If the uncertainty has had you holding back on placing a pre-order, you’ll happy to know that Nintendo has finally revealed that their new 3DS system will be officially hitting the United States on March 27th for $249.99, in stylish Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black color schemes. And even more importantly, between the console’s release and E3 in June there will be over 30 titles announced including an updated 3D version of Nintendogs+Cats, the glorious return of the PilotWings franchise, their new Kid Icarus title and of course a 3D version of one of the greatest video game titles of all time, the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
I’m sure at some point everyone with a pool table has played a game with their hands. You know, by manually rolling the cue ball at your target instead of using a cue stick? Well that’s the only way that Knokkers is designed to be played. But instead of billiard balls it uses bowling balls. And the table? It’s been scaled up 4X its original size, allowing, and requiring, players to stand on it.
The game is the brainchild of Steve Wienecke, a former semi-pro football player and cage fighter, and the first playable version was built in his backyard in Fredericktown, Missouri using loads of railway ties, gravel and of course concrete. The game is played pretty much exactly like standard 8-ball pool, the only real difference is that before your shot you’re allowed to pick up and move the cue ball, though you can’t move your feet once you’ve touched it. Steve is currently working with investors as they design a portable version of the game that doesn’t require a permanent backyard investment, including more durable 6-pound balls that can stand up to the constant collisions experienced during a regular game.
There are times when all of our grand technology runs out of juice, all at once. The only problem being that we don’t have enough USB charge ports available to us to charge everything at once. FastMac finally has their U-Sockets shipping out as you read this. A U-Socket has all the normal capabilities for three-pronged ports, but also has USB charge ports as well.
These super charger outlets can be installed on any pre-existing outlet, which makes for a very easy transfer. This is definitely the first of it’s kind on the market, and will improve the lives of gadget and gizmo-lovers across the states. Hopefully there are some designed for those around the globe who have a different shaped socket. These are only going to cost $19.95, and will help you charge everything when it needs to be charged instead of one at a time.
Unless they’re built into a sleeve, most backup batteries designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch are monstrous affairs that really take the portability out of your handheld gadgets. But Kensington’s new PowerLift, a 1,200 mAh lithium-ion polymer backup battery, embraces its size and bulkiness, transforming into a sturdy dock with a built-in connector that also happens to grant your device 20 more hours of music playback, 5 more hours of video, 3.5 more hours of talk and even an extra hour and a half of FaceTime.
It’s even got a built-in USB cable so it’s completely self-contained when you’re away from home, and a set of LEDs lets you know how much juice it’s still got left. $49.99, currently available for pre-order from Kensington.
Ah, lunchtime. It’s that period of time during the week where you can stop working for a while and relax. Grab a little food, maybe catch up on some reading or surfing the net. Unfortunately it never seems to last long enough. One hacker decided to solve this problem by putting together a clock that speeds up just before noon, and slows down a little before 1.
This serves to give you 12 extra minutes of your lunch break each day, or a full hour over the course of a week. A clever hack, indeed. Unfortunately unless this is the clock sitting in your boss’s office (and you don’t have to punch out for your break) it’s pretty useless. You’ll just end up being that guy that spends too much time on lunch. If you feel like making your own, you can find out how over at Instructables.
Pioneer’s skunk works is apparently looking to raise the bar when it comes to cyclocomputers. Typically they’re nothing more than a glorified stopwatch you attach to your handlebars which calculates your speed, time and distance traveled. But Pioneer’s developed one that runs on Android paving the way for a cyclocomputer that’s not only way more intelligent, but also displays your details in a far more graphically-enhanced manner.
But what I think will appeal to most cyclists, who spend their time with their eyes on the road anyways, is the wireless sensors Pioneer have also developed which attach to the crank and measure the force of the rider’s pedaling, displaying the results as graphical vectors for each foot. Probably more information than the average rider needs, but I’m sure serious athletes in training will relish all the extra info about their performance.
Today SANYO announced their excitingly-named PLC-WL2503 ultra-short throw projector which allows for interactivity on any surface, no longer requiring a dedicated whiteboard full of sensors. Instead, a camera module located on the front of the projector is able to determine the location of the included IR transmitter-equipped pen or pointer used by the presenter when they press on the projected surface. This positional data is transmitted back to the PC via a USB connection on the projector, allowing them to interact with what’s being presented.
As for the projector’s other deets: It’s able to project an 80-inch, XGA (1280×800) resolution image from a distance of just 34 inches from a wall. Which not only makes it ideal for small spaces, but it also allows presenters to stand in front of the projection without having to constantly look into the blinding beam. And since it’s designed to be used so close to a wall, its 2500 lumens should produce a particularly bright image. Other notable feathers in the PLC-WL2503′s cap include full networking for remote monitoring and operation, an easy on/off function which powers on the projector as soon as it’s plugged in, and a late January price tag of $1695.99.
Until all the world’s gadgets play by the same charging rules, wrangling cords, cables and wall warts is a fact of life. But at least alternative solutions like TheJoyFactory’s Zip, Touch-n-Go charging system provide a temporary reprieve until manufacturers get their act together.
It’s another multi-device charging solution, but in order to keep cable tangle to a minimum, the various leads and connectors connect to the base via magnets. Unfortunately specific details are sparse to non-existant since the charger isn’t available just yet, but here’s to hoping those short cords are made a little longer in the release version, otherwise your gear will all end up stacked in a pile when you’re charging multiple devices at the same time.
Free wifi is the greatest thing to happen to airports since those electric carts that whisk you to the gate when you’re late for your connection. But what’s holding most people back from getting any work done while waiting for a flight is the lack of power outlets. Some airports are better than others, but for the most part you don’t want to drain your gear when you’ll need it powered up to keep your sanity on your actual flight.
But someone out there has come up with a pretty reasonable solution, and once again it will hopefully be brought to the market one day via the assistance of Quirky. The Trek Support backpack of course has loads of room for holding a 15-inch laptop and all your gadget accessories, but the heart of its genius is a removable gadget dock that can not only hold a plethora of gadgets, but also charge up to 3 of them at the same time. The ‘secret’ is a rechargeable battery good for about 7 hours of sharing the power love, and from the looks of it it also doubles as a power bar, allowing you to top off multiple toys from just a single free outlet.
It’s also TSA and checkpoint-friendly but to be honest that means nothing to me since it all depends on who you’re dealing with. If an agent wants your laptop removed, you’re gonna have to remove it. But still, the bag seems immensely useful for traveling gadgetphiles, and it’s available for presale now for just $130. Of course you and about 1,024 more people will have to make a commitment before it becomes a reality, but less useful stuff has sailed through the Quirky approval system.
Related Tags: Gaming, Nintendo
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