Hasta La Gadget!

This is Mass Effect 2, running on a netbook — a stock Eee PC — with a single core Atom CPU that wouldn’t dare to dream of actually processing the game. It works because the sci-fi opera’s not taxing that silicon at all, but rather a beefy server miles away, streaming processed and compressed video frames direct to the 10.1-inch screen. It’s called Gaikai, and if you’re thinking it sounds just like OnLive by a different name, you’d be half-right. However, this streaming game service has a radically different business model which doesn’t cost players a dime. Rather than provide a library of titles and charge you for on-demand, Gaikai will power game advertisements that let you actually play their games. If that sounds like an idea you’d like to hear more about, then we’ve got a treat for you. We spoke with founder David Perry about what the service can do, got an exclusive hands-on with the closed beta, and an extensive video walkthrough to boot. After the break, find the whole scoop.

Continue reading Gaikai enters closed beta, we get an exclusive first look

Gaikai enters closed beta, we get an exclusive first look originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WiMAX 2, the sequel to the movie most people haven’t watched, is back to tease and tantalize us courtesy of Samsung’s new CEATEC demo. Filling four separate HDTVs with streaming Full HD and 3D content, the Korean manufacturer of everything electronic is touting its latest advance in mobile broadband connectivity that takes the top speed up to 330Mbps. That may only be a third of the theoretical max capability of WiMAX 2, but you know, we’ll take it for now. The good news is that Samsung’s innovation brew extends only to the conduits between WiMAX devices, meaning that your current-gen transceiver will be able to join the accelerated party as and when Samsung’s ready to dish out the goods. With the 802.16m standard expected to be ratified by next month, Samsung projects its first commercial solutions will be landing in late 2011. Consider our calendars marked.

Continue reading Samsung showing off 330Mbps WiMAX 2 mobile broadband over at CEATEC 2010

Samsung showing off 330Mbps WiMAX 2 mobile broadband over at CEATEC 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What do you get when you combine the N8‘s HDMI output, its 12 megapixel camera, and your trusty old TV set? As Anssi Vanjoki might say, you get a big new smartphone. Nokia’s research labs have thrown up a neat little “prototype” app called Plug and Touch, which enhances the N8’s already famed HDTV friendliness with the ability to recognize touch input. This is done by positioning your aluminum-clad Nokia about five feet away from the display and letting its camera pick up your hand’s gestures and touches, essentially resulting in a massively enlarged Symbian^3 handset device. Naturally, it’s not terribly precise at this stage and there are no plans for an actual release, but it sure is a tantalizing glimpse of what may be coming down the pipe. Video after the break.

Continue reading Nokia’s Plug and Touch turns your HDTV into a giant N8 (video)

Nokia’s Plug and Touch turns your HDTV into a giant N8 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The universe needs another media streamer like it needs another BP running “cleanup” in the Gulf, but like it or not, Veebeam’s fully intent on shipping its newest duo. Announced today over at the DEMO Fall 2010 conference, the media-focused company has announced the Veebeam SD and Veebeam HD, with the latter obviously catching the brunt of our attention. The idea here is to create a “content agnostic” streamer that simply pipes whatever content you have playing on your Mac or PC (yeah, it plays nice with both) to your HDTV. Sounds great in theory, but the problem is the protocol. Both units rely on Wireless USB to handle their streaming, and unless the standard has seen some huge improvements since our Atlona test a year ago, we’re willing to bet the actual playback performance is less than incredible — particularly if you try to send 1080p content over it. The setup itself is fairly simple; just plug a transceiver into your computer and the base station into your tele. From there, it’s pretty much plug-and-play. The pair is up for order today, with the SD version selling for $99 and the HD model (complete with HDMI, digital audio and two USB sockets) for $139. We’d personally wait for a review before buying in blind — nothing against Veebeam, but we haven’t been overly impressed with WUSB’s ability to handle high-bandwidth applications in the past.

Continue reading Veebeam’s Wireless USB-based media streamers are ‘content agnostic,’ fairly cheap

Veebeam’s Wireless USB-based media streamers are ‘content agnostic,’ fairly cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Want a glimpse of the future? How about one from Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs? What he demoed in London just now was a groovy concept that combines his company’s two service technologies: augmented reality and peer-to-peer. The idea is that you want to upload an image from your phone to one of your many wireless photo frames (actually WiFi-connected PCs in disguise here), but rather than having to pick your desired frame from an eye-dazzling list of WiFi SSIDs, you can just use this augmented reality app — developed using Qualcomm’s very own AR SDK, naturally — to point at the frame and shoot the file over. Pretty rad, huh? But we picked out one flaw: currently, the app identifies each frame by remembering its previously uploaded image, so if two or more of these frames display the same image, the app would get confused. This can of course be fixed by simply adding a QR code onto the actual frame. Anyhow, you can see this demo in action after the break.

Continue reading Qualcomm demos augmented reality app for digital photo frames (video)

Qualcomm demos augmented reality app for digital photo frames (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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