Nintendo announces New Console for 2012

A massive 6.2-inch touchscreen that can display high-quality images will be the central feature of Nintendo’s new videogame console when it debuts next year, 2012.

Much like the revolutionary Wii motion controller before it, the new console — called “Wii U” — is an attempt to radically change the way people play games in their living rooms.

The Wii successor’s touchscreen controller can display anything: exactly what’s on the TV screen, the same action but with a different camera view, or something else entirely. Since the controller also employs motion sensors, you can change the viewing angle or your aim on the touchscreen by moving your hands or your whole body. You can use the touchscreen as a controller, but since the device also boasts the same full range of buttons and joysticks as a standard gamepad, you don’t have to.

Watch the Infomercial:

The mobile way to pay

US-based mobile payments MOBIbucks is geared to deliver a mobile money platform in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

MOBIbucks’s payment system is a cashless and cardless solution that enables any consumer with any cellphone to have a mobile wallet, allowing them to make everyday purchases safely and securely using only their phone number and PIN. 

Mobile phone users would be able to send an SMS (text message) to get a temporary PIN (which can be changed) and an account number unique to the phone number.

After the account is established, the account holder can use ATMs and point of sale machines to conduct transactions by simply punching in the required account numbers and passwords without the phone.

And this is coming to a store near you in 2012.

Why is Facebook making a phone that nobody wants?

Reports have surfaced again in the past week that Facebook is working on a phone.

The latest news on the long-rumored project is that Facebook has abandoned its plan to work on both the hardware and software, as Apple does, and instead will partner with hardware manufacturer HTC.

The Facebook phone's software, meanwhile, will be a modified version of Google's Android.

The question is: Why?

Why would a social network want to compete in the cell phone business? And how can it, given that Apple, Google and others already seem to have the market wrapped up?

Does anyone want a Facebook phone?

Perhaps Facebook users are clamoring for a new socially connected phone? Nope. Judging by the reaction to the news around the Web this past week, a good number of tech commentators and Facebook users aren't the slightest bit keen on the idea of Facebook releasing a cell phone.

Privacy concerns are among the top objections. Facebook already has enough information about us, some people fear, and buying a Facebook phone would surely provide the social-networking giant with even more control over our personal data.

In fact, an informal poll found that 80% of respondents did not want a Facebook phone. Only 7.8% said they'd consider it. If there's very little demand for a Facebook phone, then why pursue the idea?

To find the answer, it helps to consider the biggest growth sectors in consumer technology. While social networking is a large-scale trend, the growth of mobile phones is perhaps a larger one. Other tech giants -- Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google -- have all made their claims here. Facebook has not.

In fact, Facebook is a laggard in mobile networking: Its iPad app launched a full 18 months after the groundbreaking tablet debuted. That's a lifetime in the fast-paced world of tech.