Archive for Handheld Entertainmnet

Gelaskins wants to jazz up your DS and PSP

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on April 18th, 2008

Gelaskins wants to jazz up your DS and PSP
We recently told you about Colorware customizing PSPs and the DS, but as cool as it would be to have them pimp your handheld, some people can’t afford it. Gelaskins has a much cheaper alternative.

Gelaskins is known for doing laptops, iPods, phones etc. but they have branched out to the PSP and the DS. For the PSP, they offer free wallpapers to go with the skin. Similar to what they already do for the iPod Touch. On the DS the skin covers both the outside cover and the inside. It will cost you $19.95. On the DS the skin covers both the outside cover and the inside.

Cool Boy portable game console is uncool

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on April 15th, 2008

Cool Boy portable game console is uncool
Here’s the latest in Chinese underground knock-offs. The “Cool Boy” wants to be a real living Gameboy so bad you can practically taste it. It manages to be completely un-cool despite the name and despite the fact that it’s a portable game system capable of playing a variety of old school 8-bit and 16-bit console titles.

Looks like the Cool Boy plays emulated NES and SEGA games. The kind you get from questionable sources in the dead of night, in a back alley, that usually have 120-in-1 cartridges that often violate copyrighted works from major game studios like EA, Nintendo and Disney. The system has a 2.4″ LCD screen with 480×240 resolution, and can even output to a TV via it’s built-in AV port.

The Multari: Atari 2600 in an elegant handheld

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on April 10th, 2008

The Multari: Atari 2600 in an elegant handheld
The Atari 2600 brings back a lot of memories for some of us. And making a portable Atari can be fun, but this modder has really outdone himself with this model, giving the project some amazing style.

The Multari is a portable Atari 2600 with 32 games built right in. The chassis itself was made from vacuum-formed styrene plastic, with the usual colorful buttons and D-pad, there’s also a 5-inch display and a set of speakers. In fact, this is one of the nicest portable Ataris I’ve seen yet. Check out the video below.

ECTACO’s jetBook reader

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on March 24th, 2008

ECTACO’s jetBook reader
ECTACO has nothing to do with a taco, yet they have some pretty big ideas about the future of reading books and they are not afraid to let you know. The company says that it’s jetBook reader will allow you to, “Kiss your old-fashioned, dusty library goodbye,” and that’s good because “Not a single tree was cut down to make it!” It’s obviously a life changing device.

Plus it’s bright red and we all know that red is better then a plain old Kindle any day. The device has a 5-inch grayscale display, multi-language support, and bookmarking ability, plus playback of MP3 files, and an SD slot. The red harbinger of death to real books, and savior of trees will cost you $349.95, which might make some of us as red in the face as the device.

Teachermate computer launches in Chicago

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2008

Teachermate educational computer
This blue Gameboy type device comes from Innovations for Learning and is designed for schools. It’s got the typical directional buttons, a few other buttons, a 2.5-inch LCD, USB sync, SD card storage, AC/USB charging, and a 3.5-hour battery life.

Supposedly it has “complete reading and math curriculum that is aligned with all of the major reading and math programs,” inside of the device. The idea is to help substitute the learning that Kindergarten through second grade students already get. The company is non-profit, so they only charge for the cost of manufacturing the device, which is $50. However, the reading and math programs will cost $20 per student. They will start rolling them out at 500 Chicago elementary schools.

Gameloft Promises 15 Games for iPhone in 2008

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Shane McGlaun on March 10th, 2008

Gameloft Bubble BashI really like my iPhone, but I have found myself sitting around a few times bored of surfing the net and watching YouTube videos wishing it would do more. Thanks to the announcement last week of the iPhone SDK it won’t be long until the iPhone has some sweet new games to occupy my time.

Gameloft has announced that it will develop over 15 titles for the iPhone in 2008. Gameloft points out that while the SDK is available, iPhone owners can’t get the games until the App Store launches in June of 2008.

Socket antibacterial handheld computer

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on February 28th, 2008

Socket antibacterial handheld computer
Socket Communications has introduced something interesting in the new SoMo 650 handheld computer that uses anti-bacterial plastic in its construction. The handheld has a fast 624 MHz processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a large bright QVGA display, and plenty of SDRAM and Flash memory. The antibacterial SoMo 650 handheld computer and docking cradle will be available in fall 2008.

MyRacer portable console plays flash games

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on February 20th, 2008

MyRacer portable console
Here’s a pocket gaming system that’s not from Nintendo or Sony, but from Korean company called MyRacer. The MF101 portable looks like a media player, but it’s actually a pocket-sized game machine. It’ll play music and video files in several formats, but it will also play a number of Adobe Flash-based games, like the ones from Korea’s Play4U or Com2uS catalog.

It sports a pair of directional controls, even shoulder buttons. The user interface is even Flash-based. The system has a 320×240 resolution 2.4-inch color LCD screen, and comes with 1GB of on-board memory, which is expandable with an SD slot. It’s not available in the US yet, of course. But if you want to try to score one from a Korean retailer, it will cost you around $104.

Guitar Hero gets portable & silly

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on February 15th, 2008

Guitar Hero gets portable
I guess if you want Guitar Hero on the go or if you are a Leprechaun wanting to play the game in your size, you are in luck my friends. This miniature version was created by Basic Fun, and it looks like they got Activision’s approval. It’s called the “Guitar Hero Carabiner,” and it will make it’s debut next week at the International Toy Fair in New York.

It measures in at only 7.75 long and 3 inches wide, though the neck can fold down to cut its length in half. The carabiner also has the ability to dangle from your bag or backpack, in case your pocket real estate is already full with a DS and the like.

LeapFrog Didj to release Nintendo DS competitor

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on February 5th, 2008

LeapFrog Didj to release Nintendo DS competitor
LeapFrog has a new handheld learning/gaming system, the Didj. It should retail for $89.99 when it arrives this summer. LeapFrog isn’t saying that the device is Nintendo DS competitor, but it happens to be aimed toward 6 to 10 year-olds, a demographic that the DS currently rules with an iron fist.

With the Didj they want to up the gaming and graphics while integrating the fancy learning stuff. It’s sure to be a hit with parents who would rather see their kids being educated rather then simply guiding Mario on his latest quest. The Didj has no Wi-Fi connection but it should work with the LeapFrog Connect Application, which lets children customize game content via USB.

Solar powered handheld Nintendo emulator

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet, Nintendo by Conner Flynn on January 23rd, 2008

Solar powered handheld Nintendo emulator
Here’s a third-party handheld Nintendo emulator that doesn’t look like total garbage. Though it has the typical generic name of Solar MP4, this little device actually has some impressive features. It can play MP4 videos up to 320×240 in size on its 3.5 inch TFT screen, it also has built-in emulators for NES, GameBoy and GameBoy Color games. Of course you have to use ROMS loaded via an SD card, but those are easy enough to find. It can even function as an e-Book reader with the ability to read out loud any text file as long as it’s written in English or Chinese.

And of course, it has a DS-like design with solar panels, so you can play games using the power of the sun. Not bad for a knock off. You can get one for $123.32.

Ambient Scorecast brings live Baseball scores

Posted in Handheld Entertainmnet, Sports by Conner Flynn on January 8th, 2008

Ambient Baseball Scorecast Brings Live Baseball Scores
Hardcore Baseball fans will love this device from Ambient. The Ambient Devices Baseball Scorecast. It will bring you live scores on your desk, without the need for a PC.

It updates by receiving a digital radio-frequency broadcast with the latest scores every half-inning. That keeps you very up to the minute. It also keeps you up-to-date with the current standing for your team’s division as they race towards the Pennant. $125.

Sega genesis portable has arrived

Posted in Games, Handheld Entertainmnet, Toys by Conner Flynn on January 1st, 2008

Sega genesis portable has arrived

We first told you about the Sega Genesis portable in November, coming from Tectoy. It appears that either it had a name change or someone else has beat them to it, basically cloning it.

Just like the Tectoy version, the AtGames Mega Drive Portable, the device comes pre-loaded with 20 classic games like Ecco, Sonic & Knuckles, Alex Kidd and Golden Axe. And just like the Tectoy version, you can’t download any extra games. But you can play them on your TV if you choose. The price is far cheaper then we first thought at $39.

Credit Card sized digital video player

Posted in Digital Video, Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on November 29th, 2007

Credit Card sized digital video player

Here’s a PMP that looks pretty nice. It’s also small. About the size of a credit card. For the size, you get alot of features. You can also get this one in two different styles. There’s the Neon M3 with heat sensitive glowing buttons and a 2.4 inch LCD screen, or you can get the Ice with a brushed aluminum finish that sports a slightly larger 2.8 inch display.

Both have bright high-res screens and 8 hour battery life so you can play all of your favorite movies and music and they have a voice recording feature as well as FM radio. Each has 2GB of storage built-in and with a memory card you can expand that.

Sega Genesis portable leaves much to be desired

Posted in Games, Handheld Entertainmnet by Conner Flynn on November 19th, 2007

Tec Toy Portable Sega Genesis

Many gamers still believe that the Sega Genesis was the best video game console ever, thanks to classics like Sonic. Apparently, Tec Toy has some Genesis love of it’s own, so they shrank it and made it fairly pocket-sized. Great concept. I would own it. The retail price will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100, but is only going to be available to Brazilians. They should be hitting the UK as imports in early 2008, though.

The device comes pre-loaded with 20 classic games like Ecco, Sonic & Knuckles, Alex Kidd and Golden Axe. The problem is that you can’t download any extra games. You are just stuck with those 20 games. To make matters even stranger, it is powered by 3 AAA batteries, which you would be replacing like crazy.





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