techTalk » Gadgets

E3 2008 starting next week

electrikALIEN — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:56:54 +0000

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, will be starting Monday, July 14. E3 is among the largest of video game expos that happen here in the United States and is traditionally the launch pad for new game titles to be revealed and other exciting announcements.

Usually all the big boys come to play at E3 including Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, along with countless software developers and publishers.

This year, Gametrailers.com has teamed up with E3 to bring tons of the information from the show floor via video to consumers not invited to the show. Sadly, since E3 2006, the show has slimmed down considerably to better serve the gaming media.

Things I’m looking forward to hearing about this year are:

Little Big Planet (PS3)
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
Gears of War 2 (XBox 360)
New Wario Game (Wii)
Secret Nintendo game (Wii)
Anything new on the MMO front especially WarHammer Online
Decisions from Microsoft about a Blu-ray addon to the 360

Of course, anything exciting I just can’t hold back, I’ll try to post here. With the PS3 maturing and the 360 already in it’s prime, this looks like it might be a very good year for gamers.

Guitar Hero coming to the DS

electrikALIEN — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:37:29 +0000

The original guitar slinging rhythm-music game is coming to the Nintendo DS.

The game will ship with a grip-like peripheral that features the classic color coded buttons infamous with this genre.

Hooking the “grip” to the back of the DS, the game is played with the system held sideways, notes appearing on the left hand screen, strumming on the right.

The game will also ship with a pick-shaped stylus.

No release date has been confirmed, neither has a list of songs included, but Activision has stated the game will ship in 2008.

Via wired.com.

Top 15 Concept Cell-Phones

electrikALIEN — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:56:01 +0000

With all the hoo-hah going on about what your next mobile device will be able to do, many mobile device companies are also looking toward what it may look like as well.

Miscellaneous Masala has gathered 15 of the best cell-phone concepts together for any one to drool over.

Via digg.com.

PS3 price drop, freatures cut

electrikALIEN — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:37:24 +0000

On November 2, Sony will be discontinuing the 60GB model of the PlayStation 3 in favor of a cheaper, stripped down 40GB model. If the $599 price tag of the original PS3 launch scared the love of all things PlayStation out of you like it did me, then the new prices will be a little easier to swallow.

The 40GB model will sell for $399 and the 80GB model will go for $499 (a $100 price cut).

The PS3 is still one of the best BlueRay players out there for it’s price and it’s a game machine to boot! Many of the features cut, however, were simply bells and whistles… Well except for backwards compatibility… PS2 I will miss thee.

Nintendo keeping you safe

electrikALIEN — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:39:11 +0000

The Wii controller doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of those that wield it. But some over zealous player’s have damaged tevelvisions, pets, windows, and children alike. Accidents happen… but swinging your Wii-mote fast enough to break the speed of sound is just plain stupid. (Check out wiidamage.com for some examples.)

Enter Nintendo. They are looking to step up to protect us from the fatal Wii-mote. Nintendo has dedicated $17 million to ship free Wii-mote rubber cases to any and all Wii owners all around the world. By visiting Nintendo’s official site Wii owners can request up to 4 cases per Wii system.

I own a Wii and I play many of the “dangerous” games Wii-victims were playing at the time accidents struck. A little bit of commonsense goes a long way when you’re playing motion-interactive games. Exercise caution when playing any game that requires movement. Make sure you have space enough to execute the movements required by the game.

Even though I doubt I’ll be turning my living room into a real life batting cage, I’ll be signing up for four FREE Wii accessories!

Microsoft announces new Zunes

electrikALIEN — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 16:09:30 +0000

Microsoft announced they will be rolling out three new models of the Zune this holiday season: Zune 80GB, Zune 8GB, and Zune 4GB.

The larger 80GB model includes an internal hard-drive, wireless support for syncing with your PC and other’s Zunes, and will only be available in black. (But they were so committed to the brown!)

The more petite 8GM and 4GB models feature everything the 80GB model sports, but are available in baby powder pink, deep red, pea soup green, and, of course, black.

More in-depth information of the actual announcement can be found here.

If I may be so bold: I understand why Microsoft is releasing 3 versions of the Zune. If it worked for Apple, it should work for Microsoft. But is it too little too late? Why is Microsoft playing copycat trying to catch up instead of trying something new?

Jamming out!

electrikALIEN — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:29:39 +0000

Ubisoft released Jam Sessions for the Nintendo DS last week. However, Jam Sessions is not a game at all. It’s a musical tool. Fundamentally it transforms any DS or DS Lite into a vitrual guitar. I got my hands on a copy and I’m extremely pleased.Chords are assigned to any of the 8 directions on the directional pad and played by “strumming” on the touch screen. You can have two chord pallets available at any time for 16 different chords at a time. No guitar experience is needed, but some knowledge of music theory helps. Working on a rhythm and chord progression on the DS is easy anywhere you may be. You can also save any riff for later use by recording your play right into the DS.The sound from the DS’s stereo speakers isn’t going to wow anyone, but I was able to get a pretty rich sound from the system by running it through my computer and Garageband effects.

Jam Sessions is the perfect pocket tool for anyone wanting a guitar on the go or any musician who may lack instrument skills.

New iPods announced

electrikALIEN — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:12:12 +0000

Big news out of Apple today! (Here’s the Live Blog I was glued to for a good amount of time this morning.)

Four new iPods will be rolled out this fall. At the top of the list is the iPod touch. The iPod touch is essentially an iPhone without the phone. 3.5″ touch screen and sleek design remain constant and is being touted as “the best iPod ever.” Nothing much new apart from the iPhone, which is a disappointment, but the introduction of the iTunes Wi-Fi store for touch users is pretty smart. What’s deeply disappointing is the touch will only ship in two models: 8GB and 16GB. This makes the iPod touch stand among super glossy and expensive tech toys rather than the hardcore, music storing iPods of yesterday. The 8GB model of the touch will retail for $299 while the 16GB will be $399.

The ever popular and groundbreaking iPod line now has a new name. The iPod classic will have the same features given it over the years; video, color display, etc. But it did get a new thinner metal design and menu system. For eye-candy fanatics out there, the classic also has Cover Flow a la iTunes. It also has more storage space than ever before! The 80GB version will retail for $249 and the 160GB (!) model will go for $349. Both models come in silver or black all-metal cases.

The iPod nano received a huge face lift. A larger screen and a sleeker casing compliment the device’s 4Gb and 8Gb models. It also plays video now!

The only change the iPod shuffle line got was new colors.

Check out www.apple.com for more info.

Pricey Keyboard, Cheap Touch Tech, & Halo 3 Zune

electrikALIEN — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:26:21 +0000

Art. Lebedev Studio is now selling preorders for one very pricey keyboard. The Optimus Maximus keyboard is only available through the studio’s website and retails for $1556.37. Each key has a full color miniature display that, along with what the key will do when pressed, is fully customizable. At least they take Visa…Found an interesting post about a homemade multi-touch input device. Make up your own mind, but I think that’s pretty cool.

The Microsoft empire is expanding the Halo 3 franchise to it’s very own Zune. A skinned, ultra futuristic, Halo 3 themed Zune can be yours for only $394.96. It comes with preloaded music from the first two games and a ton of promo videos and artwork. But why only sell exclusively through Gamestop.com?

iPhone unlocked

electrikALIEN — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:42:46 +0000

You may have heard by now about the unlocking of the iPhone. It’s on the news, online, even in newspapers. But noone seems to be explaining what this means to the masses.

In a nut shell, the iPhone, made by Apple and serviced by AT&T, is locked into AT&T cellular service right on the device. Using hardware or software hacks, iPhone owners have been able to unlock their phones and then use them on other networks, like T-Mobile just to name one.

Engadget has a whole page detailing how the unlocking is done.

Apple isn’t going to be happy. Neither is AT&T. But when someone hacks the iPhone to work with my cellular service, I just may be upgrading to that really slick touch screen.