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Engadget News |
- Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL review
- CEA officially brands 4K as Ultra HD, gets ready for a flood of new displays at CES
- 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display reportedly seen with 2,560 x 1,600 LCD, dual Thunderbolt ports
- Microsoft 'retiring' Facebook and Twitter Xbox 360 Dashboard apps
- YouTube Campaigns lets nonprofits draw our interest without the telethons
- Microsoft Surface pre-orders in Canada, UK are not delayed (Update)
- Google Knowledge Graph explains related content, finds the six degrees with less Bacon
- Tesla's Supercharger network goes live in six California towns, encourages EV road trips
- Motorola lists phones that won't get Jelly Bean, offers $100 credit to buy a phone that will
- 32GB Nexus 7 tablets appear at retail with $249 price tag, October 29th street date
- Droid Bionic finally gets an ICS update as everyone else moves on to Jelly Bean
- Droid RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD review
- T-Mobile drops 200MB smartphone data plan, 2GB now the new standard
- The Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 5pm ET!
- Evernote for Android gets new offline notebooks, widgets and more
- Formlabs FORM 1 high-resolution 3D printer spotted in the wild, we go eyes on (video)
| Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL review Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CEA officially brands 4K as Ultra HD, gets ready for a flood of new displays at CES Posted: 20 Oct 2012 09:44 AM PDT
Now that HDTV is "the new normal" according to Nielsen (its most recent stats say more than 75 percent of US households have one) then naturally, it's time to upgrade to 4K. This week the Consumer Electronics Association officially dubbed such screens -- with characteristics including at least eight million active pixels, and 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, among other things -- Ultra High-Definition, or Ultra HD in order to help educate consumers about the new tech. The ITU already laid down its spec recommendations for Ultra High Definition TV so the industry should be able to move forward in unison pushing super high-res displays across the land. Of course we did say "should," and Sony is already informing media outlets that it plans to market its 4K products as "4K UHD." Whatever it's called, we saw 84-inch screens from multiple manufacturers announced recently, and with the CEA's announcement we're penciling in a few more pixel-dense models for the big Las Vegas show in January. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 20 Oct 2012 07:52 AM PDT
We hope you didn't want Apple's little event next week to be a complete surprise. After promises of extra details for a prior leak, a WeiPhone forum goer has returned with photos of what's supposed to be the active screen and ports of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display that might be on stage come October 23rd. If this is what we get alongside the similarly unofficial miniature iPad, we'll take it. The possible leak shows a 2,560 x 1,600 LCD (four times higher in resolution than the existing MacBook Pro) and, importantly, no sacrifices in expansion versus the 15-inch Retina model -- there's still the dual Thunderbolt ports and HDMI video that shipped with this system's bigger brother. Vital details like the performance and price are left out, so there's a few cards left off Apple's table, but the images hint at what could be a tempting balance between the 15-inch MacBook Pro's grunt and the MacBook Air's grace. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft 'retiring' Facebook and Twitter Xbox 360 Dashboard apps Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:40 AM PDT
Eagle-eyed gamers may have already noticed that the Xbox 360's dedicated Twitter and Facebook apps have gone missing after the latest Dashboard update, and now Redmond has confirmed it's put the applications out to pasture. According to a Microsoft representative that spoke to IGN, the firm is "retiring the Facebook and Twitter apps" as it works to streamline functionality. When asked if the pair of apps will ever make a comeback, Ballmer and Co. didn't comment. Still crave to update your friends on your latest gaming exploits through the console? Spreading the news on the digital grapevine is still possible, but you'll have to access the social networks through the freshly added Internet Explorer app -- an experience we hope Xbox SmartGlass will improve. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| YouTube Campaigns lets nonprofits draw our interest without the telethons Posted: 20 Oct 2012 03:18 AM PDT
Trying to launch a concerted nonprofit video campaign can feel like tilting at windmills: you might have one moment of undivided attention from viewers before they're off to watch cats and Nigerian pygmy goats. Google wants to make the most of that time through its YouTube Campaigns initiative. The strategy brings on-video overlays and channel sections that show viewers both a progress meter for the campaign as well as a handy links to explore and share what they've found. If all goes well, charities and like-minded organizations get more donations and YouTube views, while we in the general public are reminded that there's more to life than K-pop videos. It certainly beats manning the phones for a celebrity fundraiser. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft Surface pre-orders in Canada, UK are not delayed (Update) Posted: 20 Oct 2012 12:45 AM PDT
Microsoft's Surface for Windows RT appears to be flying off the virtual shelves, however it seems some of the customers who've pre-ordered will be waiting about a week longer than they thought. We've received several tips from readers in Canada and the UK indicating they've received emails (as seen above, check after the break for similar reports from Twitter) explaining that their tablets will be shipping on November 2nd, instead of October 26th as originally scheduled when they put their requests in days ago. There's no reason currently listed for the delay, however we have contacted Microsoft for further comment on the situation. Currently the Surface is listed as completely sold out on the UK and Canada Microsoft Store sites, and in the US all three variants are no longer promised for delivery on release date. It's been reported that Microsoft is building up to five million of the devices for launch this fall, hopefully they can all find their way to good homes sooner rather than later. Update: A Microsoft spokesperson has responded, informing us that the emails sent out were incorrect, so "all customers should expect their customers by the original date given." It will be following up with customers to let them know their shipping date has not changed, and you can read the full statement for yourself after the break.
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| Google Knowledge Graph explains related content, finds the six degrees with less Bacon Posted: 19 Oct 2012 10:19 PM PDT
We had a bit of a laugh with Google's Kevin Bacon calculator. Not everyone needs to tie their searches to the star of Footloose, though, which is partly why Google is pushing out an update to its Knowledge Graph that explains how searches turn up related items. The effort is starting with actors, celebrities and their links to any movies and TV shows they've starred in. Looking for Orson Welles and mousing over Rita Hayworth's portrait reminds us that the two luminaries were married for years, for example. We won't know when the more intelligent searches will expand, but at least we won't be quite so confused if the animated Transformers movie appears next to Citizen Kane. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tesla's Supercharger network goes live in six California towns, encourages EV road trips Posted: 19 Oct 2012 07:57 PM PDT
Time to go on that great California road trip, Tesla owners; the EV maker has just launched new Superchargers in six Golden State locations: Folsom Premium Outlets, Harris Ranch in Coalinga, Gilroy Premium Outlets, Barstow, Tejon Ranch in Lebec and Hawthorne. They appear to be strategically placed to ease journeys between San Francisco, Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas, NV. The solar powered stations from SolarCity are designed just for Tesla vehicles, with Model S sedans being able to charge for free. According to Tesla, a Model S can be charged in about 30 minutes if you want to get around three hours of 60mph driving out of it, so you'll have plenty of time to grab an In-N-Out Double Double on your way to Sin City. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motorola lists phones that won't get Jelly Bean, offers $100 credit to buy a phone that will Posted: 19 Oct 2012 05:26 PM PDT
Back in September, Motorola Mobility announced that some of its handsets from 2011 and later wouldn't be making the jump to Jelly Bean. In an effort to smooth things over with exiled customers, the company pledged that it would offer a $100 rebate to those who trade up to a select Motorola smartphone. Today, the Google-owned Android maker has released a list detailing which phones qualify for this promotion. If you're among the many who purchased a Droid 3, Droid X2 and Photon 4G, it looks like an official update to Android 4.1 is out of the question. It should be noted that this offer doesn't affect your wireless contract's terms and conditions (read: ETF may still apply). However, if you're just aching to pick up a Motorola phone that released in 2012, then why not score a $100 credit for your troubles? Move past the break to see which other devices | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 32GB Nexus 7 tablets appear at retail with $249 price tag, October 29th street date Posted: 19 Oct 2012 03:35 PM PDT
Ahead of Google's Android event on the 29th there's additional confirmation of a storage upgrade for the Nexus 7, as 32GB units have now been spotted on shelves at US retailers. Seemingly dead-set on matching the LG E960 "Mako" Nexus G for the title of worst-kept secret, we've received this photo of a tag for the new unit at a Sam's Club (with a placeholder price). Reports on Android Central and The Verge also mention hardware spotted at Staples locations, with one person actually succeeding in buying one. All of that follows a listing on the Staples website and one Japanese buyer apparently receiving one early by accident. According to the tags and receipts, the new units are scheduled to go on sale the same day as the Android event, and at the same $249 price of the current 16GB model. Now that the alleged Sony Nexus phone has been exposed as a fake we don't know if there will be any surprises left, but if you want to buy anything from Google's brand then patience (or at least shopping around) is probably your best strategy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Droid Bionic finally gets an ICS update as everyone else moves on to Jelly Bean Posted: 19 Oct 2012 03:18 PM PDT
After nearly a year of suffering with Gingerbread, Droid Bionic owners who haven't given up on their phone will finally be rewarded with that long-awaited ICS update; the rollout starts October 19th, according to Verizon. Those who get it will receive a new customizable launch bar, a direct access lock screen, enhanced notifications, Motorola's SmartActions app, Face Unlock, easier multitasking, and many other goodies most Android owners have enjoyed for awhile now. It looks like Motorola Mobility actually made good on some of its promises to fix the handset that has suffered a number of different problems since its launch (which itself took almost nine months from the initial announce date). However, now that Jelly Bean has taken over as the firmware of choice with no word yet if that'll come to the Droid Bionic, we wonder if it's too little, too late. Update: We've learned from the comments, Motorola's owner support forum and its own Facebook page that the company is planning on rolling out Jelly Bean to the Droid Bionic "in the coming months" so don't lose hope just yet, Bionic faithful. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Droid RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD review Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT
When Motorola resurrected the RAZR brand last year we didn't realize that we were looking at the new face of the company. At the time, Google had yet to officially take over the handset manufacturer, it had a deep stable of less-than-impressive devices and, while it was a moderate success, the Droid RAZR didn't exactly turn the market on its head. Still, in retrospect, it only makes sense that the RAZR would once again become the standard bearer for Moto. Even if we weren't blown away by last year's model, it was a big step in the right direction for the company, a device that featured a great mix of premium styling and performance. The new RAZR HD and MAXX HD take that basic formula and attempt to address our concerns about the display and battery life, the latter of which was already handled in dramatic fashion by the RAZR MAXX. So, how do the latest caps-happy, vowel-averse handsets from Motorola stack up against last year's incarnations and the current crop of competitors? Keep on reading after the break to find out. Hardware
The slightly thicker body leaves room for a nice strip of aluminum around the edges and allows Motorola to spread out the various ports and buttons. The top houses only the headphone jack, a drastic change from the original Droid RAZR which also found room there for the HDMI and micro-USB ports. Those have instead been moved to the left-hand side of the handset, towards the bottom of the body, below the hidden tray for the micro-SIM and microSD cards. On the right side are both the power button and the volume rocker, which are nicely textured and depress with a satisfying amount of feedback. Up front, you'll find the requisite sensors and an HD camera for video chats and self-portraits. Sandwiched between the ear piece and Motorola logo is a long, thin notification LED that underlines the company name.
Combine all that with an edge-to-edge sheet of Gorilla Glass on the face and you've got a rather solid and premium-feeling device. Actually, the word we'd use to describe it is "dense" -- like a brick. It's roughly the same size and weight as the Galaxy Nexus but, subjectively, it seems heavier until you hold them both simultaneously. It's about a millimeter thinner than the Nexus but, thanks to its straight sides and almost featureless body, it feels quite a bit more awkward in the hand. The RAZR HD and MAXX HD seem just a little too big, despite being narrower than the Galaxy S III and One X. That's a shame because we love the heft and stunning build quality. Strictly from a material selection and construction standpoint, the RAZR line belongs in a class alongside HTC's One series and the iPhone -- it's just that good. But, as time wore on, the subtle inconveniences of the design became increasingly clear. It's almost as if Motorola forgot to take ergonomics into account when building the devices, making one-handed operation a bit of a chore. It was impossible to find a position that allowed this reviewer to stretch across the screen with his thumb while keeping the lock key within easy reach. One of the most welcome changes to the RAZR line is certainly the screen. Without changing the size of the handset, Motorola has gone from a 4.3-inch panel to a 4.7-inch one and bumped up the resolution from qHD to a full 1,280 x 720. Of course, being of the Super AMOLED HD variety, that means we're still looking at a PenTile layout here. That being said, it's not a bad screen at all. It can't quite compete with the stunning LCDs found on the Optimus G or the One X, but it's at least on par with the Galaxy Nexus. Colors are bright and saturated while darker areas are deep and almost light-absorbing -- perhaps unnaturally so. But jagged edges are hard to spot, viewing angles are extraordinary and it shrugs off direct sunlight as a minor inconvenience. One of the biggest surprises, however, was the speaker phone, which was loud, clear and one of the best we've heard in a long time. And you'll be able to put that speaker to good use almost anywhere on the globe since, in addition to the Verizon standard LTE and CDMA radios, the RAZR HD and MAXX HD also support GSM 850/900/1,800/1,900 and HSPA on the same bands, plus 2,100MHz. Performance and battery life
While every other manufacturer is talking about innovative cameras, quad-core processors and glorified styli, Moto has decided to make battery life its bread and butter. That trend started with the Droid RAZR MAXX -- the first phone we've ever seen with what could be called an excessively large battery. The RAZR MAXX HD keeps the same 3,300mAh non-removable pack, while its slimmer sibling goes with a 2,500mAh one. That's a significant upgrade over last year's model and one that delivers a stunning amount of longevity. Under normal usage the RAZR HD sails through a full day without a hiccup, and two days is well within reach with judicious use of the screen. On our standard battery drain test (which involves looping a video with the display brightness set at 50 percent, WiFi and GPS turned on) the RAZR HD chugged along for an impressive 10 hours and 42 minutes -- that's longer than most tablets. The MAXX only takes things further, testing this reviewer's patience by refusing to die for 14 hours and four minutes. That doesn't quite match the epic longevity of the first MAXX, but it's still a nearly unheard of number. What's more, both lasted almost a full hour longer than Motorola's official figures -- that's about as pleasant a surprise as one can get. The dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 inside is hardly cutting-edge any more, but it's more than enough to keep the phone chugging along at a healthy clip. Navigating the UI is smooth, seamless and the device hardly seems to break a sweat firing up most apps. Even relatively intensive 3D titles like Dead Space and Grand Theft Auto III hum along on the new RAZRs. We did, however, consistently encounter serious lag with the keyboard. Quite often, it would take a few seconds for the keyboard to catch up to our typing, and memory-intensive apps like Chrome only seemed to exacerbate the issue.
The phones easily held their own in benchmarks and, as expected, kept pace with the glut of phones on the market with the same 1.5GHz Snapdragon internals. The SunSpider score of 1,914 is respectable, though surprisingly high considering similarly specced devices from Samsung and Moto have completed the test significantly faster in the past. Otherwise, our quantitative testing turned up no surprises. Serious powerhouses like the Galaxy Note II and the Optimus G were able to run circles around the RAZRs, but even the most demanding of users will rarely need that sort of horsepower on a regular basis. More important for the average user will be the ability to suck down data at an impressive clip and the HD didn't disappoint. We averaged about 17 Mbps down and 14 Mbps up around New York City, during a mix of on- and off-peak tests. We also found call quality to be surprisingly clear, considering the underwhelming performance of its smaller sibling the RAZR M in this area. CameraThe camera has always been a strong suit of Motorola handsets. We're beginning to believe that Motorola found a formula that works for capturing images way back with the Droid X and hasn't really bothered to change much since. Things have certainly gotten better, just not dramatically so. That's not to say we're disappointed with the image quality here -- far from it actually. The camera has always been a strong suit of Motorola handsets and the same is true of the new RAZR brothers. Both have an 8-megapixel sensor inside, the same as you'd find in the RAZR M, Droid RAZR, Bionic and practically every flagship Moto device dating back to 2010. While the number of pixels hasn't increased, photo clarity and saturation has. In the light of day, images captured are bright and colorful, on par with most point-and-shoots. Even indoors and under artificial light the results are still pretty good, though we'd suggest leaving the flash off unless absolutely necessary. The new camera interface also improves over past offerings with a less cluttered presentation and more responsive controls. Perhaps our favorite feature is the phone's ability to detect less-than-ideal lighting conditions and prompt you to switch to HDR mode. Video quality was slightly less impressive than still photos, but it was hardly a weak point. The results were reasonably crisp and colors were well-saturated, though there was some noise detectable in the shadowy parts of the frame. Perhaps the biggest knock against the video is the lack of image stabilization. While we're not expecting Motorola to cram optical image stabilization into an already extremely dense handset (a la, the Lumia 920), some digital smoothing of our noticeable jitters would have been greatly appreciated. Audio recorded by the RAZR HD was exceptional. As you can hear in the clip above, midday traffic and a healthy breeze are reduced to a dull background hum and this reviewer's narration can be heard loud and clear over the din. Software Outside of a brief and gaudy detour around the time of the Bionic, Motorola has dramatically improved its custom UX with each and every release. By which we mean, they've stripped away the layers and moved closer and closer to stock Android. This is the same, minimally tweaked Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.4 to be specific) skin we've already seen on the Atrix HD and the RAZR M. Swiping to the right from the main home screen reveals the quick settings menu, which puts toggles for WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and other commonly used options within easy reach. Swiping to the left allows you to navigate your home screens, which can number anywhere from one to seven. If you've hit the end of the road, continuing to the right presents you with a screen offering you the ability to add a new "page" or manage your existing ones. This affords you the opportunity to not only add or delete, but also rearrange pages. You can even use templates, pre-populated with widgets and shortcuts, when adding new home screens, though the selection is a little paltry with only a media and office theme offered out of the box. We can only imagine things will get even better once the highly anticipated Jelly Bean update hits later this year.
There are a few other small changes to the standard UX, including a favorites tab in the app tray, which seems a little redundant with the existence of home screens. Still, we appreciated the four-way unlock screen which puts not just the camera, but text messages and dialer only a quick swipe away. We're also excited to see the return of the vibrate shortcut -- a handy feature tossed by the wayside in the post-Gingerbread era. A more subtle tweak is the notification pull-down, which no longer hides the status bar. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bloat onboard here and none of it is removable. In addition to the usual glut of Verizon-branded wares, Kindle, Color, NFL Mobile, Modern Combat 3, Real Racing 2, and Slacker Radio all come preinstalled. It's not quite as heavy-handed as the pile of apps crammed into the RAZR M -- notably absent are Amazon's non-Kindle properties -- but we'd much prefer if there were no third-party apps on our phones fresh out of the box. See, we're big boys and girls capable of deciding which apps we want and which we don't, and until the carriers learn to leave well enough alone their relationship with customers is going to be contentious at best. Wrap-up If there was an award for "Most Improved Handset," we'd give it to the RAZR HD. With the launch of the Droid RAZR last year, Motorola set about trying to reconnect with its legacy of producing cutting-edge, high-end hardware. It was far from perfect, but it definitely put the company on the right track. The RAZR HD and MAXX HD pick up where their predecessors left off and address practically every concern you could have had about the original. Most notably the screen has gone from a 4.3-inch qHD panel to a 4.7-inch HD one, all without changing the physical dimensions of the device. The manufacturer has sacrificed some style in the name of functionality, but has somehow managed to make an already premium-feeling device feel even more like a luxury item. Truth is, outside of battery life, specs aren't what matters here. Sure, NFC and a speedy dual-core processor are nice, but as we've said before the RAZR line is all about the materials. This isn't about the 1GB of RAM or the 8-megapixel camera; it's about the sheath of Kevlar, the face of glass and the heart of aluminum. The entire device is even protected with a water-repellent coating to safeguard your investment.
If you can get past the somewhat awkward, brick-like construction you'll find that the newest RAZRs are certainly worthy competitors for your smartphone dollar. That's especially true if you're tired of the countless quick-dying powerhouses that flood the market. Both offer more than adequate performance with stunning battery life. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to chew through the MAXX's battery in just a day. The only question that remains is, are these devices worth the cash? Truth be told, the MAXX would be a much more compelling product at $199 than it is at $299. The 32GB of storage and extra three hours of battery life hardly seem to warrant the $100 premium it demands over the 16GB RAZR HD. And $299 is a tough price to swallow for any phone. Still, both are more than capable of holding their own against the Galaxy S III and iPhone 5 a battle of the premium Verizon devices. And things will only get better when they're upgraded to Jelly Bean later this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T-Mobile drops 200MB smartphone data plan, 2GB now the new standard Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:31 PM PDT
T-Mobile silently killed off its $10 per month 200MB data plans, a leaked document reveals. A company spokesperson verified the news with Fierce Wireless. This decision is most likely due to the growing demand for mobile data as smartphone applications continue to evolve. Grandfathered customers will not be affected by this new policy, but will need to pay full price for a device and sign up for a "Value" plan when upgrading in order to maintain their existing service plan. T-Mobile now requires its smartphone customers to have a minimum data plan of 2GB or higher, which starts at $20 per month. While this change may make sense for most smartphone users, existing customers who are light on data and heavy on savings might have a different perspective when it's time to buy a new phone. Check out an extreme closeup of T-Mobile's document after the break. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 5pm ET! Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:55 PM PDT
It's been too long since our last podcast, and our breadbaskets doth overflow with mobile news. The fall season is always a crazy one as companies unleash a flood of new phones before the holidays, so naturally we're keeping ourselves pretty busy. Join us live as we work to make sense of it all, won't you? October 19, 2012 5:00 PM EDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Evernote for Android gets new offline notebooks, widgets and more Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:31 PM PDT
Evernote has already revamped a few of its offerings this month, and it's now brought some changes to its Android app as well. That includes new offline notebooks for premium subscribers that'll let you download multiple notebooks in one shot, a pared down note editor toolbar, retooled Action Bars for Android tablets and a new resizable Grid Widget for your homescreen. Not surprisingly, Evernote also says that the update includes a slew of other fixes and tweaks that promise to make the app "faster and more reliable," and it's promising that there's still "lots more to come." You can find the updated app in the Google Play store at the link below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Formlabs FORM 1 high-resolution 3D printer spotted in the wild, we go eyes on (video) Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT
Last time we checked in with the 3D printing upstarts over at Formlabs, their Kickstarter was doing splendidly, having over doubled its initial funding target. Well, less than a month later, and with the money still rolling in, the current total stands (at time of writing) at a somewhat impressive $2,182,031 -- over 20 times its initial goal. When we heard that the team behind it, along with some all important working printers, rolled into town, how could we resist taking the opportunity to catch up? The venue? London's 3D print show. Where, amongst all the printed bracelets and figurines, the FORM 1 stood out like a sore thumb. A wonderfully orange, and geometrically formed one at that. We elbowed our way through the permanent four-deep crowd at their booth to take a closer look, and as the show is running for another two days, you can too if you're in town. Or you could just click past the break for more. As we've alluded to already, one of the more striking features of the FORM 1, is its striking features. Most of the machines we've seen before look like they were imagined by, well, engineers rather than designers. Fit for purpose, and not much else. The FORM 1, however, is different. The orange print cabin, perched on top of the minimal-looking brushed metal base let you visualize it sat in the corner of any design studio, or creative environment perfectly. But the FORM 1 isn't just razzle-dazzle, underneath that outer shell is that self-developed technique for bringing stereolithography to the masses, and seeing it in action is as hypnotic as it is innovative. For those unfamiliar with the method, stereolithography uses a special resin that solidifies under laser light. This means it's more interesting to watch than the regular FDM printing, as every few moments a laser "show" hits the pool of resin, and another small part of the product emerges. And about the products... the difference in resolution is more than just mildly noticeable. Many of the conventional, yet affordable, machines turned out great models, but often with the tell-tale lines of the incremental plastic layering. The models from the FORM 1 are much smoother, more detailed, and go beyond the realm of simple prototypes and into potentially complete products. One of the items on display was a full chess set (including the board). Albeit made of plastic, the smoothness and detail were good enough that you could not only get your Kasparov on, but you might even leave it out on display afterwards. For us, this represents an exciting page turned in the the 3D-printing story. You can still secure one from the Kickstarter page, too. The lowest pledge that will earn you one is $2,699, which comes with a liter of the resin to get you going. Be sure to check the video below to see it printing the Eiffel tower, as well as a glimpse at the software and finishing kit.
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