Razer Switchblade Gaming Netbook

From the annals of goofy might-or-might-not-happen CES concepts comes the Razer Switchblade, a 7-inch gaming netbook from venerable gaming accessory maker Razer. A 7-inch screen is a distinctly small size for a Windows 7 computer, and for gaming it seems particularly problematic. Razer has an interesting way of dealing with the problem of an undersized keyboard: Pop OLED screens under every single one, so you can totally change the configuration of the keyboard at will.

The Switchblade is sort of a conceptual combination of the Toshiba Libretto (with its dual 7-inch screens) and the Optimus Prime keyboard (the first keyboard to push the individual-OLED idea). The Switchblade's keyboard is of standard size for 7-inch netbooks, which means fairly small keys (and not a whole lot of them). To compensate, Razer used keys that are actually tiny OLED screens, which means you can put any image you want on them.

The possibilities for gaming are pretty obvious: You can map any shortcut to any key, and give it a nice logo to keep track. You can cut the keys you don't use, or change the configuration so it's easier to use on such a small keyboard.

 It's such a cool idea that we hope it gets picked up like  say, an Alienware gaming laptop.

Microsoft's Kinect camera based controller for the Xbox 360

Microsoft's Kinect camera based controller for the Xbox 360 has surpassed all its sales estimates. We had carried a report earlier about 2.5 million Kinects flying off the shelves within a month of its launch. But it's not just the sales, even the modding community and other entities are interested in developing content for the motion controller. Microsoft had upped its sales estimates to 5 million units after the first sales reports, but the Kinect has surpassed even those lofty expectations by pushing 8 million units in just two months.

Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer dedicated much of his Consumer Electronics Show (CES) keynote presentation time advertising the reach and appeal of the Xbox 360 console and ancillaries like Live online community and Kinect. Kinects 8 million sales are especially impressive in this time frame considering there are about 50 million Xbox consoles worldwide.

Speaking on the online appeal of the Xbox Live Ballmer informed, "A new member joins Xbox Live every two seconds." Microsoft's keynote speech gives a clear indication that gaming will be a core area of interest for Microsoft this year. This is no surprise when you note the enormous success the Xbox 360, Kinect and Xbox Live have managed to achieve.

New Games for iPhone

The technology behind hit videogames such as “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and “Gears of War 3″ is coming to iPhone and iPad game developers this week, in another sign that mobile gaming is booming on Apple’s platforms.

Epic Games is planning to release an updated version of its game-development tools, known as the Unreal Development Kit, to the public Thursday. The kit, which is free to download, will include new tools to create high-quality graphics and animations on iOS, effectively simplifying and speeding up the development processes for games. Epic doesn’t charge license fees to tinker with the kit nor to make free games. But, if developers want to sell their apps, they have to pay a $99 licensing fee and 25% royalties after the first $5,000 in sales.
“Apple’s App Store is the most vibrant market for mobile gaming,” said Epic co-founder Mark Rein. “If you’re going to make a game for a mobile device, and you want to make the most money, you’re nuts not to make it for iOS.”
Over the past few years, Apple has added technologies to improve the visual capabilities of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It also has marketed games heavily in both advertising campaigns and in its stores. The Cupertino, Calif.-based electronics maker also hired prominent videogame maker Graeme Devine last year to help manage relationships with top game makers, such as Epic. Devine recently left Apple to create his own games for the company’s mobile devices.
Apple has sold more than 125 million devices using its iOS operating system, strongly competing against the Nintendo DS, which has shipped roughly 135 million units, and the PlayStation Portable, which has sold more than 62 million units.
The results of building on the Apple platform have been good so far for Epic, too.
The company recently released “Infinity Blade,” a fighting game that Mr. Rein said could help usher more games with high-end graphics to iOS. Industry pundits have already pegged Infinity Blade’s sales at more than $1.5 million in its first four days on the market. Apple’s Game Center social network lists more than 300,000 users playing the game at $5.99 a pop.

Microsoft announces Xbox 360 Arcade, goodbye Xbox 360 Core

Oh our god you guys, Microsoft totally just blew our minds and officially announced this new version the Xbox called the Xbox 360 Arcade. It's like the Core, right? Except now it comes bundled with five arcade style games (Pac-Man, Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, and Uno), a wireless controller, HDMI, and a 256MB memory card for $280. (But like the Core, there's still no hard drive.) We so had no clue this was coming, Microsoft just completely, totally blindsided us. Damn you, Redmond, for being so very clever.

Gallery: Microsoft announces Xbox 360 Arcade, goodbye Xbox 360 Core