Hands-on review: Nvidia Grid game-streaming service

Page 1 of 2Introduction and game library

Nvidia is in a privileged position. Whether the team there believes it or not, every innovation that comes out of its research and development department will show up sooner or later in hundreds of mainstream titles and technologies.

Don’t believe me? Look at the GPU.

Twenty years ago the concept of a discrete graphics processing unit wasn’t something that consumers had much interest in. But, come 1999, that story changed when Nvidia launched its 256 card. In the time since its launch, Nvidia has produced dozens of cards, each improving on that early model. The point here is that the original wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t matter. It was innovative and, in the end, that’s what made it ubiquitous with gamers.

When trying out Grid, Nvidia’s game-streaming service that’s 10-years in the making, this is exactly how I feel: It may not be perfect but, along with its console counterpart PlayStation Now, it’s the beginning of something big in a way that services like OnLive never were.

Before we can dig in with comparisons of how Grid performs under real-world conditions, we should review what Grid is, how it works and what you’ll need to try it out for yourself.

Grid, like PlayStation Now, is a cloud game-streaming service. Using remote, proprietary servers, Nvidia performs the graphics-heavy processing needed to play AAA titles and then streams the results to your Shield Tablet or Portable. It’s constantly doing this dozens of times per second, as well as taking input from your controller and sending it back to the server.

As you can imagine, you need a pretty fast wifi connection to make this all happen. Nvidia recommends connection speeds of at least 10Mbps for 60fps, though, you won’t see really smooth, console-like quality gameplay until around 30Mbps. So long as you have an 802.11n or 802.11ac “game stream-ready” router and a mid-level Internet service package you should be fine. However, anything less than that, and the quality of your stream will completely detract from the gaming experience. Here at TechRadar HQ, we had around the 30Mbps connection speed, and at home could muster around 25Mbps down and 7Mbps up - but neither of these two connections were through game-stream ready routers, which is important to note for the performance section coming later in the review.

Lastly, before we continue, the service only works on Shield Tablet or Shield Portable and is limited for the time-being to North America, though there are plans in place to roll it out globally over the next few months starting with the rest of North America and Western Europe and ending with Asia Pacific.

While it may sound irksome to wait a few months for service, I can promise you that when it does come to your territory you’ll be getting an even better experience than the one here in the US. Nvidia plans on adding several games every month to reach “a PlayStation Now-sized library of over 100 games by this time next year.”

However, that doesn’t mean US gamers will be left out in the cold until then. There’s about twenty games on the Shield Hub available right now. They include: Alan Wake: American Nightmare, Astebreed, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Brutal Legend, Darksiders, Darksiders 2, Dead Island, Dirt 2, LEGO Batman 2, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, Race Driver Grid, Saints Row: The Third, Street Fighter x Tekken, Strike Suit Zero, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Trine 2 and Ultra Street Fighter IV. This is the initial launch lineup in its entirety, though I was told to expect the Tim Schafer sleeper hit Psychonauts to be along sometime in the next month or so.

Nvidia is clearly leveraging its relationship with publishers to get AAA games on here from the very beginning. Yes, the point can be made that a few too many of these are from 2010, but it’s impressive that the service is launching with many of the games we’re still waiting for on PlayStation Now. What’s going to push the platform moving forward the most, however, are consistent updates that bring more recent and popular games to the Hub page.

Page 1 of 2Introduction and game library

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'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.

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Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Update: We're currently putting the Galaxy Note Edge through our in-depth review process - but in the mean time, here are some early thoughts and a deeper review of the curved screen:

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is a phone that's got me hit under the collar. It's another evolutionary step forward in the way we're going to be using phones, right?

I mean, it has to be. The rounded spine, with the screen curving away and tucking itself under the chassis, is surely the blueprint for the Samsung Galaxy S6 in 2016.

Well, that is, assuming the idea of a curved display on one side isn't a novelty and redundant beyond being a clever marketing gimmick, of course.

And it needs to be more than that. Early prices seem to have the Note Edge at around £50 more than the impressive Samsung Galaxy Note 4, with the curved model costing a huge £650. Is the curved screen worth it?

Of course there's more on offer here that makes the Edge a really promising device: a huge 5.7-inch QHD (1440 x 2560) screen even without the curved spine is really pleasant to look at.

That's also coupled with Samsung's Super AMOLED technology, which again makes the Note range the best phone screen I've seen on the market.

The camera is improved, the S Pen is starting to show glimmers of offering really useful functionality to the average consumer (not just the business warrior hell-bent on dropping the notepad) and the raw power of the Snapdragon 805 chipset (or the octacore Exynos option from Samsung) means this phablet can go on, and on, and on.

And while Samsung unquestionably created the phablet market, it's now got some serious competition to contend with. Apple's new iPhone 6 Plus is some people's idea of 'the only large phone' on the market, and the Google Nexus 6, while not mega-cheap as before, is still a very well specified device without the need for bells and whistles.

Samsung's also facing a profits slide that it's desperate to arrest, and that will only be achieved through going back into its R&D labs, putting on a stylish thinking cap, and coming up with something truly innovative that wows the public.

Last year's Galaxy Round, the brand's first curved display in a phone, was a step towards that but didn't really do much beyond, well, being a bit curved. The Note Edge combines an innovative design with actual real-life usage, which means it could be more of a hit than Samsung's other novelties.

Let's get this out of the way first: you won't like the Note Edge the first time you pick it up. I almost want to applaud Samsung's designers for taking such a bold step, keeping the same high resolution display from the Note 4 but then adding in a few more pixels to bring us this clever spine which can independently show information.

But the problem is the phone gets wider as a result, and you really feel like you need to wedge it into one palm.

It's true that any phablet performs better when held in two hands, but when pulling out the S Pen from the bottom right hand corner (which pleasingly can be pushed in either way, a feature Samsung added in with the Note 3 and has removed tremendous frustration with Samsung's phablet series for me) you still have to hold the phone steady in one hand, which can be a little tricky.

That said, there is an acceptance that the Note Edge is going to be a larger device - after all, that's why you're buying it, right? - and it doesn't take more than a few days to really get used to the idea.

By putting the digital spine on the right hand side of the phone though, Samsung was forced into a big design decision: where does the power button go? Sadly, it didn't make the right call, as the unlock key has been moved to the top of the device where it lived many moons ago.

The unlock key is terribly hard to hit

With a phone that measures 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm, this is mightily hard to hit and means you have to use two hands to lock the device. Hardly the easiest. It should have either been on the left hand side, or nabbed something from South Korean rivals LG and plopped it on the back.

Failing that, Samsung should have joined the swelling ranks of smartphone manufacturers allowing you to double tap the screen to wake the device. It's not a patented idea, and thankfully it's baked into Android Lollipop (which is arriving in 2015 for this phablet) so could be an option.

The good thing that slightly helps is the home button, which again doubles as a fingerprint scanner, will allow you to unlock the phone and get swiping straight into the action.

In terms of the rest of the design, it's typically Samsung. Anyone that's read any of the other reviews will realise that's not necessarily a good thing, but it's not terrible either in this case.

The metallic rim of the Note 4 and Alpha are missing, presumably to add in the curved spine on the right side, but the overall build quality is good, the frame surrounded by a strong case and there's very little creaking.

I'm not a fan of the leatherette feel of the back cover, but it's removable again and allows you to swap the battery and microSD cards easily, which I'm pleased to see Samsung continuing with.

The infra-red port and headphone jack both reside on the top of the device, making it easy to use the Note Edge as a daily media device, and the speaker (which I'll talk more about in the next section) is placed towards the bottom of the phone on the rear.

The camera on the Note Edge (a 16MP) affair) protrudes quite dramatically from the back of the phone, although not to the point that you'd notice it in the pocket.

It's weird how much other phone brands can get away with the camera unit sticking out the back of the phone when Apple gets castigated for a couple of millimetres, but I'm glad that's the case. I'd rather have a better snapper than an aesthetically more pleasing handset, and the Note Edge does both pretty well.

The lightness of the phone, at 176g, is nothing to get excited about (it's actually one of the heavier on the market), but then again it's not too heavy either. In the palm it's nicely balanced, and pulling out the S Pen is an easy task thanks to the whole thing being so grippable.

That said, I did find myself holding it in a weird way so as not to touch the spine in general use. I never really had an instance where I accidentally did anything with that element, but it didn't stop it being slightly in the way all the time.

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Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung NX1

Page 1 of 4Introduction and features

Samsung has produced some impressive compact system cameras such as the NX30 and NX Mini, but they don't seem to have grabbed the attention of the average enthusiast photographer. The NX1 looks set to change that however, as it has some ground-breaking features that will have keen photographers sitting up and taking notice.

For a start, the sensor inside Samsung's new flagship model is an APS-C format, back-illuminated CMOS device with 28 million pixels. It's the first time that we've seen a back-illuminated sensor larger than the 1-inch type and it should translate to better noise control in low light, because it means there's more room on the sensor for the light-gathering receptors.

There's also a new micro-lens array to enhance light transmission into the sensor and no anti-aliasing or low pass filter, for sharper, more detailed images.

This new sensor is accompanied by a new image processing engine, DRIMe V, which is claimed to be 2.8x faster than the previous version. This extra processing power enables an incredible maximum continuous shooting rate of 15 frames per second (fps), which knocks the Nikon D4S out of the park. This rate can be maintained for up to 77 Fine Quality JPEGs or 40 raw files.

There's also 4K video recording, a native sensitivity range of ISO 100-25600 (which can be extended to ISO 51200) and adaptive noise reduction technology that applies noise reduction locally rather than uniformly across the whole image. In addition, raw images are saved in 14-bit in single shooting mode and 12-bit in continuous shooting.

Autofocusing is handled by Samsung's new NX AF System III, which has 205 Phase Detection AF points (153 cross type) and 209 contrast detection points. These points cover the majority of the image frame. Samsung claims an AF speed of 0.055sec and operation down to -4EV (what it calls 'half-moonlight'). When light falls below -4EV a green focus assist light shines a grid pattern as far as 15m.

Samsung is using a new codec, H.265 (HEVC) and 40Mbps for its 4K video. This is claimed to have the same image quality, but half the size of 100Mbps H.264 footage. Although 4K footage can be recorded to the memory card (SD/SDHC/SDXC/UHS-I/UHS-II) it is also possible to send clean, compressed 4:2:0 8-bit 4K footage to an external recorder via an HDMI connection. Samsung is also working with a third-party provider to ensure that there are compatible rigs and recorders available for the NX1.

A Zebra view, which indicates areas close to burning out, and Focus Peaking further bolster the NX1's video credentials.

According to Samsung, the processing power and high AF point coverage of the NX1 has enabled the company to introduce some novel automated shooting modes called Samsung Auto Shot (SAS). These are being developed for specific scenarios and have yet to be finalised, but the pre-production sample NX1 that I used had a 'Baseball' option.

When this is selected, markers appear on the screen indicating where the batter should be in the frame. Once the shutter release is pressed the camera tracks at 240fps (it doesn't save files at this stage) and the claim is that it captures a shot automatically when the ball is hit by the bat after entering the frame.

There's also a 'Jump' option which is designed to take a shot when the subject reaches the maximum height of a jump. Samsung is in the process of considering and developing other scenarios – it could include a race option that takes an image when a subject crosses a line or perhaps a goal option for football.

In addition to the 3-inch, 1,036,000-dot Super AMOLED touch-sensitive screen, which can be tilted up through 90 degrees and down through 45, Samsung has given the NX1 an OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) for composing and reviewing images. Both of these devices are claimed to have a lag of just 5-10ms.

No Samsung camera would be complete without Wi-Fi connectivity and the NX1 is no exception (IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac in this case). It also has Bluetooth 3.0 communication for making connections quickly with nearby compatible devices, as well as Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This means it should be quick and easy to connect the camera to a range of devices to allow remote control and image sharing.

A final note on the NX1's specification: the battery has a claimed life of 500 shots, and a vertical grip will be available that takes two batteries for longer shoots.

Page 1 of 4Introduction and features

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'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.

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Hands-on review: Droid Turbo

Motorola's Droid Turbo takes almost everything we liked about the new Moto X and gives it a surprise specs boost less than two months later.

This Verizon-exclusive Android phone has a 5.2-inch quad HD display, the latest Snapdragon processor, 3GB of RAM, a 21-megapixel camera and an astounding two days of battery life.

Yes, there's a catch or two. The Droid Turbo price is twice as much as the Moto X and it's not available outside of Verizon. Sorry, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile customers.

This is the black materialized Kevlar back cover model

Motorola has another pure Android winner on its hands that's more powerful than its previous offering. But its limited availability and more expensive price make it this year's sleeper hit.

Droid Turbo runs Android 4.4 KitKat and the upgraded ingredients are appropriately packed together like an oversized s'more into a candybar-style smartphone.

Front-and-center is a quad HD display. It measures out to be the same 5.2 inches as the Moto X 2nd generation, but this Super AMOLED screen is four times the resolution at 1440 x 2560.

This isn't quite as enticing as the new Motorola-made Google Nexus 6 that is 6 inches, but its one of the best one-handed smartphone screens next the the 5.1-inch Samsung Galaxy S5.

Moto Active Display makes it to the Droid Turbo, but not the Nexus 6

What the Droid Turbo display does have over the fancy Nexus 6 is the Moto Active Display, not the less functional ambient light sensor. By waving one hand over the Droid Turbo, I was able to wake the device in a limited state.

This allowed me to see the current time and notification icons in white. The rest of the display remained unlight, saving battery life in the long run.

The middle layer of the Droid Turbo upgrades almost all of its internals. The Snapdragon 805 processor is the newest and fastest chip that Qualcomm is currently putting in smartphones.

It's joined by 3GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. Motorola and Verizon aren't wasting your time by keeping around a 16GB model of this carrier-exclusive phone.

The back layer to this s'more-like sandwich features a giant 3900 mAh battery. It gives Droid Turbo its name and powers the phone for two days, according to Motorola. We still have to run our own tests to verify this claim and we will update this review page with the results.

Like the Moto X (left) and Nexus 6 (right), Droid Turbo can use a Turbo Charger

That's twice as long as the Moto X and several hours better than the large and therefore more energy-consuming Nexus 6. To top it off, Droid Turbo comes with a Turbo Charger that can juice up the battery from a critical state with 6 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes.

The Droid Turbo camera is another upgrade that deserves further testing. It has an advanced number-pleasing 21-megapixel sensor compared to Moto X's 13-megapixel snapper.

Initial photos came back with a larger 5248 x 2952 resolution and an average of 4.6MB per picture, but tones were oversaturated vs the more true-to-life pictures shot with the Nexus 6.

21-megapixels, but is it really better than the 13-megapixel Moto X and Nexus 6?

Everything has so far resembled the Moto X's Instagram-like prism that makes my life look a whole lot punchier and colorful than it really is. It saves a step on Instagram, but doesn't look good for all subjects. And unlike the Facebook-owned app, you won't find a #NoFilter option.

Droid Turbo can take 4K video at 24fps in addition to normal 1080p at 30fps and slow motion 720p video. There's no external storage via a microSD card slot, so unless you own a 4K TV, the best quality video is limited in playback and you hit the 32GB model cap awfully quick.

Droid Turbo has slightly thicker dimensions, but not by much

All three upgraded layers - the screen, internal specs and battery - are soldered together with a subdued metal frame and three unique back cover choices.

This is where the Droid Turbo design really contrasts with the large, contoured frame of the Nexus 6 and the customizable Moto Maker designs of the Moto X.

Instead of plastic backs in every color imaginable or premium wood and leather finishes, this Verizon phone has a trio of rear options: Kevlar-infused material glass fiber in black or red, or a bumpy ballistic nylon in black.

The Droid Turbo review unit I received has the black materialized Kevlar cover that's smooth, but features a non-slip finish. It should hold up better than the supple leather back of the Moto X that took a beating in just two days in my pocket.

Droid Turbo is less bold, yet the dimensions are a little bigger. The curved design juts out to 0.44 in. at its thickest point vs Moto X's 0.39 in.

The bottom chin is needed because it has dedicated buttons, not on-screen soft buttons

It also has a bottom chin thanks to dedicated (as opposed to on-screen) buttons for a height of 5.65 in. vs Moto X's 5.5 in. The Turbo's width is almost the same 2.89 in. vs X's 2.85 in.

The Droid Turbo release date was October 30, having launched in Verizon stores and on the official Motorola website. Don't hold your breath if you're on a different carrier or outside of the US. It's strictly locked down to Verizon with no chance of coming to other networks.

Prepare to get cozy with Verizon. It's a requirement

It's not a tough sell if you're already on or switching to Verizon. Droid Turbo costs a standard $200 on-contract. Without the two-year agreement, you'll be paying a steeper $600 upfront.

That's double the price of the $100 Moto X 2014 on-contract and just $50 less than the very similar Nexus 6 that comes with a supersized 6-inch display and Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Droid Turbo takes the Moto X to a new level with better specs in the front, middle and back. Its quad HD display looks better, internal specs get to tasks faster and the battery lasts longer.

You really can't beat two days of battery life on a 5.2-inch phone. Yes, it has a slightly more subtle design in a side-by-side comparison to the Nexus 6. However, that new 6-inch Google phone lacks the convenience of the Moto Active Display and requires two hands.

The choices: Moto X (left) Droid Turbo (center) Nexus 6 (right)

While we continue testing it in advance of the full review, this Android phone's biggest omission is already obvious: its availability. It's a desirable Verizon-only handset.

That makes Droid Turbo out of reach if you're stuck in a rival carrier's contract or if Verizon isn't up to par in your area. Otherwise, it's yet another attractive Android option from Motorola - the third in less than two months.

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Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Now this is interesting. There were a trickle of rumours that Samsung was going to release a unique product into the smartphone market - something that would take advantage of the company's bendable OLED displays. And it has delivered with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

The Note Edge is a beautiful looking device that has a screen that folds over one side of the handset, offering up myriad possibilities with what to do with this extra bit of real estate.

Well, I say extra - this is the same 5.7-inch screen that's seen on the Note but an inch of it drapes over the side, ready to take care of notifications so they don't get in the way of watching full-screen video and the like.

Sadly we now know that it's going to be a 'limited edition' device, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to get your hands on it, just that it will be produced in limited quantities. The Galaxy Note Edge is pegged for a late October release in South Korea, while a Japanese carrier has confirmed it for October 23 there.

Other territories will have a longer wait. Australia is set to get the phablet curio on November 12 and there's no confirmed release date yet for the UK or US, though Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have all confirmed that they'll carry the handset once it does launch.

As for pricing it's set to sell for a hefty 49,990 Rubles in Russia (around £755 / $1219 / AU$1385), while prices in China are similar. I'm hopeful that local pricing will be a little cheaper, but UK retailers are currently estimating a £650 price tag, so don't expect it to be cheap.

When I first picked up the Note Edge, I did notice a slight issue. The folded part of the screen was on the wrong side for me, because I am left handed.

This meant that this extra bit of screen was in the way of my palm. But Samsung has remedied this with making the screen completely flippable. So as long as you don't mind the home button being on the top of the screen, then this is a handset for south paws as much as right-handed folk.

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is fantastic in the hand. The added screen dimension makes it look and feel a lot more premium than its Note 4 bedfellow. It's definitely a handset that has wow factor, even if the added screen lip may be slightly lacking in uses at the moment.

Samsung has tried its best to make this section of the phone useable, by creating a host of OS strips that you can add to the lip of the screen. These include things like weather, Twitter, and news updates.

One great move Samsung has done is make the lip of the display work independent of the main screen.

So if the main screen is completely off, one swipe of the lip and you can see your notifications and updates. This would be a great thing in a meeting where you don't want to use your full device but want access to small updates,

The new screen design in my hands on simply meant that it was easier for me to access applications. Samsung also informed me that the panel will evolve, once more software partners are on board.

Another test I did to try out the innovative screen was watch a clip of a movie. As all of the controls went to the lip of the screen, the main part was completely free - the movie went completely to the edge and looked great.

The new screen is a great addition to the Note range. By this I mean that everything else bar the screen is identical to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in specs.

The screen does mean you get a 16:10 aspect ratio and Samsung did explain that the battery was a tad smaller (at 3,000) but everything else that is on the Note 4 is present and correct with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

Get a better look at the curved display of the Galaxy Note Edge in our hands on video:

While you can read a little more in-depth about the new features in our hands on Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review, here's a number of things that I thought were standout.

The chassis now has a heartrate monitor, that was originally found on the Samsung Galaxy S5. This also acts as a trigger button for the camera when you want to do selfies.

The S Pen has also vastly improved with two extra pen styles: fountain and highlighter. You can do so much more with the S Pen too. One of the most interesting aspects is that you can now use it mouse like to take grabs from websites and set up your own clippings service.

You can also use the pen to shrink applications as you would a widget. This gives you better access to the homescreen and means you don't have to wade through a number of tabs.

Multi-tasking on the Note Edge has also been improved - with a multi window of tabs much easier to access.

The Samsung Galaxy Note edge is stunning-looking device that really tries to do something different. I worry that Samsung will keep the Edge strictly limited edition. I hope not because this is a handset that is great to use and looks fantastic. It really does give the Note line-up the edge over its rivals.

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Hands-on review: Updated: Sony PlayStation TV

October 10, 2014: We recently updated this review to reflect recent new hands-on impressions.

Most years, the news out of E3 is is dominated by the latest flashy trailers featuring zombies, commandos and dragons, and this year was no exception. However, buried in Sony's usual hoopla this year was a tiny box that could have enormous significance for electronics giant. The product? PlayStation TV, set to debut in the U.S. on Tuesday October 14.

It's an unassuming black box a little smaller than a deck of cards, and as such might not seem to hold the same techno-majesty as Sony's PS4 or the cyber-future cachet of its Project Morpheus VR headset. However, if handled correctly, the unassuming PlayStation TV could be a very important product for Sony, acting as both as a low-cost gateway to a Sony gaming experience for casual players stepping up from smartphone games, as well as a new avenue for hardcore gamers to make their hobby more flexible.

Sony released a similar device called the PlayStation Vita TV in 2013. A Japan-only product, Vita TV allows users to play native Vita games through their TVs and was viewed as something of a curiosity outside Japan. PlayStation TV's hardware is almost identical to the Vita TV, but for its western debut it's been rebranded and given some loftier ambitions. During its E3 conference, Sony positioned it as a streaming media set-top box, presumably competitive with products such as Roku 3, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, and priced to match at $100/ €99 (about £58, AU$105). While all of those devices include some form of gaming features, none comes close to the size and quality of Sony's existing libraray. When PlayStation TV arrives on October 14, it will also offer access to a library of nearly 700 high-pedigree games from Sony's extensive library of PS4, PS3, PS1, PS Vita and PSP games. Available titles include such classics as God of War, Killzone, Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal and Borderlands 2.

In addition to the base box for $100, Sony will offer a $140 (about £83, AU$149) bundle that will include a DualShock 3 controller, an 8GB memory card, and a copy of The Lego Movie: The Video Game.

It's hard to overstate the importance of a device like this for Sony. If done right. it could offer a unique value proposition in both the set top box market and the gaming space. However, a recent hands-on with the box left us wondering if PSTV will be arriving fully baked.

At their E3 presentation back in June, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America Shawn Layden said that in addition to playing native Vita games, allowing remote play from PlayStation 4 and providing access to Sony's PlayStation Now game streaming service, the box would, "give you access to video and music streaming services." Industry watchers assumed that meant it would ship with apps for the services that have become standard on these devices, Netflix, Amazon Instant, Hulu Plus, Pandora, Spotify and others.

Indeed, at E3 I spoke with Sharon Kapitula, platform planning manager for PlayStation TV, who told me Sony was, "looking to meet our audence's needs for the apps they're looking for," adding, "if you look at other PlayStation products, we have a lot of content coming from third party partners. We're looking to leverage those partners again."

However, at a recent preview event in New York City, Sony reps were cagey about the device's media capabilities, at least at launch. I was told that the company "has not announced any entertainment stuff" and that at launch Sony was "focusing on PS4 and the way PlayStationTV can extend it." To be clear this was not a denial that these services will exist on the device, but if these features were in place, we would expect Sony to be making much more noise about them (or be willing to discuss them in the slightest).

The reps did mention that at launch the box would provide access to movies and TV shows via the PlayStation Store. But while this may pay off the letter of their E3 promise, it's a far from from the spirit of their announcement. Interestingly there was no mention even of Crackle, Sony's free, ad-supported video streaming service. Devices like this are easily updated, of course, and we would be shocked not to see apps for the major streaming services get patched in. Still, we found Sony's reticence about these aspects of the box surprising.

While we've seen very strong demos of the device's RemotePlay capabilities when paired with a PlayStation 4, the October preview event featured only native Vita games. One potential stumbling block to the PSTV as a gaming device is the fact that the games that run natively on the platform were designed for an extremely specific piece of hardware with a unique set of controls. Specifically, the PSVita features front and back touchscreens which many games use gestures as key parts of their control mechanisms. There is no direct analog for these motions on a conventional controller, so without modifications, motion controls do not map to the DualShock 3 controller.

Sony reps pointed out that one of the four games loaded on the system, Killzone: Mercenary had been reworked to map the game's gesture controls onto the control sticks. We should note that Killzone performed remarkably well for a 3D shooter running off such a tiny piece of hardware and its translation from touch to sticks seemed smooth. Other games, however, clearly had not been fully converted and suffered from incorrect on-screen directions (any that involves swiping), lending more to the overall impression that, just a few days prior to launch, Sony might not have all of PSTV's ducks in a row.

Historically, Sony has struggled to create meaningful synergy between its multifaceted products and offerings. Executed correctly, PlayStation TV could provide a key way for PlayStation fans to access their Sony devices and content along with third party services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant. Perhaps more importantly, it will provide an inexpensive avenue into gaming for the casual gaming audience. With the right services and software, this device could threaten not only its set top box brethren, but also Microsoft and Nintendo in the console space.

Here's what it looks like plugged in

I got a chance to play Diablo III on a PlayStation TV streaming from a PlayStation 4 via Remote Play and it both looked and played beautifully on a large TV. Frame rate matters less in this type of game than it does in others, such as racing games.

Naturally real life streaming performance will be limited by internet speeds both upstream from your PS4 and downstream to your Playstation TV, but a Sony rep assured me that under ideal conditions the box is capable of delivering a full 1080p stream.

Just enough room for all of the essential ports

Remote play has been available on PlayStation handhelds since the PSP and PS3 era, but the proposition of being able to pack tiny box on a trip that let's you play your PS4 system back home on a big screen TV in hotel is a strong one. Sony reps were quick to point out, however, that streaming performance is ruled by Internet connection speed, and that the most stable environment for Remote Play would likely be inside the home on a second TV.

Access to PlayStation Now, Sony's cloud gaming initiative that promises more than 700 titles at launch (down from Sony's original promise of 1,000, but we won't quibble), is also promising. Sony does have some work to do on the pricing of PlayStation Now, which in its beta outing has been outrageously high. We'd like to see them employ a Netflix-like subscription plan (possibly as an extension to its existing PlayStation Plus subscription service). We think the all-you-can-eat model would be most attractive to gamers if Sony can figure out a way to make it economically feasible.

After so many years, it's easy to forget just how excellent Sony's legacy library is. Between kids who were just tots when Sly Cooper was hopping around on his heists and casual gamers who've discovered games thanks to smartphones but have never played Uncharted 2, there is a wealth of untapped consumers Sony's legacy library might appeal to.

True to its PS Vita TV roots, PlayStation TV will also be able to run Vita, PSP and PS1 games natively. The box will only come with 1GB of onboard storage for downloaded games, but the system will come with a slot for PS Vita memory cards, allowing users to add up to 64GB of storage. This is somewhat aggravating, however, as PS Vita cards are both proprietary and expensive. Sony has no plans to allow the use of external hard drives at this time.

One concern about Sony making a streaming media box is that the company might revert to its old habits of locking down content avenues or limiting them to Sony content. With the wide array of third party streaming services available on PS3 and PS4, we've been optimistic that Sony has its head screwed on right about the ways consumers expect to access content. One thing is clear to us, no matter how the box functions at launch, to succeed in the streaming box market it will need to achieve parity with their set top competitors.

It's called PS Vita TV in Japan, but will take on a broader name in the West

In all, Sony looks to be delivering an extremely compelling product in PlayStation TV. Achieving parity with it's streaming competitors should not be a challenge, and it has them far outclassed when it comes to gaming. In addition, it could be attractive as a gaming-only proposition, providing a very attractive $100 price point to those who might balk at paying $400 (about £238, AU$426) to $500 (about £297, AU$533) for a state of the art system. The ability for PS4 gamers to stream state-of-the-art games to it is icing on the cake. We're looking forward to getting our hands on PlayStation TV and putting it through its paces when it launches on October 14.

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Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Back in 2011, Samsung decided that bigger was better and launched the Samsung Galaxy Note which came with a 5.3-inch screen. At the time, this screen was a massive talking point: many thought it was too large to be a phone, others thought it was too compact to be a tablet.

Skip three years and that 5.3-inch screen no longer looks out of place in the phone market. Given that the Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with a 5.1-inch screen, it's clear to see the line between what was once classed as a phablet and what is now expected as a phone has well and truly blurred.

While this hasn't stopped Samsung pushing out the size boat - the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 came equipped with a 5.7-inch screen - it seems Samsung has finally put on hold the size creep.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 comes with the same-sized 5.7-inch screen as the Note 3, with Samsung instead deciding to improve on the quality of the screen rather than its size.

You can now pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 now, before its delayed release in the UK and some other regions on October 17.

It's not cheap though. If you fancy getting hold of a SIM-free Galaxy Note 4 you'll have to part with over £600 (around $840, AU$960), while on contract in the UK a free handset will see you shell out at least £43 per month for two years.

The screen now boasts Quad HD Super AMOLED (2,560 x 1,440 resolution) technology that stretches to 500 pixels per inch. Couple this with what Samsung is calling an adaptive display - one that changes depending on the light of the place you are viewing the screen - and on paper you have the optimum viewing no matter what situation you are in.

Get a better look of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with our hands on video:

To test the quality of the screen I watched a video that was shot in UHD on the device and it was stunning. Colours were vivid and detail popped out with the clarity you would expect from a 500ppi screen. Even zooming in there were no jagged edges and playback was smooth - no judder from the demo I viewed.

But the screen isn't the first thing that hits you when you get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in your hands, it's the build quality.

Samsung has definitely listened about its latest line-up feeling plastic-y in the hand and has decided to give the Note 4 more of a premium finish, with a metal rim surrounding the handset, shielding the rest of the chassis like a velvet rope protecting celebs from real people in a club.

I love the way the Galaxy Note 4 feels in the hand and being a regular user of the Note 3, it definitely felt different enough and it's light too, just a touch over the weight of the Note 3 at 176g.

It's obvious but the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 does come equipped with some of the features that we saw on the S5.

The most notable is the heartrate monitor on the back (which also has a neat camera functionality I will explain shortly) and the back has been improved somewhat too, but is still a little too faux leather for my liking.

There is a lot of similarity between the Note 3 and its successor. Size difference between the two chassis is definitely negligible - the Note 4 comes it at 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm, compared to the Note 3's 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3mm size.

It's clear Samsung hasn't re-invented the Note range but refined it with clever software updates and slight tweaks here and there.

One of the most impressive is to do with the S Pen. It surprised me that the stylus (sorry Samsung, I know you hate that word) made a comeback with the Note range but four devices in and the S Pen finally makes a lot more sense.

For a start there are two new pen options: fountain and caligraphy. Of these, fountain is the most interesting as it shows off how far the S Pen has come in terms of usability. Until now, using the S Pen has felt a lot like gliding a piece of plastic over a glass screen.

The "feel" of writing on paper just hasn't been there. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 this has changed.

The fountain pen works best when you sweep the S Pen across the screen as you would ink on paper and because of extra sensitivity (which has doubled) it is now a joy to write on the Note 4's screen. Signatures look like signatures and your handwriting actually really looks like your true handwriting.

I'm left handed and the S Pen was still a joy to use. Considering I have never been able to use a fountain pen in real life, because of smudging, it was great fun.

And the innovations don't end there. Now you can use the S Pen much like you would use a mouse. Click the button on the side of the S Pen and you are in Smart Select mode, where you can highlight whole passages of text from a website, or even clip out sections of a site and put it into your own clippings archive.

Instead of being an added extra, the S Pen finally feels like a necessary part of the Note 4, rather than a "this is fun but I have no use for it" accessory.

Snap mode has also been improved on the Note 4. While you used to just be able to snap two separate services to the top and the bottom of the screen, you can now "resize" an app much like you would a widget.

So, if you are using the camera and want to send an image via text but stay in camera mode, a quick diagonal down swipe from the top right of the screen will shrink the camera function and show the rest of the phone screen for you. It's a nice feature that could replace using the left multi-tab hot key for many.

You can also make use of the new 'floating UI' which offers Facebook Chat Heads style pop ups on the screen for certain apps.

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The 404 Show 1,546: Moto 360 hands-on, Destiny the fragrance (podcast)

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