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Lytro to focus on VR and video with $50 million investment
Lytro -- maker of "shoot now, focus later" cameras -- is diving into the virtual reality and video market, following an investment of $50 million led by GSV Capital. The market shift means Lytro will lay off 25 - 50 of its 130 employees, and at the same time hire new folks with expertise in VR and video. Lytro is best known for its tubelike, selective-focus cameras released in 2012, though its newest model, the Illum, is a high-end SLR-style device. The company has been feeling out its target market for a while, and while we thought the new camera was better than its predecessor, VR might turn out to be a better fit for Lytro overall.
Lytro's Illum camera is expensive, but less gimmicky than we thought
Back in 2012, Lytro's first camera introduced folks to its light-field imaging tech -– letting users tweak focus, perspective and depth of field after a photo is taken. However, that first-gen camera's peculiar body and low-res output limited its appeal. Now, with the $1,599 Illum, Lytro's back, looking to elevate its unique approach from mere curiosity to a legitimate photographic tool. I spent some time with the beefy new model to see how far the company's come.
Daily Roundup: Xperia Z2 Tablet review, Amazon's phone 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.
Lytro's new light-field camera looks like an actual camera, costs $1,599
If Lytro's first camera offered us a sneak peek at the promise of light field photography, the company's second-generation product swings those doors wide open. A far cry from the toy-like appearance of its predecessor, the $1,599 Lytro Illum looks and feels like a genuine full-fledged camera meant for a more professional crowd. The innovation doesn't stop at just looks either, as the Illum is a much more serious effort at light field photography, with cutting-edge optics, a larger sensor and a whole lot of computational power that might make the Illum the most technologically advanced camera to land in consumer hands.
Star Wars: The Old Republic confirms same-gender romance, more endgame content
Executive Producer Jeff Hickman is riding in the new year with a bold state of the game letter for Star Wars: The Old Republic. In it, he not only trumpets the benefits of free-to-play but addresses several pressing questions from the community and gives a few hints at Update 1.7 and the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion. Hickman says that F2P has done well by SWTOR, although he doesn't deliver specific numbers: "The game is incredibly healthy with an ever increasing number of players who are actively playing (the servers are rocking!)." He also said that players will soon see changes to "a special PvP area," a lot more content for endgame customers, improvements to Ilum, and the ability to copy characters to the test server. Regarding PvP, Hickman indicated that pure open-world PvP will not be coming to the game any time soon. Finally, the state of the game address confirms that same-gender romance will be added to SWTOR in the expansion, although it will initially be confined to interactions with NPCs and not companions. "I want to reveal today that we are adding SGR with some NPCs on Makeb and do intend on pursuing more SGR options in the future," Hickman said.
