Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Roku lowers prices across the board: HD box now $69, $99 HD-XR to get 1080p support

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/roku-lowers-prices-across-the-board-hd-box-now-69-99-hd-xr-t/

Looks like Roku's going aggressive on price with its lineup of streamers in response to Sony's new $130 Netbox streamer, the upcoming Google TV launch, and rumors that we'll see that rumored $99 iOS-based Apple TV arrive on Wednesday. The SD box is down to $59 from $79, the standard HD is now $69 from $99, and the HD-XR with dual-band 802.11n and soon-to-be-enabled USB playback support is now $99 from $129. The HD-XR is also due to get 1080p streaming support later this year; it'll be focused on USB playback at first since most of the streaming channels are 720p right now.

Those prices are definitely getting close to impulse-buy territory, especially since a Roku is now one of the cheapest ways to get Netflix and Amazon VOD on a TV, along with other channels like MLB and UFC. In fact, Roku says its goal is to put three streamers in every house -- one next to every TV in the average American home. We applaud the ambition, but we've got a feeling this entire market is about get turned upside down once Apple and Google launch their initiatives.

Roku lowers prices across the board: HD box now $69, $99 HD-XR to get 1080p support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:46 AM

Canon develops world's largest CMOS sensor, shoots 60fps video in moonlight

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/31/canon-develops-worlds-largest-cmos-sensor-shoots-60fps-video-i/

Did you ever think that you'd see a CMOS sensor measuring 202 x 205 mm? That's 7.95 x 8.07 inches to our fine imperial friends. Its impressive size -- about 40 times larger than Canon's largest commercial CMOS sensor -- translates to staggering light-gathering capabilities, capturing images in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a professional DSLR. Better yet, the sensor is matched by new circuitry allowing for video capture at 60fps in just 0.3 lux of illumination (think full moon on a clear night). Unfortunately, the press release is more concerned with promoting Canon's engineering prowess than with product launch. Nevertheless, we're impressed.

Continue reading Canon develops world's largest CMOS sensor, shoots 60fps video in moonlight

Canon develops world's largest CMOS sensor, shoots 60fps video in moonlight originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:45 AM

ASUS Eee PC 1215N review 

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/31/asus-eee-pc-1215n-review/

About nine months ago ASUS released its 12.1-inch Eee PC 1201N to much fanfare. It was the first "netbook" to pack NVIDIA's Ion platform and a desktop-class Atom processor. Translation: it absolutely wrecked regular netbooks (and even other Ion netbooks) on the graphics and performance battlefield. Indeed, the 1201N blurred the lines between netbook and regular laptop, but we ultimately knocked it fairly hard for not lasting longer than 2.5 hours on a charge -- it was dubbed a "netbook" of course.

Our apologies for the brief history lesson, but it's actually quite important in understanding why ASUS' second generation of the 1201N is such a big deal. The 1215N has a Pine Trail 1.8GHz dual-core Atom D525 processor and NVIDIA's Ion 2 with Optimus, which no longer requires the GPU to be running the entire time and saves battery power. The $500 rig (though we're seeing it on sale for as much as $599) is still on the pricey side for a "netbook," but promises 1080p playback, seven hours of battery life and a 250GB hard drive. So, does the 1215N correct all the wrongs of the 1201N and live up to the "netbook powerhouse" title that ASUS has given it? And more importantly can it compete with some of the newer thin and light laptops, like the Dell Inspiron M101z? We found out, and we're assuming you want to as well in our full review after the break.

Continue reading ASUS Eee PC 1215N review 

ASUS Eee PC 1215N review  originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:45 AM

Philips GoGear Connect is an Android-based iPod touch competitor

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/31/philips-gogear-connect-is-an-android-based-ipod-touch-competitor/

For all it's success, the iPod touch has few competitors capable matching its big-touchscreen, WiFi, and voluminous app store. Until today. Philips just went official with its GoGear Connect featuring the full suite of Google Mobile applications pre-installed and access to the Android Market. Spec-wize we're looking at a 3.2-inch display, WiFi, sound isolating earphones, built-in camera, and microSD slot. Sorry, not mention of the Android OS version. Syncing your music is done over Bluetooth or a USB tether to your PC with a Philips Songbird software assist. The MP4 player also supports Maps and location-based services -- presumably accomplished by some kind of Skyhook service and not via a GPS radio (though the Philips post is tagged with "GPS"). Look for the GoGear Connect to land in Western Europe, China, and yes, the US, starting in late October with the price pegged at €249 (about $315) for the 16GB model.

Philips GoGear Connect is an Android-based iPod touch competitor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:44 AM

Monday, August 30, 2010

Turn On Hardware Graphics Acceleration in Chrome 7 [Chrome]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5625256/turn-on-gpu-acceleration-in-chrome-7

Turn On Hardware Graphics Acceleration in Chrome 7It's only available in the Dev and Canary builds of Chrome, and very few pages support it—for now. But if you want to get hardware acceleration running in Google's browser, it's just a simple command line switch away.

ZDNet's Googling Google blog points out that getting GPU acceleration going in your Chrome Dev version is simply a matter of right-clicking your Chrome shortcut and adding a parameter to the end, just as we've explained in the power user's guide to Google Chrome. In this case, that parameter (or "switch") is --enable-accelerated-compositing.

Where can you try out your new graphics-card-assisted browsing and rendering? Oddly enough, at Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Testdrive site. There will be, assuredly, other sites that support GPU acceleration in the near future, but for now, it's neat to see how fast you can get your browser going.

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Posted by Augustine at 9:15 AM

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