| Astro Gaming's A50 wireless headset: the A40 and Mixamp 5.8 become one for $300 Jun 5th 2012, 07:00  Turtle Beach may have acquired the MLG-endorsement crown that Astro Gaming used to solely hold for its headsets, but it's no matter as the Astro has something else up its sleeve: the A50 wireless headset. Announced here at e3, the A50 is essentially the result of embedding the Mixamp 5.8's wireless chops into its flagship A40, finally sparing users of any pesky wiring and external beltpacks. Naturally, the headset is compatible with the Xbox 360, PS3 and PCs and it features Dolby virtual 7.1 surround -- not to mention Astro's signature game and voice chat mixing control (built into the earcup) so you can dial your game audio in the way you want. The A50 sports an internal battery that recharges over USB and comes with a stand that also houses the unit's Mixamp 5.8 TX-esque wireless transmitter. Notably, the headset uses Kleer technology and you'll also have a choice between three EQ presets for the overall voicing of the sound -- a first for Astro. The A50 is slated to hit shelves this June for $300 and we'll be sure to bring you our impressions as soon as we check it out here on the show floor. Astro Gaming's A50 wireless headset: the A40 and Mixamp 5.8 become one for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Intel bets big on touch-enabled Ultrabooks, invests in factories across the globe Jun 5th 2012, 06:32  Intel is presenting at the e21 Forum at Computex in Taipei, and SVP Tom Kilroy just announced that the company is planning to focus on touch-enabled Ultrabooks, investing in factories that produce panels that are 13 inches and larger. Some of the partners listed included TPK, Wintek, HannsTouch and Cando, several of which are based here in Taiwan. This of course marks a departure from last year's models, many of which featured 11-inch displays, and didn't include touch functionality. Kilroy made a point of emphasizing that Intel won't be stopping at 13 inches either, opting to produce larger-screened Ultrabooks as well -- which seems to be in line with what we heard back at CES. Either way, touch is here to stay. Intel bets big on touch-enabled Ultrabooks, invests in factories across the globe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 02:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU family expands past phones to HDTVs, tablets and Windows 8 PCs Jun 5th 2012, 06:13  Sure Qualcomm has snagged quite the coup by sliding some of its dual-core S4 CPUs into the US-bound Galaxy S IIIs, but it's not stopping there. The company just revealed versions of these chips will power connected HDTVs and set-top boxes as well as PCs and Windows 8 (including Windows Phone 8) devices. There's four tiers of the upcoming processors: Prime, Pro, Plus and Play. S4 Prime is the smart TV platform that includes the MPQ8064 1.5GHz quad-core CPU with Adreno 320 graphics, while S4 Pro processors are ready to be the brains of Windows RT tablets, laptops and tablet / laptop combos. S4 Plus is the high-end smartphone experience we've come to associate with the Snapdragon brand, and finally S4 Play for more entry level mobile devices. Check after the break for more info on the chips in each family and details on what they can do, and our hands on with some S4 powered Windows 8 devices right here. Continue reading Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU family expands past phones to HDTVs, tablets and Windows 8 PCs Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU family expands past phones to HDTVs, tablets and Windows 8 PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 02:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | MSI Slider S20 Windows 8 Ultrabook hands-on Jun 5th 2012, 05:42 It's been a while since we've heard from MSI. Sure, the company is still into gaming laptops, but remember that this is a company that once dominated the netbook space alongside the likes of ASUS and Acer. Well, netbooks are dead, and the company never really embraced tablets, the thing that replaced them. At some point along the line, MSI more or less stepped away from the mobile game. That might be changing. If the company missed the boat on tablets, it's definitely not going to sit out the Ultrabook craze: the company recently announced the Slider S20, an upcoming Windows 8 ultraportable whose 11-inch touchscreen can be pushed back and up -- yes, just like that Slider. We happened to stumble across one on display here at Computex, and naturally did what any self-respecting group of tech writers would do: we took lots and lots of photos. You'll find them all just below, and our hands-on continues after the break. Continue reading MSI Slider S20 Windows 8 Ultrabook hands-on MSI Slider S20 Windows 8 Ultrabook hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Microsoft SmartGlass hands-on Jun 5th 2012, 05:40  Sure today's Microsoft E3 keynote was jam-packed full of high octane explosions, but the biggest excitement from the hardware-free event was arguably SmartGlass, a new technology from Redmond that promises to help to bring together users' diverse array of screens. When it was initially leaked ahead of the event, SmartGlass looked to largely be a somewhat straightforward AirPlay competitor. Judging by Microsoft's flashy demo video, however, the company is clearly looking to build it into its own beast all together. Thankfully, we got to play with it a bit -- albeit for a very short amount of time, given the fairly early state of the technology. Let's start thing off by clarifying a big question surrounding the somewhat enigmatic demo that we saw at today's event: yes, SmartGlass gives developers the potential to turn smartphones and tablets into a controller for the Xbox 360. As suspected, it will likely be integrated into more casual games -- after all, we shudder at the thought of controlling, say, Halo 4 using just a touchscreen. As is the nature of the product, the company isn't letting the details flow too freely here, but in a demo we saw of the technology tonight, a Microsoft rep name-dropped a title called Home Run Stars -- a baseball game, as you've likely already gathered from the fairly straightforward name. We didn't get to see the game in action, but the rep mentioned a gameplay scenario in which one player uses the Kinect to bat and the other pitches with the touchscreen -- again, not too dissimilar from the kind of dual-screen gaming we've seen with the Wii U thus far. And you can also invert that game play, if you so choose, pitching on the Kinect and batting with a tablet or smartphone. Thing is, Microsoft is looking to make this whole process open for developers. As the rep put it, "what we've done is create a platform." In other words, Redmond is putting forward the tools here and letting the content developers play around, to come up with their own functionality based on SmartGlass. Continue reading Microsoft SmartGlass hands-on Microsoft SmartGlass hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 01:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
