Hands-on | Electronic-Geek.com

Posts Tagged ‘hands-on’

Ion iCade hands-on: gaming on the iPad like it’s 1979 (video)

August 22nd, 2011 |

You may recall ThinkGeek's pretty convincing April Fools' prank last year: the iCade cabinet for the iPad. Now, thanks to the keen beans at Ion, the two companies held hands and turned this totally rad concept into reality (although they're definitely not the first). Come late spring, retro gaming enthusiasts will be able to pick up one of these well-built Bluetooth joystick kits for $99 direct from Ion, and eventually they'll make it across the pond for about €99 and £79. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of classic games available to suit the iCase courtesy of Atari, who's already got Asteroids working beautifully on the iPad (and it's actually a lot harder than it looks); any iOS game that takes a Bluetooth input peripheral should also play nice with the iCade. Hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: Ion iCade hands-on

Continue reading Ion iCade hands-on: gaming on the iPad like it's 1979 (video)

Ion iCade hands-on: gaming on the iPad like it's 1979 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Posted in bluetooth, Engadget, Gaming, ThinkGeek, video, wireless joystick |

Tags: Apple, arcade cabinet, arcade game, arcade gaming, ArcadeCabinet, ArcadeGame, atari, BluetoothJoystick, featured, features, hands-on, icade, ion, IonIcade, iPad, peripheral, tot |

Comments Closed

Ion iCade hands-on: gaming on the iPad like it’s 1979 (video)

August 22nd, 2011 |

Author: Richard Lai

You may recall ThinkGeek's pretty convincing April Fools' prank last year: the iCade cabinet for the iPad. Now, thanks to the keen beans at Ion, the two companies held hands and turned this totally rad concept into reality (although they're definitely not the first). Come late spring, retro gaming enthusiasts will be able to pick up one of these well-built Bluetooth joystick kits for $99 direct from Ion, and eventually they'll make it across the pond for about €99 and £79. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of classic games available to suit the iCase courtesy of Atari, who's already got Asteroids working beautifully on the iPad (and it's actually a lot harder than it looks); any iOS game that takes a Bluetooth input peripheral should also play nice with the iCade. Hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: Ion iCade hands-on

Continue reading Ion iCade hands-on: gaming on the iPad like it's 1979 (video)

Ion iCade hands-on: gaming on the iPad like it's 1979 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Posted in bluetooth, Engadget, Gaming, ThinkGeek, video, wireless joystick |

Tags: Apple, arcade cabinet, arcade game, arcade gaming, ArcadeCabinet, ArcadeGame, ArcadeGaming, atari, bluetooth joystick, BluetoothJoystick, featured, features, hands-on, icade, ion, ion icade, iPad, peripheral, tot, WirelessJoystick |

Comments Closed

Flash 10.2 hits Android today, Adobe hopes for viewable 720p playback in a matter of weeks

March 18th, 2011 |

Author: Sean Hollister

Today, Adobe Flash 10.2 will hit the Android Market for devices running Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb, and by now you're probably familiar with what it brings -- increased performance for dual-core smartphones running Android 2.2 and Android 2.3, and the promise of seriously sped-up Flash content and better battery life for Android 3.0 tablets (not to mention Flash, period). Well, we've already spent a full day with the latest build of Flash 10.2 for Android and quizzed the company thoroughly about the release, and there are a couple surprises in store.

First off, you don't absolutely need a dual-core phone to take advantage of Flash 10.2 -- Adobe VP Danny Winokur told us, and we confirmed in testing, that there are slight performance improvements on earlier devices too. With our trusty Droid 2's 1Ghz OMAP3 chip, we saw a slight but noticeable boost in framerate when playing a YouTube trailer at 480p, which admittedly only took took that particular video from "unwatchable" to merely "fairly jerky." With the Tegra 2-toting Motorola Xoom, however, 480p videos ran perfectly smooth, even as the tablet had trouble rendering 720p content as anything but a series of images. However, Adobe says even that will change soon, as this beta release doesn't take advantage of full hardware acceleration -- it's actually turned off right now. Though the Tegra 2 is natively decoding video, Adobe told us that hardware rendering and compositing will be added in a subsequent release, and when they are it "will bring 720p playback to a really smooth, enjoyable level." We also noticed that phone temperatures seemed slightly cooler with Flash 10.2, which suggests better battery life. The other work-in-progress is Flash integration into Google's Honeycomb browser, which presently has trouble detecting finger taps when Flash isn't played full screen, but which will -- Adobe hopes -- play exactly the same inside and outside the browser when work on Flash 10.2 is complete. Sounds promising, no? Then why not download it yourself this evening and give it a go?

Flash 10.2 hits Android today, Adobe hopes for viewable 720p playback in a matter of weeks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Posted in Android, android 2.2, Engadget |

Tags: Adobe, Adobe Flash, AdobeFlash, android 2.3, android 3.0, Android2.2, Android2.3, Android3.0, Danny Winokur, DannyWinokur, flash, flash 10.2, Flash10.2, froyo, gingerbread, google, hands-on, honeycomb |

Comments Closed

Dell Vostro 3000 updated with Sandy Bridge processors, affordable prices go untouched

March 17th, 2011 |

Author: Joanna Stern

Not another business laptop updated with Sandy Bridge processors! We know, it's getting a bit repetitive at this point, but what if we told you this group blends together some awesome features and won't cost you more than $600? You'd be willing to hear more, right? Well, Dell's indeed refreshing its 13-, 14-, 15-, and 17.3-inch Vostro 3000 series laptops with those fresh Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, but it's leaving intact everything we loved about the series the first time around -- including, its aluminum build, backlit keyboard, and matte displays. On top of that it's also adding SRS Pro sound, HD webcams, and a new chiclet keyboard, which is a lot like the one we like so much on the Inspiron 14R and M101z. See we told you the features were worth hearing about. Internally, all four systems will be available with a selection of Sandy Bridge processors (with the 17.3-inch version getting some quad-core options), a variety of hard drive and SSD options, six- and nine cell batteries, and up to 8GB of RAM. We don't have the exact configuration pricing, but according to the press release below the 13-inch 3350 will start at $599, 14-inch 3450 and 15-inch 3550 at $499, and lastly the 17-inch 3750 at $549. See, mighty tempting prices -- especially after you take a look at the hands-on pictures below.

Gallery: Dell Vostro 3000 hands-on

Continue reading Dell Vostro 3000 updated with Sandy Bridge processors, affordable prices go untouched

Dell Vostro 3000 updated with Sandy Bridge processors, affordable prices go untouched originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Posted in Dell, Engadget, laptop, Laptops |

Tags: core 2011, core i3, core i5, core i7, Core2011, CoreI3, CoreI5, CoreI7, Dell Vostro 3000 series, DellVostro3000Series, hands-on, vostro, Vostro 3000 series, Vostro 3350, Vostro 3450, Vostro 3550, Vostro 3750, Vostro3000Series, Vostro3350, Vostro3450, Vostro3550, Vostro3750 |

Comments Closed

Dell Inspiron R refreshed with removable lids and Intel’s latest processors

March 17th, 2011 |

Author: Joanna Stern

We'll be honest, we've never been the biggest fans of Dell's colorful, patterned lids -- not because some of them are pretty ugly, but because once you choose one hue, you're stuck with it forever (or at least until you need a new laptop). Well, Dell's finally solved that piece of the puzzle with its new Inspiron R series -- the 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch laptops all have swappable lids. Yep, it's sort of like those interchangeable Swatch watch faces from the 90s -- you can snap off the standard black cover, buy a new one for $19 ($29 for the Design Studio patterns), and latch it right on. But that's not all Dell's changed with its mainstream laptops -- the rigs now have new chiclet keyboards, HD webcams, and a design that's similar to the new XPS line.

For a budget system -- the 15R starts at $529.99 -- they actually feel pretty solid and the internal organs fit the same description. All three of the machines can be configured with brand new Sandy Bridge Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, Blu-ray drives, up to 8GB of RAM, six or nine-cell batteries, and USB 3.0 ports. Dell didn't forget about the graphics either -- the 14 will be available with AMD Radeon HD 6000M options, while the 15 and 17 grab a hold of NVIDIA's GeForce GT525. All three models should be up for order today on Dell's website with them heading to retailers later this spring. Hit the break for the full PR / specs and don't forget to check out the hands-on shots on your way.
Update: We now have the correct spec sheet after the break!

Gallery: Dell Inspiron R hands-on