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Nintendo WiFi Hits 2 Million Mark
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Video Games, Wireless / WiFi,
Nintendo’s senior marketing VP George Harrison has announced that their Wi-Fi connection has surpassed the 2 million mark in just nine months of operation. He also claims that the service has logged more than 70 million individual game sessions.
“Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection continues to set the standard for easy, fun and safe wireless gaming,” says Harrison. “Our hand-held leadership will continue unabated with today’s launch of StarFox Command.”
Just in case you have forgotten, Fox McCloud has been around the Lylat system since the 90’s, fighting the Lylar armada with some rather gregarious and chatty compadres in what is essentially a shoot-em-up-by-plane game. StarFox Command for Nintendo DS was released today at an MSRP of $29.95 and is rated E10+.
Read More 
| http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=10242 via Nintendo Wi-Fi
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Making your Cellular Service More Reliable
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Smart Home, Peripherals, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi, Gizmatic,
In today’s world, land line phones are becoming ancient technology. More and more customers are leaving phone line systems for VoIP systems, while others, myself included, operate solely through their cellular service. It never ceases to amaze me, however, that the quality of cellular service at home leaves something to be desired. I have moved three times in the past two years, and haven’t been able to average more than a 2-bar signal in any of my homes. Excessive dropped calls, poor reception and sound quality, and the especially hated voice mail notice from calls that never rang. Sound familiar? Well it may be time to invest in an amplification system to boost cellular signal while around the house.
The setup is simple, intuitive, and available for purchase from several manufacturers. It consists of a pair of antennas, one high gain and one low gain, and an amplification system. The system works best if the large gain antenna is mounted outside of the house, but it is not necessary. The system improves your service by relaying the signals from the high gain antenna, through the amplifier, through a smaller antenna mounted somewhere inside the home and out to your cellphone . Transmitting works in the reverse fashion starting from the cell phone, to the small antenna, then through the amplifier and out the large antenna to the service tower. The benefits to be gained here are two fold. First, the antenna that communicates directly with the tower will have a much stronger response (higher gain) to the signals, both in and out, than the cell phone because of its sheer size. Secondly, the signal is being amplified again through an in-line amplifier. The result is a serious increase in local signal to your cell phone resulting in better battery life, fewer dropped and missed calls, and just plain better quality service. This type of setup is not limited to the home either. There are also systems available for installation in your vehicle which operate on the same principle.
Popular Science has a full length article describing these setups and even points out some manufacturers and models of devices available today.
Images:
Home Configuration
Automotive Configuration
Read More | Popular Science
Reggie Fils-Aime Say Wii Online Play Will Be Free
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Video Games, Wireless / WiFi,
See? Now this is the kind of good stuff we love hearing come out of the Nintendo camp. NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime stated in a recent interview that online play on Wii will cost the same price that it costs on the Nintendo DS - that would be, free! No hidden costs, no subscription fees. See for yourself:
Q: How do you extend your online strategy to Wii?
A: It’s the same premise. We will offer online-enabled games that the consumers will not have to pay a subscription fee for. They’ll be able to enjoy that right out of the box. The Wii console is going to be Wi-Fi enabled, so essentially, you’ll be able to plug it in and go. It won’t have hidden fees or costs.
While that has us wetting our pants with glee (something we don’t do
ever
all that often,) we have to wonder if the Wii Connect24 service will be as generic as the Nintendo DS WiFi Connection is. No usernames, leaderboards, etc. Just silly Friend Codes. Nintendo - if you are going to jump in to online play, please do it up right.
Read More | USA Today via Playfeed
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Dualjack Offers Wireless 2.4GHz Wireless Extension
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Misc. Tech, Wireless / WiFi,
RTX America is out today with a telephone line extender which reportedly offers wireless support for voice, fax and data throughout the home. The new Dualjack is priced at $89.99 and should be available now.
The RTX Dualjack functions through use of wireless 2.4GHz technology. One plugs a phone line into the base station, followed by plugging that base station into an electric socket. A companion Dualjack unit is plugged into a wall socket in other part of the home, followed by plugging a telephone line into it from a device such as a fax machine or Tivo. Up to four extension units can be supported.
Read More | RTX Dualjack Product Info
Verizon V640 EV-DO ExpressCard Unboxing Gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi,
We know that all our MacBook Pro owners out there have been waiting for this - an EV-DO card that fits into your ExpressCard slot. Verizon has announced that this card will be available later this month, but we were able to get our hands on one earlier today, and we created a quick V640 unboxing gallery for you to take a look at. Take a look at the gallery while we work on getting images up of the install process, along with a quick review.
Read More | Verizon V640 Unboxing Gallery
Garmin Accessory Provides Non-GPS Workout Data
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: GPS, Wireless / WiFi,
Garmin today introduced an accessory for their Forerunner 305 GPS device (pictured at right) which allows athletes to train indoors where a GPS signal is unavailable. The new Forerunner 305 Foot Pad is priced at $99.99 and will be available in October.
The Garmin Forerunner 305 Foot Pad is a “shoe-mounted device which wirelessly communicates with the wrist-worn Forerunner 305 to provide accurate distance and speed while training on treadmills or indoor tracks”. The Foot Pad Pod uses a pair of accelerometers to measure each stride to provide a runner’s speed and distance information. The unit features a simple and secure lace-mounted attachment, and runs on a single AAA battery (70 hours typical use).
Read More | Garmin Forerunner 305 Foot Pad Press Release
Logitech Offers New Wireless Music System
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Home Entertainment, Wireless / WiFi,
Logitech today rolled out a new wireless music system for delivering digital music from a PC to any stereo system or powered multimedia speakers. The Logitech Wireless DJ Music System is priced at $249.99 and will be available in September.
The Logitech Wireless DJ Music System makes use of wireless Logitech technology to stream any PC audio format. A transmitter plugs into a USB port on the PC and the music receiver/dock is connected to a stereo system using standard RCA connectors, or to powered multimedia speakers using the 3.5 mm headphone jack output. Once the setup is complete, the Wireless DJ Music System sends music streams directly to the receiver, at a range of up to 50 meters (150 feet). An included remote control with blue backlit liquid-crystal display (LCD) and mechanical scroll wheel lets one browse through an entire digital music collection, select a song, playlist or Internet radio station of choice, and see what’s playing on the screen.
Read More | Logitech Wireless DJ Music System
Hava Delivers Video Content Wirelessly from Source
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Home Entertainment, Wireless / WiFi,
Monsoon Multimedia today announced they’d begun shipping the Hava wireless multimedia delivery system. This new set top box is priced at $299.
The Hava is designed to wirelessly stream in MPEG-2 video format video which comes from a variety of sources including Tivos and TVs to multiple computers in a home environment. Reportedly delivering 720 x 480 pixels for full screen viewing, the Hava can be linked to the Internet via a home router so one can view streaming video content. This device also features time shifting capabilities, allowing one to pause, fast forward, rewind or record video on their PCs. It can also serve as a wireless TV tuner for Media Center PCs.
Read More | Hava Product Information
Knock-Knock Door Chime: No Doorbell Needed
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Smart Home, Wireless / WiFi,
When is a door chime not a door chime? When it’s a knock.
Check out the Knock-Knock Door Chime, a device that doesn’t show itself off as itself. You install it on the inside of your front door, on an adjoining wall, or up to 100 feet away, and let the chime do the rest. When a friend or neighbor or door-to-door salesman knocks on the front door, the chime sounds inside the house, alerting you to the presence of someone you do or do not want to see. No wires are needed, and you can pick one up for $49.99 USD.
Read More | Gizmocity via Coolest Gadgets
Apple Does Bluetooth Mighty Mouse
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Apple, Peripherals, Wireless / WiFi,
Apple has gone and made their Mighty Mouse even mightier with news today they were releasing an upgraded product which has wireless Bluetooth built in. The new wireless Mighty Mouse is priced at $69 and available now.
The wireless Mighty Mouse, said Apple, uses Bluetooth 2.0 technology to connect to Bluetooth-enabled Macs and also has a new laser tracking engine which is reportedly 20 times more sensitive than standard optical mice. This is on top of standard features like four independently programmable buttons, a Scroll Ball that lets users scroll in any direction and the ability to be used in single button or multi-button modes.
Read More | Apple Mighty Mouse Product Page
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