Daily Roundup: Peripheral Vision, GameStop's digital strategy, Lab grown human brains, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Introducing Peripheral Vision
From the producers of the Webby award-winning Engadget Show comes our newest series, Peripheral Vision. Each week we'll chat with a new visionary -- scientists, artists, broadcasters, musicians -- who's using technology in unique and interesting ways. This week, we're starting with Eric Staller, who trained as an architect but is now living the life of a technologically-inclined artist. Click through for the full episode.
GameStop's next-gen digital strategy doesn't exist, because it doesn't need to... yet
With the future of gaming heading in the direction of all online and digital, a retailer like Gamestop -- that's built on the buy/sell/trade business -- may need to rethink its strategy. For now though, the disc-selling company may be OK, with both Sony and Microsoft committed to a friendly used disc-based games policy for their respective consoles. But, when we asked Tony Bartel asked about his digital strategy, we received this evasive response: "You're asking me to... predict the future. I'm supposed to plan for the future." Is Gamestop ignoring the future? Read on for that answer, and more.
Samsung Galaxy NX kit ships this October for a jaw-dropping $1,700
Holy heck is this pricing ambitious. Samsung's Android-equipped mirrorless camera, the Galaxy NX, is slated to hit US retailers this October for the princely sum of $1,700 with a bundled 18-55mm lens ($1,600 body only). That amount nets you a 20.3-megapixel APS-C sensor, NX300-like focusing, 8.6fps continuous shooting, and a 1.6GHz quad-core processor for far better Android performance that you'd get with, say, the Galaxy S4 Zoom. Click the link above for our video hands-on, and decide for yourself if the device warrants such a high price tag.
Android VP Hugo Barra leaves Google, joins Chinese phone maker Xiaomi
"After nearly 5½ years at Google and almost 3 years as a member of the Android team - the most amazing group of people I've ever worked with in my life - I have decided to start a new career chapter," Android VP Hugo Barra announced yesterday. Barra will be leaving his current position to join up with the Chinese phone maker, Xiaomi. This comes just a month after Barra took the stage to present Google's new Nexus 7, and represents a huge gain for the Xiaomi, a company who makes smartphones that run on a heavily customized Android ROM. Read on for Barra's full statement, and Google's response to the departure.
