Category Archives: Gadgets

Nintendo 3DS : Glassless 3D Experience

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Nintendo has announced a 3D successor to the Nintendo DS line of handheld gaming devices, tentatively called the Nintendo 3DS. According to claims by Nintendo, the video game console will feature “3D Effects” that can be enjoyed “without the need of any special glasses”.

Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo 3DS

Since technology for such a feature is not yet available, it can be safely assumed that Nintendo is sitting on a golden egg, one that will keep the other portable gaming consoles lagging even further behind. Further information about the Nintendo 3DS will be revealed by the company at the E3 event this year, which starts June 15th in Los Angeles. The new Nintendo 3DS will also be backward compatible with the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi

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Creative Zen X-Fi : Not One With The Universe

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Creative has had its signature X-Fi technology in the sound blaster series of speakers and sound cards. Now it has decided to move this to it’s range of PMPs, with the Creative Zen X-Fi being one of them. We received the and we see here if it lives up to its name.

The X-Fi has a silver faux metallic back plate. The from of this PMP is piano black with the 2.5 inch screen towards the left, while all other controls are on the right side of the device. The Power and the Lock sliders are located on the back, the top is where you find the microphone and the SD Card slot.

Creative Zen X-Fi

Creative Zen X-Fi

Many PMPs don’t come with the memory expansion slots; but, since this one has only 8GB capacity, the expansion slot is a good idea. One side has the microUSB port and 3.5mm jack and next to that is a small LED light which acts as a battery indicator and along the same side is a reset button. This PMP is also comes with an inbuilt speaker which is located at the bottom.

The button on this device are somewhat unusual and unlike other PMPs, the X-Fi comes with nine buttons, an Options button and a Shortcut button. The later can be customized to give you quick access to a particular menu of your choice. There are additional features and menus that have been added to this player.

The Creative EP-830 earphones are good to use as they fin in the ear, thereby reducing the the level of external noise that is heard. While listening to our test tracks, with the supplied earphone we found that this PMP will be enjoyed by bass lovers as its heavy on the lows; the mids are fine, but the highs need to be cleaner.

Movies need to be converted by the software provided. The viewing angles for the left, right, bottom are great, but the top angle is bad. If you tilt the player towards you, then the appearance of the screen washes out.

Overall, priced at $249, we feel the X-Fi is a good PMP for audio, although the screen is still too tiny to enjoy videos on it, it will do for occasional viewing.

Popularity: 14% [?]

OCZ NIA : The Real Mind Reader

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What is the future of gaming? Can it evolve to an extent that it suppress the use of a keyboard or mouse? These are the questions that the OCZ NIA that we have with us can answer. NIA is the acronym for Neutral Impulse Actuator and is a device with advance technology that claims to read your brainwaves and helps you improve your gameplay.

The NIA is a band that you put on your head with three diamond shaped sensors on the front that come in contact to your forehead. This head band is attached to the NIA Box that reads and interprets your brain activity which in tern is connected to the PC via a USB cable. The NIA also detects muscle movements such as clenching your teeth or raising an eyebrow, or even your glance. Alpha brain signals are associated to images and what you watch while beta brain signals kick in when you start to think logically.

OCZ NIA

OCZ NIA

The NIA does allow you to control your character’s movement within a game, such as Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament, without using the keyboard or mouse. However, it has its limitation as the technology is fairly new. Instead, OCZ encourages the use of NIA along with your keyboard and mouse to help increase your reaction time within the game that you play.

The software provided with the NIA is where you calibarate the device to your needs. The calibaration section is mainly for muscle movements and is done by starting at a gyroscope displayed on the screen. The BrainFingers is the section where you can view your alpha and beat signals and your glance activity. You will also be required to tweak your key presses in accordance with the different features of the NIA. You could set the movement of your character through glance, firing your weapon with the muscle movement and may be even reload the weapon through the alpha and beta signals. Again, these settings will need to be worked on till you get the right combination. To test your settings, you can try out a simple game of Pong which comes along with the software.

Even after calibrating the NIA, do not expect immediate results as you will need to completely change the way you play before you see results. If you are an average gamer and just like to play for fun, this pricey ($109.00) this really not be your cup of tea.

Popularity: 11% [?]