The Xbox 360 Avenger Controller is like no other controller that I’ve seen before. It looks more like a weird spider or something. In reality, it’s a special housing for your stock Xbox 360 controller. Just snap it in and you’ll now have a controller that has been designed so that you don’t have to remove your thumbs from the joysticks. Your fingers can easily manipulate finely tuned arms that are connected to the other buttons. Everything can be fine tuned to get just the right touch. There’s also a built in stand to rest the controller on hour chest or leg as you play your favorite first person shooters. The Xbox 360 Avenger Controller is available from GamingZap for £49.95 (approximately US $79.21). What do you think? Cool or too complicated?

Filed in categories: Gaming Gear, News

Tagged: XBox

Is this the ultimate Xbox 360 controller? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 10, 2011 at 11:00 am.

Once upon a time, it was possible for hardcore gamers to ply their avocation inconspicuously, their games and controllers stored in boxes, and their consoles tucked away behind the doors of their entertainment center or component cabinet.  These days, however, motion is A Big Deal, and as a result, taking full advantage of a modern console requires placing a sensor of some kind out in the open, usually on top of your TV.  But HDTVs only have so much real estate on top of their ever-slimmer frames, and naturally the big three console makers have no interest in making it easy to use a competitor’s sensor in addition to their own, so the number of consoles a gamer can use effectively becomes limited by how many sensors one can haphazardly stack on top of one’s TV.

Well, multi-platform gamers need fret no longer, because the dreamGEAR TriMount is here to solve our sensor-placement woes for good.  Attaching easily to most HDTVs via an adjustable screw or to a wall via a wall mount, the TriMount provides space for the Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor, the PlayStation Eye, and the Wii Sensor Bar.  The resultant amalgamation of cameras and sensors ends up looking like some sort of dystopian Big Brother surveillance device, but at only $29.99 it may be just what the doctor ordered, presuming that your doctor’s last name is “Mario”, “Robotnik”, or “Wily”.

The TriMount is currently available for pre-order at the dreamGEAR website, and will begin shipping on 8/15/2011.

Filed in categories: News, Portable and Console Gaming

Tagged: Nintendo Wii, Playstation, Spotlight Gadgets, Video game accessory, XBox

TriMount Turns Your TV Into an Ugly But Organized Gaming Nirvana originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 13, 2011 at 2:00 pm.

As a mobile gadget freak, I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone. Now XBox fans don’t have to leave their favorite console behind when they travel. They can use the GAEMS Suitcase, which turns any XBox into a portable (sorta) gaming station. It’s not just a carrying case, the suitcase houses a 15-inch 720p LCD and speakers in the lid. It will be available in Q4 for an estimated price of $250.

[Via GadgetReview]

Filed in categories: Gaming Gear, News

Tagged: Gaming, Spotlight Gadgets, XBox

Gaming on the go with the GAEMS Suitcase originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 19, 2010 at 9:17 pm.

With every PC, Game station, entertainment device generation, the goal is making things run faster. As a result cooling is important for the device’s life span. If they don’t stay cool, the device will burn up and then your 100 to 2000 dollar device is a oversized paper weight. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 early on had heat issues with constant use. Several companies have come out with an add-on to the station to help mitigate the heat issues with additional cool fans.

PEGA has developed a stand that helps address the heat issues that the Xbox 360 currently has. Available from Brando, the Disc Case Stand 2 in 1 Cooling Fan has two quiet 3” fans that are built into the stand unit that the Xbox 360 sits on. Other features of the stand are 4 slots for Game case storage.

Key Specifications/Special Features

Cooling the console
As a stand to keep the console steady

Stand slots on both sides can hold 4 disc cases

Package Contents

Main Fan Unit
USB Power Cable

This unit is extremely simple to install and use. Anyone could install this cooling system with very little trouble. I have had some DVD and Game play issues if I ran my Xbox 360 for very long. After I installed this unit I didn’t experience any problems like before. I used this device for long periods of time over the course of a week with no problems. So, for a low budget home this would be a good solution for addressing heat issues in your Xbox 360.

I personally would not purchase this cooling device for the following reasons: If you have paid so much for your Xbox unit, I would want something with more air flow that will guarantee to help keep things cool. The air flow from this unit is not very high, so this unit would have problems keeping things cool if the room’s temperature was higher than normal. The other bad side to this unit is that the fans are controlled by a simple On/Off switch on the back side of the unit. This has multiple issues. The unit gives no indication when the fans are running unless you stretch around to the back of the unit and look at the switch position. The unit does have a green LED light to show that it’s getting power, but it is always on and not very useful. The other issue I had with this is that you have to turn the fans on manually. Personally I think the fans should turn on with the Xbox 360 or by temperature detection. Granted this might increase the cost of the device, but I believe this is a needed feature.

The final issue I noticed with this cooling unit is that by design this unit must be plugged into the back USB port of the Xbox 360. If you have any devices already plugged into the back port, you have to decide which is more important. In my case I have the Xbox 360 Wireless Network adapter that requires the back USB Port so it had to be removed for this review.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a low cost Xbox 360 Cooling device this could suit your needs, if you understand its limitations. I personally would go for something else with a better feature set and one that has a power indicator.

Filed in categories: Portable and Console Gaming

Tagged: XBox

Xbox 360 2 in 1 Cooling Stand originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 28, 2006 at 7:52 am.