Hasta La Gadget!

Pioneer has enjoyed a fairly tight grip on the upper-end of the DJ market, but if you step out of the professional DJ booth, and into the bars and bedrooms, the competition starts to heat up. So when we heard about the XDJ-Aero and its curious new WiFi functionality, we were interested to see how this $1,399 controller would be received. That’s not to say the DJ mainstay doesn’t hold its ground in this busier market — it does — but as the far more frequent product release schedule will attest, the industry standard crown is still up for grabs. There’s the other issue of software to consider, also. Pioneer has remained fairly neutral so far, releasing controllers for the big two platforms already, with the paint barely dry on its latest addition.

The XDJ-Aero, however, hints at a new approach. One where you don’t need to choose your software gang colors to be involved. This isn’t the first bit of kit that lets you play direct from USB drives or skip the laptop, but it’s the first from Pioneer that clearly heads out in its own direction. Ditch the Traktor, wean yourself of Serato, even forget CDs and just get on with the mixing. That seems to be what the XDJ-Aero is about, but does it hold its own? We popped a few of our favorite ditties on to find out.

Continue reading Pioneer XDJ-Aero review: a DJ controller that loves music, hates physical formats

Filed under: Misc

Pioneer XDJ-Aero review: a DJ controller that loves music, hates physical formats originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SteelSeries offers a variety of different gaming accessories and peripherals for mobile and computer gamers. The company has announced two new products are now available to purchase that are aimed at gamers on the go. Products include the SteelSeries Free Mobile Wireless Controller and the Flux Headset.

The Free Mobile Wireless Controller is a small and lightweight cross-platform gaming controller. The controller has a common button layout and is similar to a Nintendo or PlayStation controller. It has a D-Pad on the left, four buttons on the right, and a pair of small analog sticks. The controller also has a pair of shoulder buttons.

The controller is powered by rechargeable lithium-ion battery good for 20 hours of casual game play or 10 hours of nonstop play. The controller automatically turns off after 20 minutes of no use and charges using a USB cable. The controller supports PC or Mac users, and mobile users can download an app that allows the device to be paired with Android or iOS devices. The controller is available now for $79.99.

The Flux Headset is available now for $99.99. It’s designed to be a cross-platform headset with 40 mm drivers. The headset folds for storage and portability. It comes with two interchangeable cables. One of the cables allows the headset to plug into computers, and the other is for mobile devices.

SteelSeries Free Mobile Wireless Controller and Flux Headset launch is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

X-Arcade makes some of the coolest arcade controllers out there that will take you right back to the arcade of your youth. The company makes large controllers with big joysticks and big buttons that appear to have come right off the Pac-Man game from 1980. The cool part is that the company also makes a number of adapters allowing you to use that controller with just about every game console available.

If you own one of these controllers or have your heart set on Santa bringing you one this year for Christmas, a new adapter for the controller is up for pre-order right now. X-Arcade is offering a new adapter allowing you to attach an X-Arcade Joystick to the Nintendo Wii or the coming Wii U. The adapter allows the big and beefy X-Arcade Joystick to plug into your existing Wii Remote.

Once connected, you can control the action on any video game designed to use the Wii Classic Controller using the much more robust X-Arcade Joystick. The adapter is available for pre-order right now and is set to ship in November. Pricing for the adapter is $59.99.

The adapter also allows users to play with any PS2 controller on the Nintendo console. The adapter will support dual players but requires dual Wii Remotes for two-player action. The adapter doesn’t support vibration feedback.

X-Arcade offers Wii U controller adapter is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Gamers looking for a way to bring tactile controls to their mobile devices are starting to have a multitude of choices. The latest mobile controller is a cool idea in that it’s small enough to tote around on your keychain.

The iMpulse controller works over Bluetooth and can connect to iOS or Android devices. The pocket-sized gamepad includes a small sliding directional thumbpad and four buttons for gameplay (I’m not sure what that fifth button at the center does.)  As an added bonus, the controller is ambidextrous, so it can be flipped over to work for either righties or lefties. It also works as a media remote for your mobile gadgets, and as a keyfinder which will beep when you activate an app on your smartphone.

Out of the box, the iMpulse will support hundreds of games, and its creators are offering up their own SDK for game developers to take advantage of the controller as well. With all the controllers making their way onto the market, I’m still shocked that Apple has issued no official controller API from for iOS. At least Android has standards for input devices. Here, check out the iMpulse in action with an iPad:

Cool, no? About the only thing I’m not convinced of is the idea of having to put my phone or tablet in some kind of stand to really play with this thing. I don’t know how practical that is for everyday use. But if you’re excited about the iMpulse, drop on over to Kickstarter and pledge at least $30(USD) to get your controller – thought you’ll need to add another $10 to get a USB-microUSB charging cable, and a T-shirt to go with. There’s also a spiffy metal finish version available starting at $55.

This week Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata spoke via live streaming video to the whole world straight from Japan on what the Wii U would be bringing the world – in pricing and release information form. There are two sets that have been revealed thus far, one of them being a basic set, the other bring a Premium Set, each hitting Japan on December 8. The Premium Set has been set for 31,500 yen while the Basic Set will cost you 26,250 – roughly converted, that’s right around $350 and $300, but the final prices for the USA will likely be closer to $300 and $250 when all is said and done – and what’s inside each package, you may ask?

The Wii U Premium Set has been revealed in Japan as containing a Wii U console, AC adapter, Wii U GamePad (one unit), GamePad AC adapter, and HDMI cable – with the console having 32GB onboard storage right out of the box. The Basic Set, on the other hand, has that same set of gear but with 8GB of onboard storage instead – and there’s more!

The Premium Set also includes a membership to the Nintendo Premium Network. This membership gives you 10% off of digital software purchases and will have additional benefits listed soon! The Premium Set also includes bonus bits such as stands for both the GamePad and the console itself. Of course each of these accessories are able to be purchased on their own.

NOTE: have a peek at our 2012 hands-on with Wii U as well as our 2011 E3 Wii U hands-on for sweet Nintendo action!

The stands as well as new iterations – new colors, that is, of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk will be available too. There’s also a new Sensor Bar set for a new price coming up too, each of these shown in the gallery below complete with Japan-based cost for now. There’s also a Wii U Pro Controller launching in black and white for 5,040 yen – that being right around $50 USD, and the whole lot will be available at essentially the same time – soon!

In addition to pricing and release information, this short press conference also showed off a couple elements we’d seen a bit of in the past like HUD data and map information on your controller instead of up on the big screen. Also revealed were a couple new games – New Super Mario Bros. U and NintendoLand. The Mario title, said Iwata, will be the first Mario title to launch with a Nintendo home console since Super Mario 64 all the way back in 1996.

Stay tuned to our Wii U tag portal for more information as it’s released throughout the day – there’s still a USA-based press conference on the way!

Wii U pricing in Japan set at around $300 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.