Console yourself

The buzz at this year's E3 (Electronic Entertainment Exhibition) in LA centred on handheld video game consoles. Four key products took the show by storm and are sure to be coming soon to a teenage boy's bedroom or boring commute near you...

With both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the DS has the ability to communicate with other devices and even alert the user that someone with a DS is nearby, and a range of messaging packages will be available at launch, meaning connectivity won't just be about gaming. The DS is also back-compatible, opening the whole existing GameBoy Advance catalogue to users.

As well as gaming, it allows multimedia messaging, doubles up as an MP3 music and Mpeg4 movie player, has a built-in digital camera and a GPRS link allowing wide-area network gaming.

Vitally, Gizmondo has a definite image. It's pitched towards skaters, snowboarders and surfers - those who like to 'hang ten duting some gnarly air time, dude', or some such guff. But however cool it looks, the demo models at E3 suffered from poor build quality. Much will depend on the games made available for launch.

The design is fairly pleasing, with a sleek shell available in a variety of colours, and a spankingly clear and large 16:9 aspect widescreen that'll be somewhere close to PS2 ability and perfect for driving sims and RPGs.

The positioning of the D-Pad and buttons are apparently based on the PS2 - to help lure in Sony's existing console users. Like the DS, the PSP features Wi-Fi connectivity for network and multiplayer gaming, as well as USB and Sony Memory Stick compatibility. Vital - and costly - due to lack of in-built memory.

PSP software will come in Universal Media Disc format, which supports 1.8gb of data. This format will offer support for movie and music files as well as games and other software.

Gone are the ugly shape, poor controls and ludicrously frustrating game insertion rigmarole. Just arrived are the more robust and satisfying grip, separation of the action button from the control pad and simple underside port for slotting in the game card.

Nokia has tied up a slew of software deals, and around 50 titles are planned for the N-Gage by the end of the year. Expect everything from classic conversions such as The Sims and Ghost Recon to newbies such as Pathway To Glory and Pocket Kingdom.

In addition, the N-Gage Arena, a mobile community and portal for the device's online gamers, has been launched for better multiplayer and online gaming.