US regulators asked to probe huge expenses on games by children

Two members of Congress asked US regulators on Tuesday to look into a newspaper report that children had rung up huge bills buying virtual products in games on mobile devices.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that an eight-year-old girl had racked up a $1,400 bill from Apple buying virtual products such as "smurfberries" in the Capcom Interactive game Smurfs' Village on the iPhone.

Super Bowl ad frenzy stretches far beyond the game

The Super Bowl commercial blitz is extending beyond the usual talking babies and office chimps to engage viewers online and get more for advertisers' $3 million-plus investment.

Marketers are using every trick in the playbook to dominate the buzz before the game and long afterward, too. The gimmicks include online contests, a car "race" powered by Twitter mentions, and a secret new level of a hit iPhone game.

Activision jumps into kids' game with 'Skylanders'

To impress kids these days, it's not enough to make another video game. Mere action figures won't do, either. So Activision is merging the two.

With "Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure," Activision is using some of its "Guitar Hero" technology in a new venture that's part handheld toy, part digital entertainment. Aimed at kids, "Skylanders" is among the latest and most ambitious game in a growing genre that blends a child's physical world with a video game and online media.

NPD: US retail video game sales fell in September

U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories dipped 4 percent to $1.13 billion in September, according to market researcher NPD Group. Sales of the games themselves grew somewhat, but this was overshadowed by lower sales of game consoles and accessories.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro

Back in May, we reviewed the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc which was the pinnacle of mobile technology at that time. At least, it was in the highest echelon of Google's Android kingdom. It was smart, sleek and fast. Now, four months later, we have the Xperia Mini Pro which is neither the smartest, nor the sleekest, nor the fastest. But this is not a bad thing, and we'll explain why in this review.