Hasta La Gadget!

In an interesting move for a major console launch, Panasonic is reaching outside of the fold and looking to some select US consumers to test out its upcoming Jungle gaming handheld. No details on the testing program were given, and it’s not much in the way of news, but it’s the most we’ve heard out of Panasonic since it announced the online gaming-centric handheld in October — we still don’t know when the Jungle will land or how much it will cost. At least Panasonic isn’t short on self-assessment: “We know other companies out there have traditional hand- held gaming covered… We’re doing something very different.” You can’t argue with that, we’ll just have to wait and see if Panasonic can pull it off.

Panasonic welcoming crash test consumers to the handheld gaming Jungle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  Bloomberg  | Email this | Comments

Careful, gamers on the go: your next handheld might be a hotspot hunter. Along with the “tag mode” Nintendo revealed earlier this week, where the 3DS can seek out other similarly depth-endowed handhelds and exchange information automatically, comes a system called SpotPass, which enables connecting to any open hotspots — even while sleeping like a baby. The purpose was ostensibly for passive downloading of game content and the like but, according to Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata, the company is pondering lumping automatic firmware updates into the mix. This would mean the 3DS would re-flash itself even while in suspended animation, in theory keeping software pirates and firmware buccaneers on their toes. As serious gamers who only purchase legal software (twice, just to be safe) this seems like a reasonable enough thing to do — assuming we don’t get any bogus firmware sneaking onto our $300 handhelds.

Nintendo 3DS might update itself over WiFi, still won’t cook you breakfast originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq  |  Nintendo  | Email this | Comments

You could probably fill a book with Apple patent applications that never amounted to anything, but here’s one that’s at least been granted — a “handheld device” that uses capacitive sensors to recognize your identity just by the way you hold it, and subsequently personalize the device’s buttons and settings to your hand based on your user profile. That’s all that’s actually been patented here, but the general idea is a little more grand — you could theoretically grip a handheld with either hand, and it would automatically generate “button zones” under each finger using sensors (or disappearing buttons, perhaps) baked right into the chassis, making cries of “you’re holding it wrong” hopefully fade into obscurity. Still, it’s not the first time we’ve seen Cupertino reaching for digit recognition and we’re sure it won’t be the last, so we’ll just file away our enthusiasm until or unless Jobs announces it on stage.

Apple granted patent for handheld that recognizes your hands originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Sep 2010 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  USPTO  | Email this | Comments

Though arguably the most exciting thing about Ocosmos’s five-inch Oak Trail handheld is the promise of a pocket Zerg rush, there’s a good bit more to the OCS-1 than gaming prowess — it claims to be able to replace a full mouse and keyboard with just the two “OMOS Keys” on the front. Though they look like Sidekick II-era directional pads, they’re actually stacked two levels tall, with a D-pad on top of an PlayStation Portable-style analog nub that click and slide in each of eight directions (and press in like gamepad analog sticks) for 34 functions in total. That’s before we consider there’s also a pair of shoulder buttons, a volume rocker, a sliding QWERTY keyboard and a capacitive touchscreen to boot — and did we mention that the OMOS Keys themselves have multiple user / game profiles?

Continue reading Ocosmos OCS-1 and O-Bar eyes-on, plus a smattering of prototype sliders (video)

Ocosmos OCS-1 and O-Bar eyes-on, plus a smattering of prototype sliders (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has just made public his own Kangaroo TV operations, but the end product is something far different than just in-stadium televisions. The FanVision handheld (shown above) has been reportedly shopped to every single NFL team, but only a dozen of ’em decided to take Mr. Ross up on his offer (along with the University of Michigan, curiously enough). Essentially, this here handheld works only while within the stadium, enabling fans to view instant replays from multiple angles, out of town games, real-time stats from around the league, NFL Red Zone, live fantasy football updates, on-demand video from your home team, a cheerleader cam (yeah, seriously), highlight reel of the game and the actual network telecast of the event that you’re at. ‘Course, this type of fan customization isn’t exactly new — the Mariners have been offering something similar to Nintendo DS owners for awhile now — but given the high absurd price of front row seats, we’ll take any extra angles we can get. FanVision will be available within the stadiums of the signed-on teams (listed after the break) for $199 without any activation or recurring fees, though the MSRP is tagged at $259. Sure beats paying for PSLs, huh?

Continue reading FanVision handheld makes NFL nosebleeds far more bearable

FanVision handheld makes NFL nosebleeds far more bearable originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  FanVision  | Email this | Comments