shoots video in 720p. More win.
• Built like a brick shithouse. The scratch-resistent, carved aluminium casing of the N8 is awesome. I like the way it feels and can be used as a weapon. Pity about the camera protrusion.
• It’s a media monster. With support for just about every video and audio codec that matter, the N8 is a media powerhouse. Plus you can plug in an external hard drive and access media from that. Win, win, win.
• Symbian^3 is not fail. Besides for the user interface that could use more intuitiveness, the Symbian^3 operating system is surprisingly good. I’d need longer with the device to fully rate it, but there are vast improvements in responsiveness over S60 and there are less annoying prompts.
• You can touch it. The screen on the N8 finally brings Nokia on par with Apple and Samsung in the touchscreen space. Resolution isn’t quite as good as the iPhone 4 and touch isn’t quite as slick as Samsung’s Super AMOLED displays, but the N8′s screen is good enough. The only feature that doesn’t keep up with the competition is multi-touch. It just isn’t as responsive when pinching in on photos.
• Browser needs work. The N8 has a new browser complete with Flash support. It does a great job with rendering web pages closely to how they would look on a desktop or laptop monitor, but it was pretty slow and chunky at scrolling around this website. What I did like was having full support for Flash containers and players, allowing for web media access on par with full-blown browsers. But performance comes first and I hope Nokia sorts out the sluggishness of the browser before launching the device.
• You can use your old charger(s). The N8 has support for the new standard micro-USB chargers in use by the entire industry apart from Apple, but also has a port for the older Nokia chargers. It’s worth mentioning, I guess.
• And, most importantly: It should be available in SA by end October.

Those are the key takeaways I have after my session with the N8. It’s good to finally see Nokia getting with the programme and the company has a services stack that rocks. I’ll need more time with the N8 to draw conclusions as to how it stacks up against the competition but first impressions are good. I’ll be at Nokia World in London next month and look forward to spending more time around this sexy newcomer.

Check out the official promo video:

The misunderstanding surrounding Amazon’s shipping policies and availability of the Kindle are due to bad reporting in the media and grey importers who would prefer it if you bought the Kindle from them. So let’s start by dispelling the kak:

1. “Amazon does not ship to South Africa.” – This is simply not true. Amazon will ship to South Africa from both its USA and UK stores, but it is not allowed to ship all products because some have not been licensed for the region. Books and DVDs, for example, are published via specific channels. Amazon can not send products to South Africa if they are not licensed for the country by the publishers or manufacturers. Amazon will happily ship other products that are licensed for international shipping that includes South Africa – even by normal airmail unless the seller does not allow it. Remember that Amazon is not the seller for most products in its catalogue, but rather acts as a facilitator between stores and customers. In the case of the Kindle, which is an official Amazon product, it is shipped from the USA using courier services only.
2. “Kindle is not officially available in South Africa.” – Again, not true. The Kindle was officially launched in South Africa in 2009, along with over 100 other countries. I was at the launch and I have purchased two Kindles from Amazon since then, shipping both to my office in Johannesburg. The first one arrived in three days. The second arrived after two days but was held at customs. The courier company informed me of this and then delivered the package three days later, after customs released it without additional charges.

Some grey importers do supply the Kindle but are unable to beat Amazon’s price for the device since they need to buy it from Amazon themselves before selling it to you! There is no reason to buy the product from them and you shouldn’t even consider it. The only incentive would be if they could save you money on shipping costs and since they are marking up on retail prices I doubt this would ever be the case.

The only place to buy a Kindle is directly from Amazon. It will be shipped to you almost anywhere in the world, including South Africa, and if anything goes wrong with the delivery Amazon will send you a replacement.

There are some things to bear in mind when shipping a Kindle to South Africa, however:

• Be sure to tell Amazon which country you are buying the Kindle for before placing your order. Look for the box on the right hand side of the Kindle order screen that says, ‘Live outside the US?’. This will guide you to the correct page to order from.
• Amazon does not deliver Kindle to PO Box addresses since it uses a courier service. You must therefore provide a home or business address that it can be hand-delivered to.
• Once shipping costs, sales tax and other fees have been added the full cost of the 6″ Kindle with 3G and WiFi is currently $239.09 (±R1790).
• Whispernet and Whispersync are free services, even when accessing them using the Kindle’s 3G service. However, Amazon does charge for delivering books and other content to the device using the service as part of the price of purchasing a title.
• South African Kindle owners have limited access to the Kindle store with less books available due to territorial licensing. The way to get around this is to change your country setting to ‘USA’ once you have the Kindle. This is done on the ‘Manage your Kindle’ part of the Amazon website.

The only real risk is that customs could charge you import duties for the device, but I am yet to hear of this happening as the Kindle is classed as ‘IT’ and exempt from ad valorem taxing. It also falls under the price threshold for imported goods.

Amazon’s Whispernet and Whispersync services also work in SA thanks to Amazon’s partnership with AT&T and its international roaming agreements. This is a great feature and I have often used it to buy books directly on the Kindle while on holiday – even in the bush. I also used the service while traveling in China.

Whispernet now also allows you to tweet from the Kindle while reading and supports other social networking functions.

At $139 for the WiFi-only Kindle and $189 for the 3G and WiFi version, this is the ultimate device for reading books as far as I’m concerned. I love my Kindle and also think it makes the perfect gift – delivered to whoever you’re buying it for directly from Amazon.

So ignore the bull being spouted by grey importers and misinformed individuals who think the South African Post Office has sabotaged our chances of shopping online forever. Go get yourself a Kindle. And no, I am in no way affiliated to the company – Amazon is just pure awesome and the Kindle is a great product.

Research in Motion (RIM) has released another video for the upcoming BlackBerry 6 operating system. The video clearly displays a touch interface, something which we saw for the first time in April 2010 when the company showed initial glimpses of the new platform at its annual Wireless Enterprise Symposium conference in Florida. I spoke to the company’s CTO David Yach about the interface and he confirmed that touch was a big part of it, but wouldn’t be cornered on what was planned from a hardware perspective. Rumours abound of an announcement of a new device to supersede the Storm platform forthcoming from RIM in the next couple of months. BlackBerry 6 will also be compatible with most of the brand’s current models.

Shuttleworth is a South African philanthropist and internet entrepreneur who started the company Thawte in 1995 and went on to sell it to Verisign at the turn of the century in a US$575 million deal. He then became the second ever self-funded civilian astronaut traveling to the international space station as a member of the Soyuz TM-34/TM-33 missions. Upon his return to earth Mark formed the Shuttleworth Foundation and Canonical.

Simon Dingle recently authored a chapter on Mark Shuttleworth for the book South Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs. The publication will be available in September 2010.

Use the audio player above to stream the interview or click here to download the mp3 file.

“Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) has unveiled plans to offer an augmented reality platform and software development kit (SDK) to enable a new generation of vision-based augmented reality applications.  Initially available for Android devices, Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform will enable developers to build applications that merge reality and cyberspace.  The SDK will be made available at no charge to developers for use in the development and distribution of commercial applications.

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), a worldwide leader of toys and family products, is one of the first consumer products companies embracing augmented reality and has used Qualcomm’s SDK to bring the classic Rock ’Em Sock ’Em® game to life in a whole new way.  Additionally, Qualcomm has collaborated with leading game engine developer Unity Technologies to include support for Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform as an add-on to Unity for Android, providing developers with a rich development environment for augmented reality applications.

Augmented reality allows computer-generated content to be superimposed over a live camera view of the real world.  The concept has seen growing interest among developers for its potential to create applications that are more intuitive and interactive.  While many current augmented reality applications rely on a compass and GPS, Qualcomm’s SDK is based on world-class computer vision technology recently acquired from Imagination Computer Services GmbH.  Vision-based augmented reality provides a greatly enhanced user experience by allowing computer graphics to be tightly aligned with real world objects.  It enables developers to build games, extend print and TV media with interactive 3D content, and create educational applications that bridge the digital and real worlds.

“Augmented reality represents a quantum leap in the mobile experience,” said Matt Grob, senior vice president of engineering and head of corporate research and development at Qualcomm.  “By offering a no-charge SDK with state-of-the-art image detection and tracking technology, we help developers create the new generation of applications that are richer and more compelling than anything seen on the market today.”

Mattel’s Rock ’Em Sock ’Em game has captivated children and adults alike for decades.  Mattel’s proof-of-concept Rock ’Em Sock ’Em game using augmented reality technology extends traditional play into the mobile environment, making it even more relevant to a new generation of technology-savvy consumers.

“Qualcomm’s technology has the potential to make augmented reality much more accessible for the consumer,” said Peter Marx, vice president of production and technology at Mattel.  “We are always looking for technology solutions that complement and extend physical toys into new engaging experiences that are relevant to today’s kids — this technology is ideal for this purpose.”

Unity Technologies is the provider of the market-leading Unity development platform for highly interactive 3D content on mobile devices.  Unity provides a rich, integrated environment that enables game developers to focus on game content and game play instead of complicated low-level functionality.  By adding Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform to Unity for Android, new and existing Unity developers will be able to quickly and easily create augmented reality games for Android.

“Augmented reality adds a dash of magic to reality, creates new ways of interacting with the physical world and enables access to extremely valuable data in a natural way,” said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies.  “Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform will unleash our users’ creativity to create new and exciting forms of real-world entertainment.”

A beta version of the SDK will be available to developers this fall.  Additional information is available on Qualcomm’s developer portal at www.qdevnet.com/ar.”

Platform: Wii
Price: R450
Verdict: Next-level Mario.

One of the best days of my life, as a kid, was being 10 years old and using saved up pocket money to buy a Famicom (Japanese NES) 8-bit console. I had enough cash to get two games with it and chose Goonies and Super Mario Brothers. I had played Atari and other early consoles but the NES was a milestone and Super Mario set the stage for a new era in console gaming. Anyone old enough to remember MacGyver, The A Team and Airwolf will likely also have some nostalgia attached to Mario. But you don’t have to be a child of the eighties to appreciate Super Mario Galaxy 2 which once again raises the bar for platform games.

This is the second in a 3D series of Mario games set in space, along with an amazing variety of power-ups and physics tricks. And it’s ridiculously fun.

The controls are a bit niggly at first, especially the irritating (to me) Wiimote-twist that you have to do to get Mario to spin up against things. This move is the same as in New Super Mario Bros. for Wii and I still can’t get the hang of it. I’m not a big fan of motion gaming in general but at least you can play Galaxy 2 without needing to be standing in front of the TV. You do need to point the controller at the set, however, to manipulate a star-cursor used to collect stars in the game that can also be fired as a weapon.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 requires the Nunchuck attachment for the Wii-remote and uses most of the buttons for specific jumps and moves. A second player can also join in with just a Wii-remote and control a little star that follows Mario around and helps him out. This is a neat feature, but not much fun for the second player.

So we’ve established that this game is fun, but it does also contain some of the frustration common to Super Mario titles. For example, dying will send you back to the beginning of a level and it can be highly annoying to play through again, especially if you were close to a save point before dying. There are also camera angles that sometimes make your movements difficult to judge, sending Mario flying off a planet, for example.

Those annoyances pale when compared to the storyline, however, that is as inane as they come. You can’t skip through the ridiculous dialogue about… like… candy-floss and mushrooms and stars, either. Luckily these sequences aren’t too long, but you have to wonder why Nintendo even bothers with a storyline for Mario games.

That said, the variety in Super Mario Galaxy 2 makes up for any shortcomings and will keep you busy with this game for ages. There are heaps of spherical, 3D worlds to run around on, 2D levels that set a new standard in platform gaming, gravity-reversed levels where you’re stuck to the ceiling and power-ups including a suit that lets Mario create clouds  in mid air to use as platforms and a bee suit for flying around in.

Yoshi, Mario’s dinosaur-friend is also back in this title and you can ride around on him, using his tongue to zap enemies.

If you have a Nintendo Wii this is a must-have title that will keep you busy for ages. You have to push through the first few levels before things really get going, so bear that in mind. It’s a good time. And it’s Mario.

“… the detractors who criticise the noise of the vuvuzela, can virtually eliminate it while enhancing commentary with LG’s unique Clear Voice technology found on LG’s LCD, Plasma and 3D Full LED TVs. Those keen to embrace the passion and emotion that the vuvuzela has come to represent, can still immerse themselves in the action and sounds of the game as if they were pitch-side.  Clear Voice and LG’s innovative technology gives you the power to choose what suits your viewing situation best.

Clear Voice technology is unique to LG and emphasises voice commentary while suppressing the often loud ambient sounds found at major sporting events. For an even more immersive experience, LG’s 3D Full LED TV is the first of its type placing the viewer at the centre of the action: horns, vuvuzelas and all.”

I’d like to get my hands on a compatible television and try it out. Apparently Samsung sets can also drain out the cacophony using the built-in equaliser.

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii
Price: R400 – R600
Verdict: The best official FIFA title to date.

I’m  not big on sports games, but a good football title is a must for any gamer’s collection and 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa by EA is the one to own right now. The world cup is in South Africa for the first time and this game introduces some firsts too.

One of the new features is the Virtual Pro that allows you to customise a virtual player and then insert him into any team you want. This opens up a sort of career mode for you and there is a set of achievements linked to your Virtual Pro.

The game is also rich with features. For example, you can map out your own set-pieces for games and then have these played out by your team. There is also a Manager Mode for team and player management.

The amount of game modes and options is overwhelming, but it’s easy to ignore these and get on with things.

As for graphics and animation this is the best looking FIFA game ever and player movement has reached a new degree of realism.

But as good as this game is it’s hard to find much to say about it without boringly listing features. It’s a soccer game, after all, even if it is one of the best I’ve seen. And it’s fun, especially in multiplayer mode.

If you’re looking for a game to satisfy the soccer fever that currently grips the globe then you won’t be disappointed with this title, which is also reasonably priced.