MySims Agents was announced by EA today.

The game, for Wii and Nintendo DS, makes players the heroic agents called upon to stop a plot threatening an entire city.

“It’s mystery-meets-adventure theme allows players to hone their problem-solving skills while still enjoying all of the beloved MySims charm, characters, customization and humour.”

The game will be available in the fall and is yet to be rated.

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EA Sports announced today that the Wii version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour will be bundled with the new Wii MotionPlus accessory.

The manufaturer said the accessory will give players an unprecedented authentic golf swing experience and the ability to control the ball.

The title will ship to stores in North America on June 11. The game is rated E and the bundle’s recommended price is $59.99, the game alone is $49.99.

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QuickerTek has announced an external battery/charger that will give MacBook Pros an additional 18 hours of battery life.

The product expands the included battery’s capacity for 11.5 to 18 hours. While in use it also charges the internal battery. Users can benefit from the extended battery life during airline flights.

“This new battery and charger not only gives you all-day performance, but it also enables a longer wireless experience, by providing all the extended power needed when mobile. It looks good and it’s easy to carry with you when you travel,” said Rick Estes, QuickerTek president.

“This battery technology is now 25% more dense – so we can pack more into a smaller size.”

The product is three pounds and is available for $499.95 USD.

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nova media, a Berlin based business, announced their 3GB USB modem modem today.

The modem supports EDGE, GPRS and HSDPA connections with up to 7.2 Mbit/s download speed.

“The iCON 225 is a reliable and affordable 3G modem for the Mac community, which is not SIM loacked or otherwise bound to a certain provider or network,” said Jan Fuellemann, nova media spokesperson. “The iCON 225 supports the fast HSDPA protocol in all 2100 MHz networks, which are common in Europe and Asia. In most other countries, EDGE and GPRS are supported which offer speeds up to 220 Kbit/s in downloading data and up to 120 Kbit/s in uploading data.”

The modem includes launch2net for Mac OS X, an internet connect wizard.

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Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO) is releasing an Action Jacket for the new iPod Shuffle this weekend.

The jacket, designed for the new and easy to misplace iPod, will also feature an extra pocket to keep belongings like cash or keys. The one-size-fits-all armband is resistant to water.

It will be available at Best Buy stores starting April 5 for $19.99.

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A camera that can upload photos moments after taking them will be available in Canada in April.

Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-G3 can upload photos and videos in any Wi-Fi hotspot thanks to its built in web browser.

“Research shows that our customers greatly value sharing images and video clips, but they often forget or don’t have enough time if they wait to get home to upload images,” said Mio Ozawa, manager of digital camera marketing at Sony Canada. “Our new Cyber-shot DSC-G3 camera provides the simplicity and convenience of sharing in the moment, while the impulse is still fresh in people’s minds.”

The camera, like a computer, will be able to connect to free, fee-based, secure and unsecure hotspots in places like hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and airports. After connecting to the Internet, the camera automatically goes to the Sony Easy Upload home page. The camera will be available for around $600.

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iPump FitnessBuilder, containing 400 complete workouts and 4,000 exercise images and videos, is now available through iTunes.

It’s the largest library of exercise images and videos and can be used on an iPhone or iPod touch. There’s a “next workout” function that allows a logical progression of workouts, contributing to a consistent plan.

“FitnessBuilder creates the atmosphere of having a personal trainer in your pocket,” says Craig Schlossberg, co-founder of PumpOne. “Its unique selection features allows users to choose exercises based on fitness goal, body part, and equipment available – taking the guesswork out of working out.”

Users can choose from workouts aimed at difference fitness levels and interests. There’s also a customizable option to make your own workout. After each exercise is completed, the user has the opportunity to enter weight, reps and sets to track their progress into a workout log.

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SlingPlayer Mobile is now available for BlackBerry.

SlingPlayer’s software streams televisions with Slingboxes to mobile devices. There’s a 30 day free trail and the full version is available for $34.99.

It is now available for Rogers phones like BlackBerry Bold and on Wi-Fi BlackBerry Curve 8900, 8820, Curve 8320, Pearl Flip 8220 and Pearl 8120. The BlackBerry Curve 8350i from Telus can use SlingPlayer on Wi-Fi as well.

Enhancements have been made since the beta version. Slingboxes and channel favourites can now be edited from mobile devices. There’s also a new setting to optimize low bandwidth streaming.

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Nintendo announced some surprises for consumers at the Game Developers Conference this week. President Satoru Iwata made the announcements at the conference in San Fransisco during his keynote speech.

“It is in the power of game developers to invent things that gamers have never seen – or even imagined – before,” said Iwata. Worldwide Wii shipments have surpassed 50 million and shipments of the Nintendo DS franchise have passed 100 million.

The portable DSi system will be available in North America on April 5. For six months following the launch customers who go onto the DSi shop will recieve 1,000 points, which can be redeemed for games and applications. Those attending the conference got a sneak peak at DSiWare games and applications like Moving Memo and WarioWare: Snapped.

As of yesterday, Wii owners can downloaded WiiWare, virtual console video games, and channels directly to high capacity SD cards, in addition to SD memory cards.

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Boxee made a handful of announcements at their meetup in New York city last night.

Their website describes their services as “news, plugins, hacks and everything in between.”

They announced two partnerships on Tuesday, one with Pandora to monetize their audio ads, and another with RadioTime, letting users play play radio stations (100k worldwide).

Also announced, was the API that Pandora and RadioTime were built on will be used. An XUL-based framework (Mozilla) for the Boxee browser, enabling easy interaction with web-based videos. www.BoxeeHQ.com developed a PBS application, also available in their Boxee app repository.

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Songs by five bands will be released for download in April for Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitar Hero World Tour combines advanced wireless controllers, online and offline gameplay modes. The guitar and drum controllers and wired microphones have been redesigned.

On April 2 the Pixies’ music will be available for the first time  in a Guitar Hero game. Silversun Pickups’ new music will be available before their release of their second album, Swoon, on April 14. 

On April 16th Steely Dan’s music will be available. For download on April 23rd, British hard rock band, Motörhead songs will be available.

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LaCie blue eye pro Proof Edition, a complete monitor calibration and profiling solution, ensures certified colors in a one click.

Designed to integrate with prepress, its  Test & Report function allows users to perform color accuracy verifications based on  UGRA/FOGRA Mediawedge standard colours.

Whitepoint, gamma, brightness, blackpoint and any other target colorimetric settings can be targeted by users. The software automatically calibrates the monitor, ensuring consistent colour reproduction during the work-flow.

“Thanks to the LaCie blue eye pro Proof Edition, customers whose work-flow includes contract proofing based on standard UGRA/FOGRA Mediawedge colours can enjoy the benefits of softproofing with no disruption to their existing processes,” said Daniel Mayer, LaCie Displays Business Unit Manager.

LaCie blue eye pro Proof Edition’s colour management tools include whitepoint fine-tuning, blackpoint adjustment and ambient Light analysis. It works with software packages such as ColorSync, Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, QuarkXPress and Aperture.

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LightBox Interactive announced a deal with Sony today that allows them to create exclusive software titles for PlayStation platforms.

The new software development company, LightBox Interactive,  was formed by Dylan Jobe, former Incognito Entertainment Studio Director.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with Dylan and his team in their new endeavor at LightBox Interactive,” said John Hight, Sony’s director of internal development.  “Through pioneering many online and community features on PlayStation network with the multiplayer game Warhawk, this team is established as leaders in the online category.  I look forward to seeing what kind of further innovations they bring to the PlayStation platforms through this new development deal.”

Jobe directed Warhawk, a multiplayer PlayStation 3 game that was first to deliver consumers a game on Blu-ray Disc and as a download on the PlayStation network.

“We’ve forged a fantastic relationship with Sony over the past nine years and with the formation of LightBox Interactive, our partnership will continue to grow, fueling the development of great games for players around the globe,” said Dylan Jobe, president, LightBox Interactive, Inc.

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LaCie, manufacturer of computer peripherals, announced a merger with the creators of the online storage service, Wuala, yesterday.

“We will also bring this technology to enterprises and professional customers, who will soon take advantage of our services with both cloud and data center-based storage,” said Dominik Grolimund, Co-creator of Wuala.

LaCie was established in 1989 and makes peripherals for PC, Apple and Linux users. Wuala is online storage that allows users to securely store, backup and access files from anywhere. Users start with 1 GB of storage, but can trade idle disk space or buy more space. LaCie is planning on implementing “cloud storage” technology into its storage devices.

“For 20 years, LaCie massively promoted hard drive technologies; today, as a leader on storage market, we will be a first mover in the next leading technologies: flash-based storage, and cloud storage. With this merger, LaCie will morph from a pure hardware manufacturer to a solution provider. These new technologies will be amazing for our customers and will enhance their experience,” said Philippe Spruch, CEO of LaCie.

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A free download of the Guitar Hero Metallica demo will be available today on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

The demo allows for players to play Metallica hits like “Sad But True” and “Seek And Destroy.” Songs from Alice In Chains and Queen were picked as guest acts by Metallica. Players can choose from gameplay modes like single-player, band quickplay, head-to-head, face-off, pro face-off and battle.

The game is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Budcat Creations is taking care of versions for Wii  and PlayStation 2. The game will be released on March 29.

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Nintendo shipped its 100 millionth portable DS system on March 9.

The 100 million sales include Nintento DS, DS Lite and DSi systems. All sales have been since late 2004 when the product launched.

“Consumers have shown their love for Nintendo DS – 100 million times over,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “We are grateful that people of all ages continue to respond to our products, and we will continue to look for ways to please current gamers and create new ones.”

Over the last five years the product has evolved. The Nintendo DS Lite offered a slimmer look than the original. The Nintendo DSi will be available in North America on April 5. The product, already available in Japan, includes two cameras and will allow for the recording and playing of soundfiles.

At the end of December 2008 there were 83 DS titles to choose from, with over one million shipped, some titles topping 10 million.

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It would seem OtterBox has made a case for itself as the company continues to grow during the economic downturn. The Fort Collins company has been making protective casing for products including iPods, smartphones, PDAs, Tablet PCs and laptops since 1996.

While many companies downsize, OtterBox plans to release 40 to 60 new products and hire around 20 more staff members in the coming year. Keeping them more than afloat may be their partnerships and collaborations like those with RIM, Palm, HP, TELUS, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications.

“OtterBox has both a national and worldwide presence. From the US to Europe, Asia, South America and Canada, we are reaching out to develop relationships with key distributors, carriers and OEMs,” said CEO Curt Richardson. “Even within the first two months this year we’ve hit our anticipated revenue, a promising sign in the current economy.”

In 2008 internet sales increased 88 per cent over 2007. The success is attributed to product reviews on the site and the ability to follow the company on Facebook and Twitter. The company encourages customer interaction through Planet OtterBox. Customers are encouraged to submit their stories and photos involving the products for a chance to win a $100 cash prize or $150 for their website.

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