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Protip: Microsoft Kin not compatible with microSD
Dear SanDisk, The Kin does not have a microSD slot. We checked. Love, Engadget.
iPad hands-on: Not a full desktop replacement, but the keyboard works
For all of the back and forth about the iPad over the last week, only a handful of people (including Stephen Colbert) have gotten to actually touch one. Fox News, of all the outlets out there, posted a pretty clean and objective hands-on with the iPad earlier this week, and you can get a pretty good idea of what it's like to actually hold the device in your hands from them. They say that it works well -- the keyboard is about the same as an iPhone keyboard (though they don't say whether they try the hunt-and-peck of the iPhone, or actually try to lay their hands down as if on a laptop), and they agree to what we've heard elsewhere: that while the iPad is a nice computer, it's much more of an iPhone extension than a full laptop or even desktop replacement. One of the most interesting notes is that the much-discussed camera might not be the biggest omission from Apple's tablet -- Fox says that an SD slot or a USB port is a much bigger exception, meaning that if you want to actually do anything with files (view photos or print PDFs) from the iPad, you'll have to transfer them to and from another computer first. Of course Apple is introducing an SD addon with the device, and I thought that I'd heard the Bluetooth connection would print from the iPad, but then of course you've got to have a Bluetooth-enabled printer, and as you already know if you've ever depended on Bluetooth, even then it may be a crapshoot. Still, the device sounds about like what we all predicted a tablet would be: a MacBook Air sort of satellite extension to your household web browsing and minor computing. I still can't wait to get my hands on one -- hopefully we'll get to see a unit in person at next week's Macworld. [via MacDailyNews]
Breakfast Topic: Shirt of choice
Out of all of the things we've broken down and discussed on this site, I don't think we've ever really dug into this one: what's your character's shirt of choice? The shirt slot on your character screen is really the last customization-only slot we've got left, ever since the tabards were allotted to earning reputation. So today's discussion topic is: what shirt do you have in there?Unfortunately, the Shirt of Uber is only a PTR item, so no one is wearing it on the live realms, or else obviously that's what we'd all be wearing. The Epic Purple Shirt is probably a favorite since earlier this year, if you've been lucky enough to get the TCG code. I'd bet the Swashbuckler's Shirts are popular, and the Red Linen Shirt has always been one of my favorites. I'm sure the Tuxedo Shirt has its share of fans as well.So what are you wearing underneath that armor? It'd be cool if Blizzard actually beefed up our choices there a bit -- maybe they could put stripes on the sleeve to show rank, or have some special color or model for people who have met certain achievements (and come on, a Three Worgen Moon shirt? I'd wear that). Then again, maybe it's better that the shirts stay pretty low key -- every other item on our character screen has gotten a purpose lately, so maybe we're better off wearing whatever shirt we want.
Heirlooms for every slot
I've been pushing forward on my Paladin lately, and so I've entered the wacky world of Heirlooms. I have already picked up the leather Heirloom shoulders (thinking that even though the Pally wears plate, if I ever want to level a Druid or Rogue, I'll have them), and I'm well on my way to grabbing the new Heirloom chestpiece as well -- 20% bonus XP, combined with a healthy amount of rested XP, should make the leveling curve as easy as it gets (RaF is nice too, I guess, but I'd rather not pay for a second account). So I'm in Heirlooms up to my neck (at least until they give us helms), and I was intrigued by this question over on the Rawrcast forums: do you think Blizzard will eventually provide Heirloom items for every slot?20% is already a significant bonus to killing and questing XP, and rested technically provides a 50% bonus. But with ten Heirlooms in 10 slots (we'll leave out weapons, since those don't have the 10% XP bonus, as well as shirts and tabards, and rings and trinkets for now), you're looking at a 100% XP bonus even without Rest. The current average 80 probably spent about 14 days leveling up, so with an extra 100% bonus, you're looking at seven days /played, or very close to the current record. At that point, Blizzard might as well let us grant levels to each other.
DS Daily: Underappreciated feature #1,782,365
You know, the DS Daily is a great place to spur discussion and get your DS-obsessed day off on the right foot. But, we feel the need to be a bit selfish today. Instead of writing a love letter to our handheld and postmarking the envelope to our heart, we figured we'd call out one of its many small, but very lovable, features in our daily topic.Like the NES of old, the DS cart slot is a godsend for us. One of the most annoying things we find with GBA games is the whole forcefully ripping the game out of the slot thing. Perhaps it's just that we're the most macho and manly of men (how you doing, ladies?), but we always feel like we're going to rip something in half when messing with the GBA stuff. The DS has a nice spring-loaded slot that carefully extracts our games for us. It's one of the features that gets used most for us (right up there with the power button) and considering how much of a glutton our DS is (it does consume a lot of quality gaming), we're thankful the thing hasn't managed to mess up a single cart on us yet.But what about you all? What features of the DS, no matter how big or small, do you admire? The glossy finish? The durable outer shell that can withstand falling down a flight of stairs without so much as a scratch (DS Fanboy staff tested)?
Because two strange new forms of input just weren't enough
Not content with resting on their sensory laurels, Nintendo decided to just go ahead and make another bizarre form of input (since it seems to be working so well). The upcoming DS title Slide Adventure: Mag Kid (which could use a better marketing team) will feature a "slide sensor" that fits in the GBA slot of the DS. It extends outwards onto the back on the DS, and when the device is placed on a flat surface, the sensor can pick up the sliding motion of the entire unit on said surface. It's a little weird, but it's got some cool potential. It does, however, reduce the true portability of the device, rendering both bus-play and toilet-play completely useless. And we sure do love our toile ... you know what, never mind.[Via Joystiq]
Mario Kart DS slot car set is designed to prevent snaking
"Sunday, SUNDAY, Sunday, come on down to the Mario Kart DS Slot Car Race Track for some wild, no-rules racing action! Bring the whole family for an afternoon of Mario Kart-style toy racing excitement! Watch some of the best drivers in the business, including YOU and YOUR FRIENDS, take on one of the toughest tracks there is! You'll see twists and turns, thrills and spills, only at the Mario Kart DS Slot Car Race Track! Pay for the whole seat, but you'll only use the edge."Wow, we didn't even buy one of these slot car sets and we're already having fun with it. Anyone up for simulating the Mario Kart experience in ... well, not real life, but miniature fake real life?[Via NeoGAF]
Ohio bar game caught in legal battle
Is it luck or is it skill? That's the question at the center of the debate over Tic Tac Fruit, a video game popular in many Ohio bars. Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro argues that the machine is an illegal, luck-based gambling device and has given Ohio bars until Nov. 11 to remove it from the premise or face sanctions. The game's maker, Ohio Skill Games, sees it differently, arguing on their web site that "Tic Tac Fruit and all of its variations are games of skill. Meaning that the outcome of each game is dependent on the players [sic] skill."It's hard to say which side is in the right. At first glance, the game resembles a video slot machine, with three columns of three symbols each rolling to a stop with each play. The skill part, the manufacturer argues, comes when players places a wild square to maximize the payout, although the ability to do this correctly seems pretty elementary. Ohio Skill Games backs up its argument with what it calls "the best legal team in the state of Ohio," ensuring that the attorney general's decision won't go unchallenged. In June, the manufacturer agreed to update the game's software in a settlement with the City of Columbus.Watch - February news story on gambling games in OhioRead - AP story on recent attorney general order
Another Wii mystery port spotted
A member of the Spanish gaming forum Canal Nintendo has posted an image that appears to feature another mystery port located near the bottom of the left side of Wii.Last month, Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime debunked rumors that the front flap concealed anything more than a SD card port, adding that Wii will be compatible with several memory options. If this newly discovered detail is indeed another port, could it just be another expansion slot? ... Probably.
Reggie talks flaps, WiiConnect24, and micro transactions
It's been awhile since we've heard from Reggie following his big promotion and in his latest chat with Game Informer, he confirms that the mystery flap on the front of the Wii will house the SD Card slot. In stating this, Reggie says that the SD Card is the only "announced" memory medium, so it's quite possible that Nintendo has another system up their sleeves.As for WiiConnect24 and micro transactions, Reggie sees this as digital delivery for smaller content for games, such as exclusive items or news headlines. In the interview, he says that this will be available to third parties, but is not something that will be forced upon them.
Cheaper PS3 loses HDMI, slots, Wi-Fi, 40GB
As you can see above, there are a few things different between the two PS3 SKUs planned. (Hint: the obvious alterations concern high-def output and wireless connectivity -- though Bluetooth controllers should work just fine with both, with or without any chrome case highlighting.)So what's HDMI, built-in multimedia card-reader slots, wireless internet connectivity, and an extra 40 gigabytes' hard disk space worth to you? $100? Now that Sony's gone with the 2-SKU approach with its next-gen hardware (a la the Xbox 360's premium and "Core" systems), we can expect some tough consumer choices after six months -- with console shortages possibly for another six months after that -- as $100 separates the base $499 and premium $599 versions of Sony's "Clear Black" hope.HDMI is important to those who want to take full advantage of Blu-ray high def and have the new screens to use it; MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots would be nice for the PS3 memory-card users and those will run multimedia on the system; Wi-Fi's the only way to avoid stringing ethernet cables for online access; and 360 owners might appreciate the full 60GB available to potential buyers of the premium PS3 model. Neither model comes with a second HDMI port; thankfully, one should hopefully be all most users need. The details are laid out in a feature-comparison table at the end of Sony's official PS3 hardware press release, available in both Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word formats. Determine what's most important to your PS3 ambitions there.[Image pieced together from the PlayStation.com forums; thanks, Guru]
MoGo MouseBT hides in PC card slot
Re-defining the term "portability," Engadget picked up on the MoGo MouseBT, to be unvelied at the January '06 CES they'll be covering. Ergonomics aside, this looks like a slick little Bluetooth mouse that can stow away in a PC card slot - which means 12" PowerBook and iBook owners will still have to resort to a good ol' fashioned bag (or pants) pocket for storage. But how cool would a mouse like this be? Hopefully it'll have better accuracy than other BT mice I've used. Aside from Apple's, I've tried one from Logitech and another from MacMice and neither of them held a candle to the accuracy and response of Apple's Bluetooth mouse, which still didn't match a true blue chorded mouse.Who knows, maybe '06 will be "The Year of the Bluetooth Mouse."
