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ICYMI: Firework autocannon, Sony drone, and manga noodle bots
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403{width:630px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-431403").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It, we showcase a double-barreled fireworks cannon that's just slightly less dangerous than that personal flamethrower you've had your eye on. We've also got Sony's first drone prototype -- it's a little remote controlled Harrier! And if you thought that explainer video from Snapchat's CEO was terrible, just wait until you see this Alienware unboxing. Finally, an enterprising noodle shop owner in China got his hands on a refurbished Ultraman assembly robot and converted it into, what else, an automated noodle slicer. If you come across any interesting videos, we'd love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd. And if you just want to heap praise on your handsome guest host, feel free to hit him up @mr_trout.
You can pre-order the first official Steam Machines starting today
Look, there's literally no shortage of things you can slot into your home theater system for a spot of streaming media or some melt-into-your-couch gaming. If you want to be able to recline in your living room and comfortably sneer at people who play games on consoles, though, you can pre-order an official Steam Machine -- and the accoutrements to make it shine -- starting today.
Over a dozen Steam Machines 'more powerful' than consoles hit this fall
Valve continues to put console gaming in its crosshairs with news that a dozen new Steam Machines are hitting this November. Prices aren't concrete, but the company promises higher performance than game consoles starting at "the same price point." What's more, new units from Alienware and Falcon Northwest are on display at this year's Game Developers Conference, with the latter showing off Unreal Tournament running on a 4K monitor. Don't miss out on all the latest from GDC 2015! Follow along at our events page right here.
Alienware unleashes a pair of slimmed-down gaming laptops
Last summer, Alienware unveiled a 13-inch gaming laptop. It was by far the thinnest and lightest machine the brand had put out in years -- and it was a helluva lot smaller than the Alienware 14 it replaced, too. Well, it looks like there was more where that came from: Dell just announced a slimmed-down version of its Alienware 17 notebook, along with a brand-new 15-inch system -- the first machine of this size that Alienware has offered in two years. What's more, the company is discontinuing its massive 18-inch model, confirming that as far as gaming laptops go, there really is such a thing as too big.
Engadget Daily: Alienware Alpha, what to expect from Sony at CES, and more
Interested in Alienware's Alpha Steam Machine? We reviewed it. Wondering what Sony has up its sleeve for CES 2015? We have that too. In fact, we rounded up a whole bunch of today's news highlights in the gallery below, including the latest on Nintendo's Amiibo figurines, Seagate's uber-cheap hard drive and a wearable that shoots fireballs. Enjoy.
Alienware Alpha review: almost the Steam Machine you're looking for
It's hard to describe the Alienware Alpha. On the surface, it's a small-form gaming PC, custom-built from laptop components to fit in your entertainment center. But it was supposed to be a frontrunner in a new category of gaming devices. It isn't. Valve's Steam Machine initiative was delayed past its original launch window, leaving manufacturers like Dell to fend for themselves in a market that doesn't exist yet. It's a weird, awkward place to be in, but here we are, testing the Alienware Alpha: a Steam Machine before its time. The question is: Can one of the biggest names in PC gaming succeed where others have failed?
The Alienware Alpha has come for your money, Earthlings
Alienware and parent company Dell have made good on the promise to release a console-sized, TV-oriented PC by year's end with the Alienware Alpha - a not-quite Steam Machine that runs Windows 8.1 and comes with an Xbox 360 controller (as opposed to running SteamOS and utilizing a Steam Controller the way a "true" Steam Machine does). For $550, you can order the base model, which comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics card, Intel i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. For $700, you can double the RAM and storage capacity to 8 GB and 1 TB, respectively. For $800, the Alpha will come with an i5 processor instead of an i3 (as well as the additional RAM and storage space). Lastly, for $900, you can get an Alienware Alpha with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M, i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage. If you prefer to do your shopping in person, the Alpha is available at select Walmart and Fry's Electronics locations. Online, you can order via Walmart, Fry's Electronics, Dell, Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, NewEgg, Sam's Club and Tiger Direct. Hey, maybe you'll even get one in time for the supposed Steam Fall Sale start date of November 26 and put it to use right away. [Image: Dell]
Alienware's Alpha game console is ready to invade your living room
Eager to get a truly TV-oriented gaming PC without waiting until the official Steam Machine launch in 2015? Alienware is more than happy to oblige: at long last, it's shipping the Alpha console. You can now shell out $549 or more to get a living room-friendly Windows PC with a custom interface designed to work with an included Xbox 360 gamepad. Don't expect an ideal Far Cry 4 machine out of the box, however. Every system can play some modern titles thanks to GeForce GTX 860M graphics, but that base system comes with a modest Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive; you'll have to pay $699 if you want more memory and storage, and at least $799 if you want a faster CPU. This doesn't include a mouse and keyboard, either. Nonetheless, the Alpha could be a solid pick if a PS4 or Xbox One just won't cut it.
Alienware's got a massive $300 dock for your new graphics card
We know what you're thinking: What the hell is a "graphics amplifier"? (Some of you smartasses are probably also wondering if it goes to 11.) In fact, it is what it sounds like: The Amplifier, a new accessory from Alienware, is a big ol' shell that lives on your desk, with room for nearly any desktop-grade GPU (anything up to 375 watts). Once you get that set up, you plug the thing into your gaming laptop via a cable and boom, your notebook is suddenly running off a desktop-grade GPU, not the mobile one that came built inside the chassis. As a bonus, the Amplifier also has four powered USB ports, so you can also use this as a docking station for your keyboard, mouse, monitor, et cetera. And yes, that glowing Alienware head on the front has customizable lighting. Of course it does.
Alienware puts its new gaming desktop and 13-inch laptop up for sale
If you liked the looks of Alienware's new thin-and-light 13-inch laptop or its bigass, futuristic-looking Area-51 desktop, then listen up: Both are on sale beginning tomorrow, with shipments starting in November, and we finally know the full specs. Starting with the Alienware 13, it goes from $999 (£949 in the UK) with a dual-core Core i5-4210U processor, 8GB of RAM, a 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 860M GPU, 1TB 5,400RPM disk and a fairly low-res 1,366 x 768, non-touch matte display. If you like, you can step up to 16GB of RAM, either a hybrid hard drive or up to a 512GB SSD, and either a 1080p non-touch display or a 2,560 x 1,440 touchscreen. It would seem, though, that despite those various upgrade options, there's only one choice for the CPU and graphics card. Regardless of the configuration you get, the whole thing comes wrapped in a slimmed-down package that weighs about four and a half pounds and measures an inch thick.
Engadget Daily: Google's delivery drone, Nintendo's new 3DS handhelds and more!
Today, we take a look at Google's "Project Wing" delivery drone, go crazy with emoticons, learn about Nintendo's new 3DS and 3DS XL handhelds and more. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
The Alienware Area-51 gaming rig just got one hell of a redesign
After a few years finding itself/getting a heavy-duty industrial makeover, Alienware's well-respected (and, importantly, customizable) desktop gaming PC has returned. The Area-51 isn't small, but it now has a new triangular... hexagonal... something-between-the-two design, intentionally hewn that way to maintain airflow and keep it cool, even when positioned against a wall. It's certainly come a long way since the tower desktop days of 2011. Given its size, two of the corners have handles to lug it around with -- we hope you can bicep-curl 45 pounds though, because that's how much it weighs. It also looks nothing like Alienware's incoming Steam Machine. (Ironically, the new Area-51 chassis looks far more "Valve," in a lot of ways.)
Alienware's 'Alpha' is a half-step toward Steam Machines
When PC gaming juggernaut Valve announced its Steam Machines initiative in Fall 2013, it was unveiled as such: "Entertainment is not a one-size-fits-all world. We want you to be able to choose the hardware that makes sense for you, so we are working with multiple partners to bring a variety of Steam gaming machines to market during 2014, all of them running SteamOS."
The Alienware 13 is the smallest and lightest gaming laptop in Dell's lineup
Y'all remember the Alienware M11x, right? That compact, netbook-sized gaming laptop with the glowing keyboard that made it look like a spaceship? Anyway, Dell discontinued it back in 2012, only to release several big-screen machines the following year. Well, it looks like someone at the company saw the error of their ways: Dell just announced the Alienware 13, and while it's not the brand's smallest notebook ever, it's definitely the smallest the company has put out in quite some time.
Alienware to launch SteamOS-less Steam Box this year
Alienware Alpha is a small gaming PC designed for the living room, and it launches this holiday for $550. It's Windows-based and ships with an Xbox 360 controller, plus a dongle that supports up to four Xbox 360 controllers, and it will be able to run all games in 1080p and at 60fps. This is Alienware's Steam Machine in every way except technically: It won't ship with a Steam controller and it won't ship with SteamOS. These are the two things that make a Steam Machine, according to Valve. "It's absolutely Steam-ready," Alienware Global Marketing Director Bryan de Zayas told Joystiq on the E3 show floor. "It's not that we're bypassing Steam. It's critical. They have the majority of the digital downloads."
Alienware's Steam Machine starts at $549 and launches this holiday season
Alienware is no slouch when it comes to cranking out high-end gaming PCs, but its approach to Valve's Steam Machine project is a bit different. The company is looking to deliver a high-quality PC gaming experience to the living room, but the execution doesn't sound much different from the experience that's already available for other machines running Valve's made-for-TV Big Picture Mode (BPM). The rub of the Alienware Alpha series is that the diminutive PC boots directly into BPM automatically after hitting the rig's power button. The problem with that is two-fold: Big Picture Mode doesn't do the best job of identifying which games are fully controller supported, and because Valve recently delayed its in-house designed controller (which essentially is a stand-in for a mouse), OEMs not delaying hardware of their own need to come up with work arounds.
Alienware's Steam Machine will be its 'least profitable system'
Alienware's upcoming Steam Machine may be many things - stylish, made in collaboration with Valve, upgradeable, due this September - but one thing it won't be is a source of major income for parent company Dell. Division general manager Frank Azor told The Wall Street Journal that the Alienware Steam Machine will "absolutely be the least profitable system" the company will ever sell. Unfortunately, we still don't know the pricing scheme of Alienware's entry to the already-crowded Steam Machine market. We don't even know what's going to be inside of the thing, other than an Intel processor and an Nvidia graphics card. It is, for now, a low-profit mystery. [Image: Alienware]
Gaming deals of the week: 2.5.14
For those folks out to nab up a bit of fun this week, we've compiled a few gaming deals that will certainly lend a hand. From the latest Call of Duty installment to a 17-inch gaming laptop, we've got a variety of picks to suit a range of gamer sensibilities. Browse the options we've selected just past the break. Just window shopping? No worries. Join us and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your Want list; every time there's a price cut in the future, you'll get an email alert!
Alienware Steam Machines will be upgradable
Hardware manufacturer Alienware has clarified earlier statements it made regarding the moddability of its upcoming Steam Machines lineup, revealing that component upgrades will be possible but difficult. "Upgrading the internal components will not be as easy as compared to other platforms [...]," company general manager Frank Azor explained in a statement to Eurogamer, "but we will not prevent a customer from upgrading." Azor cited the small physical size of Alienware's Steam Machine as a specific factor impeding hardware upgrades. Azor recommends that users who approach PC hardware with upgrading in mind should stick with pre-built setups like the Alienware X51. Previously, Azor implied that Alienware's Steam Machines hardware would not be moddable at all, noting that "this particular product is restricted in its upgrade options." Alienware announced this week that new models of its Steam Machines hardware will be issued yearly as the company updates internal components and specifications. Alienware's first Steam Machine will launch in September.
Alienware Steam Machines to get a new model every year
Alienware's Steam Machines won't be easily upgraded, but there will be a new model each year, Alienware General Manager Frank Azor told Trusted Reviews. "Lifecycle wise, consoles update every five, six, seven years. We will be updating our Steam Machines every year," Azor said. There will be no customization options in Alienware's Steam Machines, Azor continued: "You can't really update it." Customers will have small range of configurations to choose from, such as more memory or a faster CPU, he said. Those who want to beef up their machines on their own are better off with a standard PC, Azor noted – after all, anyone can turn a PC into a Steam Machine by buying a Steam Controller and downloading SteamOS. "If you actually want to customize your Alienware Steam Machine, maybe change your graphics card out or put in a new CPU, you would be better off with the standard Alienware X51. This particular product is restricted in its upgrade options." The first round of Alienware Steam Machines are due to hit retail in September.
