Epic Games and Google appear to have quietly formed a massive new partnership worth up to $800 million, even as their long running antitrust fight was still playing out in court.

The previously undisclosed agreement came to light during a recent court hearing in San Francisco, where a judge raised concerns that the deal may have influenced settlement talks between the two companies. At the centre of it all are Unreal Engine, Fortnite, Android, and a surprising level of cooperation between two companies that were, until recently, fierce rivals.

Court Reveals Previously Hidden Epic And Google Partnership

The Verge reports that during a hearing tied to the Epic versus Google antitrust case, California District Judge James Donato revealed that Epic and Google have entered into a new business arrangement involving joint product development, joint marketing commitments, and shared partnerships.

According to the court, the agreement would see Epic helping Google market Android, while Google gains broader access to Epic’s core technology, including Unreal Engine. Judge Donato questioned whether this new relationship could have led Epic to soften its stance during settlement negotiations.

While most details remain sealed, the judge confirmed that the partnership represents new business between the two companies, something that did not exist before the legal battle began.

Tim Sweeney Hints At Metaverse And Unreal Engine Use

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney provided one of the clearest hints about the nature of the deal during his testimony. He suggested the partnership is connected to what he frequently describes as the metaverse, a term he often uses to refer to Fortnite’s broader ecosystem.

Sweeney explained that Epic’s technology is already used by many companies in the same space Google operates in, particularly for training and development. He went on to suggest that Google would be able to use Unreal Engine more extensively, before abruptly stopping himself and joking that he was breaking confidentiality.

That moment offered a rare glimpse into how deeply Unreal Engine may be involved in Google’s future product plans.

Judge Confirms $800 Million Six Year Commitment

While the finer points of the partnership remain secret, Judge Donato did confirm one major detail. The deal involves an $800 million commitment spread across six years, which he described as a healthy partnership by any standard.

Reports indicate that Epic Games will be paying Google as part of the agreement, though it remains unclear how that money is structured or which specific services and technologies it covers.

The judge allowed both companies to keep most details under wraps, but made it clear the court is carefully examining how the agreement intersects with the recently announced settlement.

Settlement Raises Questions About Epic And Google’s Feud

Epic and Google first announced a settlement in November, signalling the end of their lengthy legal dispute, pending final court approval. The sudden revelation of this partnership has raised questions about whether the deal helped smooth negotiations behind the scenes.

Judge Donato openly questioned whether Epic’s demands for broader changes to the Android ecosystem were softened as a result of this new cooperation. While no wrongdoing has been established, the timing has drawn scrutiny.

Epic has maintained that the agreement represents separate product lines being built by both companies, with plans to work together rather than merge efforts.

More Questions Than Answers For Now

Despite confirmation of the deal’s size and general scope, much remains unknown. Neither Epic nor Google has publicly explained what products or services are being developed, how Unreal Engine will be used, or how Fortnite fits into the long term strategy.

What is clear is that this partnership marks a dramatic shift in the relationship between Epic Games and Google. After years of courtroom battles and public disputes, the two companies are now quietly collaborating on technology that could shape the future of gaming, Android, and beyond.

For now, the industry is left with more questions than answers, and plenty of curiosity about what an $800 million Unreal Engine partnership might actually deliver.

The post Epic And Google Quietly Signed $800 Million Deal To Help Market Android appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Big, bold, and ready to hit the track, the swimming pool or run a marathon with you.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra, really is the ultra of wearables.

The round 1.47 inch AMOLED face sits within a large rounded square housing making for the Galaxy Watch Ultra to appear larger than it is as well as creating a bigger bezel look.

To the right there’s two tactile buttons and one larger centre rotating button to get you into your apps and varying workout regimes and routines.

Unlike the prior Galaxy Watches the outer bezel of the watch face does not rotate – I can see why from the design point of view, as the Galaxy Watch Ultra is as round as it is square.

Water resistant for up to a depth of 100 meters (including ocean) and built with titanium, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is ready to get rough and tough along with you.

Able to withstand the ocean depths, altitudes of 2,000 meters and temperatures as low as -20 or as high as 55C, you may not survive some of that, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra will keep on ticking.

And if you’re in a jam, take a spill, or just completely lost, the Galaxy Watch Ultra comes with it’s own emergency siren. If you hold down the middle rotating button, aka the ‘Action button’ for a few seconds an alarm will begin, which progressively gets louder. And I do mean louder!

While it’s clear that the Galaxy Watch Ultra has been designed for those who are sports focused and really love the outdoors, it still has all of the smarts health and wellbeing sensors and reports directly from your wrist.

Built on Google’s WearOS, there’s an endless menu of apps that you can install from Google Play as well as customise your watch face.

From stress, heart rate, sleep, temperature and more your vital body stats are recorded by the Galaxy Watch Ultra and synced up to the Samsung Health app on your smartphone.

Take calls handsfree, receive your notifications and swipe around the watch face to go from settings, to menu’s and alerts.

Best of all is the battery life.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra has a 590mAh battery which can give you up to 100 hours in Power Saving mode. This of course depends on your physical regime and how you use the watch as well.

Using the Galaxy Watch Ultra as my daily for the past two weeks I never actually needed to put it in to Power Saving mode. It’s done extremely well.

On first run from the box it ticked over nicely for two days before needing a charge up. On the second and third run it’s survived four to five days on a single charge.

The ideal is a smartwatch that needs minimal charging, and Samsung are getting very close to this with the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

For some, this new wearable is going to seem a little too large, but for those that are sports minded, have physical jobs, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is ready to hit the gravel, scale those heights, go down to those depths and more, all the while being a sturdy reliable coaching mentor and health assistant, at a premium price.

The post Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

It was three years ago that OPPO entered the smartwatch category.

Now the mobile tech company has released an extraordinary feat with their Watch X.

1.43 inch in size the bright, vivid and fully responsive AMOLED screen simply pops with information on your health, your fitness and of course the time of day.

The OPPO Watch X is a supreme wearable but without that elitist price tag.

The strap is a very comfy silicone, although from pictures it almost looks leather.

There’s two tactile buttons to the right of the watch bezel and this will get you into the apps screen as well as fitness programs. To get to your settings and notifications and to customize the screen it’s a series of swipes on the watch face. you can also get a quick view on your health and fitness stats this way as well.

About to take a hearty walk, run a marathon, cycle long distance or take a dip, the OPPO Watch X is ready to join you and is dust resistant,  water resistant to 50m and built for rough and tough regimes.

Built on Google’s WearOS the OPPO Watch X does need OPPOs ‘O Health’ app to fully function.  Trying to connect up with the Wear OS app just doesn’t work.

If you’re using an Android phone the sync up is straightforward.  iOS is of course a little more tricky with varying compromises, but you can connect.

The OPPO Watch X syncs via Bluetooth and while definitely customizable, you can swap out your watch face, add new ones, install apps and set notifications.

The OPPO Watch X has 2GB RAM and 32GB of storage. Plenty of space to add in apps and stream Spotify from.

From sleeping through heart health, general fitness and more, you can set goals on the O Health app which will sync to your Watch X. Feeling stressed, check your status from your wrist.  The best feature of all is the battery life.

OPPO state you can get up to 4 days from a single charge, or 12 days on power saving mode with its 500mAh battery.

On first run I was able to get 2 days max. But on the second full charge it was around 5 days. The length of charge and life in the watch will always depend on your physical movements, amount of calls or other hands free activities you do, brightness settings and other bits during normal or heavy use. A quick 10-15 minute charge will net you around 24 hours use. This is actually very true.

Comparing the OPPO Watch X to their previous model a few years ago, it’s clear to see that OPPO have done a lot of R & D since then.  It’s important to note here that the OPPO Watch X is not LTE. You won’t need a plan, but this also means that the wearable is fully reliant on your phone.

The OPPO Watch X I’ve found to be the most reliable, longest lasting smartwatch I have used in the past couple of years.

Priced to be affordable to all,  the OPPO Watch X puts the power of wearable smarts, fitness coaching, health monitoring and hands free convenience on the wrists of everyone while looking elite at the same time.

The post OPPO Watch X Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Brick, tile, wooden or concrete, small or large, whatever the shape, size and construction materials of your house there’s always an annoying WiFi blackspot.

Google’s Nest WiFi Pro Mesh System is here to sort that out.

Either in a single or multi-pack (depends on how big your place is as to how many of these you will need), the aesthetically pleasing Google Nest WiFi Pro Mesh has been future proofed for instant connectivity to Matter gear as well as having WiFi 6E, which is twice as quick as WiFi 6.

One unit is expected to cover 150m2. That’s a fairly decent footprint. And in my place, a two storey concrete and wood townhouse it was more than enough from every corner of the house.

There’s two ports at the back, one to plug in to your existing ISP modem and the other spare if you want to hardwire anything in to it.

This said for most you’ll find the wireless broadcast more than sufficient for multiple devices in the home and all smarthome tech.

If you already have other Google devices in your setup these will integrate with the Google Nest WiFi Pro Mesh System real easy via the Google Home app. And it is also within the app you can see current speeds, what’s currently connected and using bandwidth, restrict, block and more.

You’ll also get security as well as notifications and alerts on your smartphone, iOS if you have the Google Home app installed.

The Google Nest WiFi Pro Mesh System is a definite for a one bedroom place and a more modest sized two bedroom, like mine. But if you have two or more bedrooms you may want to invest in more than just one Google Nest WiFi Pro Mesh System unit.

For me it worked perfectly with zero blackspots in any room of the house and what’s more when compared with other similar Mesh systems available, the Google Nest WiFi Pro Mesh System is more than affordable.

Get everything connected, have everything staying connected with the Google Nest WiFi Pro Mesh System.

The post Google Nest WiFi Pro Mesh System Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Take charge of your health, wellbeing and fitness with Fitbit’s Charge 6.

The small and super light smartwatch utilizes the Fitbit app on Android or iOS to keep track of your daily activities and vitals.

Fitbit (now owned by Google) are absolutely the masters of health wearables, they’re the pioneers and have been doing them for years.

All of this knowledge and experience would mean that you’re going to get a fully accurate experience, right? Well, yes… and not always.

Firstly the watch itself.

It’s slim with a touch 0.86 x 0.58 inch face that nicely curves in to the very bright silicone strap.

To the left is one tactile button. If you’re not using ‘Always on’ for the screen, this button is essentially a wake up the screen. I hardly used it, as the screen will turn on when you raise your wrist.

As mentioned, you absolutely need the Fitbit app to not only connect the Fitbit Charge 6, but also to sync your data.

The Fitbit Charge 6 will keep an accurate track of your steps per day and you can set goals to try and beat. I don’t remember setting a goal in past Fitbit watches I have used and reviewed, but apparently I did – and I’ve never met them. So far.

There’s also a calorie burner, fitness coach, ECG, heart and stress monitor, skin temperature and way, way more.

You can set up alerts for irregular heart rhythm too.

If you’re new to the world of Fitbit, there will be some profile set up for you where you will need to enter in details about yourself, age, weight and height. This is ultimately so the tracker can ascertain vitals and fitness for your age and body type.

But according to my heart stats with the Fitbit Charge 6 my heart stops beating around midday each day. I’d always suspected it did.

The sleep tracker is mostly on point, although it did miss a few nights where it recorded zero sleep. And evidently I do not sleep enough (that’s actually true)

Notifications, are hit and miss. Better on Android (I mean it is Google to Google right?), on iOS you will generally only get SMS alerts, Android almost everything.

Being that the screen is teeny, it’s near to impossible to see any details of said notifications though. But you’ll get them.

An entire week (or more) will see the Fitbit Charge 6 being your health wrist buddy before needing a charge up. Charging time from near-to flat is a little painful. Around 3 hours.

If you forget to juice it up overnight you may want to replan that exercise you were just about to leave the house for.

I’m not using the ‘Always on’ screen, and so far a week and a half in and it’s still going strong with around 50% battery.

The Fitbit Charge 6 was a mixed bag of accuracy and not.

The app is excellent however. It takes you through your vitals and activities in to a granular micro level. There are some functions that you will need a Fitbit Premium sub for though.

From the watch face you can swipe left and right to get a quick snapshot and basic info.

If the Fitbit Charge 6 detects you’re on a walk, it will prompt you to record it. I did this a few times… it doesn’t stop recording when the walk is done though.

In all, the Fitbit Charge 6 is not bulky, a soft and light wear, always good to go and for the most part, keeps everything in check.

If you’re a fitness guru, or simply just want a smartwatch that’s not huge on your wrist and keeps things in check at a budget-friendly price point, the Fitbit Charge 6 will see you right. Mostly.

The post Fitbit Charge 6 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

So you have a flat screen TV that’s been kicking around for a few years and still work well – but you can’t get all of the streaming services that newer TVs can?

I feel your pain – for my bedroom TV anyway. I’ve been rocking an older (2015) LG LED TV that was one of the last great 3D TVs (remember those?).

It’s not 4K, but is HD and for folk like us that still have older TVs living their best lives and don’t want to part with them, Google has a cost-effective solution.

Google Chromecast with HD TV is specifically designed for teles that don’t match up to 4K but still give a decent enough picture and resolution.

Recently I reviewed the 4K model, now Google have one for HD specifically.

Plugging directly in to a spare HDMI port you will need to login with your Google account. If you have the Google Home app on your smartphone it’s even way easier.

Providing your smartphone is connected to your home WiFi the Google Home app will pick up the Google HD TV unit and copy all of your account info over.

Simple and straight forward.

The Google Chromecast HD TV comes with its own push button or voice control remote. If your HD TV has a ARC3 HDMI port I suggest that you use that, as the Chromecast unit is smart enough to be able to control most functions on your TV, such as volume and power.

Also included is a lengthy USB power cable and AC power adaptor.

The Google Chromecast HD TV will transform your aging but still good tele in to an Android TV. Suddenly you’ll have all of the streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+ and more.

You can browse the Google App store and add others in if you wish and if you have Google apps on your phone, or using an Android phone you can cast media from your smartphone to the TV in an instant.

You can even sync up an Xbox One controller wirelessly to the Google HD TV, install a compatible game from the App store and boom, wireless gaming in no time.

The Google Chromecast HD TV breathes new life in to older teles, and for less than $100 NZD you’ll have the smarts to the likes of a current model smart TV.

There’s no need for an expensive TV upgrade with the Google Chromecast HD TV.

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The post Google Chromecast TV HD Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

By now most homes have a flat screen, smart TV.

But not all Smart TVs are the same.

Some are built on Google’s webOS, while others, especially cheaper brands have their own OS (Operating system) and unable to offer the Android experience, run apps from Google Play and sync up with your smart phone.

This is where Google’s Chromecast comes in.

Google have released a new model of their ultimate Smart TV experience adding 4K support – and a remote.

Powered by USB-C A/C adaptor and plugging in to any of the HDMI inputs on your tele, there’s a bit of a setup before you’re streaming like a pro.

Now, it’s fairly seamless, but you will need to use the Google Home app on your smart phone.

You’ll utilise your Google account (or sign up for one) and after the Chromecast is connected to your WIFI it will do a few updates and app installs and boom – an instant webOS smart TV.

From plug to play it’s about 7 minutes.

As mentioned, the new Google Chromecast comes with its very own remote. This is a first for Chromecast which had ultimately relied either on your TV remote, for compatible models, or your Android based phone for navigating around streaming services, apps and marathoning your fav series and movies.

Builtin is Google TV, which basically organises all of your favourite films and series from differing services in to one place.

Also a Chromecast staple is YouTube, if you’re streaming a YouTube vid on your phone you can cast it over to your TV (hence the name ‘Chromecast’).

Google also upped their visuals by way of 4K / 60 fps and Dolby Vision. Sure you are going to need a native 4K TV to actually get that full 4K experience, if you do not have a high res screen, not too worry, the Chromecast will optimise the visuals to best fit your TVs capabilities.

Downstairs in my living room I already have a newer webOS Smart TV, but upstairs In the bedroom I have a near to 10 year old Smart TV. One of the last 3D TVs.

Even on this older (2015) LG Smart TV, which is not 4K, it was sharp and crisper than I’d expected it to be.

I was also surprised to find that some of the options on the Google Chromecast remote operated the veteran LG TV’s functions.via ARC3 on the HDMI port.

The Google Chromecast remote has voice operation via Google Assistant. I was rather impressed when I said ‘Hey Google start Netflix’ and boom, my older tele turned on and Netflix loaded up.

So even if you’re rocking an older TV you’ll likely get the full smart home, automated experience.

WebOS is essentially Android – thus you can download pretty much any entertainment app and even games that are designed to be played via a remote or smart phone as a controller.

A Google Chromecast is like a set-top box, but without the ‘set-top’ bit. The actual device is small enough to fit in your pocket, so hides itself reducing any clutter around your screen.

If you’ve still got that older flat screen tele hanging in there, or even a newer one that is not webOS, for just over a $100 (NZD) you can unleash all of the streaming apps, cast media from smart devices and delve in to Google TV’s offerings and suggestions in an instant and, now, in 4K.

The post Google Chromecast 4K Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Google are most definitely in the hardware realm, not just for home based smart assistants but also your home’s security.

Both indoors and out.

Previously I’ve covered off reviews for their Google Nest Cam and Doorbell all within their wider Nest range.

Now, over this summer break you can light’em up and from your holiday bach, tropical getaway, literally anywhere you’ve disappeared to and monitor your immediate outdoors at home during the day and night.

The Google Nest Cam with Floodlight is exactly what it’s namesake says it is.

Two decently sized floodlights flick on when it’s dark at the first sense of motion splashing vibrant white light across any area it’s set up in, nice and clear for the Google Nest Cam to begin recording.

The camera itself is a 2MP lens with 130° diagonal field of view. You can zoom in up to 6x but you will lose a bit of resolution. Speaking of the lens captures video at 1080p / 30 FPS. Night time recordings are in HDR.

The unit has a sensor where the lights will only flick on when daylight is dim or dark – you can use the Nest Cam during the day for security as you would at night with the added floodlights.

Being that the floodlights are massively super bright the Google Nest Cam with Floodlight is a wired device.

Makes sense. The floodlights would likely drain any camera battery real quick.

Being wired means that there is a need to connect up to your mains power. Google supply all you need in the box to do this – but I wouldn’t recommend trying it yourself. Get a professional in.

If you do not want to get an electrician in to wire up there is an outdoor A/C adaptor available (sold separately).

Initial set up and viewing whether live or past recordings from your recent timeline are done via the Google Home app (Android / iOS).

This is where it gets a little interesting.

The duration that video’s are stored in the cloud is only 3 hours. Too short in my opinion.

You’d likely wake up in the morning to alerts that there was movement captured but find no recordings due to the captures having been done over 3 hours ago. This happened to me.

Google’s solution to this is to opt in for a paid subscription. The annually chargeable fee basically nets you way longer timings. So you can keep, store and go back to past recordings from ages ago.

So, how is the Google Nest Cam with Floodlight? Does it pick up everything?

It sure does. And it’s smart enough to know what is a cat and what is a human.

I’d been using an Arlo camera outside until this review unit arrived.

With the Arlo camera I had a mega library of neighbourhood cats and their nocturnal prowling around my front door every morning when I woke up.

No such waste of recording time with the Google Nest Cam with Floodlight. No cat entertainment.

The floodlighting is superb, brighter than daylight in the darkest of dark areas, all done by multiple LEDs built in to the device.

I do recommend setting your zone correctly too when you first set up the Google Nest Cam with Floodlight. This may take a bit of tweaking over a series of days, so that, you know, you’re not inadvertently spying on your neighbours coming in and out.

With a pricing tier similar to other manufacturers the Google Nest Cam with Floodlight offers up superb and detailed recordings with the added bonus of dual floodlights any nefarious baddies that may be lurking about are snapped in full living colour.

If you have other Nest devices in your home the Nest Cam will seamlessly integrate with those. This said you can use the Cam with the likes of Amazon Alexa too.

So when you’re home or when you’re away keep the lights on where it matters most and keep your spaces safe and secure real easy with Google’s Nest cams.

The post Google Nest Cam w. Floodlight Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

At CES 2022 Acer unveiled three new Chromebooks designed for users needing a secure, easy-to-use, and affordable device for productivity, entertainment and communication.

These new Chromebooks come in three sizes and form factors, and are furnished with everything consumers need, plus exceptional audio and video technology for entertainment and video conferencing.

“This new trio of Acer Chromebooks offers the best of several worlds; they deliver solid performance capabilities, have great extra features, and give users the latest technology while staying within budget,” said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “Today’s users need a reliable, easy-to-use means to stay productive, connected and entertained when they’re at home, these three new Acer Chromebooks fit that bill.”

Acer Chromebook Spin 513

With a svelte design and a durable aluminium case, the new Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (CP513-2H) is the ideal Chromebook to take on-the-go for school, passion projects, work and more.

Powered by the new super-fast MediaTek Kompanio 1380 processor with eight cores for enhanced multitasking, it lets users stay productive all-day with exceptional performance and up to 10hours of battery life.

A productivity-boosting VertiView 13.5-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio gives users 18% more vertical screen space so they can see more content before needing to scroll.

Furthermore, the gorgeous display’s 2256×1504 resolution panel and 7.7mm(0.3 in) narrow side bezels serve to highlight these visuals.

The new Acer Chromebook Spin 513’s convertible design makes it a great choice for people who take their device with them when they travel.

It can transform between four different usage modes, such as tent mode for making the most of space-constrained spaces like trains or airplanes and tablet mode for use on-the-go, and features military-grade MIL-STD 810H durability.

When out and about, Wi-Fi 6 helps maintain reliable connections to networks and hot spots. In addition, the Chromebook has a backlit-keyboard for low-light areas and a USB Type-C port for connecting to peripherals, transferring data and charging mobile devices.

DTS Audio and a pair of upward-facing speakers deliver high-quality and distortion-free sound, whether it’s on a video call for work or school, or while enjoying streamed entertainment. A pair of upward facing microphones completes the package, giving users everything they need for crystal-clear conference calls.

Acer Chromebook 315

Acer builds on its position as the industry leader in large-screen Chromebooks with the Acer Chromebook 315, bringing an affordable option to users seeking a device for smooth and effortless multitasking.

This portable device keeps users connected, engaged and entertained from different areas of their home, or even while outdoors.

The Acer Chromebook 315’s huge FHD IPS 15.6-inch display is anti-glare, so it can be enjoyed on the patio, balcony or garden as well as throughout the home and office.

Plus, an optional touch-screen display allows for easy navigation, while the large keyboard has room for a dedicated numeric keypad, a bonus when working on home finances and schoolwork. Complementing the display’s extra real-estate, the Acer Chromebook 315 includes technology for clear and reliable video conferences. Hybrid workers and students will be seen and heard thanks to a wide field-of-view HDR webcam with flare-reducing technology and a pair of integrated microphones.

DTS Audio delivers rich sound with deeper bass, ideal for video calls as well as enjoying games or streamed content, while the latest Intel processors and Wi-Fi 6 provide reliable performance and connectivity.

On top of 10 hours of battery life, users will also appreciate two USB Gen 2 Type-C ports, one on each side, and the ability to easily transfer videos and photos thanks to a MicroSD card reader.

The Acer Chromebook 315 features a unique eco-friendly OceanGlass touchpad which is made entirely out of ocean-bound plastic waste that has been recycled into a glass-like texture, giving it sleek and responsive tactile feedback, contributing to the reduction of plastics adrift in the ocean.

Acer Chromebook 314

Designed for students and families with school-age children, the Acer Chromebook 314 is powered by the latest Intel processors for solid everyday performance and features MIL-STD 810H durability.

Users can expect up to 10-hours of battery life, plenty long enough to make it through the entire school-day, while Intel  Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) provides connectivity speeds up to 3x faster than Wi-Fi 5.

The Acer Chromebook’s 14-inch FHD IPS touchscreen display features an anti-glare coating so it can be used even in brighter lighting conditions, while its narrow 8.1mm (0.32 in) side bezels further keep the focus on the visuals and contribute to the Chromebook’s compact size. Users can navigate Chrome OS via the optional multi-touch display, or by using the OceanGlass touchpad that delivers a sleek touch experience and contributes to the reduction of ocean-bound plastic waste.

The Acer Chromebook 314 provides an excellent remote-learning experience with two built-in microphones and a flare-reducing webcam with temporal noise reduction (TNR) technology for better video quality in low-light conditions.

DTS Audio delivers full, high-quality, distortion-free sound. A pair of USB Type-C ports completes the package, offering users a convenient means to connect to a wide variety of peripherals.

Chrome OS and App Support

The new Acer Chromebooks utilize Chrome OS to deliver fast boot times, ease of use, security, and longer battery  life.

They support web-based apps and apps on Google Play, so users will have access to all the apps they need for productivity, school, creativity and more.

Local availability and pricing for the Acer Chromebook Spin 513, Acer Chromebook 315, Acer Chromebook 315 and Acer Chromebook 314 is still to be announced.

The post Acer Unveils Trio of Chromebooks @ CES 2022 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Google have your entire connected smart home security sorted with their Nest range of cameras.

Integrating in to your home’s WiFi and any other Nest devices you may have as well as your smartphone you can keep your property securely under check at all times.

Having recently reviewed the Google Nest Doorbell it’s time to check out the Nest Cam Battery model.

Yep there are two variants of Google’s Nest Cam – one wired and one rechargeable.

The rechargeable Nest Cam can be used for both indoors and outdoors, being able to suffer through extreme weather. Waterproof at IP54 it can handle moderate rain.

Chilly weather? All good there too, tested to survive at -20°C (-4°F). And if the heat is on, it wont break a sweat at 40°C (104°F).

A small amount of DIY is involved if you do place the Nest Cam (Battery) outside.

It has a magnetic base, which you’ll need to screw in, after that you can pop the Nest Cam on and off the super strong magnet.

The camera itself comes in at 2MP with recording at 1080p with HDR @ 30 fps.

A two way intercom enables you to have a convo with whoever maybe lurking about – and that is superior quality. Crispy clear.

Also with this model you’ll get a 130 degree view. Low light and night mode also records in HDR.

Notifications will come in to your smartdevice and any other Nest devices that you may already have when the Nest Cam picks up any human movement already programmed by Google to ignore fur babies loitering about.

Setup is done via the Google Home app on both Android and iOS (Apple). I’ve found Android being the easier option to set up on all Nest devices.

The Nest Cam (Battery) will record and store any movement it detects, but like the prior reviewed Nest Doorbell it suffers from the 3 hours only maximum storage time. This is way too short.

Likely any notification you don’t get to within that timeframe, especially overnight, the video recording is auto deleted. Google do offer a paid subscription which prevents you from missing out on recordings if you can’t get to them in time.

In all the Google Nest Cam (Battery) is an excellent surveillance camera for your outdoors.

Sure you can opt to use it indoors too, but for that Google has another solution that is cabled… which I’ll also be reviewing soon.

If you’re keen to start out with smart home security a Google Nest Cam (Battery) for your outdoors is ideal. Priced moderately it is cheaper than some competitors offerings and has around the same if not slightly better recording resolution with excellent voice clarity.

The post Google Nest Cam (Battery) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.