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Acer's 23-inch Z3-605 all-in-one ships to the US, starting at $700
Want a straightforward Windows 8 all-in-one that won't cost a pretty penny? Acer has you covered with the launch of its Z3-605 Series in the US. The 23-inch desktop isn't a performance champ when it carries up to a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive and a DVD burner. Don't dismiss it out of hand, however -- the 1080p IPS-based LCD should deliver a good-looking picture, and a touchscreen variant supports air gestures. If there's enough here to leave you intrigued, you can pick up the Z3-605 today for a modest $700 in base trim, or with touch for $800.
Daily iPhone App: League of Evil 3 stays on the high-quality path
When it comes to virtual controls on a touchscreen, it's hard for developers to pull them off right. Either they're just not responsive enough, or they block the touchscreen, or your finger ends up sliding off of the "touchable" area at just the wrong second. The League of Evil is an example of touch screen controls done right. This game started out as one of the best platformers on the iOS App Store, and it's only gotten better. The latest version, League of Evil 3, just arrived last week. Unfortunately, it doesn't really offer any new moves. You can still jump, wall-jump and double jump as before, and each level has plenty of obstacles to sneak past and a special briefcase to collect. But the graphics have been updated to look better than ever, and if nothing else, this sequel offers over 80 new levels to play through. There are also new ways to watch replays, including ghosts and an Everyplay tie-in. This release also comes with iCloud saves (to track your progress across multiple devices) and a new bit of story told with hand-drawn cutscenes. Plus, the controls are smooth as silk, as you'd imagine. League of Evil 3 is yet another excellent platformer by Ravenous Games, and you can grab it right now for US$1.99.
Moody platformer Limbo coming to iOS next week
Limbo is a critically acclaimed and very artistic platforming game that arrived on XBLA a few years ago, and has since arrived on PS3 and PC. It's by a company called Playdead, and it's a black-and-white short tale about a little boy in search of his sister. The game puts a series of physics-based jumping puzzles in a starkly threatening environment, as the little boy fights a big spider and makes his way through a crumbling world. And now, Playdead has announced that the game is coming to iOS. On July 3, it'll be available on the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2 and the latest iPod touch, and devices newer than those, for US$4.99. Playdead says it has been "rethinking the controls and performing extensive optimizations to ensure an amazing touch-based experience," but we'll have to see if the game uses virtual buttons, or goes for a more specifically touchscreen control scheme. There likely won't be any new content, but this is an excellent title, and should be a good addition to Apple's platforms.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown now available for iOS
The long-awaited XCOM: Enemy Unknown has finally arrived on the App Store for a premium price of US$19.99. This is Firaxis' turn-based strategy hit from last year (in my opinion, one of the best games of 2012), translated to the iOS platform in full. The controls have been tweaked just a bit to work with the iOS touchscreen, but otherwise this is the full game, featuring a base that you can upgrade at will, soldiers that you can outfit with bleeding-edge technology and terrific turn-based skirmishes against aliens of all kinds. The graphics, I believe, have been slowed down just a bit, and Firaxis does recommend that you use an iPad 4 to play (and they even say to turn off other apps that might take up cycles in the background). So that could be a pain, especially if you have an older device. Still, this is a modern PC game, and we're getting it here in full form on iOS, so it's hard to complain about that. It's nice that this is a full premium release. You spend one price and get all of the game's content with no IAP or freemium twists at all. XCOM is a great game from a company that is well worth supporting.
Deus Ex: The Fall is a cyber Renaissance faire for touchscreens
Deus Ex is, by nature, a complicated game. You can start by simply moving around a level: There's cover to move in and out of, and stealth movement requires good timing and precision. Then, there's all of the abilities you have, from using various gadgets and weapons to choosing your bio-implants and playing the hacking mini-games. That's a lot of buttons. In making Deus Ex: The Fall for iOS devices, Square Enix Mobile was given the task of putting all those functions into a device that has only one button. In that respect, the most exciting news about this game is that it works. For the most part, that is. You can't hide bodies, for one thing.%Gallery-190427%
OpenFeint developer aims for a hardcore audience with Fates Forever MOBA
Jason Citron is a true veteran of iOS gaming. He was one of the two developers behind Aurora Feint, and later vaulted it up to the huge social network that OpenFeint became. Now, Citron is back to making games with a new company called Hammer & Chisel (formerly Phoenix Guild), and he's just announced today that his upcoming game is called Fates Forever. It'll be a multiplayer online battle arena title, similar to the extremely popular League of Legends, but built from the ground up for iOS and a touchscreen interface. "If you look at games," Citron told TUAW recently, "very rarely do you find one that's generally new, and usually when you do, it's because of the UI change." Citron believes that even hardcore games "could be made materially better by changing them to use a large format touchscreen," and so he's decided to take on the MOBA gametype. Fates Forever will have battling heroes, just like League of Legends, but with a simplified format... at least at first. The map Citron is working on features just two lanes (it will pit three players against an opposing team of three, and matches should take around 15 minutes), and he says a lot of the mechanics around itemization and balance have yet to be determined. His focus right now is building standard touchscreen gestures for the heroes' various abilities. "The skillshots are all these fun little gesture things that you can pull off," says Citron. One champion will do a dash move that's controlled by dragging him around the screen with your finger, for example. "You hit the button on the left, you get a little ring around him and then you can drag the indicator away from him. When you draw out a path from him, he shoots flames on the ground." Citron says the goal is to take gesture mechanics that users know and love, and use those to match the precision and controls that you'd usually need a mouse and a keyboard on a PC for. When Citron began this project, the MOBA genre was very much PC-based. But in the last few months, several companies have thought to bring it to tablets. For example, Gameloft's Heroes of Order and Chaos, and Zynga's forthcoming Solstice Arena. "I figured [MOBAs] would be a trend," says Citron, but adds that "I can't say that I would have expected as much action to be going on tablets." Still, Citron says Zynga's entry will likely be tied down by in-app monetization efforts, and he thinks he can do the game better than Gameloft has. "I think ours looks better, has more innovative controls and it's generally fun to play." The plan for Fates Forever is to have "the core battle game out this summer, with a very light metagame around it." Once the core app is out, Citron and his company (currently about five full-timers and about the same number of contractors) plan to tweak and upgrade it according to the community, and will even build a tool called The Forge, where players will be able to suggest and build their own heroes, with that content possibly even reaching the game. "I very much see this as a marathon, not a sprint," says Citron. "I see this as a long-term thing. I'm starting with a nugget of something, and we're evolving it with the community." Citron's goal with Fates Forever is to "blend deep traditional game design with respectful game mechanics," he says. "It's obviously going to be free-to-play," and supported by in-app purchases for options and customization. But "our game will never force you to stop playing," he adds. "And you can't pay to win." Currently, the project is being put together in Unity, and while it will initially appear on the iPad only, the title may come to Android or other platforms later on. Fates Forever sounds interesting. We'll get a chance to play it later this year. Plenty of other companies have aimed and will continue to target this growing "hardcore" audience on Apple's tablet platform, but that specific audience is finicky to say the least. In the end, Fates Forever will have to stand on its own quality. If it can find the League of Legends-sized audience on tablets that Citron is looking for, then we could be playing this one for a long time to come.
Terraria digging its way into mobile platforms
Terraria is a Steam title that just recently arrived on consoles, and now publisher 505 Games has announced that it's coming to iOS as well. The game is a 2D variant of the Minecraft-style sandbox genre, where players can hack away at squares of various types, recombining and reusing them to build machines, magic items or even dig on down and find various bosses and dungeon environments. The mobile version, says 505, will support leaderboards, achievements and Facebook integration as well, to share screenshots and other information about what you're doing in the game. This move makes a lot of sense, given how extremely successful Minecraft, Deepworld and other sandbox titles of this type have been on mobile platforms and especially iOS. Though it is interesting to note that after arriving on Steam, Terraria decided to work on a console version first and foremost. A few months after release, we'll have to see which version of the game has had a bigger effect on their player base and the bottom line. Terraria for mobile platforms, including iOS, is set to arrive later on this summer.
Aspyr brings the Bioware classic Knights of the Old Republic to iPad
When I spoke with them at Macworld | iWorld earlier this year, Aspyr Media (a company that has brought a lot of games to the Mac platform) promised some interesting "catalog Mac experiences" would be released on iOS, and they've outdone themselves with the first title. Bioware's classic Knights of the Old Republic RPG, based in the Star Wars universe, is available for the iPad right now, at a premium price of $9.99. Aspyr has done an incredible job with this one, and it probably didn't hurt that Bioware's original was designed so well. The game works very well on a touchscreen, as most of the menus made very good use of buttons and easily accessible screen areas. Combat is essentially turn-based (it's real-time, but you can pause it to change your actions at any time) and works great on the iPad. You can fix any small mistakes you make in giving orders easily and quickly. Aspyr also wasn't afraid to step in when necessary. The game's dialog options are just too small to be navigated with fingers, so Aspyr added option buttons on the side of the screen that are easy to choose as you chat with the game's many, many characters. The game's graphics are showing their age, and optimizing them for the iPad probably didn't help the fidelity at all. But that's not a major concern, considering the game was first released in 2003. The real strength of this game is how it puts you smack dab in the middle of a great Star Wars story, and the graphics are good enough that they don't get in the way. The voice acting enhances the experience, too. Knights of the Old Republic's original voice acting was stellar, and it's back here in all of the great stories and dialog lines that Bioware originally put together. HK-47 is a fan-favorite character from Knights of the Old Republic, and while I haven't reached his part in the story on my iPad yet, I am sure that he's just as hilariously evil as always. In short, Aspyr has delivered a classic game in an expertly ported form. If you've never played Knights of the Old Republic, you're in for a treat, but realize that you're getting into a major RPG campaign. This title will likely have way more depth and story than your average Jetpack Joyride or Angry Birds games. And if you have played Knights of the Old Republic once or even twice in the past, you'll probably appreciate another playthrough even more on Apple's excellent touchscreen platform. I had no inkling at all that this was what Aspyr was thinking of when they mentioned earlier this year that they were planning on porting some classic titles to iOS, but I'm glad this is what they started with. I can't wait to see more classic and revered games make their way from the Mac platform over to the iOS App Store with Aspyr in the captain's seat.
Dell's S2240T touch monitor boasts 21.5-inch full HD panel, 60-degree tilt
Dell may already have a 23-inch multi-touch display, but if you're looking for something a little smaller and cheaper, then we have good news for you. The company informed us of its new model named "S2240T," a 21.5-inch touch monitor with the same 1,920 x 1,080 resolution as its larger sibling. It also stands on a sliding base that can tilt as much as 60 degrees, but unlike the other model this one can't lay flat. Other features include HDMI, DVI and VGA ports, as well as a relatively efficient power consumption of just 20W. Dell's already offering the S2240T on its website for $399.99 -- quite a drop from the S2340T's $699.99 price tag. Hit the source link for more information.
Wacom outfits the Cintiq 22HD with multi-touch, bumps the price to $2,499
If you've been gazing lovingly at Wacom's 22-inch pen display, the company has tacked on some functionality that may convince you to commit. The outfit has announced the Cintiq 22HD touch: a version of the existing 21.5-inch stylus pal with multi-touch functionality on board. If you'll recall, a similar treatment was given to the Cintiq 24HD after its initial launch sans swipes. The list of additional specs for the 22HD touch still includes a 1920 x 1080 full HD LCD screen, a gamut of 16.7 million colors, 16 configurable ExpressKeys, adjustable stand and that trusty Cintiq pen. Of course, the new tactile treatment runs the cost up $500 -- but if that doesn't deter you, the unit is slated to hit shelves sometime in May.
ITC invalidates Motorola proximity sensor patent in suit against Apple
With all of the Samsung vs. Apple conflict in the courts, one could be forgiven for losing track of the fact that Apple has a lingering patent dispute with Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary as well. Bloomberg is reporting that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) recently upheld a previous court's judgement which held that a Motorola patent asserted against Apple was invalid. The patent in question is US Patent No. 6,246,862 and encompasses functionality whereby a mobile device ignores unintended touches when in close proximity to a user's face. This is the capability that allows touchscreen phones to avoid "cheekdialing" during a call. The pertinent patent claim reads: 1. A portable communication device comprising: a processing section to control operation of the portable communication device in response to an input signal; a user interface comprising a touch sensitive input device coupled to the processing section, the touch sensitive input device actuatable to generate the input signal; and a sensor coupled to the user interface, the sensor to disable communication of the input signal to the processing section when the portable communication device is positioned in close proximity to a user, thereby, preventing inadvertent actuation of the touch sensitive input device. The ITC agreed with Apple's argument that the patent claim was obvious. Motorola argued, to no avail, that the patented technology was not obvious back when it was filed in 1999 due to the scarcity of touchscreen mobile devices at the time. It's worth noting that the aforementioned patent is the last one remaining from Motorola's initial lawsuit against Apple, filed in 2010, where it asserted a grand total of 18 patents against a slew of Apple products. Google, which acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion back in 2011, told Bloomberg that the company was "evaluating our options." Apple, as is typically the case, had no comment. The ITC's ruling can be read in its entirety over here. More analysis of the court's decision is over at FOSS Patents.
Ask Engadget: best touchscreen monitor?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Icy, who wants to embrace their metro (geddit?) side. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "As Windows 8 is bringing touch to the desktop, I'm curious what touchscreen monitor I should buy. Any suggestions? Thanks!" Short and sweet, Icy, just the way we like it. We'll return the favor by pointing you in the direction of options from Viewsonic, Samsung and LG. Then we'll bow out and let the massed ranks of the Engadgetarti oblige you with their worldly wisdom.
Sony Anycast Touch live-broadcasting system hands-on (video)
The Anycast Touch is not only a sleeker incarnation of Sony's all-in-one studio, with a slider design and a manageable-enough 6.6-kg (13-pound) body; it's also the company's first such system to feature a touchscreen interface. The machine sports two touch-enabled displays, allowing users to adjust audio controls, type via an on-screen keyboard and edit footage, among other functions. Video sources are assigned to one side of the panel, and tapping a particular input will bring up the footage in the middle preview window. It seems like an intuitive interface, especially given all the live-broadcasting controls on board -- a six-input video switcher, a five-channel audio mixer, a built-in character and title generator, and a remote camera controller, just to name a few. Aside from the touchscreens, built-in live-streaming capability is one of the Anycast Touch's most unique features. On the show floor, Sony was sharing the product's output with WiFi-enabled devices. According to the company, this functionality will be useful in educational settings, at houses of worship, corporate seminars and any other events intended to reach a broad audience. The Anycast could even help news producers scale back on their own gear, letting them trade those gigantic live trucks for live vans or sedans, for example. Pricing info isn't set in stone, but Sony says the MSRP will be less than $20,000 when the device ships at the end of summer. There's simply a ton of functionality here, so we definitely recommend checking out the studio-in-a-box in action in our hands-on video after the break for a bit more detail. %Gallery-185049%
Sony patent claims touch force detection via microphone
In the annals of "clever patents that may never amount to anything," we now have an entry from Sony: a method of sensing touch strength with sound. Since capacitive touchscreens can't detect pressure on their own, a second film is needed that can add weight and cost. Sony's freshly granted patent claims that a microphone can take on that job instead by listening to the sound your finger or stylus makes when it hits the screen and deducing force from that. It could also be used with a camera-based position detection system as shown above, meaning your finger's location and force could be calculated on a non-active surface like an ordinary table. Obviously such a device would only detect taps, not presses, and Sony has claimed a calibration method that the average user may not want to bother with. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time of filing (2009) when other force-sensing options had yet to hit market, but this one seems unlikely to see daylight -- though, you never know.
Daily iPhone App: Cling is a platformer that will grab you
Platformers are a tough genre to pull off on a touchscreen. There are a few solid core platformers out there for iOS (Mikey Shorts is probably my favorite), but in general, the lack of tactile buttons and relative shortage of screen space make really precise, strong 2D platforming games hard to do on Apple's devices. Cling, however, is a platformer put together by a team called First5 Games, and it slickly dodges the whole problem of imprecise virtual buttons by using a virtual joystick instead. The hero of the game is a little toy creature similar to the old "wall-crawler" rubber toys popular a while back, where you could stick them on a surface and they'd slowly "climb" down it. Edgar is this creature's name, and he can get around in the game by grabbing on to different pegs, and using those to move through the game's various levels. There are a few different varieties of pegs (some attract, some repel), but the main mechanic here is that if you're not near a peg, you can't control your little guy, which means that some of the levels have to be approached very carefully. It's a really interesting concept, and it turns the idea of a platformer (a game where you jump from platform to platform) upside down. "Jumping" in this game means vaulting yourself from a series of pegs, and if you go off at the wrong speed or angle, it's game over, time to restart the level. In that sense, Cling is a really interesting experiment, and it's well worth a try, especially if you're a fan of platformers, for the price of just 99 cents. The game just got an update recently and unfortunately it seems to have introduced some bugs. But that issue should be fixed soon, and even until then, it shouldn't prevent you from giving this one a look.
WSJ: Microsoft to offer discounted Windows 8 software for future small touchscreen laptops
In a bid to push the development of small, touch-enabled laptops, Microsoft has started to offer discounts on Windows 8 and Office 2013 to manufacturing OEMs. According to WSJ and Digitimes reports, these price cuts would be reflected in products in the fall. The deal includes Windows 8 plus Office for $30 -- a bundle that previously cost $120. Microsoft hasn't made any official comment on the rumor, although the discounted licensing was apparently offered late last month and will be specific to laptops with touch-enabled screens smaller than 10.8 inches. Now we'll just have to wait and see how much of that discount will transfer to retail price tags.
Synaptics launches a pair of mobile touchscreens at MWC 2013
If Synaptics has a favorite song, we'd assume it'd be Touch Me, after all, the touchscreen maker does want customers to get handsy with its products. The company is launching a pair of mobile touchscreens here at MWC that we can expect to see laminated to some Gorilla Glass on a bunch of handsets at next year's Spanish smartphone shindig. The ClearPad 3400 is a capacitive touchscreen designed for flagships that offers a greatly improved signal-to-noise ratio for devices of up to six inches. It's also announcing ClearPad Single-Layer On-Cell (SLOC) Multitouch solution, an interface for budget devices that eliminates the touchscreen sensor and border while still offering five-finger touch. Thanks to its simplified manufacturing process, it's much cheaper than competing inputs, and is currently being toted 'round Chinese OEMs. Interested in the finer detail of this human interface system? The release is after the break.
Microsoft patent application would automatically disinfect grimy touchscreens (update: related tech)
We've all seen that touchscreen device in the store that's covered with fingerprints (and possibly contagions) from curious shoppers. While it's unlikely that we'll get sick from all that touching, Microsoft is trying for a patent that would set our minds at ease. The method would send ultraviolet light bouncing through a film on or inside a touchscreen, disinfecting fingertips and contact areas without blasting the person directly. Processing inside the gadget could also dictate just when and for how long the UV blast would run. It could kick in only after a user was done, for example, and last just long enough to kill common germs. There's no clues that Microsoft is about to use the technology in real-world products. Still, we wouldn't mind touching an extra-sanitary Windows phone or tablet -- or rather, someone else's. Update: Microsoft applied for a UV cleaning approach before, but that depended on coupling UV with the backlight; this newer patent would give Microsoft considerably more flexibility.
Google announces Chromebook Pixel: 1.8GHz Core i5, 2,560 x 1,700 touchscreen; WiFi model available now, LTE ships in April
Only yesterday we were being teased with the idea of a touchscreen Chromebook. Well, good news for people who hate waiting -- it's here, it's called the Pixel, and you can pre-order today. The all-Google laptop is aimed at those who live in the cloud, but want a little more from their machine. Built from the ground up for the web, the 12.85-inch 3:2 ratio display claims to offer 18 percent more vertical space than 16:9 does. The screen the Pixel has is -- as you can imagine -- one of its proudest features, sporting a 2,560 x 1,700 resolution, giving a PPI of 239, and offers a brightness of 400nit. Oh, and of course, it's touch-enabled so whatever your input preference, you're covered. On the inside, there's a dual-core 1.8Ghz Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and two SSD options -- 32GB or 64GB. If that's not enough, Google's ahead of you, and is throwing in 1TB of Drive storage with every Pixel for three years -- what it expects the life of the machine to be. You won't be basing your choice just on storage though, as the smaller capacity model is WiFi only, while the 64GB comes with Verizon LTE baked right in, and a choice of plans. As for the rest of the features, the Pixel also has a triple-microphone configuration -- with one under the keyboard -- which helps improve noise cancellation, including the rattle of your typing during excited hangouts. This is also where the speakers are hidden, so it will be interesting to see how those play nice together. Other features include an "HD" camera, a custom keyboard action for less finger-fatigue, and an enhanced smooth glass trackpad. As for ins and outs, there are two USB ports, a mini displayport, a mic / headphone jack and an SD card reader -- notably, no Ethernet. Wirelessly, you have WiFi a thru n and Bluetooth (plus that LTE if you opt in). Wondering what effect that display might have on the (59Wh) battery? Well Google claims its open-source test (available for criticism online) has rated the Pixel at five hours. If you want to get yourself some touchscreen Pixel action, you can order starting today from the Play store, or Best Buy starting tomorrow. The WiFi-only model will cost you $1,299, rising to $1,449 if you want some LTE (currently US / Verizon only). Not enough info for you right there? Why not head over to our minty-fresh hands-on. Update: The WiFi model is available now from the Google Play store and will be on Bestbuy.com starting tomorrow. You'll have to wait until April before you can order the LTE version.
WSJ: Google to sell touchscreen Chromebooks later this year
Citing sources "familiar with the matter," the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has developed the first Chromebooks with touchscreens. A firm launch date for the laptops is MIA, but the WSJ claims that they'll hit shelves later this year. If the notebooks do indeed pan out, Chromebook fans will finally get in on the touch-enabled action that Windows 8 hardware has been enjoying since last year.
