Tony Ibrahim

Nintendo’s 3DS handheld console, which gained notoriety for its no-glasses 3D, is now getting a XL upgrade.

Nintendo is planning on launching a 3DS handheld console with a screen that is 90% bigger. The company announced the move in a video on the 22nd of June, and hopes to have the console available in Australia and New Zealand by August 23rd.

Bigger screens usually translate to a cut in battery life, but Nintendo allege the battery life “outperforms that of the original Nintendo 3DS.”

An included 4GB SD card will allow users to store content (music, movies, pictures) on the 3DS, in addition to games they download from the Nintendo eShop.

Nintendo will also be releasing Super Mario Bros. 2 on the 18th of August, available as a digital download or the traditional retail package.

In Australia, the 3DS XL will be available in Silver + Black, Red + Black, and Blue + Black for $249.95.

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It is a little black box that plugs into your TV and transmits whatever is being broadcasted, along with any recorded content stored onto a digital cable box, satellite receiver or DVD player, to a smartphone, tablet or computer over WiFi.

The content can also be accessed when on the go by a mobile or tablet’s internet connection.

Understanding the internet isn’t everywhere (yet), @TV owners can download TV shows to their mobile devices for offline viewing.

Users simply have to download the iOS or Android application, which is free to do for tablets, but for some strange capitalistic reason is $13.99 for smartphones.

From the application, users have access to Belkin’s channel guide.

SmartHouse has asked Belkin if the @TV Plus can feed a channel other than the one being broadcasted to a device, allowing the kids to watch a show of their liking when dad is hogging the TV. If so, the @TV will be a cheap alternative to buying multiple TVs, especially because it can stream footage to 8 devices simultaneously. This article will be updated with their response.

Update: A Belkin spokesperson has informed us the @TV isn’t capable of juggling TV channels, but it can broadcast different content stored on a DVD player while the TV is in use. 

“With @TV you aren’t limited in your channel selection, and you have full access to both recorded content and live TV, so it’s easy to watch your favourite TV show in the backyard or catch the game out and about,” said Belkin’s Head of Marketing and Product Management (ANZ).

Belkin’s @TV Plus is available now for $199.95.

Belkin @TV Plus (G1V1000au) – $199.95
· Watch live and recorded TV anywhere your tablet, smartphone, or laptop can access Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G
· Record directly on mobile devices
· Wi-Fi enabled
· Compatible with both Mac and PC, Android and iOS devices
· No additional monthly service fees

A new iPhone is coming and devout iPhone followers are stretching their fingers in preparation for a bigger screen. Is this fragmentation worrying iOS developers? No

And that’s great news because it’ll make it easy to run Apple’s existing suite of applications.

The insight comes from a poll conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. At last week’s World Wide Developers Conference, Munster asked 100 developers to rate how difficult it would be to program apps to run on two different sized screens.

On a scale of one to ten, PCWorld report the average rating was 3.4, suggesting developers could easily accommodate a larger iPhone or an iPad Mini.

“Given the relative ease expected by developers for utilizing potential new iOS screen sizes, we believe the introduction of new screen sizes would not affect the success or availability of the apps on iOS,” Munster noted to investors.

Munster’s research revealed a rise in iOS developers programming apps for Android. This year more than half of WWDC developers programed apps for the rivalling OS, marking a significant rise from last year’s 47%.

The 55 developers who programed apps for both operating systems favoured Apple’s iOS for two reasons: “ease of development and future revenue growth.”

“We believe Apple’s loyal developer base will continue to develop cutting edge apps for iOS that will draw in new customers, helping to fuel continued growth in iOS device sales,” wrote Munster.

A rise in developers programmed applications for Microsoft’s Windows Phone (14%, up 1% compared to 2011), while BlackBerry endured a steep decline, from 36% in 2011 to 9% in 2012.

“The importance of a strong developer base is crucial to the success of a mobile operating system and therefore the success of a phone or tablet as well,” Munster wrote.

The current iPhone has a 3.5 inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio. The new iPhone is rumoured to have a 4 inch retina display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, only requiring older apps to be letterboxed.

Apple iPhone 5: 4.08″ Screen, 7.9mm Thin, Report