The Tube is here, folks, and now it’s called the 5800 XpressMusic… clever marketing on Nokia’s part because they don’t want to draw direct comparisons to the iPhone and the XpressMusic line is quite popular in the low end, at least in the U.S. It’s music-centric device, says Nokia, and has a 3.2-inch haptic touch-screen, 3.2-megapixel AF camera with dual-LED flash, VGA front camera, A-GPS, HDSPA, up to 16GB of storage via microSD and some loud speakers which were actually quite clear and crisp.

We saw the Tube last night and neither of us came away impressed. I thought the accelerometer was quite responsive, but John was sorely disappointed in the Web browser. The menu system was overcrowded and wasn’t simple like the iPhone’s. S60 devices are just a big mess of menus and sub-menus and this was no different.Source:TechCrunch

Who needs a Nintendo Wii when you’ve got an iPhone? The Social Gaming Network, which released a Wii-like golfing game for the iPhone two weeks ago, has now followed up with a bowling game. As with iGolf (which has already been downloaded more than 900,000 times), iBowl uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to detect a player’s swing. You can twist your wrist to give the ball spin or direct it to the pins.

SGN is better known for its games on social networks like Facebook and MySpace. iBowl is free and you can challenge your friends to games. But there does not seem to be much of a social component besides that. Not that it needs one. Becoming the Wii of the iPhone is probably a big enough opportunity in its own right. But it would be cool if you could somehow challenge your friends Facebook or other platforms to play the same game, much like like Mytopia does with casual games. Although, it probably wouldn’t be the same without the accelerometer.

The ad may tell me nothing about the site’s technology or give me any reason to use it over Google, but it worked - I obediently ventured over to Ask.com to see if they had somehow managed to make search sexy (they didn’t). The results were just as mundane as they’ve always been, but the ad still drove me to the site.

Source:TechCrunch
SGN founder Shervin Pishevar, jetlagged and sleep deprived on a “secret mision” trip to Eastern Europe, wrote a long and partially lucid email to friends last night. I reprint it here because it captures much of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives so many of the men and women who we write about.

The full email, along with a YouTube clip, are reprinted below with Pishevar’s permission.

The full email, along with a YouTube clip, are reprinted below with Pishevar’s permission.

If you’re already subscribed to Golf Vacation Insider or GolfWorld RSS feeds on your iPhone, the iGolf app from Palo Alto-based Social Gaming Network should be a healthy addition to fantasizing about your next birdie.

Originally, the iGolf app was released last week and has since seen over half a million downloads. In its basic form, you could go to the virtual driving range, choose a club, assume your best golf stance, and take a swing.

Today, SGN is issuing new par 3 and 4 holes and additional control features to the game. The application leverages the iPhone’s accelerometer technology for gaming, and could strike fear into the hearts of Wii players worldwide who remember their Wiimotes divebombing their TV sets a couple of years ago.

Be smart. No greasy McD’s french fries before iGolf.

“The launch of iGolf for iPhone marks a new era for SGN as we focus on integrating social gaming into a mobile platform to push the boundaries of the gaming experience for gamers and enthusiasts alike. Social networking features such as the viral nature of the game and the ability to challenge your friends has helped catapult it to the top of the iPhone App Store list,” said Shervin Pishevar, CEO of SGN.

By October 1st, SGN also plans to add left-handed controls and new audio controls that will allow players to set ‘applause’ sounds and the authentic ‘thwack’ sound made when the club hits the ball.

And the game is free, so there’s no reason not to download it. My high score was 214 at the driving range, so beat that. iGolf is currently available for download on the app store.