Thursday, November 18, 2010

OnLive MicroConsole Streams Cloud-Rendered Games to Your TV [Video]

OnLive MicroConsole Streams Cloud-Rendered Games to Your TV [Video]

OnLive MicroConsole Streams Cloud-Rendered Games to Your TVOnLive, the streaming game service, has matured really fast in just five months. I liked the original public release, when it was on just computers, but now it's come to a console that plugs into your TV. I like it.

To quickly recap, OnLive has a bunch of servers that do all the game rendering remotely, then pipe the resulting video to your console to show on your TV. All button inputs get sent to the cloud and processed; acting as if you were actually sitting in front of a regular console. Buying games on OnLive is cheaper than buying them from retail, but you also get the ability to try out games before you go in. And this MicroConsole is only $99.

OnLive MicroConsole Streams Cloud-Rendered Games to Your TVI've only played with the MicroConsole for a short time, but from what I've seen, it's the PC/Mac experience ported to your living room. You can use the proprietary low-latency (lower than USB, they say) wireless controller, or the console can support USB-based keyboards, mice, controllers and headsets. They say the drivers are all handled server-side as well. As for minimum internet requirements, you'll need 5Mbps for a 40-inch or larger TV, 4Mbps for 30-40-inch TVs, and 3Mbps for 30-inch or smaller TVs.

Here's what playing it looks like.

It really is pretty great. The combination of a low-latency controller, with the improvements they've made in the OnLive service—as well as my relatively fast Comcast internet connection—make the whole experience on par with modern consoles. You can definitely tell that the overall picture is blurrier, and edges are less defined compared to a regular Xbox 360, and there are sometimes occasional stuttering issues, but it's a solid experience, especially for a box this tiny.

OnLive will clear a big hurdle with the December 2nd launch of the MicroConsole, letting people get the living room console experience in their living rooms. The next major hurdle is getting game publishers to support the platform more than hey have been, which OnLive assures me is happening.

OnLive MicroConsole Streams Cloud-Rendered Games to Your TV

Why OnLive might be the future of gaming

The MicroConsole is a big step, and one that lays the groundwork for a lot of what OnLive is planning for the next year. Because it has 1080p, 60FPS support, there's little need to update the hardware unless there's a major shift in TV requirements. They've got 3D support in there now, just not turned on, as well as Bluetooth headset support, 4 controller support and USB hub support. So the hardware is good enough at sucking down bits to shove onto your TV for the next few years.

Flat-rate gaming is like Netflix Watch Instantly for games

OnLive plans to roll out multiple flat-rate packages for games, sort of like how Hulu Plus and Netflix works for TV and movies. You pay one monthly price, then get unlimited access to as many games as you want. Lower tiers will have older titles (starting at a few months to a year+, depending on popularity), as well as indie games. Higher priced tiers will have unlimited games that launch day-and-date with console releases.

OnLive CEO Steve Perlman says that game publishers understand that there's a dollar figure per household of what the maximum price per month that a gamer will spend on gaming. That number might go down for months where there aren't many releases, but there's a cap there that the consumer places on themselves to budget their spending. Setting the all-you-can-eat price at that point makes the most sense for both the publisher and the consumer.

OnLive MicroConsole Streams Cloud-Rendered Games to Your TV

Wait until it takes advantage of the cloud

Getting on-par with the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in terms of performance and number of games is just stage one for OnLive. Where they can really excel is the fact that all these games are rendered in the cloud, with 2010-level hardware, whereas consoles are using 2005-level hardware. This means that, if so interested, publishers can make incredible-looking and hugely-immersive games that aren't capable of being rendered on consoles—or even powerful home PCs—and do that on a big-ass server farm that's piped to your screen. This is incredible.

Steve tells me that it's something game publishers are looking at, but they're waiting until the OnLive platform gains enough users to make developing these ultra-titles profitable. It's not that OnLive is competing directly with the Xbox 360 or the PS3, it's that they're capable of doing something drastically different and insanely better, if there's software support for it.

OnLive MicroConsole Streams Cloud-Rendered Games to Your TV

Can it be an ultimate streaming box?

I also asked Steve, because the box is already capable of streaming games at such a high resolution and frame rate, if they could theoretically load Netflix, Hulu and other services on there to be an all-around streaming box. His answer? It's not something they're doing yet, but it's a possibility.

And because the box is so really tiny, it's kind of a perfect box to take on vacation, or even on business trips. Imagine having your whole library of games with you, as well as the ability to buy more.

Microsoft's really putting their money into streaming tech and digital downloads. OnLive is a platform that's proving you can do just about everything on the server side and still be competitive for gaming. If they're smart, Microsoft will take a hard look at what OnLive is doing and maybe eat them up for the next Xbox. [OnLive]

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Samsung Galaxy Tab price wars: US carriers face off

Samsung Galaxy Tab price wars: US carriers face off

Samsung's Galaxy Tab. You know our thoughts on the device, so let's assume you've passed the "should I buy it?" question and onto the more specific, "whom should I sign on with?" You're certainly not bereft of choices: by the end of November, five of the six largest US carriers (sorry, MetroPCS) will offer the Android slate -- but not all pricing schemes were made equal. Carrier-agnostics, we're here to help!

While we've already bemoaned the $50 premium on AT&T's model, we have confirmed there is no activation fee, which narrows the price between it and Verizon's offering to just $15 (and Ma Bell, along with Sprint, seem to be the only two offering a $50 Media Hub voucher). On paper, US Cellular has the lowest two-year cost with $760 on contract, but $15 monthly for 200MB is pretty ridiculous when just $20 gets you an entire gig on Verizon's network, or $30 for 2GB on Sprint. T-Mobile wins the award for the most insane disparity in data offerings: $25 for 200MB, or 25 times the data allotment (5GB) for just $15 more. 'Twas the best of deals, 'twas the worst of deals.

If you ask us, there isn't really a clear-cut winner, but we'd definitely contend Big Magenta's got the most alluring on-contract value if 5GB is in the range of your data usage; the equivalent plan costs $60 on Sprint and $50 on Verizon, with the latter offering no discount for making a two-year commitment. Then again, if you're the kind who prefers to be unrestrained and plan to spend $600 regardless, it's Verizon with the most competitive data plans overall. And of course, your decision will undoubtedly be influenced by network performance in your area. Consider yourself informed.

Samsung Galaxy Tab price wars: US carriers face off originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T: 80 percent of network now upgraded to HSPA+

AT&T: 80 percent of network now upgraded to HSPA+

AT&T promised that it would be expanding its HSPA+ rollout this year, and it's now finally touting some actual results. Speaking at the Sencha Conference in San Francisco this week, AT&T CTO John Donovan confirmed that the carrier has upgraded a full 80 percent of its network to HSPA+, which promises to offer two and half times the performance of regular HSPA. Donovan also talked a bit out mobile data use in general, and revealed that data traffic growth has actually slowed over the past few months from a rate of 50 times to 30 times what it was three years ago. Donvon was quick to point out, however, that "If you look in absolute numbers, it's still a tremendous growth rate," and actually represents a three thousand percent uptick in data traffic over the past three years.

AT&T: 80 percent of network now upgraded to HSPA+ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BoxWave's Keyboard Buddy turns your iPhone 4 into the Droid it always wanted to be

BoxWave's Keyboard Buddy turns your iPhone 4 into the Droid it always wanted to be

Suffering from a little bit of Droid envy? It happens to even the most loyal of iPhone users, and now BoxWave is stepping in to make your life almost complete (we say "almost" because there's still no native Gmail client for the iPhone, and all your tears aren't going to solve that). The BoxWave Keyboard Buddy Case is just what it sounds like, a Bluetooth keyboard embedded in an iPhone 4 case, only instead of flipping out like the TK-421 or slide-tilting like the ultra-bulky Nuu Mini Key, BoxWave's solution is a simple sliding affair that adds very little to the iPhone 4's profile and hardly anything to its footprint. Also, it's your buddy. It'll start shipping next month, and it's a little spendy at $70, but can you really put a price on the flattery of imitation?

BoxWave's Keyboard Buddy turns your iPhone 4 into the Droid it always wanted to be originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid 2 Global GSM bands locked, camera bulge added to case

Droid 2 Global GSM bands locked, camera bulge added to case

No surprise here, but it looks like Verizon's on-sale-but-never-really-announced Droid 2 Global has its GSM radios locked down, meaning you can't just throw an AT&T SIM in there and expect anything to work. Of course, the enterprising hackers at xda-developers are hot on the case, so there's a chance things will be opened up, but we wouldn't hold our breath.

In other news, it looks like there's been a slight case modification to the Droid 2 Global -- the camera module now sports a slight hump as seen in the comparison photo above. We're not sure if this is to accommodate the extra radio or (please please please) perhaps a better sensor, but whoomp, there it is. No big thing in the grand scheme of things, but between the dark blue casing and the camera bulge, you'll totally be able to spot D2G owners out of the crowd. And that... that will make you a super nerd weirdo. But it's okay, because we love you.

Droid 2 Global GSM bands locked, camera bulge added to case originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 22:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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