Jamie Rigg
Articles by Jamie Rigg
‘ToeJam & Earl’ is more Diet Coke than fine wine
When I was young -- and I mean young, around six or seven -- my extended family would get together at my grandmother's house nearly every Sunday. And often on those days, for at least an hour or two, my cousin and I would play on her Sega Mega Drive (aka Genesis) together. Our go-to game was ToeJam & Earl, I think mostly because we needn't fight over one controller and it was co-operative, rather than competitive. Though my memories of the game are fond, the sequels released over the following decade completely passed me by. That's why I've had my eye on ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove -- an homage to the '90s classic that secured initial funding on Kickstarter in 2015. As it turns out, though, some memories are better being just that.
AIs are better gamers than us, but that’s OK
We're only just beginning to scratch the surface of what artificial intelligence is capable of, from medical advancements to movie recommendations. Despite AI being a potential goldmine of help to humanity, even the greatest minds are partial to the odd spout of fear-mongering. The robots are coming to take our jobs, overthrow humanity, enslave us and the like. Skynet is but a dystopian dream at this point in time, but in some ways, AI is already winning. It's beating us at some of our favorite games, from Go to StarCraft II. Machine has begun to best man, but that's a good thing.
How to find the best deals on Switch games in Nintendo's eShop
If you're anything like us, you've already enjoyed two wonderful years with your Nintendo Switch, and there's no end to the honeymoon phase in sight. Though you're probably sinking way too much time into trying to win a round of Tetris 99 right now, between Nintendo's first-party classics and the eShop's vast catalog of celebrated indie titles, there's always something new to play. This endless supply can take a toll on the finances, though, especially when the same game is often more expensive on the Switch than it is on PCs and other consoles. But there is a way to save a few bucks here and there by buying games at their cheapest, and making your money go further is simply a case of shopping around.
‘Apex Legends’ update attempts to balance its most powerful weapons
It's the stuff of nightmares. You're looted out of your mind, there are only two squads left standing, and you get double-tapped from the other side of the world by a Wingman-wielding Pathfinder. Well, you can sleep soundly now sweet Lifeline, because the first Apex Legends balance patch has dropped and the inevitable has occurred: The Wingman's been nerfed. Specifically, the pistol's maximum rate of fire has been reduced, and the Skullpiercer attachment doesn't increase headshot damage by quite the same degree anymore. Also, when firing wildly from the hip in moments of sheer panic, the Wingman is less accurate and bullet spread takes longer to settle after your frantic volley (assuming you won the firefight in the first place).
Samsung's Galaxy S10e isn't the start of a cheaper flagship revolution
The Galaxy S10e is one of the more interesting announcements to come out of Samsung's Unpacked event. Not that it was a surprise, with rumors as far back as October signaling its existence. Nor is it actually that unexpected. Product prices are inflating, sales are slowing down and meaningful innovations are few and far between. But none of this is news. The most notable thing about the S10e is Samsung's acknowledgment that it's once again time to mix things up -- that the S10 and S10+ won't meet everyone's needs.
What to expect from Samsung’s Galaxy S10 event
We're mere days away from Samsung's next Unpacked event, so the Korean conglomerate is all but ready to dish the details on the Galaxy S10 smartphone family. Not that we're totally in the dark, of course. As is the case in the lead-up to all flagship smartphone launches, the rumor mill has been picking up pace over the past weeks and months, giving us more than a few hints on what to expect on February 20th. The new Galaxy S10 range will obviously be the headline act, but Samsung's foldable phone is certain to make an appearance, and perhaps there'll be a few surprises that've thus far avoided the leak treatment, too.
The rise and fall of rocket mail
As you read this, countless cards, letters and packages are en route to delivery destinations across the globe. We rarely think about the logistics involved in international mail crossing land and sea, country borders and continents, because we don't have to. We simply take our item to the nearest postal service branch, pay an acceptable conveyance fee, and within a week or sooner, that item can end up on the other side of the world. But some two hundred years ago, eccentric minds were devising ways of cutting international delivery times to hours or even minutes. Their method? Rockets.
PlayStation keeps making money, Sony phones keep losing it
The most interesting part of cracking open a fresh financial report from Sony is seeing whether the momentum behind the PlayStation 4 shows any signs of slowing down. Sony kinda spoilt that for us just after the new year, though, announcing that the PS4 was closing in on the 100 million milestone with 91.6 million consoles sold as of December 31st. The holiday season was appropriately busy for the PlayStation division. From October through December, aka the third quarter of Sony's fiscal year, 8.1 million PS4s found loving homes, compared with 9 million the previous year. Not bad considering the slowdown in sales that's a natural part of a console's lifecycle has been prophesied for some time now.
My other life as a Kickstarter scammer
I have the process down to a tee. I start by browsing Kickstarter, looking for projects with active campaigns. There's no specific selection criteria. Perhaps I find one that's just gone live, or one coming to the end of its fundraising window. I reach out with a message, explain who I am and invite the project contact to book in an interview. On the call, I feign interest, ask the right kind of questions and promise a write-up on Engadget in the near future. I leave it a day or two and reach out again, saying I've heard great things from others about a specialist that can increase a project's exposure for a daily fee. A highly unethical move for a journalist, but I set to profit from it, so what do I care? The Engadget article never materializes, of course, because this person isn't me.
Huawei plagiarized a music video and turned it into a tablet ad
Huawei seems to have become a magnet for controversy of late. The company's being shut out of 5G infrastructure bids across the world, the US is reportedly investigating it for stealing trade secrets, and its CFO was recently arrested for violating Iran sanctions. And at a time when mistrust in the firm is at an all-time high, Huawei now stands accused of straight up plagiarizing a music video in order to sell more tablets.
A Peloton bike motivated me more than any gym membership could
Peloton and its connected bike have become the poster child for a new era of on-demand exercise. Specifically, it promises all the camaraderie and structured routines of a real-world spin class from the comfort of home. Peloton's workout library is extensive. However long you have to sweat, whatever your ability level, favorite music genre or preferred workout style, there are countless classes to match all criteria. Between the $2,245/£1,990 bike and the $39/£39-per-month subscription, though, it's an eye-watering investment. And the biggest question for me was: Can it turn the gym averse into a spin-class convert?
'Mortal Kombat 11' hype begins with an ultraviolent gameplay exhibition
The Mortal Kombat 11 teaser trailer NetherRealm released last month suggested the next installment in the fighting game series was going to be brutality incarnate. And yesterday, the first actual gameplay reveal konfirmed as much (sorry, not sorry). The crowd at the LA and London community events roared with every cinematic skewer and skull crunch, and considering every special combo and fatality consists of at least five borderline silly moves of escalating violence, there will no doubt be some sore throats among the superfans that were in attendance.
Everywhere we found AirPlay 2 at CES 2019
As is tradition, Apple was once again infamously absent at the biggest technology show of the year, CES. The company hasn't actually stayed out of the headlines over the past week, however. Apple didn't do any announcing of its own, but it was name-checked in practically all press conferences held by the biggest consumer tech brands at CES. The reason? AirPlay 2.
Lime's Emily Warren on rapid expansion and regulatory struggles
Lime is arguably the biggest player in inner-city electric bike and scooter rentals. Despite having only existed for around 18 months, the company now operates in over 100 cities across the world. On Engadget's CES stage, I sat down with the Lime's Senior Director of Policy and Public Affairs Emily Warren, to recap the company's explosive growth and global expansion. We also discuss the controversy surrounding this new rental model, Lime's next-generation scooter, regulatory challenges and how the company hopes saturation is the biggest problem it faces as it looks towards the new year.
The Pix Backpack is a wearable screen for the hypebeast generation
We've seen a couple of attempts at marrying screens with attire to create endlessly customizable fashion, but so far none have actually made it to market. At first glance, the Pix Backpack looks like another one of these intriguing accessories that never escapes the concept stage. The Kickstarter pitch promises a backpack with a retro-aesthetic display you manipulate using -- you guessed it -- a mobile app. The app features a library of images, animations, widgets and even games that populate the low-res color screen, or you can make your own pixel art through a simple editor. The Pix Backpack isn't just a quirky idea destined for the halls of vaporware, though.
Anker’s new $600 portable projector ups the resolution to HD
It was two years ago that we first came across Anker's soda-can media center, the Nebula Capsule. The all-in-one entertainment device crammed a projector and Bluetooth speaker into a portable package with a respectable 2.5-hour battery life. Anker's now readied a sequel, and is showing it off at this year's CES. The Nebula Capsule II improves upon its predecessor in a number of ways. Not only is the projector running brighter and at a higher, 720p resolution, but it now features autofocus and a more powerful, 8W speaker. Android TV 9.0 running behind scenes means it supports thousands of apps and Google's Assistant, making it a better all-round nomadic entertainment option.
Intel's Lakefield stacks desktop and Atom cores on a ‘3D’ chip
Intel led its CES press conference today by announcing a lineup of no less than six new 9th-gen processors, but it's looking towards a future beyond these chips, too. The company shed some light on a platform that's still in development, codename Lakefield, which is expected to go into production in 2019. It's a hybrid design featuring a primary 10nm Sunny Cove core, complemented by four 10nm Atom cores. We assume it'll operate like many mobile chips do already, with different cores handling different tasks based on how resource-intensive they are, maximizing efficiency and power.
Watch LG’s CES press conference in 8 minutes
Considering LG began its CES hype campaign in early December, the company's obscenely early press conference today -- the first of the show -- was unexpectedly short and sweet. LG is committed to releasing a 5G smartphone this year, and promises its ThinQ AI home appliances will get progressively smarter, suggesting how to better manage your home rather than just blindly obeying your conversational commands. LG also gave an appropriate amount of airtime to HomeBrew, its new capsule-based craft beer system for nurturing easy, homemade batches.
Heatworks' Duo carafe is instant kettle meets stylish Brita
We're all thinking it: Waiting for the kettle to boil is so 2018. But that hot minute of idly poking Insta while you await your coffee fix could be eliminated if Heatworks has anything to say about it. The company has created Duo, a "carafe" that heats water, instantly, as you pour it. It may look like a stylish Brita filter -- and filtration is part of the package -- but thanks to the graphite electrodes in its upper half, water is heated within 1°F of your desired temperature as it leaves the vessel.
JAXJOX's smart kettlebell is a gateway to its subscription classes
You may already know JAXJOX as a clunkily named purveyor of home workout gear, but the brand has only really flirted with tech before. Though it's put its stamp on a fitness tracker and smart scale, the company is beginning a whole new connected push at this year's CES, starting with its $349 smart kettlebell. As you'd expect, the thing will keep track of your reps, sets and workout time; plunk it on its charging base and you can also change its weight from between 12 and 42 pounds. Simply recording your workouts is only part of the proposition, though. Following in the footsteps of Peloton and several others, send another $30 per month JAXJOX's way and you'll get access to live and on-demand fitness classes that are intended to help you get the best out your equipment.