JXD S7100 Tablet Review

The JXD S7100 is an Android 2.2 based tablet, designed with gaming in mind. It has a seven inch screen, a d-pad, four buttons, and an analog stick. You can get it either with a resistive or a capacitive touch screen; it also has start and select buttons. The buttons are alright, though a bit clicky and cheap feeling. The capacitive touch screen is good enough that I decided to type this little review on the tablet's touch keyboard using Kingsoft Office. So far, so good.

The S7100 also comes with a micro SD slot, a mini USB port, headphone jack, volume rocker, charge port, reset, mic, and a mini HDMI. Also included are front and back cameras, neither of which are really worth using unless youre desperate.

The neat thing is that the unit comes loaded with a bunch of games and emulators. it can play everything from NES and SNES, up to N64 and PSX from day one. Also included are a bunch of touch games like Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds. There are other emulator consoles out there that offer the ability of being able to play just about any rom you throw at them, but the big advantage the S7100 holds over them is the fact that it can also run Android. Which means access to the Android Market, an easy to install (or change, or root) operating system, and the ability to get some real work done.

There are some cons. If you aren't capable of rooting a device, or comfortable with learning how, then the S7100 isn't for you. When mine arrived, it was mostly in Chinese, had no access to the Android Market, and the home screen looked like someone had thrown up a bunch of icons. I updated the firmware to the English version, installed the Market, and created a second home screen with ADW Launcher. I would consider all of these steps to be necessary to make this tablet your own.

And if I am honest, the screen isn't terrific. It's very capable of hd, and the touch sensitivity is good enough that as type this, I have not once just said screw it and reached for my laptop. But you won't be mistaking this thing for an iPad, it is just not as sharp or colorful. The seven inch screen is great for gaming or watching movies in HD, but you are going to need some huge pockets if you expect to carry this portably without a bag. As a plus, the big screen size means watching a movie won't force you to squint or hold it an inch from your face. There is no kickstand for hands-free movie watching, sadly. 

The emulation runs well enough, with occasional drops, but nothing that'll really keep you from enjoying the game. The one big knock is that there are no shoulder buttons, which effectively makes some games unplayable. For some folks expecting to play Goldeneye or Metal Gear Solid just how they remember it, you will be somewhat disappointed. The battery life is ok, something like four or five hours. As an added plus, the HDMI out works great for both games and movies with no hiccups at all, even if it's a bluray file. So you can use it to play Tekken 3 on your TV, then switch over to watch Tekken: Blood Vengeance. All this for less than $180.


For the price, this thing is boss. Customizable, capable of doing just about anything you throw at it, and surprisingly quick; the JXD S7100 hits the spot as far as alternatives for buying one of the emulation consoles (Geimei A380, Wiz, Canoo). If you do your research, you'll see that this is the best one of the best options for a portable gaming tablet or an emulation console.


Overall Rating: 4 Out Of 5


by Chris Alexander
PSN: Imnotonfacebook
XBL: Mastergief

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

The Kraken

By Doug Beaver

Many pirates tell the tale of a beast so grand that they only dare to whisper its name.  It’s a monster so powerful, ye scallywags, that it even makes the mighty Google herself hoist her anchor and head for bluer seas.

This new-aged Kraken that has come up from the depths of Hell – aka bowels of Congress – is the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

But when the myth is separated from the monster, this animal is just another bloated government jellyfish, full of formless regulation, with nonspecific goals.  It’s an internet business owner’s nightmare, but a lawyer’s wet dream.

Even the mission statement on the first page of the Act trails off at the end:  “To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes.”

“And for other purposes” is more vague and ambiguous than a Netflix business plan.

It’s not as though the idea of protecting intellectual property (like music, games, movies, and even pictures) is a new one.  We all know the drill, if you’re a pirate, you’re stealing.  In the long-term, pirates can ruin the market that creates the work you love.  Pirates take away the biggest driving factor behind all this popular art: profit.

While many artists claim that their work is for the masses, and that they stand out against greed, they are referring to pieces that would be distributed for free anyway.  These pieces aren’t in danger of being pirated.  That art will always be safe.

SOPA is trying to protect Lindsay Lohan’s breasts.

Lohan’s rack hit the internet right in the face (which doesn’t sound too bad) before the magazine went on sale at newstands, costing Playboy revenue, and forcing them to release the issue ahead of schedule to prevent major damage.

Playboy still does rather well for a gentleman’s magazine when there are fewer gentlemen in the world than ever before, but piracy could threaten to shut down The Mansion for good – and no one wants that before we get a chance to party there.

While it’s tough to be a business that has to constantly find new and innovative ways to protect its content from piracy, SOPA is also attacking entrepreneurs from the opposite angle by placing costly and time-consuming regulations that are difficult to enforce.

Internet companies will have to constantly monitor its own users’ actions to ensure no copyrighted material is even linked to, or access to the whole site could be immediately blocked.  That’s like shutting down a Target store if a customer were to show his friends a leaked trailer on his iPhone at the checkout line.

The government has placed internet businesses at a real disadvantage, because sites are responsible to follow traditional business rules and regulations (like Sarbanes-Oxley) as well as the PRO-IP Act, which is the forerunner to SOPA.

There will be a lot of winners if SOPA were to pass.  Lawyers and bean counters love these regulations, as it gives them purpose with a paycheck, and keeps them in business.  True pirates see PRO-IP and SOPA as a challenge, and internet geeks love nothing more than to be challenged and demonstrate holes in existing systems.  The government would get to collect on fines and fees. 

The only ones that don’t win in a SOPA controlled internet are the businesses, and that’s why sites like Google, Yahoo!, and Facebook are against it.  It made perfect sense that GoDaddy was boycotted for supporting SOPA, because the businesses that get their domains from GoDaddy are facing additional hurdles.

Instead of congress creating these acts that benefit everyone except the businesses they effect, a better solution would be to have the companies that need piracy protection laws – companies that support SOPA, like the MPAA, Viacom, and Nike – work with companies like Google to create a system to combat internet piracy without government interference. 

After both sides of the argument come to terms that can be agreed upon, the government can be consulted to ratify it.  Other than that, congress should stay out of the internet’s way, and keep the krakens they are trying to implement away from private enterprises.

“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help,” are still the nine most terrifying words in the English language… and the attempt to the internet by implementing SOPA is just another great example.

April is fun time for games!

Keeping it simple. I know it's a few days into April, but we should happy for games this month. Let's get the list going, and with Gametrailers help they have a video for us to use.

April 13th

-Splinter Cell Conviction (Multiple Platforms)

April 20th

-Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

April 20th

-Dementium 2 (NDS)

April 27th

-Super Street Fighter 4 (Multiple Platforms)

April 27th

-FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa (Multiple Platforms)

April 27th

-Dead to Rights: Retribution (Multiple Platforms)

April 27th

-Nier (Multiple Platforms)

Video Games | GT Release Calendar | Games of April 2010

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Review

Game: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
Genre: Fighting Game
Developer(s): Eighting
Publisher(s): Capcom
Release Date: December 11, 2008 (JPN) January 26, 2010 (USA)
Rating: T (Teen)
System(s): Wii


Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is a 2.5D fighting game developed only for the Nintendo Wii, in which players face each other with a team of two in a one-on-one fight to defeat each other in a Crossover Battle.



Tatsunoko vs. Capcom features characters from the Japanese animation studio Tatsunoko Production and video game company Capcom. Like traditional fighting games, TVC's gameplay consists of attempting to knockout the opponent on a 2D plane. This plane creates a 2.5D environment in conjunction with character models and backgrounds rendered in 3D—a first for the Vs. series, another game that is similar is Street Fighter IV using 2.5D enviroment which Capcom might be using once again in the future. Another unique feature towards gameplay of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is a simplified three-button attack system which revolves around Light, Medium, and Heavy attacks plus an 1 additional button for tagging in your assist character.




The game's two large characters, Tatsunoko's Gold Lightan and Capcom's PTX-40A, fight on their own without a partner resulting in the inability to do universal techniques that require a partner. To regenerate health, each player may switch out their characters at any time. A team can perform two special moves at the same time (which however uses up three special bars). The match is over once one of the teams have no remaining fighters.




Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's main features are Arcade mode, which involves the player battling against computer controlled opponents in multiple stages until he or she reaches the boss character. Time attack and Survival mode requires the player to defeat every character in the game. Survival limits health regeneration while Time attack is solely about completing it in the shortest time possible. There is a shop feature where you can buy unlockable characters, alternate character costumes, character profiles, movies, illustrations, background music for use in the gallery and minigames can be purchased with money obtained throughout the game. There are also modes exclusively for multiple players. Vs. Mode is the where two players can compete simultaneously via right beside you or Online.





There are also minigames which can be played between 1 to 4 players to entend your TVC entertainment. Overall, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is a very fun fast-pased fighting game for the Wii which is not bad at all to have in your collection.

Rating: 4 out of 5


Gameplay Videos: