App review: SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Phone 7

As you might have heard a little while back, Windows Phone 7 is the latest smartphone OS to have joined the SlingPlayer gang, meaning WP7 fanatics like Ballmer can be couch potatoes wherever they are. Well, assuming they have data connectivity -- be it 3G or WiFi -- and some battery juice on their phones. For better or for worse, the latest SlingPlayer Mobile app is very much like its other flavors -- same easy preparation, a familiar interface, and a similarly tear-inducing $30 price tag. There is, however, one nice addition: a new "Zoom" button on the menu page, which actually chops away a good portion of the black border around the picture. Another noteworthy difference is the more stylish interface in comparison to the Android and iOS versions, but of course, some might think otherwise.

Also on the menu page is a "Quality" button for toggling between standard video quality and high video quality. Annoyingly, said switch is always set to standard at every launch. We can't help but to think that this is for covering up the app's shortfall -- we noticed while high quality streaming does indeed have good picture quality, the frequency of buffering increased over time. Similarly, response time to our button and gesture inputs also got longer and longer -- at one point it took about 20 seconds for us to change a channel on our Freeview box, and that's with our HTC 7 Mozart sitting on the same network as our Slingbox Pro HD! Needless to say, it took even longer over 3G. We then double-checked using our iPhone and Nexus One but failed to reproduce the same bugs. Thankfully, a simple restart of the app eased our frustration, but we expect Sling Media to actually deliver a fix soon. Anyhow, we have a video walkthrough after the break while you wait for an update.

Via:Engadget

Killzone 3 includes admission into SOCOM 4 multiplayer beta

Yo, readers: Sony heard you like shooting, so it put a shooter in your shooter so you can shoot while you're shooting. More specifically, the publisher has announced that both regular andHelghast Edition copies of Killzone 3 will include vouchers which give early access to the SOCOM 4 multiplayer beta. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the beta will arrive at the same time as Killzone 3's launch -- Zipper Interactive's Chris Roper explained on PlayStation Blog, "To find out when the SOCOM 4multiplayer beta begins, be sure to check back at SOCOM.com once you pick up your copy ofKillzone 3, hitting shelves on February 22nd." Perfect; so we'll have some time to get really used to Killzone 3's control scheme before switching over to SOCOM 4's presumably wildly different control scheme. We anticipate that we'll be eating quite a few of our own accidentally-thrown frag grenades.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Via:Joystiq

Retailers: 3DS games priced at $40-50 in US; £33-40 in UK; €50-60 in Europe

Nintendo has refuted our attempts to wrangle 3DS game pricing info so far, but retailer listings may be shedding some light on the subject. We hope you weren't hoping for a standard price point, because it looks like there's some wiggle room. A review of GameStop and Amazon listings reveals 3DS prices of either $39.99 or $49.99 in the US. Meanwhile, Eurogamer reports that UK retailer Game has confirmed the standard software price will be £39.99 in the region, though other UK retailers have prices listed as low as £32.99. Finally, we perused Amazon France and spotted prices of €49.95 and €59.95.

The disparate prices between titles matches up with pricing in Japan, though it is a bit more standardized. We'll keep poking Nintendo for official details.
Source: Eurogamer, GameStop, Amazon France - PilotWings Resort, Amazon France - Nintendogs & Cats, Amazon US - 3DS

Propaganda Games shuttered

Propaganda Games -- developer of 2008's Turok reboot and, most recently, Tron: Evolution -- is officially closed. Parent company and publisher Disney Interactive confirmed the unfortunate news to Joystiq this afternoon, issuing this statement: "Disney Interactive Studios confirms the closure of its Vancouver-based internal game development studio, Propaganda Games. The studio has completed all work associated with its most recent project."

Propaganda's Pirates of the Caribbean game was canceled last October, and the studio was reduced in size, with the only apparent goal to complete Tron and its planned post-launch DLC. It's as yet unclear if any more DLC will be released beyond the day-one freebie.

[Thanks, Alex]

Source:Joystiq

Rayman 3D is an 'adaptation' of Rayman 2

Tucked away in Ubisoft's 3DS lineup press release is this golden nugget: Rayman 3D is actually an "adaptation" of the classic Rayman 2 (the Dreamcast version, specifically). Those of you who have experienced the joy of Rayman 2 can probably stop reading now. The rest of you will be glad to hear that the 3DS version will feature "major updates" to certain gameplay elements, including "accessibility, progression and learning curve."

Frankly, we're just glad

Lag-free Wii on PSP episode II: Mario Kart strikes back

It looks like our favorite PSP Fanboy, Obiwan222222, is up to his old tricks once again, and his latest video shows that he has finally eliminated the lag problem that plagued his first attempt to play Wii on a PSP four years ago. Using a Wii emulator on a PC, some custom firmware, and a program called PSPDisplay, he has managed to stream video and sound to his PSP Go in real time. He also mapped the Wii controls (Wiimote waving excluded, we presume) to the handheld to complete the full Wii-on-PSP gameplaying experience. To see the slick mod in action, check the video after the break.

Source:Engadget

TiVo Premiere App for iPad review

We're not sure what it is about the home theater, but one screen just isn't enough. So we've tried for years to find another screen suitable to join our HDTV to enhance our viewing pleasure, but everything comes up short. The latest in the long line of touch screen remotes, tablet PCs, PDAs and smart phones is the iPad. Of course this device isn't exactly designed to be a home theater device, so a little software is necessary to make it suitable. The latest attempt at said software is from TiVo which is designed to be a companion app for the TiVo Premier. It doesn't let you stream video from your TiVo to your iPad, but it does have a few tricks we think you might find more useful, so go ahead and click on through to find out what those are.

So there you are sitting, on your couch with your favorite person, watching your favorite shows and when you wonder, where do I know that guest star from? You grab your iPad stuffed between the cushions of your couch and launch the TiVo Premier App, which syncs over WiFi and opens automatically to the current show. You browse a bit and discover every single show the actor in question has ever been in and can quickly schedule future recordings featuring him without ever interrupting the others in the room. The app is good for more than just avoiding a few internet searches on your laptop though. You can also use it as a remote and even to search your TiVo for new shows without resorting to the on-screen keyboard. The idea is a great one and honestly TiVo's attempt is one of the best we've seen.

One of TiVo's biggest wins for this app is the gesture controls. They are completely optional and include an easily-accessible cheat sheet to help you learn or remember how to use 'em. Ultimately, it succeeds where many other touch screen remotes fail by making it easy to control the action on your HDTV without looking at the remote. Fast forward, skip, navigation, all the basics are there and implemented in a way that makes sense. You don't have to use the gestures if you don't want to, but one we thing you will want to use is the touch screen scrub bar. We really enjoyed being able to slide a scrub bar with our finger to find just the spot we were looking for, and this one one of the things the touch screen remote can truly do better than its hard button cousin. The other thing it clearly does better is search and browse. Some really like the TiVo Slide Remote, which is nice if you want to drop the extra cash on it, but having the full-screen keyboard available for searching is very convenient.

One thing we couldn't search for, though, was a TV channel. Not a big deal for fans of dramas and sitcoms, but sports fans will need to figure out which channel their team is on some other way since the iPad app will only let you find future events. Speaking of search, it isn't fast; in fact, it's nowhere near as fast as search is on the TiVo itself, but as a plus the results are delivered more clearly and can quickly be turned into a WishList recording or lead to browsing and discovering of new content.



It's very obvious that TiVo was trying to build on its Discovery Bar in its iPad app and for the most part it's a success. You can quickly get lost and forget where you started because you become engrossed in the content. You can start with a show, actor, or whatever and quickly find yourself seven degrees in any direction, including a Netflix or Amazon VOD selection. We really appreciate the new way to find a show we'd like, but sadly the traditional approach is a bit neglected. The TiVo Live Guide is great, but it isn't perfect, and it's not a complete replacement for the old fashioned grid guide, which is completely omitted from the app. This combined with the lag in the population of the guide, makes it a bit of a drag to use. You can filter out the channels you don't receive or only show your favorites though, and while you can easily go straight to any time you'd like, there's no shortcuts to prime time, the time when new shows usually come on. Speaking of time, when you do choose to jump into the future and Explore the actors etc, when you go back to the guide, you leave the future and return to the here and now, which isn't what we'd expect.

Besides being a great way to discover new content and control the TiVo from the same device, our favorite feature is being able to manage our ToDo List and Season Pass priorities without preoccupying the TV with something other than HD content. You can drag and drop the shows into any priority you'd like -- it stil takes forever to commit, but at least you can watch TV while it does it now -- and quickly / simply cancel recordings or clean up recorded shows you'll never watch. The day-to-day maintenance is the best we've experienced on a TiVo, and the only time we've ever been close is in the old TiVoWebPlus days, many years ago.

All that being said, the conflict resolution when scheduling new recordings is exactly the same as it is on the TiVo, and that's not a good thing. With the touch screen interface, it seems TiVo could find a better way to make hard decisions than just asking you simple yes or no questions. This isn't the only time we thought to ourselves, "there must be a better way," with the other being while watching sports and looking for an easy way to jump around to different games. Controlling the dual-live buffers is exactly the same as the physical remote, which is a shame since it is kinda hidden there and its just a big missed opportunity. We guess what we're saying is that we wish the thought that went into enhancing viewing of regular TV, also went into the viewing of sports programming.

While we're complaining, we might as well get the biggest gripe off our chest. We've had connection problems from the very beginning, and while the latest version of the app is better, it never could find our TiVo the first time we've launched it. A quick out-and-back-in usually does the trick, but even when it does find it, there's nothing fast about the process. It isn't a total exercise in patience, but what's worse is the app doesn't resume when you use fast app switching. You can see from the video that the re-launch time isn't unbearable, but TiVo most certainly has some work left to do in this area. Our final gripe is that, unlike the typical TiVo remote, you can't control your TV's power and volume. Now, obviously the iPad doesn't have an IR emitter and that isn't TiVo's fault, but we know TiVo knows a thing or two about IR blasters and would love to see the app leverage an IR blaster or IP control in the future to cut down on the back and forth between the old school remote and the iPad.

Wrap-up

After all the good times and bad times, we must say that the TiVo Premiere App for iPad is a great couch companion. It adds value beyond just replacing the traditional remote, without sacrificing much. Other than a few functions, you can completely throw away the original remote and have a single point of contact between you and your content. Sure, it's a bit slow at times, but even with the wait times, it can still accomplish many tasks quicker than you can via the traditional TiVo user interface. The bottom line is it's the best iPad App for controlling home theater gear that we've ever used, and it totally shows that TiVo "gets" what we mean when we say we want a couch companion. It's far from perfect -- no content streaming, for example -- but for a free app, it's a no-brainer to download for TiVo Premier owners and maybe even the final straw that breaks the inhibitions of those waiting for a reason to upgrade.

Source:Engadget

ModNation Racers for-pay cheat unlocks everything, coming tomorrow

The latest of what we like to call "lazy gamer" cheats -- downloadable unlocks that open up entire games, for a price -- is actually inbound from Sony for ModNation Racers. It's called the "Career Unlock All Key" and, for $3 tomorrow on the PlayStation Store, evidently does what its name suggests. 

Given the ultra-creative nature of the game, we can't really knock the idea of having access to all of the stickers, karts, tracks, themes and other various parts on the disc (and those added by DLC, if you've already bought it). Then again, if you've already sunk $60 into the retail release and more into DLC, you'd think the least Sony could do is throw in some seat covers a code.

• Source: PlayStation Blog

Sounds like Chime is headed for US PSN, too

Originally developed for Xbox Live Arcade as the first of OneBigGame's for-charity titles, music-based puzzler Chime is one step closer to release on PS3 via PlayStation Network. Already rated by classification boards in Australia and Germany, the game has now received an "E" rating from the ESRB.

Now this PS3 version of the game just needs to be, y'know, announced. (Hopefully with Portal's "Still Alive" included.)

Source: ESRB

League of Legends admin fired after streaming misuse of power

Riot Games has fired a customer service representative who live-streamed his misuse of administrative powers during a League of Legends bout. VE3D reports the employee verbally abused a player and inappropriately banned him. Riot Games' community relations director Steve Mescon announced today the employee is no longer with the company and it will be reviewing internal policy and training procedures to "prevent such incidents from happening in the future."

Another incident for the employee-related community relations nightmare file.

• Source: VE3D, Riot Games

RIM extending tools to other smartphone platforms, going cross-platform?

Over the past year or so it's become clear that there is a cure for the CrackBerry addict. For many it's called the iPhone, for others it's Android, while still others are getting their kicks from other platforms. IT departments worldwide are relaxing their rules and getting a little smartphone agnostic and now it sounds like RIM is thinking about finding a way to reel those newly straight-edged users back into their former habits. RIM Vice President Pete Devenyi had this to say on the subject:

BlackBerry is and will continue to be dominant in most corporations, [but] it's not going to be the only device given the fact that consumers have the choice to bring in their own devices and IT departments are often letting them in. So there's a question there. Do those corporations have to manage those devices differently or is there the possibility that RIM might extend capabilities to make it easier for those corporations to manage those devices as well? ... If the right thing to do is to extend a subset of those [BlackBerry] capabilities to be able to manage other devices, it's worthy of a conversation

Right now he's just talking about device management, but if this goes forward it could be a sign of a willingness for RIM to move some of its proprietary services to other devices. BBM on Android and iPhone? We know a few people getting positively giddy at that (highly speculative) prospect.

Road Blaster drives recklessly to iOS, available now for a buck

Revolutionary Concepts' cleaned-up iPhone/iPad port of the FMV car game Road Blaster may not have hit its original September 2010 release date, but that hardly matters now, because it's available now. Similar to Cobra Command, this is an updated version of a Data East arcade game, featuring vehicular mayhem rendered in traditional 2D animation.

If you'd like to take this insane, animated destructive driving adventure with you anywhere, you can do so right now for just 99 cents. After the "launch period," it's going back up to $2.99, so you should road blast over to the App Store if you're interested. Or drift past the break for some footage.

Source: Road Blaster (iTunes)
Via:Joystiq

Crytek: Crysis 2 needs 90+ score to make an impact

Crytek executive producer Nathan Camarillo has said he believes the studio’s latest game, Crysis 2, needs review scores to average over 90 percent if the game is to make an impact.

EA Partners boss David DeMartin’s recently commented that the game would easily average over 90 percent on Metacritic, and in response to this Camarillo told CVG:

“We’re going to put out the best game that we can make and that’s probably over a 90 rated, although it’s up to the reviewers obviously. I hope he didn’t jinx us.”

Camarillo went on to say that review scores are very important to any company, and those who don’t make the 90 mark are less likely to make an impact.

“I think you have to be 90 plus to make an impact in any genre now. The quality bar is so high and publishers and developers have put so much effort against high quality games.”

“If you want to be recognised at all, regardless of genre, like anything you need to create the highest quality product possible and anything else is not going to get noticed.”

Crysis 2 is due to release on March 25 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Pre-order the limited edition here for the standard price.

Via

Paper Gordon Freeman Can Save Humanity In Under Seven Minutes

The Half-Life series is a fan favourite for a ton of reasons, but the main one is that its universe and story are so strong. Strong enough, even, to be re-told in under seven minutes using...paper.

Below is the first Half-Life, re-enacted using little paper men, and told in 2:14. Below that is Half-Life 2, which thanks to its beefier plot runs to 3:57.

Both clips are the work of Stepan Yurov. He may tell a shorter story than Valve's epic shooter series (and include more Pac-Man cameos), but it's all the more charming because of it.

LG's Optimus 2X Caught Recording Video at 1080p [Video]

LG's Optimus 2X Caught Recording Video at 1080p [Video]: "

One of the many exciting bulletpoints surrounding LG's forthcoming Optimus 2X dual-core Android phone its its ability to record video at the full HD resolution of 1080p. But how does it look? Is the sensor man enough? Let's see... More »

CyanogenMod 7 Gingerbread nightlies pushing now!

For those of you waiting to get your hands on CyanogenMod 7 (aka Gingerbread), nightly builds have finally (we say that with a smile) started up for the phones supported by the community project. Builds are ... erm ... building as we speak, and we've already got it up and running on our Nexus One.
As is case with these nightly builds, bugs are inevitable. So no complaining about that to the folks in charge, eh? Get your download on in Rom Manager or at the Cyanogen forums, and you'll need to flash new gapps (99 percent of us will want the Universal DPI: Tiny version) with this nightly. Enjoy! [Cyanogen, gapps]
CyanogenMod 7 Gingerbread nightlies pushing now! posted originally by Android Central
Sponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

Although the Keyblade-swinging action is easily on par with 358/2 Days, the awkward plot, increasingly stale locations, and recycled game scenarios make Re:coded the weakest Kingdom Hearts title yet.

In a nutshell, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded is a remake of the 2008 Japan-exclusive episodic mobile title "Kingdom Hearts coded," albeit rebuilt from the ground up for the Nintendo DS. While both games cover the same narrative threads, Re:coded benefits from a lot of new additions indicative to the DS hardware: better graphics, dual-screen content, and a significantly retouched combat system.

If you haven't been following the Kingdom Hearts saga throughout the five games that have been released so far, Re:coded isn't where you should introduce yourself to the series. Don't get me wrong -- it's a solid entry in a great franchise that successfully mixes the talents of Square Enix with the star power of several iconic Disney characters, but I'm not going to pretend the story makes any sense. It just doesn't. Heck -- to be fair, the entire Kingdom Hearts plot train fell off the rails and over a bridge about halfway through Kingdom Hearts II.

Taking place shortly after Kingdom Hearts II, Re:coded's story begins when mysterious messages and pleas for help start appearing in Jiminy Cricket's journal. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy digitize the journal to analyze the corrupted pages, creating a "Data Sora" to debug the entries within the book's contents. What follows is a strange and baffling adventure that involves the Darkness in the "Data World" interfering with the real world, with the final events having no clear influence on anything occurring in the series' arc. Of course, this is a side-game, so it's not supposed to have much sway on the events in the "core" Kingdom Hearts titles, but at this point it feels like series creator Tetsuya Nomura is making this stuff up as he goes along.

From beginning to end, every sequence of events in Re:coded is one poorly explained plot twist after another. At the very least, previous series spin-off 358/2 Days tied up some dangling threads and character origins that fleshed out things in the time-skip between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. No such thing is done in Re:coded, due in large part to storytelling that somehow feels both rushed and strangely light on details.

While the convoluted narrative leaves much to be desired, the action is nonetheless at its best in Re:coded. Some of the combat mechanics feature elements borrowed from the far superior Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and advanced players can make things legitimately challenging thanks to the various tweaks the game allows you to make. Data Sora's stats, items, and abilities are all managed via the "Matrix System," which also allows players to tweak in-game factors like enemy strength, drop rates of loot, experience rates, and so on. In addition to that, skills can be collected, leveled up, and merged to create all-new abilities, which helps stave off boredom after mowing down hundreds of old Heartless enemies.

It's almost diabolical how addictive the "Stat Matrix" and "Command Matrix" can become later in the game. Of the two, the former is represented as a large circuit board (keeping with the digital theme of the game), where installing certain chips yields a calculated boost in Data Sora's abilities. For example, you can install "Level Up" chips anywhere in the Stat Matrix, but if you can line them up between two adjacent "CPU" chips, the computing power will double your level gain. Careful character management like this makes a huge difference in the long run -- I spent more than half of the game 10 levels lower than I should've been, all because I wasn't paying attention to the arrangement of my Stat Matrix. Once I knew what I was doing, the game opened up dramatically.

Although Re:coded is essentially a retread of various Kingdom Hearts worlds you've seen multiple times already (Wonderland, Agrabah, Hollow Bastion), the game at least tries new gameplay styles in a few boss battles and missions. One of these levels even includes turn-based combat, while another tries its best to mimic Space Harrier. However, most worlds are focused around the same third-person perspective from the original Kingdom Hearts, complete with the usual drunken camera angles and stiff, imprecise platforming. For the most part, it's nothing that we haven't seen before, and for anyone who's faithfully played all the other games in the series, this will seem like tired shtick.

Overall, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded has a decent amount of polish, and should be interesting for series fans who have managed to keep the story straight so far. If you tackle the handful of side-quests and extra missions, you'll even net a good 15 to 30 hours out of the game -- just don't expect much clarity out of the narrative.

PROS: Decent graphics, interesting leveling system, plenty of extra challenges and quests; the unique "Matrix System" can actually make several missions legitimately difficult.
CONS: Terrible camera, irritating platforming sections, awkward learning curve; too much content recycled from previous titles; don't bother trying to make any sense of the unnecessarily convoluted story.

Via:GamePro

Source:GamePro

Italy's Mediaset sends 3D content over terrestrial connection, isn't actually broadcasting 3D TV

While Mediaset appears to be (one of) the first to convey 3D content over a terrestrial connection, it isn't actually serving up any 3D television -- it is 'datacasting' or ever-so-slowly downloading 3D movies to a set-top box, which you may later consume directly from the hard disk that received them. The innovation here is in the utilization of spare airwaves to basically trickle a movie into your Motive Bestv STB -- we know, it's an irrelevancy to most of you cable- and internet-connected media mavens, but it's one way to deliver 3D content to less technologically developed nations. Motive is already in talks with companies in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Turkey about doing the same, but Italy gets the honor of being first with a choice of 50 3D titles on Mediaset's 3VOD service. Let's see what the Azzurri think of it, eh?

Evolve III Maestro slate triple-boots Android, MeeGo and Windows 7 (video)

We inevitably miss things at tradeshows, and here's one we regret -- we didn't catch this obscure Australian tablet in the flesh at CES 2011. Apparently, this Evolve III Maestro was casually chilling at Intel's booth with Android, Windows 7 and a 1.83GHz Atom N475 CPU inside, but representatives were willing to reveal grander plans if you spent a little time with the device. You see, come Q2 2011, the slate will graduate to a dual-core Oak Trail CPU, and add MeeGo to the stack for a grand total of three operating systems. TabletPCBuzz says Windows 7 and Android are getting eight and sixteen hours of battery life on the Oak Trail chip respectively, and the tablet weighs less than two pounds.

It's hard to say what other features the Oak Trail version will have, but even the existing tablet isn't a pushover, with a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 32GB of solid state storage, 3G and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and a pair of full-size USB ports on one edge. Sources suggest the original will find a $500 price point, with the Oak Trail commanding an additional $100. After the break, you'll find a disappointingly static video, but follow the links below for a walkthrough of the MeeGo UI and all the specs you could want.

[Thanks, Garf]

Continue reading Evolve III Maestro slate triple-boots Android, MeeGo and Windows 7 (video)

Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

In the past two weeks, Google has started sending out its pilot notebook for testing. It is little more than a Web browser tucked inside a netbook. Yes, all it does is surf the Web. And it's going to be huge.

Evolve III Maestro slate triple-boots Android, MeeGo and Windows 7 (video)

We inevitably miss things at tradeshows, and here's one we regret -- we didn't catch this obscure Australian tablet in the flesh at CES 2011. Apparently, this Evolve III Maestro was casually chilling at Intel's booth with Android, Windows 7 and a 1.83GHz Atom N475 CPU inside, but representatives were willing to reveal grander plans if you spent a little time with the device. You see, come Q2 2011, the slate will graduate to a dual-core Oak Trail CPU, and add MeeGo to the stack for a grand total of three operating systems. TabletPCBuzz says Windows 7 and Android are getting eight and sixteen hours of battery life on the Oak Trail chip respectively, and the tablet weighs less than two pounds.

It's hard to say what other features the Oak Trail version will have, but even the existing tablet isn't a pushover, with a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 32GB of solid state storage, 3G and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and a pair of full-size USB ports on one edge. Sources suggest the original will find a $500 price point, with the Oak Trail commanding an additional $100. After the break, you'll find a disappointingly static video, but follow the links below for a walkthrough of the MeeGo UI and all the specs you could want.

Via: Geek.com, Liliputing
Engadget
Source:Evolve Three, pcchan54 (YouTube)

iPhone headset socket hijacked to power DIY peripherals (video)

Hijacking Power and Bandwidth from the Mobile Phone's Audio Interface - Integrated Prototype from Thomas Schmid on Vimeo.

Apple's proprietary dock connector may keep would-be peripheral manufacturers at bay, but if you want to build your own iOS companion devices, there's another way. You might have noticed that the Square credit card reader uses Apple's 3.5mm headset jack to transmit power and data at once, and gadgeteers at the University of Michigan are busy open-sourcing the same technique for all the DIY contraptions you can dream of. Project HiJack has already figured out how to pull 7.4 milliwatts out of a 22kHz audio tone, and built a series of prototype boards (including working EKG, temperature, humidity and motion sensors) that transmit data to and from an iOS app at up to 8.82 kbaud -- using just $2.34 worth of electronic components. See the basic principles at work in the video above, and -- as soon as the team updates Google Code -- find out how to build your own at the links below.

Ars Technica

Project HiJack

Angry Birds (for PlayStation 3, PSP)

Controls: Jerky

Angry Birds has become a casual gaming sensation, and one of the premiere smartphone games. It's the new Bejeweled, the new Tetris, the new Solitaire. There's something inexplicably addictive and entertaining about using a giant slingshot to send birds crashing through pigs' fortifications. Now it's come to Sony's gaming systems as a PlayStation mini, a $3.99 downloadable game you can play on both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. But before PS fans get too excited, be aware that Angry Birds for Sony's gaming platforms isn't as smart as the smartphone versions.

On one hand, this port of Angry Birds is faithful to the original game. On the other hand, too little was changed for the game to be very fun on the PS3, and performance issues hinder its playability on the PSP. The game comes with just 63 levels (though there is the potential for more in the future). Considering that smartphone versions cost less and include more than three times as many levels (not even including the Angry Birds Seasons games), it's not nearly as tempting as it could be.

For both PlayStation versions of the game, the controls are very simple, but they're not nearly as satisfying as the touch-screen controls found on smartphone versions. The left analog stick (on the PS3) or analog disc (on the PSP) aims the slingshot, X fires, and the shoulder buttons pan the map back and forth so you can look over the level. You can fire the slingshot by flicking the analog stick/disc for a more tactile sensation, but it's an unreliable way to play the game, and you'll find yourself nudging the controller in just the wrong way at a crucial time, sending your bird hopping uselessly just a few feet instead of flying across the level.

Specifications

Platform

Sony PSP, PlayStation 3

Genre

Board/Puzzle

ESRB Rating

E for Everybody

More

Graphics: It's No Super Meat Boy
Visually, Angry Birds has not changed one whit from its smartphone versions. On both the PS3 and PSP, the game features the same cartoony, simple graphics used before, and the menu layout is identical. Regardless of the platform, the game is standard definition. While it looks fine on the PSP (despite some slight pixilation around straight lines placed on angles, on the PS3 it looks blocky and unpleasant, like a smartphone screen blown up to HDTV size. The menus, the sprites, the animations, they're all jarringly full of pixels. While pixilated sprites might be acceptable in retro-themed games, in these days of high-res, hand-drawn sprites in games like Castle Crashers and Super Meat Boy, Angry Birds just looks dated.

On the smaller screen of the PSP, Angry Birds looks much nicer. Unfortunately, the lower processing power leads to some other flaws in the game. You can expect to see significant choppiness and stuttering of the picture during particularly spectacular launches as the handheld's CPU works to keep up. A perfect, pig-crushing throw feels much less satisfying when you watch it jerk along at a few frames per second, hiccupping as the wood, stone, and glass walls shatter and fall.

At Least it's Ch eap
Between its lackluster presentation on the PS3 and jerky game play on the PSP, the PlayStation Mini version of Angry Birds isn't the best version of the game for either platform. However, at $3.99 and packed with dozens of levels, it's a cheap way to sate your bird-flinging thirst if you don't have an Android, iPhone, or iPad. If you have any of the aforementioned mobile devices, use them. Lower prices, more levels, and a much more satisfying touch-screen control system make this one of the few cases where iPhones and Android phones can handle a game far better than either of Sony's systems.

Source:PcMag

Via:PcMag

Super Mario Galaxy 2.5 hack to add new fan-made challenge levels

Super Mario Galaxy 2.5 hack to add new fan-made challenge levels: "

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a pretty fantastic game. So it comes as no surprise that some enthuastic fans have taken it upon themselves to create even more levels for the game. The project is dubbed Super Mario Galaxy 2.5 and, should it reach completion, will offer some of the most challenging 3D Mario levels created thus far.



Right now, there's only one completed level, a hack of the original 'Step to the Beat.' Like its predecessor, the level features disappearing beat blocks. But, you'll need to utilize many Mario tricks to make it through alive, including the notorious Yoshi-jump. Check out videos after the jump.

Continue reading Super Mario Galaxy 2.5 hack to add new fan-made challenge levels

Super Mario Galaxy 2.5 hack to add new fan-made challenge levels originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

L.A. Noire contains 50 hours of dialogue

L.A. Noire contains 50 hours of dialogue: "

According to Team Bondi’s Brendan McNamara, L.A. Noire will feature more than two full days of dialogue. Presumably it also features subtitles and a skip button, or there goes half the audience.
“We captured over 50 hours worth of dialogue in total, all using MotionScan — it’s equivalent to about two full seasons of a TV show,” McNamara told IGN.
Thankfully, it seems you won’t be sitting through an identical fifty hours of waffling every time you want to explore 1947 Los Angeles.
“Each case has its own twists and turns depending on the choices you make, leading you down different paths on your way to cracking the case, giving you plenty of reasons to jump back in and replay the game.”
Thanks, CVG. Original Article at VG247

Donkey Kong High-Score Belongs To Hank Chien Again!

Just a few weeks back I reported how Steve Weibe had reclaimed the highly coveted High-Score spot from Billy Mitchell who had reclaimed it from Hank Chien…well, on Dec. 10th it was reported by Twin Galaxies that Chien has yet again nailed the top spot with an additional 3,500 more points for a total of 1,068,000.

From the official interview by Twin Galaxies,“TG: First off, Hank, congratulations on reclaiming the title belt. How does it feel to get it, lose it to Billy Mitchell, only to have that beaten by Steve Wiebe, and then reclaim it? Was it harder this time? HC: Thank you! I was obviously very excited to claim the title the first time. However, I knew it was only a matter of time before Billy Mitchell or Steve Wiebe reclaimed it. However I did not expect it to happen on my birthday! Yes, Billy Mitchell’s score was announced on my birthday. I also knew Steve Wiebe was trying over the summer but heard he was having some vertigo issues. When the summer was over, I thought the vertigo had gotten the best of him and was surprised when it was announced in September. I knew the score was still within my reach. Although I was excited to reclaim it, nothing beats the first time! Of course it was harder this time, however I have gotten better since last time so relatively speaking it was a bit easier.” There is some even more exciting news coming out from Twin Galaxies…but I will leave that until another posting just a bit later. A big thanks to Twin Galaxies for the heads up as well as the photo seen above.

Football

5 Smartphones To Look Out For In 2011 [TNW Mobile]

The smartphone market has showed no signs of slowing in 2010 – as worldwide mobile phone sales in the third quarter amounted to 417 million units, a rise of 35% from the third quarter in 2009, smartphone sales grew 96%, resulting in one in every five sales in that period was that of a smartphone.

Android shipments have surged as manufacturers have taken to powering their latest smartphones with Google’s free operating system, Apple’s iPhone continues to fly off the shelves and only today, RIM announced that it had shipped a record amount of handsets in its last financial quarter.

There have been some standout smartphones hitting the market in 2010 but it’s now time to look at the devices that will be vying for consumer dollars in the coming year. Lists are always subjective, and we are guaranteed to see a number of new handsets announced in the meantime, but here are our top five picks for 2011:

LG Optimus 2X

Officially unveiled just days ago, LG’s Optimus 2X Android-powered handset will be the world’s first dual-core smartphone.

The handset boasts a 4-inch screen, 8GB memory (expandable up to 32GB), dual camera (1.3MP front, 8MP back), full HD video playback and HDMI mirroring, allowing you to output your videos on to the big screen.The Optimus 2X has both an accelerometer and a gyro sensor and a 1500mAh battery.

Slated for release in Korea in early January, with the rest of Asia and Europe coming just weeks after, the Optimus 2X will ship with Android 2.2 initially but will receive an upgrade to Gingerbread once builds become available.

Nokia N9

Not much is known about this MeeGo-powered Nokia device other than it will be a new slider handset that is crafted from aluminium, rightly drawing comparisons to Apple’s MacBook pro design.

The rumours state that the handset will sport a 4.2-inch OLED screen, a 1.2GHz processor, 768MB of RAM, a 12MP camera with Carl Zeiss Optics and a 1600mAh battery.

There is no word on an official release date for the Nokia N9, despite rumours of a December release date. As we come to the end of 2010, this handset has found itself with a 2011 release, we would guess within the first quarter of the year.

HTC 7 Pro

Perhaps the most desirable Windows Phone 7 handset, the HTC 7 Pro is a slider handset that “allows you to get your work done and enjoy big screen entertainment”. Unveiled at Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 launch event, the HTC 7 Pro has been dogged by delays, pushing back its release to what looks like will now be a Q1 2011 launch.

The HTC 7 Pro sports a sliding chassis that incorporates a 3.6-inch display slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboard. It’s powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, has 576MB of RAM, a 512MB ROM as well as a 5MP camera (720p HD video recording), 8GB of internal storage and a 1500 mAh battery.

Sony Ericsson Zeus Z1 or “Playstation Phone”

Sony Ericsson has the mobile world all aflutter with reports that it might release a “Playstation Phone”, an Android-powered smartphone-cum-gaming device that has emerged in numerous spy videos and leaked reports but hasn’t had official confirmation that it exists.

The handset is set to feature a crystal-clear display, providing stiff competition to Samsung’s Super AMOLED screens and Apple’s Retina Display. It is thought that Sony Ericsson will be using its established Bravia brand name from its high-quality flatscreen TV’s for its new device.

The device is said to be “nowhere near ready”, meaning it won’t be ready until next year, possibly launching Spring 2011.

Suggested unlocked pricing of the device is around $500 with five free games, although it is not known whether the games will be downloadable only or the device will support media of some type (old PSP games). The games will likely mirror pricing on smartphone app stores and Sony Ericsson is reportedly leveraging its gaming might to encourage a large line-up of independent games for its platform.

Motorola Olympus

The Motorola Olympus has been touted as “the first real flagship Android device on AT&T.” It’s possible the device could live up to its billing, featuring a 4-inch display, and a NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor (the very same processor used by LG in its Optimus 2X) possibly launching with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

According to a question posted on AT&T’s Share Facebook page concerning when the device would be available, a representative from AT&T responded stating that it would be “available in December or January.” The exchange has since been removed from the Facebook page. Luckily, it was there long enough for the world to see.

Rumors claim the device will be announced at CES on January 5th, with the release of the device later in the month.

Honourable Mentions

Sony Ericsson X12 Anzu – Sony Ericsson’s new flagship Android smartphone. It will be very thin, shipping with a 4.3-inch display, 1080p video capture, a front facing camera and a built-in HDMI port.

HTC Incredible HD – There’s not much known about the HTC Incredible HD, a.k.a the HTC Mecha, other than it will likely ship with HTC’s new Sense UI and be a device that will operate on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

Altek Leo – Altek’s Android-powered Leo smartphone has a “real” 14 megapixel CCD with “real” 3x optical zoom and 720p video, launching Q1 2011 in Europe.

iPhone 5? – Chances are we will see an update to Apple’s wildly popular iPhone 4, whether its a completely new device or the iPhone 4.5 we don’t know. Knowing Apple, it will feature enhanced hardware specifications and have iPhone 4 owners looking for upgrade whether they want to or not.Image Credit

17. January, 2011: Sneak attack

17. January, 2011: Sneak attack

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