APPLE: Let's talk iPad

So today was Apple's conference at which most people were expecting to see the new iPad 3 or iPad HD. The rumors were flying as to what we'd see in the new device and if everything was true, the device probably wouldn't function and would cost about $4,000. So what was the big news from today? Check it out:

 - 76% of Apple revenues in 2011 were from mobile devices, not computers. That's an insanely huge portion of their profits.
 - 315 million iOS devices sold through last year, 62 million in one quarter alone. Craziness.
 - Siri is hitting Japan today.
 - 585,000 apps currently in the app store.
 - 25 BILLION apps have been downloaded, that's an absurd number.
 - iTunes in the Cloud will now support movies in 1080p!

New Apple TV:
 - Supports 1080p with a "streamlined new user interface."
 - You can get your iTunes playlists on the TV from the iCloud and photos and third party apps are easy to access.
 - Apple TV will cost $99. Not too shabby.

Let's talk iPad:
 - 15.4 million sold in last quarter. HP sold 15.1 million PCs in the same quarter. Tablets are definitely the future.
 - Over 200,000 apps that are custom made for the iPad.

The New iPad!
 - Retina display. For the first time the iPad has a higher resolution than the screen at the conference, makes it tough for them to showcase the clarity. Ha!
 - Gorgeous, high resolution display.
 - 2048 x 1536, running 3.1 million pixels the most ever in a mobile device. Literally more pixels (over a million) and clarity than 1080p. Wow.
 - 40% better color saturation than previous devices.
 - There IS a physical "Home" button, debunking rumors that the system would be the first without one.
 - A5X Processor, quad-core graphics! Good Lord this thing is going to look incredible.

 - iSight camera: basically the same as the iPhone 4S which means it will look great. Auto-exposure, auto-focus, all that jazz.
 - 1080p video recording as expected.
 - Voice dictation: A taste of Siri on the iPad.
 - 4G LTE! A faster experience through the AT&T and Verizon networks. New iPad now has 21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, with LTE taking the cake at 73Mbps.
 - Opening links and photos on emails and such is going to be infinitely faster.
 - Telus, Rogers and Bell are other 4G LTE networks around the world.
 - iPad can now be a personal hotspot if the carrier supports it. Nice!
 - 10 hours of battery life and 9 on 4G! That is nothing short of phenomenal! Damn impressive Apple.

 - 9.4mm thin weighing in at 1.4 pounds, slightly heavier than previous iterations.
 - $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB. $629, $729 and $829 for the 4G models!
 - Same exact prices as the current iPad!
 - The new iPad is available on March 16th!

 - Pre-orders start today!
 - US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Japan all on day one! Apple's largest rollout ever!
 - Video game graphics look pretty!
 - HDR Graphics and tone-mapping. Basically means it's going to look beautiful...of course.
 - INFINITY BLADE: DUNGEONS! This entry puts you on a quest to craft the ultimate weapon. Looks to build on what made Infinity Blade great and improve the formula even more.
 - WOW. Apparently more memory AND screen resolution than BOTH the Xbox 360 and PS3?!?! Ridiculous.

 - It is apparently called the "New iPad" not iPad HD or iPad 3.
 - New iMovie, etc. etc.
 - Introducing iPhoto for iPad! 19 megapixel photos. Available today for $4.99.
 - Bezel gesture support.
 - No new dock connector, debunking another rumor.
 - iPad2 price drops by $100 per model. Definitely an incredible deal for someone who wants a 2.

Well it sounds like that's about it from the Apple conference today. I don't really know what I can add other than I'm f**king pumped to see it in action. With a quad-core processor, 4G LTE, retina display and more The new iPad is going to put Apple that much more ahead of the competition this year. Not to mention for the same price that the iPad 2 was listed at! What do you think? Will you be getting The new iPad on day one???

APPLE: Accio iPad 3!

Well today Apple finally confirmed that on March 7th they will be holding an event. It's basically 100% fact that they're going to unveil the iPad 3 and I couldn't be more excited! I've put off getting an iPad up until this point, but the more I see them in person and the more they improve the device with each new design I don't think I'll be able to resist the 3. It's expected the device will have retina display, possibly a quad-core processor and hopefully a bunch of other technical stuff that makes it a real beauty. If they can keep it at a reasonable price point I think it's safe to say this will be the most successful tablet to date. Will you be getting the iPad 3??

APPLE: Third time's the charm.

I know that phrase usually applies if the first two attempts were failures so it doesn't really work here. It sounds like Apple is going to stay true to form and reveal the anticipated iPad 3 during the first week of March. Historically March has been the month for Apple to reveal the newest iteration of the iPad swiftly following an iOS update. In this case, iOS 5.1 is set to hit devices on March 9 and rumors are that Apple will hold an event to reveal the iPad 3 in the first week of the month. Obviously we're expecting the device to be amazing and I have a feeling Apple is really going to deliver. We already know it will have retina display which means it will look absolutely gorgeous but I'm excited to see if Apple makes some innovations that haven't already been anticipated. Until now I've refrained from buying an iPad but I graduate in May and the 3 is sounding pretty appealing to handle everything on the go for me. What about you guys? Excited for the iPad 3? Do you own the 1 or 2? Are you a Kindle fan?

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VIDEO GAMES: Prepare to be MESMERized!

Yes that's the title I went with. Today the reveal trailer for the final playable class in Guild Wars 2 hit the internet and showed us the Mesmer. This was one of the classes available in the first Guild Wars and I played it quite a bit. The Mesmer will focus on what could be referred to as alteration magic. Stuff like creating copies of yourself to fool enemies, making teleportation platforms to move quickly from place to place in combat, making your entire party invisible to help sneak up on foes and more. From the video it looks like they'll be a little more beneficial in combat than they were in the first game where they were pretty much useful for mostly buffing the group they were in. I'm excited for Guild Wars 2 not just because it looks to offer an awesome MMO that doesn't require a monthly fee, but because the first Guild Wars remains one of my favorite games to this day. Hopefully we get an official release date soon!

VGA: As good as video game awards shows get?

So last night the VGAs took place on Spike TV and yes they were corny, not too funny and drawn out at points; but hey, what do you really expect from a video game awards show? Personally I thought they did a decent job making it interesting throughout and what we all really watched for was the previews of what's to come in the next year or so. And boy were there some awesome looks not just at what great games we got to play this year, but what will make 2012 a potentially greater year than 2011 in the world of gaming. So here's some of the sweetest videos and reveals from last night in no particular order!

1. Arkham World Revealed?
While accepting his award for best character last night, it seems that The Joker may have revealed the title of the next entry in the Batman games by Rocksteady. He held up a pamphlet titled "Batman: Arkham World Script" and slyly smiled while stating..."spoiler alert." It was pretty awesome even though this is next to no information on the next game.

2. Fortnite Premier Trailer

Last night Epic revealed a new game they've been working on titled Fortnite. The video doesn't show any gameplay but to me it looks like it will be something where you spend the day trying to strengthen your fort so you can survive when the satisfyingly creepy dark creatures come at night. The graphics look similar to the Team Fortress games and it will run on the unreal engine. I like the graphics and am interested to hear more about the game.

3. Mass Effect 3 Gameplay Trailer

Right after it was announced as the winner for Most Anticipated Game of 2012, a trailer was shown for Mass Effect 3. It showed a mixture of gameplay and cut-scenes as Commander Shephard battles his way through chaos in order to get to a massive foe. The video looked pretty sweet but I haven't had time to get into the Mass Effect games so I probably wasn't as excited as I should have been.

4. The Last of Us Premier

So for a few weeks now everyone has been speculating as to what the new PS3 exclusive by Naughty Dog, titled The Last of Us would be about. Speculation ranged from another zombie apocalypse to a world taken over by people infected from a plant fungus. Well it looks like it may have settled somewhere in the middle as this gorgeous trailer shows us what I assume is a father and daughter who fight to survive in a city overrun by morbid creatures. Whether the monsters are aliens, infected people or something else still remains to be seen but it looks like The Last of Us will try to build more of a story and characters we care about than other similar titles. I think this trailer was the highlight of the show for me and I really wish I had a PS3 now.

5. Command and Conquer: Generals 2 Revealed

There was a ton of speculation as to what the mystery project by Bioware would be and I think a lot of people were disappointed when it turned out it was a new Command and Conquer game. I don't know much about the series but I think it's more of a strategy game like Starcraft or Age of Empires. It looks like C&C will be a PC exclusive and it comes out in 2013. It will also run on the Frostbite 2 engine that's currently running Battlefield 3 so expect the game to look absolutely gorgeous.

6. Bioshock Infinite Trailer

I'm already excited out of my mind for Bioshock Infinite. The first game is one of my favorites of all time and I've been pumped for Infinite ever since it was first announced. Last night they showed a new trailer for the game and although it doesn't reveal anything we didn't already know it's still incredibly awesome. So watch it!

7. Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengeance?

That's the title? I don't know. This was the last video of the night and I think the show's producers planned to go out with a bang but instead ended the night with a big...wtf? It doesn't look like a MGS game and the trailer was lackluster at best. But who knows, maybe it will turn out to be cool?

8. Diablo III Intro Cinematic

Dear Lord Diablo III is going to be amazing. I've played the beta and I promise you the game is gorgeous and addicting. The opening cinematic for the game was revealed last night and it's nothing short of what we've come to expect from Blizzard. If you haven't watched it, just do it. If you have watched it, then watch it again.

9. Alan Wake: American Nightmare Reveal

So the new Alan Wake game is titled Alan Wake: American Nightmare. For those of you who don't know about the games, they follow a writer named Alan Wake who uses light to fend of dark foes from the realized world of dark fiction. I've only played the first one for a short time but it was pretty sweet so I'm kind of looking forward to American Nightmare. The Wake games provide an interesting change of pace from most games and they have a huge emphasis on storytelling which is awesome.

10. Rainbow Six: Patriots Trailer

Dang. The trailer for Rainbow Six: Patriots was nothing short of intense. I don't really even know what to say about it other than, it has my interest now. I haven't played any of the Rainbow Six games but it looks like they're really trying to make a statement with this one. The only question that remains is if they can correctly walk the line between controversial and just plain wrong. Time will tell.

So that's all the major reveals and first looks that we saw at the VGAs. Maybe seeing all this awesome stuff in one place will help people realize that the show really wasn't that bad! Needless to say next year is shaping up nicely!