Hasta La Gadget!

In the market for a serious portable gaming machine? While you might have your eyes set on Nvidia’s upcoming Project Shield, here’s a very capable system you can buy right now. The JXD S7300 HD Gamepad2 is a power-packed portable that’s ideal for playing both retro emulated games and today’s latest Android titles.

The just-released Android 4.1.1-based handheld offers dual, true analog sticks, a real D-pad, dual shoulder buttons, Start, Select and ABXY face buttons, so it’s perfect for controlling just about any game you can throw at it. It’s got an ample 7-inch 1024×600 display, which also supports 5-finger multitouch. It’s also got the requisite 3-axis motion sensors for games that depend on those controls. It includes software for mapping buttons and joysticks to your Android touchscreen games as well. Dimensions for the handheld are 9.5″(W) x 4.77″(H) x 0.56″(D) – about the size (but not the thickness) of the Wii U GamePad, and it weighs 0.90 pounds – about mid-way between the weight of an iPad Mini and an iPad 4.

It comes pre-loaded with full-speed emulators for the original Sony PlayStation, Neo-Geo, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, NES (Famicom), Super Nintendo (Super Famicom), Sega Genesis (Mega Drive), and Capcom CPS1/CPS2 systems. But since it’s running Android, it’s easy to add more emulators, like MAME4droid. It even comes with Superuser pre-installed, so you can root the system in seconds and install pretty much anything you want on it.

Under the hood is an Amlogic MX dual-core chipset (Cortex A9 CPU, ARM mali400 GPU), running at 1.5GHz, and 1GB of system RAM. Connectivity is 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and “external connection to Ethernet and 3G” whatever that means – presumably via its USB 2.0 port. It’s unclear if it supports Bluetooth though. And while it can’t wirelessly send content to your HDTV, it does have an HDMI output, so you can mirror its display to your big screen in full 1080p resolution. It’s even got a small 0.3MP user-facing camera for video chats, and true stereo speakers. You can check out all the detailed system info below (the 976×600 screen resolution reported is because AnTuTu doesn’t take into account the height of the title bar.)

Here’s a video showing the system emulating the N64 classic Super Mario 64 at a buttery-smooth frame rate:

And if you’d like to play something more modern, how about Shadowgun – with physical joysticks and buttons?

The guys over at WillGoo are now stocking the JXD S7300, where it sells for $165.99(USD), or you can grab a bundle with a 32GB SD card for $186.99. Currently, the white model is sold out, but you can still get one in black (though it has a textured finish unlike the white one.) You can also pick up a pair of them for just $299.99, which might be cool since the system supports local Wi-Fi multiplayer.

Seems like this thing is pretty loaded for the price, never mind the fact that it works as a full Android Jelly Bean device, complete with web browsing, media playback, apps, etc. If you decide to buy one, there’s already a good discussion board for the JXD S7300 going on over at Dingoonity, so you can find out the scoop from others who have purchased or who are interested in the handheld.

One of the coolest things about the newer iPad models is the Smart Cover that turns the tablet on and off when you open or close the cover. There also have been a number of iPad Bluetooth keyboards, but most of them add significant bulk to Apple’s slim tablet. Archos has just unveiled a keyboard for the iPad, which they claim is the world’s thinnest, and functions like the Smart Cover too.

The keyboard is, appropriately enough, called the Ultrathin Keyboard for iPad, and is a scant 5mm thick. The keyboard also weighs 240 g making it roughly half a pound. Archos says that the aluminum-backed white keyboard is the thinnest and lightest iPad keyboard available, noting that it’s almost as thin as the Smart Cover itself when attached to the iPad. With the keyboard fitted to the iPad, the tablet weighs 1.9 pounds and is 13.4 mm thick, working out to a bit over half an inch.

The keyboard has a stand that allows you to prop the tablet at various angles for typing comfort, and locks your tablet into place using the same magnetic method as the Smart Cover. The keyboard will also turn the iPad screen on and off when you open or close it. The QWERTY keyboard also has shortcut keys for iOS functions and connects to the tablet using Bluetooth.

Archos expects to ship the Ultrathin Bluetooth iPad keyboard this March for a retail price of $79(USD).

There’s understandably a huge amount of buzz surrounding Google’s Project Glass, and the fact that the company is holding two developer events at the end of the month isn’t helping to quell the excitement. Sadly, if you were waiting for all kinds of details to come out of these developer events, we’ve got some sour news for you. Google has placed a rather strict non-disclosure agreement on the event, and everyone who attends will have to sign one.

Obviously, this means that those who are in attendance won’t be able to talk about what they saw while they were at the event, but Google has placed a few additional restrictions we don’t always see in non-disclosure agreements. Any photos or video attendees take while at the events become the property of Google, so there probably aren’t going to be very many pictures floating around after the events take place.

ReadWriteWeb points out that developers at the show won’t even get to use their own Google+ profiles to test out Project Glass. Instead, Google will supply special developer accounts for them to use, and you can bet that those will be all locked up as well. In short, Google wants to keep as much information about Project Glass under wraps as it can, and we’re thinking there won’t be many developers willing to leak information while their names are on these strict NDAs.

Interestingly enough, it seems that some people attending the “Glass Foundry” might be able to take a Google Glass device home with them for additional testing. Of course, that doesn’t invalidate the NDA in any way, but it’s exciting to think that some people might be leaving the event with Project Glass in-hand. In any case, it seems that those craving more details on Project Glass will have to wait even longer, as you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone willing to share new information after these events wrap up.

[via Mashable]

Google places strict NDA on Project Glass Hackathon events is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While a hard drive will get it done for
far cheaper, those looking for something more durable, stylish and
speedy will want to take a look at Kingston’s DataTraveler HyperX
Predator 3.0 1TB flash drive.

People who suffer from hearing loss typically have to deal with going without their hearing aids when they are swimming or at the beach, or in the elements. This is one of the reasons why Siemens developed the Aquaris waterproof hearing aid, which will allow users to take them anywhere.

The Aquaris hearing aid offers watertight seals and membranes to keep moisture out while still allowing the flow of air, which is necessary when using zinc air batteries. They can be submerged for up to 30 minutes without any damage, and also incorporate a Bluetooth transmitter and a microphone, allowing them to double as a hands-free system.

This system allows people to communicate with hearing-impaired athletes in the water, something which was problematic before. The Aquaris hearing aid sells for about $2500(USD).

[via DVICE via designboom]