Hands On, Kid Tested: Jakks Pacific Big Buck Hunter

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The plug-and-play TV game Big Buck Hunter Pro ($59.99 list) from Jakks Pacific is rated Teen by the ESRB, but I thought my six-year-old son would enjoy it, since he loves a similar game called Chicken Shoot that he plays on his Nintendo Wii. The game doesn’t come close to being as fun as Chicken Shoot, but that had nothing to do with his age.

Big Buck Hunter is a port of the arcade/bar gaming machine of the same name. This home version includes a rifle and shot sensor that you place above your TV. It requires four double-A and three triple-A batteries, which are not included.

Getting this finicky game to work correctly is a chore. We tried it on two different TVs and had problems with both. With our 42-inch plasma, we had a difficult time getting the shot sensor to stay on top of the thin TV. It kept falling off until we finally got some two sided tape.

Hands On, Kid Tested: Spin Master Air Hogs Switchblade

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I’ve been a remote-control-airplane enthusiast for years. I’ve never really been able to get my six-year-old son into it, though: Planes are difficult to control, and he’s a bit afraid of breaking the machines I’ve spent hours putting together.

When the chance for him to try the new Spin Master Air Hogs Switchblade ($69.99 list) came along, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get him into the hobby. The Switchblade is part helicopter, part plane. It takes off by rotating like a helicopter, but once it’s up high enough, you hit the Morph button to cause the wings to align–and it then flies like a plane.

Once you remove the Switchblade from its box (which includes, naturally, those annoying wire-ties), resist the urge to throw away the packaging. One part of the Switchblade looks like packaging material, but you’ll need it to assemble the launch base; I had to retrieve it from the trash.

Smartfish ErgoMotion Mouse fights off RSI with a bit of wobble

After a long period of incubation, Smartfish is at last ready to start shipping the first of its “ErgoMotion” devices. The ErgoMotion Mouse is a pretty straightforward wireless laser mouse, with large right and left click buttons, a nice big scroll wheel, and its own little USB wireless dongle. What makes it different is a truly odd raised platform that allows the mouse to tilt in all directions — apparently providing for more natural motion. We tried it out for a bit, and while it certainly provides a fresh method of using the mouse, the very fact that it’s working out more arm muscles simultaneously means that there will probably be a bit of fatigue at the outset. The ErgoMotion Mouse is available today for $50, and you can check out some video of it in action after the break.

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Smartfish ErgoMotion Mouse fights off RSI with a bit of wobble originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson Pureness hands-on: Pacman edition

We’ve seen it out and about, but at last we got a chance to actually play with Sony Ericsson’s tribute to impractical style: the Pureness. As it turns out, using the device is just about as pointless as it seems. You can always just barely make out what’s happening on the semi-translucent monochrome screen, and we found ourselves constantly shifting our angle and backdrop to improve readability. The capabilities of the phone should come as no surprise to anyone who’s used a Sony Ericsson Java-happy dumbphone in the past, and the handset also has that wild variety of face buttons that are typical on a SE handset. Up top, with the d-pad flush on the face, things start to get crowded, but overall the phone is pretty usable tactile-wise. The meaty numeric pad should be a boon to a T9 afficianado, and we even managed to play a game of Pacman on the handset. Overall the materials used are nice and XPERIA-ey, but the most overt luxury item here is the block of glass that serves as the screen. In the US the phone will be sold unlocked at the Saks online store — obviously courting the fashion-conscious consumer it’s built for — but there’s still no word on a US pricetag. Check out some video after the break.

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Sony Ericsson Pureness hands-on: Pacman edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands On, Kid Tested: Nanover Nanoscope

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The Smith & Tinker Nanovor Nanoscope ($49.99 list, for kids 7 to 12) is an electronic handheld device that turns the Nanovor online game into a portable experience. In the Nanovor game, kids collect Nanovor characters and have them battle against other players’ Nanovors. The Nanoscope device, about the size of a large MP3 player, lets kids play against their friends (as long as they also have Nanoscopes) without a computer: You simply touch the Nanoscopes together, and you’re on your way to a battle.

Once my six-year-old son and I got the Nanoscopes working, he really enjoyed Nanovor; in fact, I had to ask him to stop playing several times. However, getting the toys up and running was not easy.

First, let me warn you: The packaging says it works with Windows XP. It doesn’t. When updating it, the software wiped out the Nanoscope firmware. We were able to recover the Nanoscope by connecting it to a Vista machine. This seems to be a known issue, as we found mention of it on the company’s Web site.

XPERIA X10 hands-on: lukewarm edition (now with video!)

We’ve seen the new Android-based XPERIA X10 from Sony Ericsson at a fast pace and a snail’s pace, but have we ever seen it so stunningly middle of the road? We just got a chance to play with the phone in person for the second time, and from our random sampling of three or four different handsets, it seems that performance is very contingent upon how much content is loaded into the device and what particular thing it’s trying to perform. Sometimes we’d fly through the stacks of faces, while other times we’d sit there waiting for the simplest thumbnails to load up. The good news is that we have until next year to see this thing really come together, and the word is that the software is improving and at a rapid pace. The big change about this phone is the “Nexus” UX platform, which actually all takes place in two “apps” at the moment, Timescape and Mediascape. Timescape is an integrated view for social networking and messaging, with an “infinite view” to see all types of communications for a particular person, while Mediascape is a more tame media app with a modicum of internet and social integration. It all seems very logically placed, and we like the fact that SE hasn’t really sacrificed the Android experience — you can still do Gmail and the Android Market and so forth, with very familiar UIs — but it’s going to have to be a lot more bulletproof before it hits the market if Sony Ericsson really expects us to use this day to day. Oh, also: the soft keyboard is terrible. We hear they’re working on it, but boy does it need work.

Update: We’ve added the video below, go check it out!

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XPERIA X10 hands-on: lukewarm edition (now with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hand On, Kid Tested: Bossa Nova Robotics Penbo

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Penbo, from Bossa Nova Robotics ($79.99 list), is an adorable interactive robotic penguin created just for kids. It’s recommended for children ages four and up, so my four-year-old daughter qualifies; she and I tried it out.

After fighting through the standard packaging with its multitude of wire-ties, I was finally able to hand Penbo to my daughter. Her immediate reaction: “She’s cute, and I like her bow. It looks pretty on her.” Happily, batteries are included with Penbo, so as soon as we got her out of the package we were playing with her.

Penbo also comes with a baby penguin, named Bebe, who you’ll find in an egg stored in Penbo’s tummy. Once you open the egg, you can use Bebe to interact and control Penbo, via infrared signals. Penbo can also interact with you through the sensors on its head and tail, and the microphone hidden in its neck. Push the hidden buttons in Penbo’s head and right wing, for example, and it plays a mimic game. Press Bebe’s right wing, and Penbo plays a
peek-a-boo game.

Hands On, Kid Tested: Star Wars Republic Squadron Motion Flight Game

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Is your little one a video-game couch potato? JAKKS Pacific may have what you need with the Star Wars Republic Squadron Motion Flight Game ($29.99 list, for ages 5 and up). Your child’s moves control the game, so kids will stay on their feet.

The Star Wars Republic Squadron Motion Flight Game is basically a game controller that you plug into your TV; the game is built in. It has AV cables attached, and on the controller are a menu button, an on/off switch, and dual trigger buttons on both ends and underneath the controller.

Setup was super easy: Since it’s a plug-and-play toy, there’s nothing to build or put together. (And the packaging was easy to get into, unlike with so many toys; you just untie a few strings, and it’s out of the box.) The controller requires four double-A batteries. To insert them, you turn the controller over and unscrew the compartment. Then just  plug the AV cord into the proper TV input, hit the on switch, and you’re good to go.

The mission in this entertaining game is to help Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker fight General Grievous and his separatist forces. Your child flies a number of ships in a series of campaigns to help them win (there are over 20 missions included).

Evoluce ONE gives you 47 inches of multitouch surface to play with (video)

We’re kind of late to this party, but better late than never, right? At the end of last month, German company Evoluce announced its 47-inch multitouch display, touting Full HD (or 1920 x 1080) resolution and “Integrated-Through-Screen-Optics,” which allow it to recognize an unlimited number of simultaneous inputs. The ONE also features haptic feedback and is compatible with Windows 7’s multitouch features right out of the box, with support for some “other OS” also planned. If you’re thinking this looks like a legit competitor to Microsoft’s Surface, well, you’d be right. We’ve got the full PR for you after the break, as well as hands-on video of the (relatively) new device.

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Evoluce ONE gives you 47 inches of multitouch surface to play with (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sciphone’s Android-toting N21 unboxed, dual SIM slots caught rockin’ the suburbs

It may look a lot like the General Mobile DSTL1, but SciPhone’s N21 still has its very own soul. Our BFFs over at Engadget Chinese were able to wrangle one in, and naturally they took the opportunity to score a photo shoot and host it for the world to see. There aren’t too many surprises to be found, but if you’re looking for a pinch of KIRF, twin SIM slots, a 5 megapixel camera and the not-exactly-newest version of Google’s mobile operating system, you know where to look.

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Sciphone’s Android-toting N21 unboxed, dual SIM slots caught rockin’ the suburbs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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