BigGames Home Video Arcades will be selling a full standup arcade unit in the Target US retail chain for the holiday season. The unit itself stands a full 62 inches tall and includes a full-color monitor and will be going for $500. Unfortunately this monitor is a bit smaller than the standard arcade machine monitor. There are also extra A/V input cables to attach any other kind of home entertainment system to it.
Each unit plays 12 of the original arcade versions of the most popular Midway® games including: Defender®, Defender® II, Robotron®, Joust®, Bubbles®, Splat™, Sinistar®, Rampage®, Rootbeer Tapper™, Wizard of Wor™, Timber™, and Satan’s Hollow (WHAT!!?).
Now where is the hell is my Galaga. Could be a good gift for Dad, but if you get your kid this instead of an Xbox 360 (which is the same price) expect to be hated for life.
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The Motorola V557 isn’t a breakthrough phone when it comes to hardware. It’s a pretty simple flip phone, nothing too pretty, but is being touted as the first phone to use the company’s SCREEN3(1) technology. Available only from Cingular right now, SCREEN3(1) runs a ticker along the bottom of an idle phone screen to give you updated information on news, sports, entertainment, and other premium content and services—all without a browser or extra buttons to push.
“The Motorola V557 gives consumers a new way to enjoy continuous access to news, sports, entertainment and more — functioning as the ideal mobile phone for anyone looking to stay connected to their world,” said Bob Suastegui, vice president in the Mobile Devices Group at Motorola. “Whether sharing picture messages, catching up on world events or downloading new games, this compact flip phone delivers a complete multimedia experience.”
The phone also comes with a VGA camera, Bluetooth, video record and playback, and advanced messaging. Going for $99.99 with a two-year contract at Cingular Wireless stores (and after a $50 rebate is mailed in).
New Motorola V557 from Cingular Delivers Zero-Click Access to Information, Entertainment and Communications [PR Newswire]
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Well, I always say, if you’re not good with words, say it with LEDs. On Your crotch. That’s right, just get yourself one of these nifty LED G-strings and you’ll never have to grasp for the right thing to say again. Just have a message of up to 120 characters blink on this lovely piece of lingerie and loneliness will be a thing of the past. Just ask your hand. Only $70 in case you’re wondering.
A racy LED number [Gadget Candy]
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If you’ve been following all the dealings that RIM is having with the law these days, you may be worried that your trusty Blackberry may not be worth its weight in raisins if an injunction is slapped on the company for copyright infringement. But RIM Co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie says not to fret. In fact, he promises that if the company does get hit with an injunction to stop service, it has come up with a software upgrade that is sure to work around the patents.
Balsillie said RIM has not implemented the “workaround” sooner because it has just been completed. He said the company has been extra conservative in ensuring that it does not infringe on any of NTP’s patents. “We’ve done it in a way that we don’t think there’s a compromised experience, period,” he told investors in New York.
Ok Jim. We gotcha.
RIM says injunction won’t stop BlackBerry [Reuters]
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Well, Kingston has certainly thought ahead and made sure that you’ll never have to buy another card reader after its 15-In-1 Hi-Speed Reader. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out the gist of the this product, but just in case, it can read 15 types of Memory Cards using four media ports. Using a USB 2.0 connection, it delivers up to 480 Mbps data transmission, is plug-and-play and even backward compatible with USB 1.1. Readable formats include CompactFlash, MMC, SD, SmartMedia, as well as small form factor mobile memory cards like miniSD and MMCMobile without the use of an adapter. Going for $19.
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Yup, it’s happening again. More next generation DVD hype from big player HP. Though Hewlett-Packard had pledged support to Blu-ray earlier this year, it looks like the company is pissed off that the group has not come up with a way to help with the PC-based specifications it asked for from the beginning.
"HP has championed two technologies known as iHD and mandatory managed copy. Mandatory managed copy lets users legally copy DVDs and store the digital file on a home network, while iHD provides for new interactive features and is slated to be implemented in Microsoft Corp.’s new Windows Vista operating system."
Blu-ray says it will incorporate mandatory managed copy, just not now. It fears adding it at this time will delay its launch, which is already behind HD-DVD.
"Blu-ray said it will incorporate mandatory managed copy but would launch it in spring 2006 with interactive features built on Sun Microsystems Inc.’s Java software."
HP doesn’t want to get into a game with consumers and definitely does not want to see another format war like the one between Betamax and VHS years before
“If they are unable to incorporate technologies we think are critical for the PC architecture, we’ll be more neutral. We’ll think of cost and implementation across the board. Potentially, we could support both HD DVD and Blu-ray,” says Maureen Weber, general manager of personal storage in HP’s personal systems group.
Wait, what? Oh. Sorry. Fell asleep there for a minute, girls.
Blu-ray, HP at odds over high-def DVD launch plan [Reuters]
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With every passing day in Japan I see more evidence that Microsoft might have got it right this time around. There is a fair amount of hype, Microsoft seems more committed to the Japanese market (example: the Xbox Lounge) and they are employing the clever tactic of making as much of a fanfare about the improved Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XI as possible, which will drag in a good chunk of hardcore gamers like wide-eyed primates to the monolith.
As part of their global marketing alliance, Adidas and Xbox have announced a special Adidas-themed Xbox 360 booth for the Japanese market, which will be placed in Adidas stores across the country. The booths will allow visitors to the Adidas shop to play the FIFA 06: Road to World Cup game at their leisure. A clever move, since football (or “soccer”, to those of you who believe football is a game played with helmets and hands*) in Japan has a huge following. Plus, official endorsement like this add legitimacy to my oft-repeated personal mantra: playing video games is an excellent substitute for prolonged, cardiovascular exercise.
*this also describes an entirely different, 1 player game.
Microsoft & Adidas announce special Xbox 360 booth in Japan [Game Watch]
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Disney got their mind out of the gutter long enough to strike a deal with Buffalo to produce Disney-themed USB hubs. These hubs come in 4 different varieties such as Pooh Bear, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and those little green aliens from Toy Story. Each has a pseudo-vintage feel with light colours and bold outlining. The hubs support USB 2.0 of course and are small and portable for the kid in all of us. Pricing is not yet available, but don’t expect to be breaking the bank for this one.
Disney USB Hub [Akihabara]
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Though they’ve been bouncing the idea of a £60 laptop around for a while ($100 Laptop - No Child Left Behind), it looks like it’s finally becoming a reality. The lime green laptop is about the size of a text book and with a hand crank to allow it to operate without electricity. Designed at the MIT Media Lab, the project mainly aimed at developing countries where a calculator and Internet access can mean the difference between starvation and a good year. The goal is to allow these kids and even adults to actually own the laptops, though governments or charities will pay for them.
Looks like Brazil, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria are the choices for the first wave of laptops early next year and each is slated to buy at least a million of them. Though not in production yet, one unnamed company has offered to build them fro £65 each and four others are considering joining the effort. They operate at about half the speed of store-bought laptops and will run on an open-source OS. The screen is actually from a portable DVD player and can be viewed in either color or black and white.
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The creator of this little piece of performance art/retail therapy is a pretty nice guy so we decided to give his cause the attention it truly deserves. Basically, this guy will fly to your hometown and camp out in front of the electronics store of your choosing and then buy you a 360, one game, and an accessory.
"In order for such an undertaking to be profitable, I must ask that the bids exceed a gracious number-at least enough to cover all the costs involved, such as transportation, the game system, and tent!"
"If you are a business owner looking for advertisement, this endeavor may interest you as well; I am willing to wear a piece of your merchandise to support and showcase your company".
The bidding is currently up to £485, so it looks like it may be cheaper to camp out with a buddy and some brews rather than hiring this guy, but I’m sure someone like PokerChampsAreCool.com or someone will pick him up.
Xbox 360 Campout- -Hand delievered Xbox360 on 22 [Ebay]
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Wanna see some sweet eye candy? The pics of Verizon’s XV6700BB Pocket PC Phone are out and it looks a hell of a lot like the HTC Hermes. It would be very nice if it carried the specs associated with the Hermes but it’s apparently the Verizon-version of the HTC Apache, which still is still a bit sketchy. Still no word yet on price or availability of this sweet phone but we’ll keep ya posted.
XV6700BB Verizon Pocket PC Phone [Mobility Today]
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You know it’s just a rabbit right? Wrong. This bunny is absolutely ferocious. Coming straight from “Monty Python & The Holy Grail”, this bunny looks innocent and cute until you approach it. Pull down it’s mouth to reveal it’s bloodthirsty fangs and tongue dripping with blood. Squeeze the leg for it’s eyes to light up in a frenzy that will make you scream “Run Away!” This life-sized creature goes for £18.99 and is worth every penny to those who have seen the movie a billion times like I have.
Think Geek Store
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The LX1 is the first and only digital camera to offer a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. It also uses a 4x Leica optical zoom lens and we know how much you photogs love Leica with all of your heart. And there’s even more! This camera is an 8.4 megapixel beast that is capable of recording movies at 30 frames per second. It is small, light and has a lithium ion rechargeable battery. All of this for just under £300. It’s no DSLR, but this is a hell of a point and shoot camera for the average user.
Panasonic Lumix DMC LX1 [Digicam Review]
Prices for Panasonic Lumix DMC LX1 [CNET]
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I know the world is a wee bit mad at the present but how paranoid are you? Are you ready for a product that markets itself as:
"£16 could save your life! Order for you and your family before clicking off"
So, apart from the secrets of eternal life, what are you getting with the Evacuation Pack? First off you get the world's thinnest torch and some funky headgear, in the form of a pocket-sized evacuation hood. The torch lasts up to 200 hours. As for the hood, read on:
"The Evac-Hood is an extremely small (12cm x 10cm x 1cm), lightweight (30gms), vacuum-packed emergency escape mask that has been produced to protect the wearer's respiratory system from harmful elements and particles such as smoke, fumes, micro-organisms including Anthrax spores, harmful chemicals, organic gasses, bacteria including MRSA, super bugs and harmful elements sprayed by aerosol."
Now, if it only offered protection from Dad's cooking and the fumes from the local Kebab shop, I think it might be of some use. I do like that torch though - where's my criminally abused credit card?
gadgets security spy
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A picture speaks a 1000 words, which is why you’re only getting about 100 on this baby. Just look at it - Steven Spielberg eat your heart out. It's about as alien a device as you can get. Scare granny, terrorise the kids, experiment in the bedroom, this gadget can do it all. Well, maybe not but for £12, how can you go wrong with this head massager. The big knobbly bit is not for self-gratification but for holding the spidery masseur in place while its robotic Tendrils of Tenderness get to work.
Apparently, it stimulates acupressure points and millions of nerve endings, promoting the release of endorphins. These are the body’s feel good natural drugs that healthy joggers experience while trundling along. Since they stop being produced when the exertion stops, you now know why joggers look so damn pissed off when they have to stop for traffic. That's right, they just lost their fix. Goddamn junkies.
Hmm, £12 for a sexy head rub with a natural high thrown in or 5 miles of pain, spasms, torn ligaments, blisters and possible coronary? Tough choice.
gadgets Geek hair
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I take photographs that end up showing people in mid-blink, mid smile, drooling, bellies prominent or just generally looking their worst. I’d like to say it’s artistically deliberate but, I’m just crap. The same goes for those landscape vistas that you sometimes see and go WOW, raise the camera, click, and when you see it it’s both out of focus and a million miles further away. No fears, check out the Horizon Kompakt Panorama, a 120 degree panorama camera. Release the shutter button and the lens moves horizontally through 120 degrees to provide a stunning widescreen photograph. Very arty and a cheap way of decorating your walls. It costs £240 but the there is just one downside – it’s film-based. Have no idea why.
photo Photography camera
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
