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Refresh Roundup: week of September 23rd, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
iOS racer 2K Drive out now for $7
2K Games' foray into the world of hi-def iOS racers is looking sleek and shiny in the App Store showroom, a $7 price tag slapped across its metaphorical front window. The iPhone and iPad sim 2K Drive is available as of today, coming courtesy of Lucid Games. You may remember Lucid rising from the ashes of Project Gotham Racing team Bizarre Creations. At one point it seemed Lucid's racer might be a new PGR game. Instead we have an ambitious-looking iOS venture, offering licensed cars, real-life locations, online multiplayer, and a host of other features, including the ability to plaster your grinning face across a driver avatar, should that seem like a good idea to to you.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 22nd, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, a familiar smartphone leaked that's said to join the prepaid ranks at Verizon Wireless, AT&T swung back against the DOJ, and Rogers issued its quarterly earnings. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of April 22nd, 2013.
Refresh Roundup: week of January 14th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: summer 2012 edition
Despite the sweltering heat waves, our spirits are high at Engadget, and for good reason: it's time for our summer edition of the smartphone buyer's guide. Here, you'll find our top recommendations for the best smartphones across several US carriers, along with the best QWERTY and budget alternatives. In many ways, it's now easier than ever to find a world-class smartphone, but unless you've developed a strong brand preference, choosing one is likely more difficult than ever before. It's no secret that the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III have firmly cemented themselves as the premier smartphones of the day, but if you're torn between the two, we'll reveal our preference in this latest installment. Summertime also brought a bit of a shock, as Microsoft revealed that Windows Phone 8 apps won't be compatible with the current generation of Windows Phone hardware. For this reason, we've excluded all Windows Phone handsets from consideration in the latest buyer's guide. While the future of Microsoft's mobile platform looks incredibly bright, a purchase now would guarantee obsolescence in the short-term. Instead, all prospective Windows Phone purchasers must wait for the next generation of handsets to become available -- you'll regret it otherwise. Naturally, there is no shortage of rumors surrounding the next Apple iPhone, and given the handset's current lack of LTE connectivity, the iPhone 4S is certainly showing its age. While cautious purchasers may choose to bide their time, the iPhone remains top-notch in many other respects, and its arrival at a number of prepaid carriers brought a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stagnant environment. If you're curious to see how it all unfolded -- and we know you are -- join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.
Refresh Roundup: week of June 4th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
LG Lucid becomes official on Verizon, can be yours March 29th for $80
That LG Lucid we've heard so much about lately? Yep, it's real, and Verizon is now ready to publicly acknowledge its existence.The LTE-capable device resides in the mid-range, but for $80 (with a two-year commitment and after a $50 mail-in rebate) you're getting a 4-inch display covered in Gorilla Glass, 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 5MP rear-facing camera with 1080p video capture and a front-facing cam of unknown resolution. And for the folks keeping track at home, the Lucid will be shipping with Gingerbread installed, though Verizon is quick to admit that ICS is in the works. Sound like your cup o' tea? You won't have to wait long -- it's heading your way on March 29th.
Verizon-bound LG Lucid reveals itself in leaked press shots
Aside from the Optimus Vu, last week's MWC didn't reveal all that many LTE-capable handsets from LG. Fortunately, the Life's Good crowd still have plans for Verizon -- and this is one of them. According to Pocketnow, this is the LG Lucid and it wants to nestle itself squarely in the middle ground of Verizon's smartphone catalogue. Alongside those 4G chops, the phone purportedly wields a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 800×480 resolution NOVA display and an 8-megapixel camera capable of 1080p video capture. It also appears to run an LG-laced version of Gingerbread -- presumably something the company will attempt to elbow aside with vague promises of ICS when it all goes official.
Video report catches up with new studios born from Bizarre's closure
Though the studio behind gems like Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars may be dissolved, the individuals behind those projects have not dissolved, which is very, very fortunate for them. Rather, a number of ex-Bizarre Creations staffers have moved on to create three independent studios (so far) -- all of which are the subject of a recent video report from Eurogamer. Check out the 14-minute video for an in-depth look at Lucid, Hogrocket and Curly Rocket's strategies for making their post-Activision ventures a success. If we might make one humble suggestion: Lucid should probably change its name to something with "rocket" in it. Just think of the powerful media conglomerate you three could create if aligned under the same jet-propelled banner!
LucidLogix Virtu in action, discrete graphics and Sandy Bridge together at last
At CES, LucidLogix's Virtu software solution promised to get discrete and Sandy Bridge GPUs together in graphical harmony -- giving you both Sandy Bridge's greased-lightning video transcoding and the horsepower of an NVIDIA or ATI rig. The code also lets you watch content from Intel's forthcoming Insider movie service while running a discrete GPU. Now that Chipzilla's 2nd-gen Core i5 and i7 CPUs are getting to market en masse, the gang at Hot Hardware put an RC of Virtu through its paces to see what it can do. As expected, the software waxes chumps and smokes fools when encoding HD video, but gaming performance suffered slightly (in FPS and 3DMark 11 tests) with the technology enabled. The other nit to pick was that Virtu renders the control panel of your discrete card unavailable, so any graphics adjustments must be made in-game whenever the software is running. Time will tell if the final release has similar shortcomings. Hit up the source link for the full rundown.
ASUS demos Immensity X58 Hydra mainboard with integrated ATI Radeon HD 5770 GPU
ASUS had a fairly big showing here at Computex, and while mobile computing was obviously the highlight of the show, the desktop gamers were thrown a bone with this gem. Dubbed Immensity, this concept X58 mainboard has plenty of room for an ultra-speedy Core i7 processor, but what makes this one unique is the built-in GPU. Nah, it's not some lame-o integrated chip that chokes up when playing back 480p versions of last night's Glee -- it's a full-fledged ATI Radeon HD 5770. Thankfully for you, that's not where the fun ends. There's also an integrated Lucid Hydra chip fused onto the PCB, which means that you're free to slap another pair of PCIe-based GPUs in and get a three-way CrossFireX setup going. Representatives at the booth were fairly confident that the concept would turn commercial by the end of this year (or early 2011 at worst), though they're still trying to hammer down what exactly the final GPU will be. We're sure there's a good bit of "dealing with thermals" going on in the labs, but here's hoping ASUS really can pull this off and change the way we think about IGPs. Have a look at the monster below, and try your best to not get those hopes too high.%Gallery-94373%
ASUS CrossHair IV Extreme mainboard supports mix-and-match GPU setups
Scouting a new mainboard for that fancy new Phenom II X6 CPU you just picked up? You might want to hold off a minute, particularly if you're also planning on shopping for a few new GPUs as well. Hot Hardware has managed to get their paws around an upcoming motherboard from ASUS, the CrossHair IV Extreme. Much like the Maximus III Extreme that we spotted last November, this one also ships with the RoG Connect feature, enabling a secondary Bluetooth device (like a netbook or smartphone) to tweak overclocking settings from the sidelines. What really makes this one stand out, however, isn't the compatibility with all Socket AM3 Phenom and Athlon CPUs, nor the fancy new 890FX chipset. No -- it's the inclusion of Lucidlogix's nearly-forgotten Hydra solution, which allows users to mix-and-match GPUs (makes and models are no matter here) in order to create the most from whatever graphics cards you have sitting around. There's no mention of when this fellow will ship, but we'll be keeping an eye out at Computex just in case.
Lucid's GPU-mixing HYDRA Engine gets previewed, shows real promise
After a bit of a delay Lucid is back on our radar -- and we're pleased to say that the company's technology for combining multiple GPUs seems to be well on course. Indeed, a few HYDRA 200 units appear to be out and about, with preliminary tests showering love on the device. When the kids at Hot Hardware put theirs through its paces they encountered drivers issues (not surprising for something still in development) but still reported running a mixed ATI / NVIDIA combo for "impressive scaling" most of the time, peaking at 85% in dual-GPU mode. And PC Perspective also had positive things to say, with the HYDRA pushing performance "up by 83% -- definitely a competitive solution to SLI!" But that ain't all -- for the real nitty gritty you'll have to check out the links below.
Lucid HYDRA multi-GPU technology bears fruit, could bring peace to the GPU wars
Lucid came along last year and promised to let any motherboard chipset work with any combination of GPUs; to enable you to pair an ATI Radeon HD 5870 with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 and get 100 percent the performance out of both -- assuming you have a suitably gluttonous power supply. We were naturally a bit skeptical and so when the company largely disappeared for a year we figured they'd pulled a Steorn, biting off more than the laws of physics allowed. We're happy to say we were wrong. The company has unveiled its HYDRA 200 Parallel Graphics Chip, a tiny 65nm processor that, when installed on a motherboard or expansion card, enables the utilization of two disparate graphics cards. No more proprietary bridge cables or worries about who plays well with who. MSI is the first company to sign up, demonstrating its Intel P55-based Big Bang Gaming Motherboard, offering a HYDRA 200 and three PCIe slots for some sweet GPU potpourri. No price is announced yet, but it's expected to release in time to make an appearance inside your holiday system build. Read - Lucid Announces HYDRA 200 Read - HYDRA-Powered MSI Big Bang Gaming Motherboard
Lucid's multi-GPU HYDRA technology explained
Putting it simply, Lucid's goal with its HYDRA technology is to "build a completely GPU-independent graphics scaling technology" which enables two completely different cards to work together in harmony with "little to no software overhead." Let that sink in a minute. Now that a puzzled look has surely overtaken your face, we'd strongly recommend hitting the read link for a (very) detailed look at the technology, an explanation of how it works and even a few hard hitting questions addressed to the company. We're trying to stifle our excitement here, but our hopes are escalating quickly.
Lucid Logix HYDRA tech brings together any GPUs for powerful matrimony
There's a lot of tech speak to cut through, but if Lucid Logix's claims are true, we might be looking at a revolution in the high-end gaming segment. Lucid is building a new "real-time distributed processing engine" system on a chip called HYDRA, which can mix and match any GPU from any manufacturer and work with any chipset, and piles it all together for performance scaling that Lucid claims is "near-linear" or "above-linear." It's the above-linear part that particularly makes no sense -- how can you squeeze more power out of cards than is there to begin with? -- but we're gonna give Lucid the benefit of the doubt for the moment and wait for the benchmarks. HYDRA is slated to come to market in the first half of 2009.
