Just over a half a year ago, newcomer to the gaming scene, Infinium Labs, announced
out of the blue that they would be providing a fourth competitor to the console
race within the coming year. At first, due to its apt name of Phantom, and the vague
assurances of performance provided with Infinium's release, the console was widely
suspected of being an elaborate hoax. However, over the past several months,
Infinium has continued to promote the product through a variety of methods
including their main website for the Phantom. This promotion culminated last night
with the final unveiling of the Phantom online; including a short promotional
video for the product and the Phantom's product specification sheet. Unfortunately
though, the only pictures of the Phantom still provided are just rendered
images of the concept design.
Among the many initial claims made for the Phantom are that it will contain
a processor of "blazing fast" speed, cinematic graphics capabilities, Dolby Digital
7.1 Surround Sound, and the widest selection of games available for any product.
To back up these claims, Infinium also provides a more firm set of components
which are to be included with infinium consoles. These are divided into standard
and optional components and include:
Standard Components:
Custom OS on Windows XPe kernal
Up to 3.0 GHz processor with 256MB
High-Performance nVida video card
High Performance Intel motherboard
Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound
100+ Gigabyte internal storage device
On-board RF Wireless modules
S-video, RCA or component video and PAL
10/100 baseT Ethernet
1 Wireless controller
Wireless keyboard and mouse
2 USB ports
4 controller ports
12' Port Extension Cable
Optional Components:
Controllers, wireless and corded
Keyboard and mouse with charging base station
Storage expansion for additional game storage
DSL modem
Cable modem
Wireless WIFI card
Memory upgrades
Speaker sets
Flat screen displays
The Phantom is planned as an "always on" broadband system and will feature a
number of interface designs to use this connectivity. Infinium is planning to offer
a wide selection of games for rental, preview before buy, and outright purchase
through their online system. However, they also note that their will be no traditional
media games offered for their system. In addition, from the preview video, it looks like
they are also planning to provide an online community to go with their product;
including chats/forums, Phantom news, game reviews, an
opponent matching service, and Phantom supported tournaments or contests.
Currently, Infinium Labs is collecting names of interested gamers who would like
to be contacted when they being pre-ordering. This process is expected to start
around October.
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