Hasta La Gadget!

When it comes to virtual reality headsets, the most popular name at the moment would be the Oculus Rift, but it looks like Sony could be looking to steal its thunder come CES 2014 with a virtual reality headset of their own. The headset was rumored to make a debut at the Tokyo Game Show 2013, but safe to say it did not materialize, and now if the rumors are to be believed, and if Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida’s tweets are any indication, said headset could debut at CES 2014.

Yoshida’s tweet was a response to IGN executive editor’s Scott Lowe’s tweet where he posted a photo of a virtual reality headset, claiming that it was the best thing to come out of CES 2011, a good two years ago. Yoshida’s tweet while not confirming anything, states that we can expect to see a newly announced product at CES 2014. This has led to speculation that a Sony VR headset could debut at the event, after all why would Yoshida respond to a tweet if said product was unrelated, right?

In any case it’s pretty much up in the air at the moment, but as we will be live at CES 2014, be sure to check back with us then for all the details. We could be looking at a prototype, or we could be looking at a brand new product, but either way exciting times are ahead of us!

Could Sony Be Debuting A VR Headset At CES 2014? original content from Ubergizmo.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean has been around for quite some time now, in fact it has already been succeeded. A few weeks back Google released Android 4.4 KitKat, and while a number of devices have already been updated to the latest firmware, it will still take a lot of time for a wide variety of devices to be bumped up to KitKat. Sony had promised to release the Jelly Bean update for a number of its Xperia devices, and today it has finally come through. The Android 4.3 update for Sony Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR and the Xperia Tablet Z has been released today.

Included in the update is a smoother graphical experience and user interface optimization, as well as the Sony Smart Social Camera experience that lets users download and use “Xperia camera apps” from within the viewfinder itself. Sony has also tweaked all of its native apps in this update, which brings updated versions of the Messaging, MyXperia, TrackID, Sony Select and other native applications. Battery STAMINA mode is onboard as well, its an updated version of Sony’s power management app which has a refreshed user interface and more options for getting more out of the devices’ battery. Even though Sony has officially announced the release of the Android 4.3 update for these devices, it might take a while before the update becomes available for various markets and carriers.

Android 4.3 For Xperia Z, ZL, ZR And Xperia Tablet Z Released original content from Ubergizmo.

So you pulled out the big guns and you got your son (age 27 or otherwise) a console. You’re justifiably excited about the Christmas morning surprise, but there’s one thing you must absolutely remember to take care of before you wrap that gadget gift: Day one updates. Trust us.

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The launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One brought about a frenzy to more than just the gamer front. According to Kaspersky Lab, coinciding with the consoles’ respective launches, … Continue reading

We are at a turning point in terms of gadget manufacturing. The heavy hitters in hardware – the Sonys, the Samsungs, the LGs – are stuck in the mire of slow innovation. We haven’t heard much out of that camp this year – they’re keeping CES plans under wraps – but I suspect we’ll see a few big TVs and some thin laptops and a nice fridge or two and little else. The real innovation is happening far out in the periphery where hardware is an extension of software and smart devices are now the fastest moving consumer goods.

For most of the last decade the TC team hit CES and wandered the halls, writing about as many gadgets as possible and filling up the page with update after update. Recently there’s been little need. Some of the best products – from the Pebble to this amazing 3D scanner – have come out of small design houses. Devices like 3D printers get short shrift at CES but they’re some of the most exciting new CE products on earth. Quantified self gear is underrepresented as are consumer robotics. Wearables may be big this year, but hardware makers don’t know how to build them correctly. Clearly only Google and Eric Migicovsky do.

What are we doing at CES? We’re going to do our regularly scheduled live run through of all of the halls – you guys seem to enjoy that every year so we’re maintaining the tradition. But the real action will be around the convention center. Last year we spent 90% of our time in our own booth, out on the CES parking lot. It was open to all comers, you didn’t need to have a badge for CES, and we were in the perfect spot to grab foot traffic. And grab it we did. In the hours we spent out there we met the guys from Gtar, Zivix, and Pebble. We saw folks making amazing heads-up displays, cool chip designs, and wearables. We interviewed the CEOs of Dropcam and Fitbit and generally ignored the festival inside. Who needs to film a nicer TV when the future is wandering the parking lot?

This year is even better. We’re running our own Hardware Battlefield where one lucky hardware startup will win $50,000. We’re inviting some amazing judges including Bre Pettis, Slava Rubin, and Trae Vassallo. We’ll also be holding interviews in our tent and meeting and greeting members of the Las Vegas tech community.

Want to join us? Just look for our tent on the LVCC grounds and hang out. We need an audience and you don’t need a badge to come by. We’ll be doing giveaways as well, so maybe you can grab yourself a bit of gear.

Hardware is different now. It’s not the domain of the big guy. In fact, they’ve already lost.