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'Yakuza 6' makes Tokyo's red-light district virtually real
I'm a relatively late fan of Sega's famed Yakuza franchise. It was the 2015 prequel, Yakuza 0 on the PS4, that got me hooked: It was the series' first title to be localized in Chinese, which helped me understand its rich storyline on the humble beginnings of series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and his strangely charming acquaintance, Goro Majima. What also fascinated me about these open-world games was how most of the world was based on Tokyo's Kabukicho and Osaka's Dotonbori, often with incredible attention to detail.
I can finally do cartwheels in VR with HTC's Vive Focus
After fully unveiling the Vive Focus, HTC finally allowed lucky folks like myself to properly test out the six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) standalone VR headset. For the first time, I can actually walk around in VR without being tethered to a PC nor confined to a fixed space. It's a truly mobile VR solution -- more so than smartphone-based VR headsets, which only let you look around on the spot (3DoF). Naturally, I used this opportunity to test this 6DoF tracking to its limits, even if it meant doing cartwheels while wearing the Vive Focus.
Xiaomi still isn't ready to sell phones in America
Whenever I write about a new Xiaomi product these days, the response is usually sour comments along the lines of, "Why bother telling us when these won't be coming to our side of the world?" I, too, get frustrated (as if the poor data connection in Beijing wasn't enough to wind me up), because it has indeed been a long wait since I attended Xiaomi's first product launch almost six years ago. That bitterness has only gotten worse as the company's smartphones have become increasingly more appealing. Case in point: There are no plans for its new Mi 6 to enter the US or Europe. Meanwhile, Shenzhen-based OnePlus -- a much smaller and younger competitor, mind you -- has been able to form impressive lines in the US, UK and other places Xiaomi doesn't dare go.
LG G6 ditches modularity in favor of essentials
LG's handful of recent teasers for its new G6 flagship left us wondering if there'd be any surprises left for us at its launch event today. Back in early January, the company was rather frank about moving away from the G5's modular design due to a lack of consumer interest, followed by a promise of increased safety measures after the Samsung Note 7 fiasco. While it may seem as if LG has taken a more conservative approach this time, it used three teasers to emphasize the G6's unique 18:9 "FullVision" display.
HTC will intro half as many smartphones this year
HTC may have taken a bolder approach in the smartphone world with its new U Ultra and U Play, but it's decided to play it safe with its roadmap for the rest of the year. After today's launch event in Taipei, I caught up with President of Smartphone and Connected Devices Business, Chialin Chang, who confirmed that HTC will only be releasing six to seven smartphones this year. While that's a drastic cut from last year's eleven to twelve models, he claims this has so far allowed the company to focus on its smartphones' core features, in a bid to put up a better fight against other brands.
The Passport foldable drone makes for a fun travel companion
My first drone flight experience was with the DJI Phantom 2 Vision, and as much as I appreciated its advanced capabilities at the time, I longed for something more compact -- a device so small that I wouldn't need to carry a separate bag or case for it, preferably without sacrificing performance. Eventually, a Chinese startup called Zero Zero Robotics released the $599 Hover Camera Passport, which comes in the unique form of a foldable cage while packing cool features like body tracking, face tracking and orbiting. I got to spend some time with the Passport over the past few weeks, and eventually it got to the point where I rarely leave home without it, lest I find time to take it for a quick spin.
Our fingerprints, eyes and faces will replace passwords
Passwords are a pain in the ass. They're either easy to crack or hard to remember, and when breaches occur you have to come up with a whole new one. So people are trying to do away with passwords altogether, and so far, fingerprint scanners are doing the job nicely.
It takes two: A visual history of dual-camera mobile phones
With the recent launches of the iPhone 7 Plus and the LG V20, the dual-lens smartphone camera is once again a hot topic. Of course, many other companies will want to remind you that they were there first, except some have long since given up on the technology. So what happened? And why isn't this yet a standard feature on all flagship smartphones? For those intrigued, it's worth taking a trip seven years back in time.
Xbox One S review: a worthy successor -- to the Xbox 360
Microsoft is making a lot of assumptions with the Xbox One S. It's a 40 percent smaller and 100 percent whiter version of the Xbox One that launched nearly three years ago, albeit with a few key differences. First is the built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and compatibility with high-dynamic-range video for increased contrast and a wider color gamut. Then there's support for Ultra HD streaming from apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. As for the rest of the system? For better and worse, it's basically the same.
Computex 2016: It's a wrap!
Just like that, Computex 2016 has come to an end. As in previous years, the show kicked off with ASUS' big keynote presentation, but this time it wasn't just laptops, tablets and smartphones -- the company also unveiled its first home robot, Zenbo. We met up with Chairman Jonney Shih who gave us an exclusive demo of this $599 machine, so do check out our interview with him. We also saw Intel launch its first 10-core desktop processor geared towards hardcore gamers, followed by yet another exclusive interview -- this time with the company's new consumer head, Navin Shenoy.
ASUS' $599 home robot is smarter than it looks
It goes without saying that ASUS' first home robot, Zenbo, stole the show at this year's Computex. As soon as it rolled onto the stage during the keynote, everyone rushed to the front to get a good look at this cute little fella -- and that was before Chairman Jonney Shih shocked the audience with its surprisingly attractive low price of $599. Apart from its basic capabilities, little else was said about the machine, so we traveled all the way to ASUS' headquarters to meet Shih for a detailed demo. During the process, we managed to pry a little more info out of the exec, including what's inside this mysterious bot, the thinking behind its design and a target launch date around the holiday season.
Up close with the ASUS ZenFone 3 series
Like it does every year at Computex, ASUS announced a bunch of new smartphones that won't break the bank. Only this time, the best-looking device turned out to be the base model: the ZenFone 3. I managed to get some hands-on time with this $249 device and to my surprise, it looks just as good in real life thanks to the spun-metal finish on the back. It also has a more premium feel than its predecessor due to the switch from a plastic body to a combination of metallic frame and 2.5D glass panels. At this price point (with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage), there's little to complain about, but it'll take some real-life usage to see if the mid-range Snapdragon 625 will suit your needs.
Hover Camera is a safe and foldable drone that follows you
"Follow me" is an up-and-coming feature on consumer drones, and then you've also got those that are foldable for the sake of portability. Very few devices carry both advantages, but Beijing startup Zero Zero Robotics has already gone further with its Hover Camera. As the name suggests, this drone is mainly for aerial photography and videography, but what makes it even cooler is the fact that its propellers are fully enclosed by a strong carbon fiber frame, thus making it the safest drone we've ever played with. As you can see in our hands-on video after the break, you can literally grab it whenever you like without sacrificing any of your fingers to the drone gods.
LeEco's three new smartphones ditch the headphone jack
We've been hearing rumors about Apple killing the 3.5mm headphone jack on its next major iPhone release, but looks like one Chinese company was keen to beat its American rival in this "race." LeEco, famed for bringing the world's first USB Type-C phones and recently investing in Aston Martin's electric car development, has just announced three new smartphones -- the Le 2, Le 2 Pro and Le Max 2 -- that have ditched the conventional headphone jack in favor of the upcoming USB Type-C digital headphones. Unit now, HTC and JBL's Reflect Aware C was the only one in this new headphone category, so it's fitting that LeEco is also adding two of its own USB-C earpieces -- a pair of in-ears and a pair of noise-cancelling over-ears. These are also the first to be certified by LeEco's very own Continual Digital Lossless Audio standard.
Move It puts a smart mini gym in your room
Eons ago, I used to go to the gym several times a week, but nowadays I can give you hundreds of reasons for why I no longer do so. Meanwhile, my beer belly is slowly engulfing my belt, and that's never a good sign (I really should have joined the Engadget Fitness Challenge). This is pretty much the kind of scenario that Hong Kong's Eggplant Technologies is targeting with its Move It smart fitness apparatus, which has just launched on Indiegogo ahead of its August shipment. In a nutshell, this is a four-in-one compact gym kit that you can leave in one corner of your home, and it comes with a mobile app that not only coaches you, but also lets you meet and challenge other fellow Move It users around the world.
Vivo Xplay5 boasts 6GB RAM and a familiar curved screen
If you need an excuse to acquire a new exotic Chinese smartphone, then how about 6GB of RAM? Not only is Vivo's new Xplay5 the first mobile device to announce this spec, but it's also the second non-Samsung device — following the BlackBerry Priv — to pack a screen that's curved on both sides. Judging by its familiar metallic design, you'd easily think that the Xplay5 is the bastard child of the Galaxy S6 Edge (front) and the iPhone (back) after a one night stand in Dongguan (the S7 Edge's chamfer isn't as shiny). Despite the unfortunate similarities, this is still a surprisingly decent product in terms of hardware and specs -- much like how its predecessor, the Xplay3S, managed to wow us a little over two years ago.
The HTC Vive isn't limited to perfectly square rooms
I'm not gonna lie: I was jealous when I heard that my colleague Sean Buckley got to play 12 virtual reality games in Seattle last week. (He even moaned about it later.) I got to try "only" four on the Vive Pre at HTC's Taipei headquarters. But that's OK, because in the end I also had a blast -- to the point that I ended up running around the room, high on adrenaline. Not even the zombies in Arizona Sunshine made me do this much exercise. As I sat down to recuperate afterwards, I caught up with one of the key execs on HTC's VR team to learn about the Vive's setup process and what other features are in the works.
HTC Vive to demo a 'very big' breakthrough in VR at CES
Regular folks who are eager to get hold of the HTC Vive would have been bummed by the news that it's been pushed to April 2016, but in return, we'll actually be getting a much improved version. At today's Vive Unbound developers forum in Beijing, CEO Cher Wang teased that two weeks ago, Valve and her team made "a very, very big technological breakthrough" with their virtual reality system, so big that they decided to just skip the original version and ship this new one, albeit missing the Q1 date. "We shouldn't make our users swap their systems later just so we could meet the December shipping date." That said, Wang remained mum on what this upgrade is all about, except that it'll be unveiled at CES early next month.
Chinese-owned Vertu vows to keep making luxury phones in the UK
It's been a little over a week since Vertu announced that it is now under full ownership of Hong Kong's Godin Holdings. Which, as we found out, is linked to Godin Cyberspace Security Technology -- aka GodinSec from mainland China. This raised two questions: Will Vertu be ditching its "Handmade in England" slogan in favor of the classic "Made in China?" And does Godin intend to make use of its own secure smartphone OS on future Vertu devices? The short answer to both is no, according to the newly appointed CEO Billy Crotty.
We turned on the Nintendo PlayStation: It's real and it works
The "Nintendo PlayStation" is now the stuff of gaming legend, with reportedly only about 200 prototypes ever produced.
