Ces2011
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Gaming on the Motorola Atrix laptop dock... upside down
The Motorola Atrix is definitely one of the more impressive devices to launch at CES this year, but we've been wondering how stable that laptop dock is -- if the phone is prone to falling out it's really not much use at all. Well, worry no more -- we just watched a Moto rep boot up Need For Speed: Shift while docked up, and in addition to playing the game normally, he flipped the whole rig all the way over to show off how tightly the phone is docked. Video below.
Audi gets on the LTE bus, wants to make infotainment more modular
Another automaker getting on the bus with 4G? Yes, it's Audi, who doesn't actually make busses but is the latest to announce its LTE intentions, though not exactly what it intends to do with it. Mobile SkypeHD video calling? They wouldn't be the first. Audi has also indicated that its 2009 partnership with Elektrobit, dubbed e.solutions, is coming to fruition. The result is a way to build a layer of abstraction between the car and the hardware running the infotainment system. Currently Audi is down with NVIDIA's Tegra 2 but obviously that's not going to be the new hotness forever, the idea being that users could swap out units at their dealers whenever they want a taste of what's new and good. You know how you pulled the factory head unit and its big, scratched up knobs out of your ride in '96 and threw in that Clarion unit with all the blinkenlights? Like that -- but probably a lot more expensive.
Crapgadget CES, round one: the Magic MousePad returns!
We stumbled upon Fortrend here at CES expecting to find their existing Magic MousePad and were shocked to discover something else entirely: a new and improved Magic MousePad! You'll still get the same multitouch trackpad / keypad combo as before, but it now comes with a "high texture" glass surface, and "friendlier" design available in a range of colors. We're sure you'll agree those changes make all the difference. %Gallery-113357%
Calibur11 Vault eyes-on, protecting your Xbox from tactical nukes and stuff
Although it won't protect your console from a certain red ring, the Calibur11 Vault will fend off pretty much everything else. Calibur11 claim that the MLG approved plates that latch on to your Xbox 360 increase console airflow, while adding an integrated game interaction through the use of LED / USB lighting effects and the extravagant 3D extremities protruding from the sides of your console. The pieces themselves are interchangeable as well as customizable with colors, decals, nameplates and accessories packs. Calibur11 has several versions of the Vault available, including an MLG special edition as well as an upcoming chainsaw-wielding blockbuster-title special edition sometime in Q3. Calibur11 plans to release at major retailers like BestBuy in March 2011, so we'll have to keep our consoles safe from nuclear attacks the old fashion way till then. %Gallery-113317%
Engadget HD Podcast 231: CES 2011 Part 2 - 01.07.2011
The second day of CES never disappoints, well almost, and this year we kick off with the latest news out of Skywalker Ranch. We also learned about Hollywood's vision of the future of digital distribution and SRS Labs vision of the future for surround sound. Today also happened to be the day for Media Center news -- apparently it isn't dead -- as there are three embedded Media Center set-top boxes due this year as well as a few more CableCARD tuners on way. No doubt it was a good time, so be sure to not skip to many chapters in this one.Get the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).[RSS - AAC] Enhanced feed, subscribe to this with iTunes.[RSS - MP3] Add the Engadget HD Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace[MP3] Download the show (MP3).Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)Producer: Trent Wolbe01:05 - Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September02:52 - Six major studios to distribute UltraViolet titles by mid year, hardware to come later11:30 - Samsung, Dreamworks partner for more exclusive Blu-ray 3D movies, streaming 3D13:25 - Samsung launching RVU-compatible D6000 series TVs in March16:02 - Samsung will offer access to TV, VOD from Time Warner & Comcast on its Galaxy Tab, TVs21:35 - Hands-on with the HDHomeRun Prime CableCARD tuner26:13 - Hauppauge is taking its HD component capture card internal28:30 - Gateway Media Console with CableCARD and Windows Embedded Standard 7 hands-on30:20 - Reycom Windows Media Center coming for $49932:20 - Orb BR software comes to PS3 and other Blu-ray players, 1080p streaming for $2034:30 - SRS Labs wants us to forget about our speakersHear the podcast LISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (OGG)LISTEN (AAC)
Dish Network's Sling Receiver lives
Originally shown at CES last year, the Sling Receiver promises to bring HD content from your Sling enabled Dish Network box to another TV in your home, as well as the rest of the DVR's UI. What we hope is the big difference this year is that the device actually ships to Dish Network customers and brings the dream of multi-room viewing -- like the other satellite TV provider has. No word on exactly when it will be available or how much it'll cost, but for all those that are delaying upgrading to the ViP 922 because of the lack of TV2, you will finally be able to stop waiting.
Turtle Beach Earforce PX5 gaming headset preview
On the show floor of CES the madness is virtually endless. But lucky for us, within the sea of rabid gadget lovers and enthusiasts we came across Turtle Beach's booth and got our greasy In-n-Out Burger fingers on the just-announced Earforce PX5. Not only did we get to wear the headphones and feast our eyes on the wireless hub, we experienced Dolby 7.1 surround sound while playing Halo: Reach on the Xbox 360. We've got pics and our initial impressions after the break, so hit it! %Gallery-113309%
Friday Night Fights on ESPN 3D will be the first to simplify co-production for 2D
ESPN 3D has had more live 3D sports broadcasts than we can think of but up until now ESPN has insisted that 3D events required a completely independent production process than that of 2D. This means that any event produced in 3D needs twice as many cameras, twice as much bandwidth to transmit it, twice as much everything. Well, it appears that this might not be the case for all sports because on February 18th ESPN will produce Friday Night Fights in 3D and just feed the HD fans a 2D version of the same feed. The results of this could have dramatic results on 3D broadcasts as we know it because the economical feasibility of 3D becomes much more realistic if a single production crew can feed both viewers; this might even mean cable providers can carry a single feed (like center cutting HD for SD but the 3D version). The other impact this might have on the market is it could influence the choice of a full HD 3D broadcast codec. You see while H.264 MVC used for 3D Blu-ray movies is backwards compatible with 2D, other broadcast methods like Sensio's and Dolby's are not. Oh, and one last thing, check out the gallery from ESPN Gameday Live that was at Sony's CES booth today. %Gallery-113349%
iriver Story HD e-reader preview (video)
Our trailer was just visited by an iriver rep bearing his company's Kindle killer in waiting, the Story HD. This 6-inch e-reader touts a bodacious 1024 x 768 resolution, which contributes to an even better contrast ratio than on Amazon's E Ink slate, while software optimizations between now and release are expected to make the Story HD the fastest-refreshing device of its kind. The display itself is built by LG Display and is accompanied by a Freescale Cortex A8 CPU, 2GB of onboard storage, and an SDHC card-reading slot. Sun rays are, as expected, absolutely no problem and we have to admit that on first sight we thought the device had a sticker affixed to its front -- its that good at reproducing printed materials. Physically, it seems to have been constructed with the third-gen Kindle as its dimensional blueprint, albeit with quite a different control scheme. The hand-built proto unit we played with wasn't really ready to have its ergonomics judged properly, but iriver has plenty of time until the expected May launch to iron out any kinks. Content distribution partnerships have already been sewn up for the US, so now it's just a matter of patience until we get our e-reading on in gorgeous XGA resolution. Video hands-on after the break. %Gallery-113350% %Gallery-113351%
Chrysler and Mopar get in on the smartphone app game, do it for free this Month
Yes, it's another app from another auto manufacturer. This time it's Chrysler and Mopar working together to release information apps for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS -- though only Android is coming soon, sometime before the end of January. You won't get any fancy remote climate-change like with the Leaf or door unlocking like you can do with OnStar or the upcoming MyFord Mobile. In fact, you can't really do much of anything with the car, taking the Hyundai Equus route by simply aggregating information and videos about the owner's car, plus also giving the ability to check warranty info and the number of your local garage. Initial availability is for this year's Chrysler 200, Town & Country, and the Chrysler 300. Really, it doesn't get much more exciting than that.
WD throws out 2.5-inch 750GB Scorpio Black hard drive, makes your laptop beg for an upgrade
Too broke to spring for an SSD? Fret not, as you're most definitely not alone. Thankfully for you, Western Digital's still cranking out lust-worthy hard drives, with its latest Scorpio Black being particularly so. Offering 750GB of capacity, 16MB of cache and a 7200RPM spindle speed, the WD7500BPKT relies on Advanced Format technology to make the magic happen. It's on sale starting right about now for $149, giving you little reason to continue to conserve space on that 128GB drive you've been living with for the past three years.
Freescale Semiconductor and RealD working to improve active shutter 3D
Passive 3D seems to be the new home entertainment hotness at CES this year, but that doesn't mean the industry has given up on active shutter. Case in point, Freescale Semiconductor and RealD have announced they're developing an "enhanced 3D active eyewear solution" that combines Freescale's RF4CE platform for the over-the-air 3D synchronization with RealD's switching, filtering, and optical technology. Powered by Freescale's MC1323x System on a Chip, the new system hopes to eliminate many the problems plaguing IR-based active shutter like line-of-sight and of field-of-vision limitations. It should also allow 3D glasses to operate from longer distances, and since it takes advantage of the same radio frequency used by remotes, it could lower overall costs for manufacturers to boot. Keep in mind though that unlike NVIDIA's RF-based 3D Vision Pro Tech, all of these wondrous promises are just talk with no walk -- so we'll throttle our excitement until we can go eyes-on with some actual gear. For all the details hit up the PR after the break.
Microsoft Touch Mouse: the history and hands-on
Let's be clear about something: Microsoft's Touch Mouse isn't just another one of Redmond's interesting looking computer peripherals, it's the result of one of the company's well-known research projects. There are lots of concept mice that Microsoft has been toying around with in its labs (one even has a webcam inside), but the Touch Mouse is specifically based on one called the "Cap." Led by Hrvoje Benko, the aim was to put advanced touch capabilities into a mouse that wouldn't require users to adjust their usual pointing and clicking habits. And that's exactly what the $80 Touch Mouse does -- from afar it looks like any old wireless mouse and you can right and left click with no issue, but up close the area covered with small Xs is actually made of a matrix of capacitive touch electrodes.We caught some time with Benko this afternoon and he spilled all about the mouse and also gave us a lengthy lesson on the touch and gesture capabilities. We have to say there are lots of gestures, and if you're coming from using Apple's Magic Mouse or touchpads it could be a bit confusing, but there are some very unique shortcuts, including the ability to just swipe a thumb to move you backwards and forwards and minimize windows by swiping two fingers down. As for the actual hardware, it really feels like any other mouse, but we do have to say that the smooth plastic coating feels very nice on the fingers. We could go on and on, or we could just show you how it's all done in the video below. Oh, and also don't forget to check out some pictures of the original Cap mouse in the gallery below.%Gallery-113332%
Audiovox to buy Klipsch, we can't help but worry
It's true. Audiovox, a relative no-name in terms of consumer end products in the music industry, has just signed a non-binding term sheet to purchase all of the shares of Klipsch Group and its worldwide subsidiaries. We're told that the transaction is subject to a number of contingencies, "including satisfactory completion of due diligence, negotiation and signing of definitive agreements and requisite approvals," but we can't imagine anything popping up to stop the inevitable. No hard financial terms were revealed, and there's no estimated closing date for the deal. Oddly enough, Klipsch was here at CES unveiling a smattering of new products, and Audiovox was also here showing off far, far less interesting gear. We're hoping and praying that Audiovox allows Klipsch to continue working as its own entity rather than swallowing 'em whole and stifling innovation with corporate bureaucracy (similar to how Disney lets ESPN run its own show), but we'll be honest -- we're feeling a little uneasy about it. Klipsch is definitely one of our favorite audio companies around, and the last thing we'd want is to see a good company get hit with an undue amount of heavy-handed corporate control. Here's hoping for the best! P.S. - If you missed our Klipsch headquarters walkthrough from a year ago, feel free to have a peek.
Mustang next to get SYNC AppLink smartphone integration, we hope to be next to get a Mustang
If you've been paying attention to our auto coverage from CES this year, posts with pictures of pretty cars that go tearing down the page amidst the flood of tablets and superphones, you might have spotted our hands-on with SYNC AppLink. It's making its debut in the 2011 Ford Fiesta, letting smartphoners stream Pandora and a few other apps right through the car. Now Ford is confirming that the 2012 Mustang is going to be next to get the nod and, like on the current Fiesta, it'll be free. That said, if you can't resist ticking the boxes next to the premium options you can choose to add voice-activated navigation, which includes an 8-inch touchscreen that also displays AppLink information. No word on cost for that just yet, but you can check out the interface in the pictures below. %Gallery-113256%
MSI WindPad 100W and 100A tablets hit CES 2011, we go hands-on
The more things change, the more they stay the same at MSI, as the company's two tablets -- due to ship within three months -- still feel like early prototypes. MSI showed off both its Windows 7 and Android 10-inch slates at CES 2011, now known as the WindPad 100W and WindPad 100A, and both sport last-gen tablet specs. Despite pitching the Windows device as an Oak Trail device, the WindPad 100W's still got a 1.66GHz Atom Menlow Z530 CPU here, and Windows 7 is seriously laggy and unresponsive despite the presence of a 32GB SSD and 2GB of RAM. Though it have the promised HDMI port, it's basically the same device we saw in May of last year. Meanwhile, the WindPad 100A (nee WindPad 110) has indeed had a redesign, but possibly for the worse -- it presently only has a single physical key pulling double-duty as Back and Power, and MSI's no longer listing Tegra 2, just a ARM Cortex A8 chip from an undisclosed vendor. It's actually got a fairly useful custom skin on top to display icons at proper tablet resolution and quickly swap between multimedia, the full Android Market, and a full 1GB of RAM, but the device wasn't anything special otherwise. If you ask us, an Android 2.2 tablet with these specs is going to be a hard sell in a post-CES 2011 world. Still, it's always possible MSI could pull things together at the last minute and surprise us. PR after the break. %Gallery-113329%
Mirasol-equipped Qualcomm reference tablet hands-on (update: Android tablet confirmed to be a mock-up)
If you were unaware, we're pretty psyched about the upcoming display tech from Mirasol. We were when we peeped it last year, and we've been eagerly awaiting this screen tech's arrival ever since. Despite promises from PocketBook USA that we'd see an actual consumer product at this year's convention (and even a leaked video), when we hit the company up they met us with blank stares and promises that we'd see it at CeBIT. All we were able to find was another Qualcomm reference device, which is still totally drool worthy and makes us more eager for it to hit shipping devices. The screen actually looks a bit improved this year, and we're not seeing the same yellowing that we've noticed in the past. You don't have to take our word for it though, we've got photo proof for you to feast your eyes on below. Update: We just paid Qualcomm another visit, and this time the folks confirmed that the Android tablet in their recent promotion video is definitely not a real product, ergo not the PocketBook Android tablet. We were also told that had it been the real deal, they would've made a huge announcement at CES. Ah well, we'll just have to wait until CeBIT. %Gallery-113302%
Panasonic and Verizon team up to Mobile HD Visual Communications System using LTE
LTE is hardly available everywhere, but that's not stopping Verizon from looking for novel ways to exploit all that lovely bandwidth, recently partnering with OnStar to do everything from streaming in-car security cameras to Skype video chatting from the highway. Now it's Panasonic getting down with 4G, the two companies partnering to the Mobile High Definition Visual Communications System, basically a collection of remotely controlled cameras, microphones, and a display on each end that enables two distant sites to communicate wirelessly. The initial implementations here are primarily medical, like an ambulance calling ahead and giving doctors an idea of what's inbound, or a patient being able to visit with a doctor remotely. However, we can see plenty of other potential applications going forward. Remote access to the CES show floor so that everyone can experience the insanity? Oh yeah.
Eyes-on: Verizon LTE gaming and live TV on the Acer Iconia Tab (video)
We said we'd bring you an Verizon LTE speed test on the Acer Iconia Tab A500, but we can give you better than that -- here's a test of latency in cross-platform online multiplayer gaming and a FiOS app that streams live television. Hosting a game of Dungeon Defenders on an Alienware M11x laptop (also connected to LTE), Verizon joined the party with an Acer Iconia Tab, and a pair of the slates were able to go head-to-head in a peer-to-peer Asphalt 5 6 race over LTE as well. What's more, the carrier showed us an experimental version of its FiOS DVR Manager app, which streamed live television to the Iconia over LTE -- similar to what we saw on the iPad. Unlike the games, it was choppy and took some time to cache, but we'll have to see what it's like when (or if) it's finalized. Of course, if you had just clicked the play button on the above video instead of reading these words, you'd already know all that. %Gallery-113319%
Working RED Scarlet appears at our trailer, we go hands-on! (video)
Last year at CES, we had a surprise visit from RED's Ted Schilowitz showing off their non-functioning RED Scarlet prototype. Ted just stopped by our trailer again, this time with a working version and it's a seriously impressive piece of hardware. We grabbed a camera and sat down with Ted for an in-depth hands-on, so head on past the break for the exclusive video and some details! %Gallery-113292%
