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PlayStation VR tops 1 million sales

Derek Strickland | Extended Reality (XR) | Jun 5, 2017 4:20 PM CDT

Sony's console-powered PlayStation VR headset has surpassed 1 million sales, the company today announced.

PlayStation VR tops 1 million sales

Sony took a big risk with its PS4-powered PlayStation VR headset, but the gambit seems to have paid off: President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America Shawn Layden today confirmed the PSVR has sold a million units in the eight months since it launched in October 2016.

But as Layden told The Verge, "it's still just a million units." A quick take on the numbers shows that Sony could've taken in $399 million from PSVR sales, and that's assuming if everyone bought the base $399 model. The real figures will have the complete $499 package mixed with the base $399 model, of course. Layden goes on to say that supply for the PS4-powered virtual reality headset will increase throughout this year, which will no-doubt grow sales for Sony's FY2017. "We'll have freer supply in the marketplace [in 2017]," the CEO affirmed.

Continue reading: PlayStation VR tops 1 million sales (full post)

ZTE announces mid-range smartphone, the V870

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Jun 5, 2017 3:18 PM CDT

Just a couple of days ago, ZTE launched its flagship phone for 2017, the Nubia Z17, which is the first smartphone to support Qualcomm's QuickCharge 4+, and now the company has unveiled another device.

ZTE announces mid-range smartphone, the V870

The V870 might not sound as interesting as the Nubia Z17, but it is a decent mid-range phone.

Read also: ZTE Nubia Z17 announced: Snapdragon 835 and 8GB of RAM

Continue reading: ZTE announces mid-range smartphone, the V870 (full post)

FIFA 18 on Switch: no story mode or Frostbite support

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 5, 2017 2:18 PM CDT

Electronic Arts today confirmed that FIFA 18 is the publisher's FIFA game coming to the Nintendo Switch, but the handheld's version will be missing key features.

FIFA 18 on Switch: no story mode or Frostbite support

FIFA 18's Nintendo Switch, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions aren't powered by DICE's Frostbite 3 engine, and won't have the Journey: Hunter Returns story mode. This is quite significant: not only is the Switch being technically lumped in with other legacy hardware in terms of features and content, but FIFA 18 not being powered by Frostbite 3 on the platform sends a clear message that EA may not be willing to re-tool the engine to work on the Switch, or Nintendo's new handheld-console hybrid doesn't support it very well.

"Frostbite game engine technology and the Journey: Hunter Returns mode are available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC platform versions only. Not all features available on all platforms," fine print reads at the bottom of FIFA 18's trailer reveal. It's also worth adding that EA has teamed up with Sony to market FIFA 18 after years and years with Microsoft.

Continue reading: FIFA 18 on Switch: no story mode or Frostbite support (full post)

Amazon is working on a new series of smartphones

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Jun 5, 2017 1:23 PM CDT

Back in 2014, Amazon launched the Amazon Fire Phone, but the device didn't achieve commercial success, and it was discontinued a year later. It was considered a massive failure and led to massive layoffs in the company's hardware division.

Amazon is working on a new series of smartphones

Three years later, the online retailer is preparing to launch a new smartphone series named 'Ice.' According to several reports, the phones won't be high-end devices, but rather affordable mid-range smartphones.

Leaks claim that the Amazon's Ice Phone series will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 435 processor, and come with 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage.

Continue reading: Amazon is working on a new series of smartphones (full post)

Moto E4 Plus with 5,000 mAh battery to cost $205?

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Jun 5, 2017 12:25 PM CDT

Motorola is expected to unveil the Moto E4 and E4 Plus on July 17th, but many leaks have already given us an idea of what to expect.

Moto E4 Plus with 5,000 mAh battery to cost $205?

The star of the leaks is the Moto E4 Plus because of its rumored impressive 5,000 mAh battery. The phone is expected to feature a 5.5-inch display, 13MP rear camera, and a 5MP front shooter.

Earlier rumors mention that the device will be powered by a MediaTek MT6737M chipset and come with 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage, expandable with a microSD card.

Continue reading: Moto E4 Plus with 5,000 mAh battery to cost $205? (full post)

Gamevice's snap-on mobile controller could thwart Switch

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 5, 2017 10:17 AM CDT

Gamevice, the creator of innovative controllers that snap-on to sides of Apple devices for mobile gaming, has just secured a substantial $12.5 million Series A funding round to expand the development of its product line. With proper support and content curation, this device could prove a major interrupting force for Nintendo's new Switch console-handheld.

Gamevice's snap-on mobile controller could thwart Switch

Due to its accessibility and comparative low-cost, mobile gaming is the most lucrative segment to the games industry, especially in regions like China and Japan. According to Newzoo's predictions, mobile gaming will rake in $46.1 billion or 42% of 2017's total games industry revenues. By 2020, mobile gaming is expected to pull in half of the industry's revenues with $64.9 billion.

Gamevice aims to tap this booming market with its controller peripheral, which snaps onto compatible Apple handsets and tablets to transform them into a fully-fledged on-the-go handheld. This transforming nature is not unlike the Nintendo Switch, which features attachable JoyCon controllers that slide onto a tablet-like screen to facilitate on-the-go play.

Continue reading: Gamevice's snap-on mobile controller could thwart Switch (full post)

Pokemon Direct announced for tomorrow

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 5, 2017 9:12 AM CDT

Nintendo has officially announced a new Pokemon-themed Nintendo Direct showcase planned for tomorrow at 7AM PST / 10AM EST.

Pokemon Direct announced for tomorrow

Nintendo may finally be ready to unveil the much-anticipated Pokemon Stars game on Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid. Rumor has it that Pokemon Stars will be a "director's cut" of the original Pokemon Sun and Moon games released on 3DS, with remastered 1080p graphics while docked and 720p in handheld mode, as well as other content specifically tailor-made for the Switch handheld.

If Nintendo does announce Pokemon Stars tomorrow, it'll assuredly showcase the game during its main E3 2017 reel slated for Tuesday, June 13 at 9AM PST / 12PM EST.

Continue reading: Pokemon Direct announced for tomorrow (full post)

Biostar reveals the monster X299GT9 motherboard

Steven Bassiri | Motherboards | Jun 5, 2017 9:03 AM CDT

Computex 2017 - We have seen some impressive X299 motherboards, but none are as big as one we spotted at Biostar's booth at Computex 2017. The X299GT9 is a monster motherboard that comes in the E-ATX form factor, which allows for a significantly wider PCB. The motherboard features multiple PCI-E x16 slots, two U.2 ports, an M.2 slot, many USB 3.0 internal headers, and a hefty VRM.

Biostar reveals the monster X299GT9 motherboard

Hidden under a metal veil is an Intel 1Gbit NIC as well as an Intel 10Gbit NIC. Intel's X550AT is employed to drive the higher networking speeds. The PCI-E layout is x16/x16/x8/x4/x4/x4/x4 and there are four SATA6Gb/s ports on the right of the motherboard. The motherboard does support USB 3.1 and carries a 14-phase VRM. We don't know much more about the motherboard, but its size is impressive, and hopefully we will get one in for review.

Continue reading: Biostar reveals the monster X299GT9 motherboard (full post)

Huawei launches another tablet - MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Jun 5, 2017 8:19 AM CDT

Just a couple of days after Huawei launched the MediaPad M3 Lite 10 in three versions, the company has announced another tablet - the MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0.

Huawei launches another tablet - MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0

The tablet is powered by the same processor as the recently announced devices, the Snapdragon 435. The MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0 comes in versions with 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, expandable with a microSD card.

As the name suggests, the device has a smaller screen than the M3 Lite 10, an 8.4-inch one to be precise, with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels.

Continue reading: Huawei launches another tablet - MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0 (full post)

ASUS's first motherboards with wireless AD tech

Steven Bassiri | Motherboards | Jun 5, 2017 7:30 AM CDT

Computex 2017 - ASUS's Rampage VI Extreme and X299-Deluxe do not only sport new digs, but also the latest in Wi-Fi technology, Wireless AD. While current standards such as Wireless N (802.11n) and Wireless AC (802.11ac) operate on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, Wireless AD (802.11ad) operates on the 60GHz band (or around it).

ASUS's first motherboards with wireless AD tech

It will offer theoretical speeds up to 7Gbps, while Wireless AC maxes out around 3.2Gbps in its most impressive theoretical form. The Rampage VI Extreme will also feature 10Gbit wired networking, hopefully ushering in a new generation of multi-Gbit wired and wireless networking.

While features such as multi-Gbit networking tend to stay at the very top of the stack when it comes to integrated features, ASUS is also adding in Wireless AD into its X299-Deluxe, along with many features such as a built-in LCD located at the center of the motherboard and multiple USB 3.1 ports. Wireless AD capable networking equipment should become more common in the second half of this year into the next.

Continue reading: ASUS's first motherboards with wireless AD tech (full post)

Xbox Games Pass may come to PC

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 5, 2017 7:18 AM CDT

Xbox division head Phil Spencer expresses interest in making a Game Pass service for Windows 10 PCs.

Xbox Games Pass may come to PC

Microsoft recently launched its game-changing Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which offers subscribers unlimited access to a rotating catalog of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games. At its core, Xbox Game Pass takes the best from Sony's failed PlayStation Now venture with its catalog of backward-compatible Xbox 360 games and EA's EA Access model, which offers newer and older titles from the publisher's lineup. Xbox Game Pass games are downloaded, not streamed, and new content rotates in on a monthly basis somewhat like Netflix and Hulu. Gamers always know what's rotating out, and get the opportunity to buy leaving titles with a discount.

In a bid to revolutionize its content offering and reinforce its new focus on digital content, Microsoft may bring a PC version of $10 a month Xbox Game Pass service to Windows 10 PCs. While Game Pass subscribers can already stream Play Anywhere games from their Xbox One console to Windows 10 PCs, not every PC gamer has an Xbox One.

Continue reading: Xbox Games Pass may come to PC (full post)

AMD Radeon RX series cards are hard to buy right now

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Jun 4, 2017 7:10 PM CDT

We're still two months away from the launch of Radeon RX Vega, with AMD announcing at Computex 2017 that it will launch Radeon RX Vega at SIGGRAPH 2017 which takes place between July 30 and August 3.

AMD Radeon RX series cards are hard to buy right now

But the bigger story for AMD right now is that their Radeon RX 400 and RX 500 series graphics cards are flying off the shelves... but why? Cryptocurrency mining, that's what. The cards are either selling out, are sold out, or they're being sold for ridiculous prices in the second hand market.

It feels like it's 2013 all over again, but between then and now ASIC hardware dedicated to cryptocurrency mining went crazy. Efficiency was king, beating consumer graphics cards... until Ethereum, a new cryptocurrency that can be mined liked a Bitcoin.

Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX series cards are hard to buy right now (full post)

New iPhone 8 rumors leak from trusted source

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Jun 4, 2017 2:06 PM CDT

A reported 'Foxconn Insider' has leaked extensive details about Apple's upcoming products on Reddit. This leaker was verified by Reddit Moderators and has a previous track record of providing verified and legitimate information ahead of Apple's product launches.

New iPhone 8 rumors leak from trusted source

The leaker says that there will not be a Touch ID sensor in the back of the device and that the design resembles more of an iPhone 7 with thinner vertical bezels. The leaker even referenced images of existing leaks and said that the devices he had seen included more glass on the front. One interesting point was that he said the fingerprint scanner underneath the screen had been tested but had poor yields.

However, the leaker does state that these are all from earlier prototypes and things could have changed since then.

Continue reading: New iPhone 8 rumors leak from trusted source (full post)

Huawei to unveil the Honor 9 on June 12

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Jun 4, 2017 12:50 PM CDT

Huawei Honor 8 received a lot of positive feedback, and lately, we've been hearing a lot about its successor - the Honor 9.

Huawei to unveil the Honor 9 on June 12

According to a leaked poster, the company is set to announce the Honor 9 on June 12th. The poster shows a huge number nine next to Honor's logo for dual camera setup.

The sign on the poster says "Beautiful and colorful," and we already saw that the Honor 9 might come in some bold color options such as yellow. Huawei is clearly focused on colors this year; a trend they started in February with green Huawei P10.

Continue reading: Huawei to unveil the Honor 9 on June 12 (full post)

ASRock delivers with an X299 mITX motherboard

Steven Bassiri | Motherboards | Jun 3, 2017 8:16 PM CDT

Computex 2017 - ASRock delivered the only X99 motherboard to the consumer market and it seems that they have done it again with the X299 chipset. The socket will support LGA2011 mounting.

ASRock delivers with an X299 mITX motherboard

The X299E-ITX/AC features the new chipset along with four SO-DIMMs, which ASRock claims can support up to 4800MHz DDR4, as well as quad-channel memory support. While it only has a single PCI-E x16 slot like most other mini-ITX motherboards, it does offer two x4 PCI-E 3.0 M.2 slots. Two of them are located on the back of the motherboard, while the third is located on a daughterboard behind the IO panel.

The motherboard actually features a second daughterboard that allow ASRock to cram more into the mini-ITX form factor including six SATA6Gb/s ports and a USB 3.0 internal header. The SATA/USB board sits above the VRM heat sink, which looks like it is small enough to cool down high quality dual N-channel MOSFETs or fully integrated power stages.

Continue reading: ASRock delivers with an X299 mITX motherboard (full post)

GDDR6 arrives in early 2018, GDDR5X hits 16Gbps

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Jun 3, 2017 7:14 PM CDT

AMD is set to launch its HBM2-based Radeon RX Vega graphics card sometime in August, but Micron is now promising mass production of GDDR6 memory in early 2018, primed and ready for what I think will be a refreshed GeForce GTX series from NVIDIA.

GDDR6 arrives in early 2018, GDDR5X hits 16Gbps

Micron has confirmed it will be entering mass production of GDDR6 in early 2018, with NVIDIA set to use it on new graphics cards expected in 2018. Better yet, Micron added that it hit 16Gbps on GDDR5X, up from the 11Gbps found on the GDDR5X on the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

Micron added: "I am excited to announce that our Graphics design team in Munich has achieved 16Gbps data rates in our high speed test environment-another first for memory industry. The left picture shows the data eye opening at 16Gbps based on a critical PRBS pattern sequence, with great timing and voltage margin. The right image below shows stable data timing margin (horizontally) versus data rate (vertically), from our base sort speed of 10Gbps up to an unprecedented 16Gbps. This result is based on measurements on a meaningful sampling size of our mass production G5X silicon - not theoretical simulation data.

Continue reading: GDDR6 arrives in early 2018, GDDR5X hits 16Gbps (full post)

Intel's Core i9-7980XE 18C/36T processor: 2018 release?

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Jun 3, 2017 6:56 PM CDT

Intel might have unveiled their new Core i9 range of processors at Computex 2017, led by the flagship Core i9-7980XE processor and its 18C/36T of power. Except, that monster will not see the light of day until 2018 according to an ASUS representative.

Intel's Core i9-7980XE 18C/36T processor: 2018 release?

"Raja@ASUS" on the ASUS ROG forums replied to someone asking about the benefits of Intel's new 18-core CPU, to which he responded with: "The 18-core CPUs are not scheduled until later this year. Won't have them for a while. Either way, unless you're using the rig for rendering or encoding to make a living, no need".

I don't think we'll see the Core i9-7980XE until early 2018, which will let AMD have plenty of time to get ThreadRipper into the hands of consumers with the full 16C/32T of power and a full 64 PCIe 3.0 lanes compared to the 44 PCIe 3.0 lanes on X299 from Intel.

Continue reading: Intel's Core i9-7980XE 18C/36T processor: 2018 release? (full post)

Moto Z2 Play is official and comes with new Moto Mods

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Jun 3, 2017 2:12 PM CDT

After months of leaks, the Moto Z2 Play is finally official. The new generation of the Moto Z Play brings some design changes compared to the last year's model and the company has also announced a few new Moto Mods.

Moto Z2 Play is official and comes with new Moto Mods

As rumored, the device is slightly thinner that its predecessor and comes with a smaller battery, which was confirmed by Lenovo before the launch. The Moto Z Play had a 3,510 mAh battery, while the Moto Z2 Play features a 3,000 mAh one.

The Moto Z2 Play comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD. It is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 626 and comes with 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, expandable up to 2TB with a microSD card.

Continue reading: Moto Z2 Play is official and comes with new Moto Mods (full post)

Samsung shows promising new VR display tech

Lana Jelic | Extended Reality (XR) | Jun 3, 2017 12:08 PM CDT

At the SID Display Week conference for display technologies, Samsung showed off a new type of display specifically designed for virtual reality.

Samsung shows promising new VR display tech

The new 3.5" display is designed to be used in VR headsets like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift and offers a much higher resolution than current headsets.

Each display has a resolution of 2022 x 2200 pixels which translates to a pixel density of 858 PPI, something simply unheard of in a display larger than 1 inch. Each display will be dedicated to each eye and should do well for VR with a 90 Hz refresh rate.

Continue reading: Samsung shows promising new VR display tech (full post)

PlayStation 5 will feature full discrete GPU, not an APU

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jun 2, 2017 11:50 PM CDT

Exclusive: In the hustle and bustle of Computex, I had an interesting conversation with someone who will remain anonymous, about Sony's next-gen PlayStation console.

PlayStation 5 will feature full discrete GPU, not an APU

After I had found out what this person did, I had a few questions to ask about the PS5 and what it will arrive as - especially when we look at Microsoft's upcoming Project Scorpio console. The first question I had was "will it feature a discrete GPU" to which I received a smile and a "I can't say exactly", and then I said would it feature an APU like Project Scorpio, and then there was a "no".

This is all I heard, and this person is deep in the industry and would know a fair amount of what to expect, and while they might not know exactly which GPU will be inside of the PlayStation 5, the sheer possibility that PS5 might feature a proper GPU instead of a watered down and power constrained APU, is exciting.

Continue reading: PlayStation 5 will feature full discrete GPU, not an APU (full post)

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