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Mushkin launches 'next generation' USB 3.0 drive, promises 300MBs read/write speeds
While Mushkin tipped its hand early regarding details of its "world's first" 480GB mSATA SSD, it did keep one thing back for CES. It's launching what it promises is a SandForce-packing, "next generation" USB 3.0 drive that will have read and write speeds of over 300 MB per second. The company is keeping the specifics about its performance, its pricing, availability and even its casing a secret for now, but we've gotten in touch and will update this when we learn more.
CES 2013: iMusic BodyRhythm wants to pummel your shoulders via touch input
There's always a few wacky things here at CES, and at Pepcom's annual CES sideshow I stumbled upon the iMusic BodyRhythm. It looks a bit like a life jacket, but can be controlled by your iOS device via a special app. What does it do? It "massages" your shoulders via a series of tiny taps. Frankly, it wasn't the most relaxing massage I've had, as it felt more like Smurf paratroopers landing on my shoulders at strategic points, and then jumping around with clogs on. Still, the high-end leather and novelty of the product will mean the company intends to sell more to high-end customers in Asia than your average Apple Store customer in the Mall of America. The app had some pre-programmed massage sequences, but also added "games" like a drum tapping game and the ability to shake the device and get poked somewhat randomly. These were neat, but not what I'd call a comfortable massage. And the kicker to all this: This is a Kickstarter project with under US$1,000 pledged so far. It's a little hard to tell from the project page, but it looks like you can pre-order the vaporous product for the low price of $149. It's odd to see someone spending the money to attend both Pepcom and CES whilst also pitching a Kickstarter project. I would have thought that money could have been put toward making a shipping product, but welcome to the new age of wacky iOS accessories fueled by fever dreams of Kickstarter funding. Here's their pitch video:
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Samsung's Ryan Bidan (update: video embedded)
We enjoyed Ryan Bidan's appearance on our stage last year so much that we're bringing Samsung's director of marketing back for another round. We've got a lot to talk about after what's been a banner year for the company in the mobile space, and the exec has agreed to bring some goodies along to show off. Join us after the break, won't you? January 8, 2013 4:30 PM EST Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here! Update: video embedded
Qualcomm's Paul Jacobs: too early to call the game on Windows Phone
This shouldn't come as a surprise after Steve Ballmer crashed the Qualcomm CES keynote yesterday, but at a follow-up briefing earlier today, the latter's CEO Paul Jacobs reiterated his support for Windows Phone. The exec said "it's too early to call the game" on Microsoft's mobile OS, and emphasized that he "never counted Microsoft out" as it has a lot of resources plus benefits, especially with the tie-in with its enterprise software and Xbox. "It is growing, they are gaining traction. When you use the devices they work well. That's pretty key," said Jacobs. Well, we're certainly fans of the Snapdragon-powered HTC 8X and Lumia 920, so it'll be up to Microsoft to convince more consumers. When asked whether the latest Snapdragon flagship is overshadowed by NVIDIA's Tegra 4 in terms of graphics performance, Jacobs insisted that is a very wrong assumption, and he's actually very confident about his own product's capability courtesy of his in-house graphics engineers. SVP of product management Raj Talluri added that even the Snapdragon 600 has a much higher CPU and GPU performance than both Tegra 4 and Intel's Clover Trail+. Obviously we'll know the truth when the consumer devices eventually land on our hands later this year.
Huawei Ascend W1 launching on O2 in UK, due to land sometime in Q1
A little late to the party, perhaps, but Huawei is finally trotting out that Windows Phone 8 device it promised way back in June. So, when can you get it? Sometime in the first quarter, if you're living in the UK -- O2 just announced the Ascend W1 as its first Windows Phone 8 handset. Specifics on the launch are as allusive as ever, of course -- Huawei would only say that the handset would hit China and Russia in January, though they were more than happy to show off its 4-inch 480 x 800 display and gush over its 1,950mAh battery. Into official, if vague, availability declarations? Check out the press release after the break.
Kirk Skaugen reveals why Intel made touch mandatory for Haswell Ultrabooks
We were able to sit down with Intel's PC chief, Kirk Skaugen, and chew through the revelations and news that were announced at the press conference the day before. We wanted to know if Ultrabooks will eventually replace Laptops, what was the motivation behind the decision to make Haswell Ultrabooks touch only and if there's one form factor from the several available that's winning the popularity war. Share our curiosity? After the break is where you need to be.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Red Digital Cinema's Ted Schilowitz (update: video embedded)
This time last year, the folks from Red Digital Cinema dropped a few exciting goodies off at our trailer, so we're more than happy to welcome the company's co-founder (aka "Leader of the Rebellion") Ted Schilowitz to our stage, to check out the latest in high-end cinematic hardware. January 8, 2013 4:00 PM EST Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here! Update: video embedded
Aereo plans to launch its streaming TV service in 22 more cities this year
Ever since its humble (and very ambitious) beginnings, Aereo has suffered a few hiccups along the way, but that's not stopping the service from kicking off the new year with a rather striving scheme. The company today announced that it's expanding outside of NYC and bringing its over-the-air TV broadcasts to 22 more US cities in 2013, with said move expected to reach cities such as Boston, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Baltimore, Denver, Detroit and Washington, DC. According to Aereo's CEO, Chet Kanojia, the firm's been "working hard to bring Aereo to consumers across the country and we're excited to expand our reach to these 22 new cities," adding that "consumers want and deserve choice." Dear, Chet, we wholeheartedly agree. The full list of new markets can be found in the PR after the break, and we can only hope there's plenty more to come as the year progresses.
Intel's Perceptual Computing demonstrations hands-on (video)
We've just spent time with Intel's Mooly Eden, who is spearheading the chip maker's push into what it's calling "perceptual computing," which is using natural and intuitive interactions to control your PC. The company has partnered with Creative on a Kinect-esque 3D depth-camera that can be used to control applications and play games, do faux-green screen broadcasting and collaborate with colleagues. While Microsoft's motion-tracker is designed to encompass a whole room, Intel's has a shallower depth of field that's more suited for close-up work. We got to play with the company's demos away from the noise of the show floor, as well as playing a gesture-based version of Portal 2 by Sixsense that's shorn of the controllers that Eden used to demonstrate it in 2011. Interested in seeing what's likely to appear in what the company promises is the very near future? Head on down past the break.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with CEA's Gary Shapiro (update: video embedded)
Of course, we wouldn't dream of concluding the first day of CES without a conversation with Gary Shapiro. The CEA's president will talk about all that goes into such a massive undertaking, discussing changes, show predictions and how the future of the industry will shape the Consumer Electronics Show. January 8, 2013 2:30 PM EST Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here! Update: video embedded
Distro's CES 2013 Daily Issue 73.1 is hot off the digital press
Today may be the official first day of the rest of our lives CES, but we've already seen plenty of touchscreen laptops and UHD TVs. We've run ourselves ragged, covering every last bit of news worth your time, but we understand not everyone has the wherewithal to read every last post we've published since Sunday night. So, in the interest of keeping you informed (and entertained) we present to you issue 73.1, our very first Distro CES 2013 Daily, published from our trailer at the biggest gadget show on Earth. For more from the madhouse, check back tomorrow for version 73.2. Distro Issue 73.1 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Razer Edge vs. the competition: fight!
Audacious claims are starting to become a standard component of Razer hardware announcements -- following the Blade's claim to the title of "world's first true gaming laptop" is the Razer Edge: "a full feature PC and the most powerful tablet in the world." It certainly has the full feature PC aspect down -- with an Intel Core i5 (or i7 for Pro) processor at its heart, the Edge is more of a modular Ultrabook than your run-of-the-mill tablet. Then again, that seems to be the Windows 8 slate trend, doesn't it? We pitted the Edge against some of the category's recent stars, including two other tablets, a slider and a full featured convertible laptop. Read on to see how it stacks up.
Hands-on with Razer's Edge, a $999 gaming tablet / home console
The PC ecosystem is no longer as simple as it once was -- first there were desktops, then laptops, then tablets, then all-in-ones. Buying a PC now is more nebulous than it ever was. You could build your very own rig, piece-by-piece, or you could buy one of the many, many pre-fab options out there (or some mixture of the two, of course). And then there's even more outside-of-the-box options, like Razer's recently re-introduced Edge (aka "Project Fiona"), which occupies a space all its own. Part laptop, part tablet, part home console, and part portable console, the Razer Edge is the fruition of Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan's dream to create a "true" portable PC gaming machine. And weighing in at just two pounds, the Edge is dramatically lighter than Razer's other portable gaming machine, the Blade (which clocks in at a whopping 6.6 lbs.), making it the company's first actually portable game console. Keeping those Blade comparisons rolling, the base level Edge at $999 features a slight step down from the Blade's Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor to a 1.7GHz Intel's Core i5 (the Edge Pro at $1299 boosts that CPU to a 1.9GHz Ivy Bridge i7, more closely matching the far costlier Blade). Thankfully, the Edge's GPU is not only discreet, but also powerful and (thankfully) not fragmented between the two models: an NVIDIA GT640M LE powers the graphics on both, while 4GB or 8GB (respectively) of DDR3 RAM keeps it all running smoothly. The base model Edge holds 64GB of content in a speedy solid state drive (128GB in the Pro model, upgradeable to 256GB). But let's be honest -- you already know most of these specs, right? What matters is how all this stuff pans out, and we've just gotten our first chance to find out. Head past the break to see how Razer's Edge fared.
gTar opens for pre-orders this week, shipping the week after
Here's a fun bit of news we're hoping doesn't get lost in the CES deluge: Kickstarter success story Incident is finally ready to start moving on its rock 'n roll iPhone dock, the gTar. The smartphone-friendly educational instrument is opening up for pre-orders this week, at $399 a pop. Josh from the company tells us that the first units have arrived at Incident headquarters and will start shipping next week, once all the requisite QAing is done. The iPhone 5 will also work with the device, if you've got the Apple adapter. A native gTar adapter, meanwhile, is coming later this year, "when Lightning connector components are made available to third-party suppliers." Those docks can be swapped in at home by users.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Qualcomm's Raj Talluri (update: video embedded)
Own a smartphone? There's a pretty good chance you're carrying around a Qualcomm chip, as well. SVP of product management, Raj Talluri, will be joining us on stage to demo some of the Snapdragon-maker's latest and most exciting technologies. Follow along live by clicking through after the break. January 8, 2013 1:30 PM EST Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here! Update: video embedded
Leonar3Do launches HelloVR, Vimensio platforms to bring 3D computing into the mainstream
Leonar3Do is releasing HelloVR, a free app from Google Play that turns users desktops into a 3D environment that can be navigated with their smartphone. It'll be available for free on Google Play in March and promises to let users sculpt and create models from within the digital environment. Around the same point, it'll also be outing Vimensio, an educational offering that will let teachers create 3D apps without coding (costing $500) and a free version that students can use. Finally, LeoART will enable people to craft 3D models that you can then crank out on whatever injection-molding gear you've got lying around, but the company isn't ready to talk pricing or availability on that one just yet.
Project Fiona becomes Razer Edge, starts at $999, sans controller
Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan has been dreaming about building a true PC gaming portable for years. He's cooked up prototype clamshells, controller-toting tablets, and built two top of the line gaming laptops along the way -- but now his dream is almost ready: the Razer Edge. Look familiar? It should. It's been handled, teased and even redesigned at the behest of Razer's social legions. It's Project Fiona evolved. Hoping to keep pace with community feedback, Razer is kitting out the Edge with a 3rd gen Intel Core processor, a 10.1-inch 1,366 x 768 display, an NVIDIA GT640M LE GPU, 4 to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, USB 3.0 and a 64, 128 or 256GB SSD, depending on the SKU. Min translated the slate's build into some digestible framerates: 59 fps in Dishonored, he told us, and 41 fps in DiRT Showdown. Sound intriguing? It gets better -- the baseline 1.7Ghz Core i5 variant of the Edge will sell for $999 and the beefed up 1.9GHz Core i7 Pro model will run for $1299, keeping the device well below the community's $1,300 to $1,500 price expectations. Even better, the whole shebang is going to be available in the first quarter of this year. Razer had to change more than Project Fiona's name to stay under budget, of course -- the prototype's handlebar controllers have migrated to an optional gamepad dock. It's a win and a loss -- fans in Razer's social media campaign demanded detachable controllers, but their absence makes obtaining the complete "Edge experience" a bit more of a chore -- one that will cost $249 on top of the price of the slate itself. Even so, the move to modular is a good thing, and allowed Razer to develop other accessories: a keyboard dock, life-giving 40Wh battery packs ($69) and a $99 docking station, replete with three USB 2.0 ports, plus stereo and HDMI output for a "home console" experience. Razer says the Edge has specific "modes" based around these accessories -- the tablet alone features the obvious multi-touch tricks of Windows 8, and the keyboard dock gives PC gamers access to the familiar WASD controls they're used to. The launcher we saw at CES 2012 is still there too, giving the docking station a pseudo-console interface befitting of your television (and Steam Big Picture Mode, of course). As we said, collecting the whole set is a tall order, but Razer is hoping to make the task a little easier for gamers after the Pro model -- offering the i7 tablet and controller dock for a bundled price of $1499 ($50 less than if purchased separately). Completionists will need to wait until Q3 to pick up the keyboard dock though, as its form and price still aren't finalized.
CES 2013: iBattz announces 12,000 mAh BattStation Tough Pro, new iPhone 5 battery cases
Just last week we reviewed some powerful iPhone cases from iBattz, including the Mojo Hi5 Powerbank Case. Now the company, exhibiting at CES 2013 this week, has announced three new iPhone 5 battery cases and a new "über-battery" for keeping your iOS devices fully charged. That latter item (seen above) is the iBattz BattStation Tough Pro 12000 (US$49.90), with a huge 12,000 mAh of power that can charge a single iPhone up to eight times or charge a dead iPad with Retina display. It has a silicone shell to protect the battery from drops and water splashes, perfect for taking on hiking and camping trips. There's no word on whether the BattStation is used to power the Batmobile or Bat-Signal... All joking aside, iBattz also has a stash of iPhone 5 battery packs that will be shipping soon. The Mojo Refuel ($89.90, seen above) comes with two 2200 mAh batteries that can be switched out, and the Mojo Armor ($99.90) adds rugged construction to those two batteries in a dual-material case. The Refuel should hit stores next month, while the Armor is scheduled for March. Finally, iBattz wants to make sure that your iPhone 5 not only gets enough power, but can also survive a dunking. The new AquaSeal Hi5 Powerbank Case for iPhone 5 (price and availability to be announced) is a two part solution -- there's a waterproof case for the iPhone 5 and an attachable 2500 mAh battery.
MEElectronics launches its personal audio lineup for 2013 at CES
MEEelectronics' wants us to escape the humdrum aspects of our lives with some fashionable yet comfortable headphones we can strap to our bonce here at CES. It's releasing three new headphones, including the Runaway 1200 Bluetooth cans and EDM Revolution 'phones, which, we're told, embody the tenets of PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity and Respect) that are integral to the EDM scene. After you've come down from the high you get from all of that unity you've received, you can jog around with the Sport-Fi in-ear units, which include wired and wireless versions that are designed to resist sweat and stay locked in your lugs no matter how hard you ride. The trio will be available in early 2013 but the company won't talk about pricing just yet.
Alpine introduces INE-W927-HD AV and navigation system, Pandora, Sirius and more on a 7-inch touchscreen
Got car, need entertainment. Enter Alpine's INE-W927HD mouthful of a new audio, video and navigation system. The device comes with a 7-inch touchscreen, built-in HD Radio receiver plus Bluetooth. There's also access to the popular Pandora and SiriusXM services, as well as playlist support for iOS and Android audio streaming. Alpine's heritage in this space comes through in the form of an "iPersonalize" system that tunes the sound up based on various factors including vehicle type, number of speakers and even upholstery material. How much for such options? that's $1,200 when it launches sometime this month.
