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Retrobit RetroDuo portable and RetroPort hands-on
Inspired, perhaps, by the fruits of Ben Heck's dual-console handheld dreams, Retrobit has retrofit their Retroduo NES / SNES hybrid game console to fit in your hand. The Retroduo Portable, a handheld SNES console shown for the first time at CES 2012, hopes to one-up Hyperkin's SupaBoy by adding support for classic NES games. We dropped by their booth to get a closer look.
Samsung Galaxy Note Notepad hands-on at CES: it's like a Note, but analog
What if Samsung made a Galaxy Note, but instead of throwing a dual-core processor, a few megabytes (or gigabytes, whatever) of RAM, and random pieces of silicon between the front and rear covers, it included an undetermined amount of paper? What it we lived in a world where that type of activity was not only okay, but encouraged? What if the Note is actually the Notepad in a parallel universe? What if the aforesaid parallel universe is reality in Las Vegas, Nevada? Think about it.
Kia UVO2 is your Korean big brother, we go hands-on
Kia's first entry into the infotainment realm had a slightly rocky start, but the Korean automaker is back at CES this year with UVO2, its second-generation in-dash telematics and connectivity platform. The big features in UVO2 include automatic crash notification, incorporated road-side assistance, service reminders and a brace of new vehicle tracking and geo-fencing features to make sure your teens don't stray too far, go too fast or stay out too late. Partner all that with an updated iPhone app that keeps track of maintenance and includes a vehicle finder that uses AR to find your ride, and it's a comprehensive update. But for now, Kia isn't saying exactly when UVO2 is hitting the market and how much the system will cost when it arrives. Get a taste of the new system in the hands-on after the break.
ROCCAT Isku keyboard and Kone mouse hands-on (video)
Sure, European gamers have been able to get their hands on ROCCAT's flavor or gaming tools for awhile now, but CES 2012 is finally delivering some of the outfit's German engineered love to the US. Just last week, the firm announced it would be bringing its 6000 DPI Kone gaming rodent and Isku illuminated keyboard the states later this year -- we found the deadly Deutch duo tucked away in a corner of the show's gaming nook.
DeLorean DMC-12 EV eyes-on at CES (update: video of its show floor exit)
This isn't the first time that the DMC-12 DeLorean EV has graced Engadget's pages, and we feel certain it won't be the last. However, we know how much you love Doc Brown's ride, and when we saw it on the show floor we had to snap some pics for your viewing pleasure. So head on down to the gallery below to see the electrified version of Hill Valley's most famous whip inside and out.Dante Cesa contributed to this report.Update: And now we've got a video of the DeLorean leaving the show floor. Check it out after the break. Thanks, Angel.
Oregon Scientific's App In Sports watches sync with your phone, grab apps from it
One of the many new products we spotted at Oregon Scientific's CES booth was the App In Sports range of watches. As the name suggests, these wearables can link up to your Android phone (via ANT+ wireless connection) to grab up to three app profiles, and the range of profiles available depend on the model of the watches due to their different sensors: for the RA900 (Expedition) you get cardio, weather, hiking and sleep; whereas the SE900 offers coach, running, workout and sleep. More profiles will be made available, though it's not clear whether they'll make it before or after the watches launch in a few months time. Either way, users will need to install the matching Android apps according to their watch models, but both apps can sync with the watches for exercise summary data (including heart rate, exercise time, distance and speed). Demo video after the break.
MakerBot Replicator hands-on (video)
Sure, there's really not much of a DIY presence amongst the shiny new mass produced gadgets that line the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES, but MakerBot's public appearances at the show managed to leave an impression on just about everyone who spotted the company's newly announced Replicator 3D printer. Founder Bre Pettis stopped by our stage at the convention center's Grand Lobby, becoming our final interview of the show. We managed to get him to print something out during our conversation, but the real draw was, no doubt, the large plastic rocket ship lamp sitting at the end of the stage, a pretty solid visual reminder of the concept of being able to print out just about anything you can imagine with one of these devices.MakerBot is one of the driving forces in bringing 3D printing to a mainstream audience, and the Replicator takes yet another big step in that direction. For starters, there's the fact that, unlike past products from the company, the units ship assembled, taking the difficult and time consuming construction process out of the equation -- at less than $2,000, it's also a good deal cheaper than a fair amount of the competition. Pettis also insists that the printing process itself is rather simple. There's an SD slot on the front -- pop in a card and choose a project from the simple LCD.There are pegs for the spools of plastic on the rear of the device. Opting for the $1,999 version lets you do dual extrusion -- using two different spools for two-color objects. When the printing starts, the plastic spools (made of ABS, the same stuff that Lego is made from) feed through tubes, getting melted down, hot glue gun-style. The layering of the plastic creates a ribbed effect on the objects, though Pettis points out that some people sand down their projects after they're finished.The process is a bit time consuming -- Pettis was printing out a small plastic cupcake that didn't finish during our 20-minute-long interview. Apparently it takes closer to 45 minutes to finish something like that. But this model has a key competent its predecessors lacked: the ability to print large objects. You can print things up to the size of a loaf of bread using the Replicator.We're working with MakerBot to get a unit that we can spend a bit more time with -- and believe us, we can't wait. In the meantime, watch Pettis give a guided tour of the device after the break.
Engadget's gear of CES 2012
We see an enormous number of gadgets each year at CES, and while the veil comes off a handful of notebooks, cameras and smartphones during the show, the gear that really makes the week for Engadget is our own. In each editor's gear bag, you'd likely be able to find a notebook, camera with external microphone, an Android / iOS / Windows Phone device, an AT&T LTE USB modem and enough bottled beverages to make trips to the "posh restroom" as routine as checking email. Pizza, pasta, chips and beef jerky keep us going during 20-hour days in the trailer, where a stable (and pricey) Ethernet connection let us bring you dozens of posts each hour without interruption. Jump past the break for a look at our gear in a bit more detail.
CES 2012: tablet roundup
Couldn't keep up with the 600+ posts we wrote covering CES 2012 in Las Vegas? We're here to help sift the wheat from the chaff, and if you're hoping to see the best of what CES had to offer in the world of tablets, you've come to the right place. As you can imagine, finding the best slate is much easier said than done, since it seemed as though nearly every major company brought a tablet in some shape, form or color. Head past the break to see our personal favorites from the show.
QNX finds a home inside a Porsche 911 (video)
Blackberry's QNX division wants to expand its footprint and the next major push is inside your car. To that end, a handful of QNX engineers ripped out the stock (and pretty damned good) Porsche head unit on a 911 convertible and stuffed it with a new capacitive screen running the latest build of the OS. As you can see in the video after the jump, it's an attractive and quick setup, that does everything from VOIP calls to navigation, and since it's running the same software as the Playbook, it can theoretically run Android apps to boot – even if the reps on hand wouldn't admit it.
CES 2012: Smartphones round-up
The Superbowl of smartphones? Why, that would be Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. But that didn't stop the mobile industry's heavy hitters from giving us a taste of the year in wireless to come at CES. With Windows Phones finally getting LTE, Intel's Medfield CPU making its handset debut, Sony synergizing under its mega brand umbrella and fringe manufacturers wowing attendees with stock Ice Cream Sandwich and super-thin profiles, it appears phone aficionados have plenty to anticipate. So, while you sit slack-jawed in front of that computer screen, let's revisit some of the highlights of this past week.
CES 2012: Ultrabook round-up
CES is drawing to a close, and the gadgets released here will define the market for the year. Intel is betting the farm on its Ultrabook concept as its hardware partners continued to push out the first real wave of laptops designed to take on the MacBook Air (who thought we'd be saying that four years ago?). Whatever your feelings on these devices, given Santa Clara's billion-dollar advertising push, you won't be able to ignore them this year. So, let's take a look at five of the best products that rolled off the keynotes into the hands of our editors.
CES 2012: Automotive roundup
It's always a nice break from ultrabooks, smartphones and massive OLED TVs to catch a glimpse of the new auto tech that will be rolling out in the months to come. This year's focus at CES was infotainment and software add-ons for a handful of manufacturers and models. Sure, the plug-in Fusion was a highlight, but for the most part, the emphasis on on-board screens and content delivery while you're blazin' down Route 66. Read on for some highlights from the week that was.
Matias Tactile One, SlimOne hands-on (video)
We already covered the announcement of the new Matias tactile-keyboards but couldn't resist descending into the show floor in order to get a quick hands-on with the Canadian-made kit. The USB-powered boards contain a Bluetooth module and a physical button (with a blue LED) that you can switch between typing on your desktop and wirelessly to your device. The "Island-Style" SlimOne replicates the look and feel of the current Apple island-keyboard, but with scissor keys, which pleasantly resist your fingers. The '90s style Tactile One forces your hands to readjust back two-decades, but the mechanical board was a joy to use, with no lag between typing and it appearing on a compatible phone. After the break we've got a short video where we learn that retro keyboards can send people into such a frenzy that they forget to type the word "movie" correctly. Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
Engadget HD Podcast 282: CES 2012 - 01.13.2012
As CES comes to a close, we've got the second and final Engadget HD Podcast of the show ready for your listening (and viewing) pleasure. The guys of Ceton Corp were good enough to stop by, and they brought their slick six tuner Windows Media Center Embedded DVR and extender boxes with them. After that, we moved on to the rest of the things we've seen here in Las Vegas, including the latest from TiVo, the new LG and Vizio Google TV hardware, Ultraviolet, gesture control and even the fight that broke out on the CES show floor (in the ring, it was a promo for ESPN 3D).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)Guests: Jeremy Hammer (CTO, Ceton @JeremyHammer), James Montemagno (@JamesMontemagno), Michael Welter (@Mikinho)Producer: Trent Wolbe00:00:50 - Ceton previews multi-room DVR and Echo extender (hands-on)00:27:10 - Boxee Box Live TV dongle hands-on (video)00:28:50 - Updated TiVo Netflix, YouTube interfaces and iPad streaming hands-on00:33:00 - Samsung's Smart TV and Blu-ray players will be first to get FiOS TV App00:33:30 - Samsung shows off integrated TV streaming apps and DirecTV RVU... again00:34:00 - Verizon FiOS TV app to deliver VOD and live HD to LG TVs00:36:20 - Panasonic HDTVs show off Time Warner Cable IPTV app with live streaming channels, DVR access00:39:10 - The Engadget Interview: Google TV Product Manager Rishi Chandra at CES 2012 (video)00:39:36 - LG Google TV and Magic Remote Qwerty hands-on00:40:50 - Vizio ultrawidescreen, Google TV and Cinema 3D HDTV hands-on00:44:00 - Samsung Smart Interaction gesture controlled HDTV demo (video)00:46:25 - Amazon, Rovi, Flixster and Samsung highlight UltraViolet's CES press event00:46:50 - Samsung outs compact BD-ES6000 Blu-ray player, less compact ES6500, get down with UltraViolet00:47:30 - Panasonic unveils Infinite Black Ultra Panel plasmas for 2012 (eyes-on)00:50:50 - LCD vs Plasma00:51:30 - Sharp 8K Super Hi-Vision LCD, 4K TV and Freestyle wireless LCD HDTV hands-on00:53:50 - Behind the scenes with live ESPN 3D boxing at CES 2012Hear the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)
Sony shows off 13-inch VAIO Ultrabook behind glass, we go eyes-on
There seems little doubt that CES 2012 will go down as the year of the Ultrabook, and like clockwork, Sony's getting in on the action, as evidenced by that 13-inch laptop on display behind a plate of glass. Granted, it's not quite as sexy as the further-off hybrid devices we saw the other day -- or even, say the Acer Aspire S5 and HP Envy Spectre, but Sony certainly knows how to design a handsome laptop. And, heck, there's no telling how much the final version will look when it's released later this year -- Sony's not really letting up a lot of information at the moment. As you can see for yourselves, that notebook has a silver color, but even then, Sony tells us that might change before it actually hits the market. The cover has a brushed aluminum texture, with a shiny stylized VAIO logo stamped in the center. When closed, it's not the thinnest Ultrabook, from what we can tell. It also has a glossy 13-inch display and Sony's signature chicklet keyboard. Above the keyboard, you've got a row of small physical buttons, denoting power on / off, VAIO, Web and Assist -- familiar functions, all. In front of the keyboard is a seamless clickpad, with another VAIO logo sitting to the left. Along the left side of the unnamed Ultrabook, you'll find an Ethernet jack, VGA and HDMI output, a memory card slot and a headphone jack. On the other side, sits the power port, a fan and two USB ports. Sadly, we were unable to actually touch the thing, this being an early build, but you can be sure we'll keep you posted on finer points like pricing, availability and specs as we learn them.
A Red Scarlet-X 4K tour around CES 2012 (video)
For the third CES in a row, our old friend Ted Schilowitz has stopped by to let us drool over Red's latest high-end cameras. And boy, this is one helluva camera we have this time. You may recall that last year we were shown a working Scarlet prototype with 3K video resolution and a fixed lens; but fast forward to 2012 and we have the Scarlet-X, a sturdy 4K beast that not only supports interchangeable lens, but it's also actually out on the market. Obviously, the $9,700 base price (excluding the Canon EF lens mount; Nikon and Leica mounts coming soon) is aimed at film studios instead of us regular Joes, but Ted was kind enough to spend a whole afternoon showing us all the goodness on the Scarlet-X -- we even got to play with it on the CES show floor, and unsurprisingly, this Red kit became quite the celebrity. Read on to find out how we got on with it.
Wrap-up: Engadget editors sound off on CES 2012
If you've spent any time on this site since Monday, then you know that we've just reached the end of another very successful Consumer Electronics Show, and are packing up to head home (and rest up) until we get ready to return in 2013. As always, there were plenty on gadgets on hand -- far more than even our enormous Engadget team could capture during four long days on the show floor -- so we've opened up the floor to the entire CES crew. Tim Stevens and Darren Murph chime in just below, but jump past the break to hear from the rest of us. Tim Stevens, Editor-in-chief If this paragraph makes any sense it will be a remarkable thing. It was another insane week in Vegas yet this one felt a little smoother than years previous. I hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as I'll enjoy my next nap. Oh, and I'll never forget those 55-inch OLEDs. Never. Darren Murph, Managing Editor My fifth CES. That's kind of nutty. I'll just say that this CES has proven that the industry is surging, and the hidden gamechangers will surface again in the coming months. Compared to CeBIT 2009 -- which felt hopelessly throttled by the economy -- CES 2012 just felt alive.
Toshiba Portege M930 prototype hands-on (video)
And the hybrid devices keep on coming. Sitting high on a shelf in Microsoft's booth, hidden among the earthly clamshell laptops, is the Toshiba Portege M930, a prototype whose 13-inch screen slides down to completely cover the keyboard. All told, it's awfully reminiscent of the ASUS Eee Pad Slider -- complete with a propped-up display and squat keyboard. The keyboard is so narrow, in fact, that Toshiba had to forgo a traditional trackpad and instead put a touch sensor and buttons over on the right edge. Though it's a bit heavy for an Ultrabook, at 4.2 pounds, it has some Ultrabook-grade innards, including a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD 3000 graphics and a 256GB solid-state drive. Take a tour around the device and you'll also find the usual array of ports: dual USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI, an Ethernet jack, an SD reader and separate headphone and mic ports.Even when we previewed the Slider we weren't keen on sacrificing that much deck space in the name of bold industrial design and here, too, the keys feel unnecessarily crowded. The good news is that the hinge mechanism feels smooth and controlled -- not too tight, but rigid enough to inspire confidence in its build quality. That 13.3-inch screen also looks bright enough, though we imagine that 1280 x 800 resolution will be a turn-off for more than a few of you. Unfortunately, the M930 is so early its development that the touchscreen wasn't even working, though it responds just fine to the pen, which stows in the back of the laptop. No word on pricing or availability (Toshiba isn't even showing it at its booth), but even if this thing never materializes we've got some hands-on photos and video below.Mat Smith contributed to this report
Behind the scenes at CES 2012: getting to a hands-on (video)
Getting to and from an announcement, meeting, or keynote is one of the things we find ourselves doing countless times a day. To truly appreciate just how far we sometimes have to trek to get to the things we're covering at CES is hard to understand unless you've done it. Crowds that delay because they're ambling along, booths that are hard to find, and the time you burn getting to and fro is always at the back of our minds. We thought it a good idea to put together a little tour of how we find and then travel to a booth at CES. Enjoy the video after the break.
