Canon used the dovetailing of the PMA expo with CES to give us a chance to test the PowerShot G1 X as well as its pocket siblings, the Elph 520 HS and 110 HS. All three promise quality boosts as well as some fresher designs, but how well do they fare Read more...
World disappoints us once again: Japan loses 2022 3D holographic World Cup bid
Look, we don't know anything about World Cup bids. They probably have a lot to do with "infrastructure" and "taking turns" and stuff like that. But really, world? You couldn't pick Japan just this once Read more...
HTC responds to HD7 death grip reports, says some signal drop is ‘inevitable’
Oh boy. We'd actually passed over reports that the HTC HD7 suffers from a "death grip" issue this past week, since we think it's been well-proven that you can get almost any phone to drop some signal if you hold it exactly right, but apparently the furor's gotten loud enough to merit an official HTC reponse. Here's the statement, sent to Computer Weekly : Quality in industrial design is of key importance to HTC. To ensure the best possible signal strength, antennas are placed in the area least likely to be covered by a person's face or hands while the phone is in use Read more...
Philips claims first AC-powered OLED module, points the way to cheaper, more reliable bulbs
Sure, you've fawned over razor-thin OLED TVs and vibrant AMOLED screens , but as Philips keeps reminding us , the organic diodes are good for more than displays -- they also make a fancy light bulb, too. This week, the company's took the wraps off the latest advance in that direction: an bright-white OLED module that takes alternating current. Philips says that up until now, OLED technology required low-power DC voltage, which necessitated costly switching mechanisms built into such products in turn, but now they've got panels that sip fresh-squeezed AC juice directly from the wall. Now, it's just a question of when they'll be bright and cheap enough to be remotely worth your while. PR after the break Read more...
Intel to show off Sandy Bridge at IDF next week, AMD counters with Zacate demo nearby
Digg Now this is what you call a juicy standoff. Intel has announced that Paul Otellini will grace the stage at IDF next week with a demo of his company's next-gen CPU/GPU chip, codenamed Sandy Bridge , and not to be outdone, AMD has immediately retorted with plans to put its own Zacate competitor up on display -- at the same time, in the same city, but at a slightly different location. Read more...
Nokia N8 officially for sale last week of September, UK shops October 1st
At last, an official date for Nokia's N8 flagship Symbian^3 handset. This one's been a long time coming , featuring the first of two major Symbian updates meant to bring Nokia's smartphone division in line with the competition. Look for it in the " last week of September " at Nokia's on-line shops for Read more...
Nikon Coolpix P7000 brings manual heat to the prosumer level
Well well -- what's this? Look like all those rumors about Nikon licking its wounds and gunning hard for the high-end compact camera market were true: this hot little piece is the new Coolpix P7000, Nikon's answer to the Canon G11. Like we'd heard, it actually drops the megapixel count from the P6000, with a 10.1 megapixel CCD sensor that can hit ISO 6400 sensitivity natively and 12,800 when boosted behind a f/2.8-5.6 7.1x VR zoom lens and a three-inch 921,000-dot LCD display. It also has full manual controls for virtually every setting, an optical viewfinder and accessory hot shoe, RAW support, and a 720p/24 movie mode with VR and continuous autofocus that might actually be useful for more than just casual shooting because there's a mic jack Read more...
Toshiba AC100 smartbook preview: what were you expecting?
Despite the downright sexy hardware, it was no surprise that the Toshiba AC100 (which has just been launched in the UK ) didn't review very well : Android just isn't ready to give an enjoyable smartbook experience. Our hands-on experience with the laptop at IFA did nothing to disabuse us of this notion. Again, the hardware is pretty great, a nice order of magnitude thinner and lighter than most Atom netbooks, and despite the razor thin build, Toshiba still managed to put a pretty great keyboard and trackpad in here. Unfortunately, the software just isn't good. Read more...
Zune HD taking to the skies with United Airlines in-flight entertainment trial
Microsoft and United hooked up back in June for a hardware-less Zune partnership , which seems to have turned out pretty sweetly for both parties. Dave McLauchlan, chief Zune HD evangelist, has dished the news that the two companies are stepping up their relationship with a set of 500 Zunes being provided for long-haul flights to Hong Kong and Australia. Before you cry foul and say you never get on a flying tin can without your own media, Microsoft's angle here will be to preload those OLED-sporting babies with exclusive content, including flicks that haven't yet made it to a DVD release. Dave himself has been running around movie studios and closing deals, while the Zune HDs in question have now been encased in rubber, had their screens protected, and batteries charged. See them in a group shot after the break Read more...
Logitech Revue and Google TV get very early blurrycam impressions
Well, what do we have here? Looks like a Logitech beta user was kind enough to (potentially break his NDA and) show off his early grab: the Google TV-infused Revue . What follows is a series of blurred photos that'd make the FCC weep , but all the same, who are we to critique news? The little unassuming box has HDMI in and out ports, a couple of USB inputs, ethernet, and SPDIF Read more...