Only- Electronics

Filed under: Gaming, Storage

Yeah, the solution seemed pretty obvious to us, and now it looks like Nintendo’s willing to admit it. Nintendo will be solving its little Wii Shop game storage overflow problem by opening up the SD card slot for storing and playing games from (with DRM galore, we’re sure). The update will hit in the Spring of next year, and don’t forget that 2GB maximum when stocking up on the little buggers. It’s not exactly as exciting as a new DS, but we’re really glad Nintendo’s going to do the right thing here, instead of building yet another peripheral to clutter our lives with.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In a press conference held just a short while ago, Nintendo head honcho Satoru Iwata put an end to ongoing speculation by officially unveiling a brand new DS handheld console.

The Nintendo DS-i features many of the upgrades that were rumoured earlier in the week, but with some subtle twists:

For starters, the DS-i features a pair of cameras. They are 0.3 megapixel resolution; one is located on the inside and one on the outside.

Both screens are larger too. They have grown from 3.0″ to 3.25″.

An extra SD card slot has been added, which is compatible with the Wii Photo Channel. It can also be used to play MP3s on the go.

Sony has been hinting at a dedicated PSP store for its handheld for ages, but it carries on fannying about, Nintendo may well beat it to the punch. The DS-i will get access to a dedicated Nintendo DS Store, which will be selling “Nintendo DS Ware”, presumably nearly identical to the current WiiWare service.

And finally, there will be a web browser built into the device itself. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’s the same Opera one.

So these are some fairly sweeping upgrades, and all without turning the DS into a bloated lump of Fisher Price plastic. However, there has been a price to pay for hanging on to that svelte figure: the poor old GBA port has been retired. It’s a shame, of course, but we really doubt we’ll miss it now.

Timings are still fairly loose, but Japan is expect to get its mitts on the new model on November 1st. Meanwhile, the rest of the world will have to wait until sometime in early 2009 for their version.

Related Links

- DS2 rumours hint at camera

- Apparently the dual-touchscreen rumour was false

Source: (via MTV)

Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_Announces_DSi’; As expected, Nintendo has announced the new DSi at its Fall presentation in Japan. The device features a dual touchscreen layout almost identical to the DS Lite, though the company is calling it a “third platform,” which means it’s complementing the existing system, not necessarily replacing it. Looks-wise there’s not much different happening, but it’s some 12 percent thinner — partly because it omits the GBA cartridge slot. The touchscreens are slightly larger, at 3.25 inches apiece, and there’s an external three megapixel camera as well as a front-facing camera located on the inside hinge. The DSi has an SD slot and internal storage — we’re not sure how much at the moment — but photos can be taken directly to the Wii Photo Channel on the card. Nintendo’s also launching an online “DSi Shop,” which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app and “DS Ware” game — and the company will offer free wireless connectivity at “Nintendo Zone” hotspots located in Japanese McDonalds. The shop will take the newly-renamed Nintendo Points (formerly Wii Points), 1000 of which will come free with the handheld until March 2010, and content will be priced in 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets. The DSi will come in white or black finishes, and will cost ¥18,900 ($178) when it launches in Japan on November 1st — the rest of us will have to wait until next year.

Update: We’ve added the official Japanese DSi site link, check it out!

Update 2: We’ve also added a gallery (as you can see below).

Update 3: Our brothers at Joystiq have done a comprehensive spec-check of the DSi compared to the PSP-3000 and iPhone / iPod touch. Be sure and take a gander.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Acer’s wild Aspire Predator gaming rig and matching 24-inch G24 monitor were announced back in May and July, but it’s taken them forever to ship Stateside — we’re guessing the delay was due to Acer’s insistence that the case look as much like a ski binding as physically possible. Specs are basically the same as the preview systems we’ve seen: the low-end $1,649 config has a liquid-cooled 2.5GHz Q9300 Core 2 Quad, GeForce 9600GT graphics, 4GB RAM and dual 640GB drives, while the $2,199 edition bumps things up to a 2.83GHz Q9550 Core 2 Quad, GeForce 9800GTX graphics, and three 640GB drives. Nothing’s changed with the $399 G24, either — it’s still a 2ms 1920 x 1200 LCD with a 160-degree viewing angle, a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, and a bright orange bezel. It’s all available now — check a sneak peek of the next version after the break.

Continue reading Acer Aspire Predator and matching G24 LCD hit the States

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Transportation

If that homebrew rocket you’ve been building in your backyard isn’t working out, maybe SpaceX will have some room for you on one of its many upcoming Falcon 9 missions. Now that the F1 has successfully achieved orbit, the F9 is slated for launch in Q1 2009. As you may recall, the aptly named Falcon 9 has nine engines rather than one, as with the F1. These redundancies were inspired by the the Apollo’s Saturn V and Saturn I rockets, noted for their flawless flight records despite engine failures. If all goes well, the launch will be followed by three more, including one with a crew and an F9 “Heavy” — handy if you’ve got 25,300 lbs of marbles or whatever to haul up to the International Space Station. If you plan on hitching a ride, get your job applications in now — only valued employees are scheduled to be passengers at this time. Got a more exotic destination in mind? Next up Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has his sights set on building a “Mars lander of some kind.”

[Via Wired]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

News flash: The economy stinks.

Filed under: Cellphones

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

It goes without saying that any company hooked up with Android’s patron saint — the Open Handset Alliance — has at least a passing interest in actually doing something with Android, and in Motorola’s case, we’re going to go out on a limb here and say that, you know, in all likelihood, they were fixin’ to drop an Android build onto a phone or two at some point down the road. Indeed, BetaNews has received a brief, largely unhelpful statement from Moto saying that it “look[s] forward to delivering great products in partnership with Google and the Open Handset Alliance community,” which — in light of the recent Android hiring frenzy alleged on Moto’s campus — is about the minimum amount of disclosure a company could make shy of saying nothing at all. While it probably stings from their perspective to see HTC get all the glory for the first Google-ified phone out of the gate, let’s hope (for their sake, if nothing else) that this stealth-mode, take-our-time philosophy leads to some killer material out of Schaumburg down the road.

[Via Talk Android]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handhelds

A handheld device with two screens isn’t nearly the radical notion it once was, but Microsoft Research’s Ken Hinckley seems to think there’s still plenty of untapped potential with the idea, and he’s actually taken things so far as to build an actual prototype device. As you’ll notice, however, he didn’t exactly build the so-called “Codex” from scratch, choosing instead to use two OQO Model 02s and folding case to hold ‘em together. That, notably, lets him arrange the two screens into various positions that he calls “postures,” like a laptop posture (which also lets him take advantage of the OQO’s sliding keyboard), or a “battleship posture” that gives two people sitting across from each other their own screen. The big idea there being that the device adapts to different tasks, and actually uses the dual screens as two screens as opposed to one large screen. As should be clear, however, this is very much a research project, and there’s no indication of an actual product in the offing, although, as Ken points out, there’s not much stopping anyone from building their own — you’ll just have to bring your own code.

[Via GottaBeMobile]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Forget the lames waiting for a New Xbox Experience to bring Netflix streaming to the console, the latest edition of Media Mall’s PlayOn Media Server beta includes Watch Instantly support right now. An update notification should be on the way to anyone already testing things out, the impatient can grab it from the website. Also streaming Hulu, CBS, YouTube, ESPN and others to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, HP MediaSmart TV or other DLNA hardware (Nintendo Wii’s still on the coming-soon list) the presence of Netflix (and the recent Watch Instantly additions) gives even more reason to check it out. Since its still in beta don’t be surprised to find a few issues, but considering our smooth sailing so far, the list of reservations over its $30 price tag (after the 60 day free trial period is over) is rapidly shrinking.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments