Logitech G13 Advanced Gaming Keyboard

Take Darth Vader’s head, mix it with the buttons on his chest, and then merge them into one gadget. The result would be the Logitech G13 Advanced Gaming Keyboard.

Actually, Logitech reveals in a recent Press Release that the G13 is really a combination of the Logitech G15 keyboard and G9 Laser Mouse. In this same release, the company promises that the G13 is a more superior model than other gaming keyboards.

“Unlike other gameboards that focus only on programmability, the G13 advanced gameboard incorporates the principles of our award winning Comfort Wave design…the G13 gameboard gives you a powerful advantage over those forced to work with less.”

Logitech also states that the G13 has three game modes, 25 programmable keys, and a programmable analog stick. This allows for over 87 ways to control your game, and even allows for custom button profiles as well as creating macros without having to pause the game. Another prominent feature is the 160 x 43 pixel GamePanel LCD to show live game stats, system info, or messages from other players.

The G13 also has pre-configured settings for many popular games including World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade, Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

The Logitech G13 should be available sometime this month in Europe and the United States for about $79.99.

So readers, do you agree with me about my Darth Vader opening comment, or what? Also let me know if there are other gaming keyboards out there that are truly improving your game.

Shiro SQ-S PMP is Solar Powered

I’m not sure if the world needs another type of PMP, but I will definitely give Shiro credit for trying something different.

Shiro has put a solar cell on the back of the SQ-S, which gives the user the option to charge the device with the power of the sun. Considering that power to PMPs is always an issue for mobile music, it is refreshing to see a PMP that does not require a wired charging method like an AC cord or USB cable.

The user has the option of using a USB cable if he or she wants to. Just to put it in perspective, it takes six hours with a “full sun” to charge the SQ-6, but only four hours with the USB. With a full charge, the SQ-S is capable of up to 38 hours of music playback and 10 hours of video playback.

The screen of the SQ-S is a 1.8 inch 65K color display, made for both video and photo playback. The SQ-S comes with 16GB of built-in memory, but does not have a memory card slot. It supports formats of MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG, and M4A. It also has an FM radio and is capable of FM recording.

My source does not have a price or availability date for the SQ-S, but the solar powered feature could really change the PMP market. Unless some other company has already tried this already. How about it, readers? What’s your opinion on solar-powered PMPs? If you know something that I don’t, feel free to leave a comment.

Nokia N97: The next cool smartphone

Our friends from Finland recently unveiled the Nokia N97 at the Nokia World 2008 conference in Barcelona this week. This quad-band world phone is HSDPA compatible, with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The N97 is designed for the social networking generation with Web 2.0 compatibility, which can support streaming flash videos. One of the most prominent features is what the company calls “social location” which can enable integrated A-GPS sensors with an electric compass to automatically update users’ social networks, or let them share their location via photos or videos with friends.

The home screen can be personalized with widgets of favorite Web and social networking sites. Also included in this little package is the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and the N-Gage gaming platform.

The phone has a 3.5 inch screen that is a touchscreen with 640 x 360 (16:9) display, as well as a slide out QWERTY keyboard. Other features include a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, plus dual LED flash that can shoot stills and record 30fps video. As for memory, it has 32GB worth of onboard memory, but if you want more, you can use the 16GB microSD card.

The N97 costs about $697, but probably won’t be available until around the second quarter of next year.