Knowledge

Now that Apple has released its super-duper updated model the 3G S, is that the way forward or would you rather consider HTC’s first ever Google phone, the Magic? There are advantages to both models and, as always, a few minuses.

What’s cool about the iPhone 3G S?

• It’s available up to 32GB
• It has an oil resistant coating to minimise smudges
• It has a processor that’s two times faster than its predecessor
• It’s got VGA-quality video
• Voice Control makes it almost hands-free

What’s cool about the HTC Magic?

• It runs Google’s Android system
• Which means that surfing the net with Google and using your Gmail account are easy
• Intuitive touch-screen
• It’s fast
• Operating system rocks

What’s not cool about the iPhone 3G S?

Is there ANYTHING not to like? We know: if you’ve got the previous model iPhone, you can update the software, so the only real advantage in the new one is the hardware, which some will be happy to live without.

What’s not cool about the HTC Magic?

Quite a lot, actually: Lack of decent onboard memory, its lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack, and can only play a limited number of media types.
In short, it’s pretty obvious why the iPhone continues to be such a star, and we think it’s time its competitors went back to scratch and came up with something genuinely competitive!

Read our full, web-exclusive reviews of the iPhone 3G S and the HTC Magic online and see videos of each phone in our videos section

Tips

You’ve spent a wad of cash on your hi-fi and/or home theatre system, but have you budgeted for cables? Good cables can transform the sound of your system. Here are a few cable tips:

• Think at least 10 percent of the total cost of the system on cables. Yes, that’s right.
• Try several different cables on your system (most good retailers will lend cables to serious customers) and spend some serious time auditioning them.
• Be aware of “system synergy” – just because you’ve got some great cables doesn’t mean they will sound good on your system.
• The only video cable worth getting is HDMI, but shop around and do your research: older, cheaper HDMI cables may not be up to the task of the hungry needs of the latest technology.
• Get a good quality power cable and power conditioner.
  For more tips on cables, see the Sept/Oct issue of Tone.

Your favourite classic arcade game

Pac-Man, Asteroids, Out Run, Paperboy… Ringing any bells? We’ve picked the top 20 classic arcade games and you can play some of them on our site, watch videos of gameplay, and read about their histories. A great time waster when work is a bit slow

Funding your gaming habit

And back to the modern games. We’ve been looking at ways you can make money in gaming (seeing as we’re avid gamers), and we found a couple of things you might be interested in (or it’s a good way to make any lazy game-playing offspring pay their way!)

Beta gaming testers

Video game testers

News

• LG’s complete Blu-ray experience
• Boston Acoustics gear to be available in NZ
• New Navman has live traffic updates
• New Asus Eee netbook has a twist
• Starck designer speakers to make NZ debut

Daily tech news at
www.tone.co.nz/news

Hands-free phone kits

You’ll need one

The latest Tone covers off some great hands-free phone kits. You’ll need one for the new driving laws coming in November. We’ve secured some great Yada product which you can have a look at on our website here – better still, you don’t even need to drive anywhere to get them!

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Videos

• Nokia N97 Commercial
• Sony PSP launch
• JVC Everio Commercial
• Explaining particle effects in games
• Infamous – game trailers (5 of them)
• Atari Pole Position commercial from 1982!

More videos

10th birthday giveaway

It’s Tone’s 10th birthday, so we’ve got eight grand’s worth of home theatre and gaming gear to be won. It would look great in your lounge.