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Technically, there's no reason the Zune couldn't have a huge game library.

(Credit: Microsoft)

While there's no shortage of handheld game systems on the market--the Nintendo DS and DSi are still selling well and the PSP continues to hang in there, while the App Store expands its catalog every minute--one of the seemingly no-brainer bets in the mobile gaming realm hasn't happened yet: the Zune.

We say "no brainer" for several reasons:

• Microsoft has a successful gaming platform in the Xbox 360, emphasizing online and downloadable gaming.
• Microsoft, compared with Sony and Nintendo, is best able to take on Apple in terms of a media-management software store and the ability to build an equivalent music/games/movies catalog, and making that product PC compatible.
• The Zune HD now plays games.

The first point is obvious. The second is debatable, but we say this because Sony, while having a decent media library on PSN, just isn't historically great at building cross-platform software for syncing the PSP, and Microsoft's global software reach is simply stronger. The third is technically true--Microsoft launched a small collection of completely free-to-play, ad-supported games for its OLED-screened Zune HD last month, and one of them happens to be an adaptation of Project Gotham Racing.

It's an interesting prospect (and one we've wondered about before) because the Zune HD processor, an Nvidia Tegra, has both HD processing muscle and 3D graphics capability. We downloaded and played with all the Zune HD games currently available--all 12 of them--with some curiosity to see if the Zune could compete as a game device.

New 3D games are available for Zune HD owners, and they're all free.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Zune HD owners have something to smile about today. The latest firmware update, version 4.3, not only brings a handful of general fixes (including accurate playcounts), but also ushers the Zune HD into a proper 3D gaming device.

To celebrate the new capability, six new games have been added to the Zune Marketplace software, which users can download to their updated Zune HD at no cost. Games include PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Piano, Checkers, and Audiosurf: Tilt. We're not exactly jumping out of our seat over Piano and Checkers, but the rest of the titles look genuinely fun--and did we mention they're free?.

Just like the existing games available for the Zune HD, the new titles also show a brief advertisement upon start-up.

A news release e-mailed to us from Microsoft also states "we will be delivering additional applications for Zune HD including Facebook and Twitter in the future."

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Dateline: November 9, Manhattan. I'm inside B&H Photo, carrying a Nikon D70 SLR camera my dad was kind enough to pass down to me. It doesn't have a lens, or a memory card, or a case. Those are my responsibilities. This is why I'm spending close to an hour staring at various lenses ranging from 18-55 all the way up to 18-200mm, all the while knowing nearly nothing about SLR technology.

November 10: 11 a.m. After a long shower this morning and a fretful commute to work, I'm carrying my D70 with the Tamron 18-200mm lens I bought, and wondering, did I do the right thing? Did I make the right purchase?

I'm an editor at CNET, but I review laptops, not cameras. And still, post-purchase, I'm racked with regret. Consumer second-guessing--should I have gotten a cheaper Nikon kits lens?--is combined with frantic forum-reading, friend-calling, colleague-consulting. I'm told on four separate occasions that, yes, I made a good purchase. Moreover, the Tamron lens only cost $229 after rebate.

The source of my anxiety.

(Credit: CNET)

But I feel like I've bought a Ferrari. I feel slightly ill. And the funny part about the experience is that I'm reading more about the various Nikon SLR lenses after my purchase than before.

Does this happen to you? I've always had a theory (and so does another co-worker) that it's post-purchase when we want to read the most about our laptop, our game, our new accessory. We want extra confirmation of our good judgment, our wise decision. We want positive reinforcement. We want a pat on the back.

I've found solace from our own camera team and their reviews, and from user opinions. How about you? Are all your purchases tinged with a feeling of potential regret, of fear that you chose poorly? One of the few purchases I've ever made with no regrets was my iPhone, but even then I felt bad about spending so much money in the first place. It's not easy, especially with so many options and so many Web sites and threads that endlessly bat around every minute detail.

Plus, there's always the feeling with any consumer electronics purchase that the cheaper route is somehow a compromised route, and the more you learn the more that lingers in the back of your mind (or, at least, mine) like a grinning devil. Spend a little more...just a little more...or, conversely, why didn't you save a few more bucks?

Meanwhile, I'm learning about SLR cameras as I take photos of my ever-more-mobile child, all the while trying to calm pangs of what my friends like to call "Consumer Stein Remorse."

For 2010, Tesla updates its electric Roadster with a Sport version, featuring faster acceleration.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

2010 Tesla Roadster Sport photos

Tesla often emphasizes that it works more like a Silicon Valley technology company than a traditional car company. And the company just proved it by delivering a model update to the Tesla Roadster for 2010. Remember, the Roadster has only been in production for one year, but in that time Tesla completely redesigned the interior, while at the same time adding new materials to reduce cabin noise. Model updates from other automakers often take five years.

We spent a day with the 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport, enjoying its unique driving experience and finding these updates made the previous generation car seem like something hacked together in a garage. Where the previous car had a fussy little lever for putting it in drive, the new car uses push buttons. To check battery statistics and change the drive mode, you had to use a touch screen by your left knee. That touch screen has been moved to the center of the dashboard. And in a real step toward convenience, the Tesla Roadster now comes with a glove box.

The rear air intakes get clear coat carbon fiber inserts.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Externally, the casual observer won't see much difference. The Tesla Roadster uses the same Lotus-sourced body clad in carbon fiber. But the carbon fiber stands out more, as clear-coat panels make up the hood, spoiler, and even the insets in the rear air intakes. The suspension is now adjustable for comfort or sport, and the all-new Sport version of the Roadster uses an upgraded power train that rockets it to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, faster than the standard Roadster's 3.9 second time.

This USB drive from Mercedes-Benz is shaped like a car key, and holds information and photos about the new E-class.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Crazy media kits: USB drives from automakers

As a bit of Friday fun, we gathered up the most unique USB flash drive press kits we've seen from automakers to date. These kits range from diverse brands--Bentley, Ferrari, Kia, and Toyota, among others, and with a sidestep to Caterpillar. Typically they hold photos and documents about a particular car, or sometimes the automakers' entire lineup, and are handed out during the press days at auto shows. Your typical automotive journalist will have a drawer full of these drives.

While many of the drives we receive are fairly standard, some are instances of marketing genius. The most interesting of these drives try to say something about the car they represent, such as the bamboo drive for the Lexus HS, or the key replica for the Mercedes-Benz.

Check out these USB drive press kits from automakers.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG's retro design evokes the 300 SL.

(Credit: CNET)

Ultimates: Exotic cars at the Frankfurt auto show--photos

With all the very expensive new cars being unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show, you would think the economy never went into recession. It did, and yet here they are, a parade of new automotive objects of lust from the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, and Rolls-Royce. Some emphasize sport, some luxury, but all have way more of each than your standard economy sedan.

Leading the parade is the spectacular new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, a monster of a supercar with retro styling evoking the gull-winged 300 SL. Porsche shows off a couple of 911s, the styling only slightly updated but big improvement where it counts: in the engine, transmission, and suspension. Ferrari comes up with a replacement for the F430, managing to improve on that already fantastic supercar. And then there's Abarth, which offers up a tribute to Ferrari in the form of a heavily modified Fiat 500.

A number of convertibles follow, the tops chopped off of an Audi R8, Lamborghini Reventon, and Maserati GranTurismo. And finally, a couple of stately sedans from Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce take the floor.

Turn 10 celebrates Forza 3 going gold with this fan-made "Gone Gold Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro"

(Credit: Turn 10)

Digital drivers waiting with baited breath for release of Forza Motorsport 3 for Xbox 360 will have to keep waiting for the October 27th release date. But despair not. Turn 10 will be making a Forza 3 demo available for download on Xbox Live on September 24th to get you through this last month of waiting.

The demo features only one fantasy track, a Spanish mountain course inspired by the Montserrat region just outside of Barcelona, and five playable cars with full cockpits and damage modeling with rollover:

• 2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR
• 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro
• 2009 Ferrari California
• 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR
• 2009 Mini John Cooper Works

Am I the only one who finds these little guys a bit creepy?

(Credit: Turn 10)

The Forza Motorsports demo also jumpstarts the Forza online leaderboard, so you can get an early start establishing dominance. If you're really overzealous hardcore, you can blow a few MS Points on Avatar accessories to show the world how much you love Forza.

No, the Goldmund Eidos Reference Blu-ray player is not made of gold.

(Credit: Goldmund)

It sure looks expensive, and at $135,000, the Goldmund Eidos Reference Blu-ray player is definitely in the upper crust of Blu-ray players in terms of cost.

Hand-built in Geneva, the Eidos Reference Blue is a truly rarefied design. Limited in production to 50 units, dawdlers will be left having to make do with a plain vanilla Denon or Sony Blu-ray player.

Will the Goldmund outperform the Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player we raved about a few days ago? I have no idea, but I do know that a $20 Casio watch keeps time just as well as a Patek Philippe Ref. 5102G that costs, gasp, $181,650!

My point: buying decisions for ultraexotic products aren't based solely on performance; they're more about a company's long heritage of building luxury designs and backing them up with extraordinary service.

The rich and famous still buy Ferraris that are no faster than a Corvette that sells for a fraction of the Ferrari's price. But Ferrari buyers want more than just speed--they want to be, well, special. They buy it for its looks and how it's made. It's the same deal with uber hi-fis.

(Source: Ultimate AV Web site)

Wrecked Exotics posts photos and video of very expensive cars in less than pristine condition.

(Credit: Wrecked Exotics)

Whether as cautionary tales or perverse automobile pornography, Wrecked Exotics covers crashes of the most expensive cars in the world. Now the site is getting ahead of itself, sponsoring a contest in which entrants can win $500 for predicting the date of the first crash of Ferrari's new 458 Italia, to be unveiled at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show.

The site has gathered statistics on previous Ferrari crashes, noting that of the 17,300 Ferrari 360s made, there have been 403 documented crashes, or 2.3 percent of the total. For the more recent F430, 96 crashes have been recorded of the 10,000 cars produced.

Predict the crash date for the Ferrari 458 Italia.