Burnout Paradise is the latest hot action car game for the Xbox 360. The game features some of the sexiest vehicles and locations in all of gaming. So, to paraphrase the Guns ‘N’ Roses title track of this game, should we let the game take us down to Paradise City or should we just stay home? I’ve taken on Burnout titles before, and the last look I got was not as pleasant as I would have hoped. I’ve gotten a little more into racing games, having played titles such as Dirt, SEGA Rally Revo, and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which I checked out at Sony’s 2008 Preview Event late last year. I didn’t like all of them, but I did get a better flavor of what all the fuss was about when it comes to the genre. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Burnout Paradise for Xbox 360′…)

Posted Jan 30th 2008 8:24AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds In case you missed it, the biggest trend in GPS navigators at the moment is real-time, two-way data feeds for traffic updates. There’s the Dash Express of course, and TomTom’s ONE XL HD Traffic GPS navigator with real-time traffic feeds provided over Vodafone’s GSM network. Now Mio is looking for a piece of that action with some help from Qualcomm. The collaboration brings Qualcomm’s QST1100 chipset to the mix for real-time traffic updates (presumably two-way, or why bother), voice calling, search, and the always intriguing, “more.” Details on the chipset are few. (Read the full post about ‘Mio and Qualcomm to merge GPS, real-time traffic, and cellphone’…)

Back in May 2006, Jason Hughes, formerly of Naughty Dog, set about creating his own studio in Austin, Texas. In May 2007, that studio became an incorporated entity, and now it has been named Steel Penny Games.

The newly named studio announced its acceptance as a Nintendo’s WiiWare developer and development on its first game, called Bruiser & Scratch in Case of the Puzzlin Paw. The game is set for release in mid-2008 and blends puzzle gameplay and a fantasy setting with the key characters of a dog and cat.

Steel Penny Games is a mass-market casual game developer, so expect its first game to be something that appeals to everyone and takes full advantage of the Wii motion control system.

(Read the full post about ‘Ex-Naughty Dogs create Steel Penny Games’…)

Asus as announced that there would be no version of its uber-popular Asus Eee with a touch screen. The company considered it at some point (following the iPhone touch everything hype), but concluded that consumers were not asking for this feature on the Eee sub-notebook. Asus Eee site Tags: DVD, lcd, sat-nav, gear (Read the full post about ‘No Touch Display for the Asus Eee Laptop – Official’…)

The Sansa Clip is a small and smart MP3 player perfect for working out, traveling, or keeping tunes on your person. At 4GB it’s both larger and more powerful than the iPod Shuffle and features a bright four-line screen for fast and easy navigation of tunes and features. Sansa Clip features FM radio with 40 user presets, built-in microphone for voice recording (memos, meetings, lectures, moments of brilliance and espionage/subterfuge), and plays MP3, WMA, secure WMA, and Audible file formats. Fully charged, Sansa Clip provides about 15 hours of play time with the internal rechargeable battery, and take up to 2,000 songs (WMA format) Connect via USB to your computer for charging and synchronizing. (Read the full post about ‘Sansa Clip MP3 player: Shuffle-free’…)

Posted Jan 30th 2008 1:01PM by Darren MurphFiled under: HDTV, Home Entertainment Just in case you’ve been living under a rock (or mounds of year-end spreadsheets — same difference), we reckoned you should know that you’ve but four days left before Super Bowl XLII kicks off from Arizona. Besides the obvious necessities — an HDTV, lots of seating space, a truckload of junk food and an HD DVR attached to a battery backup system — you may also need to cross a few unnoticed “t”s to ensure the best game day experience possible. Of course, Engadget HD is lookin’ out for you and yours, and we’re here to make sure you aren’t scrambling for an HD signal from your local FOX affiliate three minutes after kickoff. (Read the full post about ‘Engadget HD helps you prep for Super Bowl XLII’…)

The traditionally white Wiimote can now be accompanied by colored brethren, thanks to the efforts of Snakebyte who decided there are more than enough white Wiimotes in the market. Looking pretty identical to the real thing, you get a dose of different colors with a slightly more stylized button design. Initial models that roll out will come in black or bright purple, although I would like to see green, red and yellow join the fray. How about a retro NES color edition? Pokemon and Animal Crossing editions? These will retail for approximately $59 a pop when they’re released early next month, which is pretty steep since you can already get a game with that kinda dough. (Read the full post about ‘Wiimote Loses Pale Face’…)

Posted Jan 30th 2008 7:06AM by Darren MurphFiled under: Gaming, Peripherals Oh sure, one could argue (quite successfully, we might add) that Nyko’s Wireless Nunchuck was quite the blessing for those sick and tired of the factory tether, but what about all us chaps and dames who already purchased Nintendo’s version of the Nunchuck? Fret not, Wii faithful, as Nyko is coming to your rescue once more. The aptly-titled Cord-Free Adapter for Wii Nunchuck enables current wired Nunchuck owners to simply holster their peripherals, wind up the cord and enjoy all sorts of wireless freedom. (Read the full post about ‘Nyko reveals cord-free adapter for Wii Nunchuck, retrofitters rejoice’…)

Set to be shown off during PMA 2008, Mustek will be introducing the new PF-A950PS digital picture frame. The PF-A950PS will feature a 9.5-inch 16:9 display at 800 x 480, USB 2.0 port and has 128MB of internal memory. The frame will offer support for just about any memory card to include SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro/XD/CF and can handle JPEG, AVI, MJPEG and Xvid video with audio, plus MP3 music files. The catch to the frame and reason for the MP3 support are the NXT speakers that are concealed on the back of the frame. Look for the PF-A950PS to hit stores in May with an expected retail of $249.99. (Read the full post about ‘Mustek intro’s 9.5-inch digital frame with NXT flat-panel speaker’…)

Posted Jan 30th 2008 7:19AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: LaptopsCome on Everex, first the CloudBook would be available on January 25th, then February 15th, now the 25th? And to think that you announced this before the Eee PC. How can we trust you? Here, take back your ring, this ol’ girl can’t wait forever. [Thanks, JAmerican]Tags: consumer technology, AAC, gear, DVD (Read the full post about ‘Everex CloudBook delayed again’…)