As beta testing programs go, Microsoft's Kinect venture has been kind of... leaky. No surprises, therefore, that we've now received our first in-the-plastic pictures of the motion-tracking camera peripheral, replete with a few select shots of its packaging. Redmond's promise that hardware was en route to testers was clearly not a hollow one, and we can now probably expect a bunch more unauthorized disclosures about the user experience with what should be final retail units. The outside of the packaging includes a couple of teasers encouraging users to pick up some of those bodacious PDP stands and wall mounts for their Kinect -- presumably the start of a tidal wave of Kinect accessories. Gallery: Microsoft Kinect starts making home deliveriesMicrosoft Kinect starts making home deliveries to beta testers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Original Source: Engadget

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Remember how Samsung downsized the Wave to make the Wave 723 and killed off the pricey, fancy Super AMOLED display in the process? Yeah, well, the same rule applies to the Android-powered Galaxy line -- so if you were hoping to see some mind-blowing contrast ratios on Sammy's new PMP... well, you can just keep on hoping (and besides, even the mighty Tab has gone the TFT route for now). The Galaxy Player 50 is pretty cute in the flesh, featuring a 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD with multitouch capability, Android 2.1, and your choice of 8GB or 16GB worth of internal storage with microSD expansion up to 32GB. It's also packing a 2 megapixel cam on back and support for 802.11n -- and heck, like the Philips GoGear Connect it's even got a mic, basically putting it just one spec sheet line item shy of being an actual smartphone. For all intents and purposes, the PMP feels like a midrange Android smartphone when you're holding and using it; it's reasonably responsive, and we were happy to see that it has Google Maps Navigation on board (along with the Android Market and all the other standard "Google Experience" Android apps). We found the keyboard a bit cramped, but there's only so much you can do with a portrait virtual QWERTY keyboard on a 3.2-inch display, and we imagine we could get used to it with time. Needless to say, the total package feels more put-together than the GoGear, and if we were rocking a dumbphone, wanted to keep our music compartmentalized, and couldn't stand the thought of adding an iPod touch into our lives, we imagine the 50 would be on our short list. Follow the break for Samsung's press release -- and don't forget to have a gander at the gallery! Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Player 50 hands-onContinue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 50 hands-onSamsung Galaxy Player 50 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Original Source: Engadget

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Although we stand by our claim that canned beer can be great beer, many enthusiasts still love the bottled stuff. But what if you want to sample without commitment? Enter the BeerVault—preserving and dispensing craft brewski as needed. More »

Original Source: Gizmodo

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We're excited about the Boxee Box, and the new-look Apple TV is intriguing, but no single box is as good as a box that doesn't exist yet does the same stuff. Confused? Sit down, let us explain. That's the point Plex is making in announcing its new partnership with LG, which will integrate Plex software into its 2011 Netcast HDTVs and Blu-ray players. Plex enables the same sort of functionality as those smart little boxes mentioned above, letting you serve content from a machine running OS X and push it to your TV or to a mobile device (iPhone and iPad right now, Android coming). Plex also supports all the major online streamers, like Netflix, Hulu, and even the BBC iPlayer. Lack of PC support is something of a bummer, but a Windows version is said to be coming, so even your beige box can soon get in on the box-free fun.Continue reading Plex announces paternship with LG, pledges to beat Boxee Box and Apple TV for freePlex announces paternship with LG, pledges to beat Boxee Box and Apple TV for free originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Plex  | Email this | Comments

Original Source: Engadget

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It was bound to happen. Google is now roping in the power of hardware acceleration to boost the performance of its Chrome browser. In a post on the Chromium blog late last week the Chromium developers announced that they would add GPU (graphics processing unit) support to future editions of the Chrome browser, bringing Google's application in line with other major browsers.

Original Source: LXer Linux News

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