Buzz Grows Around Nintendo’s New Console; 3DS Fades

Nintendo Co. is on the brink of unveiling its much-anticipated new home console at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles this week. But sales so far of the Japanese videogame giant’s latest hardware release, the 3DS hand-held machine, are lackluster at best.

Only about three months ago, hundreds of excited Japanese game fans camped outside Tokyo stores to be the first ones to get their hands on the new 3DS, which plays 3-D games without requiring users to wear any specialized glasses.

The 3DS, which went on sale in Japan in late February and in the U.S. in late March, had a strong start in the first week in each market, but it hasn’t since generated the level of sales and buzz that Nintendo had hoped for.

In late April, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata himself acknowledged that the sales of the 3DS had been weaker than expected since the second week of launch in the U.S. and Europe, while Japanese sales had been hurt by the March 11 earthquake that soured consumer sentiment.

Nintendo said it sold about 194,000 3DS systems in the U.S. in April, marking a slowdown from nearly 400,000 it sold in the first week of the machine’s debut in March.

In late April, Nintendo said that it will introduce a new machine in 2012 to succeed its Wii, a home console with motion-sensing controllers and innovative software titles, that has ushered in a new era of videogames since its 2006 debut. The company will preview a playable model of the new home console at the E3 expo this week.

I think all eyes are on the new home console now,” said Tokai Tokyo Research Center analyst Yusuke Tsunoda.

Analysts say that the 3DS needs more popular software titles that can motivate consumers to buy the machine. No matter how novel the machine appears to be, attractive software titles are essential for the hardware’s success.

To provide 3DS users with more games, Nintendo this week launches its new online service for its 3DS hand-held game machine. The Nintendo e-Shop–where 3DS users can buy and download games, including some classic titles remade in 3-D–will be available in the U.S. from Monday and in Japan from Tuesday.

Mr. Tsunoda says the biggest test for the 3DS is how much the release later this month of “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D” can boost the hardware sales. The new 3DS game, which builds on the massively popular Legend of Zelda franchise, will be the most promising title to date for the 3DS, he said.

If Zelda can’t drive up 3DS sales, Nintendo would be in trouble,” he said

Sony Ericsson Urushi smartphone leaked

Seems Sony Ericsson is preparing a smaller version of its popular smartphone Xperia Arc. The leaked Sony Ericsson ST18i, codenamed Urushi, reportedly runs on the same hardware but has a smaller display.

GSMarena claims to have got a batch of photos for the upcoming Sony Ericsson device. Just like Xperia Arc, Urushi runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon chipset with a Scorpion CPU and an Adreno 205 GPU.

The smartphone has a smaller 3.2-inch display with the resolution of 854x480 pixels and Bravia Mobile engine. The phone runs Android on 2.3.3 Gingerbread and comes with an 8 megapixel camera with 720p recording and an LED flash.

The handset is reportedly set for a September launch.

A cell phone for the visually impaired

Indian mobile manufacturer Intex has launched the Intex Vision, a mobile phone for the visually impaired. The phone was unveiled by the National Association for the Blind (NAB) to its students and faculty.

The phone features a large keypad with numbers written in Braille to assist the recognition of digits. For those who do not read Braille, the phone can speak out the numbers in English at the press of a button. An SOS feature allows calls to one of four preset emergency numbers.

Other features include wireless FM radio, audio player, expandable memory up to 2 GB, torch light, auto call record, mobile tracker, a phone and SMS memory of 1000 contacts and 250 messages respectively.

The phone has been met with a very positive response from the visually impaired community. "Blindness is a disability which could be overcome with training and guidance. The INTEX Vision phone is an ideal tool for the visually impaired people to satisfy their communication needs. It can play a very useful role in their integrated development" said Mr. Mohinder Kapur, President, National Association for the Blind.

The phone will be available at a street price of Rs. 2,600.

Apple tops Nokia as top handset vendor in revenue

Apple has surpassed Finland's Nokia to become the world's largest handset vendor in revenue terms, a technology research company said Thursday.

Strategy Analytics said Apple overtook Nokia for the first time in the first quarter with iPhone revenue estimated at $11.9 billion on sales of 18.6 million units.

Nokia revenue was estimated at $9.4 billion for the period. The Finnish company remains number one overall in terms of units sold, selling 108.5 million handsets in the first quarter but for cheaper prices than the iPhone.

"With strong volumes and high wholesale prices, (Apple) has successfully captured revenue leadership of the total handset market in less than four years," said Alex Spektor of Strategy Analytics.

"In revenue terms, Apple is now the world's largest handset vendor, smartphone vendor and tablet vendor," added Neil Mawston, director at Boston-based Strategy Analytics.

Strategy Analytics also said that it expects that the number of smartphones running Google's Android software to surpass the iPhone by the end of the year.

Reporting its fiscal second-quarter results on Wednesday, Apple said it nearly doubled its quarterly net profit on record iPhone sales.

The Cupertino, California-based gadget-maker said it sold 18.65 million iPhones during the quarter, up 113 percent over a year ago and helped by the addition of a second US carrier, Verizon.