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The Keytendo is a retro gamer’s keychain holder

You’ll relive fond memories of playing your favorite video games every time you walk out the door with the Keytendo video game console key holder rack from Suatmm.

The Keytendo is a wall mountable replica of the classic Nintendo gaming console from the 80’s.

The key holder feature two gaming controller connector fobs that attach to your existing keychain and then plug into the Keytendo so you can grab and go.

There’s also a small storage area inside the gaming cartridge slot for small items. The Suatmm Keytendo is priced at $29.99 and is available now from Amazon.

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The Keytendo is a retro gamer’s keychain holder originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 20, 2017 at 11:34 am.

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Turtle Beach XO THREE gaming headset review

If you are a serious console gamer you have probably heard of Turtle Beach. Turtle Beach has been one of best-known gaming headset makers around. If you’re not a gamer you may not understand the importance of having a good headset, especially when playing PVP (Player VS Player) type games. I will admit that I have always been a little envious of Turtle Beach users, but I could never justify buying some of their earlier offerings because of prices. Not that they were the most expensive, but more for my lack of PVP gaming, so I just used some get by headsets. Now Turtle Beach has launched the XO THREE headset for the XBOX One and RECON 150 for the PlayStation 4 a good functional gaming headset at a good price.

Note: Images can be clicked to view a larger size.

If I were to say what price category the XO THREE headset fell into for Turtle Beach I would say they were a mid price range offering, but that’s not saying that the features are midrange.

The XO THREE headset has the following specifications as listed on the Turtle Beach website:

  • Audio Connection: 3.5mm 90-Degree Angle Connector
  • Speaker Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
  • Speaker Size: 50mm Neodymium Magnets
  • Microphone: Removable Omni-Directional Microphone
  • Headband/Earpad material: Leather-Wrapped Headband / Black Fabric Ear Pads with Foam Cushioning
  • Ear Cushion: Over-Ear (Open)

The top of the XO THREE headset is padded and leather wrapped and has “TURTLE BEACH” stamped into it. The padding is above and below the headset frame. The green stitching is a nice touch.

On the bottom of the headset, you can see the leather band on the headband and the microphone and cord on the left side ear cup.

The outside of both of the ear cups for the XO THREE headset are basically the same with the Turtle Beach logo and the green material.

The inside of the XO THREE ear cups have nice padding for a comfortable fit. The inner speaker is covered by a mesh material. Speaking of ear cups now would be a good time to talk about the speakers. The XO THREE headset has a 50mm speaker and is designed for surround sound. The 50mm speaker is the same size Turtle Beach uses in its higher end offerings.

As I mentioned before, the bottom of the left ear cup has a cord (this plugs into your game controller or directly into a 3.5 mm headphone jack) and a removable boom microphone.

The removable microphone has a solid base with a flexible boom and a foam covered mic. The flexibility of the microphone allows you to place it exactly where you want it for the best sound being transmitted to your gaming friends.

The headphone cord has an inline volume controller for the headset volume and a mute slider to mute your microphone.

So, what is my bottom line here? I have been fortunate enough to review another gaming headset, the Polk Striker Pro Zx so I do have a reference to compare the Turtle Beach XO THREE headset too. First, let me say that the XO THREE headset, to me anyway is a good bang for the buck buy. The sound is great (may be as good or slightly better than my Striker Pro Zx) the build quality is good and the features are nice. From a comfort standpoint, I think my Pro Zx is a little bit more comfortable, I believe that is more to do with the ear cup shape than anything else. That being said, the only real negative I could find about the XO THREE headset is a lack of a removable cord. If you ask gamers what their biggest issue with gaming headsets is they will probably say the cord. Cords wear, crack, get eaten by pets/kids and when that happens it makes the headset unusable. It is a shame that Turtle Beach did not make the cord removable and changeable. The Turtle Beach XO THREE gaming headset can be purchased on the Turtle Beach website for $69.95. If you’re looking for a good gaming headset for a good price the XO THREE headset is worth a look.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Turtle Beach. Visit their site for more information and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $69.95
Manufacturer: Turtle Beach
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • XBOX One or compatible PC
Pros:
  • Decent price
  • Great sound
Cons:
  • No removable cord

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Turtle Beach XO THREE gaming headset review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 19, 2017 at 8:32 am.

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SmartBoy turns your Samsung Galaxy S8 into a Game Boy

Do you still have a pile of Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges gather dust in a drawer somewhere in your house AND do you also have a Samsung Galaxy S8? Then your retro dreams have just come true with SmartBoy.

SmartBoy from Hyperkin is a module that attaches to the bottom of your S8 (and a select group of other Android phones) to turn it into a Game Boy / Game Boy Color device right down to those iconic controller buttons.

This device doesn’t require batteries. It plugs into the Type-C port on the bottom of the S8. You supply the Game Boy cartridge and then all that’s left is to have fun playing your favorite games.

The SmartBoy is priced at $49.99 and will start shipping on 8/21/17. You can read more about it and check the device compatibility list at hyperkinlab.com

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SmartBoy turns your Samsung Galaxy S8 into a Game Boy originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 8, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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VR Real Feel Racing 3D reality simulator review

Virtual reality gaming continues to grow in popularity and VR headsets are all over Amazon and other online retailers. Today I want to show you the VR Real Feel Racing set. This is a VR headset that comes with a wireless steering wheel controller for a fun 3D racing simulation. Let’s check it out. 

What is it?

VR Real Feel is a VR headset that connects via Bluetooth to a handheld controller to give you a real world feel of racing a car.

What’s in the box?

VR Real Feel VR headset
Handheld controller
Quick start guide

Design and features

The VR headset is similar to other VR headsets that I’ve reviewed in the past. It’s made of plastic, doesn’t require any batteries or power to operate.

It’s basically a holder that you wear on your head that has bee designed to hold your smartphone in front of your eyes and two lenses.

Adjustable elastic straps are attached to the headset so that you can customize the fit.

The front of the headset unlocks to reveal a spring-loaded holder for your smartphone.

I used my iPhone 7 Plus in a Rock iPhone case to test the VR Real Feel. It fit just fine in the spring-loaded holder and I had no problems snapping the headset closed with the phone in place.

To round out the racing set, there’s a battery powered Bluetooth handheld remote controller that is included with the headset.

The controller has grips so that you can hold it between your hands like a racing steering wheel.

There are two round thumb buttons located perfectly where your thumbs rest while holding the controller. There are also two “shoulder buttons” on the edge above the thumb buttons that are placed where your index fingers rest.

The controller is powered by 3 AAA batteries which is a bummer if you don’t have any on hand when you unbox this device. Yes, I’m speaking from experience.

Drivers, start your engines!

To start racing, you will need to find 3 AAA batteries and load them into the handheld controller. You’ll also need to install the VR Real Feel racing app on your iPhone or Android device.

When you start the app, it will ask you to scan for the steering wheel controller. To do that, flip the power switch on the back of the controller and press the scan button in the app. It will find the controller and connect via Bluetooth.

It will then ask if you want to play the game with or without the VR headset and will then instruct you to load your phone into the headset and put it on.

I wear glasses and am happy to say that the headset fits over my glasses without any issues. That said, the headset felt heavy on the bridge of my nose. When I tried to wear the headset without my glasses, the plastic nose piece in the headset felt sharp against the bridge of my nose so I did not find the headset to be comfortable no matter how I tried to adjust it.

Even though the headset was not comfortable to wear for very long, I was able to race several times with the headset, controller and VR Real Feel app and found it to be pretty fun once I got used to the controls and navigating the menus.

The game has several race tracks and levels that you can drive.

There’s a dirt track race.

A city track race.

 

 

There are even wacky tracks like dino world, under water, robot factory, and more.

The controller is easy to use while driving as it’s a simple matter of pressing the thumb buttons to control gas and braking.

While racing, I was surprised to find out that the handheld controller has some force feedback features that cause it to vibrate when you hit an object or go off the road. This contributes to the virtual reality feel of the game to make it feel more realistic and fun.

Final thoughts

If you can get past the comfort issue with the headset, this virtual reality headset, and controller racing set is a lot of fun. At least than $30, it’s inexpensive and can be used to play other VR games. I would say the VR Real Feel is the least comfortable of the VR headsets that I’ve reviewed so far, but it’s definitely better than the other VR headsets that I’ve reviewed so far because it comes with a controller.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by VR Entertainment. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $29.99
Manufacturer: VR Entertainment
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • iOS or Android mobile device with Bluetooth 4.0 BLE
Pros:
  • Fun to play
  • Multiple tracks
  • Handheld controller with force feedback
Cons:
  • Controller requires 3 AAA batteries which aren't included
  • Headset can feel heavy and uncomfortable

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VR Real Feel Racing 3D reality simulator review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 22, 2017 at 4:18 pm.

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Kingston HyperX Pulsefire gaming mouse review

The next stop on my gaming gear journey has us looking at a gaming mouse. Now, Kingston is not a brand I usually associate with gaming peripherals, rather, I think of internal components instead. When the Kingston HyperX Pulsefire FPS gaming mouse was offered up for review, I thought I would give it a chance. Would their name live up to my expectations? Time to find out.


Inside of the box you’ll find the HyperX Pulsefire gaming mouse and a quick start guide.

This mouse is meant to be plug and play. There is no special software to customize the buttons, and there are four DPI settings that cannot be changed. Each preset DPI setting is indicated by the button color, ranging from 400 DPI to 3200 DPI. I ended up using the third highest setting for day to day and gaming use, but could switch easily to whichever I wanted with a push of a button. I really liked the color indicator feature so that I would know which DPI setting that I was on.

The mouse is lightweight and would glide smoothly across my mouse pad. It is a hair larger than my previous mouse, but weight wise, it was around the same. There are tactile, textured grips on each side of the mouse to theoretically keep your hands from slipping around. I’ve never had a problem with slipping, but it felt nice under my fingers either way. The Pixart 3310 optical sensor had no problem working on the wood of my desk or on my mouse pad. I never felt any hesitation due to the sensor; it always worked perfectly regardless of whatever game I played.

It took about a week to get used to the slight differences between my old mouse and the Kingston one, but once I did, it was very comfortable and felt normal to use. There are six buttons on this mouse; the left and right standard buttons, the scroll wheel, DPI button, and two thumb buttons. The layout of the thumb buttons were perfectly placed and easy to press, and it was easy to customize them using in game settings for what I used them for.

After getting my key bindings set up, (my previous mouse has software that sets the key bindings for each game) figuring out which DPI setting worked best for me, and getting used to the feel of the mouse, I have had no desire to switch back to my old mouse. The ease of gliding across my mouse pad is the main reason, as my old mouse would catch on the bottom from time to time due to a bottom pad wearing down.

I also liked the look of the mouse. The black and red color scheme is simple, yet you get that splash of color. The durable, braided cord is also black and red, and made it easy to figure out which cord was which in the back of my computer.


Overall, I really liked the Kingston HyperX Pulsefire gaming mouse and it definitely lived up to the expectations I had for it. The quality and comfort level is great, and it is simple and easy to use. The biggest downside I see is that you lack any customization outside of pre-sets, and that can be a deterrent if you can’t find a DPI level on the mouse that suits you. For a casual gamer though, this mouse is worth looking into.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Kingston HyperX. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $49.99
Manufacturer: Kingston HyperX Gaming
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • – Easy to use
  • – Well made with a nice aesthetic design
Cons:
  • – Not able to customize DPI

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Kingston HyperX Pulsefire gaming mouse review originally appeared on on July 13, 2017 at 7:55 am.

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