Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re a lover of ragdoll physics and tossing grandmothers down flights of stairs, you’re going to love the newest title announced for Tegra devices – Granny Smith. This game has been revealed by the same folks who brought you Sprinkle – a game Android Community had a look at several months ago, also on Tegra-toting Android smartphones and tablets. Now it’s time for some four – or eight – wheeled action down a few hills and through a few brick walls while we’re at it.

This game has Granny Smith chasing after a thief whose taken a bunch of her precious apples – and that’s no metaphor. This game has you, the granny herself, rolling around a bunch of cityscapes and farmland, offices and panes of glass after panes of glass to get where you’re going. You’ll have replay mode to make sure you see the sweetest crashes and fabulously realistic physics run by your NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor for all the fun you can handle. Have a peek at some value-added features in this Android game of madness, per the development team:

• Spectacular physics – Granny Smith uses some of the most advanced destruction physics in mobile games. Crash through crates and windows and watch the pieces fly all over!
• Dazzling visuals – Zoom through dozens of vibrant, whimsical worlds! Each level is like a fanciful, three-dimensional storybook.
• Intuitive controls – Help Granny pull off crazy moves with simple two-button controls – perfect for both tablets and phones.
• Vintage replays – Watch your best runs in retro movie style with cool camera angles and slow-motion effects!
• Power Granny up – Collect coins and equip Granny with a helmet, banana peels and baseballs. If Granny is getting old, you have two alternative characters to play with – Scruffy and Stanley!

Granny Smith comes with 36 hand crafted levels so you’ll never grow bored of smashing – and three different settings for each level are included as well. This game has been released just today to the NVIDIA TegraZone and the Google Play app store for your consumption – go grab it instantly for your Tegra 3 tablet or smartphone!

Granny Smith brings elderly roller-skating action to TegraZone for Android is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft’s Zune music service is definitely not going to bounce back with a vengeance at all, as Zune Pass subscribers have begun to receive word that the service’s Mixview playback as well as channel playlist features will no longer be in effect from August 31st onwards – leaving you with just slightly more than a day left to enjoy such features. Not only that, you can also bid adieu to music video streaming from the Zune desktop software.

As for user licenses that are connected to previously purchased music videos, those are being looked into at the moment, where user access to old content on new machines will be revoked. Users will also be unable to send or receive messages, invite friends or share their favorite songs, playlists as well as look into their play history. So much for “Welcome to the Social”, right? Zune HD apps will also be killed off at the end of the month, so you might want to take out your hankies and start blowing that horn if you ever had a soft spot for the Zune as well as its features and services.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Zune HD killed yet again, Microsoft: Zune players officially dead,

With one of its very first devices to work with Windows 8 right out of the box, HP brings the ENVY x2 – a “hybrid PC” otherwise known as a tablet with a keyboard dock. This device works as its own 11.6-inch touchscreen tablet and is able to dock magnetically with a keyboard that then turns it into a notebook computer. HP is making sure consumers do not lump it in with the mobile transforming tablet universe by calling the HP ENVY x2 a hybrid PC first and foremost.

This device uses its seamless magnetic latch to work as a perfectly solid notebook or as a tablet, both in one device. The device weighs in at 3.1 pounds with the keyboard attached or just 1.5 pounds with just the top half. This device has a 11.6-inch diagonal HD touch display for you to work with whilst entering the Windows 8 world this Fall.

You’ll be getting ultrawide viewing angles galore with this device’s 400nit IPS LCD panel that’ll have you working well both indoors and outdoors alike. You’ve also got an HD webcam on the front of the device above the display and an 8-megapixel camera on the back. Inside you’ll also find Beats Audio integration for high-quality sound delivery, and HP has shown off an optional stylus accessory you can purchase specifically for this unit as well.

The HP ENVY x2 has solid-state memory integrated within for both fast startup times and improved reliability, and you’ve got an NFC chip integrated in the tablet portion as well! With Near Field Communication technology you’ll be able to share content with devices around you with a single physical tap.

Inside you’ll be working with a collection of software that makes this HP device unique. With the HP Connected Photo application you’ll be able to connect your photos across multiple devices and sync them for editing from any device you’re working with. This app also works with instant-sharing abilities for several social networks as well. This HP machine also has HP Connected Music inside powered by Meridian – you’ll be able to download music, stream media, and work with internet radio as well.

The HP ENVY x2 will be appearing in the USA near the end of the year right in time for the holiday season. At the moment no pricing is available – check back soon!

HP ENVY x2 brings Windows 8 hybrid PC power is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The folks at HP have jumped in on the Windows 8 universe with a brand hew Ultrabook by the name of HP SpectreXT TouchSmart – complete with a touchscreen display. This device has a 15.6-inch IPS LCD screen working with multitouch and Radiance Full HD so you’re ready for awesome high definition media action. This device is also extremely portable at just 17.9mm thin and weighs in at just 4.77 pounds.

This Ultrabook has a lovely all-metal design with edge-to-edge glass across its display as well as Beats Audio inside so it looks good and sounds good as well. You’ve also got a soft-touch base for grip and comfort as well as a glass touchpad for so many controls that you’ll never be without!

HP brings this device to the market with its first ever implementation of Intel Thunderbolt technology for ultra-quick media transfer speeds. You’ll be able to transfer music, movies, and data of all sorts to external devices in a blink of an eye. With HP USB Boost technology you’ll also be able to charge devices with your USB ports even if the SpectreXP TouchSmart is powered off.

This device will be coming to the market with the latest Intel Core processors as well as Intel Smart Connect technology. Also included is Intel Identity Protection Technology as well as Intel Anti-Theft Technology and Intel Smart Response as well. All this comes on an mSATA solid-state drive, and you’ve got a large array of ports as well including HDMI out, USB 3.0, and Gigabit Ethernet as well.

HP has added HP CoolSense to this device for a “noticeably cooler PC”, their own HP Imagepad for ultra-precise gesture and multifinger navigation, and both HP Connected Photo and HP Connected Music for easy access and syncing of photos, music, and other media across multiple devices. You’ll be working with HP TrueVision HD Webcam technology as well as HP ProtectSmart – this for added hard-drive protection from the forces of evil.

This device comes with 90 days of HP SmartFriend Setup Service for easy setup and access to functions of all kinds for those who are new to the system. This device also comes with one year of Absolute Data Protect, two years of Norton Internet Security, and Intel Anti-Theft for good measure.

Right out of the box you’ll also have full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Adobe Premiere Elements 10. These applications will bring you fabulous photo- and video-editing capabilities that you’ll want never to be without!

The HP SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook will have a starting price of $1,399.99 USD and is expected to be arriving in the United States in December of this year. We’ll see it by the holidays, we hope!

HP SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook delivers Thunderbolt and Win8 touchscreen is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you thought laptop / tablet mashups were trendy, we can think of at least one other theme you’re going to see repeated ad nauseam over the coming months: PC makers putting touchscreens on things that didn’t used to have them. That’s right, in addition to all those funky-looking hybrids, you’re going to see lots of familiar-looking laptops get upgraded with touch in time for the Windows 8 launch. Exhibit A: HP, which just announced two conventional notebooks with touch. This includes a finger-friendly version of the 14-inch Envy 4 Ultrabook, as well as the Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, a 15-inch version of the Spectre XT announced earlier this year. Both will be available during the holiday season. That’s the short version, but if you follow past the break, we’ve got a lot to talk about in the way of specs. Join us, will you?

Continue reading HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, Envy 4 Ultrabook with touch

Filed under: Laptops

HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, Envy 4 Ultrabook with touch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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