Hasta La Gadget!

Just like the PlayStation Portable before it, the PlayStation Vita comes in iterations. There’s the standard, original Vita, and then there’s the new, even nicer version. Sony unveiled that new iteration recently at a Japanese event, and we got our first hands-on with it today at Tokyo Game Show 2013. So, what’s different? Not too much. As it turns out, it’s still a Vita.

The good news is that it’s a far lighter, more comfy version of the Vita you already know and (maybe) love. Rounded edges make holding the Vita distinctly less abrasive — the sharper angles on the original Vita were pretty from a design perspective, but not so much from an ergonomic standpoint. The buttons have been rejiggered as well, with a solid click for each (the start / select / PS Home buttons are also all now circles instead of ovals). And hey, the micro-USB port for charging is an unbelievably welcome addition. Gone are the days of your proprietary Vita charging cable (though there’s still a port for it as well, should you refuse to change).

And that’s not the only ergonomic improvement: the new Vita is dramatically lighter than its predecessor, making it all the easier to take on-the-go. We’re told that its battery life is also much improved, but we’ve yet to see that play out in real life, so we’ll reserve judgment for now.

Update: We’ve added video just below walking through the new Vita — please excuse us, as we called the new Vita’s LCD screen an LED in the video. Chock it up to jet lag!%Gallery-slideshow89586%

Check out all our Tokyo Game Show 2013 coverage right here at our hub!

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Software, HD, Sony

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As you’ve likely read today, Adobe XD has announced its plans to officially bring Projects Napoleon and Mighty — a drafting ruler and cloud-connected stylus for iPads — to retail in 2014. Rather than make the consumer-facing hardware itself, the company’s relying on Adonit’s manufacturing prowess. Creative professionals can rest assured that the tools will function with Creative Cloud. The retail versions will be much like the prototypes, except that Adobe ditched Bluetooth in the ‘short ruler,’ Napoleon. It now uses only capacitive touch and a single button (see above) to act as a selector for options within apps. Mighty will ship with a non-replaceable tip that’s just under 2mm, but it’s otherwise the same and includes a lipstick-style carrying case / charger.

On top of all that, Adobe’s introducing Projects Contour and Parallel as its next serious experiments in the area. They will was serve reference apps to highlight the kinds of functionality the tools could afford designers. Contour is Adobe’s take on a draft-sketching app, while Parallel is an iPhone app that lets you grab photos of objects in real life and instantly convert them into vectors — as you’d expect, both intermingle. No word on whether these apps will make it out of Adobe’s in-progress lair just yet, but a rep gave us a coy smile and note to stay tuned. You’ll find a video of the apps after the break, as well as our early hands-on with Napoleon and Mighty from June. %Gallery-slideshow85057%

Filed under: Peripherals, Tablets

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While we had an inkling that Gigabyte would be fitting its latest miniature BRIX PCs with Haswell processors, we were pleasantly surprised to learn it had also built a tiny gaming computer with Iris Pro graphics on board. Indeed, the BRIX pocket gaming PC has similar internals to the recently announced Gigabyte BRIX II — it has an HDMI port, Ethernet, four USB 3.0 slots, Bluetooth 4.0, a Mini display port, built-in WiFi and a headset jack — but with the added benefit of Intel’s latest integrated graphics and the choice of red, yellow or black aluminum housing.

We had a chance to play around with a prototype model at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, and we have to say we’re impressed. We played a short round of Grid 2 and the race car looked amazing as it roared across a large 1080p TV. While the performance appeared robust enough in our brief hands-on, an Intel rep did warn us it probably won’t replace a system with a dedicated GPU. The box itself is an adorable little thing that we felt was compact and light enough to bring to our next gaming party without taking up too much space in the trunk.%Gallery-slideshow84011%

Filed under: Gaming, Intel

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Aside from the new Acer Chromebook, we also got a hands-on look at the new HP Chromebook 14. The latest Haswell-powered Chromebook from HP comes in an array of eye-popping colors — Snow White, Ocean Turquoise and Coral Peach — which certainly makes them the most colorful Chromebooks we’ve ever seen. In person, the colors seem bright and playful, though we can’t help but feel they look like they belong in Toys R Us rather than an electronics store. The Chromebook’s chassis is made out of plastic, which makes the whole thing seem even more toy-like. The top cover has a smooth rubberized finish, but the plastic-molded keyboard feels a bit gritty; the texture reminds us of the material used in 3D printing.

As the name suggests, the Chromebook 14 has a 14-inch display with 1,366 x 768 resolution. It looked bright enough underneath the convention center’s lighting, though it’s difficult to tell after just a few minutes of use. It’s certainly not the lightest Chromebook we’ve ever held — it measures about 0.81-inch thin and weighs in at a whopping 4.08 pounds. HP opted to adhere to the standard Chromebook keyboard layout instead of its own, and the trackpad has just a single button instead of the two found on the HP Pavilion 14. Other features include a HDMI port, 16GB of storage, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, an HD webcam, an SD card slot and a battery that promises up to 9.5 hours of continuous use. If you decide to buy one, it comes with 100GB of Google Drive for free for two years. The HP Chromebook 14 is priced at around $299.99 to start, and should be available for purchase before the holiday season. To get a closer look at the candy-colored laptops, have a peek at the gallery or hit the video after the break. %Gallery-slideshow83881%

Filed under: Laptops, Google, Intel, HP

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One of the first Chromebooks to come blessed with Intel’s Haswell processor is the new Acer Chromebook, and we had a chance to get a closer look at it today. If it wasn’t for the “new” moniker that Acer has so kindly bestowed on it, we would be hard-pressed to find much different about it when compared to its C7 predecessor at first glance. Yet it does seem just a touch lighter and slimmer, measuring around 0.75 inch thin and weighing in at about 2.76 pounds. However, the new Acer Chromebook has a supposedly much longer battery life, boasting up to 8.5 hours of continuous use. It also sports an HDMI port, two USB ports and an SD card slot on the side. The 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 resolution display is a little on the small side, but still looked crisp and colorful enough to our eyes. The raised chiclet keys on the keyboard felt tactile and comfortable to use, and should be familiar to anyone who’s ever used a Chromebook. While we don’t know its price just yet, we do know that you’ll get a 100GB of Google Drive storage for free for two years with every purchase. We don’t have much more information about the new Acer Chromebook to impart to you, unfortunately, but we’ll be sure to update this post once we do. In the meantime, have a peek at the hands-on gallery and video after the break. %Gallery-slideshow83878%

Filed under: Laptops, Google, Intel

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