Its Electronica

The picture on the right was taken from the official PS3 website and it shows a new “Friends and Messaging” feature for the PS3. This is basically an IM client for the PS3 that would offer the usual text, voice and video capability on that console. The text says”

“Talk to others during game play, say hello anytime you’re online, or have a video chat with an Eye camera; USB Camera or headset.”

Later on, the image was removed form the site, which points to a possible “ooops”. Who knows, “marketing leaks” are so popular these days. The previous leak that we mentioned was Skype for the PSP (leak, review).

The PlayStation 3 has outsold the Xbox 360 and got very close to the Nintendo Wii last month, according to the latest market research.

• Wii: 274,000 units
• PS3: 269,000 units
• xBox 360 : 230,000

It might be that consumers are buying the console to get what is often described as the “Best Blu-Ray Player”, and by the way, it’s also a game console. With HD-DVD on the edge of doom, it looks like customers are opening their wallets. 2008 should also be the year of exclusive titles like MGS4 that will further help the playstation 3.

If you think the standard iPod touch isn’t a good enough present for the other half in your life, then this limited edition designer iPod touch could potentially change your mind. Selfridges is carrying this unique iPod line, featuring hundreds of black Swarovski crystals complete with a special diamond ring design encrusted with 24k gold coated and silver crystals. What a way to propose, eh? You could include her favorite songs into the playlist while you pop the question. Unfortunately, you will have to pay through your nose for this special edition iPod touch as it retails for £899 while the ipod nano is a wee bit cheaper for £749.

The Motopure H12 from Motorola was on display at MWC ‘08, boasting 18k gold and more than 184 diamonds, making it one of the most luxurious Bluetooth headsets in the market. If you’re interested in owning one of these super bling headsets, be prepared to pony up $7,800 for the basic model and $17,000 for the high end model. I’m sure this would make the greatest “patch up” present to your woman if you bungled up Valentine’s Day.

I was late to work on Wednesday this week because a short clip of the *greatest toy ever* (think “Pleo’s big buddy”) caught my eye while being featured on Good Morning America.

Kota the Triceratops dinosaur debuts this week at the annual Toy Fair held in New York City. Measuring over 40 inches tall, Kota is an interactive triceratops, featuring movement sensors in nine areas on his body. Kota adorably reacts to touch by moving his head, tail, mouth, and horns. Kota is a durable little big guy as well, he’s happy to hold a little bit of weight, and children (mind you, that’s not grown up kids) can press a button on the riding handle to play adventure-themed songs.

Six D batteries are required to keep Kota happy and playful. Approximate retail price: $300; ages 3 years & up; available: Fall 2008

Learn more at Playskool.com.

For more on innovative toys, visit our other site, Babygadget.

Word on the street has it that Toshiba will be pulling the plug on its HD DVD format pretty soon, after realizing that large-scale price discounts recently did not result in a surge in player sales. With Blu-ray getting exclusivity from just about everyone and their dog, hd dvd is clearly going the way of the dodo. Toshiba seems to have made a marketing shift with their HD DVD pitch, touting those machiens as upscaling DVD players instead of bringing the look and sound of perfect to living rooms everywhere.

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, my iPhone is completely spoiled. It has to have the latest in accessories, from earbuds to car chargers to the stylish new cases. It changes covers more often than Barbie changes clothes.

Its latest acquistion is this cork protective cover from Griffin. Since it’s made by Griffin Technology, it’s functional as well as good-looking, featuring a protective polycarbonate inner shell, with easy access to multi-touch display, ports and controls, and a static peel screen protector . Note on the installation: just put your iphone in the top casing then snap the back into place. To open the case, insert a coin into the notch in the bottom corner and gently twist.

At least it didn’t break the bank at $29.99.

Apple often touts New Features (300 in Leopard and 100 in Aperture 2) for its products, but there are almost always some semi-secret extras included too. Rogue Amoeba, makers of the excellent music and video streaming software Airfoil, has discovered streaming audio in the new Apple TV Take 2.

Previously, to play music from a computer you had to sync the library to the Apple TV’s hard drive. Now, you can stream music directly from any iTunes equipped computer wirelessly to the Apple TV. This has been a feature of Apple’s Airport Express since it was launched. The Apple TV take on Airtunes has a few extras. ITunes also sends album art over the air, and you can point your remote control at the Apple TV and the commands will be shunted back to iTunes.

It can’t be long before iTunes starts sending video over the network, too. Until it does, though, you can use Airfoil to achieve the same thing.

AppleTV, AirTunes And Airfoil 3 [Rogue Amoeba]

Ice Luge
Now, thanks to a quantum leap in the technology of plastic injection moulding, it’s possible to develop a contraption that provides visual entertainment, chills alcoholic drinks, and facilitates their consumption - all simultaneously.

See price

PS3 sales have picked up the pace in the UK and, for the last four weeks, has outsold the Xbox 360. Sony has also confirmed to Market for Home Computing and Video Games (MCV), a leading British industry journal, that PS3 has gone past the 1 million-sales milestone in the UK and at a rate faster than its antecedent console, the PS2…

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