The insurance company took the iPad for "testing" and, surprise surprise, found that it's beyond repair.
The rep that initially spoke to me said they'd give me a voucher for PC World to the value of an iPad 2 Wifi 32GB, and I could get one from there. That instantly induced a case of the heebie-jeebies in me, mainly 'cos PC World don't stock that iPad.
I was preparing myself for a fight when the next day they called me to say PC World doesn't stock this iPad model (D'Oh!) and they'll transfer the money value to my bank account instead. Relief!
I've ordered a replacement model from Apple, complete with free engraved message which I'll post a picture of later when I get the damn thing. You see, I've now got to wait 3 weeks or so before getting the machine, which is very annoying seeing that I queued up for six hours to get my iPad 2 on launch, in order to avoid the long delay of online ordering.
Why not buy it from the Apple store you say? Well, 2 reasons: first, the closest Apple store is about 40 miles away (Cambridge, where I queued!); and 2nd they hardly have them in stock either - it's a matter of luck if you get one there or not.
So, I now patiently wait. Of course, I'm not allowed to use the original iPad - it has become Kelly's and if I'm lucky I can use it for half an hour each day. Oh, the humiliation.
Nintendo, at their E3 conference today, have announced their next console, the "Wii U".
Other than boasting the usual HD gfx and all that business (not much is known about the specs of the console as such), but it's the controller that's garnered the most attention.
Have a look at this:
Yes - that's the controller. Remind you of anything?
Now, I'm not going to make fun of their naming scheme any more, nor am I going to question their wisdom (who'd have thought the DS or Wii were gonna be as successful as they are!), as I'm sure Nintendo know exactly what they're doing. After all, they are the grand old daddy of the 3 big names in gaming.
But - the controller above does look remarkably similar to something Apple make, something that has split opinion around the world over despite being a huge success - yes, it looks just like an iPad with controls bolted on. Even the screen is touch-enabled!
Funnily enough, the gaming community's response has been a big (WTF?!) - those at E3 sampling the device right now seem to be enjoying it, but those of us reading/watching about it are shrugging a big collective I DON'T KNOW. Reminds me of the iPad really :)
It's interesting to see that even Nintendo are taking something out of Apple's book here - again, who would have guessed the impact Apple's touch-screen toys would have had on gaming today, practically changing the landscape and introducing millions to gaming on the move; but also creating the concept of the "micro transaction" along the way. I, for one, never saw that coming!
Sadly, the anti-Apple people out there (and there are LOADS) are getting all wet about this new controller, and funnily enough seem to have forgotten where it's inspirations come from. It's a shame that people can't be more platform-agnostic, and just enjoy stuff and give credit where credit is due, and this time we owe a lot as gamers to Apple.
Am I excited? Of course I am! This is Nintendo we're talking about, they just know how to make games. Great games, some of the best I've ever played.
When the iPad was announced, I read an article in GamesTM discussing it's implications on gaming with various game devs. The most interesting views came from devs that envisioned the device as an "add on" to PC games - for eg as a map screen, or radar screen, or a hacking screen in a stealth game, etc etc etc. Sadly, these premises were never met, and the iPad has been used for gaming just as an iPhone with bigger screen real estate.
Nintendo, on the other hand, has toyed with big screen/small screen connectivity for a while now - the Gamecube had a rarely-used but much-hyped Gameboy connection, that was used to great effect in a few games, most notably Pac-Man Versus. Sadly, it was cumbersome to get 2 or more GBAs and a Gamecube together in one room (not to mentioned the spaghetti of cables!), so none of this really took on.
Now that the controller screen is default, Nintendo (and 3rd party devs) will have lots and lots of room to innovate, and that they will, bringing us open-minded gamers a whole slew of great games to play.
So here's a big thank you to Apple, for making the tablet as popular as it is today, and to Nintendo, for being the awesome company that they are.
Bring on the games!
Finally, have a look at the announcement video, and prepare to sense the deja-vu of that iPad announcement video a couple of years ago :)
