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Your doctor may soon check your heart with a smartphone
The stethoscope, invented 200 years ago because a French doctor was too embarrassed to put his ear directly against a woman's chest, is finally getting a digital upgrade. A device called the Eko Core, which attaches to a regular stethoscope, has just been approved for medical use by the US FDA. It amplifies and records the sound signals transmitted by the ubiquitous medical devices, then sends the sound waves wirelessly to an iPhone app. From there, doctors can record the waveform and either listen to it later or compare it to a future visit to test the effects of a treatment. It will also be handy as a teaching too for medical students.
Intel's 'Skylake' CPU family includes an unlocked laptop chip
To say that Intel has been dragging out the launch of its Skylake-based processors would be an understatement when it didn't even reveal full details after it started shipping the first CPUs. Most of that secrecy is coming to an end today, however, as the semiconductor giant is officially launching the wider 6th-generation Core family. You'll soon see mainstream Core i3, i5 and i7 chips in desktops and laptops, as well as updated Core M processors in ultraportables, convertible PCs and tablets. As you'll see in a minute, though, this isn't just a straightforward refresh.
Old Intel chips are vulnerable to a fresh security exploit
If you have an old, Intel-based computer hanging around, you might want to get rid of it post-haste. Security researcher Chris Domas has discovered a vulnerability in the x86 architecture of Intel processors made between 1997 and 2010 (pre-Sandy Bridge) that lets an attacker install software in a chip's protected System Management Mode space, which governs firmware-level security. Yes, that's as bad as it sounds: an intruder could not only take more control than you typically see in attacks (including wiping firmware), but infect your PC even if you wipe your hard drive and reinstall your operating system. Domas has only tested against Intel-made CPUs so far, but AMD processors could be vulnerable as well.
NPD breaks down Heavy Core, Light Core, Casual PC players
Of the US population age 9 and older, 37 percent of people play games on the PC, the NPD reports in its new study, Understanding PC Gaming: 2014. PC players game for an average of 6.4 hours per week. NPD breaks PC players into three groups, Heavy Core, Light Core and Casual. Heavy Core players play "core" games – action / adventure, fighting, flight, MMO, racing, RTS, RPG, shooter, or sport games – for more than five hours per week. Light Core players play those games, but for fewer than five hours per week, while Casual players enjoy non-core games. Heavy Core players make up 20 percent of the entire group, Light Core players are 24 percent, and Casual players compose 56 percent. Heavy Core is the smallest segment, though players spend "a significantly higher number of hours gaming in an average week," NPD says. Over the past three months, Heavy Core players spent roughly twice as much money as Casual players on physical and digital PC games. PC players are split fairly evenly along gender lines, with 51 percent men and 49 percent women. However, the Casual segment is "overwhelmingly female," while Heavy Core and Light Core players tend to be men, NPD says. [Image: EA]
Sony SmartBand review: a fitness tracker that goes beyond fitness
When you hear the word "wearable," there's a good chance you think of a wristband, probably one that tracks your activity. Ever since Nike launched the FuelBand, your lower arm has become the main focus for fitness tech. Already the rot is setting in, though. Nike is rumored to be leaving the game completely (even if recent events suggest otherwise). Everyone else is still trying to decide what exactly a wrist-worn gadget should do. No one device appears to have figured out the magic formula. Most bands stop at counting steps and logging sleep. But Sony decided to try something different with its $100 SmartBand wearable. It still does the step-tracking thing, just along with other stuff -- like, y'know, logging your entire life. As much as it can with a motion sensor and mobile phone, anyway. So how is it? I strapped one on to find out.
Sony's $99 life-tracking SmartBand lands in the US
Let's flash back to the heady days of CES 2014, shall we? Sony embraced the wearable bandwagon (again) with the "tiniest gadget" it's ever made, and now the Americans reading this can go out and nab one of their own. Here's what you've got to remember: it's not just an activity tracker. No, Sony fancies it as a "life tracker," and for once that's not complete marketing doublespeak. It works in tandem with an Android app to paint a portrait of what did you each day that extends beyond mere movement -- the sensor and the app track how you slept, where you went, what content you consumed, and when all of that happened. It's a neat enough twist on what otherwise could've been a dry formula, but there are (as always) some caveats to be aware of. Alas, the SmartBand only syncs with devices running Android 4.4 KitKat, and anyone hoping to use this wrist-worn gadget as a timepiece will be sorely disappointed. Does it stack up well against other players in the field? Did Sony stumble over a winning wearable formula? Our review unit just landed, so stay tuned for more detailed impressions to come.
Analysts: 75 percent of US core gamers prefer physical copies
According to sales and marketing analyst NPD Group, 75 percent of American core gamers prefer physical game copies to digital distribution. The firm surveyed 7,900 core gamers to arrive at its conclusion. It defines "core gamer" as someone who plays at least five hours worth of action, adventure, fighting, flight, MMO, racing, RTS, RPG, shooter, or sports games per week on PCs, Microsoft or Sony consoles, or Macs. The firm concludes that 34 million US gamers fall under its core definition, with the average core gamer playing 22 hours per week. NPD's report also claims that while the overwhelming majority of its survey participants favor physical game copies, digital distribution is up five percent year-over-year.
Samsung's Galaxy Core LTE could also be the S 4 Mini... lite? (hands-on)
When you have the inventory that Samsung does, you don't need to make a fuss when you launch a mid-range Android phone. But the Korean firm did recently release one -- the Galaxy Core LTE -- and it's certainly worth a moment of your time if you're in that market. Design-wise you know the drill: take one of Samsung's flagships and nip a bit here, maybe a tuck there. Aesthetically it's derivative, sure, but comfortable -- like some well worn-in shoes. On a positive note, the back panel is textured, and feels like something between rubber and a soft touch finish. This at least stops it feeling too much like one of Samsung's many "sausage machine" handsets. As for specifications, it's fairly typical of the current mid-tier breed. That means a 4.5-inch qHD display, a 1.2 GHz dual-core chip (based on Arm's A9, but no mention of specifics), a 5-megapixel/VGA camera combo, 8GB of storage (plus a microSD slot) and a 2,100 mAh battery. We only got to spend a short while with it, but if we're honest, we were actually impressed by how quick and fluid menu navigation was, or how responsive Google maps rendering was. This, of course, should be no real test of a modern phone, but it still gave us a little "not bad" reflective moment. At the moment we only know it's coming to Europe and Asia, with no mention on price. But if we're betting on anything, it's that it'll have a new cousin to look up to too -- in just a few short hours.
The Daily Grind: What constitutes a 'core gamer'?
In the last week, analysts have told us that the PS4 is winning with "core gamers," and a League of Legends rep (perhaps, ahem, a bit overzealously) called his game "pretty much the first successful free online game in the west that core gamers actually really like and play." But both did so without agreeing on what, precisely, constitutes a core gamer. Wikipedia defines the archetype in that broad, nebulous zone between casuals and hardcores, two groups that themselves seem hard to pin down: "a player with a wider range of interests than a casual gamer [who] is more likely to enthusiastically play different types of games, but without the amount of time spent and sense of competition of a hardcore gamer," someone who "enjoys games but may not finish every game [he or she buys], doesn't have time for long MMO quests, and is a target consumer." But the term always bugs me because it provokes gamers to fall for the false-consensus effect: We assume we're normal and define ourselves within the safe zone of "core" and then assume that the games we like are therefore also "core." What do you think -- what constitutes a core gamer and a core MMO gamer? And do you likewise think the term is too broad and malleable to be useful? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Sony's Core isn't a wearable, it's a sensor (hands-on)
The Core is tiny. Thick as two sticks of gum, but twice as smart, this is Sony's renewed effort for wearables and it really couldn't look more different from the SmartWatch we saw in 2013. It's a different device to begin with: an activity tracker with no screen. Sony's still keeping it all pretty vague, but going on the details of the colorful, oddly appealing app, it's more life logger than health monitor. The idea Sony is chasing is to collect what you do in your life, your movement, your photos, music listened to and your social network goings-on, and collate them into a sort of automated journal -- a new LifeLogger app that will launch alongside the hardware. You'll need to hook the Core up with your smartphone (through Bluetooth) to see what's happened activity-wise, and we've been told the battery should be good for up to five days on a single charge: it's tiny but there's no blinking lights or vibration to sap power. There's a micro-USB port for recharging, but the whole thing is also waterproof. Sony promises to reveal all the details at MWC next month, but we did get a glimpse at one of the places the Core will reside and, in true CES 2014 style, it's a wristband. We've got a quick video peek and a few more details after the break.
Sony outs the 'tiniest' gadget it's ever made: Core, a wearable built for life-logging
Sony just unveiled a new modular wearable -- comprised of a Core sensor pack and a SmartBand bracelet -- at its CES press event. Core tracks your movement and activities using a companion LifeLog app that uses that information to suggest personal highlights based on your daily communications and activities. What's more, the tech giant says you can don the NFC-powered Core in additional ways, too: as a pendent or inserted into a footpod in a shoe, for example. Folks digging the standard implementation won't be saddled with merely one or two colors like many other wearable bracelets either, as you can see above, a whole host of colors is on the way. For now, we don't have much more information about Core's capabilities or its internals, Sony Mobile CEO Kunimasa Suzuki said that his team is working with various partners on more hardware (additional clips and band designs) and software features, and we'll learn more about the plans for the Core platform later this year at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Molten Games is building something called Blunderbuss
Remember last summer when Molten Games sent out a press release saying that it had picked up ex-Blizzard and SOE personnel as well as a substantial chunk of funding courtesy of NCsoft? Well, the company has revealed the name of its project, though not much beyond that. The concoction is called Blunderbuss, and according to 2P it is an Unreal 4-powered title that is "expected to launch with [a] free-to-play model in the summer of 2015." The genre is still unknown, though the source article says it's a "core game" designed for e-sports. What's a core game? Your guess is as good as mine, since that's basically a marketing term that could mean anything from hardcore to softcore to Andrea Corr. OK, maybe not that last one, even though MOBAs with Irish pop musician heroes should be a thing. [Thanks Zedrick!]
Intel previews 4.5W Y-series Core chips for fanless tablets
Intel teased us with the prospect of a fanless Haswell chip back at Computex, but it didn't say just how it would achieve such a feat. Now we know: it's introducing more energy-efficient versions of the Y-series Core processors that were announced earlier this year. The new chips consume as little as 4.5W in a typical scenario, letting them run in tablets and detachable convertibles without the fans needed by their 6W peers. Don't expect blistering performance at this reduced power level, however. While Intel isn't divulging clock speeds just yet, the 4.5W Y-series chips have the same 11.5W thermal design power rating as their 6W siblings -- they'll still need active cooling to perform at their best. The company also isn't providing ship dates or naming customers, although it does promise that the extra-miserly Core CPUs should be available in the "coming months." We have an idea as to who might be interested.
Imagination Tech reveals Warrior CPU core to fight (uphill) battle against ARM
This news isn't remotely surprising, given Imagination Tech's recent acquisition of CPU designer MIPS, but reporting it still gives us a little flutter of excitement. And for good reason: Imagination has just revealed that its first MIPS-based CPU core, which should be able to run Android, will be introduced by the end of this year, and that it'll go by the totally appropriate codename of Warrior (or, less dramatically, "MIPS Series5"). The core's first battle will be to prove that the MIPS architecture really can be a competitive alternative to ARM (which uses a similar low-power RISC architecture) and that Imagination didn't just blow $100 million on hot air. Speaking of which, the attached press release comes with plenty of bold claims, including a statement that the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Warrior will offer "best-in-class performance and efficiency," and a promise that Imagination "will change the landscape for CPU IP." We have no idea how all of this is going to play out, but we fully intend to be ringside when it does.
Lenovo refreshes its IdeaPad laptops with Haswell and touch, designs unchanged
No, there's no new Yoga. You'll have to keep waiting on that. For now, Lenovo is undertaking a much more modest project: refreshing its existing notebooks with Haswell. First off, the current IdeaPad U310 Touch and U410 Touch are now the U330 and U430 Touch. Other than the difference in screen size (13 inches vs. 14), both will be configurable with up to Core i7 fourth-generation Core processors, along with optional SSDs and a max of 8GB of RAM. While the U330 will be offered with either 1,366 x 768 or 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, the U430 comes with a 1,600 x 900 screen (you can upgrade to 1080p there, too). Oh, and the 14-incher can be had with a 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 730M GPU. Both will be available in the third quarter, with the U330 priced at $799 and up and the U430 going for $899. Moving on, the Y410p is the new, 14-inch companion to the Y510, with up to a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and dual 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 750M GPUs arranged in an SLI configuration. Screen resolution is limited to either 1,366 x 768 or 1,600 x 900, however. That's available now on Lenovo.com starting at $799. Finishing up with the entry-level S series, we've got the 11.6-inch S210 Touch, the 14-inch S400 Touch and the 15.6-inch S500 Touch. One thing to keep in mind is that both of these have Ivy Bridge processors instead of Haswell, as it was an easy way for Lenovo to keep the cost down. Other than that, you're looking at Core i3 or i5 processors, up to 8GB of RAM, touchscreens with 1,366 x 768 resolution and hopefully some decent battery life (the batteries are so big here they create a hump around the hinge area). Additionally, the S400 and S500 will have optional discrete graphics, with AMD in the S400 and NVIDIA in the S500. Look for those in Q3, with pricing as follows: $429 for the S220, $449 for the S400 and $579 for the S500. Anyhow, since the designs here haven't changed, we didn't give these laptops the full hands-on treatment, but we did include some spec summaries in the gallery below, if you're partial to bulleted lists.
Samsung Galaxy Core is real: low-end specs, 4.3-inch WVGA display and a dual-SIM option
Whenever a Samsung flagship arrives, it's never long before we see a fleet of lower-spec handsets swimming in its wake. The latest Remora to come out from the shadow of its bigger brother (and the rumor mill) is the Galaxy Core, a 4.3-inch handset offering a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage and a microSD slot. Running Touchwiz-infused Jelly Bean, the phone has a 5-megapixel rear camera with an LED flash and a VGA front-facer for the vain amongst you. Users will also be getting some of the more fancy Galaxy-style software features like Motion UI, Smart Stay, Smart Alert and S Voice. Of course, a phone is nothing without a screen, and here your eyes will be caressing a 4.3-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display -- but while you may not be thrilled at a low pixel count, at least there's the option for single SIM (available in July) or dual-SIM (from May) models for carrier swappers.%Gallery-187585%
Intel Haswell's idle states reportedly won't play well with some power supplies
One of the staples of Intel's upcoming Haswell processor architecture is its support for lower-power idle states that can rival tablet chips in power consumption, even on the desktop. However, that may come with a big caveat for budget and custom-built PCs: certain power supplies might not cut it. VR-Zone claims that those idle states require as little as 0.05 amps of current, which could be too nuanced for older or cut-rate supplies that deliver power in bigger clumps. That might not be a problem for companies building complete PCs, but Corsair's Robert Pearce tells The Tech Report that it may lead to a lot of motherboard builders playing it safe by disabling those specific modes by default. Many of us, in turn, would either have to buy a fresh supply or toggle the power-saving options ourselves. We've reached out to Intel to verify the truth, but it may be wisest to make a cleaner break from the past with any near-term upgrades.
Rumored low-spec Samsung Galaxy Core has 4.3-inch display, vague hints of GS4 styling (update: dual SIM)
Samsung has a thing for releasing budget chasers soon after the main shot. There have already been strong hints of a GS4 Mini to capitalize on the flagship's buzz and now a purported leak over at hi-tech@mail.ru suggests another, even more cut-down model could be on its way, this time called the Galaxy Core. According to the Russian site -- which has some pedigree -- the Core has a 4.3-inch display with an 800 x 480 resolution, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 768MB RAM, 8GB of internal storage (plus microSD), a 5MP rear camera, 1,800mAh battery and likely Android 4.1-flavored TouchWiz. In other words, it could be very similar to the Galaxy S II Plus or the slightly smaller Galaxy S III Mini or the slightly bigger China-destined Galaxy Win -- so similar, in fact, that it leaves us largely indifferent. The rumored price of 14,000 rubles ($430) also seems way overboard -- although Russian prices often do. Update: As a number of you spotted, this phone has another differentiating spec. It turns out dvuhsimochny means dual SIM, which makes complete sense when you say it out loud.
Toshiba's Kirabook rocks a 2560 x 1440 display, arrives May 12th starting at $1,600
Toshiba's been holding its own at the affordable end of the laptop and PC market for a while, but that doesn't mean it can't do classy. Perhaps that's why it's just announced KIRAbook, a 13-inch Ultrabook aimed squarely at the high end. All the usual top-tier treats are here, plus an impressive 2,560 x 1,440 (221 ppi) panel, making this the first Windows Ultrabook to offer such a high-resolution screen. There's also a pressed magnesium housing and touchscreen input (non-touch version also available). That tactile input option also comes with a 10-point Corning Concore sheet of glass between your digits and the Windows 8 operating system. That OS will be housed on a 256GB SSD, supported by 8GB of 1,600 MHz RAM and third-gen Intel Core processors. There is also 25GB of cloud storage if you need a little more. At launch, there will be three configurations starting at $1,599, rising to $1,999 if you want all the bells and whistles (i.e., Core i7 and that touchscreen). If this sounds like your thing, then you can pre-order in May 3rd, or walk into bricks and mortar stores on May 12th.%Gallery-185995%
