Not ready to take the $250 plunge to snag a pair of Ear Force PX5s, but still want in on Turtle Beach's preset-powered super hearing? The big boy's baby brother, the Ear Force PX3, just might scratch your itch. We heard these stereo gaming cans ditched surround sound and Bluetooth support to save buyers a Benjamin, but how does these super-saver specials hold up? We tried them on.

Razer's Sixense electromagnetic orb threw around plenty of intradimensional portals at CES, but sadly the company wouldn't let us play. Today at E3 2011, however, we were finally handed the reins. Those twin sticks are impressively responsive and accurate in the specially-made Sixense levels for Portal 2, and it's a heck of a lot of fun to physically stretch out blocks, reposition portals with a twist of the wrist and physically throw objects through the air. However, we got the impression that outside of games particularly designed to work with the sticks, it might be a different story. Waving the right stick around works pretty adequately for controlling the mouse cursor, but when we exited out to Windows, the sticks didn't work -- apparently, controls have to be mapped separately in a desktop client to work with the OS and other games or programs. We don't think many PC gamers will mind the six-foot range and wired tether here, but it does restrict those hoping to kick back with a game on the big screen.

We also got to try Razer's new "4G" dual-sensor technology, which will be rolling out to new Mamba and Imperator gaming mice right away -- it pairs a laser sensor and an optical sensor for more precision when lifting mice off a surface for advanced first-person shooter mousing techniques, not to mention 6400dpi tracking. We took it for a spin with a handy Razer Mamba, and we immediately fell in love -- whether we flung the mouse around haphazardly, furiously swiped it across the mousepad or simply tried for a quick headshot, it kept up with us. The cursor does creep if you lift and drop very rapidly, though, and without an original Mamba to compare with, it's hard to say just how much better it was. Thankfully, that won't be much of a factor in your purchasing decision: you'll pay the exact same $130 for the Mamba or $80 for the Imperator when they hit shelves this month. PR after the break.

It's already made an early debut, just to sell out in a matter a hours, and now Samsung's answer to the Chromebook, the Series 5, is getting some attention of a more destructive sort. The folks over at iFixit have proven once again that ripping apart consumer electronics is not only therapeutic, but also enlightening, this time putting Google's ultraportable under the knife. On top of the specs we already have, this Chromebook's inner workings reveal 2GB of non-upgradable DDR3 RAM (the CR-48 apparently packed upgradable RAM), Intel NM10 graphics, a Qualcomm Gobi WWAN board, an Atheros AR9382 802.11n WiFi chip, and a 16GB SanDisk SSD. If you want even more intimate details (and have some cash to burn) you can wait to rip into the Chromebook yourself -- or you could to do the practical thing, and click on the source link below.

Hey, guess what? That Real Racing 2 HD update that combined your iPad and TV for dual-screen gaming action will soon be able to ditch the wires and use AirPlay to beam every turn and crash to your flatscreen. You'll need an Apple TV or other Mac device hooked up to your set, and the feature won't be unlocked until iOS 5 hits, but it should satisfy your curiosity for what playing a Wii U might be like until the new Nintendo console lands next year. If you're set hardware-wise and your interest is piqued, you can download the game for $12.99 from the app store -- now you've just gotta hold tight for that OS update in the fall.

The latest version of a Chrome browser may not be quite the event it once was since Google switched to a six-week release schedule, but the company seems to be plenty pleased with the just-released Chrome 12 nonetheless, which it's dubbed "safer and snazzier." That's because the browser now boasts a number of new measures to prevent malware and phishing attempts (and give you more control over data stored on your computer), as well as support for hardware accelerated 3D CSS, which will let you try out things like Aardman Studio's "Shaun the Sheep" HTML5 experiment pictured above (and linked below). And if you're reading this in Chrome, chances are your browser has already updated itself.

[Thanks, Christoff]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S II, our tiny American hearts are getting rather sick of all the love we've been experiencing lately. Computerworld's latest rumor may be just what we need to stay sane for another month, though; it cites an unnamed Verizon spokesperson who mentioned this Fascinate follow-up, which will likely be known as the Function, will be coming in for a soft landing sometime in July, though no specifics were offered. The Galaxy S II is already being sold in Europe and Asia and blends a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, Gingerbread, dual-core 1.2GHz CPU, and many more top-of-the-line specs into one sleek and gorgeous package. If the July window is accurate, it means Verizon could be one of the first US carriers out of the gate with the phone. This is great news for the carrier that was, of the four national powers, dead last in getting its model of the Galaxy S to market. We're anxiously awaiting word from a Verizon spokesperson for additional comment and will keep you posted -- if our heart hasn't popped out of our chest by then.

Update: We just received word from a Verizon spokesperson that the reference to a July release was just a miscommunication and was actually in reference to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Yeah, we're bummed out, too.

A long time ago, in a boardroom far, far away... a designer (flanked by marketing execs) pitched an idea for a set of Star Wars: The Old Republic branded peripherals, and the CEO of Razer told his troopers to "make it so." Or, at least that's how we imagine it happened. In addition to mixing up his sci-fi references, whoever approved this gaming keyboard, mouse, and headset also abandoned any notion of subtlety. All three are slathered in interchangeable Sith or Jedi insignias, bright LEDs, and a texture not unlike the exterior of a Star Destroyer. The most ostentatious is easily the keyboard, which sports both a multitouch screen and two rows of adaptive buttons over an LCD (à la the Switchblade handheld). The keyboard will run you $200, while the mouse or headset will cost $130 when they launch alongside The Old Republic later this year. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break.

Update: We just got our first glimpse of the new peripherals, and it sounds like Razer actually put some thought into the keyboard and headphones here -- while the mouse is just a jagged, Imperial-flavored wireless Naga MMO rodent, the headsets look fairly sweet, and Razer tells us their garish LED lighting apparently syncs with The Old Republic to throw signals on your shoulders to warn you of approaching enemies. Razer also has grand plans for that LCD-equipped keyboard, telling us those adaptive keys will automatically switch function based on signals from the game itself, and that multitouch LCD trackpad can display a variety of things and be used to program macros. Last but not least, you'll get some serious geek cred when you switch the keyboard's backlight off, because the only thing physically printed on each key are the letters of Star Wars' Aurebesh alphabet.

Few things in life are more aggravating than WiFi dead spots -- especially when you've just settled in to stream the latest Game of Thrones episode, after a long and excruciating week of tech blogging. Good thing that Netgear's Universal WiFi Range Extender, first spotted at this year's CES, is now available for shipping. This discrete white cube promises to bring connectivity to remote regions of your lair by automatically mirroring the wireless signal emitted from your gateway. Just use the device's LED indicator to find the area where the extender would optimize its reach, plug it into any ol' AC outlet, and those ugly pockets of wireless death will suddenly spring back to life (think of it as Rogaine for your WiFi router). It also supports 802.11 b/g/n and is compatible with WEP, WPA and WPA2 security standards, in case you were wondering. You can find the extender at retailers located all over this green Earth, where it'll be priced at around $90. If that tickles your fancy, head past the break for the full PR.

We always have to chuckle when laptop makers talk about making business systems look more palatable to the employees toting 'em. After all, it's not like we're going to walk off the job because we don't like the looks of that black box we've been assigned. Or are we? Nonetheless, laptop manufacturers are going out of their way to make their corporate systems look (and perform) more in line with their sexier consumer cousins. Take the Lenovo ThinkPad X1, for instance, a slimmed-down version of the company's signature design -- updated with a buttonless touchpad, Dolby sound, and a much-maligned glossy display. Toshiba, meanwhile, recently revamped its line of business notebooks to look like the lightweight Portege R705 -- also a crossover hit.

Which brings us to the HP ProBook 5330m. This 13.3-incher has a metal-clad body and Beats Audio -- a first on an HP business machine, but a staple across its consumer stable. And yet, the company's wooing the IT guys, too, with a matte display, optional prepaid mobile broadband, Intel vPro technology, and TPM circuitry. With a starting price of $799, it scores big points for value, but can it hang? Let's find out.

Dutch tech site All About Phones claims that Google Maps Navigation will get a true offline mode later this summer. In December the Android app received an update that cached routes and the surrounding areas, but without a data connection you still couldn't enter a new destination. A source inside the Dutch telco industry said that Goog would removing the requirement for coverage -- an obvious next step for the nav tool, especially with Ovi Maps bringing its turn-by-turn prowess to WP7. The move is also bound to be another thorn in the side of standalone GPS makers like Garmin and TomTom. After all, it's tough to compete with free.

Researchers at MIT reckon they've struck oil. In fact, you're looking at what they call "Cambridge crude" -- a substance that could halve the weight and cost of EV batteries and make them quicker to charge too. The black goo is packed with a high concentration of energy in the form of particles suspended in a liquid electrolyte. When separated by a filter, these particles function as mobile electrodes that can be pumped into and around a system before the energy is released. So instead of waiting up to 20 hours to juice your Nissan Leaf, you could potentially just pump this pre-charged substance into it -- rather like dirty old gas. Until now, no such "semi-solid flow cell" has been able to hold useful quantities of energy, but this stuff literally oozes with it. Not only could it power EVs, it could even be used for large-scale electricity storage for utilities. The researchers insist this energy revolution is years off -- but when it comes, there will be blood.

We've already seen some blurry pictures of T-Mobile's forthcoming MyTouch 4G Slide running Gingerbread, and we now have our best look yet at the phone itself (or a dummy unit, anyway) courtesy of an unknown accessory maker. As you can see, however, the shot above obtained by Pocket Now still leaves some of the phone obscured by those cases, but at least you now know what it looks like in argyle.

Mac users certainly have quite a few more gaming options these days than they once did, and they can now also add Mad Catz's series of Cyborg R.A.T. gaming mice to that list. The company finally released some Mac drivers for the complete range of mice today, which will let you take advantage of all the advanced features Windows users are already accustomed to. Those still putting off that Snow Leopard update will have to take care of that first, however, as the drivers won't accept anything less.

Living amongst us right now, on our street, metro carriage, or section of highway, there are people who have recently bought a Corsair 120GB Force Series 3 with product code CSSD-F120GB3-BK. If you're one of them you need to know that this particular drive is subject to a recall due to "stability issues". Sweclockers has reported rumors that other SSDs might also be affected, but the manufacturers in question have swiftly denied it -- so it is only this very specific Corsair drive that is being recalled. Backup your data and hit the source link for further instructions. Don't get mad, get a replacement.

When we met with Samsung in late May, company representatives didn't seem entirely sure that the company would meet the rumored June 8th ship date here in the US, but lo and behold, it's done just that. The tablet's launching at noon today at the Best Buy in New York City's Union Square, and if you can't make it up to the Big Apple, it'll hit the rest of the nation on June 17th. But here's the real question: is it worth making an effort to snag it on either date? The Galaxy Tab 10.1, much like its Limited Edition sibling that we reviewed last month, is ever-so-slightly thinner than the iPad 2, a slate that most sane individuals (and competitors, for that matter) would confess is the market leader today.

Naturally, everyone and their sister is gunning for Apple in this space, and Honeycomb's the first mobile OS we've seen that has the potential to put any sort of damper on Cupertino's ongoing rave. By and large, the consumer version of the Tab 10.1 is the same as the device launched at Google I/O, but there's two key differences that we'll focus on here: the tamed design, and the thoroughly different OS version (v3.1 here versus v3.0 before). Head on past the break for an in-depth look into both of those, but be sure to first take a gander at our Limited Edition review to wrap your noodle around the basics.

We already knew Windows Phone Mango would include SkyDrive functionality, but Microsoft has now released a few more details on some of the cloud storage features we can expect to see when the update rolls out, later this year. With the update, SkyDrive users will be able to share their stored photos via text message, e-mail or IM, and to upload their videos to the cloud with the touch of a button. They'll also be able to browse, share and edit uploaded MS Office documents directly from their handhelds, while searching through their entire SkyDrive via the Office Hub. Storage limits remain capped at 25GB, though Microsoft says we should expect to see more cloud-based features roll out in the near future (including a revamped, HTML5-based SkyDrive web interface), so more changes may very well be on the horizon. Soar past the break for some demo videos from Redmond, along with a hands-on clip from WinRumors.