exclusive
Latest
BlackBerry Q10 officially available at AT&T on June 21st
The pre-order process for the BlackBerry Q10 is already well underway, but AT&T has kept quiet on its official retail and online availability until now. The company has now confirmed to us that the QWERTY-laden device will be ready for public consumption -- both online and in corporate locations -- starting June 21st for $200. If you didn't get your pre-order in but still want to get it hot off the shelves, keep an eye out for it this weekend. Official statement below.
Next3D's plan to bring recorded video to the Oculus Rift
The dream of wearing a lightweight headset, like the Oculus Rift, in order to simulate physical presence isn't limited to the imaginary worlds of video games. One man's vision is that of immersive TV shows, movies and live sports. In fact, David Cole, co-founder of Next3D and an industry veteran who helps content creators and providers produce and deliver 3D, has been using his Rift dev kit to bring TV and film to life since the kits started shipping in March. The company is combining its video processing and compression technology with its experience in content production and stereoscopic delivery to offer what it's called Full-Court. Next3D hopes to leverage its existing relationships with creators and providers to assist them in jumping into the world of live-action VR content. This includes both pre-recorded and live broadcasts. We wanted to see this firsthand, so we jumped at the opportunity to witness the creation of content and experience the results. This trial run of Next3D's stereoscopic, 180-degree field-of-view camera rig, and the post-processing to adapt it to VR, was part of the production of the paranormal investigation show, Anomaly, at Castle Warden in St. Augustine, Fla. Being nearby, we braved the perils of the haunted surroundings to tell you about what we hope is only the beginning of virtual reality content.
Exclusive: Mabinogi trailer teases new saga in Iria
A new story is unfolding in the land of Iria in the fantasy free-to-play game Mabinogi and we've got the teaser trailer to kick things off. It all begins when Shamala, who has been imprisoned in Cor Village and purifying the demons, suddenly and mysteriously disappears, leaving players to help defend the village from the demons. In the midst of this, players meet up with Milia, a girl bent on punishing Shamala for the death of her father at the hands of the demons. What's the full story behind it all? Perhaps players will find out in the new series of quests that will accompany the story when the new episodes begin next week. Until then, check out the teaser trailer after the break. [Source: Nexon press release]
Watch Dogs gets exclusive outfit, hour of content on PlayStation 4
Ubisoft just showed a quick demo of Watch Dogs at Sony's E3 press conference, featuring some new police-escaping gameplay by hero Aiden Pearce, and a hacking ability that allows him to apparently blackout all of Chicago, if only temporarily. Sony also announced that Watch Dogs would have exclusive content on the PlayStation 4, including a new outfit for Pearce, and a full hour of content exclusive to the platform. You may remember this deal from Ubisoft's other series, Assassin's Creed. Watch Dogs is set to arrive on November 19.
Diablo 3 on PlayStation will have exclusive Sony-related items
Sony has announced that Blizzard's release of Diablo 3 on the PlayStation 3 and 4 will boast some exclusive, Sony-related items, including something called Drake's Amulet (named after none other than Uncharted's Nathan Drake). A few of these items will be available when the game launches on the console, but Sony said more items would be coming in the future.
Microsoft announces Crimson Dragon is exclusive to Xbox One [Update: Trailer added]
Microsoft has announced that Crimson Dragon, a planned XBLA Kinect title from Yukio Futatsugi, the creator of Panzer Dragoon, will release as an exclusive on Xbox One. The company showed a quick video of the game during today's press conference, and it looks very similar to the original build, with dragon-riding, Kinect-controlled shooter gameplay. Stay tuned for more, including a release date, when we hear it.%Gallery-191150%
HP plans a fanless Intel Haswell tablet for later this year
Now we've covered the first wave of Haswell-powered PCs and laptops, how about something to whet your appetite for later this year? While investigating Intel's fanless tablet reference design, HP told us that its own iteration -- one that was apparently also on stage during Intel's Computex events -- will be coming soon. While the tablet (or hybrid) wasn't being shown publicly at the event, an official announcement is coming later this year. We thought we wouldn't get to see a fanless Intel Core portable until Haswell's successor, Broadwell (and its even smaller 14nm chips) started doing the rounds in a few years, but some clever hardware design could mean we see space-hogging, power-consuming fans dropped a little early.
SoftKinetic teases embedded 3D depth camera, coming to Intel devices next year (hands-on)
At Intel's Computex keynote earlier today, the chip maker teased that it expects embedded 3D depth cameras to arrive on devices in the second half of 2014. Luckily, we got an exclusive early taste of the technology shortly after the event, courtesy of SoftKinetic. This Belgian company not only licenses its close-range gesture tracking middleware to Intel, but it also manufactures time-of-flight 3D depth cameras -- including Creative's upcoming Senz3D -- in partnership with South Korea-based Namuga. Read on to see how we coped with this futuristic piece of kit, plus we have a video ready for your amusement. %Gallery-190272%
Plants vs Zombies 2 exclusively on iOS at launch
Ever since Plants vs. Zombies 2 was first announced, I've been crossing my fingers that we wouldn't have to wait long for an iOS release. The original game was hugely successful on Apple's touchscreen devices, but of course it was first seen on PC, and then eventually made its way out to every other platform on the face of the Earth. It turns out, however, that I shouldn't have worried about the sequel at all. Not only is Plants vs. Zombies 2 coming to iOS, but it's coming to iOS first and exclusively for a limited time. You can read the whole press release below, but suffice it to say that when PvZ2 arrives on July 18, it'll be only on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and that's awesome. The game will also have some touchscreen-only features (that allow you to interact with the zombies directly, which sounds interesting), and EA is planning lots of extra content for the game going forward. The title will be free-to-play, though the press release also mentions some freemium item sales like plant food or other unlocks. That's a little bit worrying, considering how much trouble the Real Racing 3 freemium items caused when that game arrived, but this is Popcap we're talking about, so they'll do it right ... right? At any rate, we'll find out soon enough. The game is set for a preview at E3 next week, so stay tuned and if I see it there, you'll hear about it here. And then everyone will be able to jump in when the game finally arrives on July 18. Show full PR text POPCAP DETAILS PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES 2: SEQUEL TO ACCLAIMED ORIGINAL LAUNCHING WORLDWIDE ON JULY 18 Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time! Available Exclusively For iPhone, iPad and iPod touch At Launch SEATTLE, Washington – June 3, 2013 - PopCap Games, creator of some of the world's most beloved video game franchises and a division of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), today provided additional details regarding Plants vs. Zombies™ 2. The highly anticipated sequel to Plants vs. Zombies, a fan favorite among players of all ages, Plants vs. Zombies 2 will be previewed by invitation only at E3 in Los Angeles next week and will launch worldwide on July 18 exclusively for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®. PopCap today also unveiled a trailer for Plants vs. Zombies 2, on its YouTube channel: (www.youtube.com/plantsvszombies). Designed from the ground up as a live service, the ever-expanding universe of Plants vs. Zombies 2 continues the epic struggle of plants defending your brainz against zombies from your backyard through the vast reaches of time, both past and future. New worlds with new levels, plants, zombies and new ways to play will be released on an ongoing basis. Leveraging the touch interface of Apple's popular mobile devices, Plants vs. Zombies 2 includes all-new touch-screen power-ups that enable players to "break the fourth wall" and interact with zombies directly, as well as via plant defenses. Also returning for the sequel is Crazy Dave, the addled neighbor who serves as a guide for players and shopkeeper for special plant upgrades and other tools and weapons. New touch-screen power-ups, plant food that supercharges plants, and novel new game mechanics that both help and hinder players' efforts to thwart the zombie hordes will enthrall existing fans and new players alike. Free to download, Plants vs. Zombies 2 will expand and extend the classic gameplay of the original and provide players with dozens of all-new levels, plants and zombies across multiple worlds at no cost. While the vast majority of the game will be entirely free to play (players can face every zombie and access every level in every world at no cost), Plants vs. Zombies 2 players will also be able to purchase upgrades and other in-game items. "It's about time!" said Allen Murray, Senior Producer for Plants vs. Zombies 2. "We're confident that players will see the love and attention we've put into this game. We've created wild new ways to experience the plants and zombies you know and love as well as packing the game with tons of completely new content, and we're still hard at work coming up with even more cool stuff that will keep Plants vs. Zombies 2 fresh and evolving in the months and years following launch."
Hands-on with prototypes of the Xbox One and new Kinect sensor
We gasped our way through the liveblog. We brought you news of the specs and the software and all that other good stuff. But now it's time to take a deep dive into the Xbox One, Microsoft's next-gen console, and what it might mean for Earth's living rooms. Engadget was given exclusive access to the hallowed labs at the heart of this project and to the engineers who made it happen. We got to play with prototypes of the hardware and to discover firsthand whether Kinect 2.0 really can tell if we're winking. Read on past the break and we promise to spare you no detail.%Gallery-189016%
Lenovo ThinkPad S3 and S5 teased, show off aluminum 'floating design'
Starting to get bored of the ThinkPad's classic look but not keen on the Edge series? Then we have good news for you! Earlier today we received a couple of photos that show off two upcoming Lenovo Ultrabooks: the 13-inch ThinkPad S3 (codename "Labatt") and the 15-inch ThinkPad S5 ("Guinness"). As you can see above and after the break, both aluminum laptops feature a new "floating design" that might have taken a page out of Samsung and Vizio's book: shaving off the front outer edges of the bottom side to create that slim and floating illusion. Also, these will apparently come with either a black or silver lid. Some folks on Sina Weibo have received other teaser photos of the ThinkPad S5, with one confirming the presence of JBL stereo speakers. The funny thing is Chinese website Yesky reported on a charity auction that actually sold limited editions of the S3 and S5 earlier this month, but those unannounced Ultrabooks went under everyone else's radar. If you're curious, Yesky speculates that a launch is due in China at the end of this month, but you'll have to stay tuned for the prices and specs.
Hands-on with the iConsole.tv, an Android-powered game system with the heart of a desktop PC
Pry open any Android-powered game console on the market today, and you'll likely find a mobile processor -- an ARM-based chip originally designed for tablets, smartphones and maybe the odd specialty device. It seems to make sense -- after all, isn't Android a mobile OS? Christopher Price, CEO of Mobile Media Ventures, doesn't seem to think so. "Android is the future of personal computing," Price told Engadget. "Even on the desktop." According to Price, developers just haven't had a chance to play with a truly powerful Android gaming machine. So, naturally, he's building one. Despite its Apple-esque name, the iConsole.tv is billed as the most powerful Android device to date. It's a bold claim, but the specs add up: the company's Unit 00 developer kit runs Android on a 3.3GHz Intel Ivy Bridge CPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM and two 500GB hard drives. Graphics are handled by Intel's integrated HD 4000 chipset -- a surprisingly capable GPU, though still a far cry from dedicated hardware. Price stressed that these specifications are for the $999 developer version the company announced today. The final product's build hasn't been finalized, but we were told it would ring it at a notably lower price. Still, considering all that power, we had to wonder why MMV chose Android. Price reiterated the potential he sees in the platform. "We're pushing the envelope and adapting it for high-performance gaming, but we see Android being the change agent in personal computing, on the TV and the desktop. People hate walled gardens, and they hate maintaining their PCs. Android can solve that, and we're going to help make that happen."%Gallery-188179%
Samsung gets exclusive access to new Android ITV Player app until August 31st
While we've seen broadcasters and other content providers launch smart TV apps with only one manufacturer, ITV's decided to give Samsung rare exclusive Android access to its ITV Player. The Korean outfit announced it would get the refreshed app all to itself until August 31st, meaning Brits who use the previous, Android-agnostic ITV Player will have to forego the new version until that time. The update now includes landscape navigation support for smartphones and tablets, along with 3G/4G streaming, improved video playback and support for older versions of Android. ITV says it's offering the app exclusively to Samsung "for an initial period while we endeavor to optimize and improve the experience before releasing to other device manufacturers." Oddly enough, Samsung didn't mention that beta-testing aspect in its own PR, which is right after the break.
New Huawei P6-U06 spy shots show off black, brushed metallic body (updated)
Quite frankly, Huawei's 6.18mm-thick P6-U06 is quickly becoming the company's worst leak in this half of 2013. Following yesterday's spy shots of said phone in black, today we received three new ones courtesy of an anonymous tipster, and this time we have a close-up of the brushed metallic back of the phone. Interestingly, the camera looks different than the one -- what appears to be a dual-SIM model -- in the TENAA filing, and we also noticed that the volume rocker is on the left side of the phone this time, while the headphone jack is now located at the top left side instead of at the bottom left. The overall shape of the device matches what we've seen before, though. On a related note, we've also been notified of an upcoming Huawei launch event in London on June 18th (Huawei Device chairman Richard Yu told us he's attending), and we wouldn't be surprised to see this slim phone popping up there -- hopefully alongside the mysterious Edge that was leaked in March. Two more shots of the P6-U06 after the break. Update: Meixcan blog Circular got hold of a couple of photos -- embedded after the break -- of the P6-U06 lit up. One of the shots reveal that the phone features a 1.5GHz quad-core chip, 2GB RAM and 8GB of storage space, along with Emotion UI 1.6 running on top of Android. We're not sure if the "No SD card found" message is an indication of microSD expansion, though.
Massively Exclusive: New Aion RvR Guardian General event starts May 8th
As the clock ticks down to the June release of Aion's big 4.0 update, NCsoft is ramping up the event machine. First up: an all-new RvR event dubbed the Guardian General Showdown. Running from May 8th, 2013, through May 22nd, 2013, this event will take place in Jotun Square in Silentera Canyon (necessitating that Daevas be level 50 and over to participate). There, each faction will fight to defeat the Guardian General of the enemy while simultaneously protecting its own. The Guardian Generals -- Furious Dux for the Elyos and Furious Stalari for the Asmodians -- will spawn support mobs to join in the fray every 30 seconds. Once one general is defeated, both (and all accompanying mobs) will disappear and the 12-hour countdown to repawn begins. The league that contributes the most to defeating the other faction's Guardian General first will earn the Guardian General's Treasure Chest, which will provide every member with one mithril medal, one special manastone box (grade II), and one major ancient crown. [Source: NCsoft press release]
Pelican Imaging's 16-lens array camera coming to smartphones next year
After yesterday's news about Nokia investing in Pelican Imaging's plenoptic camera system, it was hard not to feel impatient about exactly when this technology might arrive in real, commercially available smartphones. Well, we have an update on that front: although the company's CEO, Chris Pickett, wouldn't tell us which OEM(s) he's been talking to, he did say that his product is currently being trialed by device manufacturers and is scheduled to be part of at least one new smartphone launching in 2014. Now, this next bit is pure speculation on our part, but given that carrier testing alone can take six months, and we're already nearly halfway through 2013, this strongly implies that a hardware deal has already been inked -- which means next year could potentially bring the biggest news in smartphone cameras since the eternally underappreciated Nokia PureView 808. Speaking of which, Pelican Imaging also has some intriguing things to say about what could happen if its array camera was paired with Nokia's PureView technology -- read on for more.%Gallery-187379%
Massively exclusive: Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter home stretch
Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter odyssey is almost complete, and as of press time there's a little over a day remaining. City State's fantasy RvR sandbox stands at just over $1.82 million out of its $2 million goal, so Mark Jacobs has penned a dev diary designed to push the game's funding over the top. He outlines the many challenges inherent in managing both a Kickstarter campaign and an ambitious MMORPG project, and he hits the highlights of the former which include three faction RvR, Minecraft-style building options, and a custom engine that has easily handled hundreds of simultaneous players at well over 200 frames per second. Finally, Jacobs thanks CU's current backers, whom he says have given unprecedented support to the tune of a $160 average pledge. Jacobs' full diary is readable after the cut.
Selfridges to get Blackberry Q10 ahead of official UK launch, available this Friday for £580
The keyboard lover's BlackBerry is on its way, and the first place to sell it will be none other than our old favorite, Selfridges. The UK department store will carry a black version of the Blackberry Q10 exclusively between April 26th and April 28th, according to a tweet from Blackberry UK, well before other retailers. You can pre-order it now for £580 (at the source) or, if you'd like to meet other people who also love keyboards, grab one at the store starting Friday.
Verizon expanding San Francisco Innovation Center, currently working on cross-carrier HD Voice support
2011 sure doesn't feel like that long ago, but it's evidently long enough for Verizon to realize that demand for innovation is booming in Silicon Valley. Not quite two years after the company cracked open the doors to its San Francisco-based Innovation Center, it's already looking to expand. During a briefing today at its other Innovation Center -- the one located just outside of Boston -- we were told that plans are underway to expand the SF facility. Presently, the Waltham, Mass. center is the vaster of the two, and it's Verizon's goal to stretch the California edition to (roughly) match the original location. We were also told that the company has looked at a variety of other cities where potential Innovation Centers could be planted, and while "three to four" undisclosed metropolises are in play, the company wants to nail the execution of its first two before hastily expanding into new locales. According to Praveen Atreya, director of Verizon's Innovation Program, there's just too much involved in the incubation and launch process to not devote the proper amount of manpower to it. In other words, there's more to launching a product than just design and manufacturing; a lot of TLC goes on in order to make something have a successful shelf life.
Exclusive launches are sometimes necessary, Papo & Yo creator says
Papo & Yo cost developer Minority Media $1.5 million to make, and its exclusive release on PS3 in 2012 earned back some of that cost. It came to Steam last week, and during GDC creator Vander Caballero told us the PC launch should "cover the whole cost of the game." If it weren't for Sony and that exclusive PS3 launch, however, Papo & Yo may have never seen the light of day."If you are an independent you have zero marketing money," Caballero told Kotaku. "You have nothing. Then you need someone to support your project. So, if someone asks you for exclusivity and it's going to help you to bring out your product into the market, I think that can be good. Sometime, I think it's the only way to get something out."Caballero's next game with Minority is Silent Enemy, an exploration and puzzle game set in a harsh, mystical Canadian tundra, but with a message about bullying. Minority doesn't have any platforms locked down for Silent Enemy just yet, but Caballero is considering PS4, PC, tablets and Ouya.