Hasta La Gadget!

When it comes to gaming audio, you know for sure that the name Turtle Beach has been right there from the early days when sound cards were considered to be a luxury on your computer, and many folks (such as yours truly) who lacked the kind of monetary resources would just have to make do with the standard PC speaker which frankly, had a far less vocal range compared to even R2-D2. Well, Turtle Beach does seem to be still around these days, and no longer are they producing sound cards for computers, but rather, still being involved in the audio arena. The Nintendo Wii U, a next generation console from Nintendo, has yet to be introduced, but Turtle Beach has already announced their officially licensed headsets, the Ear Force NLa and Ear Force N11.

The two pairs of headsets were specially created in collaboration with Nintendo of Japan, where they intend to deliver to Wii U gamers a pair of solid entry level headsets without breaking the bank. Steve Singer, Vice President of Licensing, Nintendo of America Inc., said, “We are very excited to be working with Turtle Beach to launch the N11 and NLa for the new Wii U. We look forward to fans having a high quality audio experience with our newest console.”

Unlike your Nokia handsets, however, these will not come in a bunch of merry colors. Instead, they will be available in both black and white shades only, presumably to go along with what the Wii U will be launched in.

The Ear Force NLa is the ideal headset for Nintendo gamers who want high-fidelity audio and superior comfort, where it merges high-fidelity stereo game audio and crystal-clear communication in a sleek, lightweight and durable design. Other features include in-line volume control and noise-isolating ear cushions, while those who tend to be on-the-go will find that the NLa’s 4-pole connector can be easily disconnected from the Wii U GamePad and hook up to portable devices such as the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS in a jiffy.

The Ear Force NLa and Ear Force N11 will retail for $34.95 and $49.95, respectively, as they arrive in the market later in the fourth quarter of this year.

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[ Turtle Beach has new headsets for the Nintendo Wii U copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

So, you have this zany interest in arcades? How about having fun with this rather pricey (but you will not regret it if you are a true blue arcade lover, although the missus might have a thing or two to say about that!) £4,000 Arcane Arcade Table sitting right smack in the middle of your living room? Yes sir, the Arcane Arcade Table is definitely one of the better and more elegant pieces of playable furniture our eyes have ever set on to date. Carrying more than 100 classic arcade games that we have come to know and love over the years, you can indulge in some Bubble Bobble in the mornings, spend your noon siesta time with Legend of Kage, or relax with a bit of Dungeon Crawl right before you call it a night. Not only that, the Arcane Arcade Table will be MAME compatible, meaning you can include a theoretically infinite amount of emulators to enjoy your favorite consoles and arcades.

The integrated dual-core processor inside is accompanied by a 500GB hard drive, relevant Ethernet ports, and a built-in LCD display, and it will surf the Internet just fine by itself, thank you very much. The included fold-out control station will boast of authentic joysticks, spinner, trackball and a brace of buttons that allows up to two players to play, so it evokes the good old arcade feeling in the comfort of your home, minus the dark and smoky environment. Each table will also boast a pair of 30 watt speakers built-in to each end of the table to make the whole arcade experience more real.

[ Arcane Arcade Table copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

We have seen companies offer gaming laptops from time to time, and these tend to be huge behemoths in their own right. Well, they definitely are not to blame of course, considering the fact that you need enough physical space to be able to cram in all the necessary powerful parts and components of a gaming machine in a portable format. PAX Prime saw the rise of another next generation gaming laptop, continuing from where the original Razer Blade left off. This new model is said to sport extreme performance while coming in an ultra-portable form factor, where we will give it a closer scrutiny right after the jump.

When the original Razer Blade was revealed to the world in August last year, it basically blew expectations on what a gaming laptop should look and perform like. Well, this new model is set to break new ground as well, pushing performance limits without compromising on its ultra-thin form factor. Folks who are interested and have enough faith in Razer’s R&D team would be able to drop $2,499 for a pre-order of the machine, where shipping to folks living in North America will commence on September 30th.

In order to make sure the new Razer Blade will run nice and cool, it ditched the predecessor’s thermal system, went back to the drawing board and re-engineered what you see from custom-crafted parts with larger vents and specially designed heat pipes so that additional airflow will be able to make its way to the unit’s extreme components. Touted to carry one of the most innovative thermal solutions in the industry, we are talking about plenty of power crammed into an ultra-thin form factor that measures all of just 0.88” thin, now how about that? We are talking about more than 50% the thickness of traditional gaming laptops of comparable performance.

The entire shebang tips the scales at under seven pounds, including its ultra-slim power supply, also making it the lightest gaming laptop in its class. A more detailed breakdown of the hardware specifications can be seen below.

• Future platform with 3rd Generation Intel Core Processor
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
• 2GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory
• 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Memory
• 17.3-in. LED Backlit Display (1920×1080)
• Built-in HD Webcam
• Integrated 60Wh Battery
• 500GB 7200RPM HDD (Primary Storage)
• 64GB SATA III SSD with NVELO Dataplex Software (Cache Acceleration)
• Wireless Network 802.11 A/G/N + BT4.0

Press Release

[ Next generation Razer Blade offers cutting edge performance copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

You know for sure that hardcore gamers take their gaming very, very seriously. Otherwise, they would not be hardcore, would they? Every single bit of performance counts, just like how the high speed and high precision sport of Formula 1 is like. After all, you can never quite tell whether you missed that last money shot simply because your mouse did not register that final flick of your wrist as accurately as you thought it would – only to realize that you were let down by your mouse pad simply because its grooves were all worn out.

Well, if reading the above paragraph actually caused you to have a second look at your mouse pad, only to see that it indeed has grown thinner than it originally was, perhaps it is time to reconsider a new mouse pad. I remember my first “professional” mouse mat from 3M, boy was it ideal to frag my opponents into oblivion, but the extremely low sensitivity setting in my Quake configuration made me run out of space – real fast, leading me to look out for a larger mouse pad. Enter the Chrome Blue version of the ROCCAT Sense High Precision Gaming Mousepad of today.

The Chrome Blue version will feature a revised surface, in addition to more intense colors while measuring all of 2mm high (or should we say, low?). The special microcrystalline coating that was incorporated into the fabric surface is extremely effective at minimizing frictional resistance between the mouse and the pad, hence noticeably improving the gliding capability of mice. Not only that, it works extremely quietly with hardly any noise, allowing your mouse to glide almost silently over the entire ROCCAT mousepad without missing a beat. The ROCCAT Sense Chrome Blue High Precision Gaming Mousepad can be purchased for €19.99 if you are living across the pond, while those living Stateside will end up with the slightly better deal at $19.99 a pop.

The ROCCAT Sense Chrome Blue High Precision Gaming Mousepad measures 400mm x 280mm, making it ideal to perform sweeping mouse movements. Folks like me who have extremely low sensitivity will love this mousepad which sports a rubberized coating for the entire underside, making sure the mouse pad sits perfectly and securely even on smooth surfaces.

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[ ROCCAT Sense High Precision Gaming Mousepad now comes in Chrome Blue copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

I have mentioned many times in the past before, concerning gamers who are extremely particular with their gaming peripherals. For those who are looking for a decent gaming keyboard to help them frag their way to the top, then I am quite sure that you cannot go wrong with the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate, where it is touted to come with the all new Switchblade user interface.

The Switchblade user interface found on the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate is similar to the acclaimed, customizable LCD trackpad and LED keypad combo which was first introduced on the Razer Switchblade concept a couple of years ago. Apart from that, it can currently be found in production on the Razer Blade gaming laptop, in addition to the Star Wars: The Old Republic gaming keyboard, so this is not exactly new. Let us take a closer look at the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate gaming keyboard right after the jump.

This particular interface will be able to turn gaming keyboard functionality into a customizable control panel that is accompanied by 10 dynamic, adaptive tactile keys which you are able to bind commands, macros, skills and spells in order to experience an unparalleled in-game competitive advantage. Individual keys are able to display any image thanks to Razer’s Synapse 2.0 software, allowing you to enjoy what Razer deems to be the “smartest keyboard on the market”.

As for the LCD panel that is located right below the keys, it can play nice in a couple of modes – the first setting will show off critical in-game information, ranging from damage dealt and heals-per-second on the new Star Wars: The Old Republic Battle Logger application, or countdown timers that are able to keep track of in-game events with the Razer Gamer Timer application.

As for the second mode of the panel, it will be able to function as a highly sensitive, multi-touch trackpad with intuitive gestures built-in, delivering an alternative method of navigating games or PC desktops. The list of Razer apps include Trackpad, Numpad, Macro Recorder, Gaming Mode, Browser, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Clock, Screenshot, and Game Timer amongst others. It will retail for $79.99 a pop, while those living across the pond will have to pay €79.99.

Press Release

[ Razer DeathStalker Ultimate comes with all-new Switchblade user interface copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]