The delays were due to working out the bugs, and generally making sure that the game met Blizzard’s high standards. So it was pushed to 2012. And now there is light at the end of the treasure- and demon- filled tunnel.

Rumor has it that the release might be in the beginning of the new year. Amazon France now has the game listed as arriving on the February 17, 2012 and it can be pre-ordered from their website for €49.90 ($66 USD). Of course, if you don’t live in Europe, you’ll want to order a local copy to make sure you get the correct region. Hopefully, this is accurate as we are all sick and tired of waiting.

[via Ubergizmo]

For starters, the iPhone 4S will come pre-loaded with the hundreds of new software improvements in the already announced iOS5 and free iCloud storage.  It sports a speedy dual-core A5 CPU, which runs about 2x as fast as the old A4 in the current-gen iPhone 4, as well as 7x faster graphics. From what I can tell, these are the same specs you’ll find on the iPad 2, but in a pocket-sized device. Of course, it still has the same sharp 960×640 Retina display found in the iPhone 4. But it offers other under-the-hood improvements including increased battery life (up to 8 hours talk time), improved call quality and antenna redesign, and data download speeds of up to 14.4Mbps on HSDPA connections. Apple claims this is just as fast as most “4G” phones, but I think it truly depends on the quality of your carrier. Speaking of carriers, the iPhone 4S is a single worldwide handset, supporting both CDMA and GSM networks, and will be released on AT&T, Verizon, and… drumroll please… Sprint when it hits stores later this month.

Perhaps the biggest improvement in the iPhone 4S over the iPhone 4 is the rear camera. As Apple is taking aim at upending the point-and-shoot camera market, they upgraded the built-in camera to 8 megapixels (from 5mp.) But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The new camera supports true 1080p HD video (at 30fps), and even has real-time image stabilization and temporal noise reduction for improving video quality. In addition, the camera incorporates a new, wider f/2.4 lens, an improved sensor with better light sensitivity and faster startup time. You’ll be able to start shooting your first image after 1.1 second, and subsequent images can be shot in 0.5 seconds. The camera also incorporates face detection and automatic white balance. If you care to see just how impressive the photos are from the iPhone 4S, be sure to check out Apple’s image gallery, which offers full resolution sample downloads.

Last, but not least, the iPhone 4S is the first phone to incorporate Siri – Apple’s “intelligent assistant”. This app lets you ask your iPhone questions and to perform tasks verbally, and Siri takes care of them. For instance, you can ask Siri “How is the weather today in Chicago?,” “Read me my new notifications,” or “Remind me to call mom on her birthday” and it’ll take care of the rest. Siri can also provide restaurant recommendations, and do instant searches of Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha simply by asking it a question. One of the coolest features of Siri is the voice-to-text dictation. Just speak at your normal pace, and Siri can transcribe it into text without a keyboard. Day one, Siri will ship with English, French and German support, but will eventually offer more languages. While I thought Siri might be available for all iOS devices with the release of iOS5, it’s an iPhone 4S-only feature for now. Perhaps we’ll see it on the iPad 2 at some point because it has the same chipset and performance.

Check out the iPhone 4S in action in Apple’s official launch video below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Pricing for the iPhone 4S is as follows: 16GB $199, 32GB $299, 64GB $399 – with a 2 year phone contract – and it’ll be available in both black and white versions just like the iPhone 4 used to (other than the new 64GB model, of course.)  Apple will start taking pre-orders on October 7th, and the iPhone 4S will ship on October 14th. Full specs for the iPhone 4S can be found here. For those of you wondering when iOS5 will be available for your existing iOS devices, I’d keep an eye out on iTunes sometime late next week.

Sony announced today that the PS Vita would be hitting Japan on December 17. That means that Japanese gamers might get the handheld from Santa after all. Sony has also stated that they will have 26 titles on the shelves for launch. The device will also get the mobile 3G connectivity for some models from NTT DoCoMo in Japan. The console uses pre-paid service where you get a specific amount of hours to connect.

The cool part is that it appears you have all the time you need to use those hours so if you don’t play an online game for a month or so and go back your time will still be there. The console is going to have 20 hours of connectivity for the equivalent of $13 (USD) and 100 hours will cost the equivalent of $65.

At this point, the rest of the world will have to wait until 2012 to play with the PS Vita, though.

[via VentureBeat]

At launch, the handheld console will come in two colors, Cosmo Black and Aqua Blue (I already pre-ordered mine and it will retail for $249.99 (USD). For those of you living under a rock, the 3DS will feature a large glasses-free 3D top display with a touch-screen bottom display, and a built-in 3D camera. It’s also got a motion sensor and gyroscope for interacting with games.

The 3DS will ship with a special adjustable stylus, a set of augmented reality tracking cards, and a few built-in applications including Face Raiders, Nintendo 3DS Sound and Mii Maker. For a preview of launch titles, check out the video below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Amazon is already accepting pre-orders for both colors of the 3DS, but I’m sure they’ll sell out quickly, so you’d better get your reservation in soon if you want one on launch day. They’re only allowing one order per household, so you know quantities will be limited.

The new PS3 Slim console sports a compact new form-factor, and a lower price to go with it. Priced at $299.99 (USD), €299, and ¥29,980, the PS3 Slim is $100 bucks cheaper than the previous model.

The PS3 Slim will ship with a spacious 120GB hard drive, and is 32% smaller than the previous models. As an added bonus, it consumes 34% less power too. And while the box shot below was leaked a long time ago, it looks like it was the real deal:

I’m none to thrilled with the cheaper looking case design, but if that’s what it takes to get the size and price down to size, I suppose it’s worth it. And I won’t miss the fingerprints.

In addition, Sony also announced the impending release of the their new v3.0 firmware for all PlayStation 3 models. Here’s a sneak preview of what’s new in the 3.0 firmware for those of you who care:

No word yet on a release date for the v3.0 firmware, but Sony says that it should be released “soon”.

You can now pre-order the PS3 Slim over on Amazon for $299.99 (USD).

[image credits: PlayStation Blog and GameSpot]

I for one, believe in ol’ Ben Franklin’s saying: “Nothing is certain but death and a slimmer version of a Sony video game system. And my eternal fame.” Really, it’s a question of when, not if. And the answer seems to be August 18. (pssst, Ben, you cited Gizmodo but your link leads to Engadget! That’s blasphemy!)

If PS3 Slim rumors were Pokemans, Kuchera’s almost caught ‘em all: everything from their own insider info, to the non-denial of Sony’s director of Hardware Marketing, John Koller, to significant increases in orders for PS3 components. Everything except Engadget‘s alleged leaked shots of the console’s case and box art, which I have just pointed out to you. Because gossip is for geeks too. Check out the article for the rest of the links.

The subcompact AIRpod runs on compressed air instead of traditional automotive fuels. A set of carbon-fiber tanks sit underneath the passenger compartment, loaded up with 2900psi of compressed air. The tanks power a tiny engine capable of cranking out a whopping 5.4 horsepower and 11-foot-pounds of torque. Woo-hoo!

It takes 2 minutes to fill up the tanks, and a single occupant should be able to go somewhere around 90 to 125 miles on a full set of tanks. And with air costing just €1 (appx. $1.40 USD) for a fill-up, fuel costs are pretty much a non-issue. Of course, that all assumes you can find a place to fill up the tanks.

MDI says the production version will transport up to 3 adults and 1 child, with a single front-facing driver’s seat, and a rear-facing bench for the other occupants. This tiny green car looks awfully cramped – not to mention a bit dangerous for the passengers, but maybe that’s just me.

Want to know how it drives? The guys over at Edmunds Inside Line have actually gotten a chance to test drive the prototype and it through its paces.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While the current prototype car can only hit 30mph, the production model should hit 50mph when it hits at the end of 2009. The 2010 AIRpod is expected to be released by the end of 2009 in France for €6,000 (appx $8380 USD). MDI plans on offering additional compressed-air cars in the not-too-distant-future.

[via WOW-POW via Slashgear]

Even though the 3GS looks virtually the same as the iPhone 3G, the 3GS ups the ante on the prior generation by increasing application speed, battery life, camera resolution, memory and more. According to Apple’s WWDC keynote announcement today, the faster processor in the 3GS increases launch times of popular apps from 2.1x (launching messaging), to 3.6x (opening an Excel spreadsheet). Of course, performance improvements will vary from application to application.

There’s also support for OpenGL|ES, which should improve graphical performance. And processing speed isn’t the only boost – the iPhone 3GS also supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA wireless connections. In addition to the speed hikes, the 3GS adds several new features not supported on the 3G. Battery life is also improved. Here’s a handy battery comparison chart from the guys over at Gizmodo:

There’s a brand new 3-megapixel camera, complete with auto-focus, auto-exposure, auto-white balance, low light and an auto-macro mode that can capture still images as close as 10cm away.

The camera can also capture video at VGA resolution (yawn) at up to 30fps. There was no mention of digital image stabilization, but the video does take advantage of all the auto adjustment modes that the still camera supports. You can even trim your video shots using a slick on-screen timeline interface.

There’s also a new voice control mode, which lets you not only voice-dial, but select tracks to play in iTunes, open web pages, and control other applications. Hopefully, they’ll open this up to app developers to leverage in their own applications. Also along for the ride is a digital compass, which at first doesn’t sound very exciting, but the addition of a magnetometer to the hardware will enable much greater accuracy in terms of understanding your bearing when in GPS mode – especially on foot.

Of course, the iPhone 3GS takes advantage of all of the features of the iPhone 3.0 OS, including cut-copy-paste, landscape keyboard, app store microtransactions, MMS messaging, stereo Bluetooth and much more.

The iPhone 3GS will be available June 19th in North America and Europe. The 16GB version retails for $199, and the 32GB version is $299, both with a new AT&T 2-year agreement. And if you’re looking for a cheap phone, you can now buy last years iPhone 3G for just $99 bucks. All models are available for pre-order now over on the Apple Store.