Bandai Co Ltd will launch the "Mobile Communicator Smart Berry," a mobile e-mail, chat and game tool for girls, July 19, 2008.

This product features wireless communication capability instead of infrared communication, which is generally employed for toys. Up to four units can communicate with one another for e-mail, chat and online games at the same time within a 10m diameter.

The Smart Berry includes an LCD panel measuring 50 (w) x 35mm (h) and a stylus pen that can be stored in the main unit. It is formed like a slide type smartphone equipped with a keyboard. As smartphone type mobile products are also winning popularity among adults, "We employed this form considering the preferences of girls, who are sensitive to trends and fashion," Bandai explained.

It can register user profiles. Users can only send and receive mail and pictures drawn with the stylus pen to other users that they have exchanged their profiles with. Each mail can contain up to 64 characters.

In addition, the Smart Berry has a function that allows users to raise a virtual pet. Using the communication capability, users can exchange their characters with one another. Other functions include a scheduler, calculator, alarm clock and address book.

The LCD panel has 80 x 56 resolution in 4 monochromatic tones. It runs with three AAA batteries. Its dimensions are 110 (w) x 65 (h) x 29.5mm (d) and weight is 112.3g. The target users are girls at the age of 6 to 9.

The price is ¥10,290 (≠ US$96.9) including tax. It will be available at toy stores and in the toy sections of department stores and volume retailers.

via techon.nikkeibp 

Just wanted to let all of you in on a bit of good news from the Mouse and Keyboard on the Xbox360 world.

For those of you who may already be familiar with the XIM (Xbox Input Machine), you know that it was capable of taking the XFPS's capabilities and enhancing them 10-fold to make a usable mouse and keyboard experience with most games on the console. Since you're familiar, read below for the good news.

For those of who who don't know the XIM, read on. XIM started as an enhancement for the XFPS. Anyone who has used the XFPS regardless of which edition knows that no matter what you do it just doesn't offer the same experience. The guy behind the project, OBsIV found that it was possible with the combination of additional hardware and a special piece of software that you could create a much more accurate experience with the mouse and keyboard in games like COD4 and Halo 3. But, this experience wasn't quite as good as it could be due to the limitations in the hardware that the XIM used. So he went back to the drawing board and created a piece of hardware and new software that could deliver the experience that you've always hoped to get with a mouse and keyboard on a console, appropriately named XIM2.

So, what's the good news in all of this blabbering? The XIM2 is now being pre-ordered and will ship in 2 weeks.

via xbox-scene 

Wii MotionPlus -- the Wii Remote attachment revealed Eurogamer), Nintendo's Katsuya Eguchi confirmed the one possibility under consideration is to update the Wii Remote to include the MotionPlus technology.

As to looking at whether or not it will be an attachment or built-in -- we're always looking at how hardware should evolve and where we should take it," Eguchi said. "Unfortunately, I don't have a definite direction to give you today, but it's something we'll be looking at."

Sure, all of the people who already own a Wii (and in case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of them) will still have to buy the add-on for any games that support it, but at least building it into the controller would help Nintendo keep its user base from getting too splintered. But Eguchi said that the company is considering limiting MotionPlus support to a select number of games. "[It] might be good to keep it as an attachment we only use for certain software."

Eguchi also stated that he doesn't believe MotionPlus is in some way an acknowledgment that the original Wii Remote isn't satisfactory. "Of course, you always want more, and as we were working on [Wii Sports Resort], we thought it would be nice to have more than what we had," he said. "But we're not dissatisfied with [the original Wii Sports] at all. We're very happy with what we did."

via news.yahoo 

Redmond, Washington—Microsoft is giving consumers more gigabytes for their buck. The company today announced an Xbox 360® console with triple the storage space of the original console, but for the same price of $349 (U.S.) estimated retail price.

Available in retail stores in the U.S. and Canada starting in early August, the upgraded Xbox 360 will include a 60GB hard drive for storing the growing wealth of digital entertainment available for the console, including music, movies, television shows, and game content. In addition, Microsoft today dropped the price of its 20GB Xbox 360 console in the U.S. and Canada to just $299 (U.S.) (ERP) while supplies last, a savings of $50.

"We know consumers need more and more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers, and we're giving it to them at no extra charge," said Albert Penello, Xbox director of product management at Microsoft. "No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver, and now you'll have three times the storage to manage all that great content."

Xbox 360 is just one of three Xbox 360 gaming and entertainment systems Microsoft offers. Microsoft's Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes with a 256MB memory unit and five Xbox LIVE Arcade games, is a value for the whole family for $279 (U.S.) (ERP), and the premium Xbox 360 Elite console is available with a 120GB hard drive for $449 (U.S.) (ERP).

Out of the box, the Xbox 360 console is ready to provide an incredible gaming and entertainment experience:

• Xbox 360 console: The console is equipped with a cool white finish and three powerful core processors capable of producing the best in high definition (HD) entertainment (up to 1080p for gaming), 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound, and high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output.
• 60GB Hard Drive: The 60GB detachable hard drive allows you to save your games and store television shows, movies, music, pictures, trailers, levels, demos, and other content available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the premier one-stop digital download center for entertainment.
• Upscaling DVD Player: With an HDMI cable (sold separately), watch your favorite DVDs in near high-definition using the upscaling capabilities of Xbox 360.
• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller: This award-winning, high-performance wireless controller features the Xbox Guide Button for quick, in-game access to friends and music. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of up to 30 hours on two AA batteries.
• Xbox 360 Headset: The headset lets friends and family around the world chat while playing games, watching movies, or sending voice messages on Xbox LIVE.
• Xbox LIVE Silver Membership: For no additional cost, Xbox 360 owners can chat with friends online, collect Achievements to improve their Gamerscores, send and receive voice and text messages, and access Xbox LIVE Marketplace content such as game demos, and purchase or rent HD movies and TV shows, as well as the best in downloadable games from Xbox LIVE Arcade. (Broadband Internet access required.)
• One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold: An Xbox LIVE Gold Membership provides a complete online entertainment experience. Those who subscribe to this premium service can engage in competitive online multiplayer matches, tailor their matchmaking via feedback and accomplishments, and chat with an entire group of friends at a time.
• via xbox

"This year, our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," Oneda told a forum in Singapore. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."

His comments followed a report in the Wall Street Journal which said Microsoft plans to cut the price on a popular model of its Xbox 360 game console in an effort to boost sales in the face of stronger competition from rival Sony.

The Journal report cited people familiar with the matter and said the price cut would come as early as Sunday.

Oneda also said he expects Sony's PS3 operations as well as the broader game segment to be profitable for the current year ending March 2009.

via physorg 

OCZ's bread and butter may be memory of various types, such as DDR3 RAM or the (absolutely awesome) OCZ 64GB SATA II SSD, but its latest Alchemy range takes a different direction. Débuting with the Elixir keyboard, the Alchemy line of gaming products is, in theory at least, intended to offer gamers decent peripherals, without a huge price tag.

As budget keyboards go, the Elixir appears pretty well-endowed feature wise. Foremost are ten tri-way programmable macro keys (effectively giving 30 in total), media player controls and pop-up shortcut menu. We're not sure how the latter will work exactly, but it sounds intriguing. The keys are all rubber-coated, which should ensure they're comfortable to use, as well as offering better grip than just plastic.

Eugene Chang, Product Manager OCZ's Technology Group commented on the Alchemy range's launch saying:

"The new Alchemy line from OCZ is designed to offer gamers quality gaming solutions that deliver both exceptional performance and value. Just because gamers have a budget doesn't mean they shouldn't enjoy premium gaming features, and our first Alchemy solution the Elixir gaming keyboard is designed with quality ergonomics and offers efficient game-play with programmable macro keys."

With an MSRP of just $29.99 (~£15) the Elixir definitely qualifies as budget-friendly. There isn't really a compelling gaming keyboard in that price range that I can think of, so if OCZ comes good on its promise it should be onto a winner with the Elixir.

Link:
OCZ.

via trustedreviews 

This is an interesting project that uses an Arduino to interpret the 8bit value generated from the controller and adds a "fatigue value" to the output signal. Basically, the longer you play, the slower your character will move.

So, this is my analog version of a playful Playstation 2 controller for the PSX project -- the one that slows the analog part of the controller down over time so, you know..when I'm playing Katamari Damacy it's a bit more realistic that the Prince gets tired or during GTA, my guy actually gets tired from running away from liquor store heists and stuff.

Basically, I tap right into the PSX controller, putting a microcontroller in between the analog control joysticks and the little FPGA or whatever it is that senses the analog control joysticks. So, my microcontroller determines where the control sticks are and, depending on how long the game's been played, "dampens" the value, constraining its range...

via blog.makezine 

• Step into the Next Generation of Gaming
• Includes Headset, Ethernet Cable, Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Console
• Bundle Includes HD A/V Cable
• Features Xbox Live for the Ultimate Broadband Gaming Experience, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, Multimedia Capabilities, Rumble Feature for Realistic Gaming Experience, Wireless Gaming Capabilities, 20GB Hard Drive
• Also Functions as a DVD Player to Watch your Favorite Movies
• 14.48 Lb.

via target 

Another seven songs have been revealed from Rock Band 2's tracklist of 80 songs in the latest issue of Game Informer magazine. This makes a total of 17 songs officially known so far. The 7 songs are:

• Bon Jovi - "Livin' on a Prayer"
• Steve Miller Band - "Rock 'n Me"
• Joan Jett - "Bad Reputation"
• Social Distortion - "I Was Wrong"
• Rage Against the Machine - "Testify"
• Avenged Sevenfold - "Almost Easy"
• Billy Idol - "White Wedding Pt. 1"

Notice that every single one of these songs are on the earlier leaked list from 8bitfix, so that increases the possibility the rest of the songs on the list are correct. Other improvements disclosed in the extensive article include a more user-friendly lag calibration, quieter buttons on the guitar and quieter pads on the drums, simulated tuning during loading screens and more.

Ion, a maker of real drum kits, will release a premium Rock Band drum kit which will have "amazing" cymbals and pads, and the option to plug it into a real drum brain and for usage as a real electronic drum kit. Harmonix will also be producing limited edition guitars by taking a couple of real Fender Strats, ripping out the insides, and replacing each one of them with Rock Band parts. Sounds fancy, and very expensive. Who's first in line to sell their organs for one?...

via ps3fanboy 

Fujitsu Siemens in action

We had a chance to see the Fujitsu Siemens soon to become retail, Lasso product. The ATI name is called XGP and Amilo will be the first notebook to have one.

We wrote that this external graphics has an RV670-based GPU, or should we say that Lasso has an M88 mobile version of the same GPU, and it doesn’t get that hot after a few hours of work.

We were asked not to do any benchmarks, but we saw how the retail unit looks and that it looks fine enough to start shipping shortly. This XGP actually supports PCIe 8X, which is more than enough to run Vista; and for the time being, you can run Lasso 3D on an external monitor, but at a later time you will be able to play Lasso accelerated games on your notebook display...

via .fudzilla