More storage space is always a good thing. Kingston Technology has announced a new addition to its SDHC line with the 32 GB model. Details in the full article.

Headplay is probably every couch potato's dream. Imagine a TV. Now imagine being able to take it anywhere and everywhere you go (except perhaps in the shower), and being able to watch movies or play games on it anytime you want. That's the concept for the new "Personal Cinema System" device, Headplay.

Headplay is a head-mounted device; basically, a TV you wear on your head. You can connect it to your gaming consoles, your DVD Player, your iPod, your PC, and maybe your Betamax player if it hasn't choked on dust yet. If it has a video out function, Headplay can most probably display it. You can also plug in a memory stick and Headplay can run the media files - movies, videos, and images - with its own built-in player.

Once you're behind the lenses of Headplay it's pretty easy to just relax and go dead to the world around you. It's nothing but you and the screen, with the stereo sounds blocking off everything else. It's like your own movie screen inside your living room.

To read the complete review of Headplay - what it is, what it does, how it plays on Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and Nintendo' Wii on it - click on the link for the full article.

The Xbox 360 elite and its accompanying hard drive may certainly be driving a hard bargain amongst gamers, but Microsoft is quick to defend their new product. CVG reports that Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg defended it recently on the Game Theory podcast, saying that the cost of the new drive was comparable to other drives on the market.

Greenberg notes one difference with their new drive to the ones out on the market, which makes the current comparisons somewhat moot. Instead of mastering the art of installing a new drive yourself, the Xbox 360 Elite drive is a plug-and-play drive, which is a different type of drive from the ones modders manage to add to their units. Said Greenberg,

What we have done is release a smaller laptop size drive. If you compare what we are offering with a real plug and play drive the closest thing would be to tale a 120 gig self powered external PC drive and in that case we are seeing those retail at anywhere from US$ 160 to US$ 200

Greenberg does have a point, though. Ease of use considered, this does seem to be the average price when compared to other plug-and-play drives on the market. Of course, if you're already an experienced modder and hacker, then your solution would definitely lie in installing one for yourself. On the other hand, the bargain doesn't seem so tough when compared to the alternative of not having an expanded 360 hard drive at all.

What's this we have here? Another blot-on wonder boy looking to get smo-- (waitaminute... this isn't Most Wanted...)... Well, this is another bolt-on wonder boy we found being marketed: the HDFury Permanent HDCP Modification Kit.

Short version: this adapter screws on to the SUB-D HD15 input port of an RBG display - PC monitors, HDTVs, plasma or projectors - turns that display into an HDCP-compliant display. Name it: PS3, Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, whenever Microsoft ever gets around to confirming the HDMI Xbox 360 (which is why we're putting it in the 360 site), if you ever get an HDMI-enabled PC graphics card, that sort of thing.

The manufacturers of HDfury claim it's all legal conversion, fully compliant with all HDCP rules, plug-and-play, and will deliver high quality RGB-output video from an HDCP HDMI source. As it bolts on to the display set it also requires no external power source. Suddenly, the issue of HDMI-less HD sets for the PS3 may no longer be an issue, if this thing works as advertised. Now, the only thing missing is an HDMI cable... The link below takes you to the product website.

You know, if this works, this ain't just no bolt-on wonder boy looking to get smoked. This is the smoke.

Think your iPod video doesn't have the juice to go the distance with your media consumption appetite? With the NuPower Video+, you can give your portable entertainment system a lot of extra oomph to keep it locked and loaded everywhere you go.

Up to 16 extra hours of video or 80 more hours of music will be available once you get NuPower. It's light, easy to carry and packs all these features:

• All-in-one design: rechargeable battery pack, stand, and docking station.
• No extra charger needed...uses standard iPod video charger.
• Provides up to three full charges** for disconnected use.
• Built-in Dock Connector for using all your existing iPod accessories.
• Plug-and-Play for effortless enjoyment of your digital media.

   

Okay, maybe not the cancer cure thing, but it certainly seems that Apple is once again setting out to kick some innovation into the USB storage device/media player market. According to AppleInsider, the Cupertino-based company has filed for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office titled "Hot unpluggable media storage device."

Presently, iPod users as well as those who use portable media storage devices or other PMPs must first prepare their players to be disconnected from their computers by performing some preparatory unmounting actions through software. The patent, which was filed for in October and published for the first time on Thursday, centers on advanced techniques that would let users skip the unmounting and unplug their peripherals without any data loss or corruption.

"One advantage of the invention is that peripheral devices, e.g., media devices, are able to be 'hot' unpluggable without data loss or corruption," Apple wrote. "Another advantage of the invention is that peripheral devices can have 'plug-and-play' as well as 'remove-and-go' characteristics which better satisfies user needs and usage."

AppleInsider also notes that according to Apple, the invention can be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of the two. It could also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium such as read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, magnetic tape, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves.

For those following the PS3 Hyperdrive chronicles, Team Xecuter has just released some updates on their work in progress. First and foremost, they've now finished the design for their product and have revealed pics of a test machine. Observe:

  

To recap, the PS3 Hyperdrive will allow you to connect an HDD - SATA supported, IDE still being tested - by a simple plug-and-play system. It can also plug into your PC via USB, thus making file transfer that much easier. As far as an updated list of features goes, check it out:

• Supports 2.5" and 3.5" SATA HDD (Also working on built in IDE support)
• Switch for SATA HDD (2.5"/3.5") w/ LED
• Switch for select output interface for PC (SATA or USB) w/ LED
• Special SATA female (Hyperdrive) to Male (PS3) connector with custom plug-lock design, easy install and just plug and lock.
• Release lock button for disconnecting Hyperdrive with PS3
• Molex power source input.
• Easy to install HDD inside the Hyperdrive.
• Built-in cooling fan.

Still no word when it'll be available though. But the team explained that despite being a bit slow on the development, they "just want to get things done right without having to address problems later down the road." Fair enough. For now, this update is very much welcome. Cheers to the team, and godspeed!

With 23 compiled facts about the PS3 presented last October, how much more info do we need about Sony's console (apart from where we can get them, right?). Well, looks like Engadget had been putting their PS3 through its paces, and/or ringing up Sony for a few FAQs, to come up with this other list of PS3 facts you might like to know.

Or not. But hey, like Sun Tsu says, know thyself and the other guy, kick a** in a hundred battles, right? So here's what Engadget found out about the PS3.

• Console's cool - or at least warm to the touch - on every surface after "plenty of gameplay."
• In side-by-side tests with the Xbox 360, the PS3 runs "virtually silent."
• USB keyboards and mice are plug-and-play! No support for Bluetooth keyboards and mice at launch, though.
• But "Any (A2DP) Bluetooth headset should theoretically work with the system, though Sony will have a recommended hardware list."
• The EyeToy family is (maybe currently) the only USB webcam that will work with the PS3. First-gen EyeToys (for the PS2) should work with the PS3.
• No voice or picture messages can be left on the Playstation Network, only text messages
• Currently no plans for VGA out on PS3
• The system will not support more than seven controllers. (Then again, neither will your living room couch, right?).
• There are no plans for a cheaper, wired version of the SIXAXIS (At least from Sony, we think).
• With its media playback software, players can have customized in-game soundtracks (cool! a PS3 Ace Combat to Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone"! Tom Cruise singing not included).
• Some titles can have game files installed on the HDD to speed up loading - but we knew that already.
• "The (HDD) can be upgraded, although not on any official basis (read: YMMV, do so at your own risk, you may void warranty, etc.)" (Break out the screwdrivers!).
  
• And finally, "Despite rumor, Sony insists the US is still officially targeted for a 400k unit launch; Japan is still set for a mere 80k. Sony execs are actually expecting an upturn in unit production before launch, so those numbers may actually go up."

Production for the DS-Xtreme is speeding up and nearing its first roll-out batch very soon. D-Day for the most anticipated DS flashcart will be targeted for an October 12 shipping date, with a scheduled arrival in your nearby retailers on the 16th.

Why is this nifty little card so hyped up? DS-X isn't revealing too much of their card's magic, but what they basically want you to know is that with the DS-Xtreme, you can play homebrews without needing a GBA cart, external memory, and additional hardware. They're bundling the wonder-card as an all-in-one flashcart for all your homebrew needs. It's plug-and-play, and has a built-in GUI that can interact with your PC via a hassle-free drag 'n drop feature.

With an October release, Christmas looks so much brighter. We're hoping this will make everyone happy and spread homebrew development across the four corners of the earth.

I spy with my little eye, a little storage device about the size of a DS cartridge. It boasts of a 4GBit memory, and is reported to work with any NDS model. It doesn't need passme, external memory or a GBA cart. As it is a plug-and-play device, you can forget worrying about a PC software to install it. It's also made by TeamXodus and DS-Xtreme.

The latter part was a dead giveaway, don't you think?

We're talking about DS-Xtreme, a flashcart for the NDS where you can store your favorite homebrews, movies and other stuff. It's now out in the market, and we got pictures from Maxconsole to give you an idea what it looks like: