Hasta La Gadget!

Nintendo’s latest oversized handheld not big enough for you? Maybe another Circle Pad Pro will help. According to Japanese gaming publication Famitsu, the Big N is poised to give the freshly announced 3DS XL a second analog slider. Pricing wasn’t covered in the magazine’s Nintendo Q&A session, but gamers in the Land of the Rising Sun should have their thumbs on it later this year. Oh, and in case you didn’t hear, the colossal clamshell is getting its very own charging cradle too, sold separately for 1,200 yen ($15). Mum’s the word on stateside details for the secondary slide pad, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it show up on foreign shores.

3DS XL to get Circle Pad Pro treatment, become that much larger originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a bit of a surprise that slipped under the radar during the Google I/O keynote: Google Earth for Android has been updated to 7.0 to take advantage of the new 3D map technology it unveiled at another special event just a few weeks ago. As a refresher, the visuals are automatically created from 45-degree aerial imagery and can pick up 3D elements as subtle as trees. Before you go racing to your hometown to see how it looks in 3D, be aware that just a handful of cities and regions exploit that dimension. Besides San Francisco Bay, the full coverage extends to Boulder, Boston, Charlotte, Lawrence, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Santa Cruz and Tampa in the US, with Rome being the lone international hotspot. If that’s too few places to visit, there’s always the addition of guided tours. Android users can head over Google Play to get the update today; iOS users shouldn’t fret, as they’ll get the new maps soon.

Update: Google now has video, if you’d rather not (or can’t) install the app to try it yourself.

Continue reading Google Earth 7.0 for Android brings new, super-detailed 3D maps for some cities (update: video)

Google Earth 7.0 for Android brings new, super-detailed 3D maps for some cities (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo revealed that it would be releasing an upgraded version of the 3DS last week dubbed the 3DS XL, bringing with it a larger screen and improved battery life. Several French gaming websites have already had a chance to take the new handheld for a spin and serve up some first impressions, with the results mostly being positive. At first many were skeptical of the 3DS XL, believing that a simple boost in size wouldn’t amount to significant differences, but it looks like Nintendo have made several other tweaks that should improve the overall gaming experience.

The first observation is that the 3DS XL naturally has a huge screen, all the better to see your games with. Both displays are said to have undergone improvements though, with the 3D mode looking better to the eyes, and even 2D is said to look better than the normal 3DS. Viewing angles have also been improved.

Meanwhile, ergonomics play an important role, with the larger physical size and rounded corners giving hands more real estate to grasp, resulting in a better grip. The 3DS XL is reportedly lighter than its predecessor, and while the unit appears to be matte, there’s a coating that gives the illusion of a metal chassis.

It seems like the French have been charmed by the larger unit overall, but is it enough to get consumers to splurge all over again? Time will tell. The 3DS XL will be released on August 19th in the United States and cost $200.

[via Kotaku]

Nintendo 3DS XL fondled on video is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Ever seen how they draw those forced perspective drawings that look three-dimensional from an specific angle? This time lapse video of Chris Carlson drawing Mario jumping over a NES gamepad shows how it is done. Pretty awesome. [Yababoon via Stuff I Stole via The Daily What] More »

In late July 2012, Canon will release a Mixed Reality system, immersing users in an interactive environment containing a combination of physical and virtual objects.
Canon has developed a special-purpose head-mount display and software for position alignment. The system uses high-precision, high-speed image processing to obtain synthesized images. These look the same size as they would with the naked eye, and they can be seen in real time.
This system is expected to find uses in various fields. …