GadgetReview

I can say right now that I have never really needed to use the web browser on my PS3.  Maybe because I have other ways to access the net.  For those of you who rely on your PS3 web browser will find it interesting that reports are coming in about Sony potentially bringing FireFox to the PS3.

While no deal has been struck at this juncture, it is a nice nugget of hype for PS3 owners to mull over.  The forever question still exists:  Why is there no browser on the Xbox 360?

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Remember that supposed Splinter Cell Conviction promo code that was to be included inside the box of Assassin’s Creed 2?  According to game site CVG, and an Ubisoft spokesperson “The leaflet included in the Assassin’s Creed 2 boxes in the US does not relate to a Splinter Cell Conviction demo download. The leaflet is a US initiative and will not be available in other territories.”  In other words, it’s a promo to get fans of the Splinter Cell series like you and me to download wallpapers to our computer’s desktop and what Ubisoft probably hopes is a conversation going with our best buds to help promote the game.

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Have you ever left the house or the apartment, and been struck by the sudden horror that you didn’t turn off your stove or your toaster or your television or whatever?  Yeah, I’ve been there too once or twice.  And I know some people who’ve made an entire psychological disorder out of something like that.

Well, there’s a new gadget, currently in the prototype stage, called the PowerZoa.  The PowerZoa can be used to remotely cut power to any gadget plugged into an outlet.  Everything from your stove to your toaster can be suddenly, remotely, disabled.  The PowerZoa transmits details on power use to a secure website, which you can log into to remotely disable your gadgets.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that such a gadget could be used against you, but even so, what happens?  You unplug the PowerZoa and replug your appliance back into the wall.  For people who worry about leaving things on, this is a great device.

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My buddy can really get engorged in gaming hype.  Especially when it comes to Sam Fisher related news.  Hopefully this nugget of hype will do something for him.

What we are hearing today is that when Assassin’s Creed 2 arrives tomorrow, there will be an exclusive demo voucher packed inside for Splinter Cell Conviction.

Splinter Cell Conviction has been a long time coming and this demo voucher is a smart way to get people reinvested in a franchise that’s trying to reinvent itself.  Hit us up tomorrow if you get this voucher and play the demo.

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According to MCV gaming site, Microsoft’s Project Natal will launch next November for as little as $80 (we heard $50 last month). The rumor also says that Microsoft will kick out a console bundle that includes the Natal camera and perhaps a few games to go along with it.  As of now 14 games are supposedly being readied from a variety of studios, while Microsoft is preparing 5 million unit for shipment during the initial launch.

Project Natal was announced at this year’s E3 and was received with mixed reactions from the gaming and gadget community.  The system uses a special camera to read your body gestures and objects, and then incorporates them into the game, providing a more engaging gaming experience, or that’s how the marketing material goes.  The Natal is Microsoft’s answer to the Wii, while Sony has their own version arriving early next year as well.

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Would you pay $30 a month for access to TV programming on your computer?  Apple hopes so, or that’s how the rumor goes.

According to an industry insider, Apple is in talks with many of the networks to deliver an all you can eat TV service via their iTunes software.  Users would pay $30 a month and be able to stream shows from an assortment of channels as long as they had Internet access.

While it would be difficult to supplant the cable companies over night due to their relationships and contracts with the networks, it is a feasible proposition since more and more channels are looking to take their content online.  Many news sources are pointing to Disney as the ginny pig since they already have close ties with Apple, but at this point it’s all just speculation.

Keep in mind that a rumor recently emerged stating that Hulu might be switching some of their content to a pay model, which actually throws this Apple rumor a curve ball because I doubt those two (Fox and NBC) would want to share revenue when they could be selling it direct.  Then again, since Apple’s iTunes has an install base of 65 million, it might just be feasible.

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And there’s yet another competitor throwing its hat into the steadily crowding e-reader arena (we get any more hats in there and we could open up a millenery shop!), but it’s not exactly from a source you’d expect.

Creative Labs is taking a run at the market, with a unit they’re calling the Zii MediaBook.  Now, this actually has some pretty choice add-ons with it, like a touchscreen, text to speech functionality (it will READ you a book) and an SD slot, plus, it will be “Internet-enabled”, though no one’s sure if it means 3G or WiFi.

Also on the unsure list are the Zii’s release date, its price structure and any content delivery methods, (pictures of the device were also in short supply) though word is Creative’s in talks with several different providers, and not just for books, either.  This could be one to watch…or Creative Labs could think better of it and stay out altogether.

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It looks like Nintendo is feeling the pressure from the iPhone.  So much so, that the company’s President, Satoru Iwata, is perhaps considering an Amazon Kindle like wireless model to deliver games to the portable gaming unit.

I’m interested because it’s a new business model in which the user doesn’t bear the communications cost.

Currently Nintendo DSi users can access the Nintendo store to download a variety of content via WiFi, but that requires that the user be within proximity of a signal and seriously hinders the purchase anytime, anywhere impulse.  Of course, this kind of delivery system would be implemented in the next generation of Nintendo DSes and would add some significant cost to the handheld device, something Nintendo may not be willing to do.

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Once again, Apple has blown us all away with its relentless flood of gadgetry, as a new patent has emerged.

It’s about what you’d get if you managed to combine an iPod Shuffle with a Bluetooth headset, and what it’s being called right now is a headset MP3 player.

You can see one of the patent design figures at left, but where this is amazing is that it can function on its own.  Yes, it functions as a wireless headset to a device it’s linked to, like a Bluetooth, but it also has the capability of storing its own MP3s within the headset itself.  And, as if that weren’t enough, your headset could also become a recording device at the touch of a button, allowing you to make your own MP3s of conversations you’re having.

These are all still somewhat speculative points, being as it’s still in the patent stages, but it’ll likely be another market-buster when it comes out.

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Does the Apple tablet PC actually exist?  The current answer is, no one’s really sure except possibly for New York Times executive editor Bill Killer.

His recent referral to an “impending Apple slate” has captured the imaginations of the gadget world, and gadget blogs all over began trumpeting what Apple buffs had figured was coming for some time now, the official announcement of the Apple Tablet PC.

Needless to say, that announcement has not hit, and Bill Keller is keeping mum about the whole business in general.  This isn’t the first time Apple gadget news has left someone with egg on their face–the Financial Times was convinced that the Apple tablet would hit in September.  And with Bill Keller stonewalling (when asked if he had more information, all he would say was “I’m not sayin’.”), who knows what anybody knows or doesn’t know any more?

But that’s half the fun of rumors, isn’t it?

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