Kotaku is reporting that after the end of March, the augmented reality shooter Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner [$2.99] will be pulled from the App Store. We took a look at this title when it was announced in early November, with its release coming just a couple of weeks later. The game allows you to point the camera of your iOS device towards anything to serve as the backdrop for an intense shootout with Imperial ships as you man the gunner turret on the Millennium Falcon.

The game is published by THQ Wireless, but was developed by a small studio called Vertigore. Josh Shabtai, Falcon Gunner's creative director and head of Vertigore, recently wrote in a blog post that due to THQ's deal with the owners of everything Star Wars Lucasfilm coming to an end, THQ will not be able to allow Star Wars: Falcon Gunner to be sold in the App Store any longer.

This is bad news for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that Star Wars: Falcon Gunner is pretty cool. But it also means that current owners will never be able to receive possibly critical updates to the game, and that current development plans for Falcon Gunner will never materialize. These included a new Battle for Endor expansion and a special iPad 2 edition, both of which won't see the light of day now. Josh also hints that it could very well be the end for any THQ published�Star Wars titles in the App Store, though he can only confirm that to be true for his own game.

That means that games like Star Wars: Trench Run [$2.99], Star Wars The Force Unleashed [99�/Lite], Star Wars: Cantina [$2.99/HD], and Star Wars: Battle for Hoth [$1.99/Lite] (not to mention a ton of Star Wars branded entertainment apps and books that are published by THQ) may cease to be available come April 1st. This says something about the digital download age that we live in, and is a good reminder to always keep copies of your iOS games since you can't always trust that they'll be there to download again should the need ever arise.

This certainly isn't the first time games have disappeared from the App Store, but if all of the THQ Star Wars games end up getting pulled then it would mark one of the biggest mass pullings of apps that I can think of, not to mention what a huge brand Star Wars is. We'll find out for sure on Friday what the fallout of Star Wars games and apps will be, but if you have any interest at all in any of the games mentioned then it's probably best to play it safe and buy them now, or definitely re-download if you've previously purchased them and don't currently have a copy in your iTunes.

[Via Kotaku]

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Acer already has a date and a price for their new creation, Acer Iconia Tab W500. This tablet, which can become a laptop with a keyboard when attached to its dock, comes with Windows 7 Home Premium as customised software along with Acer Ring and SocialJogger.

With a 10.1? screen capable of delivering up to 1280 x 800 pixels, the W500 comes equipped with an AMD C-50 processor and AMD Radeon HD6250 graphics card. The device is equipped with Wi-Fi, 3G (dependent on chosen model), bluetooth 3.0 and two Acer Crystal Eye webcams at 1.3 MP.

Given the flood of different models of tablets, Acer wanted to stand out with the Acer Iconia Tab W500. This device is really impressive in that it allows the possibility of adding a keyboard-shaped base, which makes it a 'hybrid tablet' in a full-fledged laptop. We'll keep updated on its availability and pricing soon.

[via iTechNews]

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The largest chip manufacturer in the world, Intel has announced the third generation of SSDs, Intel Solid-State Drive 320. The new SSD drives have ample storage capacity and the price of the new units is advantageous for many users, with a cost of up to 30% lower than previous generation SSD � Intel X25-M SATA.


Intel SSD 320 Series is available in 40GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 300GB or 600GB. Continuing to provide high read and write speeds, the new Intel SSD 32 units produce up to 39,500 IOPS random readings and writes at 23,000 IOPS random high-capacity drives.

Additionally, Intel has increased by more than 100% sequential writing speeds compared to the second generation of SSDs, reaching 220MB/S. This improves multitasking capabilities. A user can listen to music or download a video while working on a document, without compromising the system and decreasing its performance.

Now here comes the pricing, 40GB at $89, 80GB at $159, 120GB at $209, 160GB at $289, 300GB at $529 and 600GB at $1,069. All models include a 3 year warranty.

[via iTechNews]

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If you're looking to buy the new iPad 2, we're sorry to dissapoint you but the shipping times have now been extended due to its high demand.

People in Australia, UK, Germany and Canada have already started camping out and forming a line as early as last Wednesday. As for online ship dates, those also point to high demand � as the original waiting time of 2 to 3 weeks has been increased to 3 to 4 weeks, signifying the huge demand for the device.

So, if you really want an Apple iPad 2, though online shipping dates have been extended its still better to order iPad 2 online than to stand in extraordinary long queues to buy it. This shipping delay is probably going to have no effect on iPad 2 sales but does it signal to Apple a possible need to boost the speed of their production line?

[via UberGizmo]

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Don't get me wrong, I love massive in-depth iOS games as much as the next guy, but it never ceases to amaze me how the simplest games can have such a crazy appeal on the iPhone. Lane Splitter [99�] is a game of, as you may have guessed, lane splitting. You know those jerks on crotch rockets that come flying down the highway going twice as fast as you are in your car? That's you in this game.

You steer your bike using familiar tilt controls, and earn a score based both on how many cars you pass as well as how long you ride. Touching and holding the screen makes your rider do a wheelie, which not only speeds you up, but also offers a sort of rolling bonus score for each car you pass. The catch? Riding a wheelie makes controlling the motorcycle substantially more difficult. Cars change lanes as well (oddly enough, they also use their turn signals to do this) so even if you've got a straight path to ride a wheelie you still need to keep an eye out for fellow motorists.

Like most (all?) of these kinds of endless high scoring avoidance games, things start out slow and simple with only a few cars. The longer you ride, the faster your bike goes and the more traffic increases which obviously not only ramps up the difficulty, but also your score. On your ride you'll travel through multiple locales, which don't seem to make any difference in gameplay aside from just changing the scenery once in a while.

I've been having a strange amount of fun playing, crashing, and replaying Lane Splitter recently. There's no doubt that the game is basic, but it's got the ingredients for a great 99� time waster: Good controls, a fun gameplay premise, and online leaderboards. It's even universal which is always a bonus for those of us with both an iPhone and iPad.

Sure, there's room for improvement. I'd love it if there was more variation in scoring, or if there were jumps or other obstacles besides traffic. Also, while you can see and compete in the overall leaderboards without it, getting any kind of list of your friends' high scores requires Facebook which isn't appealing to anyone who likes to keep their gaming lives and personal lives separate. (�Viva la Game Center!) Fortunately, none of these things have stopped me from having a blast with the game, but I've definitely got my fingers crossed for updates.

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nokia e6 leaked

The much anticipated Nokia E6-00 QWERTY Symbian

Screens of death have long been present on Microsoft's products for a while, but after blue screen of death on Windows and red ring of death on the Xbox360, for the first time, we've seen screen of death on a Nintendo console.


Nintendo 3DS is the first Nintendo's console to fall under the infamous black screen of death, and according to 3DS users, it appears this screen shows when you put your game in "suspend mode". After putting games in this mode, 3DS locks and crashes while informing you that an error has occurred and that you're advised to turn on your 3DS again.

Games that suffer from this screen of death currently are Super Monkey Ball, Street Fighter IV 3D, Pilotwings, Ghost Recon, Lego Star Wars III and several Mii apps. Although we haven't heard of an official solution yet, some users are reporting that formatting their SD cards to FAT32 solves the problem.

While we wait for the official solution, Nintendo has advised 3DS users to update their console to the latest firmware before contacting them. We just hope that Nintendo will fix this error soon.

[via Ubergizmo]

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One of the true App Store classics, Doodle Jump [99�], recently celebrated its 2nd birthday and surpassed the 10 million paid download mark. It single handedly brought notoriety to both the "doodle" style and the endless jumping genre on iOS, and after numerous feature updates and additional graphical skins Doodle Jump has just received its most dramatic new feature thus far. Today a brand new update added online multiplayer functionality to the game using Game Center, and this mode is so much fun I've fallen in love with Doodle Jump all over again.

Like the single player experience of Doodle Jump, the multiplayer is extremely simple to play. You can send out an invite to anybody in your Game Center friends list or be matched with a random opponent. Both players are then launched into a randomly generated level that features all the standard elements that you would expect from the normal game. There are enemies to shoot and the various types of platforms to jump from, but the only power-up you'll come across are the springs that launch you higher into the air.

The goal is to race upwards against your opponent to a finish line at about the 12,000 mark, and the player to cross this first wins. Accidentally hitting an enemy or falling into the oblivion below instantly loses the game for you or your opponent. Springs can only be used once, so along with avoiding the dangers of the level you are also in a constant battle to be the first one to get to a spring. It creates a really fun competitive dynamic that compliments the tried and true Doodle Jump gameplay really well.

One thing the new Doodle Jump multiplayer really needs is some sort of statistical tracking so you can see how you shape up against the competition, but as a first effort it has really impressed me. With a pool of millions of players it's easy to connect and find people to play with, and although there is very minimal lag occasionally it doesn't really affect the game. If you never really got into the whole Doodle Jump thing, the new multiplayer may be just the thing to finally sway you. It really is a lot of fun. If you're one of the millions who already owns Doodle Jump, dust off your copy and grab this latest update.

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The mobile market has been increasing at a tremendous rate, and is now at its peak. A recent survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) reported that, the smartphone market is expected to grow nearly 49.2% in the year 2011. With the increase in the demand and the rapid improvements in technology, this was always expected.

According to their survey figures, Android and Windows phone are estimated to be one of the leading mobile platforms. The report also says that smartphone vendors will be shipping a whopping number of 450 million smartphones in 2011, compared to the 303.4 million last year.

Android has always been the most preferred OS, and with Nokia-Windows partnership the figures might prove to be right, since Nokia has always maintained a steady share in the smartphone market. The steady rise of the smartphone market was not just because of the increase in demand, but also due to the mobile companies launching new models at regular intervals.

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Intex Technologies has launched V.Show Mini Theatre (IN 8809), successor to Intex V.Show 8810 which was India's first projector phone launched last November.

This is a Dual SIM GSM phone with an in-built projector. This projector is brighter than the earlier version, so that this can not only project 3GP, MP4 and AVI videos at 25 FPS, but also can project images, web pages and office documents. This phone can record AVI videos at 10 FPS.

This phone comes with 3.5mm audio jack converter cable to connect it to external speakers. This also comes with mobile tracker and auto call recording feature, social networking apps and pre-loaded games..

Specifications of Intex V.SHOW Mini Theatre 8809

  • Quadband GSM Support 850/900/1800/2100 MHz
  • 2.4 inch QVGA 262K Display.
  • 17.5 mm thick and weighs 142g.
  • Motion Sensor.
  • FM radio with scheduled recording.
  • 1000 phone book and 300 SMS storage capacity.
  • 2MP camera.
  • WAP, GPRS, Bluetooth with A2DP.
  • 87MB internal memory, External memory expandable up to 16GB (Micro SD)
  • Opera Mini and BOLT browsers.
  • Webcam.
  • 1000 mAh Battery with 168h standby and 3.5h talk time.

This phone is priced at Rs 6,300 and is a direct competitor to recently launched Spice Popkorn M-9000 projector phone that lies in the same price bracket.

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HCL Computers have now entered the tablet market with launch of their 3 new Android tablets in India. This is the first time the company launched a tablet from the HCL stable, which offers the latest features such as a large touchscreen, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc., at an affordable price. Checkout the list of tablets with their specifications.

HCL ME AP10-A1

  • 10 inch Capacitive multitouch display
  • Android 2.2 Froyo OS
  • 267mm x 173mm x 11-14.3mm
  • Weight: 750g
  • 1GHz Cortex A9 Processor
  • 1 GB DDR2 RAM
  • 16 GB internal storage
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • GPS/E-compass
  • Micro SD card slot (upto 32 GB)
  • 3G (HSDPA/HSUPA)
  • 3D Accelerometer Light Sensor
  • Full HD 1080p video support
  • 1.3 mp front facing camera
  • USB 2.0 port
  • 3.5mm jack
  • MIC SIM card Slot
  • Battery: Li-ion 3650 mAh
  • Price: Rs. 32,990/-

HCL ME AM7-A1

  • 7 inch Capacitive multitouch display
  • Android 2.2 Froyo OS
  • 197mmX126mmX13.8mm
  • Weight: 300g
  • HSDPA/UMTS(2100MHz) GSM/EDGE(850,900,1800,1900MHz)
  • 800MHz Cortex A8�Processor
  • 512 MB DDR RAM
  • 8 GB internal memory
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • A-GPS support
  • Micro SD card slot (upto 16 GB)
  • G Sensor (support rotation)
  • USB 2.0 port
  • 1.3 mp camera
  • 3.5mm jack
  • Buit-in speaker
  • MIC SIM card Slot
  • Battery: Li-ion 4200 mAh
  • Price: Rs. 22,990/-

HCL ME AE7-A1

  • 7 inch Resistive Touch Display
  • Android 2.2 Froyo OS
  • 205.4mm x 110.92mm x 14mm
  • Weight: 400g
  • 800MHz ARM 11�Processor
  • 256MB DDR2 RAM
  • 2 GB in-built storage
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
  • GPS
  • G Sensor (support rotation)
  • 0.3 mp camera
  • 3.5mm jack
  • Internal MIC
  • Built in speaker
  • USB 2.0 port
  • Battery: Li-ion 2400 mAh
  • Price: Rs. 14,990/-

The tablets are now available at your nearest HCL dealers.

[via HCL]

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We've seen many charging stations for iOS devices, what about this one. i.Sound offers the Power View Pro which is capable of charging two iOS devices at one time. The station has two slots as seen in the two pictures below, one offers a large space for the iPad and the other slot is a smaller one for the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Also on this charging station is two more USB ports which you can charge any two gadgets on that use USB to power their charging. So potentially this could charge four items or devices at one time. The Power View Pro works with all Apple devices and the two regular USB ports work with all "other" devices. You can find this product available in stores around you or on Amazon. The charging station has a nice clean sleek look, and the back of it keeps the cords all nice and neat.

[via iTechnews]

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Nearly two years ago, EA released Tiger Woods PGA Tour [99�] into the App Store. This game was remarkable at the time for providing a fairly robust golf experience that was akin to the Tiger Woods series on home consoles. While the graphics were fairly lackluster, the frame rate was incredibly smooth and it was exciting to have such a fully featured golf game in your pocket. The real standout feature, though, was the touch screen swing meter which offered a very direct and organic way to swing clubs in the game, which we talked about in our original review of Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

Now, after skipping a new release last year, EA is back with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 [$6.99/HD]. This iteration of the franchise brings with it several new features and greatly improved graphics, but the gameplay feels extremely similar to the last version. This isn't necessarily bad, as the gameplay was the strongest aspect to the last iOS Tiger Woods, and if you enjoyed that game then you'll likely enjoy this one even more. If you're looking for a completely new mobile golfing experience however, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 doesn't offer that.

The meat of this year's Tiger Woods is again the PGA Tour which has you entering and competing in the various golf tournaments for cash prizes. Your winnings go towards buying better equipment to improve your game and entering subsequent tournaments throughout the year. Besides this mode, a Tiger Challenge mode has been added where you can play through a number of different types of mini challenges for money, which typically have alternate rules and are generally better suited for a quick play session than playing an entire round or multiple rounds of a tournament.

There is also a Closest to the Pin challenge that lets you compete against your Facebook friends to see who can get nearest the pin on a particular hole. It's a pretty neat idea and it works well, but would have been much nicer if it used Game Center instead as most iOS gamers I know don't like mixing their Facebook with their iOS gaming. Also, multiplayer for regular game types is included but unfortunately this is confined to local play over Bluetooth or WiFi. This is a shame too, as it seems like the asynchronous online multiplayer that has been used in several iOS titles would be a perfect fit for a game of golf.

The 8 golf courses in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 include 5 that have been recycled from the 2009 game. These are Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, TPC Sawgrass, Doral, and TPC Boston. The 2 new courses are Greenbrier, Hazeltine (which was actually added to the last game by way of DLC), and the Predator which is a fictional golf course that features brutal terrain and a steep difficulty level. Unfortunately, the highly revered Augusta National course from the console versions isn't included.

There are 8 professional golfers to play as in the game including Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Anthony Kim, Natalie Gulbis, Paul Casey, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, or Camilo Villegas. You can also create your own golfer, and although there are a few additional options for clothing customization compared to the previous game, it's still fairly basic.

By far the biggest improvement in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is the visuals. There is still a minimal amount of pop-in present when the camera does a pre-shot flyby of a hole, and character models are still relatively basic, but in just about every other regard the graphics are a huge improvement over its predecessor. The game is quite beautiful to look at, and looks especially good on Retina Display devices or in the native iPad version.

What has not been improved, and is in fact far worse than the last Tiger Woods game, is the commentary. It's sparse, frequently inaccurate, and just plain poorly delivered. Thankfully it can be disabled in the options, and it didn't take very long for me to do so. The rest of the audio effects, such as the menu music and ambient sounds when you're on the course, are all very good, so the lack of commentary isn't especially missed.

Overall Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is a big improvement over the original iOS version, but it doesn't feel a whole lot different gameplay-wise. The swipe mechanic for swinging works beautifully, just as it did before. There is a lot of content to play through with the full PGA Tour schedule and Tiger Challenge mini games, and depending on your fondness for Facebook you may get a lot of enjoyment out of the Closest to the Pin challenge as well.

There are further impressions of the game in our forums, and if you enjoyed Tiger Woods on iOS the first time around and are excited by the enhancements in this year's offering, then Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is a solid choice for your mobile golfing needs.

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During the years, we have seen all sorts of console mods, but today we have something special that is created by a famous modder Ben Heck. Once again, Ben has outdone himself and he's managed to create something that he calls Xbox 360 1977 Edition.


We've already seen all sorts of mods from Ben Heck, but we think this mod is quite something. He has managed to combine a Xbox 360 with the Atari 2600 into a laptop. Xbox 360 1977 Edition was created after Atari requested from Heck to make a modded system for promotion of its new games, and after Ben joined forces with element14, the Xbox 360 1977 Edition was born. Ben has managed to put an entire Xbox360 into Atari 2600 case, therefore, this mod fully utilises Atari's switches to eject discs or synchronize with controllers.

[via Engadget]

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