Hasta La Gadget!

We gave you a glimpse of Nyko’s 2011 accessories lineup earlier this week, and today we got some quality time with the company’s gear at E3 2011. We tried out Zoom Kinect, a set of lenses for Microsoft’s favorite sensor bar that lets those residing in diminutive domiciles be the controller without rearranging their furniture. The add-on worked flawlessly when we gave it a go on Kinect Adventures — Kinect had no trouble tracking our movements even though we were a few feet closer to the sensor than recommended. Zoom Kinect is slated for an August 16th release and will cost $29.99, a paltry sum compared to the price of buying a bigger living room. But wait, there’s more! See our impressions of Nyko’s other new products after the break.

Continue reading Hands-on with Nyko’s Zoom Kinect and extended battery packs for the 3DS

Hands-on with Nyko’s Zoom Kinect and extended battery packs for the 3DS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A long time ago, in a boardroom far, far away… a designer (flanked by marketing execs) pitched an idea for a set of Star Wars: The Old Republic branded peripherals, and the CEO of Razer told his troopers to “make it so.” Or, at least that’s how we imagine it happened. In addition to mixing up his sci-fi references, whoever approved this gaming keyboard, mouse, and headset also abandoned any notion of subtlety. All three are slathered in interchangeable Sith or Jedi insignias, bright LEDs, and a texture not unlike the exterior of a Star Destroyer. The most ostentatious is easily the keyboard, which sports both a multitouch screen and two rows of adaptive buttons over an LCD (à la the Switchblade handheld). The keyboard will run you $200, while the mouse or headset will cost $130 when they launch alongside The Old Republic later this year. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break.

Update: We just got our first glimpse of the new peripherals, and it sounds like Razer actually put some thought into the keyboard and headphones here — while the mouse is just a jagged, Imperial-flavored wireless Naga MMO rodent, the headsets look fairly sweet, and Razer tells us their garish LED lighting apparently syncs with The Old Republic to throw signals on your shoulders to warn you of approaching enemies. Razer also has grand plans for that LCD-equipped keyboard, telling us those adaptive keys will automatically switch function based on signals from the game itself, and that multitouch LCD trackpad can display a variety of things and be used to program macros. Last but not least, you’ll get some serious geek cred when you switch the keyboard’s backlight off, because the only thing physically printed on each key are the letters of Star Wars’ Aurebesh alphabet.

Continue reading Star Wars: The Old Republic scores Razer promotional peripherals (update: eyes-on)

Star Wars: The Old Republic scores Razer promotional peripherals (update: eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yesterday, Sony took the wraps off a PlayStation-branded 3D TV and gave us our first serious look at the Vita, but our friends across that big wet thing we call the Pacific scored an extra little hardware goody — an official PS3 keyboard. If you’ve ever seen a Bluetooth keyboard there isn’t much surprising here, though it does feature a PS button for powering the console on and off. Instead of a touchpad Sony went with a Thinkpad-style nub which will be loved by some, but loathed by others. And don’t worry, pairing this thin one-pounder with other devices should be quite simple. Folks in the Land of the Rising Sun can pick one up on June 30th for ¥5,000 (about $62), but there’s no word on a stateside release. Treat yourself to the machine translated PR and another pic after the break.

Continue reading Japan scores official Bluetooth PS3 keyboard for ¥5,000

Japan scores official Bluetooth PS3 keyboard for ¥5,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ross Rubin contributes Reserve Power, a column focused on personal perspectives and products.

Last week’s Reserve Power introduced six handset stands for propping up your miniature movie theater. This week’s column takes on a half-dozen more, names my favorites, and concludes with a chart detailing which phones fit which stands.

Continue reading Reserve Power: Stand Off, Part 2

Reserve Power: Stand Off, Part 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Nintendo DS line has had many redesigns up to the present 3DS, but one thing that hasn’t changed are the tiny, easily lost cartridges. Enter Memorex’s $20 Universal Game Selector Case, announced as part of its gaming accessory lineup for E3. The UGSC stores up to three games and hooks up to the cartridge port on any DS, letting you swap between them using a signal routing switch. We’ve seen cases similar to this in the past, but Memorex’s take is the first to support 3DS titles as well. Based on the renders, the unit looks to make for a weird fit and some noticeable extra thickness (10.5mm to be exact), especially on the DSi XL, but hopefully we’ll get a better idea of how it feels in hand at E3. From a functionality perspective, the case does seem rather useful for those with forgetful tendencies, if a bit underwhelming for anybody else. Memorex will also be displaying its new third-party PS3 and Wii motion controllers at the E3, which are viewable in the gallery below, and there’s a press release with details after the break.

Continue reading Memorex intros Nintendo DS game-changing case, other not-so-game-changing accessories

Memorex intros Nintendo DS game-changing case, other not-so-game-changing accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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