Even though you may have severe problems getting a Wii this Christmas you can console yourself by getting one of these and practising for when it finally arrives.
This is the Wii Light Sword, a third-party add-on for the Wii that is, in essence, a short little Jedi Lightsaber. Of course, the makers can’t call it that or they’d get their non-Lucas Arts Jedi wannabe asses sued into oblivion.
Just slip your Wiimote into the base and you’re ready to ‘briznnnn’ and ‘serrzz’ the night away. Inside are 22 ultra-bright LEDs that light up along the shaft slowly. The overall glow can be dimmed, but why the hell would you want to do that?
According to a senior Sony executive, the company likes the idea of creating a 'Playstation Phone' that would combine the facilities of a gaming console with the usual phone features.
Unlike most smoke and mirrors rumours, this one comes from Jim Ryan, Sony Computer Entertainment co-chief operating officer. There have been rumbling about this for a year now but this is the most ‘official’ rumbling to date.
According to Ryan the Playstation Phone is a ‘seductive’ possibility down the line but that there are issues to getting it right too.
“The Playstation is a proven success and so is Sony Ericsson. Convergence with the two arms working together is definitely plausible. What has been done [so far] is finding a match between a camera and a mobile phone, and that has been done wherein the mobile phone features are not reasonably inhibited and the camera is also a reasonably competitive product. It is hugely intellectually seductive to have a console-oriented phone.”
One Gartner analyst thinks it could be a winner.
“Sony Ericsson has succeeded in selling music phones and camera phones that capitalise on its well-known Walkman music player brand and its Cyber-Shot digital camera brand,” commented Diptarup Chakraborti, principal analyst at research firm Gartner. “While the Cybershot and Walkman are better selling brands from the Sony fold, Playstation almost enjoys cult status and two strong brands, SE and PS would make a strong success story for Sony.”
Still, in the short term, Apple's fledgling iPhone camp has nothing to worry about. Yet.-Martin Lynch
OK, yesterday we had the USB Christmas Cake hub and today we have the fat frosty fella himself. Meet the festive USB Glowing Musical Snowman.
Oh yes, not only does he glow but he emits Christmas tunes. Built-in LEDs cycle through four colours as this guy does his thing, which is essentially some short digital renditions of some classic Christmas tunes. Either this guy will put a warm glow in your heart or a gun in your mouth.
The musical version costs a whopping £8, while the non-musical one is £6. See them here. -Martin Lynch
Toshiba has joined Microsoft in the HD DVD Freebie race. The company has decided the best way to get HD DVD off the ground is to give away free movies – well, only after you buy something.
Whereas Microsoft threw in 5 free HD DVD movies with each £110 HD DVD Drive for the Xbox 360 sold, Toshiba wants your wallet to work a little harder by buying a HD DVD laptop to earn your five freebies.
The laptops in question are the Qosmio G40 and the Satellites X200, P200, Pro P200, A200 and Pro A200. No surprise the movie choice is exactly the same, and therefore, hardly earth-shaking. Offer ends on January 31st.
Serenity
The Chronicles of Riddick
Hulk
Children of Men
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Troy
Full Metal Jacket
Corpse Bride
The Prestige
Swordfish
Black Rain
Dreamgirls
Word Trade Center
This would be a bit more interesting if Toshiba did this on its standalone HD DVD players.-Martin Lynch
UPDATE: I was wrong. Play.com are selling £200 Tosh HD DVD players with 7, yes 7, free HD DVD movies thrown in. Go here. [Thanks Dan]
Unlike most smoke and mirrors rumours, this one comes from Jim Ryan, Sony Computer Entertainment co-chief operating officer. There have been rumbling about this for a year now but this is the most ‘official’ rumbling to date. 
Oh yes, not only does he glow but he emits Christmas tunes. Built-in LEDs cycle through four colours as this guy does his thing, which is essentially some short digital renditions of some classic Christmas tunes. Either this guy will put a warm glow in your heart or a gun in your mouth. 
Toshiba has joined Microsoft in the HD DVD Freebie race. The company has decided the best way to get HD DVD off the ground is to give away free movies – well, only after you buy something. 
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
