With only a few hours left till one of the biggest sporting events of the year, we wanna help you stay up to date on everything related to March Madness, sharing with you a slew of gadgets and apps to cover the variety of your needs, from watching the games, to checking scores, to seeing  if you picked that game upset in your brackets while on the go– with something available for your computer, iPhone/iPod Touch or other smartphones.

From Your Computer

As we know, there are way too many games going on for your local CBS to cover all of them at once. This is where the internet comes in. As those of us following March Madness for years are well aware, CBS and the NCAA broadcast all games, from the very first to the Final Four, live online. So whether you want to watch Texas-Wake Forest or Butler-UTEP– or any other of the 32 opening round games– you can do it online.

Not only that, but the NCAA also has an NCAA Vault which gives you classic tournament highlights dating back from 2000. So you wanna take another look at the 2008 classic title game between Memphis and Kansas? It’s all there for you in its entirety.

And of course, for the most up-to-the-minute box scores from all the games, you can check sites like ESPN, CBS Sports, and Fox Sports, or wherever you got your bracket online.

On the Go

So you can’t get to a TV or computer but you still want the latest updates on the games. Well, if you got an iPhone or iPod Touch– we got some great apps for you.

The first app we have to mention is the CBS Sports NCAA March Madness on Demand app. For $9.99, this app will give you live video (or radio if you prefer) of all 63 games in the tournament– straight to your iPhone or iTouch either on EDGE, 3G or WiFi. Yes, unlike last year, iPhone owners can now watch even without being connected to a WiFi network. Not only that, but the app also has video highlights of games, alerts for upsets, buzzer beaters and overtime games, and even  allows those of us with our brackets on CBS Sports to check how our picks are doing straight from the app. Now for those who think $10 for an app we can only use really for a couple of weeks is a little too much, and can do without the live video and alerts–the news, scores and brackets is all– there’s a free Lite version of the app as well (something I personally have downloaded and used to check my brackets to make sure everything is in order for tomorrow. I gotta say, for checking your bracket on the go, it works really well).

Now what happens if you don’t have CBS for your brackets but still want to check on the go from your iPhone/iTouch. Don’t worry, ESPN has there own free app, called ESPN Tournament Challenge, to follow you brackets and get live game updates from Gamecast. These are just a couple of app examples, there a bunch of others on iTunes; and you can also, of course, always use Safari or any other web browser too and go to your brackets there.

You can check out the CBS Sports NCAA March Madness iPhone apps here (paid, free) and the ESPN app here.

Now what about those without iPhones or iPod Touches? Remember our post a while back on 4Info, a service that you can text with, say, a name of a team (or a league) and it send you  back text updates with scores, news etc.? Well, they not only do baseball as we mentioned in that post, but they also offer text message updates on all the games in March Madness (and the NIT for that matter), with the ability to set it to text you Tourney scores and upset alerts. These texts don’t even cost you anything extra beyond the standard text messaging rates (meaning, these are basically regular texts like the ones you send your friends). All you got to do is text “March Madness” to 44636 (4Info), and it’ll send you scores and the scheduled times for the games. This too is just one of many services out there, ESPN Alerts is another offering, which you can learn more about here.

So there you have it. Again these are just a couple of ideas to help you stay on top of your brackets and March Madness, and feel free to let us know in the comments about anything we may have missed (like if you know of any good apps for Android, webOS, BlackBerry etc.) and who you took to win it all. Good luck to all on your brackets, and go KU!

There has been much talk about the Nexus One coming to Sprint and AT&T, and over the last two days, those rumors became fact. Google yesterday announced that those interested in an AT&T 3G version of the latest and greatest Android device, without the need to switch to T-Mobile, can now buy their own for $530 without contract, the same price as the unlocked, no-contract T-Mobile 3G version (T-Mobile also has a subsidized $180 with a new 2 year contract and special plan).

Additionally, Sprint announced today that they too plan to carry the Nexus One very soon– though unlike the AT&T-capable version, the Sprint Nexus One is still in the same territory as the Verizon Nexus One: we now know it’s coming, we just don’t know exactly when and for what price.

Both the Sprint and AT&T versions of the Nexus One will be sold only and directly from Google’s online store– google.com/phone.

So, anyone out there excited for the Nexus One to come to your carrier?

To learn more about the Nexus One, see our initial post here.

Some math: Gmail – ads + contact social info = ?

Ok – so browser plugins aren’t really something I usually write about here – but this one here’s an exception. To jump right in, I love rapportive. Love it. It’s just cool.

Backing up just a bit. Gmail users – you guys all know the ads on the right side of emails you read, right? Well, rapportive is a Firefox and Chrome plugin, that simply replaces them. Now that’s nice, but not only does it get rid of the ads, it replaces them with something pretty useful: a contact profile of the person who sent the email you’re reading, based on public profiles. And for the most part, it installs and runs very smoothly – just go to the site, install, and a few painless seconds later, you’re ready to roll – just go to Gmail, read an email, and rapportive’ll do the rest – showing info pulled from their Google Profile, links to Facebook, Twitter, flickr etc, if they have that info publicly available, so it’s pretty neat for connecting with the people you talk to. Also, a nice feature exists of being able to jot down a private note about the person for yourself for the next time you talk with the person.

It’s not perfect – not everyone I talk to has a profile – but overall, its pretty nice. rapportive is available for my favorite price of “free”  – as a plugin for Firefox and Google Chrome, with IE support on the way. Check it out here.

With the iPad launch nearing, things in this rejuvenated tablet market look to become much more interesting– and much more intense. Now there’s been word for a while of rumors of Microsoft making their own tablet– codenamed “Courier”– and recently more shots of what this device is have leaked out, and I, as someone who views the iPad as a possible the perfect school computer, and is really considering buying my own iPad once it comes out (though I might wait that little extra time for the 3G version)– would  really consider dropping those plans immediately for this. Yes, this looks to be that good.

The Courier truly is a very unique and very cool device– with dual multi-touch screens (reminds me of an open notebook), a very stylish and sleek interface (while rumored to be based off the Windows Phone 7 Series OS, this is not just plain copy of a Windows 7 or Windows Phone 7, but something different that looks to be perfectly designed for this type of device), a camera (something we all know the iPad is missing), and a special “Courier pen” that can be used for writing notes onto the tablet. Seriously check out this video of the Courier from Engadget:

Whether or not you like Microsoft or are “an Apple fanboy,” you gotta admit this looks amazing. There also is said to be a headphone jack for media playback, some really cool artistic apps for all you creative types out there, an eBook app (as seen below; maybe this is also Microsoft’s attempt to get into the very hot eBook game, as the iPad is Apple’s), and as you saw in the video, a dedicated website for uploading your work and sharing it with the world. I mean, imagine this– your taking notes in school miss a day. You upload this and your friends can come in and instantly fill in what’s missing (as well as save the notes if they needed). Projects and collaboration couldn’t have been made easier.

The web looks great here as well (exactly as you’d expect on your laptop or desktop)–  and if this thing can do some gaming like Windows Phone 7 Series, I’ll be the first to line up!

I’m really hoping Microsoft fesses up to this soon (as of right now, we still gotta categorize this as a rumor as of course Microsoft hasn’t acknowledged that this thing even exists), and before I and many others give in to the temptation and go for the the iPad. But seeing as the iPad goes on sale in only a couple of weeks– which tablet would you rather go with– the iPad, Courier or are you looking at some other tablet?

Pix, video and info via Engadget

Lovers of blood, gore, and killing the Greek gods are waiting anxiously for next Tuesday, March 16. That’s the day that God of War 3 is coming out and this game will conclude the biggest and toughest path to revenge that has ever been written into a video game. Click to read more on what’s new, whats old, and what is just plain awesome in God of War 3.

Just a note of caution, this game is rated M for Mature, so you will need to be 17 to buy it in a store.

What’s the same

• Combat: I know I speak for many when I say that this is a combat system that works flawlessly and Sony Santa Monica, the developer, agrees. So aside for a few tweaks with the L1 button, the combat system has not changed. Weapons: You will, of course, have the God of War staple, The Blades of Chaos. This is pretty much the only weapon that you have used with before. Puzzles: There are going to be a few times throughout the game where you’re going to be thinking about something else besides killing gods for once. These will be simple puzzles, things we have seen before.

What’s New

• Graphics: this is the first God of War game to be released for the PS3 and made for the PS3, and it looks absolutely stunning. Imagine fighting enemies on top of a titan that is taller than the Empire State Building. These situations lead to some incredible battles and the power of the PS3 is definitely on display in these epic fights. Not only that, but Kratos is incredibly detailed. You can even count the number of scars on his stomach. Sony has truly created one of the most detailed video games of all time

• Items: Apollo’s Bow, which might be an upgrade to your fire bow, and Hermes’ boots, which allow you to run at super fast speed, are all new in this new game.

What’s just plain awesome

• Magic: that’s right, you will have five magical abilities. The Helios Beam, Army of Artemis, Hephaestus Fury, Solar Flare and Warriors of Deimos. The only magic ability that we know about in detail is the Helios beam. Basically, after you rip off Helios’ head you can use it as, essentially, a flashlight in dark places.

• Scale: The titans provide a great landscape to fight on. Not only will you fight on them, you will fight the titans themselves. Just thinking about fighting something that’s larger than the Empire State Building is incredible. But to see it and play it is a whole different thing. The screenshots of these epic battles look absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to get my hands on this game just to get to these levels.
• Graphics: The graphics are one of the best I have seen in a game in a long time. The blood and gore that God of War has been known for looks absolutely stunning. Ripping out a cyclops’ eye has never been more satisfying, visceral, and just plain fun.
• Quicktime Events: Sony Santa Monica has re-done Quicktime events so that the buttons you need to push are at the edge of the screen. The reason for this is that now, instead of looking around for a button to press, you can now focus on the awesome beheading that you just did.

From beheadings to fighting on giants, God of War looks absolutely incredible. Any PS3 owner looking for an awesome, intense new game should definitely add this game to their game library when God of War 3 hits shelves tomorrow.

Go Beyond AIM…

This one’s mainly for Mac users, but can be used for Windows as well. Last week, I wrote a review of Meebo, a multi-IM app for iPhone (also Beejive IM, a similar app). Meebo also has an online webapp component for PC use, but many (including myself), prefer full applications – such as iChat, Mac OS’s built in IM app.

Now, it’s easy to set up AIM with iChat – just type in screen name and password, and you’re good to go. But in recent years, new chat services have been cropping up – specifically, Google Talk and Facebook Chat – as part of accounts you already have. Now for me, I hate having multiple things open for what is essentially the same purpose. So, here’s a little help in setting up iChat with not only AIM, but Google Talk or Facebook Chat as well.

Google Talk (Snow Leopard 10.6) -

This one’s pretty easy – iChat 5 has the feature of adding a Google Account just as easily as an AIM account – just select the Google Account option when creating a new account in preferences.

Google Talk (10.4 Tiger/10.5 Leopard) –

A bit more difficult, but not by much. When creating a new account, select “Jabber Account” – as the ID, enter your Gmail account “______@gmail.com”, your password as the password. The server is talk.google.com, and the port is 5223 – and check the Use SSL box. All set.

Facebook Chat: (10.4-10.6) –

Similar to Google Talk – but a few differences. First, you need your Facebook username – “______@chat.facebook.com” – which you can find by going to the “Account Settings” – where it lists your username (right after your name, 2nd from the top).  Going into iChat now – in Preferences, go to the “Add Account”, and again, select Jabber. Enter in the “______@chat.facebook.com”, the _____ being your Facebook username from earlier, and the password, your regularly Facebook password. Server options are: server is “chat.facebook.com”, Port is 5222. Uncheck SSL for this one. And you’re good to go.

Personal tip – in General Preferences in iChat, enable “Use the same status for all accounts” – allowing you to log in and out of all 3 at once. Enjoy!

Now, for everyone else – those not using iChat. While not personally familiar with these programs, Google lists here how to set up other clients, and Facebook is compatable with Pidgin, Adium, and anything else that can use Jabber using settings that they give here. Enjoy!

We saw a brief glimpse of it last year at E3, and we have not seen much of it since. However, last night at the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco, Sony unveiled new details about the upcoming PlayStation Move– Sony’s wireless “wand-like” motion-sensing controller.

The Move will be made up of two parts very similar to how Nintendo has it with the Wii– the main  “wand” (the one in the pic above with the wrist strap and giant glowing circle on top) is officially known as the Move, and will have smaller wand like controller (seen on the left) called the sub-controller. As you can tell these look very similar to the Wii’s Wiimote and Nunchuck, and they function very similarly but are also very different. For example, unlike on the Wii, these are going to be used in both casual as well as much more intense games such as the upcoming SOCOM 4 (which, as anyone who has played SOCOM before knows, it’s no Mario). So how else are they different? Well…

• The PlayStation Move uses the PlayStation Eye video camera (which Sony has had around in some form since the PS2) to track your movements and motions, and couple with that circle on top of the Move, look to provide a very accurate sense of exactly what your doing.
• The Nunchuck part of the controller, will not connect to the Move. Instead it will utilize the PS3’s built in Bluetooth to wirelessly sync up with the Move and the PS3 (unlike the Wii’s Nunchuck which needs to be connected into the Wiimote).
• The circle on top of the Move isn’t just to help the Eye sense where you are– it also changes color depending on what game you are playing and how fast your moving your controller (as seen above with the blue).
• Sony also has unveiled a list of starter games, and one in particular is called Sports Champion– which is like Wii Sports just a lot better looking. The next version of Sony’s hit SOCOM series– SOCOM 4– which is slated to be released this fall, is going to support the use of this controller, which should definitely put a new spin on the SOCOM experience, and looks to be the first real test for this new controller to see how it handles itself in an intense game.

Sports Champions on the PS3

Like Microsoft’s Project Natal for the 360, the PlayStation Move will be launched sometime around the holiday season (Sony, again like Microsoft, is viewing this like a major console launch) in either a bundle with a new PS3, by itself, or in a “Starter Kit” bundle with a PS Eye, controller and game for under $100 (which if you ask us looks to be a very solid deal).

One thing that I can’t though seem to wrap my head around is why Sony put an extra X and an extra O on the sub-controller, considering the Move already has them? I guess we will just have to wait to find out what their purpose is for when E3 rolls around June 3rd, and more info on the Move is sure to be announced.

If you want to see the first trailer for the PlayStation Move or more pix, check out Joystiq’s post on the Move here

Info and pix from Joystiq

NFL RedZone– coming soon to Verizon Wireless

We know, it’s March. All our focus should be on Selection Sunday next week and March Madness (and baseball, for those who only care about the pros) and not so much on football for the next couple of months, with football taking a seat in the way back. (And don’t worry, we’re gonna have a lot of ways for you to use tech to keep up with both March Madness and the MLB season very soon).

Today, however, we’re gonna keep the focus on the NFL– as what Verizon and the NFL announced today is pretty sick for all you Verizon users out there. Not only will you guys soon get exclusive Skype, but for the next 4 years (at least, according to the Wall Street Journal) you will soon be getting exclusive access to the NFL Mobile. Starting next month with the NFL Draft, Verizon users will not only be able to follow live on their phones (we’re talking live video, not just an ESPN livecast), but also will have access to on-demand video of NFL Network analysis of the Draft, pick-by-pick Draft tracker updated in real time, and in-depth prospect profiles, blogs, news and more.

And come next season, users will be able to not only watch Sunday and Thursday night games, NFL RedZone, and the NFL Network live from your phones, but also game highlights and an extensive collection of on-demand video featuring analysis and inside access from NFL Network and NFL Films, live radio broadcasts of every regular season and playoff game from both home and away teams, access to fantasy information, news, and player and team statistics, and customizable NFL alerts, ringtones and graphics.

All I can say, if your a football fan on Verizon, than today truly is your lucky day. We’re not yet sure exactly which phones will get the app or how much the app will cost (which again, is a Verizon exclusive, so sadly all you Sprint users that had the NFL Mobile Live app look to be out of luck now), but hopefully we’ll know more info before April 22nd.

In the meantime, who you think goes number one next month?

Are you ready for possibly one of the biggest (if not the biggest) tech launches of the year? Have you been desperately waiting to get your hands on an iPad ever since it was announced in January? My friends, that wait is almost over (at least for the WiFi-only version anyway) as Apple today announced that pre-orders on this exciting new tablet will begin next week on the 12th, with a full release of the WiFi version coming early next month, on Saturday April 3rd.

The WiFi+3G version of the iPad will launch later in April, while our international friends in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK can pick theirs up in late April as well.

For those who aren’t sure on pricing of the iPad line, here’s a quick reminder; and see here for all the details on what exactly is the iPad, as well as here for some personal thoughts.

Pricing:

• 16GB WiFi only — $499
• 32GB WiFi only — $599
• 64GB WiFi only — $699
• 16GB WiFi + 3G — $629
• 32GB WiFi + 3G — $729
• 64GB WiFi + 3G — $829

So, anyone getting ready to pre-order some iPad “magic”?

Is this the BlackBerry Slider?

BlackBerry fans out there- brace yourself. What we’re about to tell you is pretty HUGE news. Like seriously HUGE.

As you can see in the pic above, pix are leaking out all over the web of this– a BlackBerry that isn’t just touchscreen and isn’t just a regular BlackBerry with a full QWERTY keyboard– BUT BOTH, in a sleek-looking slider design.

Unfortunately, all that we have to go on is the pix (thanks to a site called BBLeaks)– which look to feature a touchscreen (though no SurePress as with the Storm), the new trackpad, and of course that awesome slide out full QWERTY keyboard. All in a design that doesn’t look to be much thicker than a Curve.

The BlackBerry Slider– closed and with the Curve

Ok, now for what some of the rumors on what else could be in this mysterious device. According to Boy Genius Report, this phone will run BlackBerry OS 6.0 (today’s BlackBerrys like the Bold 9700 are on 5.0, hopefully this new OS begins to separate itself from the same old BlackBerry OS we’ve been seeing for years), as well as pack WiFi capability with wireless N, for getting onto the latest and greatest WiFi networks out there. The device is also expected to use GSM/HSPA, the tech for networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, unlike the Storm, which is a Verizon exclusive (though that does not necessarily confirm nor deny the phone, or a version of it, to any of the networks). Additionally, according to CrackBerry, the Slider will also be a part of the Bold line– not the Storm.

This is clearly in the very early stages of rumors (yes, just to make sure it’s all loud and clear– this is still a rumor), but a rumor that looks to be absolutely awesome and one were hoping RIM makes official ASAP. What you think– would you buy a BlackBerry if it was a slider like this, or do you prefer your BlackBerrys to remain the same in terms of design? Share your thoughts in the comments.