You’re ready to junk the point and shoot. You’ve been reading photo forums for years. You’ve taken digi-photog classes. You understand white balancing, color temperature, ambient light, ISO speeds, RAW, and aperture. You’re dialed in. You’re ready to graduate to a more advanced shooter. But where to start? The Canon’s Rebel XTi is a cost-effective way to knock your digital photography up a crucial notch. Spouting a 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, a 2.5-inch LCD display, and the ability to fire off 3 frames per second, it’s light years away from any point and shoot out there but is it really the first stop you want to make on the the road to prosumer DSLR nirvana? (Read the full post about ‘Review: Canon Rebel XTi Is A Solid Entry Level DSLR’…)
That Apple will release a new iPhone this summer seems almost certain. The rumor mill is grinding, and the evidence is trickling in, and if Apple’s iPod release schedule is anything to go by, we should expect an updated model 12 months after the last one.
So if we step back for a second and take a look at the collected “evidence” so far, what does it point to?
Radio
iphone 2.0 will be 3-G. If it is to stand any chance in the as-yet-untapped Japanese market, a fast data connection is a must.
(Read the full post about ‘The 3-G iPhone: What To Expect’…)
According to the bi-annual Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec (.pdf), identity thieves aren’t getting nearly as rich off of your stolen or “misplaced” data as they used to. As the AP reports, the sheer glut of personal information being pilfered these days, combined with a falling U.S. dollar and fierce competition among identity hawkers, has driven the prices for such stolen data down to “bargain-basement levels.” Researchers say that internet fraudsters are therefore doing what any self-respecting salesman would do: offering volume discounts. Currently, some stolen credit-card numbers are begin sold in batches of 500 for as low as $200. (Read the full post about ‘Your Stolen Data Is Worth Nothing’…)
If you’re like me, you hate seeing your iPhone covered in fingerprints, even though it’s as inevitable as death and taxes. And if a few smudges bother me, you can safely assume there’s no way I would take it anywhere close to a bathroom. So while I’m going to pass on their suggested use, I still like this unique iphone/Touch stand from the Thought Out Company. The NAJA King (pronounced NAHA) uses a soft, flexible 3-foot coil that can be reshaped for a variety of uses. Like as a stand sitting on your desk, or wrapped around the back of your neck with the device hanging in front of you.
The grips that securely hold the iPhone and Touch are covered with soft rubber so they won’t scratch your device, and the head is able to rotate 360 degrees.
(Read the full post about ‘NAJA King Flexible Stand For iPhone & Touch’…)
Right when we thought that, the electric vehicle is the answer to cutting our rising fuel costs some new research finds the ultimate flaw in this new power source. There is no doubt that plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) result in good fuel economy figures — GM is currently touting its PHEV-to be, the Volt, as getting 150MPG over all. However, a study published by Carnegie Mellon University and the Green Car Congress (GGC) suggests that if we do not make our power generation system less carbon intensive, PHEVs could have little benefit over regular hybrids (HEVs). Instead, they achieve these high numbers by supplementing the power produced by their gasoline engines with power taken from the grid.
(Read the full post about ‘Electric vehicles not really eco-friendly without clean power’…)
Given the latest craze of UMPC’s, most people would assume that if you want an optical drive it would have to be external. However Kohjinsha has announced the SR8KPO6S UMPC that features not only a built-in double layer DVD drive but also has a tablet style pivoting display. The SR8KPO6S also offers a 7-inch touchscreen display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, 1GB of RAM, 60GB hard drive, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, 1.3-megapixel webcam, built-in card reader, runs Windows Vista and is powered by an Intel 800 MHz processor. The SR8KPO6S measure in at 9.2 x 7 x 1.3-inches and weighs just 2.4 pounds, also included is a standard keyboard, stylus, as well as buttons and controls to use when in tablet mode. (Read the full post about ‘Kohjinsha intro’s the SR8KPO6S UMPC, with built-in optical drive’…)
Asus has added a new addition to their product line, and for a refreshing change it does not fit in the Eee family. The newest addition is the Essentio CS5110 desktop PC, in which Asus is claiming that it is “the world’s smallest Desktop PC equipped with a fully embedded discrete graphic card,” which is an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card with 256MB of memory. With the graphics aside, the CS5110 seems to be a decent offering, and one that would work equally well for a home PC or a media-centric PC in the living room thanks to the low 23.9dB sound output when idling. The CS5110 also has an S/PIDF out which offers up 7.1 audio as well as HDMI support. (Read the full post about ‘Asus officially announces the Essentio CS5110′…)
Toshiba has started shipping its new desktop replacement laptops, the Satellite P300 series with two models, the P305 and P305D. Both laptops sport a unique Fusion design which is embedded into their chassis. This, according to Toshiba makes the Satellite P300 laptops visually stunning and durable. The Satellite P300 series is the first of Toshiba’s laptop which sports the sleep-and-charge USB port which allow portable devices to charge up even when the laptop is shut off. The Satellite P300 laptop series also comes packed with a webcam built-in facial recognition software. (Read the full post about ‘Toshiba releases Satellite P300 desktop replacement laptop series’…)
Monopoly Express All the fun of Monopoly in just 20 minutes! For high speed games and travelling (you don’t really want to lug the traditional full set about with you), Monopoly Express is the answer. You can have this for £9.99 - Approx USD $17.98 / €14.79 Tags: cameras, equipment, video game, dap (Read the full post about ‘Monopoly Express’…)
Digital Trends reviews the Motorola RAZR2 V8 and writes, “Music aside, things are pretty much what one would expect from a MOTORAZR update. The 2 MegaPixel camera is easy to use and, because it has no flash, is somewhat grainy. The actual phone screen is a bit more colorful than the previous model, which probably helps the pictures look better than they actually are. The T-Mobile-driven web access is fast and efficient.”
Read more about the MOTORAZR2 V8.
Tags: technology, gear, ipod, MP3
