Meet Buick's new LaCrosse, the car that will save GM

Well at least I think it could help out the struggling automaker.

GM is aiming for the Lexus ES350/Acura TL buying audience with its smartest looking sedan in years. Buick's Enclave started the change. The Enclave was a beautiful sports ute that did everything right, including the thing that had been escaping Ford and GM in recent years - fit and finish.

This new GM was introduced at the January car shows and looks like a winner. It should be in showrooms next month with a price tag starting in the high 20s and topping out in the high 30s if you opt for an All Wheel Drive 280 horsepower version. I think the stock motor, at 255 horses, will be plenty.

The car will have every bell and whistle, every gadget, you could imagine, from Bluetooth support, in-dash navigation, an electronic head-up display in the windshield to track speed and even a system to warn you when objects are in your blind spot.

The LaCrosse will also offer internet connectivity, DVD headrests in the rear, and GM's industry-best On-Star system. Ambient lighting in the cabin just looks cool and hand stitching on the dashboard screams luxury.

This may be a game-changer for Buick, which used to be your father's brand.



LaCrosse Specs

Exterior
Length: 196.9 in. Width: 73.1 in.
Height: 59.2 in. Wheel Base: 111.7 in.
Curb Weight: 4019 lbs.
Interior
Front Head Room: 38 in. Front Hip Room: 55.2 in.
Front Shoulder Room: 57.4 in. Rear Head Room: 37.3 in.
Rear Shoulder Room: 56 in. Rear Hip Room: 53.9 in.
Front Leg Room: 41.7 in. Rear Leg Room: 40.5 in.
Luggage Capacity: 13.3 cu. ft. Maximum Cargo Capacity: 13 cu. ft.
Maximum Seating: 5

Performance Data

Performance
Base Number of Cylinders: 6 Base Engine Size: 3 liters
Base Engine Type: V6 Horsepower: 255 hp
Max Horsepower: 6900 rpm Torque: 217 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 5100 rpm Maximum Towing Capacity: 1000 lbs.
Drive Type: FWD Turning Circle: 38.7 ft.
Fuel Tank Capacity: 18.4 gal.
EPA Mileage Estimates: 17 mpg / 28 mpg
Range in Miles:
Automatic: 312.8 mi. / 515.2 mi. / mi.

Microsoft's Zune HD could be a game changer

Microsoft has announced plans for its Xbox Live online network to support the Zune, positioning it as a PSP of sorts for the Xbox. The Zune itself will go head to head with the iPod touch.

Here's a sneak peek video.

Zune HD Video Hands On from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

Your Harris Teeter VIC card on your iPhone?

Got emails from quite a few of you today who have successfully installed a new iPhone app that brings up your store rewards card codes on the screen.

This lets you take off those old bending plastic VIP cards off your keychain.

The new app, called CardStar, lets users store and retrieve these cards right on the iPhone or iPod touch so they be scanned directly from your screen.

There are nearly 200 merchants supported.

iPhone app lets you ditch store reward cards

Tired of carrying all those store "rewards" and membership cards?

You know, the Harris Teeter VIC card and your Blockbuster membership and a CVS store card?

A new iPhone app, CardStar, lets users store and retrieve these cards right on the iPhone or iPod touch so they be scanned directly from your screen.

There are nearly 200 merchants supported. Can't wait until they add the YMCA.

Microsoft's Zune HD coming this fall

Microsoft's long rumored Zune HD will hit store shelves this fall. Users will be able to surf the Web, play HD movies and listen to digital radio.

The unit will come with an HD radio tuner, is based on Windows CE and will use a version of Internet Explorer customized for its touch screen.

Pricing was not announced.

AT&T to double speeds on wireless networks

AT&T plans to upgrade its 3G wireless network with the hopes of doubling speed by completion in 2011. The upgrades start later this year.

With its network built on the 3G UMTS technology that is commonly deployed throughout the world, AT&T can boost the speed of its mobile broadband network and offer a wide variety of devices to take advantage of it well in advance of 2011-2012, when most industry observers expect 4G LTE networks and device availability to be widespread. AT&T plans to begin LTE trials in 2010, with deployment beginning in 2011.

In addition to the planned speed upgrade, AT&T is enhancing its mobile broadband coverage by nearly doubling the wireless spectrum dedicated to 3G in most metropolitan areas to deliver stronger in-building reception and more overall network capacity.

The upgraded network platform could allow for theoretical peak speeds of 7.2Mbps. Typical real-world downlink and uplink speeds experienced by customers with upgraded 3G will be less than the theoretical peak and will vary based on a number of factors, including location, device, and overall traffic on the local network at a given time.

Guitar Hero offers a chance for free concert tickets

Guitar Hero has a new online scavenger hunt today that invites fans to scour websites, TV shows, blogs and online media sites to uncover the full list of artists that will appear on Guitar Hero 5, the next version of the most popular music game in the world.

Fans are invited to start their search at GH5.GuitarHero.com and register to participate in the sweepstakes for a chance to win a set of 5 tickets to 5 different concerts in a major metropolitan area venue near their hometown.

Once registered at GH5.GuitarHero.com participants will be given clues leading them to a series of blogs, TV shows and online media where every day, for the next five days, a selection of bands from the Guitar Hero 5 set list will be revealed. Once entrants have uncovered the bands from the designated locations, they must go to GH5.GuitarHero.com to verify the information found and will then be eligible to enter to win. Entries for the sweepstakes will be received through June 25, 2009. Registration is now open.

Guitar Hero 5 debuts this fall.

Star Wars Battlefront coming to PSP, DS

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is due this summer for the PSP and Nintendo DS and promises to let players fight on multi-level battlefronts, on the ground and in space. Players can start the fight on foot, commandeer a vehicle to battle on the ground or dogfight in space, and land their craft and fight on capital starships. The battles waged on each front are all directly effected by the player’s actions, creating a combat experience where every shot fired and every enemy defeated can affect the outcome of a battle on another front.

The game features a single player campaign that spans the entire Star Wars Saga – and beyond. Gamers assume the identity of X2, a clone trooper created from the DNA of a Jedi Master. Originally tasked with eliminating Jedi during Order 66, X2 decides to leave his blood-stained past behind and joins the Rebellion. X2 isn’t the only Force-sensitive clone, however. X1, his clone brother, chooses a much more sinister path, leading to a confrontation that could determine the fate of both the Empire and the Rebellion.

Additionally, players will have at their disposal massive amounts of pick-up and play action for seemingly endless replay value. The PSP provides the deepest customization options ever seen in a Star Wars Battlefront title, allowing players to personalize and build their character with more weapons and items than ever before, including the weapons characters carry into battle, the armor they wear on their backs, their species, gender, appearance and physical strengths. Players can also unlock hundreds of other items and bonuses to help even the odds. On Nintendo DS, players can experience a unique class-based gameplay experience that allows them to outfit their characters with pre-determined weapon armaments, including heavy weapons, blasters and even lightsabers.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron on the PSP supports 16-player multiplayer, complete with in-depth stat tracking, and intense 4-player skirmishes on Nintendo DS across a wide number of modes, including the all-new “Heroes and Villains.” Take up arms as some of the most iconic Star Wars characters, including Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Kit Fisto, Darth Maul and other familiar faces from Star Wars Battlefront®: Renegade Squadron™ and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed™. And battle for the fate of the galaxy on some of the most memorable Star Wars planets of all time, including the forest-covered landscape of Endor, the frozen wastes of Hoth and even the mysterious Yavin 4.

Ministry, Cranberries, Zombies join Rock Band

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that three tracks from industrial metal pioneers Ministry will be added to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content next week for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo Wii.

Also coming next week: music from The Cranberries and The Zombies.

Ministry played together from 1981 until 2008 and, during this time, laid the foundation for American industrial metal. The “Ministry Pack 01” will feature “Cuz U R Next,” from The Wicked Soundtrack by Al Jourgensen, the Ministry frontman-scored soundtrack to the 2008 film, Wicked Lake, as well as “The Great Satan” and the Grammy-nominated“LiesLiesLies,”both from the band’s 2006 album Rio Grande Blood. This three pack marks Ministry’s first appearance in the Rock Band catalog.

Also making Rock Band soundtrack debuts next week are 60s English rock band, The Zombies, and Irish alternative rock band, The Cranberries. “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No,” both from The Zombies self-titled 1966 album, will be made available, as will “Linger,” from The Cranberries 1993 album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? The song was named by VH1 as one of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.

Tiger Woods 10 demo now live on Xbox Live and PS Network

The Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 demo is now available on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network.

Gamers can play a couple of holes in the demo, which includes digital replications of this year’s U.S. Open on Bethpage Black and Turnberry, which will be hosting the 2009 British Open. Gamers will also get a chance to check out the all-new Tournament Challenge mode as the demo features a playable event from the famous 17th hole at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course - TPC Sawgrass.

In addition, tournament atmosphere has been ramped up this year and players will experience dynamic weather conditions and its effects on gameplay, huge galleries, a new commentary team and broadcast style introductions.

A new practice round mode, included in the demo, allows you to place the ball anywhere on the course and work on your shots and distance control.

Is Palm Pre an iPhone killer? We find out June 6

The wait is over for Sprint's highly anticipated Palm Pre phone. It debuts nationwide June 6 in Sprint Stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com

The phone will cost $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate. Sprint claims the device will "consolidate your important information – professional, social and personal – into one revolutionary device using an operating system that redefines the experience of living and working wirelessly."

A key for the Palm Pre is that users will save up to $1,430 over two years for the all-everything plan -- unlimited minutes, text and internet -- versus similar offerings on AT&T and Verizon, though Sprint's 3G network is routinely panned by critics.

A little about the Pre, from Sprint's press release:

The new webOS platform introduces Palm Synergy, a feature that brings together your personal and professional calendar, contacts and e-mail into one centralized view, making transitions between work and personal life smooth and easy to manage.

With Palm Synergy, users get:

-- Linked contacts – a single view that links your contacts from a variety of sources, so if you have the same contact listed in your Outlook, Google and Facebook accounts, Synergy recognizes that they’re the same person and links the information, presenting it to you as one listing.

-- Layered calendars – Your calendars can be seen on their own or layered together in a single view, combining work, family, friends, sports teams, or other interests. You can toggle to look at one calendar at a time, or see them all at a glance.

-- Combined messaging – Synergy lets you see all your conversations with the same person in a chat-style view, even if it started in IM and you want to reply with text messaging. You can also see who’s active in a buddy list right from contacts or e-mail, and start a new conversation with just one touch.

-- Palm's operating systems lets you keep multiple activities open and move easily between them like flipping through a deck of cards. You can move back and forth between text messaging and e-mail, or search the web while you listen to music. You can rearrange items simply by dragging them, and when you are done with something, just throw it away by flicking it off the top of the screen.

Finding what you need is also easy with universal search – as you type what you’re looking for, webOS narrows your search and offers results from both your device and the web.(4) WebOS crushes the barriers to true mobile computing.

Oprah's personal trainer delivers video workout for Wii

EA Sports Active is the latest fitness game for the video game console known as the Nintendo Wii.

Developed exclusively for the Wiiby EA Canada, Active is an innovative, virtual fitness product that offers personalized, customizable workouts that can be done from the comfort of home. Developed in collaboration with fitness experts, including Bob Greene – renowned exercise physiologist, author and Oprah’s personal trainer – Active will be the first in a new line of EA Sports virtual fitness products to improve the well-being of people of all ages.

Users will get their heart pumping through interactive circuit workouts from more than 25 different activities and exercises that target the upper and lower body, as well as cardio. Similar to a personal trainer, the program provides clear instruction, feedback on technique and encouragement with visual and oral cues, while also providing calories burned in real time. Preset workouts are designed by fitness experts to target specific workout results. For optimal personalization, circuits can be customized based on interests and fitness level and there is complete flexibility for the duration and intensity level.

Active includes software, a specially-designed leg strap that holds the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, as well as a resistance band to increase the intensity to upper body exercises. The program can support two players at one time, and the EA SPORTS Active Accessory Pack containing one leg strap and one resistance band is available for an MSRP of $19.99 in North America. The product is compatible with the Wii Balance Board, which will add components to the sports drills.

Pilates on the Nintendo Wii, with Daisy Fuentes.

Coming this summer: Wii Pilates.

Well, sort of.

SEGA announced today that it plans to release "Daisy Fuentes Pilates," the first Pilates workout program for the Wii, during the warmer months.

Footage was shot at what the company calls "a lush tropical resort," and uses the Wii Balanced Board.

During the game, the Wii's controls will monitor movements and offer instant feedback. On on-screen timing bar and real-time feedback from Fuentes will help keep users on track. There is an English and Spanish version included in each game.

So kids, don't get mad when Mom is stealing your Wii time.

“This is a great way to get Pilates training that fits your schedule and lifestyle,” Fuentes said. "You can start out as an absolute beginner then move into intermediate and advanced levels--all at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home, and with responsive feedback that helps ensure you’re mastering core skills correctly before you advance."

VIDEO: New features for Madden 10.

Here you go guys. What do you think?

Toast Titanium 10 is must have for Mac users

The best about Sonic's new Toast Titanium 10 Pro for the Mac is its ease of use. But before we begin, you must have Mac OSX 10.5 or later (this is Apple's operating system, it's version of Windows, if you will).

The program is designed to work with Apple's killer iLife '09 suite of programs that includes DVD authoring and burning software, web designing software and photo manipulating and handling tools.

Toast 10, which supports Blu-Ray, can also instantly download and convert flash video from YouTube. Firefox can do this with a free add-on, but Toast will convert the file in the background and have it ready to burn to disc (or transer to a TiVo or portable device) for you instantly.

One of the coolest features, to me, was how you can back up the original footage from your high def camcorder (the kind with the hard drive built inside) using the program. You don't have to move your files from the camcorder to computer anymore, which was a time-consuming step.

You can also use Toast to extract clips from your DVDs (not encrypted ones, though).

The best thing is the interface. You move the files you want into the Toast window, whether they are data or music or video, put in your media and click burn. Done.

Some of the new features include:

-- Extract clips from any DVD-Video and convert to the format of your choice.

-- Save web video from your favorite video sharing sites to enjoy on TV and on-the-go Archive AVCHD camera footage to DVD or BD media with a single click

-- Stream and watch television programs, such as EyeTV recordings and TiVoToGo transfers on your iPhone or iPod touch over Wi-Fi with the new iPhone native application Streamer

-- Build your MP3 library with automatic capture and tagging of Internet audio
Convert audiobook CDs for playback on your iPod

-- Transfer standard definition and HD video from your Mac to your TiVo DVR to enjoy on your TV

If all that sounds like technobabble to you, don't worry, this program is super simple to use and will definitely enhance your experience with your Mac. For me, this is a must have for the Apple computer. I grade it an A plus.

High Definition Zune handhelds on the way?

Some images of what is apparently a high-definition version of Microsoft's portable Zune music player hit the internet this week.

It appears the new device would go head-to-head with Apple's iPod touch.

The new Zune is said to have a multi-touch screen (sound familiar?) and a 16x9 screen ratio. It will have a TV port on the side and will sync to a computer via WiFi. There has been some speculation that the new device will support Xbox games.

The new Zune, available with 8, 16 or 32 gigs of memory, allegedly will ship with a web browser and may launch this fall. It will also deliver HD radio.

Talk about your all in one device.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Due next month

Parents, get your wallets ready.

Electronic Arts will release the "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" video game June 30, just ahead of the Warner Bros. Pictures’ film based on J.K. Rowling’s sixth book in the Harry Potter series.

In the game, players will return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. They will also have a chance to engage in exciting wizard duels, mix and brew magical ingredients in Potions class and take to the air to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory. Players may even get sidetracked by Ron’s romantic entanglements as they journey towards a dramatic climax and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince.

The game will be available for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, Nintendo DS and Windows and Macintosh computer systems.

Art wants a home gym, which one should he get?

OK, guys, I got an email today from a reader named Art. Actually I got three.

Art says he looks like the "before" picture in one of those get-in-shape informercials and he's sick and tired of it. Art's 41 and he writes he's at least 50 pounds too big. He works crazy hours at night and getting to the gym isn't possible. So he wants a home gym.

He asked me what I thought about several different products. I thought it might be better to pose the question in the blog and see what folks out there have to say.

Art is interested in a cardio machine and a weight training machine and says he'll have to do payments to get it but figure he can spend at least the $100 he would spend per month for, say, a YMCA family membership.

So Art is open for some suggestions and I'm curious myself.

"Peggle" and Amazon's Kindle store debut for iPhone

PopCap Games has released the popular "Peggle" game for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's a $4.99 download from the Apple App Store. The casual game has been downloaded more than 50 million times to date.

“Our new adaptation of Peggle for iPhone and iPod touch was truly a labor of love,” said Andrew Stein, director of mobile business development at PopCap. “We spent huge amounts of time specifically optimizing this version of one of our favorite games to one of the world’s coolest devices, so that it was just right.”

To play, gamers fire a metallic silver ball from the top of the screen, relying on gravity to propel the ball downwards while it ricochets off unique arrangements of orange and blue pegs. The goal is to clear all the orange pegs from the screen, while earning as many points as possible, before running out of balls. A moving bucket at the bottom of the screen offers free balls, while green power-up pegs unlock special abilities via ten unique and memorable Peggle Masters who guide players through dozens of levels of gameplay challenges. Power-ups include explosive area-clearing blasts, lobster claws that serve as pinball-like flippers and “fireballs” that cut through all pegs in their path.

Also, Amazon has launched a special Kindle Store optimized for the Safari Web browser on iPhone. Now when users of the Kindle for iPhone app click on “Get Books,” the new Kindle Store tailored for the size and shape of the iPhone and iPod touch screens automatically opens in Safari. This optimized Kindle store offers iPhone and iPod touch app users quick and easy access to the Kindle Store’s 280,000 books, including 106 of 112 New York Times Best Sellers and most New Releases that are available for $9.99 or less.

iPhone users can shop Kindle’s selection of books on the iPhone and iPod touch using Apple's Multi-Touch user interface. Amazon's Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes Kindle customers’ bookmarks across Kindle, iPhone and iPod touch, so you always have your reading with you and never lose your place. Kindle customers can read a few pages on their iPhone or iPod touch and pick up right where they left off on their Kindle, if they choose.

And now the iPhone helps you pick out toilet paper, too

Greenpeace's iPhone app is called “Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide.” The tool created by 3rd Whale, gives consumers a quick and easy way to choose the greenest toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, and paper napkins sold at the local supermarket.

The guide gives a thumbs-up to Green Forest, Natural Value and Seventh Generation, while recommending that shoppers avoid products like Kleenex, Charmin, Angel Soft, Cottonelle, Brawny, and Scott.

Greenpeace recommends companies manufacturing paper products that: 1) contain 100 percent recycled content; 2) at least 50 percent of which is from post-consumer materials); and, 3) avoid the use of chlorine or chlorine compounds in the whitening process.

The guide rates facial tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, and paper napkins with a “Recommended,” “Avoid,” or “They Can Do Better” ranking.

Features of the application include:
• The ability to quickly compare household paper brands while in the grocery store;
• A list of environmentally preferable tissue, toilet paper, paper towel and paper napkin brands.
• Brand specific information including the percentage of recycled content, the percentage of post-consumer content, and the bleaching method.

“Tissue products made from recycled content help to reduce our impact on ancient forests, protecting forest ecosystems and wildlife habitat,” said Greenpeace Forest Campaigner Lindsey Allen. “Customers who download the iPhone or Android version of the Greenpeace Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide can compare brands available at their local grocery store to find which brands are most environmentally sustainable. For those interested in protecting ancient forests from clearcutting and supporting truly sustainable companies, this application makes informed decision making even more convenient.”

New Tiger Woods game lets you play against the pros

A new online tournament mode in the upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 will allow players to post their scores against actual PGA Tour leaderboards.

Game online tournaments have daily, weekly and Play the Pros tournaments. Gamers can jump into a new tournament each day, play 18 holes and see if their round stays atop of the leaderboard, or play in a weekly tournament and post scores from four rounds that span over an entire week of play.

Play the Pros is an extension of the daily and weekly tournament systems, but instead of a gamer-submitted leaderboard, players will be posting their scores against the real life scores of PGA TOUR golfers during an actual professional event. EA SPORTS Live Tournaments is available on Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and Wii versions of the game.

Gamers can also look for digital versions of Anthony Kim and Rocco Mediate to the franchise and join digital versions of players like Luke Donald, Jim Furyk, Natalie Gulbis, Rory McIlroy and Vijay Singh.

DISH claims lead in HD race with several new hi-def channels

DISH Network(R) Introduces New National HD Channels

--Leads All TV Service Providers with More Than 140 National HD Channels


Satellite provider DISH network, in a hot battle with DirecTV over which offers the most HD networks, announced it was delivering HD fees of FX, SPEED, Fashion TV (FTV), Logo and MavTV.

DISH, which now claims 140 HD channels, will now host the complete 24-hour feed of The N on DISH Network Ch. 181, its new permanent location. Additionally, DISH Network will launch MSNBC HD in June.

FX HD and SPEED HD are located in DISH Network's Classic Silver 200 HD programming package and above, available to consumers starting at $22.99 per month for the first six months, along with free installation, a free HD DVR and three months of free premium channels, including HBO and Showtime. FTV HD, Logo and MavTV HD are available in PlatinumHD, an HD add on package available to subscribers for just $10 per month.

iPhone monthly fee$ going down, down, down?

Several industry reports, including one from Cote Collaborative industry pricing analyst Mike Cole, say AT&T is considering a $10 reduction in the iPhone monthly service plans, when a new version of the phone debuts, perhaps as early as next month.

The iPhone fell behind the BlackBerry in the latest smartphone sales reports and AT&T, the reports say, would make the move to try to boost sales of the iPhone, which many users -- and potential users -- feel is too expensive month-to-month.

Current iPhone prices range from $69 to $129. iPhone users who do not have a texting plan pay $0.25 to receive and $0.50 to send individual messages. Individual text plans range from $5 to $20.

So to go "whole hog" with the iPhone with unlimited everything is $149 per month. Sprint, meanwhile, offers the same features for $99 per month (but Sprint does not have the iPhone).

Is Nintendo recession-proof?

Talk of recessions and layoffs loom for many businesses worldwide. Just not Nintendo.

The videogame giant reported highs for sales and operating profit in the fiscal year ending March 31. The company posted sales of more than 1.83 trillion yen and operating profits of more than 555 billion yen.

Worldwide annual sales of close to 26 million Wii home game systems in this past fiscal year brought lifetime totals to over 50 million, while more than 31 million portable Nintendo DS systems were sold in the same period, pushing the lifetime amount past 100 million units.

Fiscal year retail software sales also rose for each platform from the previous year, reaching 197 million units for Nintendo DS, and over 204 million for Wii.

Fiscal year global financial performance, stated in millions of yen, was as follows (percentage changes vs. previous year):

Sales, ¥1,838,622 (+9.9%)
Operating Profit, ¥555,263 (+14%)
Recurring Profit, ¥448,695 (+1.8%)
Net Profit, ¥279,089 (+8.5%)

For the current fiscal year, beginning April 1, 2009, Nintendo projects sales of another 26 million Wii hardware systems and 220 million software units, while Nintendo DS sales are projected at 30 million hardware systems and 180 million pieces of software.

New Guitar Hero titles hope to expand genre, with pop, hip-hop and R&B

Gaming guitar heads can look forward to Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero and Band Hero. DJ Hero hopes to expand Guitar Hero’s social gaming to all-new consumers with the addition of diverse music genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance. Introducing an all-new innovative turntable controller, DJ Hero transforms players into DJs who rule the club scene by creating original mixes of popular songs and music from the world’s most exciting artists and DJs.

Guitar Hero 5 features the hottest rock and roll artists today as well as classic rock bands and gives players an unprecedented level of control over the way they play the game with the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments and difficulty levels on the fly.

The franchises’ first E10+ rated console game, Band Hero, features top-40 hits designed to expand the experience to a new genre and appeal to a broad family audience who can play together on the guitar, drums, bass and microphone.

New game promises to teach your kids to sing

Disney Interactive Studios today announced that Disney Sing It: Pop Hits, the third game in the video-based karaoke video game franchise, will be released this fall.

It will feature 30 master recordings and popular music videos from fan favorites, including Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat, Demi Lovato, Hannah Montana, Jesse McCartney, Coldplay and One Republic.

To play, you sing solo with the music, or do duets or go head-to-head with a friend. A new "Sing It Pro" mode claims to help teacher players to actually sing by teaching vocal exercises as well as showing players how to control breath and teaching the basics of pitch.

Astro Boy releasing this fall

Look for Astro Boy, the video game this fal on Wii, PS2 and PSP.

It'll allow players to control the title character, a young boy robot with incredible powers. Your mission will be to save his home, Metro City, from evil President Stone and his robot army. To do battle, you'll use Astro's arsenal of weapons which includes, seriously, butt machine guns as well as finger lasers and an arm cannon.

The game is based on the upcoming feature film of the same name.

Elite Forces Unit 77 drops for DS systems

Deep Silver Inc., a publisher of interactive entertainment software and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Media, today announced that Elite Forces: Unit 77 for Nintendo DS is now available.

Developed by Abylight and co-published by Gammick Entertainment, Elite Forces: Unit 77 is an action-driven, squad-based shooter. Featuring a unique blend military action, strategy and tactics style gameplay, players will traverse the globe to save hostages and put an end to the terrorist threat.

A series of mysterious disappearances of high profile personalities from the worlds of science, industry and entertainment reveal a horrific global terrorist threat. With the clock running and the lives of the hostages and millions of others in danger, the international community's last hope lies with an extremely covert and highly specialized military team: Unit 77. Made up out of four professionals who are the best in their respective field, Unit 77 must combine their skills to stop massive world destruction by the hands of the terrorists.

Features

An intense combination of action, military strategy and tactics for Nintendo DS. Shoot your enemies while you tackle all the challenges that stand between your team and the hostages!

Control four characters whose specialized skills are well-defined: the quiet and effective sniper, the fearless explosives expert, the brilliant hacker and the devastatingly powerful gunner.

You work strategically uniting your forces into a squad when enemy forces outnumber you, or can control one character at a time for greater tactical moves.
Pursue your enemies around the world through detailed 3D environments that move the action from the dense jungles of the tropics to the labyrinths of abandoned arctic ports and to the sweltering sands of the desert.

Defeat your enemies by relying not only on your firepower, but your brains as well since you must explore your surroundings carefully to utilize anything you can find!
Disarm mines and bombs, drive vehicles such as armored military trucks and tanks, access encrypted files or use stealth to infiltrate the enemy bases, all by simply utilizing the touch screen. All the power of Unit 77 is at the command of your Stylus.