Gadgets Blog

Sony has just unveiled pictures and information on the new slim PS3, which will hit the market in September. At the standard market price of around $300, this new model will come out September 1. Sony has managed to cram more memory and more features into a smaller, sleeker model. Now with 120GB of memory as opposed to 80GB in the standard model, this gaming system has taken entry-level to a new level. The big question everyone’s asking (and groaning about) is whether or not the new slim PS3 will have “backward compatibility”, meaning the ability to place PS2 game discs. Unfortunately it will not, but Sony does offer that the slim PS3 can play the old PS1 games, which are downloadable via the PlayStation store. When you go to purchase the new slim PS3, the box will include the console, a single Dual Shock 3 controller, a USB cable (for charging the controller), AC power cord and composite AV cable. Keep your eyes and ears peeled though, gamers: rumor’s out that an even new slim PS3 with 250GB of memory is about to hit the market, so if memory upgrade is the biggest factor for you, you might want to wait a month or two.

This week in gadget blogs and news from around the Net:

• Check out the interior of the Chevy-Volt! - Jalopnik
• Apple to make a Mac Tablet? Files for patent - Machines that Go Bing
• A driveable Star Wars Landspeeder - Gizmodo
• Coca-Cola preparing a 100 flavor soda fountains - Engadget
• Make your own portable Atari game - OhGizmo!
• Zune Bug concept - Ubergizmo
• Ashton Kutcher to launch Blah Girls - TechCrunch
• Wii PC Casemod - Technabob

And this week in the Smarter Gadgets Blog we talked about:

• GamePodunk.com is Giving Away a PS3 and Madden 09
• Men Dress Up Like Fairies, Race across Azeroth
• Radio Shack Coupon: Save 15% Off $75 at Radio Shack
• Steve Jobs’ Obituary Accidentally Published
  

A quick recap of gadget blogs and news around the Net:

• First hands on pics of the LG Dare for Verizon - Phone Arena
• How to build a Mentos and Diet Coke booby trap - Instructables
• LA to sue Time Warner for horrible service - LA Times
• iBose Egg Chair - Ubergizmo
• Are we that lazy? Motorized spray bottle - OhGizmo!
• 3G iPhone touchscreens leaked out? - Engadget
• Nereus Kite-Powered Water Pod Racer Can Dive - Gizmodo

And this week in the Smarter Gadgets Blog we talked about:

• Computer Shopping: $200 off Inspiron Desktops over $749
• Compare Video Games: PS3 is an Energy Monster!
• Electronic Shop: Save up to 65% at the Hammacher Schlemmer Sale
• Funny Video: Germans Have a New Way to Water Slide
• Smarter’s Dads & Grad’s Gift Guide

When I first heard my friend’s PlayStation 3, I could have swore that thing was getting ready for take off. The amount of noise coming out of that thing is a bit ridiculous. And after reading this article on the amount of energy this thing sucks up, I can see why.

According to the Australian consumer agency Choice, the PS3 isn’t very friendly to your utility bill. The gaming console, when running, sucks up to five times as much more energy than a refrigerator and ten times as much as the Nintendo Wii. How much does that come out to in dollars? About $250 if you keep that baby running all the time.

The Xbox 360 isn’t that much better, running around 23.57 kWH per week compared to the PS3’s 31.74 kWH and the Wii at 2.97 kWH.

Basically, if you’re not using the console, just turn it off rather than leave it idling. And if you’re looking to knock down your electric bill and knock off a few pounds, it appears the Nintendo Wii is the way to go all around.

Source: Gizmodo

A quick recap of gadget news and blogs around the Net:

• All-in-one washing machine and toilet. Do all your cleaning in one….sitting - Gizmodo
• Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro Get Upgrades - The Gadget Blog
• The ultimate Xbox 360 arcade controller - Technabob
• PS3 gets a steel color with Metal Gear Solid 4 launch - Kotaku
• Rockit coaster at Universal Studios, Orlando to tape your ride - Engadget
  

And in Smarter Gadgets we talked about:

• Facebook to Launch an Instant Messaging Service
  
• Sony Deal: Save $400 off a 52″ Sony Bravia HDTV
• Refurbished Apple iPhones on Sale at AT&T for Cheap
• Wii Games Deal: Buy 1Wii Game, Get 1 $20 off at Toys R Us
• What Happens When the Alarm Goes Off at the Gas Station

A quick recap of gadget news and blogs around the Net:

• Bluetooth purCushion pillow allows you to talk in your sleep - Reg Hardware
• Cow Manure turned into Renewable Energy - Reuters
• G-Fi Wireless GPS Accessory for the iPhone - G-Fi
• Phone has a built-in Bluetooth headset - Yanko Design
• Silver Satin PS3 and Xbox 360 Arcade available in Japan - Engadget
• Apple and Kleiner Perkins launching a $100 million iFund for iPhone developers - ValleyWag
• IMing coming to the iPhone with AIM - Gizmodo via live.gizmodo.com
  

And in Smarter Gadgets we talked about:

• Save 20% off Dell XPS 630 Desktops $1699 and Up
• Martian Skiers Cause Avalanches on Mars
• Save $300 0ff HP Pavilion Notebooks Priced $1,199 and Over
• Death Star Hotel Coming Soon. Prepare for the End
  

A quick recap of gadget news and blogs around the Net:

• Microsoft bids to buy Yahoo for $44.6 Billion - MSNBC
• PlayStation 3 to get a new, slimmer look? - T3
• New blow-up mouse, the Jelly Click - Yanko Design
• An endless Pac-Man game is in sight - Engadget
• Freeze in a nice Snow Room - Gizmodo

And in Smarter Gadgets we talked about:

• Save $100 off Pre-Configured Sony VAIO CR Models
• Cow Farts to Become Less Lethal to the Environment?
• Pink Apple iPod Nano is the Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift
• Blackberry to go Pink, Hopes to Cut into iPhone Sales
• Apple MacBook Air is the Thinnest Notebook Around
• SanDisk Sansa Connect 4 Wi-Fi MP3 Player: $89.95
• Google Executives Pledged Their Life Together for 20 Years

For those of you who are sick of the same ol’ black that the PlayStation has been released in for the past few years, prepare yourselves for some change.

It looks like the 40 GB Playstation 3 will now be available in a ceramic white color soon after papers were filed with the FCC to release the gaming console in that color in North America.

The PS3 has already been available in white in Japan since November, so it’s nothing new to our counterparts overseas, but for those of you in the US, you now have something new to look forward to.

Except for the price. The really steep price. That’s not going to change.

But at least it’ll be white!

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Photo Source.

It was a slow week because of the holidays, but here is what happened in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• Napster takes an annoying 30 minutes to cancel account - Boing Boing
• A guard for your car bumper? It exists and it’s called the Bumper Badger - Coolest Gadgets
• A Shark Gun for your Nintendo Wii - Kotaku
• Expect LCD TV prices to fall dramatically in 2008 - Ubergizmo
• Amazon.com’s Best of 2007 List - Business Wire
• T-Mobile to waive activation fee for new customers until 12/31/07 - Gizmodo
• Bluetooth headset stops a robbery in-process - United Press International
• Kid opens a Playstation 3 from EB Games on Christmas, gets a phone book - Engadget via Fox News

Watch the clip here

And in Smarter Gadgets we talked about:

• Save $200 on a Dell Inspiron Notebook
• Uniden MaxTrax GPS to include Radar Detector

A quick recap of gadget news and blogs around the Net:

• Marky Mark Walhberg to star in the movie adaption of the video game Max Payne - Variety
• Great Deals at Best Buy Black Friday - Gizmodo
• Fan raps about the soon-to-be released Verizon Voyager phone - Wired
• The Escalade goes Hyrbid - Crave
• Dude, where’s the Dell guy? - New York Magazine
• Apple and Starbucks integration has begun - Engadget

And in Smarter Gadgets we talked about:

• Save money and get more on a PS3 at Dell.com
• Now you see me, now you don’t
• Pound Puppies control riots?
• Alvin and the Chipmunks movie trailer
• Top Gun: High speed, low passing jets video