silver
Latest
The Queue: It's been a long time since we faced Jaraxxus
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mathew McCurley (@gomatgo) will be your host today. Still the best Mr. Voletron song. Link Thorim all you want -- you know I'm right. MattressWX asked: Do you think Blizzard will ever get rid of the requirement of being in a raid group in order to enter a raid instance? It would be nice to solo old content without having to ask someone to group with you just to get in the door. No only do I hope that Blizzard gets rid of the requirement for raid groups, especially for old raids that we can solo, but I hope that Blizzard gets rid of some of the heroic lockouts for doing Burning Crusade and Wrath content more than once a day. Farming for certain transmog weapons and specific pieces is a pain in the butt when you've got one shot at the boss a day.
Champions Online offers temporary free premium archetypes
If you're a Silver-tier Champions Online player who's always wanted to play a premium archetype but can't quite scrounge up the coin, furbish up your superhero tights and get ready to roll a new character. Cryptic Studios has today announced a limited-time promotion that allows free players to test out selected pay archetypes for the grand total of absolutely nothing. The Savage archetype is first up; he's accessible for seven days starting today, followed by a week each for the Void, the Master, the Inventor, the Tempest, and the Devastator. If you roll a character to try out the weekly premium archetype, you can either retrain him as the next trial archetype (or any other free or previously purchased archetype) or pony up for the premium one after you've tested him out in person. As an added bonus, Cryptic is offering all players a free character slot -- just log in between October 14th and November 3rd and claim yours through the C-Store's "bonus" tab.
Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans
Curious about how a free-to-play Star Trek Online will look? We are too, which is why we're glad that Cryptic's followed up the unofficial announcement of STO's F2P conversion with specific and numerous details. On the site's new Free-to-Play page, Star Trek Online reveals what silver (free) and gold (subscribers and lifetimers) members will be able to access in the game. Free players will be able to enjoy a majority of the game's content, including character creation, all of the missions, the basic ships, the full range of levels, and special task forces. While free players won't be able to create their own missions through the Foundry system, they will be able to test out ones made by subscribers. The biggest restrictions a free account player will face are a limited mail system, reduced inventory space, and only two character slots. Subscribers and lifetime members will enjoy certain perks under the new system, including a monthly stipend of store points, priority login, respec tokens, Foundry access, and other basic MMO staples. It's interesting to note that when the game changes to the new system later this year, Klingon content for subscribers and free players will unlockable at level 25 instead of the current low level access. This is so that Cryptic can spend more time working on this weaker aspect of the game. The new system will also replace several types of currencies with a single new one, Dilithium, which will be used to purchase ships and gear. There are plenty more details on the site, including an FAQ and Features Matrix. Stay tuned later this week for an in-depth analysis of this information and a Q&A session with Cryptic in our STO column, Captain's Log!
New silver-packing transparent conductive film could mean more durable touchscreens
We first heard of the wonders of silver ink back in 2009, but it wasn't until earlier this year, with talk of 3M's new capacitive touchscreens, that we experienced its real-world potential for display technology. Well, it looks like 3M's not the only name in the Ag game, in fact Tokyo-based Toray Industries recently announced the development of a transparent conductive film that ditches the traditional ITO (indium tin oxide) for silver wire. In order to produce this new material, a layer of Ag wires, measuring several hundred nanometers, is applied to a polyester (PET) film by way of a wet method. The result, the company said, is a more flexible, durable, and transparent film that is well suited to touchscreens of just about any size. There's no word yet on when the film will appear on real-deal devices, but we'll definitely keep an eye out for the silver screens. Full PR after the break.
Motorola Xoom 3G arrives in UK for £600, gets enigmatic listing on Amazon.de for €700
Yesterday we saw the WiFi-only Xoom get its UK pricing straightened out at £500 via PC World, and today Carphone Warehouse is putting up pre-order availability of the 3G-equipped version at a nice round hundie more. The £600 Xoom 3G is listed as "in stock" now, but deliveries will likely take until the first week of April to get going, assuming Moto is delivering both SKUs of its Android 3.0 tablet at the same time. We've also come across an Amazon.de pre-order for the Xoom, asking for €700, but alas there's no hint as to whether it includes 3G connectivity or not -- no hint other than the price, that is. [Thanks, Yosef]
Motorola Xoom gets Q2 European launch, WiFi-only and silver models now extra official
Motorola just went official with its WiFi-only Xoom headed to Europe along side its 3G and WiFi cousin in the second quarter of 2011. Besides that little detail, it's still the original 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet built upon a dual-core 1GHz processor and 1280 x 800 pixel resolution display. Oh, and look at what we spotted here in Barcelona. Yup, a Xoom decked out in silver just for your viewing pleasure in the gallery below. %Gallery-116526%
WiFi-only Motorola Xoom tablet does its FCC duty, silver version spotted in Dubai (video)
We heard some weird reports over the weekend that the 3G Motorola Xoom tablet couldn't be sold unless you bought at least one month of wireless data. That, plus the groan-inducing $800 MSRP, is surely giving some potential buyers a wee bit of pause. This might help. Crossing the wires at the FCC is what appears to be a WiFi-only version of the Xoom, called a "wireless tablet with embedded WLAN." It's lacking a 3G radio so, unless Moto has another trick up its sleeves, this is probably that. Obviously any speculation on price would be highly... speculative, but here's to hoping ditching that modem brings this thing down a Benjamin or so. Also spotted, this time in Dubai but also embedded below, was a silver version of the Xoom, sporting a two-tone back that will nicely complement your Casio Data Bank calculator watch. No word on whether we'll get that on these shores, but we hope so. Variety is, dear readers, the spice of life.
Nikon crams 36x zoom in P500, full manual controls in P300, refreshes Coolpix range with tons of color
Is it spring already? Nikon has just assaulted us with no less than nine new Coolpix models, freshening up its consumer offering with a litany of hot new shades, touchscreens and hardware updates. We'll let you dig into the press releases after the break for the full details, but the two new Performance range cameras, the P500 and P300, are worth discussing in more detail. The P500 improves on Nikon's P100 by a few orders of magnification, touting a voyeur-friendly 36x optical zoom, while also offering a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 1080 / 30p video plus stereo sound recording, max ISO of 3200, and an 1100mAh battery. The back is also adorned with a tiltable display, sized at 3 inches diagonally and fitting 920k dots. Yours on March 3rd for $400, €464 or £400, depending on your local currency. %Gallery-115978% The P300 is cheaper at $330 / €348 / £300, however it might well be the more appealing option for image quality obsessives as it boasts a lens with an aggressive F1.8 aperture and 4.2x optical zoom. It shares the same backside-illuminated sensor as you'll find in the P500, but benevolently permits its user full manual control to let him or her capture that perfect shot. Rapid-fire shooting at 8fps for up to seven frames is available, but we're loving the fact it can also do 1080 / 30p with continuous autofocus and the ability to both capture images and use its optical zoom while recording. If Nikon is to be believed, the P300 is basically the P7000 that came out last year, but shrunken down to the size of a compact. It really is a very diminutive and attractive -- it has that intentionally understated matte black finish that huskily whispers the word "prosumer" in your ear -- compact camera. It lands on March 17th. %Gallery-115979% %Gallery-115976%
Pentax reveals Optio WG-1 and WG-1 GPS rugged cameras, limited edition K-5 DSLR
Who woulda thunk it? Half a year ago, finding a conventional point-and-shoot with integrated GPS was a chore, but these days, it's growing tougher and tougher to find one without it. Pentax is joining the geotagging frenzy this evening with its Optio WG-1 GPS, a rugged 14 megapixel shooter that's waterproof up to 33 feet, shockproof in nature and engineered with a "crushproof" body that can withstand weight force of up to 220 pounds (but not another Black Eyed Peas halftime show). You'll also get integrated face detection technology, the ability to snap in sub-freezing temperatures, a 5x optical zoom lens and a 2.7-inch rear LCD. There's also a 720p movie mode, HDMI output, IR control compatibility and support for Eye-Fi's wireless SD card. It'll ship this April in black or yellow-green for $399.95, and if you're uncomfortable remembering where you took each and every photograph, the GPS-less Optio WG-1 will also be available (in black or purple) for $50 less. In related news, the company is taking this opportunity to issue a limited edition K-5 DSLR, with this one touting a silver body, a uniquely shaped grip and shock-resistant, scratchproof glass surrounding the LCD. Outside of that, everything else about the 16.3 megapixel shooter will remain the same as it ever was, and the $1,699.95 (body only) price point is most certainly no easier to swallow. For those still sold on the idea, Pentax will also be offering a trifecta of silver prime lenses: the 21m f/3.2 AL, 40mm f/2.8 and the 70mm f/2.4. Check out Sir Silver (and the full press releases) just after the break.
Satin Silver PS3 Rolls into Japan on March 10th
It's not white, titanium blue, or even the traditional black -- this PS3 is Satin Silver (or is it Silver Satin?) and headed to Japan on March 10th. No specs have changed as far as we can tell with the 160GB model CECH-2500A SS selling for ¥29,980 (about $366) while the 320GB CECH-2500B SS weighs in at ¥34,980 (about $427). There's even a matching vertical stand for ¥2,000 (about $24) because Sony knows how important it is to coordinate your game center with the finish on your Rolls-Royce Ghost.
3M touts capacitive touchscreens with tiny bezels, 10x faster responsiveness
Add another one to the (short) list of obscure things that slipped our net at CES. 3M, a company concerned with the materials and components that go into your delicious new gadgets, spent its time in Vegas this month discussing a new way for building capacitive touchscreen panels. By employing silver as its conducting material, 3M says it has made it possible to shrink the circuits at the edge of a touch panel by a whole order of magnitude, resulting in finger-friendly screens unhampered by bulky bezels. Additionally, due to silver's high conductivity, response times have been shown to dip down as low as 6ms, which is ten times speedier than the currently used Indium Tin Oxide stuff. It's arguable that neither advancement is revolutionary today, as bezels serve a purpose in providing a gripping surface for slate devices and touch responsiveness is currently constrained by software lag more than hardware capabilities, but 3M sure looks to have a nice building block for the future. The future being 2012, according to the company's estimates.
Sprint Premier getting new premium tier on April 1st, many customers won't get early upgrades?
Launched in early 2009, Sprint's Premier loyalty program has been one of the more generous (and easy to understand) perks programs in the American wireless industry: just keep a certain minimum spend per month or stick around for ten years, and boom, you're eligible. Most importantly, Premier customers are currently able to get new contract pricing after just a single year into their existing contracts, which makes gadget freaks on the network far, far less likely to go bankrupt. Well, mirroring some of the other early upgrade changes we're seeing in the business lately, it looks like these guys are planning on dialing things back come April 1st (and no, the irony is not lost). Though some Premier customers will still get upgrades after a year, that privilege will be dialed back to members of the new Gold tier which will require ten years of service with Sprint. Yes, that's right: you'll have needed to have a line on these guys since before the Matrix Phone came out to get the biggest benefit of the program. If you don't qualify, you still could get in on the Silver tier, which gives you miscellaneous perks like accessory discounts... but not the full upgrade discount after a year. Instead, you'll need to wait 22 months, which -- at the current rate -- is about 47 major versions of Android. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: As before, you'll be able to skirt the 10-year requirement with a minimum spend and at least six months of service; that minimum will be $89.99 a month for individual lines at $169.99 a month for family plans. Whew!
WiFi-only Galaxy Tab hits Best Buy for $499.99 only to be delayed by Samsung?
Remember the leaked promo material for the $499.99 WiFi-only Samsung Galaxy Tab headed to Best Buy? Well, SKU 1409447 of the 7-inch Android tablet is being promoted right now in the weekly ads on Best Buy's very own mobile site. Unfortunately, our urge to celebrate is tempered by a sneaky pic of a Best Buy "pullback" (found after the break) noting that the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab is not in fact available due to manufacturer delay. The whole Best Buy listing turns out to be an unhappy comedy of errors showing a non-existent "silver" 3G model on Sprint and wishful "Super AMOLED" display. Ugh.
Ultrasone Edition 10 headphones sound and are expensive: $2,749 for one of only 2,010 made
Hands up if you actually know what ruthenium is. Don't worry if you don't, it's just used as an external plating on these extremely luxurious open-back cans. More familiar expensive materials can be found within, with titanium-plated 40mm drivers, silver-plated copper wires with 99.99 percent purity and kevlar-coated cables, and of course, for that extra special touch, Ethiopian sheepskin earcup pads. That's skin, not wool, so bear it in mind if you care for the welfare of little fluffy ones. Either way, the Ultrasone Edition 10s do seem like they've packed just enough luxury and exclusivity to justify their $2,745 price -- only thing we need now is a matching mahogany furniture set, preferably with some endangered species' heads adorning our walls.
White HTC Desire and silver Wildfire make a special appearance in London
Man, just look at these puppies -- a silver Wildfire nestling against a snow-white Desire. If this cute image is making you smile, you can thank our friends over at Android Community for stumbling upon these special edition HTC phones, which are headed to The Carphone Warehouse's exclusive club in good old Blighty (sorry, US readers). There's no date confirmed just yet, but given that these Android phones will be slapped with the regular price tags, you'd best be ready to dash to your nearest store before it's too late. Head over to the source link for more eye candy while you camp out.
New Xbox 360 controller with twist-up D-pad coming Nov. 9, bundled with charge kit for $65
It's the Xbox controller with a twist! As indicated by our source, Microsoft has announced a redesigned Xbox 360 wireless controller. The new gamepad will debut in a matte silver color with gray-toned face buttons and analog sticks with a more dramatic concave shape. Key to the new design is a "transforming" D-pad that changes from a semi-flush disc to a pop-out plus sign by twisting the D-pad clockwise. (Check out Major Nelson demonstrating the transformation in the video after the break.) Microsoft offers this suggestion for how you might use the two D-pad configurations: "Select the traditional plus for distinct cardinal direction movement in games like Halo: Reach to change weapons and perform complicated combinations and deadly finishing moves in Street Fighter games, or rotate the D-pad to the disc format for sweeping motions in games such as Pro Evolution Soccer 2011." The redesigned controller will only be available with the Play & Charge Kit. The bundle will launch on November 9 for $64.99. %Gallery-100790% [Thanks to AwakePlace, Jas and Lukas!]
Olympus dishes silver PEN E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera
Look, we're not saying Olympus' original all-black PEN E-P2 had no retro whatsoever in its blood, but you'll be hard-pressed to convince us that this newer, silver-er model doesn't have a whole lot more. Nearly six months after the (admittedly overpriced) Micro Four Thirds camera got pushed through the ringer, Olympus has decided that the world needs a second color option, though outside of the hue, there's no difference whatsoever between the two models. It'll ship later this month in Europe for a still-lofty €799 ($1,016), but at least that scores you a M. Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 lens! Ah, who are we kidding -- that removes precisely zero pain from the sticker shock.
HTC Desire shows up in slinky silver (video)
Here's another thing the Desire has that the Nexus One doesn't: a second color option. We're told our Dutch buddies will soon be able to skip the default gunmetal paintjob that's shared by HTC's twin brothers and opt into the silvery casing you see above. The pictures are captioned with a note saying the silver Desire will be exclusive to BelCompany in the Netherlands, but we've found a few other retailers claiming their own exclusief. Either way, we still don't know how things will shake out elsewhere, but at least there won't be too long to wait. We've got video of the very slightly altered handset after the break. [Thanks, Miguel]%Gallery-88435%
Pentax trots out gorgeous K-7 Limited Silver DSLR
Do Japanese gadget makers think we're not superficial enough to appreciate specially repainted editions of their gear? Because we are, we totally are. Pentax is producing a mere 1,000 units of the above slice of DSLR beauty and predictably they all seem to be headed to the Japanese market. The Limited Silver variant of the K-7 adds a few enhancements, too, with a specially reinforced glass plate protecting the LCD and adding to the original's robust weatherproofing, as well as updated firmware and photo processing software. The most intriguing addition is the inclusion of a "golden section ratio" focusing screen with curved guiding lines that are supposed to make image composition even easier. We'd say that's just the sort of cosmetic enhancement you'd expect on a prettied up limited edition shooter, but that'd make our bitterness at not being able to buy one too obvious.
Panasonic adds silver and pink body options to GF1, exhibits poor timing
It's pretty much common knowledge these days that we're big fans of Micro Four Thirds cameras, and while Olympus may already be shipping its second generation hardware, Panasonic is holding firm with the still highly desirable GF1. Tweaking up the formula just a tad, the company is throwing its Japanese audience a bone with a pair of frankly stupendous color options, led by the silver (looks more like gunmetal to us) number above. We're digging the contrast between the black sections and silver body, though the real highlight must be that we don't find the pink option (pictured after the break) intolerable. Good job by Panasonic on picking out these hues, but why on earth are they coming out on March 12 -- shouldn't the marketing department be aware of certain global consumerist events that exist pretty much exclusively to stimulate indulgent purchases of superficially appealing new gear?
