Logitech goes wireless with Wii racing wheel

Earlier this summer, Logitech debuted the Driving Force Wireless steering wheel for the PlayStation 3. It was essentially a streamlined, downsized version of the Logitech Driving Force GT, adding wireless connectivity to the console and dropping the gearshift--and making the whole rig a lot more living-room-friendly for casual gamers.

Now the company is applying that same basic design to the Wii. Except for the Nintendo-friendly color scheme, control setup, and built-in brake and gas controls, the Logitech Speed Force Wireless is a near doppelganger of the PS3 version: It utilizes the same sort of contoured, expandable lap (rest rather than a table clamp), and it's completely wireless except for the power cord. Look for the Speed Force Wireless to hit stores soon for US$100.

Via Crave CNET

Details on Samsung's new BD-P2550 Blu-ray player leak out

Panasonic and Yamaha have already had their Cedia Blu-ray plans leak out, and we suspect the same may have just happened to Samsung. A new Samsung Blu-ray player, the BD-P2550, has appeared on US retailer Best Buy's Web site, and is apparently ready to ship for US$500.


Although the Best Buy listing is pretty light on information, we were also able to track down the manual (PDF link) for the BD-P2550 online, which reveals that the BD-P2550 will sport 7.1 analog outputs, Dolby TrueHD onboard decoding, a USB port, and an Ethernet port. It's not yet apparent whether the player is Profile 2.0-compliant, but the inclusion of both the USB port and the Ethernet port seem to indicate it will at least be Profile 2.0-ready, like the BD-P1500, which means it can gain access to BD-Live features after a firmware update sometime in the future.
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Futuresource: Hi-def disc market doing well

According to a recent report by Futuresource, a consulting company that did a survey on how many of us copy DVDs a while ago, the high-definition disc markets in both the US and Europe continue to perform very well, thanks to the fact that the world shifted to one format--Blu-ray--at the beginning of the year.

Currently, taking only big titles into account, the share of total sales being taken by Blu-ray has already hit 5-6 percent. By the end of the year, this share is estimated to be more than 10 percent. With many hot title releases planned, it is expected that by the end of this year, consumers will purchased to up 45 million Blu-ray Discs in the US alone (a 400 percent increase from last year).
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Button pushers: PS3 gets keypad

While Xbox 360 has had the option to type away on the Xbox 360 ChatPad, PS3 owners will soon have the same luxury with the announcement of the Wireless Keypad at the Leipzig Games Convention. The device can hook on to either a Sixaxis or DualShock 3 controller and allow gamers to send messages to friends over the PlayStation Network. This functionality will also come into play with the eminent release of PlayStation Home.

Most interesting is that the Wireless Keypad features a mode that converts the entire surface into a touchpad for use with something like navigating a Web page. Also built-in is Bluetooth support and two shortcut buttons that will make it easy for jumping over to the messaging features on the PlayStation 3.

While we don't currently have a price for the Wireless Keypad, it is set for release in late November. Expect our full review then as well.

Via Crave CNET

Mitsubishi to make a wireless HDTV

Mitsubishi will be joining the rarefied ranks (in TV anyway) of Sony and Samsung in offering wireless television.

Wireless chipmaker Amimon is set to announce Thursday that Mitsubishi will use its technology to send high-definition TV signals to its latest LCD TV without wires. It will come in 40-inch and 46-inch sizes. The 40-inch model will cost 300,000 yen (or US$2,731), and the 46-inch model will sell for 400,000 yen (US$3,642).

Mitsubishi's TV will have the chips embedded in the TV, and will come with a separate receiver unit that can send and receive uncompressed HD video signals up to 100 feet away. That means you can keep the receiver in a room downstairs or in a cabinet--no line of sight necessary.

Here's the catch--it's being released in Japan only this fall. However, it's likely Mitsubishi will broaden distribution of this TV. Wireless HD video is a category that Amimon--which heads a consortium of chipmakers and consumer electronics companies pushing for a whole-home wireless TV standard called Wireless HDI--and others have been talking up for a while.

But it's been a long time coming, and it will be even longer before this is a mainstream product category. Amimon said recently it sees that happening in three to five years.

Via Crave CNET

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