Gamertell

According to Joystiq, Sony’s VP of Sales, Ian Jackson, has announced that the previously delayed keypad for SIXAXIS controllers will be arriving during the first week of December 2008.

Sure,  you could just use a USB keyboard, a Bluetooth headset or just tap out those letters one by one on the SIXAXIS controller but then you wouldn’t get the luxury of paying…

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FROM GADGETELL - Do you have climate issues that could be resolved if your keyboard had heating and cooling capabilities?  Well, Thanko’s got something for you.  Check out the “USB Hot Cooler Keyboard.”
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Product: Das Keyboard Professional
Price: $129.00
Rating: One thumb up, on down; 76/100; C; * * 1/2 out of five.
Pros: A sturdy, well constructed keyboard that offers plenty of clicking, two USB ports and a 12-simultaneous-key-press guarantee.
Cons: Very loud, a bit deep and pricey.
Overall: If you can, try before you buy. Otherwise, you might not want to invest in such a loud keyboard

If you have noticed extra typos on the site the past month, there is a reason (and no, I have not developed especially fat fingers).

I’ve been using the Das Keyboard Professional as my primary keyboard to give it a thorough try. It’s big, it’s shiny, it’s thick, it’s loud and, thanks to German engineering, it will exploit your every ill-timed typing flaw.

Click through for the full review…

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The most recent issue of ThinkGeek catalog has been delivered and, as usual, it features several gamer goodies. Here’s a list of the more (and less) notable game-related goodies in the June 2008 ThinkGeek catalog.

On the more notable side there’s a programmable keyboard with mini OLEDs, Mario Kart slot cars, Halo 3 replicas and Zelda plush…

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Sony revealed more Playstation Portable peripherals were revealed at CES 2008. The new and the old are both represented here, in the form of the old PSP camera and the new PSP keyboard. The company announced that the camera will be available in 2008, and the keyboard in 2009.

The PSP camera, which was discussed in detail in last week’s Important Importables, is a small camera that attaches to the top of the PSP. The camera was originally released in 2006 in Japan and Europe, but is only now being prepared for a North American release. Both the Japanese and European versions also included a UMD of software which allowed owners to edit the pictures and movies taken with the device, so it is likely the NA version will also come with one.

The PSP keyboard is the enigmatic addition to the lineup. No mockup was presented at CES, and GameSpot reported that Sony representatives were hesistant to confirm or deny if it would look anything like the mockup presented at E3 2005. A keyboard would undoubtably be a welcome relief for users who wished to make use of the PSP’s internet abilities. Typing an email on the system now is considered a form of torture originating from the third circle of hell.

Read [GameSpot] Also Read [Next-Gen.biz] Site [Sony CES 2008]

• Gamefly offering pre-Thanksgiving discounts on select games
• Lucky Europeans get LocoRoco 2 Flash minigame
• A hot keyboard always needs a partner…

US-based PC (Mac and Windows) peripheral specialist Wolfking is demoing its latest gaming gear at CES 2008 (January 7-10, 2008).  The lineup, dubbed the MVP Series, includes the Trooper Laser Gaming Mouse and an enhanced version of the Warrior Gamepad. The revamped gear will soon be available in red, blue, or silver accent color over a full matte black finish

The MVP Series 2400 DPI High-Resolution Trooper Laser Gaming Mouse ($59.99) has a programmable frame rate of more than 7,080 frames per second, 2400 DPI High-Resolution, high speed motion detection, onboard LED sensor display and Rapid Fire Switch (selects 1 to 4 shots per click with status indicated by a lighted track wheel).

The MVP Series Warrior Gamepad ($34.99) features a circular layout and polished black audio keys (as opposed to the chrome buttons of the original).

Both the gamepad and mouse are USB 2.0 compatible and currently available, though the new MVP redesigns should be available soon.

Site [Wolfking] Read [Engadget]

• A hot keyboard always needs a partner…
• Veterans Day salute: surprising gadgets from wars
• Gamertell Review: Penguin United’s 4x Quad Charge Station for WiiMotes

Alienware has just launched its holiday promotion site featuring a few must-have gaming systems for Christmas.

First up is the Area 51-7500 starting at $1,399 or a low monthly payment of $42, the promotion is gearing to attract fans of Crysis offering free wallpaper downloads for the game. But overall just looking at the specs of the system is mind blowing with many possibilities of customization for gamers looking for a new system.

Customizing doesn’t end at deciding which of the four colors to choose from - metallic, green, blue and black, but even how the chassis glows to match your mood if you like with AlienFX and room within the chassis to expand when needed with extra slots, input and space to add hardware. The site promises that you can literally open the case with a pocket knife and won’t take rocket scientists to help you upgrade the system yourself.

Improved thermal design keeps the system cool and lighting mods strategically placed to light up I/O ports, optical drives and power buttons for those who prefer to game in the dark. Did I mention the cool design of the chassis?

With today’s PC games requiring more power and speed, the system up next on the holiday must have is the Area 51 m9750 notebook ($1,699) for the gamer on the go.

This is no ordinary notebook, the Area 51 m9750 takes gaming to the next level with the NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT high performance graphics processor, noted the world’s first DirectX 10 along with NVIDIA SLI technology and up to 1GB of graphics memory. With two processing cores powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor the notebook will enhance the functions of not only the games but system and multimedia applications as well.

Other options available include RAID 0 which will enable gamers to configure their hard drives for speed and maximized storage or RAID 1 which offers security and back up. The maximized storage space will allow the ability for a user to record television programming directly to the hard drive and take it with them on the road.

Read [Notebook Forums] Site [Alienware]

• HP introduces the TouchSmart TX2 laptop
• Believe tech can change the world?  Buy one of these this holiday season.
• Supercomputer race gets faster

Circuit City will offer the following specials during their doorbuster sales on Black Friday (November 23, 2007).

Bundles being offered at Circuit City:

• DS Zelda or Nintendogs DS Lite Bundle for $139.99
• XBox360 Premium System with free MS Wireless Controller, Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance games for $349.99
• 40GB PS3 Spiderman Bundle with free Sony Wireless SIXAXIS controller and Spiderman 3 Blu-Ray movie for $399.99 a special being offered with this bundle includes five free Blu-Ray movies with special rebate offer. Note: This may be an internet store only or selected store offer, you should talk to the store in your area for details if your interested in this offer.
• PS2 Slim System with free Sony Dual Shock II Controller $129.99
• PS2 and XBox 360 Guitar Hero II Bundle for $59.99
• Sandisk 2GB SD Memory Card for $6.99 after $13 mail-in rebate

The following games and bundles will come with a free $10 gift card:

• Guitar Hero III Bundle PS2 for $89.99
• Halo 3 XBox 360 game for $59.99
• Assassin’s Creed XBox 360 game for $59.99
• Mario Strikers Wii game for $49.99
• God of War II PS2 game for $39.99
• Rachet Clank Future PS3 game for $59.99

Site [Circuit City]

• Sam’s Club’s 2008 Black Friday ad possibly “doctored”
• Gamefly offering pre-Thanksgiving discounts on select games
• Even Kohl’s might have some video game deals on Black Friday 2008

Take Two Interactive announced that it has sold Joytech to rival manufacturer Mad Catz, including all assets and employees.

A subsidiary of Take Two, Joytech manufactures state-of-the-art videogames, audio visual accessories and offers them to the community at competitive prices. Take 2’s CEO, Ben Feder, said he was pleased that Mad Catz was able to keep the employees of Joytech in the sale despite stating earlier that they have planned to divest all of its non-core businesses.

“The sale of the Joytech assets is consistent with one of the key goals we established in our 100 Day Plan: to develop strategic alternatives for any operations that we determined to be outside our core publishing business,“ said Feder in a press release. “We are particularly pleased that we accomplished this goal in a manner that will allow substantially all of our Joytech employees in the US and UK to join Mad Catz, which is a highly respected provider of video game peripherals.“

Read [Game Industry Biz] Site [Mad Catz] Site [Take Two] Site [JoyTech]

• Target’s Black Friday video game sales might hit the mark
• Sam’s Club’s 2008 Black Friday ad possibly “doctored”
• Gamefly offering pre-Thanksgiving discounts on select games

Remember when the Commodore computer was the greatest thing in personal home computers? It was much more friendly to use than the Texas Instruments PC and had much more interesting games you could program yourself or purchase on an old floppy disc or tape cassette.

Well, after its growing success in Europe, Commodore is back in the US and it recently opened a new headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Commodore even hired Electronic Arts Bill Sims as vice president of North American sales.

Commodore gaming has been aiming to…

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