Hasta La Gadget!

There’s really little point to this now, but a solid week after consumers in the US began picking up the Wacom Bamboo multitouch tablet, the outfit has come clean and confessed that it actually approved the production of that very device. Granted, there’s still some merit to the release, particularly since a foursome of new wares are being introduced. The second-generation Bamboo line will initially consist of the Bamboo, Bamboo Fun, Bamboo Pen and Bamboo Touch, some of which (we’ll let you guess) are the company’s first to support multitouch functionality as well as pen input. Prices are said to start at £49.99 ($81) for the Bamboo Pen and soar right on up to £169.99 ($276) for the Bamboo Fun Medium, and if you’re interested in finding the one that fits your style, give that read link a look.

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Wacom’s Bamboo multitouch tablets finally go official, for formality’s sake originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CNET News' Ina Fried got a chance to try out a demo of Project Natal earlier this year. On Thursday, Microsoft noted that nearly all of the big names in video games are working on titles that take advantage of the motion sensing technology.

(Credit: CNET)

Microsoft has been pretty quiet about its Project Natal since showing off the motion-capture technology at E3 earlier this year.

However, a lot has been going on behind the scenes, particularly in getting developers to build games that can take advantage of the technology, which lets a player control a game with their body as opposed to a joystick. In an announcement at the Tokyo Game Show on Thursday, Microsoft noted that nearly all of the big names in video games are working on Natal titles.

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Originally posted at Beyond Binary

Samsung has unveiled the Instinct HD, a significant upgrade from the earlier Instinct S30 we reviewed earlier this year. The Instinct HD features a 5-megapixel camera, plus the ability record and output high definition video to a compatible television or monitor. (It can’t do that on the phone’s 320-by-480-pixel display itself due to the lack of sufficient resolution.)

In addition, the camera now includes a timer, smile mode, sports mode, sunset mode, and other new features. The Instinct HD also bundles Opera Mobile 9.7, Wi-Fi, an accelerometer, and an ambient light sensor. The Samsung Instinct HD will hit Best Buy stores this Sunday, September 27th, with a wide release in all retail channels and online following on October 11th.

My main concern is price; the Instinct HD will cost a whopping $249.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. That’s $150 more than the Instinct S30, and puts this thing significantly above the cost of the $149 Palm Pre. In other words, you’re going to really have to want that mobile HD video to give up genuine smartphone capabilities–since Sprint’s smartphone data plans are more reasonably priced than other carriers, and much closer to the cost of the Instinct HD’s. Will the Instinct HD measure up in testing? A full review is on the way.

Honda on Wednesday unveiled the U3-X, a stool with a unique directional wheel system that allows it to travel diagonally, as well as right, left, forward, and backward.

It’s basically a robotic unicycle.

The device is able to readjust itself so that instead of riders having to constantly balance themselves, the robotic unicycle does the compensating.

Honda pointed out in its unveiling video that the U3-X’s seat is slightly higher than an average person’s waistline, forcing riders to jump up slightly to sit on it and place their feet on a foot rest. This elevated height of the robotic unicycle leaves riders at relative eye level with passing pedestrians while in motion, according to Honda.

It’s a nice touch. A common complaint among people in wheelchairs are the social and psychological effects of literally being looked down upon while traveling the world in a sitting position. But requiring the rider to be able to hold upright while on a backless seat clearly disqualifies the U3-X as a wheelchair substitute for many.

And in this age of rising obesity, who among the fitness-conscious is really going to ride the streets on a robotic stool when they can get a little chance at some exercise during their busy day by walking?

It’s just one of those things you know no one is really going to buy. So why, then, did Honda unveil the U3-X robotic unicycle?

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Originally posted at Planetary Gear

Nintendo this morning made official its long awaited price cut for the Wii. The popular–if blunted–console will be getting its first ever price drop this Sunday, when the system will go for $200.

After having recently dropped the price of its own flagship console, the PS3, Sony is also lowering the price of its portable PSP by 15-percent in Japan. The handheld will sell for 16,800 yen ($185) in that country. No word whether the US will see a similar price cut.