Hasta La Gadget!

Nowadays, you can’t really claim to have a mobile OS worthy of the title if your users can’t run Angry Birds on it. Good news from Microsoft, then, as Windows Phone 7 can finally be admitted at the grown-up table now that it has released its port of Rovio’s epic bird-launching experience. $2.99 is the Marketplace price for the full version, though there’s also the option to try out the first few levels for free. Because, you know, there might still be people out there who haven’t yet been exposed to the charms of this perniciously addictive little game.

Continue reading Angry Birds lands on Windows Phone 7, ready to explore the third ecosystem

Angry Birds lands on Windows Phone 7, ready to explore the third ecosystem originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you have kids and own a tablet, chances are you’ve passed it to the back seat on occasion, asking your five-year-old to help you navigate to the beach, or to beat an otherwise hopeless level in Angry Birds. Now, you can reward them with a tablet of their own. Available in green and pink, the $100 LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer includes a 5-inch, 480 x 272-pixel (16:9) touchscreen, 2GB of built-in storage, and a durable housing — but your 5-9 year old isn’t going to get caught up on specs. They will take notice to the built-in camera (with video capture), microphone, stylus, and accelerometer, however — all of which enable custom kid-friendly apps and educational games, including Disney Animation Studio, an interactive reader, and compatibility with over 100 downloadable apps and LeapFrog cartridges, which range in price from $5 to $25. There’s no wireless connectivity, so you’ll be tethering with Windows or Mac OS to download additional content, and to share your child’s creations with family and friends.

We’re certainly far outside LeapPad’s target demographic, but we did have a chance to go hands-on with the device earlier today, and felt that the tablet was solidly built, with a well-rounded feature set and sufficient expandability options — for a kids toy, of course. Games and apps took advantage of the Pad’s features, such as Roly Poly Picnic, which uses the accelerometer to navigate through a maze, spelling out simple, three-letter words along the way (like all apps and games, Picnic is adjustable based on your little one’s age and skill level). There’s also a video player (currently limited to 4:3 content), photo, and video capture apps. Shipping August 15th, the device doesn’t have a ton of horsepower under the hood — a 400MHz processor means apps won’t launch with the speed and grace of an iPad 2 — but for a $100 toy, the LeapPad will do just fine. PR and hands-on video are after the break.

Continue reading LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer tablet hands-on (video)

LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer tablet hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3DS owners outside of Japan can look forward to missing out on yet another Nintendo sponsored video service — at least for now. With the help of Fuji TV, Nintendo’s Itsu no Ma ni Terebi (or “SpotPass TV”) will bring a number of short format 3D TV programs to the fledgling handheld, including shows featuring cute animals, sumo wrestling idol girls, and daily tips on performing magic tricks. Like its Wii predecessor, this video service is currently a Japan-only affair, but there’s still plenty of summer left for the big-N to make good on its GDC Netflix promise.

Japanese 3DS to get 3D TV service, North America waits with bated breath originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo’s tablet-esque Wii U controller raised a few questions when it was announced at E3. Questions like, “What kind of crazy games are going to use that thing,” and “How much will a second controller cost me?” The latter, at least, has been answered. Nothing. You don’t need one. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata recently said in an interview that games enlisting more than one Wii U controller aren’t being considered just yet — although they are possible. Our very own Ittousai tells us that Iwata told Diamond Online that the Wii U can technically support multiple screen-controllers, but that additional slabs would be too expensive to sell on their own. Iwata went on to say that the console would ship with only one, and that game developers should design titles under the assumption that each console will use a single Wii U controller. Player two will have to settle for a good ‘ol Wiimote, and even Satoru himself admits that there are plenty of those around.

Nintendo says one Wii U controller per console, robs player two of extra screen originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exactly as promised, Redbox is today inaugurating a new branch to its media-renting venture with the introduction of video game rentals at $2 a day. There’s a pretty rich and fresh selection on offer, including the likes of Duke Nukem Forever, Dirt 3, and Brink, and you can reserve your copy online before moseying down to your nearest Redbox kiosk to execute the transaction. About 5,000 of those crimson encasements have already been partaking in the testing of this service, but now Redbox is flipping the switch on the other 21,000 across the US and making things officially official.

Redbox starts renting out video games nationwide, charges $2 for your Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii pleasure originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 05:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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