ces 2008
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Comcast files for DVR2Go trademark, is the portable DVR on the way?
A trademark filing certainly doesn't have to lead to a product, but here's hoping Comcast's request for "DVR2Go" means something new is in the works. Light Reading reports the request was made on March 29, and should be registered soon unless someone else challenges it. The company showed off a sweet Panasonic-built portable DVR at CES a couple of years ago that we'd like to see offered, but other potential products like a mobile video serve (streaming from our home DVR? we're into that) are tantalizing as well. Check after the break for a demo from 2008 courtesy of Veronica Belmont, we'll be posted outside the USPTO for the duration.
Sharp Aquos E Series hits the stage
Want Sharp's newest ASV Superlucent 1080p panel, but don't want a Blu-ray drive jammed in the back? Say hello to the Aquos E series. The E77U line packs 120Hz technology, a 4ms response time and Sharp's Spectral Engine XD for all manner of XD (Extreme Dark)or UD (Ultra Dark) situations -- eyeshine no longer necessary. Five HDMI 1.3 jacks, OPC function that automatically adjusts for lighting conditions and a soft gold accent towards the bottom of the frame signal your upscale tastes to all who haven't seen the prices ranging from $4,499 for the 65-inch to $1,399 for the 40-inch. The E67U gives more frugal buyers four HDMI jacks and a copper tone go along with the new ASV panel. Check after the break to see when your preferred model ships, with most due in February or March, and the LC-65E77U slipping out in June.
Console war to be settled this week in Street Fighter IV
We're as tired as you are of getting missives from the front lines of the console wars, so we're relieved to hear that they'll finally be behind us after this week's Consumer Electronics Show. Capcom will settle the fight once and for all on Saturday in Las Vegas, pitting the best Microsoft rep against Sony's pick in a battle for Street Fighter IV supremacy. The loser has agreed to stop making their console forever and ever, so the stakes are pretty high.... Yes, we made that last part up, but we're going to keep our fingers crossed.
Hop-on promises Android phone at CES, cookies, rainbows
Sure, we've seen a lot of product announcements from Hop-on accompanied by janky product renders over the years -- but we've never seen an actual Hop-on phone, so we're a little skeptical of the company's promise this morning to release an Android phone at CES this year. What's more, it's supposed to come in under $200, which is right in character for a manufacturer whose major claim to fame is the "disposable" cell phone, we suppose. We'll see if such a phone actually appears at the show -- Hop-on boldly says this mythical device will make it "competitive in the high-end phone market," which is probably sending shock waves through the offices of HTC, Apple, and RIM as we speak.
Samsung's SWT-W100K WiBro PMP gets official, priced
We had the chance to get hands-on with Samsung's WiBro-lovin' SWT-W100k back at CES in January. Judging by the arrival of the product waifs, the 4.3-inch, WVGA touchscreen PMP now looks to be getting an official coming-out party in its native S.Korea. €341 takes the little all-purpose device with GPS, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, 8GB of internal flash, and DMB mobile television home on a yet to be determined date. VoIP client, personal organizer, and web browser? Sure, that too. No word on the processor choice but it's definitely not running any flavor of Microsoft OS. With any luck, Samsung will bring a US-specced variant capable of running on Sprint's XOHM service later this year. Video refresher posted after the break.
CES 2008: What the heck is Free Realms?
The popularity of titles like Club Penguin and Webkinz is undeniable. This past Christmas saw the Webkinz servers just crushed under the new load of happy plush owners. It shouldn't come as a surprise that traditional game-makers are looking to this niche as a new area for profit. Earlier this month we brought you the news from CES that Sony Online Entertainment would be rolling out a new 'pay-it-forward' style community outreach program with the title Free Realms. But ... what exactly is Free Realms? Today we've got some impressions of that title for you, gleaned from watching pre-recorded video of gameplay at the Consumer Electronics Show. We also spoke with Laura Naviaux, Director of Global Marketing for SOE and SOE CEO John Smedley about the project, to get a feel for their enthusiasm about the game. While generally here at Massively you're far more likely to see us discussing a game like Lord of the Rings Online or World of Warcraft, this is a title well worth looking into. Free Realms is essentially an attempting to combine the look and feel of a traditional MMO title with the conversation and mini-game focus of a kiddie game. With very little exposure to the public in a 'hands-on' format as of yet, it's hard to gauge how successfully the title actually achieves that goal.%Gallery-12980% The ideas they're introducing with the game are intriguing just the same. The developers have obviously looked to other casual titles for inspiration, and have taken notes from the successes and failures of these other online projects. What results is a mélange of the familiar and the original that almost begs for further clarification. Read on for descriptions of their loose 'class' system (which will be familiar to fans of The Agency), the idea behind their instant play system, and what exactly you're going to be able to buy with microtransactions.
CES 2008: A covert intel briefing on The Agency
Earlier this month, Sony Online Entertainment finally gave the gaming world a full-on look at The Agency. The unique title, a brand-new blend of the shooter and MMO genres, was featured in a hands-on talk over pre-recorded video; a compromise in the face of demoing an online title in the unfamiliar surroundings of Las Vegas. That talk, given by the mile-a-minute lead designer Hal Milton, has been covered endlessly at other sites. You can view the complete discussion in video format, or read a great writeup of the event over at GamersInfo. Some of the most interesting tidbits the developers were willing to discuss that day weren't on the guided tour. Lead Designer Hal Milton and Design Director Matt Wilson were willing and able to discuss several aspects of the project still in the development stages with us and our friends at Massively; we were able to pick their brains on the game's business model, the fantastic world they're creating, character advancement, future content additions, and the numerous challenges of creating a game that straddles two platforms. Easily one of the most refreshing things about The Agency is the humor that the developers are aiming to introduce to the world, as Hal Milton explains: One of the things I love about the spy genre is that everyone automatically gets it. I love fantasy, I love sci-fi, I love writing those stories, but whenever I try to describe the game concept I have to go in and back-fill for like ten minutes. "And then Sir Clamdar of Thobordoxy grabbed the Handbag of Doom." Or, "the year was 2753, and the Federation ..." Most people don't care. They just want to jump into the world and know where they stand, as opposed to being dropped into a world completely clueless. That's what's great about the Agency, there's a lot of similarities but our world is so different from the real world that they start to experience the humor and flavor.Read on for more 'covert intel' you may not have seen discussed elsewhere on this blockbuster in-development title.%Gallery-3830%
HD DVD booklet from CES explodes with irony
"Hang on" is right. [Thanks, Rye C.]
Winners: The best of Crapgadget at CES!
The votes are in for the best of Crapgadget at CES 2008, and it was something of a landslide. We're sorry, mini phone, but the e-paper display that's actually paper took the gold with a margin of nearly ten points over the runner up, Tole Pure. See you next year -- if you haven't already gouged out your eyeballs. Round 13: e-paper display actually paper Round 18 finale: Tole Pure really is a crapgadget Round 17: the non-existent digital photo frame Round 1: the Mini Phone Round 2: the MP5 player Round 7: 64MB Beer MP3 player Round 8: Firetruck with 1.5-inch digital photo frame Round 4: Fugliest display evar Round 12: iPod docking pink plastic purse Round 11: Janky-ass MP4 watch Round 14: Hello Kitty with human debris Round 15: Shredmaster Jr. Round 6: The Apple Pie Round 10: PC Desktop Duo Round 9: spy recorder for little girls Round 16: Music Player Sunglasses Round 3: Boxing Champ Round 5: Tweety! digital camera
Hands-on with Age of Conan's Barbarian class
Last week at CES, I was able to do a hands on with Age of Conan's Dark Templar class. I also spent a good couple of hours ignoring the dirty looks of conventioneers as I hogged the Barbarian class demo machine as well. I was able to take a couple of shaky videos of gameplay (I blame the excitement) and write down some of the abilities of the class currently in beta.Before you dive in after the jump, you might also want to check out Michael Zenke's hands-on impression of the game, his interview with with Conan Designer Jason Stone about the graphic upgrades recently introduced to the closed beta and Age of Conan's newly announced Collector's Edition information, And if that's not enough information, you can also check the extensive tour and interview Akela Talamesca had of the game in December with more video coverage than you can shake a DV cam at.Now, on to the details of my test drive with AoC's Barbarian class.%Gallery-13299%
CES 2008: everything you need to see
We know there was an absolutely stunning amount of stuff going down at CES last week -- yet strangely enough nothing that really stood out. Before Macworld officially gets started let's bring it home with a few of the highlights of the news week you might have missed!Bill Gates! Bill Gates: the exit interview Bill Gates: live at his 12th and final CES keynote Mobile New Palm handset teased by Bill Gates himself Nokia N95 8GB US! (also, N95 gets red) Sony Ericsson announces W760 Walkman slider (hands-on) Motorola debuts ROKR E8 (hands-on) Hands-on with Mio's dual-front GPS phone concept OpenMoko to unveil consumer-minded Neo FreeRunner (hands-on) LG's Watch Phone: production please? Is this Windows Mobile 7? Portable Media Sony's new mylo (2) now official (with hands-on) Sony officially announces Skype on PSP (with ears-on) iriver's new APlayer, Volcano and MPlayer Season II DAPs iriver's crystal ball predicts upcoming PMP sexiness Hands-on with iRiver's new toys iriver's CES teaser site fleshes out Lplayer, Spinn Sony's Rolly music player / robot coming to the US this spring HDTV / home theater Warner goes Blu-ray exclusive! Mitsubishi laser TV unveiled HD DVD group cancels CES press conference in wake of Warner announcement: daaamn Sling announces SlingCatcher (again), SlingPlayer 2.0 with Clip+Sling, and Sling Cable modem (with hands-on) Sony XEL-1 OLED slips into US stores Pioneer's Project Kuro: The 9mm thick, infinite contrast 50-inch plasma HDTV (hands-on) Hands-on with Pioneer's extreme contrast concept plasma BT Group first to roll out Xbox 360 as IPTV set-top box Panasonic gets official with WirelessHD transmission system (plus hands-on) Live from Panasonic's CES keynote (with Gary Shapiro) Panasonic's gigantic 150-inch plasma is official! (with spy shot action) Texas Instruments shows off DLP DualView technology Good times You decide '08: The best of Crapgadget at CES CES 2008 Adwatch: Best of the worst CES 2008 booth gimmickery: Best of the worst CES 2008 product names: Best of the worst Gear and loathing in Las Vegas - Engadget has left the building
Cisco reveals 8500HDC DVR set-top-box series
We knew full well that Cisco would be axing the Scientific Atlanta brand, so it shouldn't come as any surprise to you to see a new series of STBs emerge at CES with a shiny Cisco logo gracing the front. The 8500HDC DVR series will include the 8550HDC (analog and digital tuning support), the 8540HDC (digital-only tuning support) and the 8552HDC (optional MoCA support, enabling Ethernet-over-coax). Furthermore, the trio promises to deliver "internet and premium content services," instant messaging support and a "richer media experience" to boot. As it stands, we aren't sure when the general public will be able to get their hands on any of the new boxes, but Cisco does claim that they're now "commercially available for its service provider customers." For more nitty-gritty on the new lot, click on through to the read link.[Thanks, Will P.] %Gallery-13739%
CES 2008: SOE wants to pay you for 'Sharing the Wealth'
CES provided us with an interesting look at the future of Sony Online Entertainment. We finally found out what The Agency was all about and got a good look at the wacky, kid-oriented MMO FreeRealms. And, in an exclusive interview with Massively, CEO John Smedley unveiled a new program that will launch alongside FreeRealms. Dubbed "Share the Wealth," SOE's unique buy-in program will offer site owners monetary incentives for driving customers to the game:"Let's say you have your own website. You come out our site, fill out a form pretty much the same as the one for our Station Exchange service with a Social Security number, and give us your PayPal account information. You cut and paste some JavaScript to your site, and now you have a banner ad for FreeRealms on your site. We are tracking every customer you give us, and once a month we'll give you somewhere between 5-10% of all the revenue from every customer you send us. That's as long as they are playing the game."The full interview gets into specifics behind the program, while the follow-up touches on big plans for the future of the company's Station Access pass.
Comcast aiming for 6000 on-demand movies per month, half in HD
Comcast had a fairly large presence at CES this year, but somehow this tidbit managed to slip through the cracks. Nevertheless, we felt it prudent to point out that the cable company is apparently looking to offer up some 6,000 movies per month through its On Demand service, and best of all, over half of those will be available in high-definition. Currently, "just" 1,300 selections are being made available each month, and while a definitive date isn't given, we are told not to expect the increase (at least in full) until sometime "next year." We've got it marked down Comcast -- and we'll be holdin' you to it, capisce? [Warning: PDF read link]
SkullCandy shows off MP3-playing Double Agent headphones
It's not like we haven't seen MP3-playing headphones before -- heck, we've even seen 'em from SkullCandy itself -- but the latest pair from the aforementioned firm simplifies things quite a bit. Quietly showcased at CES, the Double Agent cans sport a built-in SD slot and the typical assortment of controls on one earcup in order to take the external DAP / PMP out of the equation entirely. 'Course, we wouldn't recommend this to those who aren't fond of just shuffling through their tracks, but if you're aiming to consolidate, you can get one step closer to doing just that when this ships in March / April for a currently undisclosed price.[Via Gadgetell]
CyberLink's Profile 1.1-enabled PowerDVD shown at CES
Just a few weeks back, we were able to grab a sneak peek at Resident Evil: Extinction's Bonus View feature, and now Blu-ray.com has yet another preview we figure the BD camp will be interested in seeing. Apparently, CyberLink was busy demonstrating its forthcoming Profile 1.1-enabled PowerDVD 7 Ultra software at CES, which allowed Sunshine to be played back "perfectly" with picture-in-picture enabled. Also, they were able to confirm that the aforementioned application will indeed play nice with DTS-HD tracks and that DTS-HD MA support was just around the bend. Reportedly, the update will be available gratis to current owners of PowerDVD Ultra next month.
CES 2008: The best and worst of HD
CES is an epic event, and after walking the show floor, sitting through press conferences and reading enough press releases to last us a lifetime, these are the products that made the most lasting impression, good or bad. Pioneer's extreme contrast concept was without a doubt the most impressive item on display, and left more than one person saying they'd seen their next HDTV. Size still matters, Panasonic had the biggest and Pioneer had the slimmest. XStreamHD was best and worst by making great promises, but failing to deliver when we stopped by for a demo. Finally, HD DVD's pre-CES disappointment -- and subsequent press conference cancellation -- left a pall hanging over the booth, no matter how many people were there.Best:Tru2way TVs at CES 2008Hands-on with Pioneer's extreme contrast concept plasmaHands-on with the Pioneer 9mm-thick Kuro plasmaWarner goes Blu-ray exclusiveDirecTV's PC tuner (HDPC-20) is real!Eyes-on with Samsung's 31-inch and 14-inch OLED TVs -- take that SonyPanasonic's gigantic 150-inch plasma is official!XstreamHD details continue to emergeHands-on with Marantz's first Blu-ray player, the BD8002Hands-on with HD video podcasts on an HD TiVoLogitech launches Harmony OneSharp rolls out SE94U Aquos series w/ Aquos NetMusicGiants launches VideoGiants, with HD movies from ParamountWorst:XStreamHD's CES 2008 booth tourHD DVD's CES 2008 booth tourPhilips' new LCD lineup continues to not impressMustek intros the BD-100, aka Sharp BD-HP20S
Poll: What was your favorite HD product / technology from CES 2008?
Just a few weeks back, we gave you the opportunity to tell us what you were most looking forward to in 2008. Now that CES has come and gone once more, we're interested to know what you were most impressed by. 'Course, we took the liberty of rounding up a few favorites of our own, but don't be shy in dishing out a few dark horses, either. Oh, and before you ask, you certainly can have more than one favorite -- shout it / them out in comments below! %Poll-8161%
You decide '08: The best of Crapgadget at CES
Primaries schmimaries. Your vote is so obviously well spent here: we're asking you to make your selection for best (and by best, we mean worst) Crapgadget of CES. Simply browse through the crap we've assembled below and add your pick to the tally. Hopefully next year you'll be able to call in your vote via Mini Phone while sitting on your Tole Pure.The nomineesRound 1: the Mini PhoneRound 2: the MP5 playerRound 3: Boxing ChampRound 4: Fugliest display evarRound 5: tweety! digital cameraRound 6: The Apple PieRound 7: 64MB Beer MP3 playerRound 8: Firetruck with 1.5-inch digital photo frameRound 9: spy recorder for little girlsRound 10: PC Desktop DuoRound 11: Janky-ass MP4 watchRound 12: iPod docking pink plastic purseRound 13: e-paper display actually paperRound 14: Hello Kitty with human debrisRound 15: Shredmaster Jr.Round 16: Music Player SunglassesRound 17: the non-existent digital photo frameRound 18 finale: Tole Pure really is a crapgadget %Poll-8209%
iriver prepping handwriting-friendly e-book / tablet?
To wrap up its CES week, iriver has some pictures and scattered Korean text about its booth experience and product reception in Vegas over the past days. Tucked below all the self-congratulation, however, is what looks to be an as yet unannounced prototype from the ever-active iriver designers. The product appears to be an e-book of sorts, but with handwriting recognition and potentially a color display. Obviously, there's no more info at the moment to go on, iriver has been feeling a little protype-ish of late, and we never got much of a product out of iriver's last e-book, but hopefully we'll be hearing more about this one soon.
