This device showed up at the FCC just this past week and has been revealed by Sapphire today, it coming complete with an AMD E-450 dual-core processor and Radeon HD 6320 graphics to keep you warm at night. This computer has the ability to support 4GB of RAM, has its own 2.5-inch hard drive bay with support for up to a massive 500 GB of hard disk space. Inside you’ll get Edge-HD3 or FreeDOS software out of the box, but you’ll be able to load Windows 7 or any other comparable operating system on command.

This unit measures in at 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches and weighs in at less than 1.2 pounds. You’ve also got Wi-fi, Ethernet, VGA port, HDMI port, and audio ports. You’ve also got 2 USB 2.0 ports as well as 2 USB 3.0 ports to keep you as connected as you’re ever going to want to be. It’s a love festival in a package that can fit in your giant pocket! Take a peek at the older models at the Sapphire site and see how they compare. Pricing and release date have not yet been released for this newest HD3 model – can’t wait!

[via Liliputing]

Windows 8 ARM will be available at retail at the same time as Windows 8 x86. Or at least Microsoft hopes to make this the case. No doubt about it, Microsoft understands that low-power and mostly mobile devices are critical to their future, and don’t want to waste any time making inroads into this section of the market. There’s no guarantees here, but even if the date for WOA slips, it shouldn’t be by more than a couple of months.

Windows 8 ARM will retain a standard Windows desktop interface and programs. Despite a focus on the new Metro interface, Microsoft has assured its current users that the Windows desktop and core experience apps like Internet Explorer, File Explorer and the like will remain a central part of Windows. Of course, they’re going to need a lot of tweaking, including a lot more of the Ribbon interface (love it or hate it) and possibly the complete removal of the Start button. The next version of Microsoft Office, which they’re calling Office 15, will work on WOA.

You can’t run x86 or x64 software on Windows 8 ARM, but Metro apps will run on both. It’s a fairly obvious point, but bears repeating: with a shift to a completely different architecture, developers will have to work within the boundries of the ARM system-on-a-chip. Current programs just won’t work on ARM machines. However, applications built to Micrrosoft’s Metro standards (and published to the Windows Store) will work on both x86 and ARM-based hardware, and can access standard stored resources. And speaking of Metro…

New Windows 8 ARM software can only be downloaded from the Windows Store. Yup, Microsoft’s going full integrated in WOA, not unlike their similar moves with Windows Phone 7. In keeping with the integrated platform vibe, you won’t be able to just download an EXE file and install it – paid or free, every new app, Metro interface or not, will have to come through the Windows Store. By the way, expect this to be cracked and circumvented roughly twenty minutes after the first WOA machine is sold. Even new driver downloads will come through the Windows Store. x86/x64 Windows will still operate the way it does now.

Windows 8 ARM will be labelled clearly and separately from Windows 8 x86/x64. Remember the fiasco that was the “Vista Ready” program? Now imagine that with two separate code bases and a a dozen or so form factors. Microsoft doesn’t want to repeat that, so they plan on making the differences between W8 and WOA completely transparent. Of course, it doesn’t help that they’re both called “Windows 8″, and around the same time Windows Phone 8 may be coming out. So yeah, expect massive confusion from the Best Buy crowd, and lots of cries for help from your relatives.

You can’t buy Windows 8 ARM. Not as a consumer, anyway: the ARM division of Microsoft and Windows is going to focus on completely integrated devices, not unlike regular smartphones and tablets today. WOA will be sold as a consumer electronics device, not a traditional PC. If you want a WOA machine, you’ll have to buy one from a hardware partner. That said, keeping modders from doing their thing is nigh impossible, and various hacks from published versions of WOA and developer builds should make for some interesting projects. It should be possible, if not entirely practical, to run WOA on some current Android tablets. We can’t wait to see what comes out of the modder crowd.

Most of your peripherals will work with Windows 8 ARM. WOA includes basic plug-and-play functionality for most of the basic add-ons out there, so adding a mouse and keyboard, external hard dives, card readers, et cetera should work just fine.  As usual more esoteric hardware, like the shortcut buttons on your keyboard, will need specific drivers. These may be downloaded from the Windows Store if the accessory manufacturer supplies them. More complicated hardware add-ons, like TV tuners or graphics tablets, will probably need entirely new drivers. There’s no word on external displays, but most ARM licensees have at least some support for HDMI-out already on the market, so it’s probably coming along for the ride.

Windows 8 ARM will support DirectX 10 gaming. And hardware acceleration in the browser and general UI too, but what you want to know about is gaming. There have been some impressive gains in ARM-based graphics cards lately, and getting DirectX support in WOA is a major accomplishment. This doesn’t mean that your current Windows games will work with WOA (because of the architecture – see above) but the tools are there. Developers should be able to get some very impressive graphical oomph out of Windows 8 ARM hardware, and maybe soon after launch ARM downloads from indie and then major publishers will start appearing in the Windows Store.

Windows 8 ARM beta is coming soon, and you can’t have it. At the same time as the next milestone release for Windows 8 x86/x64, Microsoft will be starting a closed beta program for Windows 8 on ARM. A limited number of developers will be given access to WOA hardware and software. There’s no word of a public beta for Windows 8 ARM at all. For some good news, the Windows 8 x86/x64 Consumer Preview will be available in late February. The closed ARM beta will start at this time.

There you have it – just about everything we know about Windows 8 ARM from a consumer standpoint. Developers, you really should go and read the full post at MSDN – just make sure you don’t have anything else planned for this evening. If Microsoft is true to their word, manufacturers should have WOA devices hitting shelves in late 2012, with internals from Texas Instruments, Qualcomm and Nvidia. This is all very far out, as Microsoft keeps reminding us – nothing’s set in stone yet.

The Raspberry Pi $25 PC is essentially a computer motherboard with a low-powered ARM-based processor by the name of Broadcom BCM2835 and a cute set of connections around the Raspberry Pi logo printed on the board near the center. You’ll be running Linux-based software right out of the box and is set to be aimed at education groups, hobby computer builders, and those looking for the cheapest computer on the block. There will be two versions of this device when its released – the basic build for $25, and the slightly upgraded version with internet connectivity for $35.

The board is able to handle 1080p HD video playback, gaming to some degree, and has been shown to roll out on giant screens in testing phases several times already. You’ll be able to see this computer in action within the month and will be able to pick one up for yourself by the end of the month. If all goes according to plan, that is!

[via Raspberry Pi]

The storyline here is loosely based around the idea that Batman impersonators would certainly take to the streets if Batman ever went missing (it’s happened before!) and tossing in a whole clown-car full of Junior Jokerz, this game blows the top off of what was established in Gotham City and pours a bunch of hot sauce into it. Inside the game you’ve got the option of playing to your own skillset and are able to turn your character in to whatever you want it to be – hair, weapons, makeup and all!

If you’re unable to see this game in your download area for any of the platforms you’ve got right this moment, just wait! This game is slated for yesterday and today and is being rolled out to each system as they’re prepared to bring the fun! Meanwhile we’ve got the game here and are testing it out tonight – so get ready for some fun in the interim if you’re up for it!

This newest version of Chrome is a stable release, this meaning it’s not a Beta like the mobile version is, and should have absolutely no glitches while you’re using it on a daily basis. This version has Google using their “Omnibox” term again to describe the URL bar, this being because of its ability to also search for items should you type in anything other than a url. Chrome’s newest desktop version here has two steps in the Onmibox:

1. You type in your url and it suggests what you’re likely looking for.

2. Your most likely option is pre-rendered as you continue to type, this giving you an extra few instants of time added to every query!

It’s brilliant! We’re hoping it works out to be as magical as it seems, of course. Chrome browser here also updates Security measures to warn you of malicious downloads. Chrome has for a while not checked on executable files such as EXE and MSI for you PC users, and now if the executable file does not match a whitelist of approved bits, the next step is taken. The next step is Chrome checking with Google for more information on the website you’re using, seeing if its been know to host malicious downloads in the past. You’ll be safe here, folks, safe as you can be!

Updates will be coming to Chrome OS soon as well, but for now everyone using the Chrome web browser on their desktop or laptop machine will be updated automatically or manually through the Google Chrome homepage – get your preload on!

The first few games that have been listed by Ubisoft that are certainly affected by the transition time are Assasin’s Creed, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2, Might & Magic : Heroes VI, Splinter Cell Conviction, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, and The Settlers. While this list appeared at first to be the only set of games affected by the downtime, it’s not being reported from multiple sources and gamers emailing us directly that games such as Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Driver San Francisco are being knocked out now as well. In addition, all Ubisoft websites except for their Consumer Service and official forums have been guaranteed to be staying up during the transition, but we’ll see as the transition continues.

Uplay PC games are completely unplayable during this period, and players playing ANNO have been sent a guide which tells them to start off in offline mode, then once they’re in the main menu, to log in with their account data and they’ll be good to go. Try this out with similar games to see how they work as well! Meanwhile know this: Ubisoft currently has the servers nearly turned over at this point and are restoring what they can when they can as we speak. Everything should be back up by the end of today!

These units are the same except for their ability to hold media – the PenCam HD comes with the ability to hold a microSD card up to 16GB in size while the PenCam 4GB has 4GB of space built-in to the pen. Both pens are able to switch between video and photo at the tap of a button and are able to plug into either Mac or PC for transferring of data to wherever you plan on putting it. Could this be your 007 moment at last?

HD PenCam

This cam will be able to capture video and still images as both pens are, but you’ll be transferring information to your computer with your included card reader of via USB. This PenCam is powered with a fully rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery that’ll last you you up to 45 minutes of uptime after a full charge, and recharges again video the included USB cord. With an additional 16GB microSD card, Swann notes that you’ll be able to capture up to 8 hours of video or 72,000 still images.

PenCam 4G

This version of the PenCam has a simple USB connector coming straight off the lower half of the device, it able to then transfer the information you’ve collected to your computer with great ease. The battery lasts up to 90 minutes of use per charge and will recharge via your computer’s USB port. With the built-in memory of 4GB you’ll be able to capture 18,000 still images or 2 hours of video. This device will cost you $69.99 MSRP while the HD PenCam will cost you $99.99 MSRP and will be available for purchase from many fine retailers soon!

It was in an interview with Digital Spy that Shcafer was speaking about the original Phsychonauts, saying how he’s been wishing he’d be able to create a sequel. Things aren’t so simple as that, of course, as he notes, as it’s not just a developer you need to create a game on such a scale as what Psychonauts 2 would need.

“I mean I get a lot of, on Twitter or whatever, daily questions about Psychonauts 2. And I would love to do Psychonauts 2, I’ve actually pitched that to publishers several times and no-one has taken the bait so far. So it is hard because fans often don’t know how the business works, with the difference between a developer and a publisher, it’s hard to explain that. I’d love to do that game, but I’d have to convince someone to just give me a few million dollars, that’s all.” – Schafer

It just so happens that Notch Persson read said article or was informed in advance that Schafer wanted to do such a project – or perhaps it’s all some big conspiracy to make us love the idea of the game in the near future. Notch spoke on Twitter to the effect of Mojang being interested in making a new game happen.

Their conversation has continued to the effect of hey how are yous and so forth thus far, but we must assume that the mix is going to happen at some point in the next week. Look out for magic soon if this all pans out!

For obvious reasons, the new Skyrim Workshop and Creation Kit are available exclusively on the PC version of Skyrim. The former, the Workshop, is a digital storefront where users can browse mods that other users have created. There is also a rating and feedback system in place so users can find the best and most popular mods in an instant. The best part – they’re all free.

And for those who would rather be the ones on the creation side of things, the Creation Kit for Skyrim makes the process much easier. Previously, it was possible to make custom mods for the game but it was somewhat of a pain. With Creation Kit, there’s a scene editor that makes it easy to create high-quality interactions between players and NPCs, and add create much more professional custom content. Bethesda is known for opening its doors to modders, so we knew this was only a matter of time. And now, that time has come.

[via PC World]

The Xbox comparisons are hard to avoid. Just like Microsoft’s console, the X51 delivers a combination of slick matte- and gloss-finish plastic along with a decidedly stylized aesthetic that some will find appealing and others may consider simply over the top. Alienware goes the whole hog with illumination, too, slapping LEDs behind the fascia logo and the side grilles. These can be set to custom colors, or to change according to the current Windows app or even depending on the current gameplay. If you want the lighting to glow an ominous red when you’re under attack, you can have it.

Although Alienware has played up the small footprint of the X51, it’s worth remembering that these things are relative to the company’s humongous regular desktops. The X51 is no nettop, in fact it’s a fairly hefty unit, equal certainly to an Xbox 360. That allows it to accommodate not only an optical drive – Dell will outfit it with a DVD burner or a Blu-ray – but a discrete graphics card, your choice of NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 545 1GB graphics or GeForce GTX 555 1GB.

If you’re thinking of the Alienware X51 as a compact alternative to an HTPC set-top box, however, prepare to be surprised. Packing gaming-level processing power into a PC requires some space, and though Dell’s minimum specification starts out with an Intel Core i3 processor, it’s no surprise that the company expects the Core i5 and i7 options to be more popular.

In short, this is quite the compromise in comparison to your regular, dedicated console. The Alienware X51 is roughly akin to the 360 in size, but it kicks off at around twice the price and, arguably, is capable of twice as much functionality. That power and flexibility comes with a price tag to match, and you lose the plug-and-play ease of a dedicated console. Look out for the full Alienware X51 review very soon.

In this game created by some of the most notable names in gaming and comic book fantasy you’ll be not only diving into a story so thick it’d take you days and days upon days to read the entire text included in the game without even playing. Inside you’ll find yourself so deep in the world of Amalur that you’ll often forget that the objective includes some of the most action-packed sequences since Skyrim. And let’s face it: this game will be compared to Skyrim one way or another, so it’d better stand up strong right up unto it!

And it shall, as Rolston lead design teams behind Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind as well as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, these both coming right behind the Skyrim masterpiece of 2011. The only thing you’ll not be selecting is the shape of your face, as Reckoning cuts a bit more to the chase than Skyrim does, with basic faces, hair, and a few trinkets around you before you jump right in. And jump right UP you shall, as you begin this game in a pile of corpses, you yourself having been dead before the game began.

This story is no ordinary monster, even though your quest is indeed to destroy all evil and save the future of the world you’re on. As you advance, you choose your skills and shape your person, costume and epic weapons included. Make this your next deep dive after you’ve completed your months of food and water-less nights of Skyrim – soon!

Hirai says that corporate structure is what has kept Sony from capitalizing on product innovations, and in fact has kept the company trapped in the past. “We really need to buckle down and be realistic,” he told the newspaper. “I don’t think everybody is on board, but I think people are coming around to the idea.”

To deliver on that, Hirai will use the same strategy that worked so well in Sony’s gaming division. The exec turned the PlayStation around from $2bn losses to profit in just four years, though mediocre sales of the PS3 had a detrimental effect on fiscal Q3 2011 results.

“I thought turning around the PlayStation business was going to be the toughest challenge of my career, but I guess not. It’s one issue after another. I feel like ‘Holy s—, now what?” Kazuo Hirai, CEO and President, Sony

“User experience” not just solid hardware is the way forward for Sony, the new CEO believes. His predecessor, Howard Stringer – who will take position as chair of the Sony board later this year – set out plans for a “four screen” strategy last year, integrating TV, PC, tablet and smartphone in an overall ecosystem; however, that means Hirai has to persuade would-be customers to buy not just one Sony device, but four of them.

“We can’t just continue to be a great purveyor of hardware products,” Hirai concludes, “even though some people expect us to do that.”

Hirai’s promotion has led to a small bout of executive shuffles. Most notable is the company’s new Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President Tadashi Saito, who until now has been President of Sony’s Semiconductor Business Group and Deputy President of the Professional, Device & Solutions Group. Although little has been said about overall strategy – Sony will likely outline more on its approach on Thursday, when it reveals its latest financial results – the promotion of a chipset exec likely recognizes the increasing “smart” potential of home entertainment devices like TVs.

“We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment” Stringer said of the four-screen strategy back in October 2011. “This includes Sony’s own acclaimed network services, like the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network.”

Hirai’s big decision is exactly how closed an ecosystem Sony can afford to push. Apple’s approach – with iTunes, the iPod, iPhone, iPad and the App Store – has arguably worked because of the brand’s unique cachet with iOS. Sony, meanwhile, has struggled in the Android marketplace with its tablets, while Sony Ericsson has lingered behind Samsung and HTC in Android smartphones. The company’s TV business is also in trouble – a fourth year of losses for Sony, fueled by its underperforming TV division, is expected to be confirmed on Thursday – and it lacks the exclusivity of OS X or the cheap prices of Dell, HP, Acer and ASUS in computers.

If Sony goes for broad appeal – hoping to be at least one or two of the screens in front of non-Apple adopters, and adopting open standards like DLNA for content streaming – then it opens itself to rivals not only stepping into its ecosystem but doing better than it can. If the company takes the opposite approach, mimics Apple with proprietary systems, then it runs the risk of not finding enough buyers willing to splurge on an all Sony setup. The obvious halfway measure would be some degree of generic features with an exclusive subset solely for Sony devices, though that would require a careful balancing act.

It’s that balancing act that Stringer and the Sony Board apparently believes Hirai is capable of. Sony’s shares have plummeted in recent years, while those of its Cupertino rival has skyrocketed; the new CEO has plenty of work to do to convince not only buyers but investors that Sony has the ability – and he himself the vision – to deliver the compelling Apple alternative that has so far been conspicuous by its absence.

This shouldn’t be a surprise; we knew as of late last year that this was going to happen. The company has chosen to focus on its hardware box called the Boxee Box rather than computer clients. Boxee’s VP of marketing Andrew Kippen confirmed on Monday the company was going through with its plans to end support for computer clients despite complaints from some of the early adopters of the service.

Presumably, the company is hoping that some of these early PC adopters will move to the Boxee Box hardware so they can continue to use the service. I would imagine that many of these people would be looking for alternative solutions for their media center software needs. Gigaom predicts that the big winners for those still looking for media center software for their computers will be XBNC and Plex.

Alternatively, one of those PCI cards can be used to slot in a separate graphics card, or indeed you could use Sandy Bridge‘s onboard GPU capabilities to drive up to four displays simultaneously. Using an mSATA-SSD, fitted into the Mini-PCIe slot on the mainboard, means the system can take advantage of Intel’s proprietary Smart Response Technology, exclusive to the Z68 desktop chipset, to bolster the performance of the regular hard-drive.

Such drives can be fitted into the XPC SZ68R5′s two 3.5-inch bays (one internal, one external) or into the 5.25-inch bay (which otherwise could be used for an optical drive). Motherboard connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gbit ports, two SATA 3 Gbit ports, two USB 2.0 and an RS232 port, while on the outside there are four USB 3.0, six USB 2.0, an eSATA/USB combo, 7.1-channel analog audio, and S/PDIF digital audio. The standard PSU is a 500W unit, and one of the front USB ports gets 2 Amps for charging power-hungry devices like your iPad.

Shuttle is asking €301 ($397) for the XPC SZ68R5, though that doesn’t include a processor, RAM, any standalone graphics cards, optical or hard-drives, or SSD memory for the Smart Response Technology boost.

Earlier this month, research firm Gartner released stark numbers that demonstrated massive growth for Apple in the 4th quarter of 2011 while PC numbers were in an unequivocal decline. Specifically, Apple computer sales jumped by 20.7% while HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Acer all saw declines. When this chart originally made its way around the Net, everyone pointed to that 20.7% figure and compared it to the summary at the bottom, which showed a -5.9% growth for the PC market in general.

The caveat, though, is that Apple computers are included in that final number. When you remove Apple from the equation, it actually becomes -8.5%. Ouch. If there is a silver lining, though, this all refers to sales in the US. On a global scale, Lenovo, Dell, and Asus all saw significant growth, so Windows is still popular in some areas. And when you look at pure market share values, Apple only accounts for 11.6% in the US. If these numbers are anything to go by, though, that number will continue to soar.

[via The Small Wave]

“What’s really striking is how badly Tegra 2 performs relative even to simple APs using licensed Imagination Technologies (TI and Apple) or ARM Mali (Samsung) graphics” Upton says. “To summarise, BCM2835 has a tile mode architecture – so it kills immediate-mode devices like Tegra on fill-rate – and we’ve chosen to configure it with a very large amount of shader performance, so it does very well on compute-intensive benchmarks, and should double iPhone 4S performance across a range of content.”

Strong words, but we’ve already seen some of what the low-cost computer is capable of. As well as playing Quake III and Full HD video it’s also – with some unofficial software – able to stream AirPlay video from an iPad. That makes it an ideal home entertainment box, but also positions it pretty strongly as a games console alternative.

Unfortunately it seems what Raspberry Pi won’t be able to do is run Windows 8. Despite Microsoft’s Windows-on-ARM project, Upton says, talks between the companies have confirmed that Windows 8 will require an ARM7 Cortex chip at the least, whereas the $25 board runs a 700MHz ARM11. “Perhaps a future version might go there” Upton concludes,”we certainly get a lot of people asking if they can run Windows applications on the device.”

[via Geek]

Plug the Raspberry Pi into the TV, using the standard HDMI output, run the AirPlay app, and the iPad can select the cheap computer as a playback option for video. If you’re wondering, the creepy cows are from the infamous cyriak.

Although billed as a low-cost way for students to get to grips with programming and open-source hardware/software, Raspberry Pi is looking more and more interesting to everyone else, too. Back in August it was shown running Quake III, and now it looks like it could make for a capable little A/V streaming adapter too.

The first ten units went up for auction at the start of the month and brought the charity a pretty penny; however regular production has since started, with pricing at the far more reasonable $35.

[via Gizmodo]

Resident Evil 6 is being called “the most ambitious, immersive and feature rich title of the series to date and promises to be the dramatic horror experience of the year.” Capcom went on to reveal the first official plot details:

It has been ten years since the Raccoon City incident and the President of the United States has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place in the belief that it will curb the current resurgence in bioterrorist activity. Due to be by the President’s side is his personal friend and Raccoon City survivor, Leon S. Kennedy, but when the venue suffers a bioterrorist attack, Leon is forced to face a President transformed beyond recognition and make his hardest ever decision. At the same time, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance member Chris Redfield arrives in China, itself under threat of a bioterrorist attack. With no country safe from these attacks and the ensuing outbreaks, the entire world’s population is united by a common fear that there is no hope left.

As for the viral ad campaign for Resident Evil 6, which involved graffiti billboards across the world with the words “No Hope Left” that pointed folks to the website NoHopeLeft.com, Capcom doesn’t confirm its connection to the ad. However, some sleuthing by a gaming group, The Sixth Axis, has already confirmed that the ads were placed by Capcom.

[via PlayStation Lifestyle]

Motivation to buy is still stronger for desktop and notebook users, though those on tablets are apparently “nearly as likely” to purchase.

Adobe tracked visits to around 150 of the top US retailers, the company’s stats division says, looking at browsing data from 16.2bn anonymous visits. Both the 2011 holiday season and 2011 as a whole were examined, with tablet use quadrupling over the course of the year, while smartphone shopping use doubled and traditional shopping – though still far ahead – fell to 90-percent of shopping visits per device.

The increased likelihood of tablet-browsing shoppers to spend money isn’t just because they’re using a slate, of course. The study also points out that the type of person to buy a tablet – predominantly male, with a greater-than-average household income – is also the sort that would spend more money anyway. Still, the end conclusion, that retailers and service providers should tailor their sites to suit traditional, phone and tablet browsing individually, holds true.

If you have young kids, you probably know My Little Pony as the small horse toys that little ones play with. The ponies also have their own cartoons and DVDs as well. In the Pony Dragon Mod, those ponies replace the dragons and fly around terrorizing the world of Skyrim.

The mod comes from a geek going by “zdzichorowerzysta” and it is specifically for the PC version of the game. The dragons are replaced with the My Little Pony named Fluttershy. The mod has been downloaded 416 in the last two days. Check out the videos to see the pony horror in action.

[via Eurogamer]

Fast, small PCs aren’t especially new, though it’s only now that processor and graphics technology has caught up that SFF models can hold a candle to the bulky PC gaming rigs of old. Sony and Microsoft fettle their dedicated consoles to pretty much a single purpose, delivering optimum gaming performance from a device that has to work as an predictable appliance; it also means their abilities are pretty much unchanged since their hardware was first announced. The X51, in its high-spec’d form at least, is likely to be capable of better graphics and handling more intensive games.

The tipping point will come when Windows 8 arrives. Microsoft has already said that it plans to support Xbox LIVE on Windows 8 PCs, hooking platform-specific as well as other titles into the social and ranking system. “Live has been successful on the Windows Phone. Live will be built into the PC” Microsoft’s VP of global marketing Mike Delman said back in June 2011. “It will be the service where you get your entertainment. We were talking about it – you will not just see consoles and handhelds at this show next year, this show’s going to morph into other devices.”

Now Microsoft’s not stupid. It knows it has a perfectly serviceable console platform in Xbox, and the likelihood of it doing anything that legitimately threatens the Xbox 360′s rising appeal – or the potential success of the next-gen Xbox – is low. Still, there are a lot of people out there who might not buy a dedicated console but could be swayed to pick up a compact box that delivers not only gaming but HTPC functionality.

That blurring of the distinctions between console and computer – and, indeed, phone – all fit in with something the company has referred to as “three screens and a cloud”; gaming, desktop and mobile platforms all interlinked, your entertainment following you on the most appropriate device at any one time. Microsoft has also been readying its Kinect for Windows kit recently, promising a February launch for developers at least. Still, when the motion-sensing bar makes it to broad availability – we’re guessing at around the time Windows 8 hits PCs later in 2012 – it will bulldoze through another differentiator between 360 and the desktop.

Pricing will remain the big differentiator, at least for the moment. The X51 kicks off at $699, though that’s with a Core i3 processor; figure on spending $1,149 upwards if you want a Core i7 chip instead, and we’ve a feeling most hardcore gamers will. That’s enough to buy six Xbox 360 consoles with spare change left over, or one console, a Kinect and a whole catalog of games.

Still, consoles as we know them are gradually being squeezed, with capable and compact PCs at one side and the rise of casual gaming on affordable Smart TV set-top boxes at the other. Just as has been the case in mobile, with dedicated portable consoles losing out in favor to gaming smartphones and PMPs like Apple’s iPod touch, the center of our living room entertainment is also evolving. Alienware’s X51 isn’t going to kill the Xbox 360 and PS3 today, but it’s further evidence the old guard of gaming needs to step it up if they want to remain relevant tomorrow.

HP announced back in December that it would release webOS as an open-source platform, ending several months of speculation that the company could sell off or simply axe altogether the OS it acquired from Palm. The decision came after HP proved it could not commercialize webOS on its own; sales of the first webOS tablet, the HP TouchPad, were so unpromising that the company axed it within months.

Veghte thus faces the difficult challenge of best positioning HP in the computing and cloud markets, segments where PC sales have slowed and Apple dominates with its tightly-constructed ecosystem of devices and services. Nonetheless, it seems HP reckons the exec can manage it.

“Every 10 to 15 years, fundamental shifts occur in the IT industry that redefine how technology is delivered” HP CEO Meg Whitman said in a statement. “From mainframes to client/server to the internet, companies that identified the opportunity first and developed the right strategy came out on top. As we move forward, HP intends to stay on top.”

The company even finds room to slot in a DVD burner, with a Blu-ray drive as an option. Storage is courtesy of a 1TB 7,200rpm HDD, and there’s room on the Mini-ITX motherboard for up to 8GB of DDR3 memory.

Connectivity includes gigabit ethernet along with WiFi a/b/g/n, six USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, audio in/out, HDMI 1.4, a pair of digital audio ports (optical and coax) and standard analog audio. The dinky desktop is supplied with a 250W PSU as standard, but those keen to overclock the X51 can specify a 330W PSU instead.

Vertical or horizontal positioning is supported, and unlike many SFF chassis there’s the promise of easy access to the guts of the system for upgrades and general tinkering. The traditional Alienware lighting is present too, with customizable zones, and the Alienware Command Center app is preinstalled to handle power management and other performance aspects.

The Alienware X51 is available direct from Dell now, priced from $699. That gets you a Core i3 chip and 4GB of memory.

This “gritty action experience” will allow you to work with the New York City detective known as Max Payne, he being a drunkard from many years back, addicted to pain pills and in no condition to get up and drink a cup of coffee much less go capture some terrorists – but lo! He must! Thusly there is Max Payne 3, with our hero on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, taking an odd job with a real estate mogul by the name of Rodrigo Branco to save his own fortune and family. But all that aside, there’s some new effect to be had.

You’ll be working with a new version of Bullet Time and Shootdodge features, multiplayer action as well as single player storyline adventures, and a whole variety of different ways to play on both ends. The official site launch is set for “upcoming weeks and months” and their “Design and Technology Series” for the game can be seen in part here:

Enjoy, if you’re old enough, and kick it until then with the rest of the Rockstar games suite – GTA:III for Android is sweet!

[via Rockstar Games]

Several odd bits hold this device back from any kind of potential winning it was going to do in this market: first of all, it was launched much, much before Windows 8 came around. With Windows 8 touch-friendly interface right around the corner, tablet makers are taking care to make sure their devices work with this brand new system. This Acer device does have a hearty construction, but the second big folly is that it’s got three features in direct opposition to the features most people love about the Transformer Prime: the Tab does not fold down into a laptop, it does not have a trackpad (relying instead on a Lenovo-esque nubbin,) and it’s running an operating system that was never meant to be working with a touchscreen.

This device is already out on the market in several sectors for the absolutely ludicrous price of $848 with the keyboard dock included, though you can certainly find it cheaper if you look hard enough. Check out our hands-on video courtesy of Acer, and make sure you note their much more updated line of devices that will, indeed, be sticking with the times as far as working with a more mobile-friendly set of hardware and software. Check out the Acer Iconia Tab 2012 refresh on the Android side of things to see the ideal setup before Windows 8 comes to the consumer market in bulk.

In fact, the company has four peripheral ideas at the moment, with the possibility of more in the pipeline. “i’m screen” turns the system into a 4.27-inch smartphone measuring 125 x 55 mm, albeit one where the components are split between two devices, and packing an accelerometer and magnetometer. For times when you want a larger desktop, there’s “i’m view”, a 10.1-inch tablet-scale slate.

“i’m vision” is the desktop equivalent, putting Ice Cream Sandwich on 21-inches of touchscreen real-estate – though supposedly only 10mm thick – with an inductive charger base that can rejuice the “i’m core”, “i’m screen” and “i’m view.” The smartphone screen can also be used as a wireless trackpad with the display, with the tablet turning into a QWERTY keyboard.

Finally, the “i’m cinema” will both bridge the core unit with an HDTV – for times when 21-inches just isn’t enough – as well as working as an inductive charger for it. Seven color options will be available, and the various components can send voice, video and text messages and make use of a “high speed connection protocol property” that’s technically unspecified.

Availability is ambitiously pegged for late 2012, with no word on pricing at this stage and little in the way of hardware details. The modular computing idea is one which has resurfaced numerous times over the past few years, but problems with battery life, sufficiently speedy wireless links and overall cost have always made it infeasible. Whether the i’m circle team can beat the odds remains to be seen.

[via RegHardware]

The Matias Tactile One Keyboard is built unlike other keyboards made today. Each of its keys use an individual Alps Mechanical Switch for better and faster typing with the feel of Apple’s legendary Extended and Extended II keyboards. The keys are also flat, wide, and sculpted to fit the curves of your fingertips.

And for those who type really fast and experience ghosting, such as when letters are missing from what you actually typed or additional ones show up, the Tactile One offers anti-ghosting circuitry or n-key rollover. This way you can type as fast as you’d like and the keyboard will keep up.

The Tactile One is powered through a USB cable, no need for batteries. It offers three USB 2.0 ports, although it doesn’t charge your iPhone. The keyboard comes in either a Mac or PC version for $199.95 with pre-orders starting now to ship in May.

Graphics are courtesy of whichever Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3, i5 or i7 processor you slot in, so basically HD Graphics 2000 or 3000, and the XH61 can take a CPU with a maximum TDP of 65W. Ports include HDMI, D-Sub, three audio outputs (with 7.1-channel surround sound support), gigabit ethernet, six USB 2.0 (two up-front behind a drop-down panel) and two PS/2 for legacy peripherals.

The box can be positioned upright or flat on your desk, or even screwed into a VESA mount on the back of your display, and while it may look nowhere near as slick as the aluminum Mac mini, there’s plenty of flexibility for turning it into a media center PC or something similar.

The Shuttle XH61 is priced at €146 ($186) though you’ll have to supply your own processor, memory, hard-drive and optical drive on top of that. Drop a Core i7 inside and you might have quite the little slab of potency.

HP experienced the greatest decline in US PC shipments, dropping 26.1 percent, followed by Acer with an 11.4 percent drop, Dell with 4.5 percent, and Toshiba with 2.2 percent. Overall, the US saw negative 5.9 percent growth based on data taken from the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011. Despite this, HP maintained its number one spot with over 4 million in shipments followed by Dell and then Apple in third.

The worldwide PC shipment drop of 1.4 percent included a 16.2 percent decline from HP and an 18.4 percent decline from Acer. Lenovo and Asus rose with 23 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively, while Dell managed a 7.8 percent increase. Once again, HP retained the top spot.

Ultrabooks quietly crept in during the fourth quarter of 2011, but didn’t make much of an impact on PC sales. However, with the abundance of new ultrabooks popping up at this weeks CES show, 2012 will likely be a big year for this new crop of MacBook Air-inspired notebooks. However, Gartner expects PC shipments to be temporarily lowered in the first half of 2012 due to HDD shortages caused by the October 2011 floods in Thailand.

When you add the name Marc Ecko in anything, you’ve got one whole heck of a lot of attention pointed toward it than if it was simply an electronics brand. Thusly Ecko and Mizco are made powerful in this collaborative device. The speaker works on bluetooth 2.1, has a range of 30 feet, and has a built-in microphone that’ll allow you some hands-free calling with your smartphone. In other words, this is the first spraypaint can shaped telephone enabled device on earth.

You’ve got a lithium ion battery on the inside that’ll be able to charge for 10 hours at a time, you can use it with whatever bluetooth device you’ve got, including everything from Android to PC to iPhone and iPad 2. This can will be available inside March of 2012 for MSRP $159.99 – we’ll be checking it out for sure! You know good and well your humble narrator would never let something so odd as this slip through the cracks.

Pandora’s Conrad spoke on how they were amongst the first to be using ARO, it showing them how they were using batteries too fast, them seeing with ARO how their app would be able to use resources to a much greater effect, and with much less power used. Traffic was also detailed, Pandora now able to use your data to much greater effect and with much less damaging effect on your monthly bills. Zynga’s Zakzewski said similar things, them learning how their socially connected apps benefitted greatly from this tool specifically.

The open source license for ARO will be available later this year, with availability, again, starting now. Go get em, developers!

Vizio claims all of the new desktops and notebooks will run “a clean system image optimized by Microsoft” and, while the company’s TVs are primarily known for their budget pricing, it seems this time around it’s targeting a somewhat more refined niche. “Our new line of VIZIO PCs are truly high quality and consumer focused,” CTO Matt McRae insists, ”delivering enhanced multimedia capabilities while upholding our high standards of performance, style and design.”

The new range consists of two all-in-one desktops, one 24-inch and one 27-inch, together with a 15.6-inch regular notebook and two ultraportables, one 14-inch and one 15.6-inch. There’s also a dual-band, gigabit wireless router in the pipeline.

We’ll be digging for some hard specifications when we catch up with Vizio at CES this week, but the deciding factor is likely to be pricing. More details on Vizio’s vision in the videos below.

There’s also liquid cooling, and if you’re feeling particularly flush you can pair up the Radeon HD 7970 with up to three of its friends, since quad CrossFireX setups are supported. A multitude of SSD and HDD options are on offer, including a capacious (and painfully expensive) 600GB Intel 320 Series SSD and 512GB Crucial M4 SATA 6G.

Blu-ray, various case colors and finishes and factory overclocking all allow you to customize each MAINGEAR system to suit your particular taste and budget. Both the SHIFT and the F131 are available to order – with the Radeon HD 7970 – from today.

With an already solid lineup with products like the Portege Z835 they have a strong offering but we wont turn away an ultra-sleek, ultra-powerful 14″ laptop — right? It’s worth mentioning that it isn’t clear what Toshiba will be calling this new 14″ laptop but it sure does look pretty. From what we understand it will be consumer focused and priced.

Just like the Portege Z835 mentioned above this new Ultrabook features the same rounded edges and simplistic design although not the magnesium alloy construction. Instead, this new Ultrabook is wrapped in aluminum and it manages to stay extremely thin and super lightweight.

All of the LED lights and chrome-accented hinges have been replaced with a more elegant design but nothing groundbreaking or extremely new — but definetaly a step up from current offerings. The chicklet style LED-backlit keyboard is a nice addition but something we’d expect from an ultrabook in this day and age. While this is an early unit that clearly didn’t have a name we do have USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI-out, Ethernet and the usual SD card readers and headphone/microphone ports. Remember that while being extremely new and only a prototype all that can be subject to change. One good note is we’ll be working along with Windows 8 whenever this makes way to consumers hands.

Once we see more we’ll be sure to update with additional details. Stay tuned for hands-on video.

Since you can’t exactly jab your fingers at your TV, a nine-button remote does duty for controlling the interface. There’s also Android’s voice-to-text for dictating emails, URLs and more. Squeezed into the remote is an accelerometer, for motion-controlled gaming, and you can reach around the back of your TV and tap your phone against the HDMI Dongle as it has an NFC chip too.

Streaming Netflix, Hulu and other video-on-demand services is the obvious use, but big-screen browsing and other multimedia playback are also on the cards. Android’s selection of gaming apps is increasing all the time, and the HDMI Dongle should have the grunt to keep up with most current titles.

Unfortunately, Always Innovating seems to have learnt from its struggles with the Touch Book hybrid tablet and has decided not to offer the HDMI Dongle directly. Instead, it will be licensing the design to others, with the first such example expected to go on sale this coming summer. Whether it will look exactly like this remains to be seen, though; Always Innovating is positioning the guts of the dongle as ideal for powering a tablet, too. The promise is that it will all be open-source, too.

Pricing is expected to be in the region of $79 upwards.

[via Engadget]

Two all-in-one PCs and a trio of notebooks are on the cards, with Vizio seemingly looking to Apple for its desktop inspiration by hitting the 24- and 27-inch size points. The notebooks include 14-inch and 15.6-inch ultrathins and a 15.6-inch regular model.

Style-wise, it’s hard not to see some of Vizio’s design inspiration. Cupertino plays a part, but there are hints of HP’s ENVY series – itself something of an Apple homage – and Lenovo’s IdeaCenter desktops too. That might rile up high-end buyers, but we’ve a feeling those lured in by Vizio’s promised competitive pricing won’t mind so much.

Integration with the existing Vizio TV range is also supported, with the same IR remote control functionality as we saw in the Vizio Tablet last year along with audio and video streaming from the PCs. “We think most PCs have been designed for the small-business users,” McRae says, “that others have not done a very good job of making them entertainment devices.”

No word on exact pricing or specifications at this stage, but we’ll know more after SlashGear heads off to CES next week. Vizio is also set to show off its new Google TV-equipped smart TV range.

Where past video games surrounding the South park series have been, on the whole, absolutely terrible, this one looks like it’ll actually have a chance at being a genuinely good time as elements are not only taken straight from episodes in the TV series, the aesthetics look to be right on. In the past we’ve been “treated” to such gems as 2D and 3D environments on consoles and mobile platforms alike – now we’re back down to brass tacks.

Why playing as a fighter, mage, thief, cleric, or Jew in a game with gameplay looking exactly like the television show itself was never a reality before now is a mystery we might never know the answer to. The fact that we’ll be able to play as a Jew beating up gingers, hippies, and vampire kids, well, that’s something we’ll be sure to cherish for some time to come. Can’t wait for this game to drop!

ALSO: this game has been announced for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC thus far. We’re hoping for a mobile release as well, but wont hold our breath.

[via RockPaperShotgun]

Have a peek here at what we’ve seen recently, this Phoenix makes one see options like secondary hard drives and liquid cooling look like essentials – at a glance it appears that HP is bringing the fury for the modern gamer. Processor options roll all the way up to a fabulous Core i7-3960X. There’s a 160GB SSD inside aside 8GB of RAM, and all of it sits inside the case – the case that just screams “I AM HERE.” What a beast.

Then there’s a monitor for your HP loving as well as sort of a bonus that was sitting amongst these new bits of hardware, the Compaq L2311x (not pictured). This monitor has a 23-inch display with built-in port replicator, able to connect with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, or your favorite, the traditional ol’ VGA. You’ll be able to pick that masterpiece up this February or a couple other generally improved monitors by the names LV1911 and LV2011 early this year as well. These monitors will run you $319, $125, and $135 respectively. Have a peek at the Phoenix below and above and get set for our reviews soon!

This computer has a lovely piece of edge-to-edge class on the front, 6GB of RAM on the inside next to that Sandy Bridge, and it’s the very first PC with Magic Canvas software that does not have a touchscreen. While it may be a bummer that this device wont be amongst the hoards of touch-sensitive computers that’ll be dropping inside 2012, you can take comfort in knowing that this machine won’t cost you an arm and a leg. It doesn’t look half bad for an all-in-one, either.

We’ll certainly be having a closer look at this computer when it comes time to review it early in these 2012 months, but for now have a glance here above and below at some photos of it up close. Does this look like the Windows-based machine you’ve always been wanting? How about the Beats machine you’ve been waiting for? It’s got TV tuner and Blue-ray drive options too, you should know, so feel free to use this for your college room-bound media center if you’re in such a position.