Tri-Bot wheels in a new era

So long, Robosapien. It's been a good run, but face it: When McDonald's starts giving you away with Happy Meals, it's probably a sign that your 15 minute of fame are over.

Enter the Tri-Bot. WowWee's successor to the groundbreaking Robosapien follows closely in its footsteps with exceptional mobility for a toy robot, except that it has no feet. Instead, it has a three-wheeled base that allows it to turn in any direction at the sharpest angles. The bot made an appearance earlier this year at CES, but RobotsRule has just posted the first detailed review of it here.

The wheels make it easier to play games and maneuver in general, especially on thick carpets. It also has a sensor remote, which can control the bot's movements simply by tilting, not unlike the way a Wiimote works.

But a feature that's perhaps even more noteworthy is its software, which gives it "the personality of an affable hyperactive youngster" who "frequently makes humorous comments to spice up your playtime with him," RobotsRule says. This could get irritating as well, because Tri-Bot apparently will also make comments on things like dirty floors. Although, given the stained carpet in the video below, one can't really blame it.



Via CNET Crave

MIT Wii game aims to put visually impaired on level playing field

If some researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Singapore-based Gambit Game Lab have anything to say about it, gamers with serious vision problems won't have to take a backseat to their 20/20 friends anymore.

The lab has unveiled AudiOdyssey, a game for the Nintendo Wii that is based solely around sound and tasks players with mimicking a DJ trying to create a catchy beat that people can dance to.

The idea is that players--those with or without vision problems--can use the Wii's motion-sensitive controllers to get a rhythm going and then build more complex musical layers on top of it.

The game is also designed to work with a regular keyboard so that those without a Wii can still play.

Games for the blind or visually impaired are nothing new, but what makes AudiOdyssey interesting is that it puts anyone who can hear on a level playing field, regardless of whether they can see or not.

And that's interesting, because there's certainly a lot of people out there with vision problems who I am certain would want the opportunity to play games with their normal-vision friends. And if AudiOdyssey proves to be a success, that could mean the development of a market for such games, which in turn would mean even more get designed and sold.

Originally posted at CNET News

Guitar Hero mashup with DS is on the way

Despite our initial skepticism that DS Lite mashup with a Guitar Grip attached to it apparently is a reality that's headed for store shelves this summer. As pictured here, Nintendo will release a special edition in silver and black with the Guitar Hero logo emblazoned on the cover, according to Engadget.

The information purportedly came from a Toys 'R' Us page that disclosed timing (June 29) and price (US$180) for the package, which will include the game and the grip, as well as the DS. (That page was not available as of this writing, but perhaps it was just premature or a marketing ploy to leak the info for maximum exposure.)

Either way, we'll be curious to see how those weird frets work. Then again, they can't be any stranger than other virtual guitars out there.

Via CNET Crave

Sony to introduce Qore, a PlayStation video program

Sony this week said it will unveil on June 5 what it's calling Qore, a "highly interactive, monthly original program that covers the world inside PlayStation".

The idea is that Qore will offer anyone interested in the PlayStation universe a sort of peek behind the curtain at what's going on with the platform, with developers of PlayStation titles, and with the games themselves.

Unfortunately, Qore will not be broadcast to everyone. It will be available only through the official PlayStation Store, a shopping portal accessible via PlayStation 3s. Viewers who want to watch Qore will pay a US$2.99 per-episode fee or they can subscribe for a year for US$24.99.

According to Sony, Qore's content was designed to be interactive, offering viewers the ability to control the camera angles on much of what they watch or to look at the content with a picture-in-picture feature. They will also be presented with interactive ads.

The first episode features unseen content from upcoming PS3 games like SOCOM: US Navy SEALS Confrontation and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Read more »

Project videos from a PMP

Personal media players suffer from one major issue--sharing movies on the small LCD is quite impossible. But this is not the case for the Suniview PMP Projector, which claims to be the first portable media player to incorporate a pico projector under the hood.

Granted the projector is not exactly powerful at 5 lumens with only VGA resolution. But this is a step in the right direction for overcoming the compromise between portability and display size. The PMP Projector is a Windows CE device with a 400MHz Samsung processor powering the built-in 3.5-inch QVGA screen. It comes with an SD/MMC slot to boost its miserable 64MB internal memory and can display images as well as Microsoft office documents, a major boon for on-the-go presentations.
Read more »

Crave is...

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.

Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.

Crave for...

» Mobile Phones (2212)

» Digital Cameras (974)

» Notebooks (1227)

» PC & Peripherals (1304)

» Handhelds (584)

» Printers (82)

» Home AV (1137)

» Music & Play (886)

» Gadgets (1474)

» Future Tech (391)

» Green Tech (170)

» Lifestyle (154)

» Luxury (22)

» Home Appliances (57)

» Cars (99)

» Games and Gear (245)

» Software (93)

» Web (104)

Previously...

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Hot Topics

Subscribe to
Crave

What's Hot

apple apple inc. apple iphone apple ipod asia battery camera game google inc. iphone microsoft corp. microsoft windows mobile phone photograph singapore smart phone software sony corp. video

Today on CNET |  Reviews |  Crave |  Blogs |  CNET TV |  Digital Living |  Downloads