Hasta La Gadget!

If you drooled at the PS Vita hack we saw last year that allowed for Remote Play via PS3, check this out. Sony may have found a solution to the PS Vita’s languishing hardware sales and intrigued more Sony faithful in one fell swoop. The company has acknowledged that they will require PS4 games to support Remote Play, with some exceptions. In other words, you’ll be able to stream most PS4 games from the console and play them on the PS Vita.

The feature was confirmed via Twitter by Shuhei Yoshida, the President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios. When asked if PS4 games will use the Remote Play feature, Yoshida responded, “Yes, it’s true unless the game requires specific hardware like the camera. It will be great to play PS4 games on PS Vita.”

This is awesome news. It’s so awesome that you have to wonder why Sony didn’t boast about it more during the announcement of the PlayStation 4. I’m pretty sure they mentioned it in passing, but remember, Nintendo boasted about this exact same feature on the Wii U, and rightfully so. Obviously PS4 gamers will have to buy a PS Vita to enjoy Remote Play, and the Vita’s rear touchscreen can’t fully make up for the lack of R2 and L2 buttons. But still, this is a blessing for gamers who have to share their TV or don’t have enough space for a TV in their room.

If this takes off and more people buy the PS Vita, perhaps that will help push more publishers to release games on the handheld. I’m not entirely sold on this feature; we obviously haven’t seen it in action, we don’t know how the PS Vita’s battery will hold up with Remote Play, etc. But it’s one that I personally have been hoping for ever since the PS Vita was released, so I guess we’ll just have to be hopeful and wait until its big brother comes out this Holiday.

[via Shuhei Yoshida via Siliconera]

Remember when you were a kid and you had this secret diary that your little brother would always try to sneak a peek at? Well, probably only the girls can relate, and while I had no brother, I did have a sister who constantly snooped around my stuff.

So if you have a little girl in the house and want to save her the trouble of having to fight for her privacy, you might want to get her the iHeart Locket. That’s if she already has an iPad.

The iHeart works in conjunction with the iHeart Locket Diary app for iOS. The app is essentially a digital diary that lets your little girl write her deepest thoughts and secrets. The app also lets her insert images and scribble down notes and doodles when she feels like it.

The locket functions as the diary’s key. It transmits a unique code that keeps the diary private, so only its wearer can read the diary. In addition, if anyone comes along, a button on the locket can be pressed and anything written on the screen will be kept hidden away from prying eyes.

The iHeart Locket is being sold for $24.95(USD), while the app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store.

[via C|NET]

I once saw a photographer scramble around to finish the shoot as the Sun began to set. Needless to say, everyone had to come back the next day because the natural lighting just wasn’t enough and the photos turned out pretty bad.

Note that this is a mistake many photographers make when they schedule a shoot: they forget to consider the time the Sun rises or sets, in effect leaving the lighting for the shoot up to chance. If you’re an aspiring photographer, then PhotoPill is an app that you should consider getting.

PhotoPills is basically a photo shoot planner that lets users create to-do lists of compositions so they won’t forget anything in the midst of a shoot. The most important features are perhaps the 3D augmented reality tools that can predict celestial paths and the calculators for time-lapse, long exposure, and depth-of-field calculations.

Rafael Pons, who helped come up with the app, explains: “You just have to decide where you want the sun or moon to be and tap the search button to get all possible dates it happens.”

While the app does help you with planning shoots, it doesn’t help you with your technique or teach you about how to make the most out of available lighting, especially when you’re shooting on location. For the lucky few, it’s natural talent – but oftentimes, it’s acquired through hard work and by taking courses and attending workshops at photography schools. It might seem like a lot of work, but your efforts will pay off with the results that you’ll get.

PhotoPills might sound like a complicated app to use, but the developer has released a series of tutorial videos to help everyone out. The app is available for $9.99(USD) on the iTunes App Store.

[via Peta Pixel]

We know that cats like to play with iPads, but it turns out they also like iPhones. While these tiny cats may look like they’re scratching up the back of your smartphone, they really are there to help it stand up.

I really don’t know what else to say about this except… Japan.

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I’ve become a convert of Bluetooth speakers, because of their usefulness and their multiple functions. Granted, I probably wouldn’t have bought myself one the first time out, but after reviewing a demo unit, I was sold on the concept. Streaming media from your mobile devices is just so easy. In the beginning, there were just a few. Now the market at the point of oversaturation. This speaker aims to stand out from the crowd with its durability, good looks, and stereo capability.

The UE Boom from Logitech’s Ultimate Ears boasts impressive sound and unlike other speakers, it’s supposed to be life-proof, thanks to a “plasma coating”. I honestly don’t know what that is. In my experience, a plasma is a superheated ionized gas. Regardless, the cylindrical speaker is dirt, dust, and IPX4 water-resistant, which should protect it from splashes and the occasional rainstorm.

As with most Bluetooth speakers, wireless range is about 50 feet, and is also compatible with NFC-enabled devices for instant pairing. It’s got two 1.5″ full range drivers, and two 2″ passive radiators, and also works as a speakerphone. The speakers have a battery life of about 15 hours and can connect to other EU Booms for a new stereo sound spectacular. The UE Boom speaker sells for $199.99(USD) and is available in a variety of colors.