Hasta La Gadget!

We gave you a glimpse of Nyko’s 2011 accessories lineup earlier this week, and today we got some quality time with the company’s gear at E3 2011. We tried out Zoom Kinect, a set of lenses for Microsoft’s favorite sensor bar that lets those residing in diminutive domiciles be the controller without rearranging their furniture. The add-on worked flawlessly when we gave it a go on Kinect Adventures — Kinect had no trouble tracking our movements even though we were a few feet closer to the sensor than recommended. Zoom Kinect is slated for an August 16th release and will cost $29.99, a paltry sum compared to the price of buying a bigger living room. But wait, there’s more! See our impressions of Nyko’s other new products after the break.

Continue reading Hands-on with Nyko’s Zoom Kinect and extended battery packs for the 3DS

Hands-on with Nyko’s Zoom Kinect and extended battery packs for the 3DS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s E3 keynote may have exploded with deeper Kinect support, but nothing caught our eyes quite as sharply as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’s rifle-exploding Gunsmith demo. A Ubisoft representative showed us how it’s done: separating your arms separates your deadly firearm into a gorgeous display of floating screws, components, and accessories, which can be effortlessly modified, swapped, and replaced with gesture and voice commands. Too picky to decide for yourself? Then don’t: just tell Gunsmith what you’re looking for. For instance, saying “Optimize for range” produces a weapon any sniper should be proud of — even better, we found that commanding Gunsmith to “optimize for awesome” birthed a rifle (pictured above) sporting an underbarrel shotgun attachment. A gun attached to a gun? Yeah, that works. Weapons can be tested in Gunsmith’s gesture-controlled firing range, an engaging shooting mode exclusive to the Gunsmith weapon editor and not usable in regular gameplay. Head past the break for a hands-on (figuratively speaking) video.

Continue reading Kinect integration in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, hands-off (video)

Kinect integration in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, hands-off (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect Star Wars hands-on: Engadget and Joystiq get in touch with the Force originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick refreshing of Microsoft’s E3 landing page has apparently revealed some of the things it will be announcing within a couple of hours at its E3 press conference, including new features for Xbox Live like Voice Search and new look for the service. With the explosive popularity of the Kinect add-on, it looks like the system is being refashioned with support built in from the ground up as opposed to the current menu system that’s more of an afterthought. Also mentioned on the page are Dance Central 2, Kinect Sports Season 2 and most importantly, two new Halo games. One is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary which appears to be the HD (& possibly 3D) remake leaked by Joystiq previously, while the other is Halo 4 — no explanation needed. We’ll surely find out everything when the press conference kicks off live at 12:30 p.m. Eastern and of course we’ll be covering all of the news live right here.

Update: Microsoft’s just confirmed some of the leaked information onstage at its E3 keynote, with demonstrations of a deeply integrated voice command setup powered by Kinect. YouTube has been announced as an Xbox Live partner, while Bing is coming to the console to let users search across Netflix, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Hulu all at once.That universal search also extends to new live TV partnerships with Sky, Canal+ and Foxtel.

Update 2: Want a better look at the revamped Xbox 360 UI that blends in more of a Metro look with the old Kinect UI elements? Look no further than the gallery below.

[Thanks, q & Pradeep]

Continue reading Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 UI has Bing voice search across Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and live TV

Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 UI has Bing voice search across Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and live TV originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s Kinect is the gift that keeps on giving for hackers, spawning everything from glasses-free teleconferencing to Tesla coil manipulation to uh, well, Android dance parties. But Luis de Matos’s wi-Go project is one of the most socially conscious we’ve seen: it adds a laptop and (despite its name) a Kinect to a shopping cart, enabling the cart to follow a wheelchair user. Improving on the B.O.S.S. bot we saw a half-decade ago, the wi-Go could allow anyone — including the disabled or elderly — to shop independently, regardless of physical capability. De Matos doesn’t offer many technical details, but see the video above for a before-and-after demonstration.

Newest Kinect hack: a grocery cart that loyally follows disabled shoppers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 02:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Kinect Hacks  |  Luis de Matos (Vimeo)  | Email this | Comments