In addition to unveiling the release date for the anticipated Wii U, Nintendo also unveiled an exciting new feature for the console: Nintendo TVii.  This application will let North American Wii U owners watch and explore video content via the GamePad controller.  

There will always be moments in your day when you just want to get away from it all, but if you’re like me, you’ll probably want to take your tech with you! Here’s a shortlist of some of my favourite tools to help me relax, unwind and de-stress in five minutes or less.

Unlock a world of entertainment and on-demand media, with the Optik TV 500 Gigabyte HD PVR Receiver from TELUS. Benefiting from a track record of reliability, quality, and performance, new TELUS customers who sign up today will also enjoy three complimentary months of Super Channel, free home installation, and can subscribe to the TELUS Optik TV & Internet bundle for $45/mo for their first six months – which is actually a pretty good deal.

Thanks to Ogio, I was sent the [Radica 22“ - Travel](http://ogio.ca/travel/radica22) and Layover - Travel carry-on bags (some folks call them ”roll aboards") to check out. Most of you know that I really dig good bags. I’m rather picky about what makes a good laptop bag and I’m even pickier when it comes to bags I travel with. I’ve always loved Ogio bags. I had a laptop bag with the best feature ever—a special pocket on the back of the bag just for a boarding pass or ticket. Just genius. I was, as you can imagine, expecting the same kind of attention to detail as I remember from a laptop bag (over 5 years ago now)—and I wasn’t disappointed.

This week Sony invited me to check out their new 84” 4K TV (XBR-84X900) in person. I knew it would be big, and probably quite pretty. I wasn’t prepared for just how big and pretty it would end up actually being. Sure you may have a pretty good idea what 84” looks like, but when it's such a vibrant and sharp screen, it makes it even more of a show stopper. This is both the largest and highest resolution TV sony has ever produced.

It's been a big year for Canadian soccer fans. The sport has been getting increasingly popular here as evident by the fanfare over Euro 2012 and the Olympic soccer matches. I always thought that the sport lent itself better to a video game incarnation than most others, so I’ve been a fan of the FIFA game series for quite a while now. Well next week marks the next milestone in the franchise; the release of FIFA soccer 13 across Canada. 

Barely larger than a generously sized Panini, this powerful little device turned out to be HDMI-only – so don't forget to purchase a cable if you pick one up. After thoroughly test driving Sony’s one-stop Internet solution, I was mostly impressed by its performance, ease-of-use, and appearance. It’s a relatively low-cost method of instantly transforming most televisions into a Smart TV, but does its strengths outweigh its flaws?

HTC looks to be a strong partner of Microsoft’s in making a bigger splash with Windows Phone 8 after the phone maker unveiled its “signature” and “iconic” Windows smartphones at an exclusive event in New York today. I was on hand to get a firsthand gaze at both the Windows Phone 8X and 8S handsets.

Bethesda has been on a roll releasing nonstop news about their next big title, Dishonored.  Developed by Arkane Studios, Dishonored is a versatile new stealth-action game great for anyone looking for some refreshing gameplay possibilities.  

A few weeks ago, Kobo announced their latest additions to their eReader family – Glo, Mini and Arc.  These new models are each suited to your particular tastes whether you prefer reading at night, on the go, or while multitasking with your favourite media. 

Apple’s App Store has no shortage of Web browsers, and a lot of them have certain niches that might appeal to you. There are obviously the ones that support Flash, but the one I recently found so functional is iCab Mobile. It can do a lot of things that Safari can’t, but the one feature that stands out for me is the ability to download YouTube videos for offline viewing.

About to purchase a new television from Future Shop? Soundbars deliver the same kind of rich, high quality playback that you’ve come to expect from larger and more complicated Surround Sound systems – but do so without their complicated wiring, placement considerations, and lengthy setup times. Easy to install in any size of room, Soundbar systems are an excellent way to significantly enhance the performance of your home theatre. Here are some highlights of this current promotion – but hurry, because prices this low won't last long.

Imagine having your own personal bartender, making sure that you have the best cocktails at any given time. Oh yah, don’t we all want to try and live that extravagant lifestyle of a celebrity? But there's a simple solution to make that wish come to reality. Enter: The Inebriator

Hello gaming fans!  We’re happy to announcement a special Xbox 360 giveaway here on the Tech Blog! 

With the busy fall gaming season upon us, we’re giving each of you an opportunity to get “online ready” with a chance to win 1 of 3 Xbox 360 wireless headsets!

Attention World of Warcraft fans!  Just announced today, Future Shop will be having midnight openings for the next expansion pack of the world's most popular online role-playing game, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

Satellite radio can be one of the most functional things you have installed in your car. It works almost wherever you go and offers up a pretty good selection of music and talk radio, depending on your preference. The Edge is a satellite radio unit that can work through a simple do-it-yourself setup, or as an integrated part of your car’s stereo system by ConnectPro technicians.

Have you noticed the chill in the air? This week, we'll officially say good-bye to Summer, and hello to Fall!  If you're one of those Summer-Lovers who hates to see the seasons change, don't despair! While you can't make Summer last longer (as hard as you might try), the good news is that, with a few adjustments, you can extend your patio season well into Fall! Here's a few things you can do to welcome Fall with a smile!

Tomorrow is the day that Borderlands fans have been waiting for with baited breath. Borderlands 2 will finally grace store shelves with it's presence as the unofficial kickoff to the big 2012 autumn game release avalanche. The original game from Gearbox Software was a big sleeper hit so while it may have slipped under your radar, you’ll certainly want to take a good look at this sequel, promising to be bigger and better than ever.

Last Thursday, Ubisoft Entertainment announced a major expansion of their Toronto game development location with the official unveiling of a brand new state-of-the-art performance capture studio that will help create more filmic, immersive storytelling in games.

The new 2000 square-foot facility located in Toronto's west-end will combine cutting-edge technology with a seasoned team from the the movie and video game industries, with the first major performance capture project being the cinematics for Ubisoft's upcoming Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

This weekend I had the privilege of attending The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, a complete four-movement concert event featuring music from the renowned video game franchise.  The concert tour made a stop Toronto, my hometown, as part of a North America tour which includes four Canadian dates. 

Fans may remember Nintendo announcing a worldwide Zelda symphony tour during the company's E3 2011 press conference, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for The Legend of Zelda franchise, which we've covered extensively here on the Tech Blog.

Since the release of Pokémon Red and Blue back in 1998, the Pokémon video game series has won hearts with its unusual, yet immersive gameplay and vast array of creatures.  The series has had several spin-offs including the popular Pokémon Stadium, Snap, Ranger and Rumble, but nothing has been quite as successful as the original series. With the success of their most recent iteration, Pokémon Black and White, Nintendo is releasing their first ever sequels, Pokémon Black Version 2 and White Version 2 on the Nintendo DS and 3DS.

Canon joined the “affordable full-frame DSLR revolution” today with the announcement of the much anticipated EOS-6D. Canon, like Apple, suffers from the same rabid popularity as the iPhone maker, and as such the 6D has been the worst kept secret in digital photography, with anticipatory blogs spanning back over six months. Consumers, pro-sumers, and Pros alike have been reticent to take the plunge on either the 5D Mark III and the 7D in the advent of the arrival of this brand new camera.

Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief and go back to being excited… the 6D is here and it’s awesome. It’s smaller and lighter than the 5D Mark III, and clearly made for the consumer audience with neat features like built-in WiFi and GPS. It has all the power that a serious photographer would want, including a 20.2 Megapixels Full Frame Sensor, Canon’s legendary DiG!C 5+ processor, an 11-point AF array, and a 63-zone metering sensor.

Nothing becomes obsolete faster than a comedy. Yet, there are a few rare films that manage to endure – and are revered for decades following their initial release. So what is it that causes some movies to be so instantly forgettable, while others continue onwards and achieve legendary status? Well, I have a theory. If a comedy features a scenario that’s sufficiently bizarre, it doesn’t need to depend on the fashions and trends of its era. Since its humour is harder to date, the film becomes timeless. Let’s take a look at a few strange and funny films which were just weird enough to justify their own chapter in comedy history.

If you’re into playing games on your PC then you’ve likely encountered a SteelSeries accessory here or there. I’ve heard a lot of good things about their PC gaming products for a while now so I thought with all the big games coming out this holiday season it was a good time to check them out to see what their products were actually like. 

With the launch of Windows 8 looming just over the horizon, we’re going to start to see a lot of new PCs flood the scene which seem purpose built for the new operating system. Even though it comes running Windows 8, it seems as though the Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 is just such a machine. It's a sleek all-in-one desktop touch-screen PC with a certain sense of style.