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Pheoni P792 Single Blades RC Helicopter w/Gyro

Pheoni P792 Single Blades RC Helicopter w/Gyro

The Pheoni P792 Single blade RC helicopter w/Gyro(for experienced users only 14+) Great for outdoor play. This P792 is Metal frame medium sized RC helicopter. Latest upgraded gyroscope for maximum stability. LED lights, 3D flight, Charger cable for a quick charge. Transmitter batteries sold separately.

Playmobil 4878 Robo-Gangster SUV Review

Playmobil 4878 SUV

The first thing that strikes me is its modern styling. As usual with all Robo-Gangster vehicles this Playmobil 4878 Robo-Gangster SUV is also all black with the Dr. Devil logo on the hood.

It has large yellow and white wheels with huge track tires for off-road terrain. For defense and attack there is the front fender for ramming enemy cars and also 4 mini rocket launchers attached to both doors. Just pop the doors open and fire the little plastic missiles.

You can fit 2 characters into the front of the SUV. Both figures that come with this Playmobil 4878 are wearing full Robo-Gangster uniform and helmets. One of the characters also carries a long gun that may come in handy if they come across their Top Agent enemies.

The main weapon is actually hidden away in the roof of the truck. Push the roof back and watch the giant weapon expand. It is in fact a satellite that can fire off one large missile. When the missile is launched you can then launch the satellite into space.

When the mission is complete just land the satellite back into its original position on the SUV and then fold it back into the roof. Now it is back to being a normal looking SUV again.

Playmobil 4878 Extras

Now let's look at the Remote control capability. With the Playmobil 4856 Compact RC Module Set you can upgrade the truck to remote. Follow the instructions in the pack when connecting up the remote. It is a very simple process so anyone can set this up.

Once everything is set up you can now remotely control the SUV anywhere you want. There are 3 different speeds to choose from, fast, medium, slow.

The steering system is very simple even for a young child as the 4856 control has a large steering wheel attached to it which makes the experience that much more interactive.

The upgrade remote does require 4 AA batteries but it is worth it just to watch the Playmobil 4878 Robo-Gangster SUV move around on its own.

The other thing you can do to make playing with the SUV even more fun is to add the Playmobil 4879 Agents Spying Camera Set. This is being released for 2011 and is something I think will be very popular with Playmobil fans or even just spy fans.

This kit comes with a tiny camera that can be placed in your Playmobil vehicles so that you can view from the toy itself. Top Agent fans will use this, with the remote control upgrade, to drive their truck around spying on people.

With the remote control attached and the camera inserted the Robo Truck can now be controlled beyond the field of view. You can sit in one room with the remote and the video screen and drive the truck around in a totally different room! How cool is that?

The Playmobil 4879 kit comes with a USB connection, camera, high-resolution video screen and stand.

And finally, if you want to check out more details of this Playmobil 4878 SUV including images and videos then you should visit Playmobil 4878

Also, if you are looking for more of this years new Playmobil Top Agents Toys then visit Playmobil 4882 Boat

From Idea to World Wide Marketing - A New Robot Called Ferret

My first reaction to the Ferret was " I always wanted one to vacuum my floors." Yeah, I'm sure they get that all the time. But that's kind of what it looks like; it is, indeed, a low profile disc-shaped thing that glides around on the floor -- and that is where the similarity to cleaning products ends.

The Ferret, I discovered, is a rugged industrial quality product designed for a very specific job - to give an investigator or bomb tech a quick and easy way to inspect under vehicles.

And the reason it's round? It's the least likely shape to get trapped in a corner.

My first exposure to this little robot was through an informative prototype version video that I found on YouTube. It featured a strapping "law enforcement agent" inspecting the underside of one car after another. With a hand-held controller and video glasses, he showed us how easy it is to maneuver the robot while still doing a superior job of inspecting pretty much every nook, cranny and hiding place that the underside of a vehicle has to offer. The lights and the movable camera seem to be successful -- even with the grimiest auto underbellies -- in transmitting images that are bright and clear with contrast and definition. So...I was keen to experience some hands-on control of the Ferret.

The first time I met up with Ferret inventor Ted Chavalas in person was when he invited me to join him, in the parking lot of his workshop, to show me his new quad-copter. This, I discovered, was an odd-looking quadrangle with a propeller on each of its four corners. Chavalas got the kit so he could use it with camera attached, to shoot the Ferret from the air.

We had spoken on the phone, but this was my first in-person meeting with the President of General Robotics, and its parent company, Panoscan, Inc. -- not to mention the visionary and visualizer/designer of The Ferret and of Panoscan's MK-3, high resolution panoramic camera.

After the usual "putting faces with voices", we got right to the lift-off. Considering what he invents, it's not surprising that Chavalas is handy with a joystick remote. With his thumbs at the ready, and with the slightest flick of his right thumb, the craft left the ground effortlessly and with surprising speed. (kind of how you always picture UFOs taking off, at a dramatic up-swooping angle.) As Chavalas maneuvered his new toy through the heavens above us, I took the opportunity to initiate some Q and A about this and his other brain children, past, present and future.

Q: Why four little propellers, instead of the usual one big one?

A: Less vibration. And when it crashes, there's less damage.

Q: So you can anticipate crashing?

A: It's pretty much bound to happen. Wind and other unforeseen factors can get it away from your control. And the margin for error is narrow; how long does it take a little helicopter to fall 12 feet? Not long enough to react with a remedy that'll keep it from crashing.

Q: I'm assuming that's less of a problem on the ground, where the Ferret makes its living?

A: Oh, much more forgiving. We had an early prototype model of the Ferret that went out of control at a trade show, and between a full human gallop and a flying leap, it was snatched up just as it was about to tip over a water cooler. So,on the ground, there can sometimes be enough time to avert disaster.

Q: So through testing was one of the final phases in the genesis of the Ferret. If it's not a hush-hush trade secret, can you tell us some of the kinds of things you discovered and corrected during that testing phase? And who did the testing?

A: The first beta version was given a thorough workout by a major Eastern metropolitan law enforcement agency...I don't have their permission to say which one, but big. Their bomb tech division's analysis was the reason we created the long-range kit, which extends the offset from 100 meters to 300. It makes sense. Bomb techs want to be as far away as possible. They also observed the need for more refined sealing to keep out sand, dust, and rain. Using the product at trade shows for 8-hour stretches helped us see that some components that we thought would carry a particular load didn't stand up, and we also found ways to simplify operation, and we made a lot of travel case refinements.

At this point, Chavalas brought his quad-rotor flying thing to a very soft landing. He handed me the controller, scooped up the machine, and suggested that the best answer to those questions would begin with a cold Pepsi, and then end up back out in the North San Fernando heat for a Ferret test drive.

Mr. Chavalas' very neat and everything-in-its-place home is clearly a metaphor for the neatness and clarity of the thought processes that not only invent, but also engineer the high tech products he specializes in creating.

Not that his space isn't quirky in its way: There's a digital clock that somehow only consists of four vacuum tubes with luminous numbers floating inside them, and a hefty telescope in a tripod that invites you to look at a spectacular vista of the 5 North and beyond, as far as the smog permits.

I remarked that his light switches don't look like mine. Mr. Chavalas, it seems, has a setup so he can control pretty much everything in his house from his iPhone - and he proved it! In early 2011, he traveled to Norway to do training on the Panoscan MK-3. The camera was purchased to create panoramic views of North Sea oil rigs. A laser scanner makes the 3-D wire frame, and MK-3 images are used to fill in the color and texture. While on the oil rig, Mr. Chavalas's phone alerted him that the alarm system in his home had been activated. He immediately used the phone to log into his home computer, and from there he viewed each room in his house, including his garage, using the cameras mounted in the corner of every space; thus, he was able to determine that it was a false alarm...from a deep sea oil rig on the North Sea. Do you hear the James Bond theme playing? But Mr. Chavalas isn't Bond; he's Q.

Over that cold Pepsi, I re-initiated my Q and A.

Q: I'm guessing it was not so easy to try to get a clear video signal from under 2000 pounds of metal Was it hard to get such a clear picture from the Ferret when it was parked under a metal car 300 meters away?

A: Oh yes. I discovered, the hard way, that it's absolutely the worst place on earth to transmit a TV picture from a little transmitter, two inches off the ground, with a metal car sitting on top of the antenna. It was quite a technical challenge to find a system that would perform well in this hostile environment. It's was a major technical challenge. After two years of testing, I think we finally succeeded. We even took the prototype Ferret into Midtown Manhattan and tested it in Rockefeller Center. Talk about a harsh radio environment?! Our spectrum analyzer was completely jammed with signals coming from everywhere. And yet somehow the little Ferret performed perfectly without any significant interference. I am still amazed at how well it works.

Q: And the dirt and moisture problem?

A: The Ferret is not designed for forbidding terrain, it is pretty much a pavement-restricted robot; but even pavement can have gravel and other dirt on it and aside from Southern California, most of the country has to think about rain on a regular basis. Testing seals and sealants, we finally have the Ferret roadworthy except for the most extreme circumstances;, and it is water resistant, but we warn against complete submersion. It's kind of like a car. You can drive through water up to about the body, and beyond that, you start to get into trouble.

Q: In your testing, how did the power systems hold up?

A: Very well! Not surprisingly, because it was tested millions of times before I got to it. From the outset, we decided not to reinvent the battery, since a well-known Japanese power tool company already does it better than we could ever hope to. So we designed our power system around that readily available battery.

Q: You mean the Ferret would run on my Makita drill battery?

A: If it's charged, yeah. If a Ferret owner needs another battery, or wants another charger, we just send them down to their local hardware store.

Q: Before we get to my test drive, I want to know if it's true that you got the idea for The Ferret at President Clinton's second inaugural -- or is that just a rumor?

A: It's actually true. I was hired to help out with Al Gore's "technology pavilion." So I was there, in the bitter cold, in a tent, not far from a checkpoint, where a secret service agent would stop a car, look at documents, and then take a mirror on a stick, to try to see bad things hidden under the vehicle. I remember thinking how certain I was that he really couldn't see much under those cars. So when I got home I tested it out, and all you can see is the outer rim of the car -- barely. That leaves a lot of room for hiding dangerous things. And I got to thinking about how else that could be done, but in a way that could see as much as possible of the underside of the whole car.

Q: So the standard Ferret has a line-of-sight offset range of 100 meters. Was it difficult to boost it up to the 300 meters the bomb tech experts recommended?

A: It was a challenge, but one we knew we had to overcome -- and we did. For example, we struggled with costs, because those 200 extended meters are significantly more costly per meter than the first 100. When we were finally happy with the components, we took it out to Hanson Dam, with a straight shot of more than 300 meters, and it performed beautifully. The problem is losing eyesight of that little orange disc, as it disappears into the distance. At that point, you have to rely on the camera at ground level to help you see where you're driving it. But in a car bomb situation, the tech needs that 300 meter of offset.

Q: But wait -- the system that's like a strip, where the car drives over the camera - doesn't it do that? It covers the underside of the vehicle, from front to back, and side to side.

A: It does, and that is a very good product. However, it can't look up and over the drive shafts, or deep into wheel wells. And it can't search a car that's already parked and locked. This adventure was inspired by the stick and mirror; but when it got to the design stage, I knew I wanted to create a very effective solution, where need and function lead design. And I believe we have. Our on-board lighting and the high sensitivity movable camera make the underside of a car a much less attractive place to try to hide anything.

Later, In Chavalas's crammed --but nevertheless very carefully organized workshop, he showed me how quickly the Ferret deploys. It was powered up and on the floor in under 10 seconds; I turned it on, and then put on the transmitter which resides comfortably in a shoulder holster; I took up and turned on the transmitter and put the video glasses on - all of this in well under 30 seconds. That's a full 90 seconds faster than the portable speed-bump camera video that I saw on that product.

But I was anxious to get the Ferret going. I drove it out of the workshop, and onto the parking lot. Let me say that anyone who has enough dexterity to run a remote control model car can maneuver the Ferret. Getting to know what to look for, and where to look, and to do it all quickly is another matter; but driving the robot is no problem. It is responsive, can turn on a dime, and it even does a two- wheely on certain maneuvers -- but that, I learned, was an engineering necessity, as were the three wheels, and the round design, of course. And let me say, I could get hooked on the video glasses. My first reaction was, "Wow!" Amazing picture quality.

Even though it was getting dark now, the powerful LED lights cast a wide circle of illumination around the Ferret. The diffused lighting covers pretty much eliminate the glare that you might expect under a dark, greasy metal car. As I drive under a random innocent bystander car, I realize again what a difficult environment this is to shoot good video in, and how successfully Chavalas has overcome that challenge. There was nothing out of the ordinary under any of the five or six cars I drove under; but had there been, I know I would have been able to see it.

Chavalas crafted every version of the Ferret in his workshop -- starting with the most basic, off-the-shelf components, he built it from scratch. Like with the battery system, he used what was out there -- find the best value, keep the cost of the Ferret affordable for many applications -- and finally, in that same workshop, he steered the design for the entire manufacturing process. And every part of the process is branded with his signature.

Back in the workshop, I asked the inventor when he first became interested in creating new things. For as long as he can remember, he has wanted to invent things. His first really big invention was an electric car that he made in his parents' garage when he was in high school. It was for a science project. It went 90 miles per hour, and it traveled 60 miles on a charge. When he went off to college to University of the Pacific to double major in Electrical Engineering and Technical Theatre (odd, yes, but you can see a pattern there), he sold the car for exactly $10,000. An entrepreneur even then.

As I bade my farewell to Mr. Chavalas, I found myself thinking about how those who are talented in particular ways are able to create machines and other things that are so simple in their design and function that you keep thinking, "The Ferret seems like such an obvious solution, it's hard to believe that no one else has ever come up with it before."

My conclusion about The Ferret is that it is a deadly serious product that does what it says it does, extremely well. And if I found myself in some situation where my safety was dependent on protection from car bombs, I would want the guard shack to be using a Ferret.

I admit, The Ferret's a little more fun, warm and likeable than your typical industrial gear; but who says there's any advantage to a product being boring to use?

Why Wii Fail - Two Years Later the Nintendo Wii's Shortcomings Become More Glaring With Age

Over two years into the life span of the hot selling Nintendo Wii console it's time to take a step back and evaluate some of the console's most frustrating shortcomings and how this cash cow of a machine could have been so much more. Personally, I had my Wii in hand the day it came out and was instantly thrilled. Nowadays, I still look at the cute little white box lovingly, but find myself continuously baffled by the shortsightedness of Nintendo in execution and curse it on a regular basis for a number of reasons.

I had never been so hyped for a new toy. My first impression was love at first sight. The interface, the controllers, Wii Sports, Zelda, all just a phenomenal start for my little buddy. Sure Red Steel was a bit of a let down. The control style was weak rather than revolutionary, but hey, it was the Wii's first shot at translating a first person shooter to the motion control set.

I came to some early conclusions. First, Wii Sports bowling, while simplistic, was hands down the best video game bowling simulation I had ever played. The entire Wii Sports package was very complimentary to the console's control scheme. Second, Zelda: Twilight Princess, while an outstanding entry into the series, really wasn't helped or hindered by the control set. It was the first example of kind of forcing some motion control schemes into a title that didn't benefit from it. Still, it wasn't an overall detriment for the game.

On the other hand, I also picked up Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, since I'd always liked the series. I was torn by this title. The main game itself was absolutely made for the new motion-sensitive control set. It did revolutionize the title. The mini-games on the other hand were mostly hit and miss.

Surprisingly, two years later, the console hasn't come very far in my eyes, and the farther it does advance, the more it shows its weakness. So consider this my open letter to Nintendo on what's really spoiling the Nintendo Wii for me and many others. I'm going to be the first to admit, though I still really do love my little Wii, but it's only really busting the market because of the low price point and wide ranging demographic appeal. I've owned every Nintendo console since the original NES, I was a massive Atari-head back in the 2600 days, and I've spent many years gaming hardcore FPS on PC as well as owning both the original XBOX and the 360. I'm decently rounded in this category, with only the PS2 and PS3 being out my realm of experience, but for purposes of this article I'll remain Sony neutral.

" It's All About the Looks. Let's beat the horse that's been dead the longest first. The graphics power of the Wii was sub-par from the day it came out. Not surprisingly, Nintendo wasn't too thrilled about sharing a lot of detail on the hardware specs before release. It's base of a PowerPC "broadway" processor with an unspecified ATI GFX processor left a lot guessing, but just from a simple performance and eye-candy test from a casual player, it's just not really very impressive. Even with some of the newest titles it's obvious that graphics are not this console's strong point. That's okay, that's hardly the most important piece of a console, but I think it's a serious hit to longevity and credibility in the gaming community when Nintendo's "next gen" console really can't even compare favorably to Microsoft's "last gen" XBox console. Pixel per pixel, the best looking Wii games can barely compete with the best Original XBox titles.

Even completely giving Nintendo a pass on not giving us better than 480P output, when you start putting the graphics out to a HD set, even the highest power titles are pale. It really starts to hit home when you see even ported games like the latest Call of Duty title having to cut major components of game play to even translate down to something the Wii can handle. Some of the sharpest looking of the Wii games look "rough" around the edges, so to speak when playing on high resolution screen. There's not really an argument to be made here, it's simply a fact. I have an extremely hard time arguing for even anything beyond "modest" improvement over the graphics of it's older sibling Game Cube Console.

Yes, graphics don't make the game, but when you jump back between something as astoundingly sharp and beautiful as the original Gears of War to even the hottest and greatest of the Wii titles it's not even a fair comparison. I don't think Nintendo needs to push to be the best in the graphics race, but I think Nintendo needs to at least put itself in the same class, which it simply hasn't done with the visual power of the Wii. Again, this is probably the least important of my concerns about the console, but it's still a significant black mark on the Wii and one of the reasons that that it still has trouble bridging that gap to hardcore gamers. The problem is not just how the titles look, but the low processing power of the unit also limits aspects of gameplay. Some of the latest generation game engines can't even be developed on the Wii because it's simply the scrawny weakling of the big three consoles. Nintendo seems happy with hot sales and a wide appeal and just a small chunk of the heavy gamers market, but I think they could have gotten away with a little bit more effort even if it had driven the price point up a bit more.

" An Unimpressive Walk Down the Video Game Aisle. How many Wii owners have really taken a good hard look at the titles in Wii section of their local Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Game Stop or Future Shop? Apart from a handful of heavy hitter Nintendo exclusives and the yearly round of classic ports like your Madden or Tiger Woods games, the titles available for Wii are phenomenally bland and generic. There is simply a glut of half-assed party games out there. Your standard, rushed out movie tie-ins come and go, and even the occasionally interesting or innovative titles seem too few and far between. When you get past Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda, maybe a few others here and there, how many titles really have you devoting nightly time to your Wii on any regular basis?

I generally find myself looking at my cross-platform releases on the 360 instead of the Wii, even in games where graphics aren't really an issue like your Guitar Hero or Rock Bands. Madden still doesn't really fully translate to the Wii-mote/Nunchuk style of play, and face it, if I really am going to hit up a game for a lot of hours and in-depth gaming, I'd rather boost my gamer-score on X-Box Live and play in HiDef. I can't really pin-point one cross-platform title that is significantly improved, if improved at all by the motion control set of the Wii.

Don't get me wrong, when the motion control set is implemented with thought and care, in games like Mario Galaxy it's a beautiful thing. But it's really the exception rather than the rule. Sure there are lots of Wii games out there, and they're retailing $10.00 cheaper, but the selection is anemic at best. Why is this? The heavy hitters in game development don't take the console seriously.

A prime example of this is in a comment from Mark Rein at Epic Games:

"I don't think there's a lot of money on making engines for the Wii because the big software dollars right now are being earned on Xbox 360 and they're going to be earned on PlayStation 3, and I think unless you're going to sell your engine to Nintendo, you're going for scraps on that platform."

I'm not holding up Epic as the end-all of game studios, but Rein makes some good points. For a studio like Epic which prides itself on pushing the envelope in game engine and performance, it's a tremendous step backward making a game for a current gen console that's still using last-gen technology. The current incarnation of the Unreal Engine cannot even be scaled down to run on the Wii's hardware specifications. Developing for the Wii is simply about putting out titles quick and cheap to turn a buck unless your name happens to be "Nintendo." And let's face it, Nintendo may have some legendary properties, but they aren't churning out Mario and Zelda quality titles very often.

" The Storage Capacity of a $5.00 Thumb Drive. One of the most massive disappointments of Nintendo's short-sightedness is the they built a console around a platform to highlight downloadable content and then gave the console virtually no storage capacity to handle it. It's a perplexing issue to say the least, because one of the strengths of the console showcases its most glaring weakness.

When confronting my biggest frustration of my Wii it's the fact that over the last few months I've gotten more quality game play time from Wii-Ware titles than I have over-the-counter titles. There are some exceptional titles now available on Wii-Ware. World of Goo is one of the best dollar for dollar investments I've made in the console. Boingz is another great Wii-Ware title and I'm currently putting some time into some other quality Wii Ware titles like Lit, a third person puzzle game and Onslaught, a surprisingly good First Person Shooter, well worth the 1000 Wii Point ($10.00) investment.

But let's look at this dilemma. The console has 512 meg of useable flash memory. That is absolutely nothing. I can get that much memory over the counter in a thumb drive for pocket change. If I hit a decent sale, I can get a 2 gig flash drive nowadays for $10-$15.00. I just bought a 4 Gig Mini-SD card for my digital camcorder for $14.95 last month. Now don't start with the "but it's expandable by another 2 gig with an SD card" argument. That's total deception. Let's just ignore the fact that upon its release, Nintendo was gouging people for $90.00 bucks for the 2 gig SD cards with the "Wii" logo on them back in 2007. For those that are considering owning a Wii console, make sure you understand that the SD expansion is not useable memory. It's simply a storage dump. You can't even access save game info on it, much less play stored titles.

Even if it was a quick task to swap for games and data back and forth between the SD card and the flash memory it would still be a major inconvenience. However, Wii owners know that even the data swapping process is painfully slow. It's amazing how long it takes to copy even a modestly sized game from flash memory to the SD drive. It can often take several minutes, then inexplicably, it can actually take a couple of more minutes alone to delete the original data off the flash memory (though that's seemed to have improved with some of the more recent updates to the Wii OS). What this means is that while we are getting better and more sophisticated Wii Ware titles available, you pretty much have to go through this dumping process every time you want a new one, then make hard decisions about what to keep and what to store back on the SD.

In addition, some of the cooler things that Nintendo itself is offering, like the Internet-based Nintendo Channel that has some nice features, content and video playback ability take up scads of memory blocks. I had to finally dump the Nintendo channel just to accommodate a Wii-Ware title. How could Nintendo not anticipate this issue? I would totally back off this if the expandable SD memory was directly usable by the system. I could live with a solid 2.5 gig on this console, but it just isn't there. I can promise that if Nintendo were to release a small external memory expansion where the storage was directly accessible and usable by the console it would sell like hotcakes. It's not just downloadable titles that are the issue, it starts to run into silly issues that are alien to consoles like the 360 and PS3. Rock Band or Guitar Hero for instance. I see a small track package of songs I'd like to own, I can download them on to my 360 hard drive. On Wii, there's an entire source of income they're missing in downloadable add-ons. Of course, you can still get those add-ons by buying an additional disc for near full-game price on Wii. However, it's simply another outstanding reason to continue buying titles that are cross-platform on the consoles that can handle game patches, title updates and downloadable content. Right now, I would say that the Wii investment alone is worth it for the Virtual Console and Wii Ware titles coming out. But the storage capacity simply cripples this machine as a viable platform for this type of content.

" Who's Wii is this anyway? While the above concerns I all consider major drawbacks, this and the next concern are not quite as much of "game-breakers" for me, but just add a couple of more irritations. That being said, I don't give a damn if you think it's not fair to compare the consoles, I'm going to use the Xbox 360 as a template of what works for this specific concern. The Wii needs better differentiation and organization for its player profiles. The 360 does a wonderful job of this. With the Wii, you can create your own "Mii" avatar that represents you, which was a cute feature that was uber-cool for the entire first 3 weeks you owned the console, but there is still no "profile" system for the console like you have in the Xbox 360 world. When I boot my 360, I log on to my profile. For multiplayer, we can log into multiple profiles at once. Within this profile all my game data is stored and accessible. I can customize my environment, game settings, personal information, etc. The Wii has still not evolved beyond the 20 year old system of each game managing it's own data. The sad part of this is that it's a badly needed on this console because of its tremendous appeal to very young gamers who tend to spend more time playing around in menus and settings when they shouldn't.

Every gamer that gets on the console has full access to all saved game data, console settings, everything. I want a profile. I love the fact that when I get on the 360 I feel like my console environment is mine. When I'm on my profile and boot a disc, I only see my own personal game data. Of course, this all plays into whole Gamer Score system on Xbox Live. I know that Wii Console owners trivialize "Gamer Score," but the excitement and appeal of this feature in the Xbox world is a huge draw. Just like you used to chug quarters into the Asteroids Machine to move your initials up on the high score list, Gamer Points are a thing of pride and status in the Xbox world, and it's only possible by having personalized profiles. In the Wii universe every player that picks up a controller has full access to mess with everyone else's data without a second thought. Can you do this on a 360? Of course, but it has to pre-meditated. You have to log into someone else's profile and do it. Every player can password their profile if they feel threatened by that. This comes down to having an "identity" as a gamer in the Xbox world. On the Wii, your only identity is what you have disc to disc or title to title. That's just so 1988.

" It's Amazing What Fun You Can Have With One Hand. The major selling point of the Wii apart from the price point of course has been the "revolutionary" control system. The Wii-Mote/Nunchuck system is a radically different concept in gaming. Have you noticed, though how few games really utilize this combination to it's fullest? Worse yet, have you noticed how completely clumsy some games can be when not really designed for this type of control set? Don't get me wrong, I actually love the Wii remote. I like the fact that games with a simplistic control set can be played with one hand. But unless your thumb is about four inches long, it's really not all that great when you have to bring the direction pad into play, or if you actually have to use combinations of these buttons. None of the buttons rest intuitively for play.

I'm not saying that the Wii should abandon this concept, but I really think that certain games should implement a more traditional control system. Dare I say that the they should have redesigned the optional add on "classic controller" to be a bit more like the Game Cube or an Xbox controller and given the option in some games, like the Madden series for instance, for an alternate more traditional control system? The current alternative of turning the Wii-mote on it's side for some Virtual Console and standard titles never "feels" quite right. I also have an irritating love/hate relationship with the classic controller. For classic Mario fans, I believe most of you will know where I'm coming from with this next concern. Mario is a game based on two buttons. One button you hold down to run, almost universally, this is the button you press with the tip of your thumb while you execute the jump with interior knuckle intuitively. The classic controller layout complete fouls this up by organizing the two buttons that in a configuration where the second button in this scheme doesn't fall beneath the bend of you thumb anymore.

When it comes to Virtual Console games, I've spent a ton of time reliving some great times with Super Mario Brothers 3, Super Mario World and the original classic Super Mario Brothers, but the classic controller layout is just set up for a very difficult ride with these virtual console games as well as others.

My other beef with the controller layout for games like FPS genre entries make the classic "lounging" style of gaming a thing of the past. One of the small pleasures in life is throwing your legs up across the couch. Reclining against al old beat up cushion and resting your hands on a controller in your lap. Having to sit up and be at a reasonable angle sometimes gets to be a real drag and kind of makes the "relaxation" part of gaming a non-option in some cases. Again, this may not be a fair criticism, but it is something I miss when playing certain titles on the Wii.

When the Wii control set works well, it's a tremendous sense of power, when it doesn't, it's a massive drag.

This has been a pretty long-winded complaint session for the Wii Console. In fairness, I love the fact that this console is such a huge hit. It shows that these very high price-points for consoles like the PS3 and XBOX 360 are drawbacks for these machines even with as much power and functionality as they have. It's sadly humorous to see Microsoft redesign the Xbox Dashboard to give more "Wii" like features like Mii-Style avatars as if that's going to make a difference in stealing some of Nintendo's market share. It's proof that they are completely out of touch with why the Wii is so popular.

However, I do think that long term that Nintendo is setting up for failure for continuing to put out technology that is so far behind the curve in most respects. With the average gap between each generation of consoles that are released, think about how antiquated Wii hardware will seem in 2011. Can you imagine 2 years from now Nintendo introducing a console that finally has graphics on par or slightly better than the original Xbox?

There has to be a compromise that keeps Nintendo's efforts at least in the ballpark with current gen technology. There is a whole segment of the gaming community that doesn't give the Wii a serious look, and I have to believe that Nintendo is missing out on long term opportunity to grow their product line.

It's been very easy the past year or so for Nintendo to step back and not really care about some of the concerns like I've expressed above because they can pretty much simply point to the still heavy demand for their product. However, even though I'm a mutli-console household by choice, I can't imagine being at a point where I would settle on the Nintendo Wii as my "primary" or only console no matter how much I would miss the sucker. Imagine all the things you really love about the Wii rolled up to console with the power and diversity of something like the 360.

So this is my laundry list. I think that most of these are pretty simple to fix and still keep their console up to 25% lower than the retail cost of the 360 or PS3. However, if I'm the owner of one of those other consoles, walking through the Wii section of the department store would make me take pause to consider whether the Wii is worth the investment. If Nintendo continues to think that they can stay on top of the market with nothing more than the name, a couple of heavy hitting properties and cheap price tag, I believe they are in for a rude awaking with the next thing decide to put out on the market. They should certainly step back and take certain stock in how Sony counted on PS2 loyalty would translate to sales for the PS3 regardless of the price. Customer loyalty to the brand will only take you so far.

Get to work, Nintendo! In the next couple of years Microsoft and Sony are going to catch up with the features of the Wii that make it unique and force you to play on more even ground with the other big boys on the block. The next generation of Nintendo's consoles better come equipped to compete.

Mike "ScuzzBuster" Broda is a film critic and editorial writer for Deviant Knowledge, an entertainment/leisure blog. For full reviews and opinion, visit http://www.deviantknowledge.com

Christmas Gift Guide - 2011

Despite it only being September at the time of writing this article, the ominous shadow of Christmas looms large. In a truly modern tradition, the first festive adverts have aired on TV earlier than ever before and soon the children of this country will be hit with the motherload of targeted toy temptation.

This article will give parents a heads-up as to what toys and games will be big this Christmas season and, hopefully, will offer parents the chance to avoid at least some of the Christmas shopping madness that will soon be inflicted on the high street.

1. My Keepon - A dancing android sent from the future, designed to entertain your kids. He responds to touch, craves attention and has the amazing ability to pick up the beat of any music and dance in time to it. Essentially, the Furby 2.0.

2. Air Swimmers - These remote controlled fish literally swim through the air, and are one of the most innovative toys to appear on the market in a long time. They have to be seen to be believed. May well be one of the gifts you initially bought for your children, but your child ends up having to fight you for it. Recommended office purchase.

3. Experience Days - There are a plethora of gift experiences available to purchase for children. Some of the options include; a recording studio session for the budding musician, indoor skydiving and safari 4x4 experiences.

4. Lalaloopsy Dolls - Crumbs Sugar Cookie and Jewel Sparkles return, reincarnated with amazingly styleable hair. Their locks can be straightened, twisted, curled and bent into a huge variety of styles. They each come with a pet who has a styleable tail ready for accessorising.

5. Moshi Monsters - Kids have been playing Moshi Monsters online since 2008, and now the brand have released a physical version of the web sensations. In total, there are 30 mini Moshlings to collect, each with different looks and personality.

6. Power Wheels Dune Buggy - This mini-quad bike can fit two children onboard, hits a top speed of 5mph and is suitable for offroad action on grass dirt and gravel. It has storage for all the essentials and is perfect for little explorers.

7. Nerf Vertex-Vigilon - This is the essential upgrade for any imaginary outerspace battle held inside the mind of your child. The foam disks fly up to 50ft and the gun is quick to reload. This toy is suitable for children aged 8+.

Kids these days have a selection of toys that is a far cry from what most parents had for Christmas i.e. a satsuma and a ball-in-a-cup.

A lot of the toys available today will keep you entertained for as long as your children, if not for longer. So be sure to enjoy the festive season, and the month-long January hangover that inevitably follows. Merry Christmas!

Submitted by Steve Clark, Managing Director at Experience Mad. Experience Mad offers a vast range of experience days with gifts ranging from spa breaks to tank driving. They offer competitive prices and free delivery of a presentation pack and the ability to print out vouchers online.

Top 10 Gadget Gifts For Men In 2011

Looking for gadget gifts for men? Are you sick and tired of scouring malls and still not finding the best gifts for men? Do you pine for quality gifts for men that will be well received?

All men have an affinity for gadgets. Put into perspective, the word "gadget" is defined in a number of ways, some of which are as amusing as the contraptions themselves. One online dictionary suggests that gadgets are a small mechanical device or appliance that is useful for a particular purpose (wordnetweb.princeton.edu). While a few more concur with this definition, they insist that these motorized appliances can be of any sort are ones that are often complicated. Amen to that! It is also of use to note that gadgets are also described as 'any object that is interesting for its ingenuity or novelty rather than for its practical use." Ouch! Not one guy who loves his thingamabobs will agree with this. Gadgets do have their uses, period!

Coming back to understanding what the fuss is all about, the online Wikipedia states that, "a gadget is a small technological object (such as a device or an appliance) that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty. Gadgets are invariably considered to be more unusually or cleverly designed than normal technological objects at the time of their invention." (Online Wiki) With all this background in mind, we define gadgets as cool must have gizmos and contraptions for men. Understandably the technological wheel is spinning out of control with the latest gadgets flooding the market before one has mastered the current device, that's the more reason to keep abreast and ahead of the pack by finding the perfect state of the art gift for him to commemorate his special day, anniversaries and other occasions.

While it has been hinted the novelty can wear off, following the steps below will ensure you get surefire gadget gifts for men. As women we tend to believe that we know what men really want. However, the majority of times we'd be surprised to find out what men would actually love to get. Try one of these gifts for men for Valentine's Day, the next holiday, anniversary or birthday and you'll be presently surprised.

The more innovative the product the better

Guys regardless of age love the excitement of receiving the new and latest toys on the market. Men are keen on everything technical from high quality a speaker dock for his iPod to fogless shower mirrors, power tools and everything in between.

TOP 10GADGET GIFT IDEAS FOR MEN

1. Navigation (GPS) Gadget gifts for Men

GPS or Global Positioning Systems are satellite based digital mapping devices that direct users from one point to the other. Guys have a tendency to shy away from asking for help especially directions when clearly lost, the GPS should make a perfect gift idea for men.

2. Watches for men

Every guy needs a watch preferably one that has extra components, features and trimmings. Sub dials for different zones for the keen traveler or wannabe traveler are a sure hit.

3. Remote Control Toy Gifts for Men

Looking for outdoor fun or indoor entertainment like no other? Try sharper image's Fiery Dragon RC Helicopter that has all the moves. Be it a remote controlled car, helicopter, off road vehicle, men love the thrill of getting one and racing the new found toy especially when there are two.

4. Power Tool Gift Ideas for Men

Whether he is indeed handy or just thinks he is, tickle his fancy by going all out and getting him a few hand held pieces from trusted brands. If he is keen on tools you'd best keep an ear out for his brand. Better yet, rummaging through his man cave can solve that puzzle. Stick to his favorite brand and avoid the expensive larger tools. Leave that to him should he have an elaborate project or area to tackle.

5. Sports Gifts for Men

While we tend to go for equipment for the sporting or athletic men, it is advisable to get high-end accessories for his favorite team or pastime. Depending on how advanced he is in his area of choice, or his level of expertise he might prefer to choose actual equipment for himself. Premium seats tickets for sports from basketball to NFL and other codes in between are also a great gift idea for the sports fan, as he gets up close and personal for all hard-hitting action!

6. Wireless Noise Cancellation Head phones/ Sony Wireless TV Headphones

These are the latest answer to the frustration caused by interference in a busy office or when surrounded by rowdy kids. Lightweight Bluetooth headsets allow him to carry on a phone conversation with the microphone designed to pick up his voice not the background. Further more, dual speaker headphones will ensure he doesn't miss a word. The Sony Wireless TV Headphones will let him turn the TV on as loud as he likes without interfering with your quite time. The Infrared technology works just like your remote beaming the sound directly to his headphones. A must have for travel enthusiasts to drone the incessant aircraft noise.

7. Wireless PC to TV

Looking to stream content from his laptop or computer to the TV? Look no further as the latest technology allows high quality transmission of images and sound wirelessly in the same room for up to a range of 20 feet. Try this perfect gadget gift for him!

8. RIM Blackberry 7750

Continuing in the spirit of all things wireless for our gadget gurus, this wireless e-mail, voice and data communications gizmo is ideal for the tech-savvy executive. It allows him to organize and keep track of meetings and virtually everything.

9. iPod Tower Stereo System

Why not give him this unique tower stereo raved in online stores as the 'a room full of performance in a single speaker system [that] takes his iPod music to new heights. Simplifying his listening experience has never been better with huge sound in a small footprint!" Sharper Image.

10. Cassette Tape Converter

Pining for a device that will turn the mountains of tapes he has hoarded over the years? The cassette tape converter will turn his old tapes into MP3s so he can listen to these on his latest iPod, PC or in his car to work. Make his dream a reality by recovering his lost love.

The ideas mentioned above all make the best gift ideas for dads, boyfriends, husbands, brothers, sons - literally all the special men in your life.

Bridget Kay invites you to visit http://www.bestgiftsformen.org/electronics-&-gadgets-gifts-for-men/ for more suggestions and tips on finding the best gifts for men in 2011. Just keep in mind his interests, personality and most importantly your budget.