| Google Fiber is Wicked Fast! Posted: 06 Sep 2013 03:30 PM PDT We've tried it and it blew our socks off! We had the opportunity to check out Google Fiber in Kansas City, Missouri, and can sufficiently say that it.is.fast! How fast? We took a picture of Google Fiber running a speed test below. Suffice it to say, browsing websites and watching videos felt like loading cached pages. You'll also find more images of the Google Fiber headquarters in our gallery. 
Your internet may be fast, but it ain't this fast! While Google Fiber started to take the mainstage in Kansas, the high speed internet service will slowly trickle its way to other cities like Austin, Texas, and more. A Google Fiber representative also told us that the company had plans to offer Google Fiber in all Starbucks throughout the country. What would you do with Internet speeds that fast? Let us know in the comments below! |
| SteelSeries Unveils New Top Tier Gaming Headsets Posted: 06 Sep 2013 02:02 PM PDT  Professional audio quality at a not-so professional price
SteelSeries is built on a legacy of professional gaming and tournament-grade peripherals. Go to any eSports competition and you'll find gamers repping the best SteelSeries products the dollar can buy. Today, the arms dealer of gamers has announced two new additions to the H-Series brand of gaming headsets: The 5Hv3 and the 3Hv2. Like its award-winning predecessor, the 5Hv3 aims to deliver everything you could ask for in a full and rich audio gaming experience. The 5Hv3 sports the newest generation of SteelSeries audio drivers designed specifically to enhance audio performance and sound details, all while looking great with its industrial design and best-in-class durability. Gamers seeking a compromise between cost and performance will be pleased with SteelSeries' 3Hv2 Headset. At half of the cost of its big brother, the 3Hv2 strives to bring high-audio performance and features that cannot be found elsewhere in its price category. For the price-conscious budget, you'll get next-generation audio drivers, a retractable microphone system, and professional build professional quality from the 3Hv2. 
The 5Hv3 runs at $79.99; the 3Hv2 is priced at $39.99.
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| PAX Prime 2013 Pictures Posted: 06 Sep 2013 01:02 PM PDT  25 pictures of cosplayers, booth babes, and more from PAX Prime 2013
PAX Prime, AKA the Penny-Arcade Expo that takes place in downtown Seattle, has become one of the biggest gaming expos in the world. Unlike E3, which is closed off to industry personnel, the event is completely open to the gaming public. Below are some Pax Prime 2013 pictures that include shots of the awesome booths, cosplayers, famous game designers, and more! Have you been to PAX before? Would you like to go? Let us know in the comments below! |
| Asus Unveils Updated Transformer Pad with Tegra 4, 2560x1600 Display Posted: 06 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT  High end specs abound
Google's hardware partners figured out that lower priced slates are where the real money is at, but if you're more interested in a premium, non-iPad tablet and are willing to pay more for a higher end device, Asus has your back. The company introduced its new Transformer Pad TF701T, a 10.1-inch Android tablet rocking a 2560x1600 resolution and Nvidia's latest and greatest Tegra 4 quad-core processor with 72-core GeForce GPU. This display is an IGZO-TFT type with reduced energy consumption and a wide color gamut. According to Asus, it has excellent daylight visibility and a wide 178-degree viewing angle. Other features include a 1.2MP front-facing camera, 5MP rear-facing camera, 2GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage plus 5GB of Asus Webstorage, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, micro HDMI output, 2-in-1 audio jack, microSD card reader, and a battery that's good for up to 13 hours of use. 
An optional dock adds a full-size keyboard, USB 3.0 port, and SD card reader. Without the dock, the Transformer Pad measures 263mm (W) by 180.8mm (D) by 8.9mm (H) and weighs 585g. No word yet on price or availability. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Hynix Downplays Fire at Chip Factory, Expects to Resume Production Soon Posted: 06 Sep 2013 09:12 AM PDT  Maybe PC component and mobile device prices won't rise, after all
News of a fire at SK Hynix's plant in China blazed across the Internet earlier this week, leading to speculation that prices for for devices like solid state drive (SSDs), tablets, and smartphones would all see a spike. Pictures showed black smoke billowing from the facility, and based on similar incidents to other memory makers in the 1990s, TrendForce surmised it might be six months or more before Hynix is fully operational. Hynix has a different time frame in mind. "Currently, there is no material damage to the fab equipment in the clean room, thus we expect to resume operations in a short time period so that overall production and supply volume would not be materially affected," company representative Seongae Park said in a statement, according to Reuters. Hynix expects insurance to cover the bulk of the damage, which the company says looks much worse in pictures than it actually is. According to Hynix, the plumes of dark smoke were created because the fire was concentrated in the air purification facilities linked to the fab's rooftop. The fire broke out while installing chip equipment. It caused one minor injury before it was extinguished in less than two hours. While Hynix doesn't expect the damage to be significant, the situation could have been much worse, considering the plant produces up to 15 percent of the world's memory chips. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| U.S. Gamers Spent $2.88 Billion on Hardware and Software in Q2, Digital Sales Up 27 Percent Posted: 06 Sep 2013 07:38 AM PDT  Gamers are holding out for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4
According to data released by The NPD Group, gamers in the U.S. spent a little less on game content in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period last year. That's not to say gamers suddenly turned stingy -- overall game sales totalled $2.88 billion, a hefty sum, but down 3 percent from the same quarter in 2012. The primary reason is that there were less new titles to choose with new console launches on the horizon. "The decrease in new physical spending is partly due to the decline in the number of new SKU's released at retail, (with 37 percent fewer new SKUs in Q2'13 compared to Q2'12) which is to be expected as developers, publishers, and consumers alike prepare for the next hardware generation," said Liam Callahan, industry analyst, The NPD Group. That $2.88 billion figure includes $769 million spent on physical titles and hardware, $343 million on used and rented games, and $1.77 billion on digital sales like Steam, DLC, subscription services, etc. The NPD Group says that increases in digital format spending nearly offset all the losses from the decline in physical format spending. Full game downloads and DLC combined for a 27 percent increase compared to last year. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Beef Up Your Games Collection with Borderlands 2 for $12! Posted: 06 Sep 2013 06:26 AM PDT |
