Hasta La Gadget!

Nintendo is notorious for releasing awesome limited edition hardware abroad, but here in the US of A, we tend to get the short end of the joystick. Case in point, the house that Mario Miyamoto built is releasing a Charizard-themed 3DS XL on December 15th in Japan for ¥18,900 ($237). Available exclusively at Pokémon Center stores, aspiring buyers will need to complete an order form and win (yes, win) a drawing for a chance to purchase one of these beautiful monsters. Winners will have from December 15th through January 14th to claim and purchase their prize. As for you unlucky entrants, you’ll have the opportunity to indulge in one of America’s favorite pastimes — buying Nintendo collectibles online at an extremely high markup.

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Nintendo

Charizard 3DS XL burns through Japan’s Pokémon Centers in December, snag one if you’re lucky originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Oct 2012 03:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo has introduced yet another 3DS XL variant that will probably never see the light of day outside of Japan. While we’re okay with that most of the time, we have to say this latest 3DS XL – which features an image of Charizard on the outside – looks pretty snazzy. Thing is, even if you live in Japan, you’re still going to have a hard time getting your hands on one.

That’s because only those who win a raffle will get the chance to buy one. Yes, we said “buy” there, as those who win the raffle won’t just be given one for free. The raffle will run from November 3 to November 26, and prospective entrants can either go to one of the Pokemon Center stores in Japan to enter or mail in their entry form.

Winners of the raffle will be notified on December 7, and then they’ll be able to purchase their Charizard-laden 3DS XL between December 15 and January 14. This special edition 3DS XL will cost ¥18,900, which is right around $237, and from what we can tell, there aren’t any games that come bundled with it. It’ll just be you, Charizard, and a 3DS XL that you may just want to leave in the packaging, considering how hard it was to get.

As far as Pokemon-themed handhelds go, this is one of the better ones, and there have been a lot of them throughout the years. The fact that its availability will be so limited in Japan means that there’s almost no chance of it ever becoming available in the US or Europe, which is definitely a bummer considering how nice it looks. Oh well – it looks like we’ll just have to settle for the Charizard posters plastered all over and the Charizard-themed bedspread that ushers us into the dream world every night.

[via Kotaku]

Special edition Charizard 3DS XL announced for Japan is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sharp may look like it’s in trouble, but that’s not stopping it bringing new displays to the market, including today’s announcement of the AQUOS Quattron 3D XL TV line. Behind the mouthful of acronyms, these LED-backlit LCD panels are the first to feature Sharp’s Moth-Eye technology, designed to reduce glare and pump out bright colors, as well as a deep black. The company’s ‘four primary color’ tech is partly responsible for the rich output, which squeezes a yellow sub-pixel in with the standard R, G and B. All the panels run at 1,920 x 1,080, as you’d expect, sport a 10 million to 1 contrast ratio and use five speakers to deliver audio. Prices aren’t fixed, but the 46-, 52- and 80-inch models will be released in Japan on December 15th, while the 60- and 70-inch variants will come slightly earlier, on November 30th. You’re going to have to be quick on launch day, though — only 10,000 units are expected to be available in the first month.

Filed under: Displays, HD

Sharp announces first TVs with Moth-Eye technology: the AQUOS XL series originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Worried about your schoolyard chums pinching your colored pencils (you know, those pre-touchscreen graphite writing implements) from your desk? By stashing them in a dead gutted mackerel you’re all but guaranteed no one’s going to lay a finger on them. And probably guaranteed a trip to the principal’s office too. More »

If you’re one of the more daring (or foolhardy) photographers out there, you’ve tried camera tossing: hurling your camera into the air in the hopes that a timed shot will catch either a unique perspective or an artistic spin. Nikon might not want to stop those shooters from throwing caution to the wind, but its recently published Japanese patent would at least keep those throws to a minimum. Cameras based on the patent could use a built-in accelerometer not just for timing the shot, but to brace for a fall by covering the lens and retracting its barrel on the way down. In theory, the photographer gets a perfect aerial portrait without all the guesswork and a minimum of damage. Call us skeptical that we’ll ever see the patent reach a shipping product, though — even if it was limited to rugged cameras, a mode built almost exclusively around voiding the warranty probably wouldn’t sit well with Nikon’s accountants.

[Image credit: Zoli B, Flickr]

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

Nikon patent would perfect the art of camera tossing, protect us from our folly originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 04:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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