Mad Catz WWE All Stars BrawlStick and BrawlPad accessories announced

Mad Catz has long been a leading brand name when it comes to video game accessories and peripherals, and their latest foray into the world of video games would come in the form of the Mad Catz BrawlStick and BrawlPad, where either one of them is slated to high octane WWE action to life, letting you lay the smack down right in the comfort of your living room. Both of these will be more than suitable for recreating signature moves of the WWE Legends and current WWE Superstars. Of course, get these only if you’re a huge fan of entertainment wrestling, as the game itself, WWE All Stars, was specially developed to deliver one of the greatest rosters ever assembled in a WWE videogame. WWE All Stars will be able to roll back the years and bring the stars of yore through a time travel machine, where you can hold fantasy matches between WWE Legends and current WWE Superstars to answer the nagging question of who is the “greatest of all time”.

The official WWE All Stars Arcade BrawlStick will be available for the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 consoles, and regardless of which platform you are rocking to, you will be able to find precision control and quality engineering in either accessory, boasting official artwork from the videogame which depicts WWE Superstars and WWE Legends. There is also a useful dual-speed Turbo functionality for each button, and LED indicators let you know whether it is toggled or not. Gamers worth their salt should be able to execute moves with impressive speed, while the eight-button arcade configuration ought to make larger-than-life moves performed with precise execution. Of course, for those who are more comfortable with a D-Pad can always switch over in a jiffy to alternate between that and analog sticks for maximum control flexibility. Sounds like a pretty good deal at $79.99 a pop.

As for the official WWE All Stars BrawlPad, this $39.99 purchase will target gamers who want a traditional console controller without wishing to compromise on features. It will sport an ergonomic design with an enlarged circular eight-way floating D-Pad and arcade style six-button configuration, while carrying a similar integrated D-Pad switch as with the BrawlStick. Both peripherals are tipped to ship worldwide to coincide with the game’s launch which is happening on March 29, 2011 in North America and April 1, 2011 throughout Europe (hopefully that won’t be an April Fool’s prank!).

Nintendo 3DS release dates and pricing formally announced

Stereoscopic 3D is where it is at, and Nintendo is not slow off the mark to make sure they are there at the very beginning to capture a potentially lucrative market with their upcoming portable 3D-enabled console, the aptly named Nintendo 3DS. This will definitely be yet another shift in the gaming industry, having first rolling out touch-screen gaming in 2004 and motion-controlled gaming in 2006, where March 27 2011 will be a date that many will look forward to. Nintendo’s 3DS will finally be available to the masses, bringing portable entertainment in 3D without having to purchase a pair of special glasses to begin with. While the initial choice of colors are pretty disappointing by Nintendo’s standards (you can choose from only Cosmo Black or Aqua Blue), we are pretty sure that the Big N will be rolling out more color variants down the road as they normally do.

The Nintendo 3DS has been called to be in a category of its own – simply because it offers an experience that cannot be found anywhere else in terms of portable gaming. Folks residing Stateside will have to fork out $249.99 for this toy, while those living outside of the US Will be subjected to pricing set by local markets, although you can be sure that the gaming experience will not fall short anywhere.

Just in case some of you have been living under a rock for the past year, the Nintendo 3DS will share the DNA of its predecessor in terms of the form factor and number of screens – and while the bottom screen is touch sensitive just like its ancestors, there is a change to the top screen since that part is able to display 3D visuals to the naked eye sans any glasses. In fact, it is said that looking at the screen is akin to peering through a window into a world where characters and objects have true depth. There is also a 3D Depth Slider which allows you to select the level of 3D that your eyes can take, not to mention help prolong the battery life if you decide to lower the depth or turn it off altogether. The Nintendo 3DS also includes a Circle Pad that delivers a full 360 degrees of direction, giving it the freedom and precision needed to play games in 3D worlds. Those who have had experience with the Nintendo 64 will probably know what we’re talking about here. Game on! I know what I want for Christmas this year.

DiscGear Selector 100 helps you sort through headaches

We are pretty sure that over the years, you must have amassed quite an impressive collection of CDs and DVDs, and assuming you’ve made the jump to the Blu-ray bandwagon, keeping everything organized and in its proper position might be a task too large for some. Good thing there is always the option to settle for outside help, this time in the form of the DiscGear Selector 100 which will retail for£29.99 a pop. This brilliant and elegant CD archive will come with a slide-away index to help you quickly browse up to 100 titles, while its patented one-touch disc retrieval system allows you to retrieve the disc in mind in a jiffy. All you need to do is scan the index for the number that matches your chosen CD, move the slider over to that particular number on the unit and press the button – and watch magic happen right before your very eyes, as your disc is presented to you.

Tangle Free Dual Dog Leash

While some of us find that a single dog is already a handful, there are others who don’t mind having a couple of these furry kids around. Of course, in order to provide a healthy environment for your pooch, you will need to make sure your four-legged friend gets enough physical as well as mental exercise, so walking a dog is a must. For beginners, walking a couple of dogs could prove to be rather tricky, and you always run the risk of tripping over both their leashes whenever they get excited and start running circles around you. The Tangle Free Dual Dog Leash helps avoid any nonsense of that sort from happening, where it features twin retractable 10′ lengths of sturdy nylon cord which are wound within a durable sealed plastic housing. The cords are then fed through separate openings and spin within the housing, so that they will not cross each other and end up as a tangled mess in the process. The leash’s handgrip allows you to easily control both canines with but a hand, although you might think twice if you’ve a large breed dog (or two) since it doesn’t look that this can cope with the strength of larger pooches. Fancy forking out $49.95 for this?

Palro gets an upgrade, and a voice!

Some of you might remember when we covered Palro almost one year ago from February.

At the time, we reported that Palro had 20 joints, five microphones, voice recognition, mono speakers, 3 Megapixel camera, Wi-Fi IEE 802.11 b/g/n, gyro-sensor, three-axis acceleration sensor, eight pressure sensors on the feet, 1GB internal memory, a USB port, and an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor.

I must also be quoted as saying that Palro as “a laptop with legs”. If that’s true, then the laptop has just been given an upgrade with an Atom Z530 processor, 4GB of flash storage, and an Ubuntu kernel inside.

Palro is now looking more like a robot from our science fiction dreams as he has learned how to speak. (Perhaps I should say “she” as the voice sounds female.) You can watch the video after the jump to see it for yourself.

Some of you might remember that the last time we discussed Palro, it talked about it being as a robot that you can program to do. Just picture what you can do if you can make it talk!

I believe that we reported last time on Palro that it costs about $3,300. According to my new sources, the price has apparently jumped up to $3,600.

Laser pointers at aircraft are becoming a growing hazard

I am not certain if you knew about this issue, but apparently it is very dangerous to point a laser pointer at aircraft.

Apparently, that laser point is a millimeter close up will actually be many inches across when it is high in the air. You can imagine how distracting this can be to pilots. Worse yet, the beam will spread when it hits the windscreen of a cockpit. As you can see, the light is spread so much with glare that the pilot is flying blind (visibly).

So I am definitely sending a shout-out to everyone who is using a laser-pointer to distract a pilot. Are you out of your mind? Do you really want to raise Cain so much that thousands of tons of metal fall perilously from the sky?

By the way, the FAA is reporting that there is a record number of reports of laser pointers pointed at aircrafts in 2010. In fact, it doubled from 2009. LAX had the highest number with 102, while my hometown of Seattle had the lowest with 26.

Clearly, something needs to happen to in order to cut down on laser pointer aircraft incidents. By the way, I don’t think that is the official name for events like this, but I don’t think it will be long before this will be a “hot button” issue, like texting while driving or distracted driving is.

Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset

You know what the big deal about using your cell phone while driving – it not only endangers your life, but that of other road users as well. Hence, in many countries, it is against the law to do so, making hands-free kits a must. Some people prefer to opt for a wired solution, while others look towards Bluetooth connectivity being their savior.

Aliph has brought their expertise to the world of wireless communications with the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset, which is also the latest in their collection. The Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset is touted to deliver the highest quality HD audio experience on-the-go, boasting unprecedented intelligence courtesy of motion technology and a robust computing platform which will work in tandem to deliver richer applications.

Jawbone CEO and founder Hosain Rahman claims that they have “perfected a complete in-bound and out-bound audio experience that is so rich it is almost addictive – whether you are listening to your favorite song or a phone call.” Of course, apart from HD (High Definition) audio, the use of integrated sensors and intelligence will also pave open the road for new ways to interact with the device and apps via natural, intuitive motion control, and this alone is hoped to change the way we use headsets.

Thanks to a 25% larger wideband speaker, expect High Definition audio to be the norm even while you converse over the phone, listen to music, watch movies and play games. Jawbone will also be relying on their legacy of noise-cancelling expertise by including the newest version of military-grade NoiseAssassin 3.0 technology with the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset. Being able to detect your surroundings, it will then go ahead and adjust the inbound volume and intelligibility, regardless of whether you are in a restaurant, ball game or traffic, so that your ears will be able to enjoy the clearest, richest sound, automatically without any user intervention.

Not only that, the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset is also hailed to be the first headset with a built-in accelerometer and MotionX, being one of the more accurate motion sensing technology on the market thanks to their partnership with Fullpower-MotionX, the leaders in motion technology. Jawbone ERA is capable of detecting your natural movements when you interact with it right out of the box. Available for $129 a pop, it will come in Shadowbox, Smokescreen, Midnight and Silver Lining designs.

Tip & Tilt Internet Radio

Forget about using your hands to control knobs with the Tip & Tilt Internet Radio, for as its name suggests, this £89.99 purchase will instead rely on a built-in gyro-sensor, making sure that less is more. Similar to other Internet radios, this one takes the cake in terms of funky-ness, where it is fully rechargeable and will receive all the Internet radio your ears can stomach via a Wi-Fi connection. Nice to know that no buttons to be pushed are required, and neither do you need to turn any knobs.

Just switch between all four preset stations simply be turning it over from side to side. Tilting it forwards or backwards will help you adjust the volume, and if you need it to remain silent, just lay it on its front. Of course, after purchase, you will need to download the relevant software online and plug in the USB cable that came with each purchase to add your favorite channels. You can choose from white, black, pink, blue and green colors, where a single charge ought to have it go for up to 14 hours before it gets exhausted.

Irregular Heart Beat Detecting Blood Pressure Monitor

When one gets old, you would notice that your body tends to start breaking down whether you like it or not. Of course, if you had taken good care of it, then chances are pretty good that you will ease into old age in a less painful and more comfortable manner than your mates. Well, for some of us out there, our heart beats tend to end up getting irregular with our blood pressure shooting up after we retire as we look at our finances and realize that our savings aren’t enough to help us last through the next 30 years.

Enter the Irregular Heart Beat Detecting Blood Pressure Monitor from Hammacher – this blood pressure monitor will also detect a heart arrhythmia. Basically, whenever the monitor detects that your heart beat is 25% slower or faster compared to its average rhythm, an arrhythmia symbol will illuminate the LCD. This machine relies on the oscillometric method which has been clinically proven to detect arrhythmia and hypertension, where it will require a trio of consecutive blood pressure readings and averages the results for added accuracy. Built-in memory can store up to 30 measurements for four people (120 readings in total) which will also be time- and date-stamped to help those with failing memory. Sounds like the perfect gift for gramps even if it will burn a $129.95 hole in your pocket!

Samsung ST30 digital camera offers great shots, anytime, anywhere

Digital cameras sure have come a long way from their VGA roots, and nowadays the two-digit megapixel limit is fast approaching its twenties even for the most basic of models from the gamut of manufacturers out there. Samsung intends to cater to a broad spectrum of users, with their ST30 model touted to deliver great shots just about anytime and anywhere despite coming in an ultra portable form factor. T

The Samsung ST30 is roughly the size of an average cell phone, making it the ideal device to stash away into your pocket or handbag, although we do wonder whether at that size, most people would prefer to stick to their cell phone cameras which frankly speaking, aren’t too shabby at all when it comes to snapping photos and recording videos (the iPhone 4′s CMOS sensor comes to mind). At least Samsung has decided to endow the ST30 with a unique design finished with a high quality metal body and party enhancing color of your choice.

Being small doesn’t mean it is short on features – no sir, Samsung has thrown in Smart Auto focus which is an internal battery charging system, a 28mm lens and 3x power optical zoom into its fun-sized body. Not only that, the additional image stabilization will deliver more value to your camera experience, preventing even the tiniest shake so that you will get the sharpest images all the time. Of course, we do have our doubts about that claim since low light conditions are always a tricky environment for a camera to be in.

An advanced 10.1-megapixel sensor will provide sharp, crisp detail to make your images stand out from the crowd, while it will be accompanied by an innovative face detection technology, Red-eye fix and even next generation technology which is capable of detecting facial blinking. Basically, it means that whether it’s bright disco lights or sunshine, you are able to make sure that the eyes of your subjects are open and ready for the perfect shot. Not only that, the ST30 will also perform a quick Photoshop fix – evening out skin tones, erasing blemishes and removing dark circles for you to control the quality of your appearance in any situation.

If you’re ready to bust open your purse strings for the Samsung ST30, it will only be out this coming March for $99.99 a pop – not too shabby, don’t you think so?