On Gear Live: Apple’s $400,000,000 Secret to Saving the Planet

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ICO Sequel Playstation 2Give a warm welcome to the newest member of the Gear Live team, Dorian Lake! Dorian will be reporting on videogame industry news and happenings, along with in-depth game reviews.

Two exciting PlayStation 2 games were revealed by Sony of Japan last week. The first was what a lot of Sony fans have been waiting for: a semi-direct sequel to ICO. While previous news stories had christened the game NICO, the actual name of the game will be Wanda and the Colossus. At this point not much has been revealed about the title, besides the fact that the same development team behind ICO is making the game and it will share much of the same style as a result. You can go to the website devoted to the game here. (caution: the site is in Japanese)

The second game is titled Genji, which is being developed by the former Capcom developer of Street Fighter 2 fame, Yoshiki Okamoto. He left Capcom to create a separate company (named Game Republic) and this game is the result. Set in an alternative Japanese history in the year 1159, very little has been revealed as far as gameplay. You can go the website devoted to this game here.

Hopefully in the near future (the Tokyo Game Show, perhaps?), more will be revealed about these Sony-published games.

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Gear Live Playlist Music ReviewsApparently we are flying the Union Jack in this edition of Gear Live Playlist. Four of the five artists are UK acts, including a few rock bands and a couple of British rappers. Yes, I said British rappers, no longer an oxymoron. Both Dizzee Rascal and The Streets are considered rappers, but both artists bend the definition of that word to its limits. The Libertines and Muse both have released solid efforts, and finally, Johnny Cash's "At San Quentin" is a record that everyone needs to own. So, enjoy our trip that begins in the British Isles and ends in maximum security prison, here's Playlist.

Click to continue reading Gear Live Playlist: Libertines, Dizzee Rascal, Muse, The Streets, Johnny Cash


Thumboard Application

There's a new shareware application that will display a full-screen thumboard in lieu of the standard system keyboard on your T3. Considering how the T3 screen is expandable, this should be a pretty comfortable option. Thumboard is compatible with all Palm OS applications which use a standard text field. It also provides visual and audio feedback for every key press, along with automatic repetition and "hold" for the keys that use it most frequently (such as backspace, delete, directional pad). The keyboard can be accessed or hidden with just a hardware button press. You can download Thumboard here. The shareware application costs $14.95 USD to register and includes free updates for a year.

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Nintendo Gamecube Microphone Mario Party 6No word yet on whether this peripheral will be bundled with Mario Party 6, scheduled for release on December 6, 2004. However, after much speculation on exactly what Nintendo was referring to when they stated that Mario Party 6 would be employ a very different gameplay mechanic when compared to the previous iterations, gamers began coming up with multiple possibilities. An Eye Toy-like camera, a gyroscope controller, and a few other ideas all seemed plausible. Finally, Nintendo has let the cat out of the bag. The Nintendo Gamecube Microphone is the device that will be used to interact with the new Mario Party title. As you can see in the picture, the microphone plugs into the second memory card slot, which means you don't have to give up a controller slot to use it. What does it do? Well, one game described is a 3-on-1 minigame where the lone player must yell "Fire!" into the microphone to attack the other three players. Now, why can't this just be done with a controller again?

Burnout3



This has been a pretty exciting week for me. First I was able to snag a hard-to-find Rio Carbon unit. Then I managed to pick up EA's latest racer, Burnout 3 for the Playstation 2 on its release date. After getting tired of waiting for the next Gran Turismo, I decided to give this racer a try. My library really needed a solid traditional racer, and boy does this thing deliver. We know that all of our readers love to play games as well, so click below to read Gear Live's first of what we hope will be many game reviews to come.

Click to continue reading Burnout 3 Game Review


Solar Powered SCOTTeVEST Images PicturesYou know just when you get off work after a long day and you just want to listen to some music on the way home, it seems that your MP3 player is ALWAYS out of power? Or how your cellphone dies at the moment you need it the most? Well, so does SCOTTeVEST - and they want to do something about it. They have recently announced the pending arrival of the Solar SCOTTeVEST. What exactly is it? Check it out. It combines the SCOTTeVEST FineTEX coat with a solar panel which connects to a power source in one of the pockets. You can then power any device that has the capability to be charged via USB. That means when your iPod's juice starts running low, you can just plug it into your pocket while on the go and the tunes will just keep flowing. On the negative? You must be in direct sunlight for 2-3 hours for a full charge; however, direct sunlight is not a requirement. Oh, and of course being a SCOTTeVEST, this jacket is loaded with pockets. Thirty to be exact. Click below for more information and additional images.

RELATED:
Interview: Scott Jordan, SCOTTeVEST CEO and Founder
SCOTTeVEST Three.0 Spring Review

Click to continue reading Solar Powered Clothing: Coming Soon From SCOTTeVEST


Nokia 7260
Nokia 7270 Nokia 7280


With so much competition in the cell phone arena, it looks like everyone is trying to stand apart in the crowd. Recently, the Finnish phone giant Nokia announced its newest line of phones, inspired by a 1920's style and feel, featuring dark colors, mixed with etched steel and chrome highlights. All of them include a digital camera. The new Nokia 7260, 7270, and 7280 phones are pictured above.

Read More | CNet News

JetAudio Cowon iAudio 4 Color MP3 Player Review



With the portable MP3 player market being virtually flooded with choices, many stick to the brands they know (naturally). Sometimes, however, it can pay to venture out into new territory. You may be pleasantly surprised. We recently tested the JetAudio iAudio 4 Color MP3 Player and came away impressed. If you are looking for a solid flash-based drive, this may be the one. Click below for the full review.

Click to continue reading JetAudio Cowon iAudio 4 Color MP3 Player


BlackBerry 7100t

The new BlackBerry 7100t (a.k.a. "Charm") looks more like a traditional phone than its older model, with a new 20-character keyboard: a combination of a telephone keypad and the traditional QWERTY keyboard layout. It will be available for $199.99 exclusively through T-Mobile USA. The design shows that most of the keys have more than one letter. To compensate for this, the device includes predictive software to guess which words the user is typing. RIM hopes to draw in a new market with this newly designed model, but insists that it's still a "BlackBerry."

Read More | USA Today
iPod mini 1000 SongsLooking at the packaging and marketing used by various drive-based MP3 player manufacturers, one might have false expectations of just how much music the product can hold. I think it's time for a little consumer education so that we can all be smarter shoppers. Reading reviews of products like the Apple iPod, Sony Walkman, Dell Digital Jukebox, and the like you will find journalists quoting the number os songs the player can hold - however, there is some fine print to be looked at when considering one player over another strictly based on this specification.

Click to continue reading MP3 Players: The Truth Behind The Numbers


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