Pentax intros K-50 and K-500 DSLRs, Q7 mirrorless camera

When it rains, it pours -- we knew Pentax was due for new interchangeable lens cameras, but it just surprised us by unveiling three of them at once. The mid-range K-50 and entry K-500 DSLRs at the front of the pack represent slight upgrades to the 16-megapixel K-30 on the inside, with both gaining a higher ISO 51,200 sensitivity and Eye-Fi card support. They mostly differ on the outside. The K-50 keeps the K-30's weather sealing, lithium batteries and extreme color customization; the K-500 caters to the budget crowd by going without weatherproofing, running on AA batteries and shipping only in black. Both bodies are available in stores this July, starting at $600 for a K-500 with an 18-55m kit lens and $780 for a similarly equipped K-50.

The smallest camera of the bunch, the Q7, may be the most intriguing. While the mirrorless body still shoots at the 12.4 megapixels of the Q10, it upgrades to a larger 1/1.7-inch sensor that delivers a big performance boost -- sensitivity has jumped to ISO 12,800, and there's faster autofocusing to boot. Pentax also touts a faster shot-to-shot time, better image stabilization and Eye-Fi support. The Q7 will cost the same $500 in kit form as its ancestor does today, although photographers will have to be patient when the tiny camera doesn't hit retail until August.

ASUS' new ViVoPC mini PC can take up to 16GB of RAM, your choice of Intel CPU

It's only been a few days since we first laid eyes on that newly introducedASUS ViVoPC, but the Taiwanese company kept details short back at Computex, leaving us with the desire to learn a little more about the device. The good news is ASUS has just posted a spec sheet on its website, which lets us (and you) know that its mini PC will have a number of customizable options. Aside from being 802.11ac- and Windows 8-ready, the diminutive ViVoPC can be loaded with an Intel processor (presumably a shiny newHaswell), a maximum of 16GB RAM and your preference of either a HDD or SSD. There are also two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet and integrated speakers, which ASUS is dubbing SonicMaster. Mum's the word on pricing and availability, but we'll let you know as soon as we come across those specifics.

Hands-on with the Ouya destined for store shelves HD

The Ouya journey, according to founder Julie Uhrman, will never have a firm conclusion. But, we'd say having retail units enter production and shipping to mega stores like Game Stop and Best Buy represents at least the culmination of this particular story arc. With only a few weeks to go before the retail launch, the company brought the final console, controller and packaging to E3 for a press tour. The console itself is unchanged from the version that shipped to Kickstarter backers, except that it wont have contributor names etched on the side. The final tweaks heading into production have focused on the controller and the software. Visually the gamepad is exactly the same, but a number of small changes have be made to the various components to address feedback from early adopters andreviewers. The holes around the four face buttons have been widened to prevent them from sticking and, no matter how hard we tried, we could not get the O, U, Y or A to get wedged under the face plate. The right thumb stick also had a tendency to get caught on early versions of the controller, thanks to a small amount of glue that leaked into the area. That issue has supposedly been resolved, and in our time with the production model we had no problems with the analog stick.



OUYA retail version hands-on






The improvements to the gamepad are huge, but perhaps the most welcome news is that the UI has been cleaned up and sped up. While not exactly smooth as butter, the various interface elements loaded much quicker than they did on our review unit. Much of the perceived lag between input and action also appears to have been resolved. While we didn't get a chance to put any serious pressure on the console, there was no noticeable delay while navigating the menus and You Don't Know Jack registered our answers instantaneously. Of course, Uhrman is the first to admit there is still work to be done. She hopes that the company will be able to slap an additional layer of polish on the software before launch day arrives. Our issue with entries in the shop not showing prices have not been addressed, but there's a chance it never will. Uhrman pointed out that all games are free to try, and her view is that slapping a dollar amount on a title will scare users off from even downloading the free demo.

Our latest experience with the Android-based gaming device has us feeling optimistic. While there's certainly work left to be done, not the least of which is convincing consumers this is the console they need, it's obvious that the company is taking customer feedback seriously. And that's not something most companies can brag about. We'll definitely have some more fully fleshed impressions to share when we get to spend more time with the retail version of the Ouya, which is hitting shelves on June 25th.

AMD's Saeid Moshkelani on building custom silicon for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U HD

The next-generation of consoles has finally and fully arrived here at E3, and the companies building the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U are doing their best to differentiate their consoles from the competition. However, there is a common thread that connects them under the hood: AMD silicon. Naturally, we wanted to know more about the process of building chips for these next gene consoles. So, we spoke with AMD VP Saeid Moshkelani -- who heads up the Semi-Custom Business Unit that built those SoCs -- to get the inside scoop.

Moshkelani wouldn't get into the details of the differences between the chips he built for the consoles. Instead, he talked about how AMD developed custom silicon for each and the necessity of secrecy in the process. In fact, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft had no idea that they were each going to the AMD well to get silicon for their next-gen platforms until they were announced. So, head on down past the break to hear Moshkelani discuss what it's like working with the big three and AMD's role in making next-gen gaming a reality.