Were you one of many consumers who took the plunge into 3D gaming last year with the release of the Nintendo 3DS? Or were you among those gamers who were waiting for a 3DS Lite- a smaller, thinner, version of the device with a better battery life?

While there’s not much evidence to support this, only speculation, Nikkei Trendy expects that an unannounced 3DS Lite could be released as early as spring 2012.

“To increase the 3DS’s install base,” the magazine writes, “there’s a possibility for a lighter version that addresses the handheld’s weak points, the thickness and the battery life.”

I know I waited for the DS Lite, and was very pleased with the decision. But with the 3DS I got impatient and picked one up. I definitely haven’t regretted the decision, but Nintendo always improves on their products in the second go-round, and if a 3DS Lite is on the horizon, I’m sure it’ll be better (but not bigger) than the current handheld console.

We’ll throw this onto the pile of things we’re waiting Nintendo to release, including the Wii U, introduced during last year’s 2011 and still no definitive release date on the horizon.

With entertainment technology jumping by leaps and bounds every year, it’s up to the audience to try to keep up with the ever-growing quality of video and audio for some of their favorite music, video games, movies, and TV. Video may be covered by bigger and badder TV’s, but it’s all about lightweight and compact when it comes to audio.

That’s where NoiseHush completely excels. They’re mastered car and mobile audio for the modern consumer, and now they’re tackling gamers and those who need HD audio in a stationary setting such as a bedroom, office, or living room.

With their newest release, the NX26 headphones, you get complete inundation of the deep bass and distortion-free audio you’re listening to and no pinching or pressure that most over-the-ear headphones leave you with.

With soft foam ear muffs and top, there’s no telling that these noise cancellation phones are even on your head half the time.

That’s nothing, however. The best feature lies in the set’s microphone and control button on the lengthy wire. The mic is on-par with some of the top-line mic’d headphones on the market today, and not only will the control button work with your mobile device, but it will control iTunes when the headphones are plugged into your computer.

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We told you yesterday about the new Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet, and it looks amazing. Lot’s of features that you see on lots of different tablets, and some interesting bells and whistles, but the new Nook Tablet does have a few tricks up it’s sleeve. Beginning next week the Nook will be offering the world’s largest collection of digital Marvel Graphic Novels.

This is potentially huge news because even in a world of digital day and date releases of single issues, many readers still prefer to wait for the collected editions. The explosion of book stores like Barnes & Noble really helped fuel a “wait for the trades” mentality amongst comic fans who have grown tired of the complexity of keeping up with single issues. So there is a nice symmetry to having a Barnes & Noble tablet lead the way in digital graphic novels.

Reading comics digitally is just now coming into play in a major way. With DC releasing it’s major titles digitally day and date and Marvel making advances to do the same, digital comic consumption could save the industry that gave the world so many iconic characters. It is also smart of Barnes & Noble to focus on the graphic novel side of the marketplace, digital distribution could hinder trade sales, so utilizing the oft proven “if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em” strategy could prove very lucrative.

Full details, including a sampling of what graphic novels will be available for the Nook Tablet, after the jump

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At an event held this morning at Apple’s Cupertino campus, newly minted Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled what many were expecting: a brand new iPhone. Dubbed the iPhone 4S, the device is cosmetically very similar to the current iPhone 4 but features a host of internal improvements which may appease fans eagerly awaiting an iPhone refresh.

In addition, Cook announced the release data for iOS 5, the software that powers Apple’s lineup of devices including the iPhone and iPad, as well as updated iPods with price cuts and an intelligent assistant, dubbed Siri, which enables user to verbally interact with their iOS devices.

Here’s the highlights of today’s event:

• Apple made the iPhone 4S official. It features the same Retina Display but features Apple’s dual-core A5 processor and a dual-core graphics chip.

• The iPhone 4S battery can provide 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of browsing time on 3G and 9 on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback or 40 hours of music playback.

• Apple has redesigned the iPhone 4S antenna to switch between two antenna to send and receive. Hopefully how you hold the device won’t matter now.

• The iPhone 4S features HSPA+ 14.4 support, though Apple isn’t branding it as “4G.” It’s also a world phone, so one device will support CDMA and GSM/WCDMA networks around the globe. That means it will work on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks in the U.S.

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Who doesn’t love taking down your friends or those punk teens in an online game of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3? The worst part has to be when your cheap headset craps out right before you’re able to give your victory chant and put that n00b in their place. Turtle Beach is helping you out with a brand new line of limited edition headsets.

Starting this week, the leading video game accessories company will announce several brand new headsets, each with their own special personality and uniqueness that is a must for any real gamer. Yesterday, the Ear Force FOXTROT hit the web, while the CHARLIE hits today, followed by BRAVO tomorrow and DELTA on Friday.

Here’s the official release, and be sure to check out the full-sized images after the jump.

The Ear Force DELTA headset ships with custom voice prompts by Lt. Col. Hank Keirsey (ret.). Army Ranger, master parachutist and decorated combat veteran, Keirsey served 24 years with the US Army and now serves as the principal military advisor for Call of Duty®. It’s his voice that will lead you into battle, and inform you on your preset choices in the field.

The Ear Force DELTA and Ear Force BRAVO wireless models feature Turtle Beach’s proprietary DSP headset technology that elevates these headsets beyond mere accessories with the inclusion of custom-designed presets.  These settings are specific to Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 and come stored in the headsets right out of the box.

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Now that just about every new device, be it a TV, computer, game console, or Blu-Ray player, comes with Instant Netflix programmed into the device itself, the rules have to change to accommodate just about everyone on the planet watching Netflix either through streaming or the original DVD plan. That means the company is making changes in the way you use the service, and exactly how much you spend monthly.

Now, instead of having that fancy DVD and streaming plan together, the company is making you choose or pay for both at double the price. Here’s the breakdown from the horse’s mouth.

First, we are launching new DVD only plans. These plans offer our lowest prices ever for unlimited DVDs – only $7.99 a month for our 1 DVD out at-a-time plan and $11.99 a month for our 2 DVDs out at-a-time plan. By offering our lowest prices ever, we hope to provide great value to our current and future DVDs by mail members. New members can sign up for these plans by going to DVD.netflix.com.

Second, we are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into separate plans to better reflect the costs of each and to give our members a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan or the option to subscribe to both. With this change, we will no longer offer a plan that includes both unlimited streaming and DVDs by mail.

So if you have the current $9.99 unlimited streaming/DVD plan, you’ll have to pick between paying for JUST unlimited DVD’s at $7.99 or unlimited streaming for $7.99. Or both if you’re so ambitious. Unfortunate, but it was bound to happen with this service becoming more and more popular.

As of today Apple began selling unlocked iPhone 4 handsets in the U.S. only. The smartphone is now available in 16GB for $649 or 32GB for $749, and both models come in black or white.

This marks a change in Apple policy dating back to the first iPhone where the device was only available for AT&T GSM users. Now, it can be used with pretty much any GSM carrier, as long as modifications can be made for those who don’t yet use the micro-SIM card.

Personally, even though the price of the iPhone is high in its unlocked state, I would probably go this way to avoid a long-term contract with any one carrier. Also, this allows people to get their hands on the iPhone 4 now and then use the subsidy pricing to pick up an iPhone 5 once they launch later this year.

Sure, the price is probably too high for many buyers but to some this represents the best scenario when it comes to dealing with carrier monopolies. I, for one, think Apple should have done this a long time ago.

Last week at E3, tons of new and innovative games and software enhancements were announced that will completely change the face of video gaming and technology in general as we know it. One new announcement was one surrounding UbiSoft’s new Ghost Recon Future Soldier game that will make science fiction look like an everyday toaster.

Tying in with XBox Kinect, the game has an exclusive “Gunsmith Mode” that allows the user to reconstruct and upgrade your gun using Minority Report-like hand and arm gestures.

This is exactly the use that had everyone up in arms when the Kinect was first announced, that basically brings the technology we’ve seen in sci-fi movies for decades to the real world, and at an affordable price!

This is just the start of what we can expect to see with technology and the future of gaming. With the creation of the WiiU, you can also expect to see tons of new and innovative ways that people play everyday games, and we have to say we’ve never been more excited.

Check out exactly what you can look forward to with Ghost Recon Future Soldier on the Xbox 360 after the jump, and grab the game when it hits shelves March of next year.

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As if the beleaguered Sony doesn’t have enough problems already what with all the recent security breaches, hacking and general ill will from fans who waited a long time for the PSN to come back online. Now it seems we can add another potential issue to the already troubled company’s litany of problems.

According to sources at Rockstar Games, the developer of hit games such as Grand Theft Auto and L.A. Noir, the latest 3.61 firmware update for the Sony PS3 is causing units to overheat.

“We have received some reports of PS3s overheating while playing L.A. Noire or beeping three times before shutting down / turning themselves off, mostly on older 60GB and 80GB fat models,” Rockstar customer service team said on its support page, as reported by MCVUK.

Rockstar also offered that the problem is not just with L.A. Noir and that users are experiencing the same issue with other games. When the problem occurs, the red light or PS3 freeze usually happens between 30 minutes to 2 hours after starting a game.

Here’s a statement from Rockstar Customer Service on the subject. This is, however, not an “official” statement from the company (at least not yet):

“At this time we are recommending contacting Sony directly to report the overheating issue. However, this is not the end of our support; we are continuing to test L.A. Noire on all firmware versions and hardware models to isolate the issues and see what can be done. As always, we will update this article as soon as we have updates.”

Sucks to be Sony right now. Anyone had any problems like this after updating your PS3? If so, sound off in the comments.

As expected, today Apple updated its lineup of all-in-on iMac desktops with faster processors and improved graphics cards. In addition, the new iMacs now feature the Thunderbolt I/O port first introduced in the most recent MacBook Pro updates as well as the new Sandy Bridge chipset.

The new, improved, iMac comes in two 21.5-inch and three 27-inch models. Here’s the specs:

iMac 21.5″

• CPU: 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
• RAM: 4GB (2 x 2 GB)
• HDD: 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive
• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6750M or AMD Radeon HD 6770M
• Other: Single Thunderbolt port, FaceTime HD camera, aluminum and glass design, IPS LED-backlit high resolution display, Mini DisplayPort, One FireWire 800 port, Four USB 2.0 ports, SDXC card slot, Slot-loading 8x • SuperDrive, Audio in/out, Gigabit Ethernet, IR receiver, 802.11 a/b/g n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and an Apple wireless keyboard with a Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.
• Price: Starting at $1,199

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One of the more annoying marketing gimmicks among wireless carriers, but also true among WiFi hardware makers as well, is that as soon as a new standard is announced, the urge to jump in and declare “we have that,” often trumps actually waiting for standards to be finalized, and far too often before the company can even deliver the real goods.

Case in point is the 4G service being touted by the nation’s wireless carriers. In case they weren’t aware, the term ’4G’ actually means something. In 2008, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbps for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 Gbps for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).

With that said, which of the carriers are truly delivering  data speeds truly approaching the 4G standard? Seattle-based Analyst Root Metrics set out to determine exactly that. In a test comparing AT&T’s HSPA+, Sprint’s WiMAX, T-Mobile’s HSPA+21 and Verizon’s LTE networks in the Seattle area, the company used 4G-capable smartphones to get a clearer picture of what the consumer experience looks like on the ground. Down here in reality.

What they found will interest you.

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One minute I was just arriving in Boston, and the next I was packing up my bags and saying goodbye to PAX East 2011. And what a weekend it was.

From sampling the finest in upcoming videogames, watching some amazing concerts, meeting and making new friends, and bonding with old ones, this convention has got to be the best weekend of my year. Penny Arcade really puts together an amazing show, and it’s amazing that they do it twice a year, once on this coast and then over on their home turf of Seattle.

Not only was this the best PAX East ever (In my opinion), it was also the biggest. Head hancho Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade said that this year’s PAX had 69,500 attendees, up from last year’s 52,290 at the much tinier Hynes Convention Center.

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