Hasta La Gadget!

Coming in 2012, Nintendo’s next home console will deliver “deeper game experiences” that aim to offer “something for everyone.” And it’ll be called the Wii U! A variety of new controls will be made available by that crazy new controller with a 6.2-inch touchscreen embedded in it. Most importantly, you’ll no longer be tied to a TV to enjoy your home consoling action — the Wii U controller can handle your gaming session when the television is needed for other purposes, while a built-in front-facing cam will let you video chat from anywhere too. Notably, you won’t have to use the 6.2-inch behemoth if you don’t want too — the Wii U will be compatible with all current-gen accessories and software. Yes, your expansive Wii collection will play on the U version of the console as well. We’ve also seen some decidedly high-def visuals from Nintendo showing off the Wii U’s graphical prowess. See video of the unveiling after the break!

Batman: Arkham City, an Assassin’s Creed game, Dirt, Ghost Recon Online, Tekken, Metro Last Light, Aliens Colonial Marines, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, and Darksiders II all got a mention as coming to the Wii U. Yes! EA’s John Riccitiello just said the Wii U will deliver “brilliant HD graphics.” Finally, the Wii is going HD!

Speaking of HD, the fact sheet from Nintendo informs us that the Wii U can pump out 1080p video over HDMI. It’ll also be compatible with component, S-video and composite cables. There’ll be “internal flash memory” of unspecified quantity, which will be expandable via either an SD card or external USB HDD. IBM is, as with the original Wii, once again responsible for providing the processor inside. Four USB 2.0 slots are made available, while game media will be served up on “proprietary high-density optical discs.” There’s also another, worthwhile, reminder that the Wii U will play Wii games and their optical discs without a problem.

Update: We just got word from the folks at Kotaku that Nintendo game designer Katsuya Eguchi has revealed the Wii U’s proprietary disc format will hold up to 25GB of data.

Update 2: And now we have the final piece of the puzzle: the Wii U’s graphics will be handled by a “custom AMD Radeon HD GPU.”

Continue reading The Wii U, Nintendo’s next console (video)

The Wii U, Nintendo’s next console (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The eye-catching P220 ultraportable isn’t the only system LG is showcasing at Computex — the Korean manufacturer is also gracing Intel’s booth with the V300, an all-in-one with a few tricks up its sleeve. Not only is that 23-inch display using a beautiful IPS panel (full HD), but it’s even 3D-capable and includes a touchscreen in some versions. Yes, this isn’t your father’s PC. A variety of processors are available including Intel’s Core i7 with room for up to 8 GB of DDR3 RAM. Some models are paired with AMD’s Radeon HD 6650M video card. Blu-ray is an option, and storage maxes out at 750GB. The computer takes some visual cues from Apple’s iMac (the stand), but still manages to have its own personality. The display is quite thin, and while the model we played with didn’t appear to offer the touchscreen option, it did feature a Core i5 CPU. Take a look at the gallery below, and hit the break for our hands-on video and LG’s press release.

Continue reading LG V300 all-in-one hands-on at Computex 2011 (video)

LG V300 all-in-one hands-on at Computex 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A trio of sources speaking to Bloomberg have seemingly shed light on Acer’s concerns with Microsoft’s new tablet strategy. Seems that the boys beneath Ballmer hope to speed delivery of the company’s new tablet OS by limiting variations. To accomplish this, Microsoft is offering incentives to chip and computer makers that agree to form sole alliances (i.e., one chipmaker works exclusively with one computer manufacturer) including enhanced feature sets and lower prices on Microsoft software. Under the plan, chip suppliers will be able to select a second company to produce a clamshell-style laptop using Microsoft’s next wares. The plan is not mandatory and does not apply to desktop use of Microsoft next operating system, according to Bloomberg‘s sources. However, if true, then it represents a dramatic departure from Microsoft’s traditional war-of-attrition approach to the laptop and tablet market that has resulted in a near limitless choice of brands and configurations so synonymous with Wintel. It all sounds incredible until you consider Microsoft’s approach to Windows Phone that already marries its mobile OS to a highly restrictive specification sheet. With Windows Next (or Windows 8, if you prefer) set to support both Intel architectures and ARM (and all its licensees), we can understand Microsoft’s desire for tighter control over its partners in hopes of accelerating development and testing. After all, Microsoft is conspicuously absent from the tablet discussion these days. We guess Steve wasn’t kidding when he called this OS Microsoft’s “riskiest product bet” yet.

Update: And now DigiTimes has jumped in with support for Acer CEO, J.T. Wang, claiming that Taiwan’s PC makers have been excluded from Microsoft’s Integrated Development Program (IDP) for Windows 8 tablet PCs. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, long time Microsoft partners Acer, ASUS, and even HTC have been shut out of the proceedings. Instead, DigiTimes claims that chipmakers Intel, AMD, TI, Qualcomm and NVIDIA have been invited by Microsoft to choose manufacturers from a first-round list of participants limited to Dell, HP, and Samsung. Hopefully Microsoft will add some clarity to all this later today when we get our first look at its next generation OS. [Thanks, Pradeep]

Microsoft incentivizing chipmakers and tablet manufacturers to form ‘sole alliances’? (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s this? It looks like the MSI WindPad 100A that we discovered at CES and the WindPad 110W that we first saw at CeBit decided to make an appearance on the show floor here at Computex 2011. Only this time around they brought a new friend along to the party — namely the MSI WindPad 120W. To refresh your memory, the WindPad 100A is a 10-inch NVIDIA Tegra 2-equipped tablet running Android (Gingerbread here in Taipei, but potentially Honeycomb in the future) while the 110W uses AMD’s Brazos platform paired with Windows 7. The Windpad 120W shares the same exact 10-inch chassis as the 110W but swaps AMD’s Fusion APU for an Intel Cedar Trail-based chipset together with a tasty serving of WiDi and HSPA wireless. We still have no information about availability or pricing, but for now we invite you to check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on videos.

Continue reading MSI WindPad 100A, 110W, and 120W hands-on at Computex 2011 (video)

MSI WindPad 100A, 110W, and 120W hands-on at Computex 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s a chip maker to do after successfully hawking five million of its Fusion APUs? Why, expand the line, of course! A leaked slide deck from within the lairs of AMD is showing off quite a bit of the company’s upcoming roadmap, and while a good deal of it has already been made public in one way or another, there’s one term that’s causing all sorts of buzz — and for good reason. Desna is the name to know, a Z-Series APU that’s aimed squarely at the tablet form factor. To date, only a handful of chips have managed to slide into slates, and while we always reckoned that a version of Fusion could really give those ARM-based alternatives a run for their money, it wasn’t clear if AMD actually had one that would handle the power and heat requirements. Based on these sheets — dated this month, for what it’s worth — the Z-Series chip will offer Flash compatibility, DirectX 11 support and IE9 / HTML5 acceleration, and that’s just for starters. Head on down to the links below for the full skinny, but make sure you grab a cup of joe and unplug the line first. You’ll need a few, to say the least.

Leaked AMD roadmap reveals Desna APU, bona fide tablet strategy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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