Featured

tech (Page 4)

The ultimate in lazy gaming: Ingenious tablet cushion demoed at Tokyo Game Show 2013

We’ve all been there: you’ve got your shiny new laptop, smartphone or tablet computer and you’re lounging around on the floor at home, watching videos on YouTube, tapping away at Plants Vs. Zombies… when suddenly your pampered, first-world body throws a hissy hit. “I’m tired! Why do I always have to hold all the expensive electronic devices!?” it moans as you start to lose the feeling in your arm or your left leg goes to sleep. You wriggle around and find a new position, but before long your body’s complaining again and you just can’t get comfy.

Oh, wouldn’t it be great if there were something – a piece of furniture perhaps – that would hold your tablet or computer for you while you did massively unimportant web browsing and lay on the floor!?

Enter the Goron tablet cushion, which not only supports your head and neck while you laze around, but comes complete with an adjustable holder for tablets, laptops and even small monitors! Yep, gamers just got that little bit lazier!

Read More

China’s latest smartphone pushes the boundaries of innovation with its direct plug-in connectivity

Smartphones on the market today allow users to do all sorts of things that would have otherwise been unimaginable even a decade ago. You can listen to music while surfing the net or writing an email, watch movies, get live weather reports, and let’s not forget the phone’s original purpose of talking to people.

The bane of the average smartphone user’s life, however, is their device’s short battery life. And anyone looking to save their beloved device from a sudden black screen of death has to either cut down on the heavy-duty apps or carry a charging cable or battery charging unit with them. But what if we told you that you could cut out the middle man and attach your phone directly to the power outlet whenever and wherever you were?

Read More

Nintendo announces new Pokémon cloud-based storage service, X&Y-themed 3DSXL

Wednesday, September 4 will always be remembered as a big day for Pokémon fans. Not only did Nintendo just lift the lid on two swanky Pokémon X & Y-themed 3DSXL portables, but it has become clear that for the first time since the series launched way back in 1996, players will be able to trade their pocket monsters without having to link their consoles together. That’s right, Nintendo will soon be rolling out Pokémon Bank, a cloud-based storage service that allows players to drop and pick up their pokémon whenever they like, wherever they like.

Read More

Rumour: Sony to unveil ‘virtual reality headset’ at Tokyo Game Show 2013

Long-running gaming site CVG revealed earlier today that Japan’s Sony Computer Entertainment is poised to unveil a new “virtual reality headset” at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show, stating that the unit will be the final piece in the company’s PlayStation 4 hardware strategy.

Read More

The Nintendo family is expecting! Too bad Twitter knew about the 2DS since 2011

Following its announcement last week, Nintendo’s newest hardware, the 2DS, has been causing quite a stir among gaming fans worldwide. Opinions have been flying left and right, some positive and some negative, for this kid-friendly device. Is it a waste of time and energy making a product that’s a downgrade from that which already exists? Or is this a good solution for parents who want to buy their young children an affordable, portable gadget?

But before all this domestic kerfuffle, one gifted Twitter user can now say that he predicted this very predicament a full two years before the new hardware was even a twinkle in the eye of its developer.

Read More

Give your smartphone a dose of Hatsune Miku with this unfeasibly large negi case

Fans of Hatsune Miku who picked up one of Sony’s Miku-themed Xperia A smartphones will no doubt be delighted to hear that they now have the chance to make their mobile that little bit more digital diva. Produced by the creators of genius accessories such as the egg-on-toast cover and ramen bowl stand, Hamee, and sold via Japanese online accessory store Strapya, this onion-equipped smartphone case is sure to make your feelings about the Vocaloid Queen plain for all to see.

Read More

Nintendo announces new “2DS” portable, Wii U deluxe gets a price cut

Early this morning, Nintendo of America announced that it will be bringing a new model of its Nintendo DS portable games console to the market. Meet the 2DS! 

The console will play all 3DS games and comes complete with the exact same features, except of course the top 3-D screen. Nintendo also revealed that its premium Wii U console will be getting a price cut.

Full details after the jump.

Read More

Pay-to-win mobile game sensation Puzzle & Dragons coming to Nintendo 3DS in kid-friendly form

Despite having been downloaded more than a million times in North America, GungHo Online Entertainment’s RPG/puzzle blend Puzzle & Dragons, or Pazudora as it’s more commonly known in its native Japan, is still considered something of a niche title in the Western world. The game combines elements of traditional tile-matching puzzle games such as Puyo Puyo and online favourite Bejeweled with the trading and stat-building elements of classic Japanese RPGs, topped off with a sprinkle of Pokémon-esque companion monsters to collect and trade.

The game is currently one of Japan’s most played mobile games and is almost entirely responsible for its makers’ US$763 million of total sales in the first half of 2013 alone, with more than 17 million active players in Japan today. Following on from this success, a 3DS version of the game was recently announced and is due to go on sale on December 12 this year. Reports suggest, however, that the 3DS version will be slightly different in order to protect younger gamers from the microtransaction system that the game has become synonymous with.

Read More

The future of eco-friendly electronics? Samsung introduces new line of origami-inspired printers

Samsung is known the world over for its stylish, high-quality products, but we doubt that anyone could have predicted the latest creation from Korea’s premier electronics maker. Let us introduce you to a brand new range of eco-friendly printers that are all inspired by none other than the art of origami.

Read More

Nintendo accidentally reveals Zelda-themed Wii U hardware bundle

With the high-definition remake of the beautiful cel-shaded action RPG The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker set to go on sale next month (early October in Europe/North America), gamers the world over were excited to see a new video from Nintendo last weekend introducing the game’s new “hero mode” which powers up enemies’ attacks while removing life hearts from the game world. Nintendo pulled the video soon after, however, as it also contained a shot of a Zelda-themed Wii U console that the company has yet to officially announce.

Read More

NVIDIA’s Shield portable console – Cool, sleek and technically illegal in Japan

Powered by the world’s fastest mobile processor and billed by its maker as “the ultimate gaming and entertainment portable” the Nvidia Shield is in many way the realisation of thousands of tech fans’ nerdiest dreams: a genuinely powerful portable built around a home console-quality controller with a potentially vast software library. Offering gamers the chance to play games like Borderlands 2 and Skyrim anywhere from their bedroom to the toilet, the Shield at once steals both Nintendo’s “play with the TV off” Wii U thunder and makes Sony’s plans to have all forthcoming PlayStation 4 titles also playable on Vita seem like a copycat move, so it’s little wonder that the console has received a ton of attention the world over.

Currently only available in the US and Canada, lovers of all things sleek and shiny here in Japan who couldn’t wait any longer for an official release have laid down their cash (and with the portable retailing for US$299 that’s nothing to be sneezed at) and imported a Shield for themselves.

Little do they know, however, that simply by powering the thing up within the Land of the Rising Sun they’ll be breaking the law.

Read More

North Korea’s “home-grown” smartphone may not be quite what it seems

Always keen to impress an image of strength and prosperity upon his countrymen and the international media in general, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was photographed operating a newly made smartphone at a factory in the notoriously guarded country earlier this week, with the Korean Central News Agency claiming the device to be entirely the country’s own work. But experts elsewhere suggest that this technological achievement may not be quite what it seems.

Read More

Doratastic! Nintendo of Taiwan just unveiled a genuine collector’s item

It seems like just about every other video game released these days also appears in “collector’s edition” form featuring all manner of inserts, plastic trinkets and overly elaborate packaging, with publishers cashing in simply by dropping the term “limited edition”. Usually this results in a few thousand people having the same cheaply-produced goods piling up in their game grottos that will seldom be worth much more than they paid, but in the case of the Taiwanese release of Doraemon: Nobita’s Number Adventure for Nintendo 3DS, there’s a certain item up for grabs that might just be worth a few extra pennies in years to come.

Read More

Tied to a desk but wish you were outdoors? Grab yourself a lawn-feel keyboard!

I’m sure most of us would rather be out in the fields with the sun on our face and the wind in our hair each day than shackled to a desk like a clone bred to serve the gods of the Cloud with their important databases and spreadsheets, but needs must and without hours of computer work our world would be on its knees in days. Thankfully, online “keyboard workshop” FILCO is bringing the outdoors to us with its new “Midori” lawn-type keyboard, which features a soft, turfy finish that will tickle your palms and wrists throughout the day, reminding you that life isn’t all pie charts and quarterly reviews.

Read More

Calling all retro gamers! 1,000 Nintendo consoles up for grabs on Yahoo! Auctions

Launched in 1983 in Japan, Nintendo’s Family Computer, or Famicom as it is more fondly known, quickly became a household name thanks to titles like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Strikingly different in design to its Western counterpart, the NES, the Famicom’s low profile with its multitude of buttons and ridges and docking slots for a pair of gold and burgundy controllers is now considered to be an iconic piece of video game hardware, frequently bought and sold at auction or at used game stores.

While many gamers would no doubt quite like the idea of picking a Famicom up for themselves and reliving a few 8-bit classics, we’re not entirely sure how many people would be in the market to buy 1,000 of the things all at once…

Read More

Honda’s cool new “Hands” video just made our day

It may be just a bit of clever PR, but this video released by Japan’s Honda Motor Company earlier this week, simply titled “Hands”, is one of the coolest shorts we’ve seen in a long time.

Beginning with the line “Let’s see what curiosity can do,” the video treats us to a look at some of the company’s creations past, present and future, all in the form of sleight of hand tricks, topped off with a generous helping of computer-generated magic. Check out the full video after the jump.

Read More

Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX screeching into game centres across Japan this month

Start your engines, boys and girls! Long-running racing series Mario Kart is making its third entry into the arcade scene, with Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX launching this July in Japanese video arcades!

Read More

Sony announces mammoth 6.5-inch smart phone: the Xperia Z Ultra

They may be a little cumbersome compared to the average mobile, but ultra-large smart phones — or ‘phablets’ as many are calling them — are most definitely on the rise in Asia, whether trendsetter Apple is on board or not. Samsung’s stylus-toting Galaxy Note II has already become a firm favourite with those who require a device offering greater ease of use than a regular smart phone but with more portability than a tablet, and competitors from Huawei and Asus aren’t far behind. And now it looks like Sony is set to come out all guns blazing with its giant Xperia Z Ultra, the latest in the Japanese electronics giant’s line of mobile devices and its first foray into the phablet scene. Oh and did we mention that it’s completely waterproof?

Read More

Google Japan adds four more prefectures to Streetview service, expands special photo gallery

This may look like a location from the original Star Wars, but what you’re actually looking at here is none other than the Tottori Sakyuu sand dunes, the only ones of their kind in the whole of Japan.

Tottori, Japan’s least populous prefecture, has finally joined the vast majority of the country in being featured on Google Maps’ Streetview service, which takes ground-level images of the areas surrounding major roads. Of course, this being Tottori, there weren’t always roads to drive on…

Read More

  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7