By Andrew Liszewski

Shortly after CES I reviewed ID8 Mobile’s MoGo Talk Bluetooth headset and case for the iPhone 3G/3GS, and while it was definitely a convenient way to carry a Bluetooth headset, there were a few drawbacks. The most glaring being the fact that you needed a separate microUSB cable to charge the headset while it was docked to the back of the case. At CES I was told they were looking into ways to charge with a single cable the way their Blackberry MoGo Talk case does, but looking closely at the new iPhone 4 version it seems no solution was found.

It’s still a very clever way to carry a Bluetooth headset if you don’t like wearing one 24/7, I’ll give it credit there. But you can still see a separate microUSB port on the bottom of this case which means you’ll still need to use 2 cables if you want to charge the iPhone and the headset at the same time, which kind of sucks. It has seen a drop in price though, from $129 to just $99.99 when it becomes available in September, so maybe that’s like a consolation prize.

[ MoGo Talk XD for iPhone 4 ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If any of you are having Mario Paint flashbacks right about now, you’re not alone. Many of us have secretly pined for Nintendo to bring their classic art and animation ‘game’ to the Wii since the Wiimote seems like it would be an ideal drawing tool. It’s yet to happen though, but if anyone wants to express their artistic side on the Wii there’s now another solution from THQ.

Their just announced uDraw GameTablet is a small 4×6-inch handheld tablet that gains wireless functionality and power from a docked Wiimote. It also includes a wireless pressure-sensitive stylus that THQ feels provides finer control than a Wiimote. There’s even an SD card slot somewhere on there according to their press release allowing you to save and print your artwork on a PC. The uDraw GameTablet will be available this holiday season for $69.99 and comes with the art-based video game uDraw Studio. At launch you’ll also be able to pick up two other tablet friendly titles; Pictionary and Dood’s Big Adventure for just $29.99 each.

[ uDraw GameTablet ] VIA [ Kotaku ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

This weekend I got to review a fun little game from Majesco Entertainment on the Wii called Pirates Plundarrr. The game centers around a group of pirates who have had their precious booty stolen by a traitor pirate by the name of Rudebelly. Players fight off through over 40 stages of intense hack ‘N slash action as they tear through countless waves of enemies ranging from skeletons to a giant armadillo. Up to four players can band together to fight the evil Rudebelly in this epic quest for treasure.

The game in itself is a side-scrolling hack ‘N slash, but it also incorporates a few RPG elements in the mix. From the beginning there are 4 selectable characters to choose from: a Pirate Wench, a Buccaneer, a Sea Dog, and a Duelist. Each character has its strengths and weaknesses and seem to fit to different play styles. Players earn EXP by defeating enemies in each stage, and can level up through the journey. At each level gained the player gains a skill point, which can be used to upgrade skills once you reach the end of the stage in which the level was gained. Some of the skills range from damage for each specific weapon, to upgrading speed and unlocking a powerful thunder attack.

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By Chris Scott  Barr

If there’s one man known for milking a franchise for all it’s worth, it’s George Lucas. Granted, fans of Star Wars (such as myself) can’t seem to get enough of the stuff, which is why he gets away with it. So what is the man up to this time? Well it appears that he is hard at work on the Blu-ray release of all six movies. That’s right, he’s finally bringing them into HD.

The bad news is that we’ve got another year to wait before they arrive in the new format. Apparently there are a lot of things for Lucas to work on before he deems them ready for release. While he cited deleted scenes (such as Luke Skywalker building his new lightsaber and stashing it in R2-D2 at the beginning of Return of the Jedi) and extras as the cause for the delay, I think we all know what’s really holding them up. The man is still torn over who shot first. Does he go back to making Han the only shooter, thus caving to the fans demands and showing that he has no backbone? Or does he stick to his guns and leave in the ambiguous dual-firing scene that will anger his fans? It’s going to take another year for him to figure it out.

[ StarWars ]

By Andrew Liszewski

These nondescript black boxes from Vanco could be the best thing since sliced bread if you need to route an HDMI AV signal around your house, but don’t want to re-wire your place with HDMI or HD video friendly cat5e & cat6 network cables. It instead lets you transmit a full 1080P HDMI audio & video signal over your home’s existing coaxial wiring, assuming of course your home is wired for cable. Over a dual or quad-shielded RG6 coaxial cable you can extend the HDMI signal up to 328 ft. or 164 ft. over RG59 coaxial cable which I’m going to assume is more common. And if for some reason you’re setting up a massive video wall at home you can cascade up to 45 of the receiver units from a single transmitter box.

As for the price tag? Well I’d like to say this solution is a more affordable alternative to running network cable or using other HDMI extenders, but the transmitter & receiver pair run about $500 so I guess it all depends on your particular setup and how much easier or cost effective it would actually make things for you.

[ Vanco HDMI Over Coaxial Cable Extender ] VIA [ mavromatic ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When I was really young The Addams Family TV series had a tendency to creep me out, but I still tuned in because I loved seeing Gomez blow up his elaborate train sets. And while this train set/slot cars mashup is lacking in explosions and awesome pyrotechnics, something tells me the random (or more likely deliberately staged) collisions would be just as satisfying. All in all both the train set and the slot cars are pretty basic, with a transformer controlling the train’s forward or reverse direction and a couple of trigger controllers for the cars, but it’s that single death-defying intersection that makes it seem so much more exciting. Even if you have to pay $299.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer for a toy that’s one random encounter away from being broken.

[ Intersecting Slot Car And Train Set ] VIA [ Coolest Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Sure, you’d like the moment when you propose to your significant other to be extra special and memorable, but I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that this wouldn’t be. Video proposals themselves aren’t a bad idea mind you, commandeering a giant screen in Times Square would definitely be memorable, but a tiny 2-inch LCD display in the lid of a ring box? Not so much. And any videos you do create have to get horribly compressed to the 3GP format before they’ll even play on this thing, further stripping any romantic intentions you may have had. On top of it all, the box is over $125 (£80.71) which can be far better spent on the ring itself.

[ IVY CARAT Diamond Jewelry Case ] VIA [ The Gadgeteer ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s really no way on Earth you’ll actually be able to covertly use this weed whacker disguised as a driver while you’re out on the golf course playing a round with friends, but if no one else minds, it could make getting out of the rough a little easier. The single string trimmer is hidden beneath a flip-open panel so with just a passing glance no one would be wise to your scam, but let’s be honest here, it would never slip past a close inspection of the contents of your golf bag. The whacker bit is powered by 6 x AA batteries though I have no idea how much growth that will let you clear, and the club is available for just $39.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer making it perfectly priced as a gag gift, something I’m sure golfers can never get enough of.

[ Weed Whacking Golf Driver ] VIA [ Random Good Stuff ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Finally an arcade game for aspiring magicians! The Wii may have brought all kinds of crazy interactivity to the home console, but you still can’t beat dedicated arcade machines for quirky concepts, particularly those you find in Japan. The Tablecloth Hour was recently installed at the Taito Station in Shibuya for testing, and has players yanking on a small section of ‘tablecloth’ in an attempt to pull a virtual one out from under what I’m assuming is a fully set table. It seems like one of those games that might be fun to try once, which is probably why it’s located in a place with a lot of through-traffic and not a dedicated arcade.

[ Small Room Aries - The Tablecloth Hour ] VIA [ Arcade Heroes ]