After motion tracking and 3D games, what is next for video game technologies? Sony says “Virtual reality”. Do you remember the fad of virtual reality headsets, where someone would wear vizors over their eye to be immersed in games? Sony confirmed Develop magazine that it is yet re-experimenting on the technology within its studios.

Mick Hocking, senior director at Sony Worldwide Studios, said that a prototype device used to test virtual reality also displays high-end 3D.

“We’ve got a new head mounted display [in development] that we showed at Consumer Electronics Show,” He said the prototype device has twin-OLED screens – one for each eye – to eliminate information crossover issues.

Now further developments have led Sony to incorporate head-tracking into the device, paving the way for a virtual reality experience. The tech is being experimented on with a number of games including first-person shooters, but there appears to be no solid product launch plans for now.

“At the moment it’s just a head-mounted display; the head isn’t being tracked – but that’s something we’re doing R&D on,” Hocking said. “I have to say, what we’ve done in the R&D projects has just been fantastic. We’re working with a couple of games at Sony that are experimenting with virtual reality type experiences.”

So, hopefully we would have something solid to see by time of next consumer show or E3, to see how the new technologies have eliminated the problems of past VR headsets like image crossover, headaches, and looking stupid while using it. If this project really works out then combined with Sony Move to act as controller and 3D images in your face, could totally immerse you in future of gaming.

The Micro four-thirds system (first seen in the Olympus Pen) were the first to jump on to the mirror-less interchangeable lens camera (ILC) segment, bridging the gap between the DSLR and the high end P&S cameras. Panasonic, with their extensive range (G1, GF1 & GH1) were a step ahead of their competitors and with their second generation updates (G2, GF2 & GH2) and were able to consolidate their strong position in the niche market. At the time of writing, Panasonic has already moved forward with the third generation updates in the form of the G3 and GF3.

Never having been a fan of the four-thirds system, trying out the Panasonic GH2 was a bit of a challenge as I tried keeping my personal opinion aside. The GH2 is the most DSLR-like in the range with its rather large body, features and price tag.

Some of the main features on the GF2 are

• 18.3 megapixels 4/3 live MOS sensor.
• 16.0 effective megapixels.
• Micro Four Thirds lens mount with Four Thirds mount via adapter.
• 3 inch touch-sensitive TFT LCD display.
• Electronic viewfinder.
• Full HD video mode with stereo microphone.
• 3D capabilities.
You can buy the GH2 in three different packages which is the body only, the body and the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 OIS lens (GH2K kit), or the body and the 14-140mm f4-f5.8 OIS lens (GH2H kit). For this review, we were provided with the GH2H kit. You’ll also find a DMW-BLC12 lithium-ion battery and the charger for it, body cap, shoulder strap, stylus pen, USB and A/V cable, CD-ROM containing PhotoFunStudio, SilkiPix Developer Studio and Super LoiloScope trial and a printed camera manual. You’ll also get a lens front and rear cap with a pouch with the GH2K and GH2H kits.

An SD card is not provided nor does the GH2 have any built-in memory. The camera is compatible to SD (8M-2GB), SDHC (4GB-32GB), and SDXC (48GB, 64GB) memory cards. For still photographers, a 4GB or 8GB card should be adequate, though for movie shooters, anything over 8GB would be advisable.

The DMW-BLC12 battery takes over 2 hours to charge but lasts for about 150 shots under normal LCD and OIS usage, which was disappointing. The manufacturer claims a 320 shots battery life which is either too ambitious or maybe I was doing something wrong (mostly not).

The idea behind the Imation Link is simple: watch your videos and pictures streamed from your computer on to your TV without the mess of multiple cables. The limiting factors being that you can only stream videos smoothly up to a resolution of 720p and pictures up to 1080p. Also, streaming can only be achieved properly in a 30 feet line-of-sight radius. For any A/V enthusiast, these are pretty limiting factors, at least the 720p video playback; let’s see if Imation’s claim to these features is correct.

The Imation Link connects to your computer via a USB dongle. The Link wireless extender itself connects to your TV via HDMI, and, of course, a power outlet. Setting up the Link on a PC couldn’t be easier. Simply plug in the USB dongle in your Windows desktop or laptop and the drivers will be installed directly from the USB. Once that is done, hook up the link to your TV, select the correct input channel and you’re good to go in no more than 3 minutes. On Macs the process is similar, except you have a separate drivers CD from which to install the drivers.

The connection between the Link and the USB dongle is it’s own ultra-wideband wireless, so you don’t need to worry about any interference with your WiFI connection at home or office. Basically once a connection is established, the DisplayLink software literally extends your desktop from your existing monitor onto the TV. Now let’s get into the crux of the review: the actual experience.

The new Smart TVs from LG will have a dedicated Etisalat eLife portal on the Home menu where users can access the TV services without the need for a Set Top box. Everything is streamed directly to your TV. Of course, the part of the deal is the LG TV itself that has some of the most brilliant 3D implementation I have seen to date.

First of all it doesn’t require active shutter glasses like most brands do in the market nowadays, the LG Smart TV uses passive 3D glasses (like those in the cinema). The Smart Share function allows you to stream media from any your LG Optimus mobile or any Mac or PC (even a NAS setup). The LG Smart TV app (demoed using the LG Optimus 3D) will allow you to control your TV directly through the smartphone, just in case you don’t have the remote control nearby.

Etisalat hasn’t announced any specific price plans yet, but they did say that their aim is to have this service roll out by 1st July. Due to such an integrated partnership between the two companies, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a subsidized package deal where you pay a smaller down-payment for the LG 3D Smart TV and the rest is charged by the monthly eLife package. We’ll find out more in the coming days, so keep an eye out here.

As the name implies, the Imation Grand Entertainer is designed to be one powerful, all-encompassing media center box which takes care of all your media content and delivers it straight to your HDTV. The Grand Entertainer boasts full 1080p playback of most of today’s common video file formats, including Blu-ray ISOs and .mkv files with multiple subtitle and audio support. On the Audio front Imation has everything covered from AAC to FLAC and everything in between.

Supporting most modern file formats aside, the Grand Entertainer also has the ability to record video on its 1TB built-in HDD from any external video source connected through component cables, whether it be your old VHS player (remember those?), camcorder  or satellite decoder. The other cool feature is the Grand Entertainer’s ability to download torrents directly onto its HDD, albeit controlled via your PC. As far as streaming media on your network is concerned, you can either do it over Ethernet or through WiFi. However, you’ll need a USB WiFi dongle for that. Last, but definitely not least, is the Grand Entertainer’s ability to copy & paste files directly from any external USB drive onto its built-in HDD. This really comes in handy if you don’t have a PC around and need to get that movie from a friend of yours who just happened to have it on their USB stick.

So features aside, let’s jump into the actual performance of the device. The first thing that struck me about the Imation Grand Entertainer was its bulky size, which seemed especially huge compared to the ultra-slim WD TV Live Hub that I own. The second thing that I didn’t like about the Grand Entertainer was the fact that every time you start it the internal HDD starts to spin up loudly, which leads me to believe it’s a 7200rpm HDD inside. The WD TV Live Hub has a completely silent start, and given its slim profile, I’m assuming it has a 2.5” 5400rpm HDD inside. Surprisingly the Gran Entertainer takes quite a while to startup, around half a minute; but once it’s booted up, it runs pretty smooth while scrolling through menus.

The interface here is pretty simple and straightforward, showing “All, Video, Audio, IMS, Video In, Timer Record and Setup”. While browsing in “All, Video and Audio”, you’ll have a choice of viewing files from the internal HDD, external USB or streaming it over the Network or via UPNP (for external NAS). “IMS” lists all the Internet services, i.e. Picasa, Flickr, Weather and Internet TV. Too bad there’s no YouTube channel, it would’ve really come in handy. Using these services, as well as playing back video (all DVD files, 720p and 1080p) was a smooth experience. There’s nothing different here than other Media Centers. I will say that while the WD TV Live Hub only picks up audio and video files from external sources (in this case my external 500GB HDD), the Grand Entertainer shows all types of files. Obviously it can’t play all these various (unsupported) formats, but it comes in handy while copying and pasting items.

My MinoHD has seen the world with me and has never let me down. Some are speculating that the ever increasing capabilities of Smartphone cameras is the reason for the closure of Flip. I disagree on three levels. First, MinoHD is always instantly available by pressing the power button and hitting record whereas on almost all Smartphones I’ve used, I have to find and launch the camera app which takes quite a few seconds.

Secondly, the MinoHD is almost always fully charged whereas cameras on the Smartphones consume a lot of battery and the last thing I need is a smartphone dying on me because I took a fifteen minute video. They can also get pretty hot to use when recording larger videos which, I agree the Mino does too, but I don’t have to hold the Mino next to my ear. With the MinoHD, it charges every time I plug in it to transfer videos which brings me to my last point.

It is so much easier to transfer videos from the MinoHD with it’s built-in USB plug. With my Smartphone, I have to make sure that I have the USB cable with me. If not, then I have power it off, remove the MicroSD card and find the adapter to make sure it goes in my laptop. On the MinoHD, its just a matter of sliding the switch on the side.

Lets not forget other things that MinoHD is also capable of- such as image stabilization which has made many of my shaky videos appear smooth and a form factor that is so simple yet functional that it looks as if it has come out from Cuperteno. There have also been many times where our team of four has shared the flip on different events- I can’t just pass my Smartphone to someone else.

R.I.P. Flip. You will sorely be missed.

This latest projector from Texas Instruments, called the nHD Pico, might be small but packs in a reasonable bunch of tech. It boasts a 640×360 resolution, a 1000:1 or higher contrast ratio and is USB powered. Powered by a Pico DPP2601 / 2607 ASIC / processor, it sports a true RGB LED wide color gamut. No word yet on when this baby will be rolling out.