Xbox 360 Arcade ships Today

Microsoft finally got around to officially announcing the Xbox 360 Arcade. The Xbox 360 Arcade already showed up in some retail stores a week ago.

The Xbox 360 Arcade is now shipping from major online retailers. Wal-mart offers the Xbox 360 Arcade for $279.92.
Gamestop sells the cheapest Xbox 360 console for $279.99.


The Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade console includes five family-friendly games (PAC-MAN Championship Edition" (NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.), "Uno" (Carbonated Games), "Luxor 2" (MumboJumbo), "Boom Boom Rocket" (Electronic Arts Inc.) and "Feeding Frenzy" (Sprout Games)), a wireless controller, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connection to enable high-definition output if desired and 256 MB of memory.

As said in my earlier coverage of the Xbox 360 Arcade, Microsoft should have set the price to $249.99 to compete heads-on with the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo can just lean back and can keep their pricing while Sony and Microsoft cut pricing of their consoles for the holiday shopping season.

On the other hand Nintendo seems to still struggle to get enough Wii consoles into the U.S. marketplace. It is still not in stock on Amazon.com every time I check.

40GB Sony PS3 is official

Sony officially announces the rumored 40GB Sony PS3 console for Europe launching next week on October 10th at the new low price of €399. (Price would be $399 if it launches in U.S.)

There are few differences between the 40GB PS3 and the 60GB PS3. One big difference is that the new PS3 is no longer backwards compatible with PS2 games.

“The introduction of the new PS3 has been the result of extensive research into the entertainment needs and preferences of the next generation of PS3 owners,” said David Reeves, President of SCEE. “It has allowed us to deliver an extremely advanced, yet incredibly affordable High Definition gaming and entertainment system, configured to the needs of the next generation of European PS3 owners. PS3 has always been the device of choice for the discerning gamer and entertainment seeker, and the new PS3 is more than ever the perfect High Definition entertainment system."

The 60GB PS3 will now be selling for 499 Euro as long there is stock available. See Amazon UK. (*In the UK and Ireland, the Starter Pack will be replaced by a separate in-store promotion on the 60GB PS3.)

Besides in Europe the 40GB Sony PS3 also will launch in Middle East, Africa and Australasia.

Digital SLR Camera Buyers Guide

If you are shopping for a digital camera to be given as a gift for a birthday, graduation, or Christmas you may have lots of questions about which camera type to buy. At the most basic level you need to decide what the camera will be used for and what the skill level of the person using the camera is. If your camera is just for shooting the occasional picture of friends and events a simple point-and-shoot camera may do the trick.

If the person using the camera wants to make artistic shots with complete control over aperture, ISO and shutter speed, you need a DSLR camera. DSLR cameras seem complex, but for the most part learning how to use them is a simple job that anyone can do. In fact, when in doubt many DSLR cameras feature auto modes that turn them into point-and-shoot cameras. However, when lighting conditions are challenging the DSLR will allow you to get a properly exposed image when a point-and-shoot camera simply can’t do it.

Let me give you an example of when a DSLR camera comes in handy. My daughter loves gymnastics and I tried, in vain, with a point-and-shoot camera to take a decent shot during class. The problem was that the flash on the point-and-shoot wasn’t bright enough expose the image properly. The point-and-shoot also wasn’t adjustable enough for me to change aperture, shutter speed and the ISO speed to get a good shot. Of all the pictures I took I did not end up with one correctly exposed image, they were all too dark and grainy. Not to mention the fact that the shutter speed and focus time were too slow to get fast moving targets in the shot.

I decided I had enough of missing pictures of my kids because the point-and-shoot I used was too slow and I bought a DSLR camera. Now I can get perfectly exposed images in most any condition using manual settings on the DSLR camera. One nice feature is that the shutter speed is fast enough to freeze fast action like soccer games and running kids. If you are having the same problems I did with poorly exposed images and you normally end up with nothing but your kids elbow in the image because your current digital camera is just too slow, this DSLR camera buyers guide is for you.

If you shop around and don’t need all the bells and whistles on a DSLR, you can find one for not much more than a high-end point-and-shoot camera. The cameras below are arranged in no particular order. Also keep in mind that DSLR cameras typically come in kit versions that include a lens and body only versions which do not.