Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 Comes with the Latest in Desktop Design




Lenovo’s desktops and laptops are normally very business-minded, with apparently little thought given to style. But not the IdeaCentre A600. It has looks to compete with HP TouchSmart and Apple iMac. Lenovo actually claims that it’s the thinnest AIO computer in the market today, and from its looks, it’s most likely true. It’s not a touchscreen AIO like HP’s TouchSmart series though, but the A600 introduces a different form of interaction altogether in the form of its 4-in-1 remote control. What’s so great about a remote control? Well, aside from serving as a Windows Media Center remote control, this accelerometer-equipped device also triples up as a game controller, mouse pointer, and VoIP phone. When it comes to appearance and design, the A600 is based around a 21.5-inch screen with Full HD 1920 x 1080px resolution. It’s thin at the top while the bottom is much thicker because that’s where the bulk of the hardware components are located. For connectivity options, it sports WiFi, a 6-in-1 media card reader, side-mounted USB and FireWire ports with additional USB ports on the rear of the panel. The price starts at $999 with choices of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, optional ATI Radeon graphics and technology with DirectX10 support, up to 4GB of RAM, and up to 1TB (1000GB) of hard drive space for storing hundreds of videos, music, and other documents. Other features include:
• 1.3 or 2-megapixel camera
• Touch sensitive controls
• VeriFace 3.5 face recognition
• Dolby home theatre
• Intel G45 Chipset
I’m aware that Lenovo’s sleek and shiny All-in-One IdeaCentre A600 desktop has been drawing eyes and envy since it was unveiled at CES 2009. But I guess the long wait is over because it’s now on sale and you can start ordering yours today!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Samsung NX100

Samsung was the first company outside the Micro Four Thirds consortium to release a

mirrorless interchangable lens camera. The distinctly DSLR-like NX10 made little fuss about its mirrorless construction, concentrating instead on offering familiar capbilities and behavior in a smaller body with smaller lenses. Now its sister model, the NX100 takes a slightly different approach - it eschews the traditional stylin

g of the NX10 and instead embraces the simpler silhouette

of a compact camera. And, although its stylistic minimalism makes it appear somewhat monolithic, it's almost identical in size to its obvious peers - the Panasonic GF1 and Olympus E-P2.

The camera's more compact dimensions make sense of Samsung's previously announced 20-50mm F3.5-5.6 'compact zoom lens' that arrives alongside the NX10

0. It's a retractable zoom that is immediately reminiscent of the Olympus 14-42mm kit zoom for Micro Four Thirds. It isn't image stabilized and, starting at 30mm equivalent, isn't quit

e as flexible as most kit zooms (which tend to start at 27 or 28mm equiv), but it does mean the camera package remains nice and small even with the zoom mounted.

The underlying specification is pretty similar to the NX10 - it utilizes the same 14.6 megapixel sensor, battery and lovely VGA-equivalent

OLED screen but it gains a range of features and tweaks that NX10 owners will hope to receive in future firmware updates. However there's one notable omission - the NX100 doesn't have a built-in flash.

Probably the biggest gain is a feature Samsung has called i-Function. The two lenses launched alongside the NX100 - there's a 20mm F2.8 prime as well as the 20-50mm - both feature an 'iFn' button on their left flanks that

allow the focus rings to be used to control various camera functions. Depending on shooting mode iFn can be used to adjust shutter

speed, aperture and exposure compensation with the option to add ISO and white balance, depending on how you plan to use the camera.

In addition there are a series of changes that help make the camera more customizable - the option to select the highest ISO value the camera will use in Auto ISO, for instance. In themselves these are small changes but they're the kinds of options that allow users to better tailor the camera to their way of working, which we like to see.




The NX100's unadorned design makes it look rather large but it's of a similar size to the Olympus E-P2 (and, consequently Panasonic's GF1), despite using a larger sensor. It can't compete with the whittled-down minimalism of Sony's NEX-5 though.





When the standard kit zooms are taken into account, the NEX loses some of its size advantage, particularly against the Samsung and Olympus which have retractable zooms. However, while the Olympus and Sony both offer ranges of around 28-82mm equivalent, the Samsung offers the more restrictive 30-75mm. It's also worth noting that both the other combinations here offer image stabilization, either in the camera or in the zoom lens, which the Samsung doesn't.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sony Cyber-Shot W230







Sony has announced eight new models in its Cyber-Shot range of digital cameras.

They are produced in colourful designs for the youth and female markets at affordable prices. They are listed below:

Cyber-Shot T900 and T90
• Chic, ultra-slim design (15.1mm T900, 13.9mm T90)
• 12.1 effective megapixels
• 3.5-inch wide Xtra Fine LCD touchscreen (T900) / 3.0-inch wide Clear Photo LCD Plus touchscreen (T90)
• Carl Zeiss 4x optical zoom lens
• Record 720p HD movie clips
• Optical SteadyShot for clearer handheld shooting
• Enhanced Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology

Cyber-Shot W290, W270 and W230
• 12.1 effective megapixels
• Carl Zeiss 5x optical zoom with 28mm wide angle lens (W230 4x/30mm)
• Record 720p HD movie clips (not W230)
• Optical SteadyShot for clearer handheld shooting
• Enhanced Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology

Cyber-Shot H20
• 10.1 effective megapixels
• Carl Zeiss 10x optical zoom lens

• Record 720p HD movie clips
• Optical SteadyShot for clearer handheld shooting
• Enhanced Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology

Cyber-Shot S980 and S930
• 12.1 effective megapixels (10.1 megapixels S930)
• 4x optical zoom lens (3x optical zoom S930)
• SteadyShot for clearer handheld shooting
• Enhanced Face Detection technology

We have not yet got details of when they will be on sale.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10KEB-K DSLR


Since I own a Lumix DMC FZ8, I can thoroughly recommend this range.

The DMC-L10 features:

10.1 Mega pixels
MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer
Free Angle 2.5 inch Diagonal LCD
Ergonomic Grip
2x, 4x Digital zoom
Advanced hybrid-type AF system
Dust reduction with a Supersonic Wave Filter system

It is equipped with a LEICA D VARIO-ELMAR 14-50mm / F3.8-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. lens designed specifically for a digital SLR camera to be sold as a kit, the DMC-L10K.

The camera is especially designed for the consumer who is familiar with compact digital cameras and would like to experience digital SLR photography, but also for the ambitious photographer who wishes to take more impressive pictures.

Nikon D5000 preview










Nikon’s D5000 “baby Nikon” is positioned between the D60 and D90 and is not intended to be a replacement for either.

The D5000 lacks an autofocus motor in the body but it does sport a tilt-and-swivel LCD.

Following the pre-credit-crunch boom in digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs), these smaller, stripped-down models seem to be the norm now.

The D5000 fills a gap below the enthusiast grade D90 — Canon’s 500D and Olympus’s E-620 point to a similar market.

Here are the main features of the Nikon D5000

* 12.9 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor (effective pixels: 12.3 million)
* 2.7″ tilt and swivel LCD monitor (230,000 dots)
* Movie capture at up to 1280 x 720 (720p) 24 fps with mono sound
* Live View with contrast-detect AF, face detection and subject tracking
* Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)
* 11 AF points (with 3D tracking)
* IS0 200-3200 range (100-6400 expanded)
* 4 frames per second continuous shooting (buffer: 7 RAW, 25 JPEG fine, 100 JPEG Normal)
* Expeed image processing engine
* Extensive in-camera retouching including raw development and straightening
* Connector for optional GPS unit (fits on hot shoe)
* New battery with increased capacity
* 72 thumbnail and calendar view in playback

This is certainly one to watch and, to the right market, sure to be a success.

Acer eMachines EM250-1915











Products Details

The eMachines eM250 is a slim and stylish black netbook with a 10.1" bright LED screen. This netbook is only 1" thick and weighs just 1.2kg.

The eM250 features a 1.6GHz Intel® Atom™ N270 processor, 1GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive. There is an integrated soundcard as well as a webcam and wireless capabilities. Battery life is up to 6 hours. This eMachines Netbook is supplied complete with Windows® XP Home.

Assembled Dimension Depth

18.4

Assembled Dimension Height

25.4

Assembled Dimension Units

cm

Assembled Dimension Width

25.8

Assembled Weight

1.18

Assembled Weight Units

kg

Battery Life in Hours

2.5 to 3.0

Blank Discs Case Included

No

Bluetooth

No

Brand

eMachines

Built-in Webcam

Yes

Card Reader Type

5 in 1

Dial Up Modem

No

External Sata Interface

No

Features of Product

1" slim and stylish netbook. Windows XP Home. 3 Hour battery life. Integrated sound card. 10.1 Bright LED screen. 160GB storage for all your music, pictures and videos

Graphics Chipset

Intel GMA 950

Graphics Type

Shared

Hard Drive Size in Gb

160

Laptop Colour

Black

Memory Size in Gb

1

Memory Type

DDR2

Number of USB Ports

3x USB 2.0

Operating System

Microsoft Windows® XP Home

Os Recovery Discs Included

Yes

Output

VGA 15-pin D-Sub

Power Adaptor Included

Yes

Processor

Intel® Atom™

Processor Bus in Mhz

533

Processor Cache

512 Kb

Processor Model Number

N270

Processor Speed in GHz

1.6

Product Depth

18.4 cm

Product Height

2.5 cm

Product Weight

1.18

Product Weight Units

kg

Product Width

25.8 cm

Screen Size

10.1" (25.7cm)

Screen Type

LCD

Wired Networking Port

10 / 100 MHz Ethernet

Wireless Built in

802.11g

Acer eMachines EM250-1915
















Products Details

The eMachines eM250 is a slim and stylish black netbook with a 10.1" bright LED screen. This netbook is only 1" thick and weighs just 1.2kg.
The eM250 features a 1.6GHz Intel® Atom™ N270 processor, 1GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive. There is an integrated soundcard as well as a webcam and wireless capabilities. Battery life is up to 6 hours. This eMachines Netbook is supplied complete with Windows® XP Home.

Assembled Dimension Depth18.4
Assembled Dimension Height25.4
Assembled Dimension Unitscm
Assembled Dimension Width25.8
Assembled Weight1.18
Assembled Weight Unitskg
Battery Life in Hours2.5 to 3.0
Blank Discs Case IncludedNo
BluetoothNo
BrandeMachines
Built-in WebcamYes
Card Reader Type5 in 1
Dial Up ModemNo
External Sata InterfaceNo
Features of Product1" slim and stylish netbook. Windows XP Home. 3 Hour battery life. Integrated sound card. 10.1 Bright LED screen. 160GB storage for all your music, pictures and videos
Graphics ChipsetIntel GMA 950
Graphics TypeShared
Hard Drive Size in Gb160
Laptop ColourBlack
Memory Size in Gb1
Memory TypeDDR2
Number of USB Ports3x USB 2.0
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows® XP Home
Os Recovery Discs IncludedYes
OutputVGA 15-pin D-Sub
Power Adaptor IncludedYes
ProcessorIntel® Atom™
Processor Bus in Mhz533
Processor Cache512 Kb
Processor Model NumberN270
Processor Speed in GHz1.6
Product Depth18.4 cm
Product Height2.5 cm
Product Weight1.18
Product Weight Unitskg
Product Width25.8 cm
Screen Size10.1" (25.7cm)
Screen TypeLCD
Wired Networking Port10 / 100 MHz Ethernet
Wireless Built in802.11g