| The best Kinect to come: Microsoft's Xbox 360 spring showcase Mar 5th 2012, 13:00 Like the Nintendo Wii before it, Microsoft's Kinect has been braving the storm of new peripheral adolescence, awkwardly shuffling users through jump, wave, lean and jiggling gameplay, typically at a leisurely pace. Sure it's had its moments on the dance floor, but aside from being a good listener, the spatially aware sensor hasn't exactly redefined core gaming. Almost a year and half after its launch, however, the often hacked device is taking another crack at reaching the hardcore. We dropped in on Xbox's spring showcase this weekend to find out how that effort is going -- see what we found after the break. Continue reading The best Kinect to come: Microsoft's Xbox 360 spring showcase The best Kinect to come: Microsoft's Xbox 360 spring showcase originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | We're live from CeBIT 2012 in Hannover, Germany! Mar 5th 2012, 12:50 Where is Hannover, you ask? Well it's definitely in Germany -- of that much we're sure. This town certainly isn't a tourist haven, save for a week in March when tech pros from every continent arrive and grow the city beyond its typical community of 500,000, but CeBIT is among the world's largest tech trade shows, and it's the sole purpose for our brief jaunt to Kansas City's sister metro. It's never crystal clear just what we'll see at CeBIT, though we've begun poking around one day shy of the show's official ribbon cutting, turning up a few surprises, such as this pink Galaxy Note. We'll of course be sharing whatever we happen to find between now and Thursday, so check back often for an inside look at Germany's flagship enterprise trade show. Protip: Use our " CeBIT 2012" tag for all of our updates from the floor! We're live from CeBIT 2012 in Hannover, Germany! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | More 'iPad 3' prototype parts show up, we go hands-on Mar 5th 2012, 12:40 In recent years, it's become a fashion for Apple prototype parts to pop up just weeks ahead of hardware launches; and it seems like there's no exception for the upcoming next-gen iPad, which is believed to feature a 2,048 x 1,536 IPS LCD within the same 9.7-inch footprint. While we're only two days away from seeing Tim Cook and co. unveiling said tablet, we couldn't help but take a look at its bits and bobs acquired by our good friends over at M.I.C. Gadget. What we have here is allegedly the external essentials of the "iPad 3," which include a white glass cover (sans frame) with a home button already installed, along with a 3G-ready aluminum body plus cables for the dock connector and the volume rocker. With a quick glance you may easily mistake this as just the iPad 2, but look close enough and you'll spot the larger lens on the prototype, which may suggest that Apple's finally giving its tablet a more capable back camera. There's also a more subtle difference between the two bodies: not only is this "iPad 3" marginally thicker, but the curvature from the flat bottom to the sides is ever so slightly more emphasized, thus providing a tad more internal space for the components -- most likely the battery for the sake of feeding the rumored LTE radio. Well, until Mr. Cook gives us the answers, you can keep yourselves busy by watching M.I.C. Gadget's funkadelic hands-on video after the break. Continue reading More 'iPad 3' prototype parts show up, we go hands-on More 'iPad 3' prototype parts show up, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  M.I.C. Gadget | | Email this | Comments | | Fujitsu teases new premium Lifebook Ultrabook at CeBIT, promises more details tomorrow Mar 5th 2012, 12:30 We're here at the Fujitsu press conference at CeBIT, where the company just teased a yet-to-be-named premium Ultrabook. We don't have many details at this point, but we were able to confirm that it will include a 14-inch frameless display, a magnesium housing and a standard variety of connectivity options, including LTE, WLAN and Bluetooth. The notebook will weigh in at less than 1.5 kg and will measure 16mm thick. Fujitsu is marketing the Ultrabook as an enterprise device, with a full suit of security features, including a fingerprint scanner, TPM module, FDE and ATP. More details are promised for tomorrow, so you'll need to hang tight for a model number, pricing and a full spec rundown, though we're told to expect it to hit the market this summer. Fujitsu teases new premium Lifebook Ultrabook at CeBIT, promises more details tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Galaxy S II getting ICS upgrade March 15th, says Israeli Facebook page Mar 5th 2012, 11:55 It may come slightly too late for Caesar, but a post has appeared on Samsung Mobile IL's Facebook page saying that the long-awaited Android 4.0 ( Ice Cream Sandwich) update will reach GSII owners on March 15th. We're not fluent in Hebrew, and apparently neither is Google Translate, but it does suggest that the update will land on "tens of thousands of Galaxy SII devices" purchased in that country, either from "cellular companies in the country or directly from [Samsung]." Mazel tov and mabrouk. Let's just hope it signals the start of the global roll-out. Update: Amir, one of our readers from Tel Aviv has offered us a direct translation of the post: "We promised that we are working about that. You have waited patiently. And it's coming in March 15th: Android version 4, ICS, for tens of thousands of the Galaxy S2 owners that purchased it from the cellular company in Israel or directly from us. We are very excited in here towards the launch, hope that you too :)" [Thanks, Amir] Samsung Galaxy S II getting ICS upgrade March 15th, says Israeli Facebook page originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink PhoneArena, Android Central |  Samsung Mobile IL (Facebook, Hebrew) | Email this | Comments | | AMD's 'sweet spot' Radeon HD 7870 and 7850 graphics cards get reviewed, recommended Mar 5th 2012, 11:29 AMD's Radeon HD 7000-series onslaught continues, with still no 28nm retort from NVIDIA. The latest offerings are the 7870 priced at $349, and the 7850 priced at $249. Both are based on the Pitcairn GPU and hog the mainstream gamer spot below the Tahiti-based 79xx cards and far above the 77xx options. In terms of competition, these cards go head-to-head with the older NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 560Ti, which currently retail for between $20 and $50 less. However, most reviewers found plenty of reasons to side with AMD despite the extra outlay, as you'll discover at the links below. HotHardware -- hailed the performance, low power consumption, noise levels and features of both cards, but noted that they're "not much faster than previous gen counterparts." For example, 3DMark 11 benchmarks generally beat NVIDIA's rivals by around two or three percent, while the Radeon HD 7850 barely scored any higher than its predecessor, the 6850, in that test. AnandTech -- found the 7870 to be "faster, cooler and quieter" than the GTX 570, with a roughly nine percent performance advantage that puts AMD "in the clear for the time being." As for the 7850, it was regarded as less of a steal, trailing the cheaper GTX 560Ti in some games -- including an eight percent lag in Battlefield 3. TheTechReport -- reckoned both the 7870 and 7850 are "better options than comparable GeForces," because they deliver more FPS-per-dollar when Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Crysis 2 and Skyrim performances are averaged out. PC Perspective -- concluded that the Radeon HD 7870 "more or less matches" the GTX 570 in the six games it compared, with two wins, two losses and two draws for the AMD card, but is still "pretty impressive" for the price. The HD 7850, meanwhile, "completely dominates the performance metrics" while using "56 fewer watts!" TechSpot -- gave the Radeon HD 7850 slightly higher marks for being the "best mainstream card to buy at $250," while also praising the HD 7870 delivering "excellent performance and overclocking" and "almost reaching the level of the more expensive HD 7900 boards." Continue reading AMD's 'sweet spot' Radeon HD 7870 and 7850 graphics cards get reviewed, recommended AMD's 'sweet spot' Radeon HD 7870 and 7850 graphics cards get reviewed, recommended originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
