G1 Gaming News

The latest news from The G1 Network

New 'Batman: Arkham Asylum' Xbox 360 Screens

New screens for the sick looking action game featuring The Dark Knight himself, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Venture deep into the bowels of Gotham's most infamous locale in 2009.

Batman: Arkham Asylum, developed by Rocksteady Studios, is due out in 2009 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC platforms.

'Far Cry 2 Collector's Edition' Details

Ubisoft unveiled the contents in the upcoming Far Cry 2: Collector's Edition today, along with the announcement of the title's European release date this October 24. The special package, enclosed in a wooden box, will contain the following:

Far Cry 2 game disc
"Art of Far Cry" Art book, T-Shirt
Collector Map
Making of Far Cry 2 DVD

Google to launch browser called Chrome to battle IE; Is Firefox a target or tag-team partner?

Google will launch a Web browser called Chrome that will take on Microsoft's Internet Explorer and apparently Mozilla's Firefox, which the search giant essentially funds.

* Google's browser will be open source;
* Chrome will include a JavaScript Virtual Machine built from scratch;
* Tabs will be moved around;
* The browser has an address bar with auto-completion.
* There's a privacy feature like IE has;
* And Google aims to be proactive about fighting phishing and malware attacks.

Update: Google confirmed that Chrome will launch on Tuesday in a beta that will cover 100 countries.

New 'Prince of Persia' Images

Check out Ubisoft's new-look Prince of Persia in these new screens. This action-platformer drops November 18th for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Gears of War 2 Achievements and More

"The November 7 release date of Gears of War 2 is steadily approaching and that means that the hype train is steadily starting to pick up steam. As with every massive holiday release, Gears 2 has some serious expectations to live

Luckily it seems that Microsoft's biggest game of the year is poised to deliver. While there's little doubt that you'll be blown away by the single-player and multiplayer trimmings, Gears 2 isn't forgetting about the details. Linked Achievements were first announced at Comic-Con but now we've got the skinny on all three of the newly created rewards..." up to. The first game has sold more than five million copies and with Epic's Design Director, Cliff Bleszinski throwing around the phrase "bigger, better, more" at every turn, gamers the world over are expecting a lot from the second entry.

Here's what to expect:

Complete Act 1 in Gears of War: Unlock Anthony Carmine multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.

Find 10 COG tags in Gears of War: Unlock Minh Young Kim multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.

Defeat RAAM in Gears of War: Unlock RAAM multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.

Gears of War 2 Achievements
Green as Grass	Train the rook (any difficulty)	10
It's a Trap!	Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 2	10
Escort Service	Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 4	10
Girl About Town	Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 6	10
That Sinking Feeling	Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 4	10
Freebaird!	Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 5	10
Heartbroken	Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 6	10
Longitude and Attitude	Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 3	10
Tanks for the Memories	Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 4	10
Water Sports	Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 6	10
There's a Time for Us	Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 2	10
Better Wrapped in Beacon	Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 3	10
Have Fun Storming the Castle	Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 6	10
And the Horse You Rode in On	Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 1	10
You Are the Support, Son	Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 2	10
Brumak Rodeo	Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 4	10
Does This Look Infected to You?	Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 5	10
Tourist of Duty	Complete all campaign acts on Casual Difficulty	25
Guerilla Tactician	Complete all campaign acts on Normal Difficulty	50
Artist of War	Complete all campaign acts on Hardcore Difficulty	75
Suicide Missionary	Complete all campaign acts on Insane Difficulty	150
Collector	Recover 5 collectibles (any difficulty)	5
Pack Rat	Recover 20 collectibles (any difficulty)	15
Completionist	Recover all 41 collectibles (any difficulty)	30
One-Night Stand	Complete 1 chapter in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or Dom)	10
Open Relationship	Complete 10 chapters in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or Dom)	30
Friends with Benefits	Complete all acts in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or Dom)	50
Once More, With Feeling	Perform 30 perfect active reloads (any mode)	10
Takes a Licking	Melee 30 Tickers (any mode)	30
Organ Grinder	Kill 30 enemies with a cover mounted Mulcher (any mode)	10
Shock and Awe	Kill 30 enemies with the heavy Mortar (any mode)	10
Said the Spider to the Fly	Kill 10 enemies with a planted grenade (any mode)	10
Crowd Control	Melee 10 enemies down with the Boomshield equipped (any mode)	10
Smells Like Victory	Kill 30 enemies with the Scorcher Flamethrower (any mode)	10
Variety Is the Spice of Death	Kill an enemy with every weapon in the game (any mode)	30
Seriously 2.0	Kill 100,000 enemies (any mode)	50
Standing Here, Beside Myself	Win 3 matches of Wingman (public)	10
Beat the Meatflag	Capture 10 meatflags in Submission (public)	10
It's Good to be the King	Win 10 rounds of Guardian as the leader (public)	10
You Go Ahead, I'll Be Fine	Win three matches of King of the Hill (public)	10
Back to Basic	Successfully complete the 5 lessons of multiplayer Training Grounds	10
Party Like It's 1999	Play 1999 rounds of multiplayer (any mode)	30
Around the World, Again	Win a multiplayer match on each map (any mode)	30
Dirty, Dirty Horde	Survive the first 10 waves of Horde (any difficulty, any map)	20
Hoard the Horde	Survive all 50 waves of Horde (any difficulty, any map)	30

You might notice that there are five achievements missing from our list. Check out GearsofWar.com for the remaining handful.

'Left 4 Dead' Delayed

The release of Left 4 Dead, the eagerly awaited cooperative zombie-slaying experience from Valve, is being delayed by a couple week. The game will hit your PC and Xbox on November 20th, not November 4th as had been previously announced.

According to Valve president Gabe Newell, the date is significant because "Left 4 Dead is going to be released on the tenth anniversary of Half-Life, our first game."

Hmmm, so either the game is being delayed for sentimental reason, or because it needs a touch more work. Either way: We'll gladly wait. Having played a pre-release build of this game, we assure you it is worth a couple weeks.

Sony: We're Keeping It Free

Sony's President Shuhei Yoshida has reiterated his company's plan to keep things costless for gamers. He says the firm plans to keep "as many services as possible for free" on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.

"We already provide our network access for gameplay for free--and the interesting thing about the network side and the Internet business is that there's a variety of revenue sources. Not necessarily getting people to pay, but with advertising and so on," Yoshida said in an interview with gamesindustry.biz.

The question is, gamers, what do you think the chances are of either A) The PS3's online offerings becoming as robust and workable as the 360's, or 2) The 360 offering free online to compete? This may be the next big battle of the console wars!

'Warhawk: Fallen Star' Expansion This Thursday

A year after the title's release, the PS3's multiplayer sensation will be receiving brand new features when Warhawk: Fallen Star lands on the Playstation Network this Thursday, August 28.

Fallen Star will feature the new "Tau Crater", supporting 10 new layouts players can frag out while utilizing the new jetpacks (pictured above). Jetpacks will be adding a whole new perspective on the gameplay mechanics, as players will be learning new dodge manuevers, flight controls and even the ability to mount vehicles while using a jetpack. Make sure you check out the source link for more info.

Warhawk, developed Incog Inc. Entertainment, was originally released in August 2007 exclusively for the Playstation 3. Fallen Star will be available for $7.99, while a combo "Booster" expansion pack that includes all three expansions (Omega Dawn, Broken Mirror, Fallen Star) will be available for $15.99. Check out the vid after the cut.

Xbox Outsells PS3...In Japan!

It may be the end of the world. Last week, the unthinkable happened: The Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3--in Japan. For the week ending August 10th, the 360 sold 24,962 in the Land of the Rising Sun compared with the PlayStation 3's 9,673. That's more than 2 to 1.

The reason for this bucking of the usual sales pattern in Japan: Namco Bandai’s Tales of Vesperia. People in Japan apparently love the RPG series so much that they went out and bought 360s. If you want to know what the fuss is about, Tales of Vesperia comes out in the U.S. on August 26th.

Oh, and if you were wondering, The DS and the PSP outsold everything else, with sales of 60,434 and 58,501 respectively.

Atari Gains $3.5 Million In Profit

Before Phil Harrison's takeover, Atari posted a promising $3.5 million gain in profit according to their latest financial report. The increase could partially compensate for the $11.4 million loss last year.

The company's net revenue for the first quarter of the fiscal year is at $40.3 million, which is a significant increase from their $10.4 million post last year. Thanks to the impressive sales of their latest titles - Alone in The Dark and Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit - Atari has shown potential to continue its gradual success in the coming months.

Alone in The Dark, developed by Eden Studios, is now available for the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC and PS2 platforms. The PS3 version is still on its way for a release later this year. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, developed by Dimps, is also available for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Study Finds Parents More Concerned About Video Games Than Alcohol and Porn???

According to parental guidance organization What They Play, recent polls conducted on 3,000 respondents in two separate polls concluded that drinking beer and watching pornography were less objectionable activities for children than playing certain video games.

Nearly 3,000 respondents in two separate What They Play polls concluded that drinking beer and watching pornography were less objectionable activities for children than playing certain video games. Further, viewing violence was more acceptable than seeing content involving sex and sexuality within games.

"These poll results demonstrate that parents are as apprehensive about their children's media diets as they are about traditional social issues such as alcohol, drugs, violence and sex," says John Davison, president of What They Like, Inc. "When it comes to video games, parents should know that What They Play is a resource that helps demystify one of the most popular – and challenging – forms of entertainment their kids are into."

"Although these findings seem surprising at first, they hint at fears parents have about video games," says Cheryl K. Olson, Sc.D., co-author of Grand Theft Childhood. "To some parents, video games are full of unknowable dangers. While researching for Grand Theft Childhood, parents we spoke with in focus groups often bemoaned the fact that they didn't know how to use game controls - and felt unequipped to supervise or limit video game play. Of course, parents don't want their children drinking alcohol, but that's a more familiar risk."

'Dark Knight' Game Leaks???

There has been speculation on the web recently about why no Dark Knight tie-in game has been announced, but apparently, it's premature. On G4's Dark Knight special on Thursday night, actor Gary Oldman dropped the word of his participation in a Dark Knight videogame, that may be planned to coincide with the DVD release of the movie.

Oldman says a game is "In the works," and talks about the fact that they're working hard to create a seemless game experience, "So it doesn't stop and start. Like you're watching a movie." Oldman mentions a scene where Lt. Gordon is on a rooftop and "not doing anything." Then Batman "jumps off the building and opened his wings to fly away and save the day."

We don't know anything about consoles, release dates or further details, but back in April, we brought word of a rumor that Pandemic was working on a Batman title. Don't know if they're related, though. We'll let you know when we know, as always.

E3 2009: ESA Discussing Changes

As we have mentioned last week, E3 2008 was shrugged by company executives and developers. However, no matter the situation was folks, we were there for you, bringing all the coverage you needed - news, hands on, exclusives, you name it.

But, next year's E3 could potentially be changed as the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is currently in discussion with publishers. “Once this is completed and shared with the ESA’s Board of Directors, we will make an announcement about the specifics of the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit," said by Dan Hewitt, ESA communications head.

'M.A.G' First Look And Details From Developer

Senior producer Rade Stojsavljevic dropped some details on Sony's ambitious multiplayer title, currently dubbed as M.A.G: Massive Action Game, developed by SOCOM creators Zipper Interactive. Set to be released in 2009 for the PS3, the online shooter is set to be the first of its kind to hit consoles by allowing up to 256 players to hop in and fire-off in a battefield.

Stojsavljevic said that while the game is massive, "it's an action shooter at its core." - that means running, gunning, grenades and yes, even vehicles are involved. We were all intrigued by this promising title when it was first unveiled last week during Sony's conference. Speaking of which, check out the video after the jump.

The cannabis flavoured Wii Balance Board cover arrives

If you thought AMR Racing's Hoochie Mama Wii Balance Board cover was interesting, take a look at their next move - a protective skin covered in cannabis leaves!

PlayStation Home Is Region Locked

According to reports on the internets, the public areas of PlayStation Home will be region locked, so we won't be able to meet the French girl of our dreams bowling in Home. You will be able to invite foreign friends into your home, but you won't share the same public spaces and games.

Sony says this is to ensure that everyone gets an "experience most suited to their tastes." But it probably also has to do with region-specific advertising, marketing and media rights as well.

Bungie responds to E3 cancellation

Bungie said Wednesday that a "metric ton of man hours" went into getting its E3 announcement ready before it got pulled, and it shares fans' disappointment in the turn of events.

Xbox 720

1. Is the Xbox 720 already in development?

Yes, it is. Microsoft has already begun work on developing the Xbox 720. In an interview with EGM, Peter Moore, Ex boss of Interactive Entertainment Division at Microsoft, confirmed that “the production team from the Xbox 360 is working on the next Xbox 720 [our pet name], and they’re looking into what kind of CPUs will be available on the market in 2011-2012″. In fact, development on the Xbox 720 might have been going on for longer than we think, as Robbie Bach, the President of Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft, said, “We started thinking about the next generation before we shipped the Xbox 360″. So, we can be dead certain that the X720 is already in development.

Is This The Look of The Xbox 720?

2. When will it be released?

In the same interview with EGM, Peter Moore said that “they’re looking into what kind of CPUs will be available on the market in 2011-2012″. That’s 6-7 years since the release of the Xbox 360, so, it’s a fairly safe bet that the Xbox 720 will be released sometime in 2012. And they want to be first at it again. Talking with Venture Beat, Robbie Bach said, “if you take the question of whether it was the right thing to try to be first [with Xbox 360], the answer to that is definitely yes”. That is the reason why Microsoft was able to compete better with Sony and have a leg up on the competition. It has given them an advantage with game developers as they quickly familiarized with the 360 hardware. Robbie Bach added, “if you asked if we wanted to be first again, I would say yes”.

3. Will Microsoft pull the plug on the Xbox 360 once the 720 ships?

Many fear that when the Xbox 720 ships, Microsoft will drop support for the 360 much like what they did with the original Xbox. This doesn’t make sense in so many ways. From a business perspective, Microsoft will keep selling the Xbox 360 as long as there is a demand for it. That’s because they made a serious investment in the X360 and want to recoup the costs and hopefully make a profit with the 360. I believe that Microsoft is going to pursue a policy like that of Sony’s, selling the 360 side-by-side with the 720 at a greatly reduced price. The 360 will have a great library of games by then, and it will be hugely popular with gamers.

4. The Xbox 720 will be more “family-friendly” and cater to a more casual audience

What Would You Get If You Crossed A 360 Controller With The Wii Mote? Everybody has seen it. Everyone knows that’s where the money lies. Microsoft is sure going to target a slice of Nintendo’s market with their 720. We are going to see more and more games geared towards casual gamers, and the much hyped about motion sensing controller. But that doesn’t mean we hardcore gamers will be left out in the cold, because we are the root of Microsoft and the original Xbox. The Xbox 720 is obviously going to feature a motion sensing, Wii-like family friendly controller. I guess this controller (code named Newton) will also be released for the 360 and a much more improved version will debut for the 720.

5. Include an internal Blu-Ray drive

The main reason why Microsoft didn’t include a built-in next-generation drive with the X360 was because they weren’t sure which format would win at the end. They didn’t want their customers to complain to be stuck with an obsolete piece of hardware (I’m not looking at those who bought the HD-DVD add-on). Sony included the Blu-Ray drive with their PS3 because they are a strong supporter of the format and to boost PS3 sales, much like the DVD player with the PS2. They made a huge gamble and it paid off.

Blu Ray Will Be Built In The Xbox 720

Microsoft would be a fool not to include a Blu-Ray disc player with their X720. It’s the standard format now and DVDs will head to obsolescence because there is no way next-generation games can fit on a mere 4.7 GB disc. Hopefully the internal Blu-Ray drive will be backwards compatible with DVDs and CDS because people don’t want to be stuck with a huge library of games that they can’t play on their next-gen console.

6. Better backward compatibility

The Xbox 360 is a huge success and it has a solid library of games. And by 2012, that library will get even better. Why will anyone upgrade if they can’t play their old collections? That is why there will be better backward compatibility with the Xbox 720. And don’t think that backward compatibility isn’t important. It is. That’s the same reason why people still download Xbox originals over Xbox Live.

7. HDMI and Wi-Fi will be built in

The Xbox 360 Elite already has HDMI and in 2012, Wi-Fi will be a standard and so, it should be built into the Xbox 720. The PS3 already has a built in Wi-Fi Ethernet and Bluetooth.

8. A 4.7GHz CPU on the Xbox 720? It could happen

IBM'S Latest Power 6 Processor The Xbox 720 could feature something similar to Sony’s Cell-like processor. But will Microsoft invest in something like that? We already have four cores on today’s PC. They might not have to look farther than their partnership with IBM. IBM has already developed a dual core 4.7GHz server CPU, dubbed the Power6. Who’s to say that Microsoft won’t put it into their X720? Those extra GHz could go towards assisting the GPU and more realistic AI. Looks like Microsoft’s partnership with IBM is finally paying off.

9. Stringent and better anti-piracy features

Xbox Live will be a standard by the time the 720 ships. And by 2012 we will take the Internet for granted and almost everyone will have a net connection in their homes. Microsoft can use this to their advantage and include a proprietary technology, much like Valve’s Steam. You have to activate your game over Xbox Live before you can play it. Sure, people still might not have Internet then and that’s why Microsoft needs to make sure to have an “offline” mode. But you have to activate your games out of the box before you play it.

10. Achievements will be carried over to the X720

This is a no-brainier. Xbox Live is platform independent, and erasing hundreds of hours worth of achievement points just for upgrading to the next-generation will be a bad move by Microsoft. Xbox Live gamercard is universal and, hopefully, we will have your achievements and friends list intact when we upgrade to the 720.

'GTA IV' Slips to 3rd Place on Live

It seems that Grand Theft Auto IV's reign of terror over the Xbox Live leaderboards is over. As people finish the game, they are going back to Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3.

Maybe the GTA IV multiplayer isn't all it's cracked up to be?

Did you go back to CoD4 or Halo 3?

Hit the jump for the new top 10 games being played on Xbox Live. Remember, this includes single player games if the player is connected to Live while gaming.

Apple WWDC 2008 Keynote Report

Apple's WWDC 2008 (World Wide Developer's Conference) has been the subject of intense rumor and speculation for months, thanks to the expected reveal of the 3G iPhone, the iPhone SDK and first new applications, the possibility of a new version of OS X called "Snow Leopard," and any number of other surprises the Apple faithful know to Steve Jobs could drop in a classic 'one more thing' moment. At San Francisco's Moscone Center at 10-AM sharp this morning, Steve launched the show.

Jobs opened his keynote in a broad manner, relating the three pillars of Apple's business (Mac, iTunes, and iPhone) to the three legs of a stool, emphasizing, we must imagine, Apple's care for each aspect of its products to the thousands of software developers in attendance. Jobs quickly steered his discussion towards the iPhone SDK. Since the announcement and launch of the Beta SDK in March (details here), Jobs enthused that more than 250,000-kits were downloaded, leading to 25,000-applications to the official developer program, of which 4,000 were accepted. That's pretty solid response, and Jobs continued, noting that 35% of Fortune 500 corporations got aboard to beta test the iPhone's newly developed Enterprise features, including banks, Disney, pharmaceutical companies, and even the Army.

iPhone SDK Application Demos

After outlining some technical capabilities of the iPhone SDK, Jobs began to introduce iPhone developers to the stage to show off what they've created in the 95-days since the iPhone beta SDK launched. First was Sega, whose team showed off a new Super Monkey Ball title that'll include 110 stages. Graphics were impressively almost GameCube in quality, and Sega announced it'll be sold via the new iPhone Applications Store for $9.99.

Next to demonstrate new SDK-developed applications was eBay. The company's iPhone app, "Auctions," will offer a native interface by which users will have full bidding capabilities on the auction site. Up next, a location-based social networking tool called Loopt was demoed, and looked to be akin to Facebook, yet focused entirely upon contacts physically located nearby the user. A variety of messaging features look like they could be useful for rounding up groups of friends, and it was revealed that Loopt will be a free application on the iPhone App Store when it launches.

TypePad was the next app shown. It looked a lot like a web-based blogging tool that'll let iPhone owners update while on the road. The big cool feature was its support of picture uploading directly from the iPhone, which should allow for some rather sweet pseudo live-blogging. WordPress reportedly has a similar native app in the works and almost complete. Both will be free applications.

The Associated Press was next on stage, demoing a news-fetching service that will collect local newspapers and store them on the iPhone. There will also be a photo and video browser integrated in the service, as well as a unique 'tips' feature by which users will be able to alert the AP to breaking news.

Pangaea Software, a Mac game developer, took the stage to show off a pair of new iPhone games. Enigmo will be a puzzle game in which players aim to pour water through a maze and into a container, and Cromag Ralley will be a 3D cart-racer with apparently rather fluid motion and N64-quality graphics.

MLB.com hit the stage to show off "At Bat," a native app that'll show the day's baseball games, stats, and even live information such as score and who's batting or at base. Real-time video highlights will also be integrated in the service, and MLB.com promises that they'll be hitting the service almost in real time. Digital Legends Entertainment followed Epocrates, demoing another game for the iPhone. The Spanish developer's title is still a work in progress, but it's a rather nice looking medieval title with dynamic shadows. Release is planned for September.

iPhone 2.0 Software and App Store Launch

Moving on from the developer demos, Jobs returned to the stage to address a major subject of developers' concerns: user notifications from programs that aren't currently running. Sticking it to Microsoft rather pointedly, Jobs outlined the fact that running background processes to allow for such functionality was a terrible idea, as it eats up processor cycles and slows the entire system. Apple's solution is much more elegant, as it provides all iPhone applications "Push" functionality, whereby they can send alerts to a user though an Apple server without actually running on the iPhone. This will make IM clients on the iPhone much more useful, as they will not need to maintain a constant connection to a server and thus drain battery life. The "Push" functionality will launch in September.

Rounding out the iPhone SDK presentation, Jobs unveiled some nice new user interface upgrades. Contact Search will allow easier calling for those with large numbers of contacts. Full iWork document support will allow better productivity. New abilities to save images from email to the iPhone's photo library, and a scientific calculator, will also bulk up the iPhone's standard Apple applications. New Parental Controls will allow limitations on media the iPhone can play, and new character recognition software will allow Japanese and Chinese users more options for inputting special characters.

The iPhone 2.0 software update, which will include the new App Store for accessing SDK developed programs and the general UI upgrades, will launch in early July as a free upgrade for iPhone owners and a $9.95 upgrade for those who own the iPod Touch. Applications smaller than 10-MB will download over-the-air, while larger programs will require the iPhone to have a WiFi connection.

mobileme

Apple plans to launch a new service, somewhat akin to .Mac, yet now almost capable of going head to head with Microsoft's enterprise level Exchange. Dubbed "mobileme," the service will be a web-hosted application suite at me.com that'll be compatible with both Macs and PCs. The service will sync contacts, emails, calendars, and even photos among any number of a user's devices, allowing updates made from any device to be shared across the entire field.

One of the best aspects of mobileme is the fact that the syncing among devices will take place wirelessly, (so long as there's internet to be had). As such, altering one's calendar from one's work computer will automatically, and wirelessly, update one's iPhone calendar as well. The service will be subscription based at $99 a year, though it'll launch as a 60-day free trial. 20-GB of iDisk space will be included for web-based data storage. Users subscribed to the .Mac service will have the option to convert to mobileme for free.

The iPhone 3G

Upon the close of the mobileme segment, Jobs returned to the stage to talk more iPhone. Noting that sales and customer satisfaction have both been extraordinary (6-million and 90%, respectively), Jobs introduced the next iPhone. The iPhone 3G has a black-plastic back, with thinner edges, and the same 3.5-inch display. Jobs noted it will now feature a flush-mounted headphone jack, solid metal buttons, and improved audio performance, as well as support for much faster 3G wireless data.

Jobs launched a demonstration of the speed of 3G as opposed to the current iPhone's EDGE data. Going head to head with the old iPhone, the iPhone 3G loaded a site in 21-seconds, while its older sibling managed a long 59-seconds. Jobs states that 3G will be 2.8-times faster than EDGE on the old model.

Battery life has long remained a challenge for 3G phones, yet Jobs states that Apple has managed to make serious progress. The iPhone 3G will be capable of 300-hours in stand by. Talk time on 3G networks will be 5-hours, while talk on 2G networks will be 10-hours, 2-hours more than the current iPhone. When browsing the net on a 3G-connection, the new iPhone will be capable of 5 to 6-hours of use.

Confirming previous rumor, Jobs next revealed that the iPhone 3G will feature built in GPS. Not only will the iPhone now be able to offer turn-by-turn directions in real time, the GPS functionality will allow for a rather exciting new selection of location-based services, whereby owners will be able to tag the location in which they have taken a picture, locate their friends in the area, or discover restaurants and businesses while on the road.

Jobs next turned to distribution. The iPhone 3G will launch in 70-countries in the next few months, including (at long last), Canada, Mexico, and Japan. In America, the iPhone 3G will launch on July 11, at newly lowered prices. 8-GB models will sell for $199, and 16-GB models for $299. A white model will also be available.

iPhone Programs Demoed at WWDC 2008

So we're not sure if there will be a new iPhone revealed at the World Wide Developer's Conference today, but a decent list of new applications for the iPhone have come to light. So far the boys over at Apple have demoed the already familiar Super Monkey Ball, a stand alone eBay program, blogging helpers like Loopt and TypePad, live news updates from the Associated Press, an MLB.com program, multiple medical learning programs, and Band which simulates multiple intruments through the touchpad interface.

But what about the games? Well, Pangea had two demos on display; one that looks like a physics-based puzzle game, and the other a cave man racing title. Both had very good graphics by handheld standards, but the stand out was an unnamed game from Digital Legends Entertainment. The graphics were compared to something between a DS and PSP title, and Engadget compared the game to something like God of War. We'll keep you posted as more news drops.