Blu-Mote Unity Universal Remote Control

It is with great sadness that we announce that we had to bury the Blu-Mote Unity Universal Remote Control. Unfortunately the production cost exceeded our plan and budget and there were some firmware updates that we just couldn’t match properly to make it work.
We put up a tiny tombstone in the backyard and planted some very pretty flowers and we will have to move on to bigger and better things …
Sorry, that we had you all excited and waiting (so were we) and now we have to crush your expectations (and ours).

Sony’s latest and greatest – the PS Vita?

by Adam Kharakov

The PS Vita, released February 22nd 2012, is Sony's latest in handheld gaming technology. But is the Vita really worth the hype? I put the smart handheld to the test ...

Sony's third gen handheld and currently the most powerful device of its kind, the VITA really shows how far and quickly technology has advanced in the past few years. With video and game quality on par of full size gaming consoles, touchscreen capabilities, 3G connection and so much more. The Vita cartridges are about the size of an SD card and after you first play it a game bubble is created for every game requiring you to touch the screen to start the game, and have the game inside the VITA.

The one thing the VITA does absolutely right is the menus. At any time by pressing the PS button you minimize whatever program or game you were playing and the menu allows you to access other applications like browser or Facebook when available. From there in the menu options you can continue where you left off in the game or close it by sliding your finger as if you were flipping pages.

One of the main concerns of the VITA was the controls, two thin-looking thumb sticks, control pad and very small buttons while the front and back of the system are touch screens. The thumb pads are a nice addition and work just like the thumb pads on the PS3, and the control pad and buttons are much smaller, but after a couple of minutes of playing and getting used to it, it was almost no problem. There were a few minutes I may have pressed a wrong button because of the size but after playing some Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 my fingers got used to the VITA fast, playing a lot of PS2/PS3 also helps with the layout.

Price point:

Is it worth the $250 or $299 dollars? The 3G version is limited on the amount of bandwidth you can use, so be careful, especially if you are buying games and don’t have a PS3. If you have unlimited internet it’s better for you to pay the $14.99 for the tethering and do whatever you want. I laugh since in Japan you could buy 100 hours of internet for about 50 bucks and use it as you please which would have been nice. The Wi-Fi works great and can be accessed from any open point.

Battery Life:

Very Low, 4-6 hours, depending on what you do, since the VITA focuses a lot on touch. The battery really gets drained quickly, and unlike the PSP, the battery cannot be switched out. The VITA can be its own worst enemy when you really are in the middle of a game and battery is running out. Luckily ‘Sleep Mode’ can really save you since it will last a few days and still be ready for action when you need it.

PS Vita - Goodness in a box?

Hidden Costs:

The biggest one is the memory card, since the VITA itself has almost built-in memory to hold saves or many apps. VITA games save in the cartridge so unless you plan on transferring PSP games, PS1 games, music and movies over you have no worries. Although, if you do have the cash to shell out, 32 gig memory cards are about $100. The other problem is that the stick is very small and very easy to misplace. One memory card can be linked to each account so if you plan on having multiple accounts, take good care of the memory sticks and have fun resetting your PS VITA a lot.

Final Verdict:

The PS VITA does a great job of mixing a handheld console and social device together while also bringing out some great games. With the PlayStation store up and running with the newest titles and indie games exclusive to the VITA, it shows that Sony does learn from past mistakes with its last generation failing horribly in the US. The graphics are amazing, sound quality is top notch and the controls are easy to use once you have become accustomed to smaller joysticks.

COMIC-CON 2011 –Four Incredible Days…and Nights

By James Bartholomew Olson

Jimmy went to Comic-Con this past weekend…. Here’s his Top 10 Countdown from the conference:

10. The crowds

Comic-Con’s number has exploded in the last decade with last year’s numbers alone being 130,000. It’s amazing to see so many people from around the world unite for this event alone. San Diego sees a huge growth in the tourist area with places like Subway having a 45 minutes wait just get  food, but luckily so many restaurants, bars and shops are located across the street so I couldn’t imagine it being held anywhere else.

9. Collections

I like to buy figures, statues and comics but at San Diego Comic-Con it goes way beyond that. I walked out with so many posters, shirts and other memorabilia that will never see the light of day again – except in my basement!

8. Comic-Con parties!!

You may wonder why this isn’t on the top of the list and while it was a tough choice I had good reasons. Comic-Con has some wild parties you can get into that span all of downtown San Diego, and many are private events and others are public events that you can get free tickets to. Parties start as early as 6pm and end around 2-3 in the morning, and while I did get into a few through “friends”, I networked, ate free food and had a few drinks but overall I left early to catch a shuttle back to my hotel, and catch some sleep to have energy for the next day. As for my friends, they ended up missing out on half of Day 3 since they decided to party until the break of dawn …

7. Special events

So for anyone who had a Comic-Con badge a special screening of Captain America was shown the day before its release. Hundreds of people woke up early to get in line to see the movie as early as 6am for the 10am screening. Thru all of Comic-Con events like these happened - some announced and tons not announced.

6. Handouts

Honestly the real name is giveaways, but you see lines of people pushing, shoving and just going crazy for some freebies. On the last day as Fox was giving out some free Blu-rays after I got my Cleveland Show autograph, I was stuck in front and thought ‘hey, why not’ to almost getting slammed in my face twice by some people wanting to reach over to grab the freebies…..my advice for next year: Go in with a spiked helmet!

5. Panels

Panels are a great way to meet the cast/team behind what you like. Comic-Con brings together that world when it comes to comics, games, TV, movies, anime, cartoons; so nearly every medium that brings entertainment. I sat through nearly 15 panels in all 4 days, would have been more but lines were the worst.

4. Autograph signings

Pay attention to what Comic-Con is offering, because nearly everyone there will have autograph signing sessions. This year Hideo Kojima, Fringe, Community, Children’s hospital, The Cleveland Show, True Blood, and the list keeps going on, all had signings that had people waiting in line for hours.

3. Gaming

Game companies know how huge Comic-Con is and have begun appearing in large booths some even bigger than E3 to showcase games since Comic-Con is open to the public. Companies like Square Enix, Capcom, Sony, Sony Online Entertainment, 2k Games, and Bandai Namco games all came out in full force.  There’s a 5-year wait for booth space, but I’m going to try to figure out a way to get snakebyte to go next time.

2. Cosplay

Every year you see more and more people cosplaying as their favorite characters that span anime, comics, movies, and cartoons. Cosplay gatherings have become one of the biggest draws for people to see different designs and meet more fans of similar tastes.

1. The Exhibit hall!!

Honestly this is really the main attraction and you could easily spend all 4 days of Comic-Con here since it features autograph signings, giveaways, contests and most of all: shopping! Every year there are Comic-Con-exclusive goodies that are only available while in stock and after they have run out they are gone forever unless you look on eBay. It was a sea of people and walking from each end of the convention center took a good 45 minutes just because of how crowded it was, and I’m going to get my tickets the first day they go on sale for next year.

Fulfilling a Gaming Need – The Blu-Mote Remote

by James Bartholomew Olsen

For gamers it becomes what’s useful for our gaming needs, and with thousands of accessories it sometimes seems like you’ll almost never find the ones that are right for you but instead pass them off as more junk you don’t need. Of course there will be those times you find that needle in a haystack, and that’s where snakebyte comes in.
While there are dozens of video game accessory companies and there are some big names out there that have earned some great reputations, it takes some time and that one item that gets your name out there. snakebyte’s goal is just that, but not just with one item but a group of accessories that improve your gaming experience, and what matters most is the input of the gamers the company makes the accessories for.
So two nights ago I took the snakebyte PlayStation 3 Blu-Mote home since I had some anime I wanted to watch and figured what better chance to try it for myself. The Blu-Mote is very light and I felt like I was holding my cellphone. I synched the remote to my PlayStation 3, even though funny me I thought it would do it automatically since I hooked it up to the USB (fail for me), only to find out the USB is for any updates to the remote. I guess sometimes I should actually read manuals.
The remote does exactly what it should do; control your movie experience from your hand while not having to use your PS 3 controller to do it all. You can turn on your PS 3 controller with the push of any button and control the XMB (cross media bar), choose to play your music or movies, pause and do what any other remote could do.
The biggest difference between this and the Sony remote would be the size; the Sony one is a longer controller with a large gap at the bottom and the snakebyte one is more compact with everything being placed right in front of you for quick use, making it easier to use the controls and push the buttons
It’s very easy to turn on your PlayStation 3 by touching any button on the snakebyte remote, so if you aren’t planning on turning it on, careful how you move the controller, and lastly be careful when you hit stop, hitting it twice turns off the movie and send you back to the XMB.
I know everyone likes first party remotes and thinks they are better than third party product, but after testing both, I’d prefer the snakebyte remote because it’s lighter, more compact, cheaper and does exactly what any good remote does:  exactly what I want it to do.  And much to my happy surprise, snakebyte has a two-year guarantee, so there is no fear of anything breaking down or never working the way you expected.

E3 – My 3 Days As The Snake Babe!

By Stephanie Parker

I was at E3 last year and loved it and wanted to go again, and when I got a call from Yvonna at CharismaPlusTwo telling me that a new company called snakebyte wanted me to be their spokesmodel at the show, I was ready. After all, I’d been there last year with 2K and had a blast.

This time, however, it would be a little different. Instead of being dressed up in character, I was being asked to be body painted as a snake – I’d be wandering around the show with nothing but nude boy shorts, pasties and paint covering my entire body.

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