Agawi and Marvell team up to bring cloud-based gaming to Android set-top boxes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/agawi-and-marvell-partnership/

It's like a match made in heaven. Agawi and Marvell have partnered up to combine a cloud-based gaming platform with the equipment that powers many popular Google TV devices. Together, both companies will offer a white-label Android gaming solution to OEMs, internet and cable providers, game publishers and retailers. As a result, we may see a number of smart TV devices begin cropping up that support Agawi's CloudPlay gaming service. Whether this solution poses a legitimate threat to the console business remains to be seen, but we're going to scour the floor at CES to bring you a demo of the system in action. In the meantime, full PR follows the break.

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Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

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JVC launches Procision slow-mo HD camcorder, refreshed Everio line at CES

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/jvc-procision-camera/

When it comes to launching a groundbreaking flagship video camera at CES, JVC's got previous. The company has outed the Procision GC-PX100, a 1,920 x 1,080 camcorder that shoots at 36Mbps, a bit-rate that the company claims makes it perfect for slow-motion and special effects work. Light will be pouring forth into a F/1.2 lens, a 1/2.3-inch 12.8-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS censor with optical image stabilization. JVC is claiming that it's capable of cranking out 600 frames per second and shoot still images in bursts of nine frames a second -- although not at the same time. When you're done, you can push the footage straight to your smartphone or tablet over WiFi and the company is also offering a mobile app that'll let sports coaches analyze their players movement in staggering detail. It'll be available in March, but you'd better all of that athletic scrutiny is worth it, as it'll set you back $1,000.

At the same time, the company's outing a game of Everio camcorders, with the entry-level GX-E100 setting you back $230 for the most basic model the company can offer. At the other end of the range, the $500 GZ-VX815 offers a f/1.2 lens, a 12.8-megapixel sensor and WiFi when it goes on sale in March.

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Filed under: Cameras

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Hands-on with Archos TV Connect (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/archos-tv-connect-hands-on/

Archos first announced its TV Connect ahead of CES 2013, which detailed a two-device approach to bringing the Android experience to televisions. On one end is an HD camera mounted either to the top of your television or set up as a stand, and at the other end is an enormous remote control -- what Archos is calling the "TV Touch remote." The camera end of things also contains a 1.5GHz "multi-core" CPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage, all of which powers the experience. Sadly, with a mess of WiFi signals and Bluetooth devices at the Las Vegas Convention Center (TV Connect included), navigating TV Connect's Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean interface could only be done via physical buttons -- the TV Touch remote is otherwise advertised to interact with the camera by placing a cursor on screen, navigable by physically pointing the giant remote at your screen.

In our hands-on time, not only was the cursor bugging out, but the Bluetooth connection dropped altogether at one point. It's possible that this was just a measure of the demo area's constraints, of course; we're reserving judgment until we can test it in our own homes. When it was working, it operated like you'd expect Android to operate. We were able to jump quickly from Google Maps to a game just as easily as you would on any standard Android device, albeit on the big screen. And that's quite a promising concept -- pushing not only apps like YouTube and Netflix to the TV, but more importantly, Google's Play store. That means games (controllable with the TV Touch remote), media, and more. Whether it's as exciting a! s it sou nds remains to be seen, but we'll be sure to find out before it arrives at retail this February for $130. Take a peek at TV Connect in use in our hands-on video, just below.

Gallery: Archos TV Connect @ CES 2013

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Filed under: Displays, Gaming, Home Entertainment, Household, Peripherals, HD

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Peter Gabriel brings remixing to the masses with MusicTiles for iOS

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/peter-gabriel-musictiles/

Neil Young already had a go at changing the music world, but now it's Peter Gabriel's turn to mix up the scene. The acclaimed artist has introduced a new app known as MusicTiles, which allows users to create and share remixes of their favorite tunes with a simple tile interface. Each tile represents a basic element of the song -- be it a guitar track, drums or vocals -- which can then be blended together with other elements. Users can then manipulate the effects and timing of the individual components by placing them in different arrangements. MusicTiles costs $2.99 and is available today for the iPad and iPhone. Once the app is downloaded, users can then make in-app purchases of songs and albums.

The app's creators suggest that any professionally produced song can be transformed into the MusicTiles format. Artists need only to submit the master stems of their work. You'll find a demo of the app after the break, which reveals some of the remix possibilities for Peter Gabriel's hit "Sledgehammer". This is the new stuff, indeed.

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Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Via: Fast Co mpany

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Why 4K Phones Aren't Such a Bad Idea

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974276/why-4k-phones-arent-such-a-bad-idea

Moments ago, at a small press event, Raj Talluri, Qualcomm's VP of Product Management dropped this little nugget. "You are just starting to see 1080p display phones. I think that will go even higher." My brain instantly exploded.

If people are working on UltraHD screens for mobile phones, Raj would know about it, as Qualcomm builds chips for virtually every mobile device manufacturer you can name. 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p) on five inch screens—which are popping up like crazy on new high-end phones) have 440 pixels per inch. You couldn't see those pixels if your eyeballs were pressed to the glass. So, I asked him what the point could possibly be. It's just a pointless manufacturer pissing contest, right?

Raj's answer was that sure, above 400 PPI or so, it's not really about how many pixels the screen itself can display, what's important is how many pixels the phone is capable of pushing, as in CPU and GPU horsepower. It's because of things like Miracast, where you can wirelessly push video and audio to your TV. If these upcoming phones with the superfast Snapdragon 800 processor can shoot 4K UHD video, wouldn't it be great if you could push that directly to your 4K UHD TV? Damn right it would. And there's certainly room to go well beyond 1080p on larger tablet screens.

We really hope that phone manufacturers don't waste their time, energy, and endless marketing dollars on pushing beyond 440 PPI displays for phones. Until we all have our eyes replaced with robotic cameras, their efforts would be better spent on making screens more efficient. If you look at your phone's battery stats, the screen is always the biggest devourer of juice, often by a factor of three or four. That said, if chip makers like Qualcomm are eager to push beyond 1080p into 4K video recording, even 8K video, bring it on.

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