Posts tagged features

Darkworks shows off TriOviz for Games 2D-to-3D SDK, we get a good look

Mar 12th

Darkworks introduced its TriOviz for Games SDK yesterday during GDC, and while TriOviz technology has been around for years in Hollywood, it wasn't until today that this same technology debuted for console and PC titles. Essentially, this software wrapper enables standard 2D video games to be viewed in 3D on a traditional 2D display, and we were able to sneak an exclusive look at the technology today at the company's meeting room. We were shown a European version of Batman: Arkham Asylum on Microsoft's Xbox 360, and we were given a set of specialized glasses (which were passive, unlike NVIDIA's active-shutter 3D Vision specs) in order to enjoy the effect. So, how was it? In a word or two, not bad. It obviously wasn't perfect, but you have to realize just how cheap of a solution this is for the consumer to implement. All that's required is a set of special glasses, but given that these can be distributed in paper-frames form, you could easily find a set for a couple of bucks (at most), if not bundled in for free with future games. Users won't need to purchase any additional hardware whatsoever, and what they'll get is a deeper, more immersive image in return.

We could very clearly see the 3D effect, and even though it was subtle, it definitely enhanced our experience. We noticed a minor bit of blurring and ghosting during just a few scenes, but when you consider that this doesn't actually change the underlying code in existing 2D games (that's the cue for developers to breathe a sigh of relief), we didn't feel that these minor quirks were unreasonable. The other interesting aspect is just how clear the image remained for onlookers that didn't have 3D glasses on; we noticed slight image doubling at specific points, but it's not something we simply couldn't look at without acquiring a headache.

More after the break...

Continue reading Darkworks shows off TriOviz for Games 2D-to-3D SDK, we get a good look

Darkworks shows off TriOviz for Games 2D-to-3D SDK, we get a good look originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3d, 3d gaming, 3dGaming, batman, Darkworks, exclusive, featured, features, gdc, gdc 2010, Gdc2010, microsoft, playstation 3, Playstation3, sdk, sony, stereoscopic, trioviz, TriOviz for games, TriovizForGames, xbox 360, Xbox360

Ask Engadget: Best (useful) WiFi network detector?

Mar 12th

Posted by Darren Murph in Gadgets

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Mitchell, who couldn't care less if you have a problem with his question. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I just got a new laptop and am looking for a WiFi detector. The catch is that I want one that will tell me if the network it is detecting is open or not. I can't fathom the point of one that doesn't tell you that information. If posted, this will probably generate a lot of snark, but whatever, I just want to be able to find open networks!"

You know, we appreciate the honesty here. And we totally feel you. If anyone out there has found a fantastically useful WiFi detector, throw your recommendation(s) in comments below!

Ask Engadget: Best (useful) WiFi network detector? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ask, Ask Engadget, AskEngadget, feature, featured, features, Internet, wifi, wifi detector, WifiDetector, wireless, WLAN

Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review

Mar 11th

Posted by Tim Stevens in Gadgets

Opera's Mini 5 beta finally hit Android in the wee hours of this morning and, while writing about what it looks like is nice, we thought a little walk-through to demonstrate the impressive speed of the thing was worthwhile. So we have a short video for you below, with a comparison against the stock Android browser, plus some impressions of just how it is to use. So, click on through, won't you?

Continue reading Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review

Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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android, browser, feature, featured, features, mini review, MiniReview, mobile browser, MobileBrowser, opera, opera mini, opera mini 5, opera mini 5 beta, OperaMini, OperaMini5, OperaMini5Beta, review

HTC Legend review

Mar 10th

Posted by Richard Lai in Gadgets

After ~~four~~ three flavors of the HTC Hero, the Taiwanese mobile giant has finally brought back the chin with an additional lick of aluminum and a similarly quirky name -- the Legend. If this alone isn't of much interest to you yet, just bear in mind that this is HTC's first Android 2.1 device with Sense UI. It didn't take much for us to fall in love with this Android phone at MWC -- HTC convinced us of its unibody toughness by banging it against the wall, and needless to say, the vibrant AMOLED screen caught our eyes, too. However, there are still some questions to be answered before we can decide whether the Legend lives up to its name, especially on battery life, wireless reception, camera quality and software performance. Unless there have been major tweaks, we'll try not to bore you with features already seen on the Hero -- so please, won't you join us?

Gallery: HTC Legend review

Continue reading HTC Legend review

HTC Legend review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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amoled, android, android 2.1, Android2.1, cellphone, featured, features, htc, htc legend, htc sense, htc sense ui, HtcLegend, HtcSense, HtcSenseUi, leap, legend, mobile phone, MobilePhone, phone, review, sense, sense ui, SenseUi, smartphone

Seven45 Studios talks Power Gig details, we go hands-on with its six string guitar peripheral

Mar 10th

Posted by Darren Murph in Gadgets

We'll just come right out and say it: Guitar Hero and Rock Band should watch their back, 'cause there's a better-than-decent chance that Power Gig will be all the rage this holiday season. Seven45 Studios is a heretofore unheard of upstart with roots in First Act, and unlike the vast majority of game developers, these guys actually have a direct hand in the production of the software and hardware associated with this package. They'll be designing the Power Gig video game series (Rise of the SixString is only the first installment) as well as the guitars, drums and microphones in-house, and given the First Act roots, you know you'll be getting instruments of higher quality than what's on the market today. Oh, and yes, we didn't misspeak when we pluralized "guitars" and mentioned those other two devices.

We had a sit down with the team today at GDC, and besides coming away impressed with the alpha build of the game and the prototype axes we saw, we also learned quite a bit more about their plans than what was revealed in this morning's press release. Just to be exceptionally clear, Seven45 Studios will not only sell their upcoming title as a standalone product, but it will sell a "band bundle" that includes the game, a guitar (plus a strap, picks and an extra set of strings), a drum set and a microphone, the latter two of which are still very early in production and weren't available for us to test. The beat matching setup that gamers have grown used to in Rock Band and Guitar Hero is still there, but most everything else is new; a "chording" addition will allow users to strum actual power chords that match the chords used in the song, giving newbies the ability to actually learn songs as they play the game if they want to. In other words, if users strum the same chords required to succeed in the game but through an amp, they'll be playing the actual song; if you'd rather not learn, you need not have any clue how to play a guitar to enjoy the game. Speaking of which, the bundled guitar (along with extra guitars that are still being sorted in terms of size, material and color) doubles as a legitimate six string by simply depressing the dampening pad beneath the neck, and while it won't match the crisp tone emitted from your Les Paul Custom, the prototype we heard here in San Francisco sounded just fine for a beginner's instrument. We also learned that existing Rock Band and Guitar Hero guitars will work with the Power Gig titles, and Seven45's guitars will work with existing music band games -- not bad!

More after the break...

Gallery: Seven45 Studios Power Gig guitar hands-on

Continue reading Seven45 Studios talks Power Gig details, we go hands-on with its six string guitar peripheral

Seven45 Studios talks Power Gig details, we go hands-on with its six string guitar peripheral originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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accessory, axe, controller, feature, featured, features, first act, FirstAct, guitar, hands-on, microsoft, music game, MusicGame, peripheral, playstation 3, Playstation3, Power Gig, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, PowerGig, PowerGig:RiseOfTheSixstring, seven45, seven45 studios, Seven45Studios, sony, xbox 360, Xbox360

Motorola HS1001 cordless Android phone hands-on

Mar 3rd

Posted by Joanna Stern in Gadgets

Well this is a bit different -- it looks as if the big M is looking to put a little Android (v1.6, if you must know) in the home with this DECT 6.0 phone. Though the device is made by Binatone, the Hong Kong-based company will be selling a $150 Motorola branded version of its cordless phone in the US come this summer. While this isn't the first time we've seen an Android desk phone, this particular one packs WiFi so you can use the 2.8-inch touch display on its back to not only dial up mom, but also surf the web or check email. We did ask if you could make Skype calls on WiFi, but the app won't be preloaded and the phone won't have Marketplace support. That's not to say it doesn't have some intriguing tricks up its sleeve, though -- we were duly impressed with the speaker-equipped charging station, which enables it to blast out your favorite jams from the 70s while docked. It's no Droid or Devour, but it may not be a bad home calling option if you just can't cut ties with your landline. We've got some more pictures in the gallery below as well as some shots of Binatone's future Android tablet, so go on, indulge.

Gallery: Binatone / Motorola Android Home phone hands-on

Motorola HS1001 cordless Android phone hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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android, android 1.6, Android Home Phone, Android1.6, AndroidHomePhone, binatone, Binatone Android Home phone, BinatoneAndroidHomePhone, cebit, cebit 2010, Cebit2010, feature, featured, features, google, hands-on, home phone, HomePhone, landline, phone, telephone

Smartphone GPS shootout: Google, Ovi, and Verizon go head-to-head

Feb 25th

Posted by Tim Stevens in Blackberry

It wasn't long ago that getting somewhere required a map on paper. You know, something you bought or that came groaning out of your tired old printer. GPS navigation units made those maps obsolete, but now they too are under threat. With smartphones invading pockets everywhere it's no surprise that their next assault would be on the dashboard, early volleys shaking up financial markets worldwide. That was just the beginning of a shock and awe campaign that will leave no automotive interior untouched -- and hopefully no driver unsure how many miles until the next Dunkin' Donuts. Google Navigation was the first to really shake things up, while Nokia's Ovi Maps is a more recent addition to the battlefield and the latest VZ Navigator, 5.0, lets Windows Mobile and BlackBerry users join the fray. We've taken this sampling of the best built-in smartphone navigation options (the set of paid add-on options for iPhone is a beast we'll be taming later), learning which you should trust to get you to where you're going and to dodge construction and traffic on the way there. Read on for a turn-by-turn exploration of each option's highs and lows.

Gallery: Smartphone navigation

Continue reading Smartphone GPS shootout: Google, Ovi, and Verizon go head-to-head

Smartphone GPS shootout: Google, Ovi, and Verizon go head-to-head originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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android, feature, featured, features, google android, google maps, google nav, google navigation, GoogleAndroid, GoogleMaps, GoogleNav, GoogleNavigation, gps, mobile navigation, MobileNavigation, n97 mini, N97Mini, nokia, nokia n97 mini, nokia ovi maps, NokiaN97Mini, NokiaOviMaps, ovi maps, OviMaps, review, verizon, verizon wireless, VerizonWireless, vz navigator, VzNavigator

Sherwood’s internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review

Feb 17th

Posted by Tim Stevens in Gadgets

Sherwood's internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review

Why have two gadgets when you can have one that does two things? The answer, of course, is when that one thing doesn't do either of its two tasks well -- the Jack of All Trades Syndrome. When Sherwood told us last year it was making a receiver that had built-in network playback capabilities, meaning we could ditch our media streamers (tiny though they may be), we were naturally stoked. Many months on we've finally had a chance to put one through its paces and, if you click through, you can read our impressions of this slim and uniquely styled audio/video receiver -- and find out why we'll be reluctantly hooking our dedicated streamers back up.

Gallery: Sherwood R-904N NetBoxx receiver

Continue reading Sherwood's internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review

Sherwood's internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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7.1 channel, 7.1Channel, av receiver, AvReceiver, feature, featured, features, media streamer, MediaStreamer, netboxx, playon, R-904N, receiver, review, sherwood, sherwood R-904N, sherwood R-904N netboxx, SherwoodR-904n, SherwoodR-904nNetboxx, surround sound, SurroundSound, vunow

Notion Ink Adam hands-on (with video) at MWC 2010

Feb 16th

Posted by Laura June in Gadgets

We got a few minutes today to check out the latest build on Notion Ink's Adam prototype that we first saw back at CES. Like we heard a week or so ago, there will indeed be two versions of the Adam -- one which will be 12.9 mm thick and boast the Pixel Qi 3Qi e-paper screen, and another, thinner, non-Pixel Qi screen. The thinner, lighter version will measure in at 11.6 mm thick. As far as we know, the only difference in the two Tegra-powered Adams will be the display, and we also hear they are shooting for a third quarter of 2010 launch. The prototype on hand at MWC was not working, so one of the Adam's developers was kind enough to shoot a demo video of a working unit for us (and its Flash support) -- which is after the break.

Gallery: Notion Ink Adam hands-on

Continue reading Notion Ink Adam hands-on (with video) at MWC 2010

Notion Ink Adam hands-on (with video) at MWC 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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adam, feature, featured, features, hands-on, HandsOn, MWC, mwc 2010, MWC 2010 video, Mwc2010, Mwc2010Video, notion ink, NotionInk, nvidia, pixel qi, PixelQi

Samsung Wave first hands-on: Bada-packed and super fast (video!)

Feb 14th

Posted by Joshua Topolsky in Gadgets

Well, we just had our first encounter with Samsung's new Bada-sporting Wave handset. We'll say this to start... the screen is gorgeous, and the phone itself is super fast. No hesitation almost anywhere, but it's hard to make a judgment call at this point. A lot of the software seemed unfinished, and we saw a few crashes and weird behavior. Still, it's clearly a device capable of handling some pretty intense work, and a Samsung rep we spoke to wanted to emphasize its ability to multitask. We were also told that the phone has more than 512MB of RAM, which is notable for a device of this type. We're going to play with it a bit more and flesh out our impressions, but for now feast your eyes on the gallery... and check the video after the break!

A few more takeaways (with some input from senior editor Thomas Ricker):

Overall the device feels like a glorified feature phone, and speaking to some other tech folks here, that feeling seemed to be common. There just doesn't seem to be a lot to it that we haven't seen in other Samsung devices, especially considering the TouchWiz integration.
There was an issue with flipping the keyboard from portrait to landscape -- as we said the phone is early, so this may change, but we had to leave an app and reopen in the other orientation to get it working. We also noticed that there doesn't seem to be word prediction in place right now.
The browser is redirecting to WAP pages, so it was hard to see what the results were. We also thought the buttons were in a very odd place, making it a bit hard to navigate.
The display wasn't always responding to touches, and at least one unit completely froze on us.
For those asking, from the looks of things (and the press release) ~~there is no multitouch on this device.~~ Correction... we just tried pinching and zooming on the phone and while it did create some kind of zoom result, it also kept giving us an error! Furthermore, when we tried to load an image heavy site, it forced the phone into its task manager mode and made us close all applications before we could proceed with using the phone. Clearly there is work to be done.

Gallery: Samsung Wave first hands-on