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GoPro announces Hero 12 Black with AirPods support and better battery life
Perhaps the top requested "feature" from GoPro users these days is more longevity. The company claims its latest camera can run almost twice as long in some modes.
Logitech G mice get the world’s first sub-micron sensor with an update
Logitech's gaming mice can now track movement at the sub-micron level with 25,000 DPI resolution.
The next 'Overwatch' hero is an AI robot with an important story link
Overwatch's newest hero is Echo. Fans have been waiting a while for Blizzard to add a new playable character to the game. It's been seven months since the company introduced Sigma, the game's 31st hero. The anticipation for Echo has been building longer still if you consider the fact Blizzard first teased her existence back when it released the McCree "Reunion" animated short in 2018.
'Overwatch' newcomer Sigma has abilities that defy gravity
Blizzard announced the latest Overwatch hero, Sigma, on Monday and now it's revealed more details about the newest addition to the tank roster. The 62-year-old's real name is Siebren de Kuiper, and he's a Dutch astrophysicist and professor.
The next 'Overwatch' hero is yet another evil scientist
Blizzard waited a little longer than fans expected, but it has at last revealed the identity of Overwatch's 31st playable character. Following a couple of mathematical-oriented teasers over the weekend, the developer confirmed rumors and leaks that Sigma is joining the ranks.
'Overwatch' test lets you pick and queue for a specific hero class
Players have been asking for it for years and finally, it's arrived: Blizzard is introducing Role Queue to Overwatch. From today, players in the PTR will be able to beta test a feature that allows them to choose the role they want to play -- tank, support or damage -- before a match begins. Usually this decision-making happens in a fairly fraught 40 seconds before a match starts, as everyone selects their heroes and responds to other players' role choices -- so it's not uncommon to feel bummed out as a team comes together.
Logitech resurrects its classic MX518 gaming mouse
Long-time PC gamers have fond memories of the MX518 for a reason: the 2005-era mouse combined a comfortable shape, convenient buttons and brisk performance at a fairly reasonable price. Even its 2011 replacement was ultimately a spin on a successful formula. If you miss that original design, though, you'll be glad to hear that it's coming back. Logitech has revived the mouse as the G MX518, preserving that egg-like body while giving it 2019-era innards built for modern gamers.
GoPro has now sold more than 30 million Hero action cams
GoPro has been dealing with significant business challenges in recent months, but the camera maker has managed to keep its chin above water. The company today revealed it has surpassed 30 million sales of its Hero action video camera since the first HD model came out nine years ago. Its Hero5 Black model -- an affordable all-rounder for outdoorsy types -- has sold four million units and gains the honor of becoming GoPro's best- selling camera.
GoPro's $199 Hero action camera is meant for newcomers
GoPro's action camera lineup has skewed toward the enthusiast side for a while -- you get a Hero6 because you intend to document your bike rides and surfing expeditions. Now, however, GoPro is ready to court more first-timers. It's releasing a $199 Hero (no number, just "Hero") meant for beginners and occasional users who'd rather not spend a fortune and passed on the similarly priced but relatively niche Hero5 Session. There's no 4K or similar high-end features (you're limited to 1440p at 60 frames per second), but GoPro is betting you won't mind.
ASUS' new ROG Strix gaming laptop is built for FPS players
ASUS' IFA welcome mat is scattered with laptops, and it's not just more slender ZenBooks. The company's gaming arm, ROG, has recast its Strix gaming laptop in two different editions, each dedicated to a different type of game. First up, the SCAR edition, which was built for first-person shooter gamers "looking for a competitive edge". That edge involves the newest eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processors, and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 10 in the way of graphical might. You'll be staring into either a 15-inch or 17-inch screen, with a 5ms response time and smooth 120Hz refresh rates. ROG says this will eliminate motion blur, while also contradicting itself and teasing an even smoother 144Hz, 7ms display option also in the works.
GoPro bets its near future on the Hero6 and Fusion cameras
Ever since becoming a publicly traded company in 2014, GoPro hasn't had the most positive financial results. The camera maker has been struggling to be profitable, as shown by its past few quarterly earning reports, but its future isn't completely bleak. Today, GoPro exceeded Wall Street expectations, thanks to $296.5 million in revenue during Q2 2017, versus the roughly $270 million the market anticipated -- it's also a huge jump over the $220.8 from the same quarter last year. That said, GoPro still isn't profitable, since it reported yet another revenue loss. This time however, it was $30.5 million, which is much less than the 91.8 second-quarter loss in 2016. In other words, at least it's moving in the right direction.
GoPro's trade-up program entices users to buy a Hero5
GoPro really, really wants to sell you a Hero5. It has even launched a trade-up program to make the prospect of giving up a working older model more appealing. Starting today, April 11th, you can get a Hero5 Black for $100 less than retail or a Hero5 Session for $50 cheaper than usual if you send in your old GoPro Hero devices. You'll likely get a lot more than a $100 if you sell your old model on eBay, but this could be a quick option if you were planning to get the company's latest action camera anyway. Simply go to the program's official page, select the camera you want and follow the instructions on how to send in your old Hero. Just take note that this offer is only available for a limited time.
GoPro is axing budget Hero line, confirms 'connected' Hero5
GoPro had its most challenging year yet in 2015, after a less than successful Hero4 Session launch, a slump in share price, and a swelling product line that confused some customers. To rectify that, the company is pruning back its camera range to just three models (again): The Hero4 Session, Silver and Black. GoPro CEO Nick Woodman also confirmed the next camera will be the "the most connected and convenient GoPro ever made. Hero5." Not a Hero4+ or new Hero4 Session. The entry-level Hero line is being axed in April, the Hero5 will arrive "later this year," Woodman said during the company's latest earnings call.
GoPro unveils a low-cost action camera with WiFi
If you've wanted a low-cost GoPro camera so far, you've had to forego wireless. That's a big sacrifice, especially when an increasing number of competitors can do more for less. The company is finally seeing the light, however. It just unveiled the Hero+, an entry-level (well, by GoPro standards) action cam that catches up in a big way. You now have to pay just $200 (£170) to get Bluetooth and WiFi instead of the usual $300-plus, which will help when you're looking for a remote control or want to send adventure footage to your phone. You'll also get a welcome upgrade to 60 frames per second 1080p video (up from the Hero's 30FPS) and a bump in still shooting from 5 megapixels to 8. The Hero+ should hit store shelves worldwide starting on October 4th, and it won't be the only relatively low-cost cam in GoPro's roster.
GoPro's Hero+ LCD puts a touchscreen on its entry-level camera
Last week, GoPro unveiled some advanced tools for the more ambitious content creator. Today, for the folk that just want to snorkel in the Bahamas, or jump off a cliff there's a new member of the GoPro camera family to consider: the Hero+ LCD. If you're familiar with the company's naming conventions, you've probably figured out that this is a revision of the bare bones Hero that was introduced last fall (and that yes, it has an LCD). The new camera has a few significant revisions over the original Hero though, including a decent bump in the price.
SMITE raises money for world championship pot by selling items
SMITE has a new plan to raise money for its World Championship prize pool called The Odyssey. Basically, the Odyssey program allows players a limited-time window to purchase exclusive items and sets for the game that will never be sold again. Part of the proceeds from those sales will go into the prize pool for the championship. In other SMITE news, the game has added a new Mayan god. Cabrakan is a "destroyer of mountains," which is a good thing if you have a mountain coming at you down a lane. He's good at crowd control, protecting allies, and blocking enemy progress. We've got videos on both Cabrakan and the Odyssey program for you to watch after the break.
MechWarrior Online introduces new Champion and Hero mechs
MechWarrior Online has introduced two new mechs this week: the Firestarter Champion Mech and the Loup de Guerre Hero Mech. The Firestarter sports five medium lasers, twin AMS, and jump kets, while the Loup de Guerre trebuchet features jump jets that allow it to leap over walls, medium pulse lasers, SSRMs, and more. Both mechs are now available in the MWO store, and you can check out the Loup de Guerre in action via the video embedded after the cut.
The Road to Mordor: How LotRO explores what it means to be a hero
Developers, journalists, and bloggers alike have spent gobs of time chewing on the concept of heroism in MMOs: what makes us heroes, how these games can be tailored to make us feel heroic, whether games should force us to be heroes, and whether heroism is a desirable trait for a gamer. What we can agree on is that, if nothing else, the term has been so widely used and abused that we don't even think about the fact that "hero" is often used synonymously with the term "player character." It's just accepted that we're all heroes in MMOs as a base characteristic. But am I a hero? At the start of an MMO, no, I am not. I am a blank slate. My character has no backstory inside of the game, no accolades under her belt, and no past adventures in which she showed herself to be anything out of the ordinary. That's another thing about heroes, apparently: They can't be ordinary. They have to become uber-elite and save the world, preferably on a weekly basis by beating something to death with an axe or immolating it with a fireball spell. Lord of the Rings Online and its dev team may not be innocent of trying to shove us into the roles of heroes and play to that allegedly universal fantasy, but what I do appreciate is that this game has made me truly consider what it is to be a hero and how most MMOs get it wrong.
Alcatel's 4-inch Bluetooth e-reader will offer a more portable reading experience
Alcatel doesn't just show up to trade shows with phones, it also likes to come with a handful of clever accessories (regardless of whether they're final products or just prototypes) as well. At this year's CES, the TCL-owned manufacturer showed off a 4-inch e-reader called the Magic Flip, which connects to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth. It's incredibly small, thin and light, and is meant to be a companion to your daily driver -- as long as it's made by Alcatel, that is. The Magic Flip is exactly what you'd expect it to be: a pocket-friendly e-book reader capable of receiving notifications from your phone. The E Ink reader, company reps tell us, is supposed accept every standard e-book format, which theoretically should make it pretty easy to transfer books back and forth. In terms of hardware, it offers three capacitive buttons underneath the display, consisting of backwards, forwards and home buttons. Since the demo unit we played with did not feature final firmware and was prone to quite a few bugs, we weren't able to navigate the user interface outside a basic demo page. Still, the Magic Flip makes its way to the market in the next few months, and even though it will likely appeal to only a small number of people, we appreciate a smartphone maker that's at least thinking outside the box and taking risks.
Alcatel OneTouch reveals prototype E Ink flip cover (video)
E Ink -- the tech behind a large number of e-readers on the market today -- is starting to make its way onto smartphones. We've seen it on reference phones as well as devices like the YotaPhone and even the iPhone and Galaxy Note II (in the form of a case), and now a largely unknown company is rather unexpectedly seeking to harness E Ink tech for its latest flagship. That manufacturer, interestingly enough, is Alcatel OneTouch. Taking advantage of the magnetic docking ports on the back of the brand new 6-inch Hero, the company has designed a prototype flip cover with an E Ink screen on top. This offers the obvious functionality of reading e-books in traditional fashion without having the display drain massive amounts of power, but as you can see in the image above, its engineers are exploring other use cases such as a full lock screen with a dynamically changing weather widget, and we figure the sky's the limit. While press releases seemed to indicate that the accessory will see the light of day, company reps told us that it is still just a prototype and they're not certain if it will make it out to the market. Whatever may happen down the road, it's great to see E Ink coming alive on smartphones in different ways. Check out our gallery and a brief video below. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
