You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
A-Data has introduced a new wireless storage reader and power bank to its range called the DashDrive Air AE400. Measuring L80mm x W59mm x H21mm and weighing 128g, this multifunction device is equipped with a micro-USB charging port, a USB port (for reading USB flash drive or portable HDD), an SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot, a built-in Li-Polymer 5000mAh rechargeable battery (can be functioned as a power bank for charging mobile devices) and built-in WiFi connectivity. Pricing info is still unknown at the moment. [A-Data]
Most people know that dolphins are pretty freaking smart. But how smart? Well scientists are now saying that bottlenose dolphins call out the specific names of loved ones when they become separated from each other. Aww. Dolphins, they’re just like us! More »
Mobile World Congress is just a few days away, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung from pulling back the curtain on TV Discovery: a new service that lets users search for and watch live TV, on-demand video and even online content from outfits such as YouTube. The platform, which will work on Samsung’s mobile devices and Smart TVs, serves up recommendations and even hones its ability to gauge your interest in programs the more often its used. When loaded on a tablet or smartphone, TV Discovery can act as a universal remote control, slinging commands to cable and satellite boxes, Blu-Ray players, home stereos and more.
Of course, if you’re feeling social, the solution will also let you share what you’re watching with others and check up on your friend’s TV-viewing habits. Netflix and Blockbuster will be on tap for the platform in the US, while Europe will have access to Acetrax, Wuaki, MovieMax, FilmIn, Chili, Pathé and SF Anytime. TV Discovery will hit all of the firm’s 2013 Smart TVs in the US, Korea and 12 European countries — including France, Germany, Italy and the UK — during the first quarter of this year. Slates and smartphones in those countries, however, will see nab the experience during Q2.
Axiomtek has once again expanded its line of ATX motherboards, the IMB204. Based on Intel B75 Express Chipset, the board supports for Intel LGA1155 processors and features four DDR3 DIMM memory slots (up to 32GB RAM), one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot, one PCI-Express 2.0 x4 slot, one PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slot and four PCI slots. Connectivity-wise, it has one SATA 6.0 Gbps, five SATA 3.0 Gbps, twelve USB 2.0 and two Gigabit Ethernet. The IMB204 will start shipping from early March for unannounced price yet. [Axiomtek]
The Storm Still Tower XE3 is the latest desktop PC from Storm System Technology that sports a 3.20GHz Intel Xeon E3-1225V2 processor, an Intel C204 chipset, an Intel HD graphics, a 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 60GB SSD (Intel 330 Series), a Blu-ray drive, a 650W 80PLUS BRONZE power supply and runs on either Windows 7 or 8 OS. The Storm Still Tower XE3 is priced at 99,750 Yen (about $1,063). [Product Page]
NVIDIA hits back by unveiling their newest graphics card, the GeForce GTX Titan. Powered by a 28nm GK110 GPU (world’s fastest GPU), the card sports 2,688 CUDA Cores, a 384-bit memory interface, a core clock of 837MHz (876MHz Boost Clock) and a 6GB of GDDR5 memory set @ 6008MHz, and features 1x dual-link DVI-I, 1x dual-link DVI-D, 1x HDMI and 1x DisplayPort outputs. The GeForce GTX Titan will be available starting from February 25th for around $999. [Product Page]
The Sony PlayStation 4 press conference has just wrapped up and with it a plethora of huge, and great news for the upcoming game console. Sony stated that the PlayStation 4 will inspire the next generation of gamers, and that the living room is no longer the center of the PlayStation universe. With the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Network, everything will center around the gamer.
The PlayStation 4 has been confirmed. It will have 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, an x86 CPU, an enhanced PC GPU, a local storage hard drive, a feature a supercharged PC architecture. Sony says the new PS4 will represent a “significant shift from thinking of PlayStation as merely a box or a console.” The PS4 will be a “gamer-centric” system, made by game developers for game developers. The gamer is in charge.
The new Dual Shock 4 controller revealed at the event gives players more in-depth control when they’re playing their games. It features a touchpad on the front that allows players to do many things, like control the player’s camera during cinegraphic events. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack for connection to products that will improve social gameplay, and a “share” button that lets you live-broadcast your gameplay to your friends on the PSN network.
The “share” button also lets you share games with your friends, meaning if you’re having a tough time in your game, you can invite a friend to help you out. Along with the “share” button feature, there is also a feature called “Remote Play” that lets you share games with others, or lets you play games from your PlayStation Vita device. If there are distractions in your general area, you can pause your game and switch on over to your PS Vita. You’ll start right where you left off.
The sharing feature is all part of Sony’s 5 key principles for the PlayStation 4′s UI. The principles are: Simple, Immediate, Social, Integrated, and Personalized. Sony’s new user interface emphasizes simplicity and speed, with everything you need to do only being a “button click away”. The user interface also emphasizes social gameplay, with Sony’s goal for the PlayStation Network to be one of the most powerful social gaming networks around.
While the PlayStation 4 won’t natively have backwards compatibility with PlayStation 3 games, it will definitely have it through the Gaikai cloud-gaming service. Sony and Gaikai are working together to bring a revolution to cloud gaming. Sony says that Gaikai is an investment in its players, and that millions of players would love to have all of their PlayStation games, from the past, present, and future, be available to them at any time. All of the old PlayStation games, from PlayStation 1 to PlayStation 3, and even the PlayStation Portable games, will be available in Gaikai’s cloud storage in the future. Not only will you be able to play these games on the PS4, but you will also be able to play it on your PS Vita, smartphone, tablet, and even PC.
Besides all of the new features and hardware shown off at the event, Sony also invited a lot of its partners on stage to show some of the new games you can expect on the PlayStation 4. There was Killzone Shadowfall, which looks absolutely beautiful in terms of graphics, and is complimented with intense gameplay, both of which will fully utilize the PlayStation 4′s hardware. Knack, which is a graphic’s intense game, blurs the line between story-line and gameplay. DRIVE CLUB, a team-based racing game, is filled with extremely detailed sports cars and challenged-filled tracks for all of you car-fanatics. InFamous: Second Son, an action-packed game filled with lots of killing and special abilities, is sure to bring back fans of the franchise as well as bring in a whole new audience.
Capcom showed off its new Panta Rhei game engine, which includes very detailed faces and realistic scenery, all of which will be utilized in its upcoming game, Deep Down. Square Enix showed off its next-gen technology that blurs the line between cinematics and gameplay. Blizzard announced its partnership with Sony, and that it will be bringing Diablo 3 and more games to the PS4. Last, but not least, Activision and Bungie show off Destiny, it’s new multiplayer, shared-shooter that will be available for the PS4 in the future.
While the PlayStation 4 event was jam-packed with new and exciting information, it was still disappointing that we didn’t actually get a look at what the PlayStation 4 will look like. However, from all of the features that we learned about, and all of the games we previewed, the PS4 looks to be an amazing and promising console.
PlayStation 4 event wrap-up: Everything you need to know is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
OCZ is proud to announce a new line of SSDs, the Vertex 3.20. Coming in 120GB and 240GB sizes, these high-performance 2.5-inch SSDs are equipped with 20nm MLC NAND Flash memory chips, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a SandForce SF-2200 controller, TRIM support and can deliver read and write speeds of up to 550MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively. Prices unannounced yet. [OCZ]
As with any gaming console, good hardware only tells half of the story. Today, Sony announced a stable of games that’ll play a large role in determining the early success of the PlayStation 4, which is set for availability this holiday season. Leading the charge will be biggies such as Killzone Shadow Fall, Bungie’s next first-person shooter known as Destiny, Diablo III and a new installment of Final Fantasy. These games will be joined by creative efforts such as Knack, a game directed by the PlayStation 4’s lead architect, Mark Cerny, Watch Dogs from Ubisoft, and Driveclub, which aims to bring team-based racing to new levels. PS4 owners can also expect exclusives such as InFamous: Second Son and The Witness. Rounding out the list — for now, anyway — is a game from Capcom with the working title of Deep Down, along with an unnamed entry from Media Molecule. While it’s clear that Sony and the development community have a number of surprises that’ve yet to be revealed, you’re invited to check out a preview of what’s to come in the following gallery.
Gallery: PS4 Titles
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