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Visceral. Bloody. In your face. Just a few ways to describe Condemned 2: Bloodshot, SEGA’s latest first person action horror title. The game starts off with a fast-paced adrenaline rush and rarely lets go, except when it messes with your mind in any number of ways. Read on to find out whether the game is pure madness, pure genius, or a little bit of both. If you read my initial impressions about Condemned 2, then you would see that I was fairly excited by how well this title was shaping up. That was a late, not final build, and it’s clear that the game has gotten even better than when I saw it a few weeks ago. Graphically, many of the slight issues I had with the title have been cleared up. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Condemned 2: Bloodshot for Xbox 360′…)

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HP has announced the upgrade to the current dv2000 notebook, the new 13.3-inch dv3000 retains a similar look as the previous model although it offers a slightly smaller overall size. The dv3000 features a 2.5GHz T9300 Penryn Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, GeForce Go 8400M graphics with HDMI out, a dual-layer DVD burner, VGA webcam and is running Windows Vista Home Premium. The dv3000 is expected to retail for around $1,399, which is not a bad price, except it will only be available (beginning in May) in the Asian market. Via [Engadget] Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → (Read the full post about ‘HP unveils the dv3000 laptop’…)

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Posted Mar 21st 2008 5:55PM by Nilay PatelFiled under: Gaming We still think Gibson’s attempt to claim that Guitar Hero violates its patent on “simulating a musical performance with a musical instrument” is totally unfounded and ridiculous for a number of reasons (it involves a “3-D headset,” for one), but we can sort of see why the company is now suing Harmonix as well — they’re a Fender outfit, after all. The third in a series of petulant lawsuits filed by the notoriously litigious guitar maker over the patent claims Harmonix, Viacom, and Electronic Arts are all liable for Rock Band, but it’s not clear if Gibson is going after just the guitars or the drum kit as well, which is probably closer to actually counting as an instrument. (Read the full post about ‘Gibson still thinks a video game is a musical instrument, sues Harmonix for Rock Band’…)

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HTC today announced the nationwide availability of the HTC Shift X9500 UMPC - 800MHz, 1GB, 40GB, 7″ LCD, QuadBand GSM, 3G UMTS/HSDPA EDGE, Bluetooth, Camera, WiFi, Windows Vista Business, Keyboard operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. Harnessing the power of Windows Vista and Microsoft Origami Experience 2.0, the HTC Shift blends advanced wireless connectivity with a sleek design that is half the size and a fraction of the weight of a standard notebook. The HTC Shift features the power and connectivity the travelling, busy professional needs. This is the first device to feature HTC’s innovative new SnapVUE technology. (Read the full post about ‘HTC Shift come in US’…)

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Posted Mar 21st 2008 9:10AM by Paul MillerFiled under: LaptopsPushing pixels is great and all, but sometimes we’ve just got a hankering to see how far those dollars can stretch, and Averatec’s 2575 laptop mostly satisfies those urges. For $1100 you get Vista Home Premium running on an AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core chip, with 2GB of RAM, ATI RS690 integrated graphics, 250GB of HDD and a Super Multi DVD drive. The 12.1-inch screen runs at 1280 x 800, and sports a 1.3 megapixel webcam. There’s even ExpressCard 34 / 54 and a 4-in-1 memory card reader, and the whole shebang weighs in at 3.9 pounds and 1.5-inch thick. It’s available now. (Read the full post about ‘Averatec pushes out 2575 12.1-inch AMD-powered laptop’…)

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EA DICE, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. today announced the multiplayer beta test for Battlefield: Bad Company on the Xbox 360 video game system from Microsoft. IGN Founders’ Club and IGN Insider will offer keys to members and the public in North America and the UK to participate in the multiplayer beta test starting March 25 provided by IGN’s popular game download site FilePlanet . In addition, keys will also be available through IGN Entertainment’s gaming Web sites including IGN.com, GameSpy, TeamXbox, Planet Battlefield and Voodoo Extreme. Battlefield: Bad Company will launch on the Xbox 360 and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system in June 2008. (Read the full post about ‘Multiplayer Beta Program for Battlefield: Bad Company’…)

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I remember seeing this ad in a newspaper that claimed: “Now there is an easy answer. Laser Hair Removal!” It showed a pretty woman with great legs, and I can only assume that her bikini wax was somehow done with lasers. Well, I have no idea how lasers can remove hair, but apparently they can restore hair. This is exactly what the X5 HairLaser is designed to do. This little gadget is designed to fit in your hand like a tiny scalp massager, and can blast “15 distinct points of coherent laser light directly to your scalp at the optimum power and wavelength”. Somehow, all these lasers are supposed to promote hair growth. However, it doesn’t work all at once, but it is a treatment that requires 10-15 minutes, three times a week. (Read the full post about ‘X5 HairLaser’…)

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The best thing about smartphones is that they’re an all-in-one solution. Not only are they great phones, but they’re also great music and video players. Of course, the best sound doesn’t come out of the phone itself and is instead experienced either through headphones or when the smartphone is connected to a speaker system. With GSM phones, connecting up to a speaker system or being near a speaker system generally produces interference, and in most cases the only way to solve the problem is to put the phone into “flight mode”–basically shutting off the mobile antenna. Enter the T612. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Altec Lansing’s T612 iPhone speaker system’…)

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Sanyo has introduced the new MPEG-4 digital camcorder called the Xacti CG9. This pocket-sized beauty records video in the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format encoding technology, storing up to an hour of video for each GB of memory found on a regular SD/SDHC memory card. It features 9.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and offers 5x optical zoom as well as 12x digital zoom. Specs also include a 2.5-inch LCD display which flips out from the camera, an ergonomic design, still image capture, USB 2.0 support, Pictbridge support. (Read the full post about ‘Sanyo Xacti CG9 is a MPEG-4 digital camcorder’…)

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Posted Mar 21st 2008 3:08AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: cellphones, Transportation Like it or not, a new era has dawned. More than a year later than anticipated, Emirates says that the world’s first authorized cellphone call was made by a passenger during an Airbus A340 flight between Dubai and Casablanca. Once the aircraft reached cruising altitude, passengers were permitted to make and receive both calls and text messages. Emirates plans to fit additional aircraft with the interference-blocking AeroMobile system later this year while adding blackberry and “other data services.” To keep the annoyance factor to a minimum, the flight crew requests passengers to silence their ringers and will shut off the in-flight service when appropriate. (Read the full post about ‘Emirates permits world’s first in-flight cellphone call, plane doesn’t crash’…)

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