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Hands-on pictures of LG's new Optimus G flagship phone and some of its new camera features.

Earlier today, LG unveiled its Optimus G flagship phone. We were on hand in Seoul, South Korea for the event. You can read more about the Optimus G here, or check out our hands-on video of the new Android phone. These are some rough pictures I was able to take of the phone at the debut event. We’ll have more pictures and hands-on impressions soon, but these show off a few of the new features, especially the voice-activated camera shutter and Time Catch Shot, which takes a series of pictures before you press the shutter button, allowing you to go back and choose from the best one.

If free and speedy Wi-Fi is important to you when you fly, JettBlue's plan to improve connectivity on its aircraft may be of interest.

American low-cost airline JetBlue is gearing up to roll out super-fast Wi-Fi on its aircraft, with the free service scheduled to launch early next year.

An internal email to company employees obtained by The Verge reveals the importance JetBlue is placing on in-flight connectivity.

“Currently, Wi-Fi on board is a competitive advantage. Customers, especially those traveling for business, with everything else being equal, will choose the airline that offers connectivity, even if the service is spotty or expensive,” it said.

JetBlue will apparently be using satellite communications provider ViaSat to provide the Wi-Fi service. The email said that in a test using the company’s technology, 10 webpages loaded in just 80 seconds. “The second-fastest service, commonly deployed by our competitors, took as long as 8 minutes, 42 seconds,” the airline claimed in the correspondence.

It said that up to now passengers found on-board Wi-Fi to be disappointingly slow. “The challenge for us was building a Wi-Fi product that broke this slow, frustrating and ultimately unsatisfactory mold. We wanted to find a way to deliver [a] faster and less expensive service that would result in greater satisfaction.”

The email says the service will be free until at least 30 of its planes offer it, though no time-frame for this is suggested. However, the good news is that for basic tasks, such as emailing and surfing the Web, it will remain free.

JetBlue is apparently set to confirm its plans at the World Low Cost Airlines Conference, taking place in London this week.

With smartphones and tablet ownership on the rise, an increasing number of gadget-equipped passengers are expecting Wi-Fi during their flight as a basic offering. JetBlue evidently believes in-flight connectivity to be an important factor that by itself can influence which airline a passenger books with.

How about you – would you book a flight ticket based on whether the carrier offered decent in-flight Wi-Fi, even if the airline’s overall service was known to be “spotty or expensive”?

[Image: Christopher Parypa / Shutterstock]

Take one part humor, one part excellent gameplay, one part RPG, and then mix in a healthy dose of online options, and you have 2K Games and Gearbox’s outstanding sequel, Borderlands 2.

If the enemies roaming the surface of Pandora ever decided to take out life insurance all at once, my recent journey through the planet would have destroyed its economy when the claims came in. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of digital enemies were smited by my wrath as I laid my vengeance down upon those in Borderlands 2. And yet even after an army of slain digital ghosts haunted my dreams, I found myself constantly drawn back to the game. One more mission, one more level, one more new weapon. I was — and still am — hooked.

Borderlands 2 should come with a 1-800 hotline number that gamers can call to battle the addiction that it has the potential to create. It is positively fiendish. Gearbox Software and 2K Games have created a game that is almost perfectly balanced in its gentle drip of rewards. There are many, many accolades you can earn, and they are meted out in such a way that they are just difficult enough to make you feel content in earning them, but easy enough to achieve that you receive them often. And then there is the loot. Ye gods, the loot.

If you are the type of player that is constantly backtracking in games to find chests, boxes, treasure, etc., etc., then Borderlands 2 is the game for you. It is the mother of all shoot and loot titles. There is so much loot that you won’t be able to keep up. It is a loot-spolsion.

But loot is simply the oil in the gears. You need more than that to make a successful game, and Gearbox was well aware of that. Along with being a loot aficionados’ dream,Borderlands 2 also features tight controls, a clever mix of gameplay, and one of the best written game scripts in a long while. Combine that altogether and you have one of the top contenders for game of the year.

Welcome (back) to Pandora.

Borderlands 2 is a direct sequel to the events of the original, but retires the characters of that game in favor of a new selection so new players won’t have any problems with the plot. The original characters all make appearances and play an important role, but five years have passed since the opening of the vault, and Pandora is a different place now.

Almost immediately after the vault opened at the end of the original game, the Hyperion Corporation, headed by the vile, charismatic, and consistently funny Handsome Jack, have taken over and are searching for something known as “The Warrior.” It is your job to stop him. Of course, the main story is only a portion of the overall narrative, and a small one at that.

Pandora is massive, filled with numerous areas. Each area features a different look and feel, and they all contain several sidequests that will continue to appear based on where you are in the main plot. While the main plot is well crafted, it is the sidequests that are really going to be remembered.

The dialogue is scathing and often hilarious, even more so in missions that are absurd to begin with, like delivering a love letter from the smarmy town mechanic to the oblivious object of his attentions, or luring a bandit into an insane girl’s psychotic tea party. These sidequests can range in length and difficulty. Some may be a series of  individual missions working towards something like the defense of a town, while others may be as easy as talking to a few characters. One of the finest missions is roughly 5 seconds long, and it is best left spoiler-free.

Most of these quests are fairly traditional gather and/or kill missions, but Borderlands 2 hides it well and offers you a lot of variety. Even though the missions themselves may be similar in some ways, there is just enough to make them all feel unique. Two separate missions may have you collect something and kill a boss, but one of those missions may have you collect dynamite to destroy a structure in order to flush out that boss, while another may be to collect nudie magazines to leave them as a trap.  In both you will still be gathering and killing, but Gearbox slants each sidequest in such a way that it constantly feels fresh, which is important in a game that should take you over 40 hours to fully complete before you even factor in the the online options.

Choose your weapon! And character, and shields, and skill points…

Of course, a game like this – a game that takes dozens of hours – needs some form of RPG elements to keep you playing. When you begin, you have the choice of four character classes: Gunzerker, Siren, Commando, or Assassin. A fifth character, the Mechromancer, will be released on October 16. There is no character customization, unfortunately, but there are several collectible outfits to try out that you find throughout the game. Each character has his/her own special ability, as well as a three tiered skill tree that you power up through points earned by leveling up.  The trees are massive, so maxing them out isn’t an option.  That should create enough variety within the classes that even if you see your class being played by someone else, they may have a totally different approach and play completely differently. You can also reassign points at any time, so the characters will constantly be changing.

As you seek to level up, you will also begin to earn a “Badass” rank. This rank fills up when you complete certain in-game challenges like kill a specific type of enemy, or use your melee attack to finish someone off. There are dozens of ways to earn tokens, and these tokens can then be redeemed for a slight stat boost in one of five random categories you can choose from. Earning a “+.07%” reload bonus may not seem like much, but it adds up, and having the reward for doing things you were already doing anyway is a nicely addictive way to get you to keep grinding. There is no cap to the rank, so this alone may keep people playing for a long, long time.  

Along with the weapons, you also have shields, artifacts, and mods, each of which is dominated by the stats they present. These stats are variable and very few items will have identical options. Some may share a damage number but reload rates, or they may have different attributes. There is always a chance to improve your gear, and finding a rare item is properly difficult, and therefore rewarding.

As you level up, the world levels up with you. The items you find will be appropriate to your level, as will the enemies. There are stages to the enemies though, and you will sometimes find yourself far overmatched for the enemies, then you will hit a point when they are suddenly much more difficult. It keeps the combat interesting and ensures that areas don’t become too easy, and even the earliest areas can occasionally be somewhat challenging. There is a slight irregularity with this though.

Whether it was an oversight, a bug, or just a weird choice, you may find yourself at a high level, fighting off enemies that aren’t too tough but who have leveled up along with you and present something of a challenge. What doesn’t always level up, however, is the experience you earn.

If your goal to your next level is in the thousands of experience points, killing an enemy and earning a single XP point is a waste of ammo. When they are swarming and strong enough to put you into a fight for your life, and yet you triumph and earn absolutely nothing more than a few XP, it feels like a shallow victory. Sure, you want to increase the difficulty to level up, but if the enemies are much tougher, the experience should rise to match it. Taking that away takes away from the combat a bit.

That Old, Familiar Feeling

The gameplay will be instantly familiar to those that played the original Borderlands, as well as anyone familiar with first person shooters in general. The controls are standard, but more than that, the game has a solid physics system at work that remains consistent throughout. You may often find yourself dying and respawning at a nearby cloning point, but you will have died fairly. Most enemies will feature body specific damage, so if a robot is shooting at you, you can always take its arm off. You can wound most enemies as well, but the AI is smart enough to heal its comrades, although they are aggressive enough to constantly be pushing you and not just hiding behind boxes (although there is a bit of that too).

The game just moves smoothly throughout. The driving physics are also well handled, but there aren’t many instances where you actually drive for any reason other than getting somewhere quickly. There are a handful of vehicular missions, but they are few and far between which is a bit of a missed opportunity. If there isn’t a DLC that expands this, I will be surprised.  

In general, Borderlands 2 takes its predecessor and builds on it in almost every way, while still retaining what made the original such a hit. The distinctive cell shaded art style also returns, and it looks better than ever. The locations are detailed and well designed, and the pacing is spot on. You may end up at the same area a few times, but it never feels like you are doing too much back tracking thanks to the huge number of areas at your disposal. The loading times are also excellent.

One minor area where Borderlands 2 suffers is with the occasional glitch. Glitches and bugs are almost a given with titles of this size, but to Gearbox’s credit the glitches I came across were infrequent and never ended the game. Sometimes key targeted enemies would disappear, but running around for a while or leaving and reentering brought them back. More than once I found myself stuck in a crevice, unable to move, but these are minor issues that while worth pointing out are not a huge issue.

Four Times the Fun

There is a rich, fun, and engrossing single-player game in Borderlands 2, one that will take you dozens of hours to complete. But if you aren’t playing this game online, you are missing out on what sets it apart from other FPS games with an RPG flair.

The online side features drop-in co-op for up to four players. There are open matches where you can join a random group, or you can see your friends’ current position and invite them or join in. When you join, the game’s difficulty increases exponentially to match. You share some things like Eridian– the in-game currency used to specifically buy upgrades – but things like weapons are go to the first to grab it. Those weapons will also be determined by the level of the host, so if you are a high level joining someone much lower, expect to be disappointed with the loot. This is a definite downside, but a minor one.

The experience, however, is also shared, and if you want to build up other characters you can get a leg up before restarting the campaign. If you complete a mission on someone else’s game, when you reach that mission in your own game you have the option to play it or pass. It seems minor, but it is another example of Gearbox thinking about the details. 

Using the sometimes elusive online commodity known as “teamwork,” your squad can work together brilliantly. Different weapons have different attributes, and using the correct combination of weapons can mash even tough enemies easily. Using a decent assortment of character classes – while thankfully not necessary – will also benefit your team.

It all comes back to the variety. With so many missions in the game, all with their own slant, there is always something to do online, either with your friends or a random pairing. Add in five character classes, nearly unlimited weapon and items, and skill trees that make for serious personalization in play, and the online of Borderlands 2 can swallow your life whole if you aren’t careful.

Conclusion

There are a few minor issues with glitches, and the game doesn’t really do anything completely revolutionary, but what it does it does nearly perfectly. It is a complete package, and it integrates everything smoothly. Fans of the original will find the changes all for the better, while those new to the series can jump in without missing a beat. There have been some criticisms about the heavy emphasis on DLC for this game, and maybe that is a fair point, but this is already one of the most content-rich games around, and well worth the price tag. Although the fifth character class would have been nice, you don’t have to worry about them holding anything back to force you purchase more. Do it or don’t but the game as is doesn’t suffer from its absence. 

From the crisp and witty writing to the wide variety of mission objectives, from the smooth gameplay to the packed rewards side of things, Borderlands 2 is simply one of the best games of the year.

Score: 9.5 out of 10

LG has revealed more tantalizing features of its upcoming flagship phone, the Optimus G, which is set to be shown later today in South Korea.

LG has been teasing its upcoming Optimus G flagship phone since August, and today I’ve got one more tease for you. I’m in South Korea and will soon get some hands-on time with an actual Optimus G, but for now, LG has given us yet another textual glimpse into the future of its Android lineup. Below are some new features promised on the Optimus G, which already has some impressive specs.

(Update by Jeff: I’ve added some hands-on pictures. I will have a full hands-on writeup and video coming soon!)

Cross-tasking: Is it better than multitasking?

With Windows 8 coming soon, Android manufacturers seem eager to push Google’s Android OS to have some real multitasking. Samsung did it with the Galaxy Note 10.1, to a degree, but it sounds like the Optimus G may have a more robust solution in place. LG is promising “cross-tasking of activities without limitation.” What is a cross-task, you ask? I’m not exactly sure yet, but LG defines it as “complex tasks that can be completed simultaneously without having to compromise other tasks.” When I’m finally able to spend time with the phone, I’ll translate that into english.

Some of the new “cross-tasking” features:

• QSlide Function: Full splitscreen, which can show two entirely separate screens side by side on one phone. We don’t know the limits of this functionality yet. Hopefully, there aren’t any limits.
• Live Zooming: You can zoom in up to 5 times on videos you’re streaming (possibly local videos as well).
• Dual Screen Dual Play: You can mirror your smartphone screen on the TV or project different content to your TV screen, like a PowerPoint presentation. While you project the slideshow, your phone can show notes.
• QuickMemo: Allows you to draw on the screen and then use those notes in new ways.
• Screen Zooming: You can zoom in and out of lists in certain apps like the music player, email app, texting app, and photo gallery. You can also change the screen layout and font size, I assume, of the entire phone.
• Application Link: You can tell your Optimus G to launch certain apps, like email, as soon as you shut off your alarm in the morning, shaving valuable seconds off your day.
• Icon Personalizer: Have you ever wanted to create your own icons? You will be able to change app icons and edit their size to better customize your phone.

Fancy new camera

We already knew the Optimus G would come with a 13-megapixel camera (8-megapixel in the U.S., I’m guessing), but we now know it packs a few new features.

• Time Catch Shot: This feature is popping up everywhere. You can choose between different pictures which were taken before you even pressed the shutter button.
• Cheese Shutter: You can take photos by literally saying “cheese,” “kimchi,” or “smile” out loud.
• Smart Shutter: This adjusts the shutter speed based on how much the camera is shaking and how much movement is in the shot.
• Low Light Shot Noise Reduction: This feature uses the light sensor on the phone (or the camera itself) to monitor light levels and reduce noise in low-light situations.

Crystal Reflection

LG has revealed that the phone is built as a unibody design, meaning it is all one big piece. This, of course, means that there is no removable battery, but the 2100mAh battery supposedly lasts longer than current batteries and can charge more times (800) without losing charging capacity. The back of the phone has a “Crystal Reflection” process applied to it, which supposedly gives it the ability to display different patterns based on what angle and light you look at it from. The effect is three dimensional in some way and resembles “a jewel.” We won’t really understand this until we see it tomorrow.

This is all in addition to the 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 pixel screen, which has “Zerogap Touch,” which will hopefully improve the responsiveness of the screen, which runs on an IPS+ LCD display, which is pretty cutting edge itself. 

Coming soon

The Optimus G will hit shelves in South Korea “next week” and will be released elsewhere around the world in “October.” Please stay tuned for full hands-on coverage this week.

First published at 6:30 p.m. Sept 17 PST

We see QR codes everywhere, though research suggests they're rarely scanned. Tourism officials in the British outpost of Gibraltar are hoping that won't be the case when it launches 'Gibraltarpedia', an initiative that will equip the territory's landmarks and places of interest with their own QR codes linked to Wikipedia pages offering more information.

We see QR codes all over the place, from magazines to posters to business cards. There’s even a cemetery in Denmark that’s using them to tell the life story of the deceased. A giant one turned up in a Canadian cornfield the other day, too.

Gibraltar, a small overseas territory of the UK located at the entrance to the Mediterranean in southwestern Europe, is also getting in on the act with its soon-to-launch Gibraltarpedia project. The plan is to plaster the place with QR codes giving smartphone-equipped tourists quick access to information about various sites and points of interest.

With 11 million visitors a year coming to the British outpost, tourist officials there are keen to find new ways of enriching their experience, and Clive Finlayson of the Gibraltar Museum thinks QR codes can go some way to help.

“Gibraltar is a multi-layered cake of historical events, starting with the Neanderthals of 50,000 years ago through to modern humans,” Finlayson told the BBC. “Here we have another way of getting all this information across to the world.”

The codes will take users to a Wikipedia page explaining about the place of interest. Volunteers are currently working hard on creating the new pages in a multitude of languages.

Roger Bamkin of Wikimedia, the charity that owns Wikipedia, is planning for the QR codes to communicate with the user’s handset to determine the language of the uploaded webpage.

“By scanning QR codes around them, tourists will be to able to find out about the place they are visiting in their own language, with the description written by a volunteer speaking that language,” Bamkin said.

Of course, it could be that many visitors, fearful of pricey roaming charges, will simply stick with a traditional printed guidebook rather than scanning codes. To get around this, the authorities are considering introducing free Wi-Fi.

Despite the good intentions of Gibraltar’s tourism office, getting visitors to use the codes may be an uphill struggle. The results of a recent comScore study showed that in July this year only 11 percent of UK smartphone owners scanned a QR code. That’s pretty dismal for a technology that’s been around almost 20 years.

Either way, the codes will provide tourists visiting the territory with another option for pulling up information besides guidebooks, pamphlets and apps.

While QR codes have failed to really take off in other areas, do you think it could find its place in the tourism industry? Would you be tempted to whip out your smartphone if you saw a QR code beside a famous landmark?

[Image: Artur Bogacki / Shutterstock]

With Google scooping up Nik Software and its iOS app, Snapseed, Google Plus users might be seeing some dramatic changes to the way we publish images on the social network.

Facebook has an emerging competitor in the wake of the Instagram acquisition. Google has acquired Nik Software, a 17-year-old company that develops digital image editing tools. But there’s a catch: A report from TheVerge says that the acquisition’s motivation was so that Google can get its hands on Snapseed, an iOS photograph app.

The acquisition should bring the coveted photography-based mobile reach (a huge motivation for Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram) to Google’s social network, Google+. Like Instagram, Snapseed adds a vintage flair to your photos, although it also has comprehensive in-app photo editing functions and photo-altering filters including tilt-shift effects. It was also an iOS first app – Snapseed started out as an iPad app and followed up with an iPhone app launched in August 2011. The differences lie, of course, in the fact that the number of Snapseed users is dwarfed by Instagram’s user base. In Snapseed’s latest figures (released in the middle of June), Nik Software revealed said it had amassed more than nine million users. It’s defintiely a far cry from Instagram’s 100 million users.

Currently Snapseed claims the spot of the 13th top paid app in the photograph genre in Apple’s App Store (it costs $4.99) and the 178th top grossing app, according to Appdata. 

Snapseed may not have the largest number of users, but is has a decent reputation and Google now also has unprecedented access to Nik Software’s product line of photography software that typically runs for just under $100 dollar to upwards of $300. We could see Google wrapping Nik Software products into improving photos and maybe even videos on Google+. 

In a Google Plus post by Vic Gundotra, the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Google, the acquisition was confirmed and corroborated by the official announcement by Nik Software. “We are pleased to announce that Google has acquired Nik Software. For nearly 17 years, we’ve been guided by our motto, ‘photography first,’ as we worked to build world class digital image editing tools. We’ve always aspired to share our passion for photography with everyone, and with Google’s support we hope to be able to help many millions more people create awesome pictures,” said Gundotra.

What hasn’t been announced yet is whether Snapseed would continue to live on iOS devices, although we can’t see why that wouldn’t be the case. Of course launching the Android app will be a major priority for Google. We checked out Snapseed’s site, and noticed that the Android app was in the works and will only work on operating systems running the Android OS 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) version or later.

Shazam announced its foray into providing auxiliary content to enhance your television viewing experience in over 160 channels.

Shazam, boasting over 250 million users worldwide, announced today that the app will now support television programming on just about any channel, at any hour.

You may have noticed during American Idol, the Super Bowl, or the London Olympics that a Shazam icon would appear at the bottom corner of your TV screen, during a participating commercial or programming. If you’ve ever bothered to press on “Touch to Shazam,” during a show, additional information about the programming would pop-up on your mobile device. With today’s announcement, Shazam users will be able to access complimentary content through over 160 participating television channels and its users won’t be required to own any cable or satellite television subscriptions.

A Pew Research study from its Internet and American Life Project, which we reported on earlier, is evidence to the growing demand by consumers for additional content that accompanies the television viewing experience. In fact, 52 percent of adult cellphone owners will supplement their television watching with their smartphone. 

Now for those of you that use the Shazam app used while watching television, you’ll be able to find further details about the show that you’d otherwise be forced to tediously Google. Shazam’s television integration will determine what music is playing from the show’s soundtrack, what actors and actresses appear in the program (including other shows that the actors have appeared in), and relevant links to the show’s IMDB and Wikipedia pages, and the official website. You’ll find some interactive and social features that you could access during the downtime during commercials including the latest celebrity gossip about the show and stars, trivia about the show, and a live Twitter feed where viewers can read or weigh in on what other fans are saying about the program.

And if it’s a sporting event that you’re watching, in lieu of cast information you’ll be provided stats, scores, and schedules.

“Over the last year, Shazam has been testing and learning what works by building dozens of custom interactive second-screen experiences for select television shows and events,” Shazam Chief Revenue Officer, Doug Garland, said in a statement. “We’ve applied what we’ve learned to our newly expanded service, and will continue to work closely with our network partners and show producers to build special, unique second-screen experiences for their tent-pole television events and many of the most popular shows on TV.”

Shazam’s also doing what it can to boost its own social integration, a necessity for most apps today. In the coming weeks, Shazam also make its way on your Facebook newsfeed and Timeline when your friends are tagging the shows that they’re watching.

Dragon Age III: Inquisitor is the official name for the next entry in BioWare's medieval RPG series.

One month after a survey about the Dragon Age series leaked to the net, BioWare has confirmed details about Dragon Age III: Inquisition. While the title of the game seems to confirm the legitimacy of the survey, the most significant details about the game, particularly what consoles it will be available on, are still unknown. The technology behind the game suggests Dragon Age III may be available for not just the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 but the Xbox 710 and PlayStation 4 as well.

BioWare veteran Mark Darrah wrote an introduction to the game on BioWare’s official website trying to address the myriad rumors about the game spreading across the Internet. He hinted but didn’t explicit say details from the survey were accurate in regards to the game’s story. “We won’t be talking about the story of the game today,” said Darrah, “Though you can make some guesses from the title.” The plot described in the survey said that you will play as an inquisitor trying to end a civil war in your homeland where a portal releasing demons has opened.

Darrah did emphasize that new technology will be under Dragon Age III’s hood. “We are working on a new engine which we believe will allow us to delivery a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization,” said the producer, “We’ve started with Frostbite 2 from DICE as a foundation to accomplish this.” The same engine used to build Battlefield 3, Frostbite 2 was designed as a scalable base so games can be built for both old console technology like Microsoft and Sony’s current consoles, high-end PCs, and the next generation of console technology expected on the market by the end of 2013. The technology choice certainly suggests that BioWare wants its game on every commercially viable platform.

Further statements from an Electronic Arts press release seem to confirm it. It says the game will be out at the end of 2013, perfectly timed with the expected release window for the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4.

BioWare’s chief goal with these missives seems to be assuaging fan fears that Dragon Age III will continue on the same path as Dragon Age II in building the game for a broader audience. Darrah lays out his history with BioWare—combat and AI programmer on Baldur’s Gate, lead programmer on Jade Empire, and executive producer on Dragon Age: Origins during its last year of production—hoping to establish the game’s credibility in the face of a vocal, skeptical audience.

Electronics retailers have sold out of pre-orders for the $350 Nintendo Wii U Deluxe Set, but will the console see Wii-like success?

Nintendo’s Wii made such a powerful connection with people when it came out in 2006 that Nintendo wasn’t able to satisfy demand for years. It wasn’t until the end of 2008, a full year before Wii sales peaked, that Nintendo was able to manufacture enough devices to properly meet demand. That’s an intimidating legacy for the Wii U to live up to, especially for a machine that’s so confused the public to date.

There is promise for Nintendo’s Wii U: Pre-orders for the device have sold out at GameStop.

Polygon reported on Saturday that myriad GameStop stores around the US had already sold through their expected allocations for the Wii U’s Nov. 18 release. Reservations for the Wii U Deluxe Set, the $350 model that comes packed in with a copy of NintendoLand as well as free access to Nintendo Network Premium, were half-filled within hours of the console’s price announcement on Thursday. By the end of Friday, all Deluxe sets were sold out including online.

The Wii U Basic Set, the $300 edition of the console that comes with just the machine, controller, and 8GB of flash memory, is still available for pre-order at GameStop’s website as well as in many stores.

Nintendo is discovering what Microsoft proved with the Xbox 360 in 2005: When you offer multiple models of a console, people will ignore the cheaper model unless it offers real value. The Xbox 360 Arcade, a hard drive-less version of the machine sold at launch, was roundly ignored by consumers until it was re-released in 2010 as a $200 package with 4GB of internal flash memory.

The Xbox 360 is the device responsible for GameStop and other retailers’ policy of limiting the number of pre-orders taken for new consoles. In 2005, far more Xbox 360 pre-orders were sold than systems that were actually available on day one. As a result, devices had to be trickled out to customers over the course of months.

As of right now, there are still other outlets taking pre-orders for Wii U Deluxe. Walmart is taking preorders online but require you purchase it as part of a $450 bundle along with New Super Mario Bros. U. Others like Best Buy have sold through this initial round of pre-orders. Other outlets however haven’t started accepting pre-orders at all. Amazon.com’s product pages for Wii U don’t allow you to pre-order yet and Toys R Us simple has a placeholder page that says pre-orders will be accepted soon.

Wii U’s success is far from guaranteed. There’s interest, yes, but nothing resembling the furor of Wii’s 2006 release. At least, not yet.

Apple claims a new record, with more than 2 million iPhone 5 units pre-ordered in the first 24 hours.

Apple sold more than 2 million iPhone 5 units in the first 24 hours of pre-order availability, the company boasted in a press release this morning. That’s more than twice the 1 million iPhone 4S units the company sold last year — more than twice! See, the iPhone 5 isn’t as boring as you thought, according to Apple.

Last year, Apple sold app approximately 1 million iPhone 4S units in the first 24 hours, and more than 4 million units during the first weekend. We wouldn’t be surprised to see another press release from Apple touting record weekend sales of the iPhone 5 as well.

The iPhone 5 went on sale at about 12:01a.m. in U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore on Friday, September 14. The iPhone 4S, on the other hand, was not initially available in Hong Kong and Singapore, which presumably helped boost early iPhone 5 sales figures.

AT&T, the first U.S. wireless service provider to offer the iPhone, also released a statement this morning saying that the iPhone 5 is “the fastest-selling iPhone the company has ever offered.” The iPhone 5 is also available through Verizon Wireless and Sprint in the U.S., as well as a number of smaller carriers.

Due to the supposedly unprecedented demand for the latest iPhone, Apple says that “initial supply” of the smartphone has already been depleted. While “the majority” of pre-ordered iPhone 5 units will arrived on customer doorsteps by the previously promised September 21 launch date, says Apple, some people who pre-ordered the iPhone 5 won’t receive their devices until sometime in October.

All 356 Apple retail stores in the U.S. will begin selling the iPhone 5 at 8a.m. on September 21 — but you’ll likely have to stand in line to get one. Fortune reports that Apple fans in New York City have already begun camping out for the big launch. A better bet is to hit up an AT&T, Verizion, or Sprint retail shop, which will begin selling the iPhone 5 in-store at the same time as Apple.

The iPhone 5 features a new, 4-inch Retina display made with in-cell technology, 4G LTE connectivity, an A6 system-on-chip, dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity, and the new iOS 6 mobile operating system. People with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S can all update to iOS 6 on Wednesday, September 19.

To learn all the details of the iPhone 5, click here. And check out our complete breakdown of iOS 6 here.