The Last of Us story teaser trailer released

Next year will see the release of the game The Last of Us, and Naughty Dog have a new story teaser trailer out.

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In case you haven’t heard about the forthcoming Naughty Dog game The Last of Us, here is how Sony described it:

Abandoned cities reclaimed by nature. A population decimated by a modern plague. Survivors are killing each other for food, weapons; whatever they can get their hands on.

Joel, a brutal survivor, and Ellie, a young teenage girl who’s braver and wiser beyond her years, must work together if they hope to survive their journey across the US.

Here is the teaser trailer:

The Last of Us by Naughty Dog, and published by Sony exclusively for the PlayStation 3 will be out next year, I can’t wait.

Let us know what you think of the game by leaving a comment below.

And here was the video I took of The Last of US Q&A session at Gamescom earlier in the year:

 

Dishonored gets updated to version 1.2

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There has been an update for Dishonored with a number of bug fixes.

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The update includes:

• Support for playing the game on multiple screens.
• Game Settings are now saved and restored properly even when using Steam offline.
• Fixes for some interactions with Granny Rags that invalidated nonlethal playthroughs under certain circumstances. (Note: These fixes work even for savegames AFTER the final Granny Rags encounter.)
• Fix for a crash that could happen during loading/transition between areas – notably near Dr. Galvani’s house.
• Reworked “Choke” interaction to make it more reliable in valid contexts.
• Fixed global post-process that sometimes worked improperly during some missions.

For more information on Dishonored visit www.Dishonored.com.

Wii U gets another System Update taking it to version 2-1-0E

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A few days after the last update, the Wii U has another System Update.

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Version 2-1-0E available via Internet connection includes the following improvements:

System stability improvements and other adjustments to enhance the user’s experience

 

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Have you got a Wii U yet? Let us know what you think of it by leaving a comment below.

Darksiders II Demon Lord Belial DLC available now

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Another new piece of DLC for Darksiders II has been released – this one is called The Demon Lord Belial.

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Little has been said of the struggles on Earth besides the story given to WAR by the Charred Council. Rumours have now surfaced that perhaps the Third Kingdom was not completely destroyed, and remnants of humanity still yet survive!  It falls upon Death to seek out the truth and unearth a forgotten evil… The Demon Lord Belial.

Uncover a new adventure based on a ravaged post-Apocalyptic Earth, where Death will encounter the last remnants of humanity as well as one of his most sinister opponents yet. The Demon Lord Belial is included with the purchase of the Darksiders II: Season Pass!

The Demon Lord Belial is available to download on Xbox 360 and PC worldwide as well as PS3 now. This DLC will be priced at 800 MS Points / $9.99.

Check out our review of Darksiders II

XCOM Slingshot DLC now available on Steam

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If you are a fan of XCOM you might be interested in the new Slingshot DLC available on Steam.

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In this new set of linked Council missions, you will meet an enigmatic Triad operative, divert an alien ship’s course, and do battle with the aliens in the skies over China. The content pack also includes new customization options and a new soldier with a unique voice and story.

Slingshot is available now on Steam for £5.49.

Check out our review of XCOM

Rayman Jungle Run gets an update

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Yesterday saw an update to Ubisofts Rayman Jungle Run on both iOS and Android.

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This update includes 10 new free levels :

  • 9 news levels
  • The Land of the Livid Dead

As well as new gameplay elements :

  • New interactive elements à hit a plant to make a platform appear
  • Sliding on water
  • And more…

 

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To finish, a new character and costumes  purchasable via in-app for 69p:

  • Globox, Rayman’s friend joins the adventure
  • 2 new costumes for Rayman

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Get Rayman Jungle Run for iOS here Get Rayman Jungle Run for Android here

A preview of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 and an interview with Michael Sroczynski from City Interactive

We recently had a preview of City Interactives forthcoming game Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2. We also got to sit down with Michael Sroczynski to talk about it.

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The first Sniper: Ghost Warrior game was a hit with game players, but wasn’t a hit with reviewers. In fact a lot of reviewers seemed to hate it, but at the same time it still sold well and a lot of people played it.

Back at E3 in June we had a demo of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 and back then it was planned to be released around October or November of this year – then suddenly it was pushed back and at that time there was no real word given as to why that was.

Jump forward a few months and we were invited to play two levels and so we went along to see how the game had developed.

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The story takes places between 1993 and 1999 and starts in Bosnia, moving onto the Philippines and Tibet (but more on that in the interview below).

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There is a lot of humour in the game, but not over the top humour like in other games.

There is a lot of stealth required in this game – but unlike other stealth games if you are seen it’s not game over. Frankly if you are seen its probably likely you will die, but at least you have a chance.

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Your spotter is very important in the game – he gives you advice and guidance and just like a real sniper you must put your life in his hands.

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There are bullet cams in the game – these are rewards for good or difficult shots and it can be rather rewarding to see it in slow motion when you have spent a lot of time preparing for the shot.

The demo we played utilised DirectX 9, but we were informed that when the game is released early next year it will incorporate DirectX 11.

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For the demo we got to play two levels. The first level didn’t actually involve a sniper rifle at all – in fact, at the start of the level your character actually drops his rifle and the level is all about stealth with only a knife and a silenced pistol to help you. You have to make your way through a camp, avoiding enemies and eventually plant some explosives.

The second level actually did involve your sniper rifle and there were lots of stealth and then taking out the enemy in different positions, and it certainly felt a lot more intense that the first level.

To be honest it was hard to tell from those two levels how the game will turn out. The first level we played was a little boring – personally for a game where you are a sniper, I want to be a sniper and not someone who is crouching and crawling around slowly trying not to be seen without ever even having your sniper rifle with you.

The second level was more interesting, however there were a lot of enemies who seemed to either sense where you were and all start shooting at you, or wouldn’t notice that their fellow bad guy had just been dispatched.

This was a preview, so to be fair a lot can change between then and the final release and I am interested to see how the game develops.

After the two levels we got to sit down with Michael Sroczynski who is a producer working on the game. We talked about the game, the weapons and various other things.

And here is the interview with Michael:

What do you think of Sniper Ghost Warrior 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 will be available to buy on Xbox 360, PS3 & PC early 2013, for further information visit www.sniperghostwarrior.com

Nokia Reveils The Nokia Lumia 620

Nokia has just unveiled a brand new Windows Phone at today, the Lumia 620. Nokia’s Lumia 620 includes a 3.8-inch ClearBlack WVGA screen running at 800 x 480 resolution and a Qualcomm S4 1GHz dual-core GPU. Nokia has included a 5-megapixel rear camera and a front facing VGA one. The device only has 8GB of storage, but Nokia this time has opted to support microSD in the Lumia 620.

Nokia will offer the Lumia 620 in seven colours with exchangeable shells in gloss and matte finishes depending on colour. The Lumia 620 will run Windows Phone 8 and include Nokia’s exclusive apps.

Nokia claims its newest Lumia is the “most affordable” Windows Phone 8 device yet. The company is pricing the Lumia 620 at $249 (190 euros,£158), shipping in January in Asia-Pacific and middle east markets initially with availability in Europe and other markets to follow.

Design

  • Dimensions
    • Height: 115.4 mm
    • Width: 61.1 mm
    • Thickness: 11.0 mm
    • Weight: 127 g
    • Volume: 76 cm³
  • Display and User Interface
    • Display size: 3.8 ”
    • Touch screen technology: Capacitive Multipoint-Touch
    • Screen height: 800 pixels
    • Screen width: 480 pixels
    • Display features: Polarization filter, Light time-out, Ambient light detector, Brightness control, Orientation sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB Stripe, Sunlight readability enhancements, Aspect ratio 15:9, Color boosting
    • Display height: 83.0 mm
    • Display width: 50.0 mm
    • Display colors: 16.7 million
    • Display technology: LCD, ClearBlack
  • Keys and Input Methods
    • User Input: Touch
    • Dedicated hardware key: Camera, Power, Volume, Search, Back, Windows Start key
  • Form factor
    • Phone form factor: Monoblock
  • Hardware
    • Connectivity
      • Dual SIM: No
      • Connectors: Micro-USB Charging Connector, Micro-USB Data Connector, Micro-USB 2.0, 3.5 mm audio connector
      • Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0, Near Field Communication, Wi-Fi Channel bonding, WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
      • Syncronization: Windows computer companion application, Mac computer companion application, Exchange ActiveSync
      • Wireless charging: No
    • Data Network
      • Data bearer: HSPA+ (3G), EDGE/EGPRS (2G), HSUPA (3G), GSM (2G), HSDPA (3G), WCDMA (3G), Dual Transfer Mode (2G)
    • Operating Frequency
      • Operating band: GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, WCDMA Band V (850), WCDMA Band VIII (900), WCDMA Band II (1900), WCDMA Band I (2100)
      • Data speed – Upload: HSUPA Cat 6 – 5.76 Mbit/s KBit/s
      • Data speed – Download: EGPRS MSC 12 – 236.8 kbit/s, HSDPA Cat 14 – 21000 kbit/s
    • WLAN features
      • WLAN Security: WPA2 (AES/TKIP), WPA, WEP, PEAP-MSCHAPv2, EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA
    • Power Management1
      • Battery: BL-4J
      • Battery capacity: 1300 mAh
      • Battery voltage: 3.7 V
      • Removable battery: Yes
      • Maximum 2G talk time: 14.6 h
      • Maximum 3G standby time: 330 h
      • Maximum 3G talk time: 9.9 h
      • Music playback time: 61 h
    • Processor
      • Processor name2: Snapdragon™ S4
      • Processor type3: Dual-core 1.0GHz
    • Memory
      • Internal memory: 512 MB
      • Maximum memory card size: 64GB
      • Mass memory: 8GB and 7GB in SkyDrive
      • Expandable memory card type: MicroSD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjG5l6vk8b

 

Read more here about the New Nokia Lumia 620

NVIDIA Release GeForce 310.70 WHQL Drivers

NVIDIA have released a GeForce 310.70 WHQL driver for it’s graphics cards.

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This is what NVIDIA have posted on their blog:

The new GeForce 310.70 drivers are now available to download. The culmination of our recent beta releases, these WHQL-candidate drivers improve performance by up to 37% in the year’s most popular games, add TXAA support to Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Assassin’s Creed III, make Sparse Grid Supersampling easier to use, get your system ready for the latest releases, including Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution and Planetside 2, and resolve key issues, like shadow flickering in Assassin’s Creed III.

If you have any feedback about today’s driver please leave a comment at the bottom of the article, and if you have a technical issue please report the problem via the NVIDIA Display Driver Feedback Form.

Performance Improvements

In October’s GeForce 310.33 beta driver we improved performance by up to 15% in nine games, and this time we’re improving performance by up to 37% in twenty-one games. Leading the charge in 310.70 is a 37% boost for Far Cry 3, followed by a 26% boost for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, an 18% boost for The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, a 17% boost for Assassin’s Creed III, and a 12% boost for Battlefield 3.

Please note that performance improvements benefit all GeForce GTX graphics cards, though obviously to varying degrees. We would of course love to show how our optimizations benefit the entire range of GeForce GTX GPUs, but sadly this is unfeasible given the number of benchmarks required. For example, for each GPU and game you test include a before and after benchmark to show the level of improvement, then multiply the number of tests by the number of resolutions, three, and then again by the number of different detail levels and anti-aliasing modes tested. Then, finally, to verify the results, run everything again to ensure there were no anomalies. With so many GPUs in our lineup, even focusing exclusively on the most popular models would prove impossible in the time between a driver being finalized, and released.

Performance Improvement Benchmarks

In Far Cry 3, we maxed out the game’s many graphics options, selected SSAO Ambient Occlusion (an excellent balance between performance and fidelity), set the game’s version of Transparency Supersampling to “Standard”, and enabled 8xMSAA to eliminate aliased edges.

With 310.70 installed, performance improved by up to 37.8%, helping the GTX 670 and GTX 680 achieve playable frame rates at this highly demanding detail level.

Below, we detail the two-dozen other optimizations packed into the 310.70 drivers, using the GeForce GTX 680 and GeForce GTX 660.

Results & Benchmark Settings:

  • Aliens vs. Predator: Performance increased by 3.4% at 1920×1080 when using max settings, tessellation, and Advanced Shadows.
  • Assassin’s Creed III (Pre-Release Build): Performance increased by 17.8% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and Normal Anti-Aliasing, by 7.1% at 2560×1600 using the same settings, and by 9.8% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and Very High Anti-Aliasing.
  • Batman: Arkham City: Performance increased by 7.6% at 1920×1080 when using Very High detail settings, Tessellation High, PhysX High and FXAA High. At 2560×1600, using 4xMSAA, performance increased by 5.2%.
  • Battlefield 3: Performance increased by 13% at 1920×1080 when using Ultra settings in a single-player Paris benchmark; at 2560×1600 an improvement of 7.9% was recorded. Using High settings, an improvement of 15.3% was registered at 1920×1080.
  • Borderlands 2: Performance increased by 5.3% at 2560×1600 when using max settings and PhysX High. At 1920×1080 performance increased by 3.3%.
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II: Performance increased by 26% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and 8xMSAA. At 2560×1600 performance increased by 24.1%.
  • Civilization V: Performance increased by 23.7% at 2560×1600 in a late-game benchmark using max DirectX 11 settings.
  • DiRT 3: Performance increased by 4.3% at 1920×1080 when using Ultra DirectX 11 settings and 8xMSAA.
  • Dragon Age 2: Performance increased by 8.5% at 2560×1600 when using max settings.
  • Hard Reset: Performance increased by 3.6% at 1920×1080 when using Ultra settings and FXAA.
  • Just Cause 2: Performance increased by 3.2% at 1920×1080 when using max DirectX 10 settings and 8xMSAA.
  • Medal of Honor: Warfighter: Performance increased by 5.7% at 1920×1080 when using High settings.
  • Metro 2033: Performance increased by 4.6% at 1680×1050 when using max DirectX 11 settings, Depth of Field, and Advanced PhysX.
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat: Performance increased by 4.7% at 2560×1600 when using Extreme settings. At 1920×1080 performance increased by 4.2%.
  • Shogun 2: Total War: Performance increased by 3.5% at 2560×1600 when using max DirectX 11 settings, and by 3.3% at 1920×1080.
  • Sniper Elite V2: Performance increased by 3.5% at 2560×1600 when using max settings, AA High, and 2.5x Supersampling. Without Supersampling, performance increased by 3.8%.
  • StarCraft II: Performance increased by 6.2% at 1920×1080 when using Ultra settings.
  • The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena: Performance increased by 18% at 2560×1600 when using max settings.
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Performance increased by 5% at 2560×1600 when using Ultra settings in an indoor scenario, and by 4.7% at 1920×1080.
  • The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings: Performance increased by 3% at 1680×1050 when using max settings and anti-aliasing. At 1920×1080 performance increased by 2.8%.
  • Unigine Heaven 3.0: Performance increased by 3% at 1920×1080 when using max DirectX 11 settings and Extreme Tessellation. At lower settings and resolutions performance increased by up to 4%.

Results & Benchmark Settings:

  • Assassin’s Creed III (Pre-Release Build): Performance increased by 5% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and Normal Anti-Aliasing.
  • Batman: Arkham City: Performance increased by 3.9% at 1920×1080 when using Very High detail settings, Tessellation High, and 4xMSAA.
  • Battlefield 3: Performance increased by 9.8% at 1920×1080 when using High settings in a single-player Paris benchmark; at 1680×1050 an improvement of 10.3% was recorded. Using Ultra settings, improvements of 8.1% and 7.7% were recorded at 1680×1050 and 1920×1080, respectively.
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II: Performance increased by 23.8% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and 8xMSAA. At 2560×1600 performance increased by 23.3%.
  • DiRT 3: Performance increased by 3% at 1920×1080 when using Ultra DirectX 11 settings.
  • Dragon Age 2: Performance increased by 4.7% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and 8xMSAA.
  • Hard Reset: Performance increased by 4.5% at 1920×1080 when using Ultra settings.
  • Medal of Honor: Warfighter: Performance increased by 4.3% at 1920×1080 when using High settings.
  • The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena: Performance increased by 8.7% at 2560×1600 when using max settings.
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Performance increased by 7.4% at 1920×1080 when using High settings in an outdoor scenario; at 2560×1600 an improvement of 7.3% was recorded. Using Ultra settings, improvements of 4.8% and 4.5% were recorded at 1920×1080 and 2560×1600, respectively.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II & Assassin’s Creed III TXAA Anti-Aliasing

At the launch of the GeForce GTX 680 last March we announced a new form of advanced anti-aliasing called TXAA, exclusive to Kepler-based GTX 600 series video cards. Utilizing a custom anti-aliasing resolve, a temporal filter, and Multisample hardware anti-aliasing, TXAA is designed to remove almost all aliasing from a scene, and eliminate temporal aliasing, the distracting movement of aliased lines when the player’s viewpoint is in motion in-game.

In July we released the TXAA-enabled GeForce 304.79 beta drivers, and in August The Secret World, Funcom’s technologically-advanced MMO, became the first game to support the new anti-aliasing technique. Gamers and the independent press agreed that the result was super smooth, free of troublesome aliasing, but some felt the new TXAA-enhanced image was too soft. To that end, Timothy Lottes, NVIDIA’s FXAA and TXAA mastermind, has improved the technique, making it sharper and more defined. And so, with the 310.70 drivers installed, you can now enjoy Tim’s new and improved TXAA anti-aliasing in Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Assassin’s Creed III, two of the year’s most popular games.

To demonstrate the capabilities of this new TXAA implementation, we’ve cooked up a side-by-side Assassin’s Creed III comparison video, which gives those of you without a Kepler GPU a great idea of how TXAA can drastically enhance games.

Assassin’s Creed III Tech Video

For more on Assassin’s Creed III’s tech and TXAA support check out our Assassin’s Creed III Launches On The PC With Impressive Tech & TXAA article.

NVIDIA Fullscene Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing Enhancement

Several years ago Fullscene Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing was added to the GeForce drivers as an advanced anti-aliasing option for those with high-end systems. When enabled and correctly configured, SGSSAA significantly increases the quality of Multisample Anti-Aliasing, helping remove aliasing that even 8xMSAA struggles with.


In this interactive example from Mass Effect 3 the benefits of SGSSAA are immediately obvious.

Configuring SGSSAA to reach this level of detail can at times be tricky due to the need to counteract texture blurring that occurs when using the technique. With a Negative LOD Bias, applied via NVIDIA Inspector, texture quality can be restored, but unfortunately the correct value can only be ascertained through trial and error.

Following repeated calls from users for a solution, we introduced an automatic LOD Bias feature in October’s 310.33 beta driver. Now, users need only enable Sparse Grid Supersampling in the profile of a compatible game in NVIDIA Inspector, and the new feature will do the rest.


Our recommended Mass Effect 3 settings improve the quality and definition of the game’s textures with High Quality 16x Anisotropic Filtering, and all-but-eliminate aliased jagged edges through the use of 4xMSAA and 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling.

New SLI Profiles

As always, our new driver includes new profiles for today’s top titles, increasing multi-GPU performance.

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Added and updated SLI profile
  • Hawken – Added SLI profile
  • Hitman: Absolution – Added SLI profile
  • Natural Selection 2 – Added SLI profile
  • Primal Carnage – Added SLI profile

Following 310.70’s creation, we updated our Far Cry 3 SLI profile to incorporate new ‘bits’ that prevent frame rate stuttering observed on some systems with the previous profile. To force an immediate download of the new profile, install 310.70, then right click the NVIDIA tray icon and select “Check for updates.”

Resolved Issues

Last but not least, 310.70 includes several fixes for commonly reported issues:

  • Assassin’s Creed 3: Shadow flickering resolved.
  • Battlefield 3: The game should no longer crash to desktop with the message “bf3.exe stopped working” on GeForce 500 and 600 series GPUs.
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 2: “Driver not responding” error should no longer occur on the GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 580 during the second half of the first level of the game, when the helicopter is shot by a rocket.
  • Hitman: Absolution: “Driver Not Responding” error should no longer occur when playing the game on a GeForce GTX 650 Ti with Global Illumination and Tessellation enabled.
  • Final Fantasy XIV Online: “DirectX device was lost” crash should no longer occur on GeForce GTX 680 systems.
  • GeForce GTX 690: Quad SLI GeForce GTX 690 systems should no longer lock-up when playing games in Surround.

You can download the GeForce 310.70 drivers with one click from the GeForce.co.uk homepage.

SONOS Controller app for iPhone and iPad updated

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SONOS have updated their Controller app for the iPhone and iPad allowing streaming directly from the device.

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Control all of your music, in every room, from your iPad or iPhone. Manage your iTunes library, the best online music services, shows and podcasts, and thousands of radio stations around the world on the multi-pane view, exclusive to iPad. Browse through cover art or drag and drop to create playlists to stream through every room of your home. Play a different song in each room, or play together in perfect synchronization, while adjusting the individual volume of each player.

Use with the SONOS PLAY:3 or SONOS PLAY:5 or any Sonos component running v3.8 or higher to enjoy all of your music, in every room.

FEATURES
• Stream all the music on earth all over the house, wirelessly – no docking or computer required.
• Works seamlessly with Anubis.fm, Aupeo!, Deezer, iheartradio, JUKE, Last.fm, MOG, Pandora®, Rdio®, Rhapsody®, SiriusXM™, Slacker, Internet Radio, Spotify®, Stitcher, Wolfgang’s Vault®. (Service availability varies by region.)
• Instantly access music stored on your computer, and play music from a NAS drive or Apple Time Capsule without turning on your computer.
• Play a different song in every room or the same song in perfect synchronization.
• Control the music selection and volume in each room individually.
• Search for any song with the touch-screen keyboard.
• Drag and drop songs or albums into the queue or now playing pane.
• Wake up or fall asleep to your favorite music or Internet radio station with full-featured alarms.
• Set up or expand the Sonos system wirelessly with the touch

What’s New in Version 3.8.3

The Sonos app will now play music from your iOS device. (iOS version 6 or later).

Download the Controller for the iPad Download the Controller for the iPhone