Hasta La Gadget!

The second Kickstarter-funded, Android-powered gaming console to arrive this year — PlayJam’s GameStick — is being delayed once again, this time to October 29th. Folks who backed the game console on Kickstarter will get it earlier in the month, with shipments arriving “three to four weeks before retail.” The rest of us can pick it up at GameStop, Amazon or GAME (for you UKers), and it’ll cost the expected $79.99 / £79.99.

You may’ve noticed we didn’t list that price in Euros, and that’s because the console is launching in the US and UK first, with the rest of the EU, Canada and Middle Eastern territories getting GameStick “prior to the end of year holiday season.” PlayJam CEO Jasper Smith chocks this (third!) delay up to “stringent QA” standards at the company, and PlayJam responding to the criticisms it heard from early beta testers. “Production delays are certainly frustrating, but in certain instances they’re essential,” Smith told Engadget. “There were some issues there that we thought needed to be solved, there were some issues that came out of watching what others had done, that meant that we should solve some other issues. So the unfortunate result is that pushed things back.”

Smith cited various usability issues, from “the way games were being submitted” to “the way that the games actually played,” as fixed problems. “On TV you’ve gotta make it so it’s easy for people to get in and out of a game, start again and all that stuff. And I hope that we’ve done a reasonably good job on that.” We hope so too, and we’ll find out soon — keep an eye out for a review of GameStick in the coming weeks on Engadget.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD

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NVIDIA has confirmed that its upcoming Android gaming handheld, Shield, will start shipping on July 31st. The Tegra 4 testing platform was originally scheduled to hit online retailers in late June, but was delayed due to “a mechanical issue that relates to a third-party component.” Now, the company is writing to customers with pre-orders thanking them for their patience and assuring them the product will be on its way by the end of the month.

The finalized ship date puts the product within its delayed July launch window by technicality, but due to the nature of snail mail, most buyers probably won’t receive their unit until after the first of August. Frustrating for eager buyers perhaps, but at least NVIDIA’s email strikes an apologetic tone — assuring customers that the delay was a quality assurance measure. Can’t wait until the end of the month? Check out our hands-on with the final hardware right here. Didn’t pre-order? You’ll find the company’s official statement after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Gaming, Mobile

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Source: NVIDIA

NVIDIA’s Shield won’t arrive on its previously announced date of June 27th, instead moving its launch date to an undetermined point in July. A statement issued by NVIDIA explains the delay ambiguously, citing “a mechanical issue that relates to a third-party component” — the company confirmed to Engadget it’s an internal component, but wouldn’t go into any more detail.

“We want Shield to be perfect, so we have elected to shift the launch date to July,” the statement reads. We pushed the company for a specific date but were rebuffed — “We’ll update you as soon as we have an exact date,” was all we were told. We’ll have a full review of the Shield just ahead of its July launch; for now, we’ve got a hands-on with the final version from mid-May to tide you over. Head below the break for that video.

Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Handhelds, Peripherals, Software, Mobile, NVIDIA

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It’s an age-old problem: do we clamor for a company to ship a product that’s not ready, or do we swallow delays with grace as it aims to deliver when things are good and ready? Such a choice has to be made when it comes to Automatic, the California-based startup which had originally hoped to start shipping its automotive dongle + app platform at the end of this month. Those (including yours truly) who pre-ordered on day one received an email last night delivering the news that things were running a bit behind schedule. The hardware itself is actually already being manufactured, but stellar components are only a piece of the total puzzle. The software — an iPhone app, in this instance — still needs more time in the proverbial oven, and now we’re being told that packages won’t ship until “the end of August.”

A three-month hiccup is nothing to scoff at, and Automatic seemingly knows it. In order to sate those who were hoping to use the $70 product during their upcoming summer road trips, the company is giving early pre-orderers the option to beta test the app as it stands today. For those who agree, they’ll receive their hardware in mid-June, but they’ll be forced to use it with a version of the app that “lacks a few features like Crash Alert and support for multiple cars and users.” We’ll be keeping a close eye as the situation develops, and will definitely endeavor to pass along a review just as soon as we’re able. If you’re curious, we’ve embedded the email in full just after the break.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: Automatic

We loved the Roku 3’s new UI when we reviewed it recently and eagerly anticipated its arrival on “current-gen” hardware this month, but that may not be in the cards. Dave Zatz points out an email sent to Roku developers today that mentions “the new user interface introduced with the Roku 3 will be coming to Roku 2, Roku LT and Roku HD (model 2500) by the end of May.” That could add a few extra weeks to the wait for current owners, but there may be a silver lining. The email goes on to mention that it expects channels to run the same, if not better (besides looking better) after the upgrade. We’ve contacted Roku to find out any more details, we’ll update if we hear anything more specific.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: Dave Zatz (Twitter), Zatz Not Funny

Source: Roku