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Uh-oh. It kind of worries us that these people are looking up the Donner Party in the middle of the woods. Let's hope they get a cell signal up there, too.

(Credit: WikiReader)

Now, this is rather odd. Taiwan-based OpenMoko is out with WikiReader, a palm-size, touch-screen device that lets you tote 3 million text-only Wikipedia articles around offline. Given that we're in the smartphone age, we're not quite sure who would jump for this thing.

(Credit: WikiReader)

Then again, there may be people with so-called dumb phones (or no phones at all) who get frequent, sudden urges to look up the Battle of Verdun or the history of the kilt while out and about.

We also tend to agree with Thomas Meyerhoffer, a former Apple designer known for his unique surfboards. He designed the WikiReader and thinks the gadget could prove a handy learning tool for kids.

"Because it's offline and offers parental controls, the whole experience happens within the device," he said. "I can give this to my 9-year-old, and I know he's only going to get content that is fine for him to read."

The WikiReader--which launched Tuesday and is available for $99 at the WikiReader Web site and Amazon--runs on two AAA batteries that the company says will last for months due to the gadget's lack of a backlight.

Articles (in English only for now) are stored on a microSD card. Updates for the device are provided quarterly and can be downloaded for free from the WikiReader Web site. A yearly subscription plan for updated microSD cards is also available for $29.

OpenMoko, you may recall, hit major snags earlier this year in the development of its open-source FreeRunner smartphone.

A popular portable Xbox mock-up.

(Credit: 360 Rant Rave)

It's no surprise Microsoft is flirting with the idea of jumping into the handheld market. While the company has found success with the Xbox 360, Microsoft has absolutely no portable presence.

With all this time outside of the market, Microsoft needs to identify what kind of portable system the company's handheld Xbox will be. We told you about rumors of a Zune-Xbox-cell phone hybrid, but such an ambitious device will be expensive and alienate those who just want a portable gaming system.

Microsoft executive Shane Kim recently told Kikizo that Xbox Live is the "connective tissue" that will tie together the company's devices. How that tissue is implemented into a portable device will probably be one of the biggest incentives in owning a handheld Xbox. We'd imagine this connectivity would allow for the transfer of digital media (movies, TV shows) bought on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Better yet, we'd love to see all Xbox Live Arcade games feature an "on-the-go" mode as well.

Hardware speculation aside, we can't imagine Microsoft releasing such a device anytime soon. With game sales struggling due to a weakened economy, introducing brand-new portable hardware may not be the wisest of decisions. Even if Microsoft could keep the price around $150 and promise original Xbox-like graphics, would you consider purchasing a new portable system in the near future? What other features would you like to see from an Xbox handheld?

(Source: Gearlog)

(Credit: Charge4all.net)

This is not for everybody, but if you have more than one handheld device (like me), you'd probably find this handy.

It's called a Charge4All portable charging mat and it can charge up to four handheld devices at a time from a single source of power. This means you won't have to fumble around to find wall sockets, especially if you share a place with another gadget hoarder.

The mat supports a large amount of (if not all) popular electronic devices, including iPhones, iPods, cell phones, MP3 players, Bluetooth devices, PDAs, digital cameras, portable GPS devices, and so on. The charger comes with four charging ports and five charging plugs for the most popular devices, including: iPod/iPhone, Mini-USB, Micro-USB, Samsung SCH, and LG Chocolate.

In addition, the company offers up to 29 optional plugs that could potentially support the rest of the handheld devices on the market today. Each additional plug costs another $4.95. A car adapter is also available for charging devices on the go.

The charging mat is made of a soft silicon mat that can be rolled up for easy packing. It's powered by an included AC adapter.

Unfortunately, the Charge4All portable charging mat is not designed for charging laptop computers or other devices that require high voltage. It's available now for $39.95.

The iPhone's almost ready to leap the final hurdle.

(Credit: TouchArcade)

Apple had its own E3 press conference at the beginning of the week, with its newest model in the iPhone line finally being unveiled to the world. The iPhone 3G S, while in some ways a modest upgrade, introduces significant improvements for gamers--some obvious, others not so much. Will it help even further cement their growing position in a handheld games market previously dominated by Nintendo and Sony? Read on.

Faster processor speed, more RAM. T-Mobile leaked the hard 3G S specs, and they're all-around zippier than the old 3G--which Apple confirmed when it promised overall speeds up to 2x faster. This will matter in particular with game load times and game crashes, both of which can tend to plague an overstuffed iPhone. While the spec bumps are relatively modest, the iPhone's game-playing prowess has already been more impressive than early pundits predicted, especially on recent releases like The Sims 3 and a PC-perfect port of Myst. The only thing missing now is...

Proper controller support. Sneaked in under the radar amid the iPhone 3G S news is the fact that the 3.0 software update allows third-party app interfacing with peripherals. While a larger focus on this functionality has been on medical devices, it's now possible for someone to make a clip-on control pad case and to have that controller be usable in any game. What should happen is that publishers gather to designate one universal controller that then gets adopted as the iPhone's "gamepad." The question is, who will make that accessory? For a while last year it was rumored to be Belkin, although it was unclear who would support the device. On consoles, the manufacturer usually settles these issues by making the controller themselves (except in the case of peripheral-driven games like Rock Band).

While it would be easiest if Apple made a gamepad, it's entirely unlikely. The whole appeal of the iPhone is its interface simplicity--too many plug-ins kill the minimalist chic. If a third party makes a controller, there's a likelihood that some publishers would support it, while others splinter off under some other controller accessory. Either way, someone should make sure there's a good consensus. Otherwise, soon enough we'll be buried in plastic miniperipherals, not unlike what's currently happening to (or plaguing) game consoles. ... Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Artificial Muscle believes that when you touch your computer or phone, it should touch back.

The Silicon Valley company is working on putting haptic feedback in a variety of devices, from laptops to touch-screen phones. Though forced feedback isn't a new concept, the way this company is going about it is different. It showed off some of its technologies at the Interactive Displays 2009 conference here.

Instead of using the vibration motor in a phone to give feedback from a screen, the company has developed and patented an electroactive polymer that expands when it receives an electronic signal. In this case, it's an audio signal, which the actuator, as it is called, receives. Special software tells the actuator to give off a different sort of feedback depending on what a person is touching on the screen.

The idea is that putting feedback like this into phones or computers for playing games, dialing numbers, typing e-mails, and browsing the Web will "enhance the usage experience, so it's not just visual and it's not just audio," said Peter Gise, product manager for Artificial Muscle.

The actuator is very thin (as seen in video below), and can fit into many small handheld devices, or beneath a touch pad on a laptop computer. Gise said they're also targeting Netbooks, since the actuator is "only a couple dollars" each and wouldn't contribute too much to the overall cost of the notoriously low-cost devices.

They've been officially developing haptic technology for six months, and so far they have yet to seal any deals to put it inside consumer devices. In the meantime, check out the brief demo in the video below.

(Credit: Sean Kenney)

In conjunction with the launch of the Nintendo DSi in the U.S., the Japan-based video game console company commissioned artist Sean Kenney to create a large Lego sculpture of its latest handheld. And, boy, did he make one.

The details on this scale model are simply amazing, right down to the stylus slot and power connector. In fact, if it wasn't for the person standing beside it in the picture, it'd be hard to tell that this isn't just a pixelated photograph of the DSi. If you want to see it in the flesh, it's on display at the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

(Via Crave Asia)

Updated Editors' note: Now that our testing has completed with the online functionality of the DSi Shop experience, we're able to give the DSi a full review.

Just four and a half years after its initial release, the Nintendo DS has sold more than 100 million units worldwide, solidifying itself as the best-selling portable video game console of all time. By comparison, the competing Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) has sold about half as many units.

The Nintendo DSi is the third iteration of the DS, which originally released in November of 2004. In June of 2006, the company refreshed the system in the form of the DS Lite, which dramatically changed the device's overall design and vastly improved screen performance.

Rumors of a second redesign proved to be a reality when Nintendo announced the most recent--and what we believe to be the final--rehash of the system, the Nintendo DSi. This upgrade adds two small-resolution cameras to the portable, slightly larger screens, and an SD card slot. The Game Boy Advance slot found in both previous versions has been removed.

While current DS Lite owners may want to think twice about upgrading, the DSi's innovative media features and online functionality (the DSi Shop) may warrant a purchase. But if you've been holding out on a DS purchase up until now and you don't need backward compatibility with Game Boy Advance cartridges, the DSi is certainly the way go.

Up close with the Nintendo DSi

With estimated unit sales approaching 100 million worldwide, Nintendo has proven itself time and time again as the industry ruler of the portable console market. With the DSi--the second refresh of the Nintendo DS--we're starting to see the company move in an evolutionary direction with its flagship handheld.

The DSi takes with it most of the features the DS Lite had to offer, but adds new multimedia capabilities. The DSi has been on sale in Japan since November 1 of last year and has already sold well over an astonishing 1 million units. Now that Nintendo has announced that the DSi will go on sale April 5 in North America, it certainly leaves everyone asking one big question, "Should I buy one?"

First, let's look at what exactly separates the new DSi from the DS Lite. In terms of actual form-factor, the difference between the two portables is negligible. The DSi is slightly slimmer, but you're not going to see the massive change in size like we saw when Nintendo upgraded the original DS to the DS Lite. What you may notice is that both screens are a quarter of an inch larger. The DSi hardware also actually eliminates the Game Boy Advance slot found on the Lite, so you won't be able to play older Game Boy Advance games or DS titles that make use of the port, such as "Guitar Hero: On Tour."

Up close with the Nintendo DSi

Nintendo on Wednesday confirmed that the DSi gaming handheld will retail for $170 when it hits U.S. shores on April 5. The official word from the company is in line with widespread rumors that cropped up last month.

The DSi will initially be available in blue and black models. Given Nintendo's track record, it's a sure bet that additional colors will eventually follow.

Already available in Japan (see photos below), the DSi is an evolutionary upgrade of the monstrously popular Nintendo DS Lite. The new model includes larger screens, 2 cameras, and an SD slot in place of the Game Boy cartridge slot found on current models. The expandable flash storage will dovetail with new DSi Shop, an online marketplace for downloadable games available via the unit's built-in Wi-Fi connection.

Up close with the Nintendo DSi

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the DSi? Are you content to stick with the current DS Lite? Or does the Sony PSP or iPhone/iPod Touch fulfill all your portable gaming needs?

Update at 1:20 p.m. PST: This post was updated to show the correct U.S. launch date.