Gadgets and New Technologies

Posted Mar 4th 2008 7:52PM by Darren MurphFiled under: Laptops You already knew those lucky souls over at PC Perspective had a U2E of their very own, but now that you’re done gawking at the unboxing shots, how’s about a bona fide review? Thankfully, ASUS’ 11-inch ultraportable is indeed the latest lappie to be put through the proverbial paces, and as expected, it performed like a champ — considering it’s wee size, of course. The machine didn’t blow by any benchmarking sessions or anything, but again, it was never meant to be your primary gaming rig when heading off to a LAN party. (Read the full post about ‘ASUS’ 11-inch U2E laptop gets reviewed’…)

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Vudu has started shipping the Vudu XL, an upgrade from the vudu set-top box from which you can buy or rent movies – with an excellent video quality and instant watch.What’s new? 1TB of local storage (internal hard drive) Online Vudu Vault – to save the movies that you bought online IR Receiver Kit – to make it compatible with select universal remotes TV search improvement (user interface) Most Watched Today ranking Read our vudu in-depth review (Read the full post about ‘Vudu XL Starts Shipping’…)

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With quite a bit of excitement about the recent release of the Cloudbook, Everex has also released another low-cost notebook. The VA1500V, and while its not an ultra-portable it is still is very nicely priced at just $399. The VA1500V features a 15.4-inch display with a 1440 x 900 resolution, 512MB RAM, a 60GB hard drive, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, a DVD/CD-RW combo drive and weighs in at 5.3 pounds. Also included is a full range of ports to include an Ethernet jack, three USB ports, VGA out along with microphone and headphone jacks. One item that seems strangely left off is a card reader, which is found on the Cloudbook. (Read the full post about ‘Everex has another $399 notebook, the 15-inch VA1500V’…)

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Sony Ericsson has just announced a new entry-level phone named T303. It is a GSM phone with basic multimedia features like a music player and FM radio. When connected to a computer via USB, it shows up as a mass storage device (like a USB key). (Read the full post about ‘Sony Ericsson T303 Slider Phone’…)

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Looks like the Wii’s functionality in Japan is certainly much higher than those outside of the Land of the Rising Sun. Nintendo Japan has just released a new software known as TV NO TOMO, and this interactive TV guide allows you to check on upcoming TV programs as well as bookmark them. Whenever a program starts, you will be sent an email alert, allowing you to control the TV via the remote. This software is currently a Japan only exclusive, although it does not come attached with any price tag. (Read the full post about ‘TV NO TOMO On The Wii’…)

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If you are not yet sick of the Transformers movie, then GM Corporation of Korea has just the PC case for you. Known as the R-4 Bulldozer, this PC case targets both gamers and the hip, bringing an enhanced cooling performance to the table with turbo and normal modes to choose from. You also get a vertically-equipped ODD on the front panel with each purchase. It surely doesn’t look as sleek as what Asus released at CeBIT though. Where’s the fancy glossy surface and glowing lights? I want my nefarious looking PC case to strike fear into the hearts of my opponents at LAN parties, not some bulldozer-like hunk of metal! (Read the full post about ‘GM R-4 Bulldozer Hits Korea’…)

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Konami has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will see a release on playstation 3 come June 12. Not only that, but it will also be getting a simultaneous global release, and there is a nice reward for any gamer who wants to pre-order Kojima’s latest work.

So, is it worth pre-ordering? If you are a fan of the series, the answer is a definite “Yes!.” Here’s a rundown of the extras you will receive for putting your cash down early:

• Access to the Metal Gear Online beta test in April
• DVD entitled “Metal Gear Saga 2.0,” including:
  • Story prologue
  • 20^th Anniversary retrospective
  • Character bios
  • Trailers for the new game

The official launch of Metal Gear Online happens on the same day as the new PS3 game is released in June.

(Read the full post about ‘Metal Gear Solid 4 confirmed worldwide for June 12′…)

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Posted Mar 4th 2008 8:32AM by Nilay PatelFiled under: Gaming Man, remember when the Dreamcast was all the rage, but no one actually had one, so you could only play on in-store demo units while fending off enraged Software, Etc. employees? No? Trust us, it was quite the thrill, especially topped off with some rockin’ TCBY and maybe a pensive moment at the back of Spencer Gifts — and now you can relive it all in the comfort of your own home, here in the future. Yep, a working Dreamcast demo station has just popped up on eBay, for the shockingly low current price of £230 ($456), although you’ll have to be in the UK to pick it up (or be really, really dedicated to Sega). (Read the full post about ‘Dreamcast demo display shows up on eBay’…)

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The Olympics is not here yet, but I guess Sony’s PSP has already picked up the bronze medal with its new color. Available as a new PSP Lite Value Pack, this bronze colored regular PSP Lite will feature a paltry 32MB Memory Pro Duo memory stick and an AV digital cable. Pricing has been set to €147 as at press time. You will probably pay a premium if you want to import it Stateside. (Read the full post about ‘Sony PSP Gets Bronze’…)

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I am attending Microsoft TechFest 2008 where Microsoft’s research labs from around the world will showcase their best work (36 demos). At the opening dinner we had a demo of the impressive Worldwide Telescope that was presented on February 27 at the TED conference (see the video). Curtis Wong, principal researcher of Microsoft’s Next Media Research group presented the project. Users can browse this virtual universe and get some information either from top scientists by launching audio files from pop up windows or by accessing other related sources on the Internet. The site allows them to create their guided tour of the universe by recording a video of their browsing experience with their personal comments. (Read the full post about ‘Microsoft TechFest 2008 Opens with the WorldWide Telescope Demo’…)

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