The future may be now, but the same crap keeps on coming.

Although you may not own a flying car yet, CES 2010 has provided a new wave of things you don’t need have to have.

3D TV coming to a home near you

3D TV

This year the biggest items to hit CES as far as new technology is that of 3D TV sets set to be released in the next year, additionally one entire channel (yeah, one) will provide 24 hours of 3D service through DirecTV. While there is no real mention of what will be on it aside from the few 3D films that have been recently released, it seems a bit to soon and will undoubtedly charge through the nose for it’s features. Along with the costly service, 3D TV’s will also cost a great deal of money until the technology becomes more common to produce. Most companies like LG, Panasonic and Sony already have 3D TV sets ready to hit the market.

Most of these TV’s will also be internet ready, have hard drives and other essential computer like internals. These will act basically how smartphones do, allowing you to download apps, direct movies, perhaps even games?

Downside: 3D glasses still will be a necessity to view these images and they are still terribly hideous. Some concept glasses look a bit to futuristic, to much like Elvis Costello’s or need to be charged.

The next big thing to hit the computer market will be e-readers and tablets.

Tablets

Yes, they have existed for a while but not nearly how they will be. Like all computers, they have been upgraded and work incredibly fast. Although the illusive iSlate has not been revealed by Apple at CES, there as been talk around the tech rumor mill stating it will act like a large iPhone, which rocks. In the mean while, a small Slate tablet called the Mini 5 from Dell has been released as a concept, which has been noted as a large iPhone. Thus being more so a phone, then just a tablet.

Why would you buy a Netbook over a tablet? Price. Netbooks will allow you to use WebApps from Google and Microsoft, but generally have tiny hard drives and cost a fraction of a great tablet. As the iSlate is finally unveiled, Play This will be all over that bad boy.

*Note: Netbooks are generally worthless if you are an adult. Get a smartphone old man.

Way to many e-readers

E-Readers

Kindle has been out for a while, destroying the market of all off-brand e-readers from Sony, but the Nook is starting to take some of the thunder. While these clever contraptions still cost between $150 – $300 they make great use of the Green marketing plan. E-readers are not the greatest invention, as they cost way to much for the small functionality they currently provide. When new release hardcover books start coming out with digital copies as a bonus, then an e-reader may become ideal. Instant gratification may be great, but there is nothing quite like holding a fresh bound hard cover book and all of it’s weight while taking in it’s ideas. On the other hand, we all know how retarded you look while carting around The Lost Symbol on a metro (for title and girth).

Smartphones for Everyone

Smartphones are released every day and that leaves nothing but a swarm of new ones for CES each year. Aside from the news of a few Android OS based phones coming to AT&T, the Dell slate concept and of course the Nexus One from Google, there has not been anything to “wow” over. The rumors are still out on the iPhone 4 of course, which is said to be released on the Verizon network because of the technology that has been ordered for it. AT&T will more than likely also take a piece of the new tech, or they will surely be screwed if only Verizon gets the new version.

The iPhone 4 (really it will have some weird name) has supposedly been upgraded now to getting a 5 MP camera (equivalent to the Droid and Nexus One), a second front facing camera for video chat, an upgrade flash, larger hard drive and the use of Gorilla glass (unbreakable-ish).

Project Natal

Project Natal

Has officially now been set for a release of the 2010 holiday season. When the exact date is any one’s guess; however it will probably be released at least a month before hand. E3 2010 will have all of the definite answers and we plan to cover every inch of it this year. Cost rumor’s going around say the thing could cost as low as $50 and include several games (like the Wii did). Sadly there are a lot of kinks with lag still being reported, but it would be assumed that the issue will be correct by release.

Google Nexus

As if the world didn’t already know, the Google Nexus One smartphone was released today, say goodbye to the Droid.Just as the Droid sales were picking up full speed and starting to take some of the iPhone’s thunder, Google released their very own smartphone, the Nexus One.

The phone is currently available for purchase only through Google’s site and is openly sold unlocked for $529 or with T-mobile for $179 and a 2-year contract. A considerably lower price when compared to the release of the Droid and any iPhone. The phone is also set to release with Verizon in the Spring of 2010 and many other wireless providers are jumping on the Android wagon.

Check out the specs for the phone below, but as Google has promised, it has 7 hours of 3G talk time and a removable battery, which immediately ups all over the iPhone’s face.

The camera is also of a much higher quality, but the flash isn’t much better than other phone’s on the market.

Processing speeds on the phone will be incredibly fast and work great with heavy apps.

The network it was built to run on however, was not meant to work properly with AT&T either, so if you want to use the Nexus, there will be no 3G coverage.

What you want to know

Does it have multi-touch: No

Does it have a keyboard: No

What OS: Android 2.1

Navigation: Trackball

Flash: Hell F*%3ing Yes.

New features from the Droid: Dictating software that lets you speak your e-mails, texts and other typed messages.

OS Updates: Will continue to get updates, older Android phones may not have high enough specs to run them.

Nexus One Specs

Full system specs for the Google Nexus One phone

The Iphone Killer

editor@playthismag.com                                                                                                                                           www.playthismag.com

For those of you still out of the loop on this years Consumer Electronics Show (CES ’09) many new items will be hitting the market, but none has recieved the same hype and attention of the new LG wrist watch cell phone. There have been cell watches in the past but none have shown the potential like that of LG’s future tech phone.

Although there is no cement release date and many of the phones features are still under wraps, Play This has the scoop on what can be currently done with this Bond style watch, sorry Omega.

Features:

• 3G speeds but no network has currently claimed the watch.
• May have the ability to go across most common cell phone carriers.
• A tiny camera on the face of the phone is designed for video conferencing.
• Touch Screen, with tempered glass on the front. Not meant for fat fingers though.
• Mp3 player included.
• Has most common cell features at the moment, including video.
• Bluetooth enabled so you can use head sets instead of speaking into the phone.
• Has a great speaker phone.