Amazon offers another chance to pick up a white PlayStation Vita
Fancy a limited edition Crystal White PS Vita bundled with Assassin’s Creed III Liberation for just $180? Well, sorry old bean, but you’re too late. That particular deal ended ages ago and the Liberation bundle is now selling for ludicrously high prices (oh, the cruelty of it). But here’s something we didn’t expect: the rare white version of the handheld has just reappeared at Amazon as a not-so-limited standalone product priced at $200, i.e., the same money as the common black option. Aside from the color scheme, this is a traditional unit with an OLED display, rather than the Japanese LCD version that has better battery life. However, it’ll look great during these icy winter months and, by summer, it’ll bask in the warmth of Sony’s exciting new game streaming service, PlayStation Now.
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Sony
Via: Joystiq
Source: Amazon.com
Sony’s Life Space UX demo envisions projectors, screens everywhere
Among the announcements Sony dropped during Kaz Hirai’s CES keynote, the Life Space UX project seemed to be most outrageous, pushing an entirely new vision for projectors. We checked out the company’s CES demo booth and found out it actually goes even further than that. The prototype 4K Ultra Short Throw Projector shown on stage and in the demo is expected to cost between $30,000 – $40,000 when it launches later this year.
Similar to the pricey Cinema Beam projector released by LG last year, it can sit very close to a wall even in high-brightness settings and beam a large, clearly visible image. The combination of zoom lenses, three separate SXRD microdisplays and a laser diode light source make it powerful and sharp enough to put out a 147-inch 4K image that’s visible even with the lights on. Its low sleek design and modular setup (it splits apart to reveal speakers and cabinet space within) is made for flexibility and to be “harmonic” with the room when it’s off. Other prototypes in the demo (check out the gallery for a better look) included a projector placed in the lamp over a regular kitchen table for Surface-style interaction, a mirror that turned into a high-res, touchable display and ceiling projectors that shot upwards.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD
PlayStation Now streaming game service coming this summer
Sony has just taken the veil off PlayStation Now streaming service which will allow you to stream popular and classic games from their PS3 library. This will initially only be available for the PS3 and PS4, however it will soon come to the PS Vita as well.
You will be allowed to rent specific games or submit to a subscription service to explore many other games. PS Now will also sync across devices, which will allow you to pick up where you left off. The service is also coming to the 2014 Sony BRAVIA lineup and to other Internet-connected devices soon.
PS Now will begin a Beta program in the US at the end of January with an expected full roll-out in the US this summer.
Source: Sony
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Introducing the Best of CES 2014 finalists!
CES 2014 is only just officially beginning, but the show has already been an eventful one for us. To select finalists for the Best of CES Awards, Engadget’s senior editors have been pounding the pavement at the Las Vegas Convention Center to find top contenders for the 13 categories in the running, from best mobile devices to the coolest maker-friendly technology. Now, we’re happy to present our finalists. There’s some great stuff here — just head past the break to dive in. We’ll save our analysis of the biggest CES 2014 trends for another post, but suffice it to say that plenty of innovative tech is in store for us this coming year.
And we want to know your favorite new product, too. That’s why we’re opening up the People’s Choice category to our readers, giving you a chance to select your top choice from our pool of finalists. Head here to our poll; the product that receives the most votes will be honored in our winner’s ceremony tomorrow.
BEST STARTUP
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An MIT spin-off with 17 employees, FINsix has one of the smallest AC adapters on the market — we’re talking about four times smaller and six times lighter. Its 65W brick comes with a USB port in addition to a laptop plug, and a MacBook-compatible MagSafe version is in the works, too. |
This seven-person startup from Denmark is behind a wireless HDMI dongle that ports your computer screen to your TV, projector or monitor sans cables. Airtame’s raised almost 500 grand on Indiegogo, so they must be doing something right. |
BEST DIGITAL HEALTH & FITNESS PRODUCT
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We’ve seen plenty of activity trackers, yet LG’s Life Band Touch still manages to stand out for its smartwatch-style features. Its OLED display shows activity info such as calories burned, but it also pairs with your smartphone to notify you of incoming calls and texts. |
Essentially, it’s an activity tracker in bed form, with sensors built in to monitor your heart rate and sleeping habits. Best of all: a Partner Snore feature lets you raise your significant other’s headrest to (hopefully) quiet him or her down. |
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Like the Life Band Touch, the Nabu combines the features of an activity tracker and a smartwatch. Unlike LG’s device, though, this guy sports two OLED screens: a small one to display notification icons and a larger one to show you texts, emails and other more in-depth personal data. |
Jaybird Reign fitness wristband
Jaybird’s $199 Reign is more than just an activity tracker; it also tells you when it’s time to work out, or when your body could really use a rest. It pairs with an Android or iOS device via Bluetooth, offering up app-based checkups whenever you click. |
BEST AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS PRODUCT
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Bavarian Motor Works has taken accident-prevention to a new level. If you’re hydroplaning, for example, the system will bring the car back under control by braking individual wheels and adjusting steering — no driver input required. |
Corvette Performance Data Recorder
With Chevy’s system, your route, speed and a slew of other stats are superimposed on a Bing map on the in-dash display. Oh, and audio and video recording let you evaluate your racing chops — or simply make a badass YouTube compilation. |
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How lucky are we to live in a world where you can jump-start your car with a tiny (think hardcover-sized) power pack? The JumPack has enough power to give your auto a few jumps, and a USB port lets you charge up your gadgets as well. Not a bad value for $130. |
Hyundai’s in-car tech lets you remotely unlock your vehicle, navigate via both specific locations and general search terms and more, with Verizon providing the cell signal. One downside: it’ll cost you $100 per year for navigation services. |
BEST AUDIO PRODUCT
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Meet the Vertu of PMPs. Sure, it’s pretty much the definition of “aspirational,” but the AK240 is the quintessential media player for the serious (and loaded) audiophile. |
It’s one of the best-looking soundbars we’ve seen to date, and it has a 3D Blu-ray player built in. Need we say more? |
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It can’t compete with LG’s option on the Blu-ray player front, but Samsung’s HW-H600 is pretty much the sleekest soundbar ever. |
ClearView Clio
ClearView got literal with the Clio, creating a speaker that’s completely see-through. Its near-invisible design is classy, and the speaker’s tech allows sound waves to disperse evenly across a room. |
BEST VIDEO PRODUCT
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It’s a smart TV app meant to replace your set-top box; provided you buy select LG smart TVs, you’ll be able to watch live TV and DVR content without any extra hardware. |
Sharp Aquos Quattron +
Sharp’s new Aquos Quattron+ line includes sets from 60 to 80 inches, all of which include Active 3D tech and the company’s new Revelation technology for higher picture quality. The biggest draw: It starts at $3,000, much lower than the company’s 4K products. |
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LG’s 77-inch OLED beauty morphs between flat-screen and curved modes with the press of a button. We don’t want to even guess the price, but a future filled with flexible living-room sets is certainly enticing. |
This 78-inch curved TV packs an impressive feature set: it’s UHD, outfitted with a quad-core core processor to support the hi-def visuals and it supports gesture controls for switching channels and adjusting volume. |
BEST SOFTWARE
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LG’s ported webOS to the big screen, and what a good idea that was. The UI puts content front and center, with discovery options and Hulu and Roku integration on board. |
Game-streaming services have disappointed in the past, but PlayStation Now looks to be a step in a new direction. Playing The Last of Us on the Vita ran without a hitch, and we can’t wait to try Now out on mobile devices. |
BEST EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
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Oculus Rift ‘Crystal Cove’ prototype
How’s this for emerging technology? Take an OLED headset, add an external camera and improved depth perception, and you have the most immersive gaming experience to date. Playing EVE Valkyrie, we could lean forward to read text on cockpit controls. VR gaming is suddenly a full-body experience. |
Wearables are here to stay, and Intel has the guts to power them. Edison is a mini-computer with built-in WiFi and its own app store. The company even has a small collection of “Nursery 2.0″ devices on hand at CES to demonstrate the possibilities. |
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Here’s another take on next-gen headsets: gear that projects images directly onto your retina. It’s less for gamers and more for movie-watching — it even has a fancy pair of headphones built in. |
BEST MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
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Samsung’s largest Android-powered tablet to date sports productivity features to make the best of the 12.2-inch screen, including a four-window view and remote PC access. We’re also fans of the new Magazine UX, which divides your screen into three customizable panels. |
It’s Lenovo’s second 8-inch Windows tablet, and it’s definitely a winner, thanks to a brilliant display, a well-made aluminum body and a capable quad-core processor. |
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Unlike most “mini” phones, the Xperia Z1 Compact isn’t a watered-down version of a flagship handset. Like the original Z1, it offers a 20.7-megapixel camera and waterproofing. We hope other phone makers follow suit and stop killing the high-end specs on iterative products. |
BEST GAMING PRODUCT
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2014 is the year when Steam Machines go viral, at least for PC makers like Gigabyte and Origin PC. It’s a sure sign the gaming machines will take off this year. |
It’s a contender in software, but it’s obviously set to revolutionize gaming as well. PlayStation Now eliminates the need for a dedicated gaming console, bringing the titles you want to almost any device you have. |
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Oculus Rift ‘Crystal Cove’ prototype
The Oculus Rift is a completely new gaming experience, with a bevy of sensors on board to bring you into the world of the title you’re playing. It’s something you really have to try to understand — and we can’t wait until it hits the market. |
Project Christine even looks like the future; the modular-computing prototype consists of pods that can be used in several setups depending on your gaming needs. It’s customization 3.0. |
BEST OFFBEAT PRODUCT
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Creepy? Yes. Useful? Yes. The Mother looks like a cross between a Russian doll and a demonic bowling pin, but it’s meant to make your life easier with associated sensors that monitor your home, your child or your pet, for example. |
It can’t fly, but it can jump more than two feet in the air, and that’s an awesome party trick if you ask us. The Sumo is controlled by your smartphone or tablet, though it currently only supports Apple devices. |
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Most of us can agree that on-screen keyboards will never be as good as the real thing. Dock your phone into the TrewGrip’s curved, grippable body, and you have a set of hardware keys in the familiar QWERTY layout. |
BEST KID-FRIENDLY PRODUCT
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Fuhu partnered with DreamWorks to make an Android tablet with original art-focused apps. The included stylus works with built-in software to teach kids how to draw Kung Fu Panda and other familiar characters. |
The Kolibree toothbrush lets your little ones know how well they’re cleaning those pearly whites. You’ll even get stats like stroke count — and an evaluation of how well teeth have been cleaned — on your smartphone. |
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Intel had us at “smart baby onesie.” Intriguing idea aside, the practicality is undeniable. Parents can monitor their babies’ body position, activity level and temperature via a smartphone app. |
BEST MAKER-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY
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It’s the chance to print yourself and the ones you love in edible, sugary form. Enough said! |
The latest version of MakerBot’s desktop 3D printer is faster than ever before, and a new “Smart Extruder” alerts you when you need more material. |
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The iSense is a 3D scanner that clips onto your iPad — a welcome product for DIY types who couldn’t use the Windows-only Sense. |
BEST PC
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This modular setup may be a look at the future of gaming, but it’s also a beautiful piece of hardware that could find a place in next-gen customizable computing. |
Samsung updated its already-excellent ATIV Book 9 to include lossless audio and a higher-res screen. For those reasons alone, this Ultrabook is at the top of our list. |
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Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 (2014)
With an “adaptive” keyboard that includes context-specific controls and up to a 2,560 x 1,400 display, Lenovo’s business Ultrabook is looking better than ever. |
LG brings ChromeOS to the desktop in a sleek, but simple 21.5-inch package. We imagine it finding a comfy place on your kitchen counter, for following along with recipes or streaming some Netflix while you cook. |
Filed under: Announcements, Samsung, Sony, LG, Intel, Lenovo
T-Mobile to launch Sony Xperia Z1S, LG F3Q on January 22 – leak
Sony’s latest smartphone bound for the United States, the T-Mobile Xperia Z1S will touch down on January 22. At least that’s what TmoNews is saying today. The smaller, yet equally powerful Sony handset will be exclusive to T-Mobile. Key specifications for the waterproof phone include a 5-inch 1080p HD display, a 20.7-megapixel camera, Snapdragon 800 processor, and 32GB storage.
The QWERTY-packin’ LG F3Q smartphone from T-Mobile is also expected to arrive on January 22, according to the same report. Likely a low-end hardware experience, the device should offer users a screen of around 4-inches. Other specifications being tossed around include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, so nothing too powerful. With that, obviously, should come a rock bottom price. Here’s hoping to something around $250 outright, or less.
The post T-Mobile to launch Sony Xperia Z1S, LG F3Q on January 22 – leak appeared first on AndroidGuys.
CES 2014, Day 2: Five signs you’re at the biggest tech show on Earth
It’s easy to lose track of yourself in a city as busy as Las Vegas. Between the iconic Strip, the historic downtown casinos and the international trade shows, folks have a habit of waking up without a solid sense of location. We understand, and we’re here to help. It just happens to be the second day of CES. Take a deep breath; take a careful look at your surroundings; and see if any of the following five stories sound familiar. If so, there’s a good chance you’ve been doing the trade show shuffle at the Las Vegas Convention Center. If not, well, then you just got fed Engadget’s top five stories of CES 2014, day two. Really, it’s win-win.
Sony’s Kaz Hirai and the recipe for a CES keynote
It’s not a real trade show until industry bigwigs take the stage and run through the keynote formula. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai was certainly up to the challenge, kicking off the morning by looking back at Sony’s successes and failures, chatting with Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan and Sony Pictures’ Michael Lynton about the evolution of TV and trumpeting the PlayStation 4′s multimillion-unit sales figures. No keynote is complete without announcements, however, and Sony had plenty. In addition to proposing a Life Space UX projector that promises to turn your home’s walls into 4K displays, Kaz revealed two new cloud services designed to stream television content and PlayStation games over the internet, finally delivering on the company’s 2012 Gaikai acquisition.
Oculus goes deeper into the Rift
Palmer Luckey’s virtual reality headset impressed us as a low-resolution prototype. It blew our minds again when Oculus VR upgraded it with an HD display. Now, the company has taken it a step further, building yet another prototype with an even better screen, less motion blur and positional-tracking technology. With the help of John Carmack (the mind behind PC classics like Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein 3D), the company is creating virtual experiences that are more realistic than ever. The latest headset, called the Crystal Cove Prototype, may not be representative of what a final consumer model will look like, but Oculus VR is clearly pushing the envelope in terms of virtual reality hardware.
Razer reinvents the desktop PC
Thought you knew how to build a gaming PC? Think again. Razer has traded in the desktop PC’s usual configuration of motherboards, PCI-E cards and RAM chips for a tower of modular pods, each outfitted with a specific hardware component that can be swapped in and out on the fly. The strange-looking computer tower is called Project Christine, and it’s Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan’s attempt at making building your own computer a simpler, more user-friendly affair. To the PC gamers that habitually assemble their own rigs out of off-the-shelf parts, Christine could seem like an unnecessary stroll into a walled garden, but newbies wading into the category via Valve’s Steam Machine initiative could find Razer’s latest project to be an accessible alternative.
Audi unveils a sports car with laser-powered headlights
If you’re thinking of picking up a high-end hybrid, you may want to take a look at Audi’s CES offerings. Today the company revealed its Sport Quattro Laserlight for the first time, a hybrid electric concept car with, you guessed it, lasers headlights built in. These beams promise to shine brightly across five football fields of darkness, and their casing is nothing to laugh at either — the vehicle boasts an impressive 700 horsepower electric and gas engine that can run 90 miles on a single gallon. It’s not too hard on the eyes, either.
Scanadu’s Scout tricorder is finally complete
Looking for a futuristic gadget? How about a real, functioning tricorder? The Scanadu Scout is the culmination of big dreams, massive crowdfunding and an X-prize competition to create one of Gene Roddenberry’s fictional scanning devices. This isn’t Spock’s clunky scanner, however; it’s a sleek, lightweight medical device that fits in the palm of your hand. Backers will be able to check their vitals this March, but we’re just excited to see this piece of science fiction technology materialize in the real world.
Kazuo Hirai on unifying Sony through Ultra HD and PlayStation Now (video)
Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai left the theatrics at home during his opening day keynote this morning, instead choosing to focus on the company’s vision of the future and his push to unify its disparate divisions. Since he took the reins last year, he’s been preaching a unified approach, something he calls “One Sony.” That approach manifested itself in a collaborative effort to push 4K content, distribution and devices, and, as of today, a new service called PlayStation Now. That service will allow users to stream PlayStation content to gaming devices, tablets, smartphones and Bravia TVs. We met up with Hirai at Sony’s CES booth where he told us to expect more collaboration in the future and, eventually, PlayStation Now on iOS, Android and beyond. For more of Hirai’s plans for the future of Sony, check out our interview after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Displays, Gaming, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Mobile, Sony
PlayStation Now actually works! (hands-on)
You’ll excuse us if we didn’t expect PlayStation Now to work so well. It’s a game streaming service, and the history of game streaming services is littered with dead bodies. When Sony spent an unbelievable $380 million on Gaikai, it seemed impossible that the service could ever live up to that incredible sum. While PlayStation Now may not live up to that massive payout, it does, in fact, work. And it works really well.
We got our hands on PlayStation Now today at a CES 2014 PlayStation event, where we tried God of War: Ascension on a Bravia TV (without a PS3) and The Last of Us on a Vita. Both games played like there was a local PlayStation 3 (including the incredibly long initial load for The Last of Us) and ran without a hitch. There was zero perceptible lag in our (admittedly brief) playtime, and we suspect that the internet Sony’s using is of the very strong variety.
The service is set to launch later this month in closed beta, and later this summer on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Vita. As for mobile devices and Bravia support, that’s expected by years end. Given the relative earliness of PlayStation Now, the UI we saw was non-final (and looked like little more than placeholder art). The same goes for the list of supported titles via streaming — the service will launch with a variety of “marquee PS3 games,” though nothing’s set in stone thus far. We expect the God of Wars and Gran Turismos of the world will be there on day one, but only time will tell.
Beyond full games, there’ll be rental and demo options available through PlayStation Now. But again, none of this is final, and only one facet of PlayStation Now was available for testing here at CES. What we did see was impressive and fulfilled the promises Sony’s made when it comes to game streaming, but there’s a long way to go before PlayStation Now launches this summer.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Sony President Mike Fasulo
Mike Fasulo hasn’t been in his position for long, but Sony’s new president/COO knows a thing or two about consumer electronics, having previously served as the company’s CMO/VP. We’ll grill him on what the company is offering up year — or at least as much as we can fit into half an hour.
Follow all the latest CES 2014 news at our event hub, and check out our full stage schedule here.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Laptops, Tablets, Wearables, HD, Mobile, Sony
Sony debuts Xperia Smartwear
Sony is officially in the game of wearable tech with the debut of the Xperia Smartwear which records your activities throughout the day. Now I said “activities” because this is much more than just another fitness band that counts steps and calorie output. However, it’s not quite a smart watch such as the Qualcomm Toq.
Smartwear gently vibrates on your wrist when you receive a notification or a call, but the really cool feature is the bookmark feature. With the simple press of a button on the wristband, Smartwear will record everything that is happening at that moment. For example, you’re out with friends at a restaurant or you hear something on Pandora, it will record that moment in time for future reference. It also comes in a plethora of colors to choose from!
There is no set price or date of availability, but Sony promises something soon!
Features of Sony SmartBand
- Lifelog app can see if you’ve been walking, running, cycling or travelling by train – and how you’ve slept.
- Look ahead in time to see just how much more you need to cycle to achieve your daily activity goal.
- Helps to track weather and alert the user
- Bookmark your special moments by pressing the Life Bookmark key.
- Press the Life Bookmark key on your SmartBand and everything going on at that moment will be caught and remembered forever.
- Waterproof
- Removable Core unit and a stylish and comfortable wrist band
- Sony fastening button and LEDs
- Vibrates when a call, message or other notification comes in
- Play, pause and skip tracks using your SmartBand
- Battery performance of up to 5 days.
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AIVAnet 