Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

The smallest things can make me so very happy. I’m tired of spending so much money on overpriced Memory Stick Duo cards for my PSP when 1GB and 2GB SD cards are so inexpensive. The Dragon Double Expand Memory Converter is a simple adapter that allows PSP owners to use two - yep, TWO - SD, Mini SD or MMC cards in place of the memory Stick Duo. It plugs into the memory card port and, thanks to the flexible cable, wraps around and clips into the two holes in the back of the PSP. I’m not too thrilled about making my PSP thicker but since it is priced at just $19.95, I might have to buy one if Santa doesn’t put one in my stocking.

Order [Mod-Chip] or here [Divineo] Read [Dragon Electronics]

Japanese gaming giant Nintendo has launched it pseudo-annual Fusion Tour headlined by Hawthorne Heights and featuring lesser known groups Relient K, Emery, Plain White and The Sleeping. The tour began Sept. 27 in Columbus, OH, and will continue hittin’ more than 30 venues across the US until Chicago, IL, on Nov. 11. Admission is typically $20 (depending on venue) and includes pre-show festivities such as playing new games on the DS and the Wii console. Be the first on your block to look like you’re swatting flies with a remote control.

The tour schedule is below.

As usual, venue information is subject to change:

• Sept. 27 Columbus, Ohio


• Sept. 28 Indianapolis


• Sept. 29 Detroit


• Sept. 30 Cleveland


• Oct. 1 Covington, Ky.


• Oct. 4 Philadelphia


• Oct. 5 Worcester, Mass.


• Oct. 7 Pittsburgh


• Oct. 8 New York


• Oct. 9 Norfolk, Va.


• Oct. 10 Winston-Salem, N.C.


• Oct. 11 Myrtle Beach, S.C.


• Oct. 12 Orlando, Fla.


• Oct. 13 Atlanta


• Oct. 14 Jacksonville, Fla.


• Oct. 15 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.


• Oct. 17 Jonesboro, Ark.


• Oct. 18 New Orleans


• Oct. 19 Houston


• Oct. 20 Dallas


• Oct. 22 Phoenix


• Oct. 24 Anaheim, Calif.


• Oct. 25 Los Angeles


• Oct. 26 San Francisco


• Oct. 27 San Diego


• Oct. 28 Las Vegas


• Nov. 2 Spokane, Wash.


• Nov. 4 Denver


• Nov. 5 Kansas City, Mo.


• Nov. 6 St. Paul, Minn.


• Nov. 7 St. Louis


• Nov. 8 Milwaukee


• Nov. 9 Des Moines, Iowa


• Nov. 10 Champaign, Ill.


• Nov. 11 Chicago

Nintendo is getting ready to release an MP3 player for their DS / DS Lite.  They’ve really been broadening the scope of the DS lately by adding web browsing functionality… and oh yeah, it’s a gaming device as well.  The picture above was spotted in a brochure from the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany - which over 180,000 people attended from August 23-27.  It looks like this is the real deal, so expect it to be announced soon.  The package will likely be released for around $40 on October 8th.  Have a look at the specs below:

• For Nintendo DS (to be inserted into slot 2) and Game Boy Advance hardware


• To store music you need SD cards. Up to 2 GB cards are supported, this equals to 500 songs (best sound quality)


• Choose between different skins (including one with Mario)


• The interface shows all important information


• The unit itself features another headphone port

Via [Gizmodo]
Read [MaxConsole]

With the PSP showing barely any sign of life over the past several months, analysts are saying that the smartest choice Sony could make right now is to cut their price by $50.  By dropping the retail price down to $150, Sony would have a better hold on the market and keep up with the rapidly growing Nintendo DS and DS Lite.  This wouldn’t be too much more than the DS Lite and would get consumers to look more at the feature set and less at the price.  After all, Sony’s got movies on MemorySticks!  American Technology Research’s P.J. McNealy has been quoted saying that with games like Brain Age and New Super Mario Brothers coming out for the DS recently, the handheld’s popularity is growing rapidly.  If there’s a time for Sony to drop the price, I can’t think of a better one than now.

Read [CNN]

It was the biggest Pokémon party ever, and you didn’t need a ticket to get in! The Pokémon Party of the Decade took over New York City’s Bryant Park on today. The event is so big that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed Aug. 8 “Pokémon Day” in New York City. A big party had even a bigger celebrity guest, Hulk Hogan hosted the crazy party.

The Party of the Decade featured a live stage show, Pokémon Video Game National Championship Finals, a video game arena, the giant Flying Pikachu balloon and much more!

Couldn’t be there in person? Check out KOL, or Pokemon.com.

I don’t know about you guys but I get pretty tired writing about every single color option that comes out for Motorola products. We get it, Motorola and Crayola must share designers. Now for my sake, can we go back to black boxes?

PS. The Nintendo DS will now be available in black too.

Read and Read [New Launches]

The most popular software company in the world is apparently going to make another slight change in direction. Microsoft’s first jump was with the Xbox and Xbox 360. While the first generation was good but no huge success, the 360 has thus far been a major hit (though the PS3 and Wii have not yet been released and the supply issues). We reported that Microsoft has a digital-media player in the works to try and knock the iPod and now the details have begun to flow.

What’s being developed is actually a complete line of Xbox-branded digital-media products, including a device that plays media, a software media player and an online media service. The project is currently code name Argo (a reference to the huge warship used by the hero Jason in Greek mythology) and is run by Xbox co-founder J Allard. Bloomberg News reported that the device is expected to go on sale by Christmas. It supposedly also has built in Wi-Fi not only making it one of the first of its kind but also putting it in the ring with Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS.

I still am not convinced that this product can outshine the mighty iPod or do any better than the hundreds of other portable media players. MS might also be shooting themselves in the foot by developing a product that competes with their customers who produce their own PMPs based on Microsoft’s software.

We will continue to report the details as they emerge. The picture above is from Engadget, who claim it is a prototype of the Argo from a Microsoft insider.

Read [Seattle Times]

Nintendo has announced that they will be releasing the Opera web browser for use on the DS portable system. The release date is slated for July 24th in Japan and a street price of 3,800Â¥ (US$33). There is no word yet on an American release, but we expect that it is not that far behind --otherwise you can probably import it from Japan.

Some may question, “Why Opera?” or “What is Opera?” Opera is a very popular mobile web browsing platform which is found on many mobile phones and smartphones. It will be the browser for the Nintendo Wii and now for the DS too. You can download a PC version as well, but personally prefer Firefox.

Read [Ars Technica]

Everyone’s favorite plumber is back at it again. As announced, Nintendo has released Super Mario Bros. for the DS handheld gaming system. You know you having a winning franchise when it can stand the test of over 20 years, multiple gaming systems, and receive loud cheers (as we heard at E3) when a promo is shown. This new version has whole new worlds, new moves, new power ups, and even badder bosses. Let us not forget that the second screen of the dual screen DS is also utilized to get you through the game as well as the wireless mode to participate in multiplayer games.

We’ll see in a few days when we beat the game, I mean, umm, its a me Mario.

[Nintendo Press Release]

We are just about ready to present the Nintendo E3 press event from the Kodak Theater in LA. You can expect to hear more about the new name Wii, more revolutionary detail, playable games, controller accessories, a price, launch date, DS details (including DS lite), and more.

Read on to check out the live blog of the press event.

9:30AM PST: Here Wii go...we are live. A man is on stage directing a symphony with the Wii controller in his hand. Now someone else is playing a racing game by twisting and turning his body to move with the controller. Another guy is using the Wii-chuck to act lie a sword. There is a speaker in the Wiimote

9:39AM PST: Reggie takes the stage, “What you see from Nintendo is not just next, it is just new.” Nintendo is about everyone, not about just a few. Now a video about Playing=Believing with with iiiii’s from Wii. People of all ages and types are playing the drums, guitar, tennis, golf, controlling a symphony, driving, playing Mario (the first to look slightly awkward), flying a plane (looks awkward as well), sword flights, baseball, shooting a gun, ...with the stick controller. The controller is held differently for different games.

9:45AM PST: Reggie claims that they will have answers with questions but not all. They will jolt the right brain with inspiration. Do you know anyone that never watched TV, read a book, seen a movie...what about a video game?

Nintendo’s way is to challenge standard thinking. Nintendo set forth to make games that are entirely new. The date and price is not going to be set yet but they confirmed that it will cost less than others and will be available in the forth quarter on 2006.

Wii, we, is all about inclusion. A giant lead for gaming, everyone around the world.

9:51AM PST: Video with clips from Sonic, Zelda, Metroid Prime 3, Dragon Quest Swords, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Fire Emblem, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Cars, Super Mario Galaxy, SD Gundamn G Breaker, Tony Hawk Downhill Jam, Sudoku Action, Excite Truck, Elebits, Red Steel, Rayman 4, Super Swing Gold Pangya, Sonic, Project H.A.M.M.E.R., Finalfurlong Revolution, Madden, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Twilight Princessand others (Graphics don’t look amazing but good enough for the new style of gaming. The games certainly are set to include everyone from your grandmother to your little brother.)

9:55AM PST: The Legend of Zelda, available on launch day. The nicest they ever made. Nate and Bill are presenting the world premier of “The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princes” on Wii. Movement is the nun-chuck. The sword is the B button on the remote. The bow is aimed using the pointer on the Wiimote. You can hear the string and arrow go from the remote (with the built in speaker) to the TV. You can feel the impact of fighting with the built in rumble pack. Nunchuck has it’s own motion sensor, to allow tons of freedom.

This E3 version is stripped down in difficulty level as well as boards and levels. “With the bow, the Wii remote adds depth of sound. Built-in to the Wii remote is a speaker. You’ll hear the bowstring draw taught and you’ll hear the bow sound draw to the screen as the arrow is shot. A quick jab with the Wii remote and shield shove. You’ll feel the impact with the built-in rumble.” Using pointer to launch boomerang. Classic Zelda chime heard on Wii remote speaker. You can pick up crates with the A button and then chuck them with a quick motion.

10:03AM PST: Zelda will launch on Gamecube and Wii on the same day. Mario will be brand new with new features. Excite Truck will be brand new, but now you hold the steering wheel of a truck. Project H.A.M.M.E.R. allows you to swing the nun-chuck. Disaster allows you to use the controller as well. 3rd Party: Sega will launch Sonic again, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for Wii, Madden ‘07, Tony Hawk, Rayman, SpongeBob...27 games available on the show floor. Does not include the games available from the virtual console.

10:03AM PST: RedSteel demo. The remote leans back and forth and leans like the gun. The nunchuck is utilized as well. The graphics look like Xbox 1, PS2, Gamecube. Ememies can each smart depending on the situation, you will never play the same exact game.

10:13AM PST: George Harrison is going to talk about Nintendo DS. DS has sold more than 16 million units in 18 months. Nintendogs sold 6 million. Wi-Fi connection has 1.3 million users thus far in less than 6 months. Touch Generations: Brain Age, Big Brain, Club House, Soduko and others all about touch.

Nintendo DS lite is smaller, brighter, and lighter. Mario will be back but wireless functionality as well as the touch screen. Pokemon will be available too on September 18th. Yoshi Island 2, Starfox DS, Diddy Cong, Final Fantasy III, Tony Hawk (play other Wi-Fi gamers, and talk over VoIP), Legend of Zelda for DS too (with a sword), Mario Hoops 3 on 3, will all be available.

10:22AM PST: Iwata, President of Nintendo, reinforces expanding the total number of people who play games. Target people with low interest and ones that have never played before. The logical solution is too reinvent the interaction between games and the people, but make sure that core-gamers are happy too. Claims the controller is comfortable. The virtual console allows people to play games they used to play years ago (Tetris).

The loading times are way to long. DS spoiled him because you can just open and close the cover to start and stop play. The Wii can power up virtual console games and other features (web browser) in just a few seconds.

The machine can provide services even when it is “turned off.” Wii connect 24 keeps it on all the time without the fan, using the power of min-light bulb, allowing new features, weapons, etc to be pushed to you via the internet even while you are sleeping. Aiming for a system that is new everyday.

10:32AM PST: Wii sports will be available on launch day. Includes golf, baseball, and tennis. Miyamoto is on stage explaining how to play tennis. You can twist the remote to add top spin and back spins. Scott Dyer is the first ‘real person’ to pay the game up on stage. It’s Reggie vs. Iwata and Scott in tennis. He seemed to pick it up right away with no learning curve.

10:42AM PST: Reggie closed it all up saying how important it is to include everyone and that they have taken risks ever since the company’s inception, over 20 years ago. The DS Lite and Wii are risks once again but they expect the machine to fair out very well. “Bottom line of every E3 is what’s hot and what’s not. What’s hot is the next step ... What’s hot is if its disruptive ... We know that the future is right here. Wii and the DS represent that same thing: risk. Change is good. We were the disrupter 20 years ago ... Wii will come next. Playing is believing. Thank you all, we look forward to seeing you on our show floor tomorrow”

Wii would have liked to learn the tech specs of the machine, price, release date, number of release games, etc but wii’ll all have to wait a bit longer. The games look enjoyable even if the graphics are not top rate, I’m actually interested in trying them out (prior to this I was not too thrilled).