GTA IV Racks Up

GTA IV Racks Up ‘80 Orders Per Minute’ at Play.com

Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV), released today, is expected to do massive business and with Play.com reporting sales of 80 copies per minute, it looks like the predictions are coming true.

With almost perfect reviews, the early sales figures tally with today’s news that GTA publisher, Take Two, expects sales to exceed analyst predictions. This means GTA IV could smash & grab over £200 million in its first week.

Play.com’s Stuart Rowe, chief operating officer, told Gameindustry.biz:

“We're experiencing trading levels similar to what we would see in the run up to Christmas, taking over 80 orders per minute at peak times. We have had to recruit extra warehouse staff to work through the night to ensure product arrives on the day of launch. Grand Theft Auto IV is going to break all previous records when it comes to gaming.”

According to Take Two’s chief executive Ben Feder, speaking to Reuters:

“Our expectations are very high, higher than analysts give the game credit for. All the analysts had a (sales) number, give or take, and I think we will be on the upside of that rather than the downside.”

Stylish Sony DAV-F200 2.1 Sound System

Sony’s opting for some minimalist styling with its latest home cinema offering, the Bravia DAV-F200 2.1 sound system.

Black, shiny and skinny, the new system brings a surprising 405W of hearing damage, spread in 135W chunks between the two small speakers and slinky subwoofer. As is now becoming more common, Sony believes its virtual surround will satisfy movie lovers, using its S-Force Front Surround technology to create ‘enveloping, rich and detailed virtual surround effects without the need for speakers all around the room’.

The DVD player is HDMI-equipped and capable of upscaling regular DVDs to near-HD quality, although I wish companies – in this case Sony - would stop saying that their upscaling DVD players can ‘upscale standard DVDs to 1080p resolution’, because they can’t. ‘Near’ is as good as you’re going to get. The unit can be wall-mounted but you will need to get the optional mount.

Formats supported include DVD, DVD+/-R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, DivX and, from USB devices, WMA and AAC files. It’s due out in June but there’s no price yet.-Martin Lynch

FEATURES:

* 2.1 system with compact, stylish control unit and speakers
* HDMI connection with 1080p upscaling and BRAVIA Sync system control
* USB play and record
* DMPORT connection for portable devices
* Portable Audio Enhancer
* 405W 32bit S-Master Digital Amplifier
* S-Force Front Surround
* Plays DVD, DVD+/-R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, DivX (plus WMA and AAC on USB)
* Optical/coaxial digital and analogue inputs for external sources
* Supplied with remote handset

VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse

No need to plug in and plug out your USB receiver from your laptop

Gadget Reviews: Now don’t worry to plug in and off your mouse USB receiver from your laptop. Just plug it in and forget. Logitech is going to introduce new VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse with small 2.4 GHz USB receiver. The receiver is so small, that you can keep it always plug in and can use the mouse whenever you want. With stylish cool look the mouse is fitted with frictionless scrolling button and it can run on AAA batteries for 6 months. It will be available in the market worldwide in late August, 2007 with a price tag of US$ 69.9.

2006 Jaguar XJ: just like aeroplane

Our twin brother separated at birth and raised by a pack of ravenous gearheads, Jalopnik, posted a review of the 2006 Jaguar XJ Super V8. MSRP £48,100

What they liked: The engine puts out 400hp, which is a lot considering the car is completely aluminum and quite light for a large sedan at 4,001 pounds. Overall, the car performs well and rides comfortably - like a first class airliner.

What they didn't like: The car lacks simple luxuries like bi-xenon headlamps (we don't mind because those things freakin' blind us). And the entire design feels a dated, complete with a nav system from 1999.

Gizmodo thoughts: Bluetooth phone support is a step in the right direction and the front seats have screens in the back of their headrests. But to change a DVD, the player is in the trunk. In a boat like a Jag engineers can't fit a player in the rear console? None of this tech is that expensive anymore - so in a £50,000 car the layout should be perfect.

Favorite excerpt: "One reviewer's sister enjoyed the back seat so much she called it the best car ever. Her brother doesn't quite agree." Anyone else read strange, incestuous innuendo here?

UPlus 2, the World's Smallest Cellphone Charger

Straight out of Korea comes the UPlus 2, a USB cellphone charger from NewQ that is supposedly the world's smallest, but manufacturers like to claim that their product is the world's first/biggest/fastest etc. all the time. It is hard to imagine anything smaller than this, however. The charger is small enough to be carried with you everywhere you go (yay!) and also doubles as a USB file transfer device, letting you offload images and or media stored on a cellphone.

While no release date nor price has been announced, NewQ expects to release an updated model that is compatible with 19-pin and 17-pin products soon enough. The Danes call it quality. – Nicholas Deleon

Harman Kardon's iPod Bridge

This is the iPod Bridge made by iPod accessory extraordinaire, Harman Kardon. It is really the same as every other home audio dock controller out there but worse, because it limits you to compatibility with only Harman Kardon audio equipment. "The Bridge" allows you to use your existing Harman Kardon remote—they must assume everyone buys their overpriced audio equipment—to control the iPod from across the room. It can display the iPod GUI on the receiver display or on the television screen itself. Woohoo! The unit is compatible with Harman Kardon's AVR 140, 240, 340 and 740 receivers. It will set you back 40 bones, which is pretty reasonable considering brand name markup. – Travis Hudson