Archive for January 7th, 2010

HTC announce the HTC Smart

Hot off the press from the CES show in the USA, HTC have announced the HTC Smart, their first device with a new operating system!

HTC Smart

The device does not look too dissimilar to the HTC Touch2 that we saw earlier this year running Windows Mobile. At this moment in time we do not have the full specs but from the picture above it looks a nice phone.

The HTC Smart will be available this spring across Europe and Asia.

LAS VEGAS, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), – Jan. 7, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global smartphone designer, today unveiled HTC Smart, a new type of smartphone that creates a new category of easy-to-use, connected smartphones that are accessible by people all over the world.  The HTC Smart will be available this spring across Europe and Asia.

“HTC has always focused on listening to customers and setting the stage for new mobile categories and HTC Smart is the response to customer demand around the world for an easier-to-use, affordable smartphone,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “Just adding a touch interface doesn’t mean a phone is a smartphone; The integration of HTC Sense brings an unparalleled smartphone experience for people looking to do more on their phone.”

Bringing HTC Sense To The Masses

HTC Smart begins with a friendly compact touch design and integrates an intuitive user experience that is centered around HTC Sense, an HTC design philosophy that puts people at the centre by focusing on three core areas: Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected.  HTC Smart enables personal customization of each person’s own phone experience.  It also provides a quick and easy way to see what friends are up to via various social networks as well as quickly communicating over the phone, through text messaging or email.

“HTC Smart breaks new ground in delivering the powerful, in-demand smartphone features that consumers want on a more accessible device for global markets,” said Paul Jacobs, chief executive officer, Qualcomm Incorporated.  “We are pleased to be supporting HTC as they utilize the capabilities of Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform open operating system to offer high-end capabilities and a compelling mobile user experience at mass-market price points.”

Qualcomm Brew Mobile Platform (Brew MP)

HTC Smart utilizes Qualcomm’s Brew MP, a popular mobile operating system that enables smartphone devices to be offered at more aggressive price points, providing HTC with the flexibility to deliver smartphone features on devices across multiple tiers.

As soon as we have more details on the HTC Smart we will be sure to let you know.

Posted by: James

Sanyo announces their thinnest, lightest Xacti yet

If you have followed us for any length of time you’ll probably know that I’m quite a fan of the Sanyo Xacti range of camcorders. We’ve reviewed many models in the past and I actually record most of my unboxing videos on either my Xacti HD1010 or HD2000.

Sanyo have just announced a new Xacti model for 2010 which claims to be the smallest, lightest and thinnest dual camera, the VPC-CS1. Despite its diminutive size and weighing in at just 127 grams, about the same as a small mobile phone, it still offers features that you’d find on its bigger brothers such as 8 mega-pixel sensor 10x optical zoom, image stabiliser and Full HD recording.

I’ll definitely be wanting to get my hands on one of these at some point, it’ll be handy to have an HD camcorder that will fit easily in my pocket!

Check out the full press release below:

The new Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1

SANYO North America Corporation (SANYO) is pleased to announce the release of a new Full HD, Slim Type Dual Camera Xacti, VPC-CS1, available in February, 2010.

The Dual Camera series aims to provide customers with more enjoyable video experiences, by offering cameras that allow users to easily capture both photos and videos in daily life, rather than devices that are merely used to record important events. By utilizing a convenient video format that can be easily handled on PC and Internet environments, and even on home TVs, these cameras are more than just hardware for capturing, viewing, and saving images. They are convenient products for sharing videos online, on blogs or on other multi-media sites, and they are able to easily import images to portable media devices. The VPC-CS1 is undergoing certification to be compatible with iFrame, a next generation video format that has been designed to allow users to easily import, edit and share high quality video. SANYO is offering new ways to enjoy images after they are captured, and the Dual Cameras have been well received by consumers all over the world.

Now, SANYO has introduced a new model with a much greater degree of portability in a compact, lightweight and slim design, in order to expand the use of Full HD cameras. It is a new style of video camera that can record events and occasions as well as capture unforgettable scenes or single frames from daily life in Full HD, just as easily as taking a snapshot.

Product	2010 Dual Camera Xacti
Product No.	VPC-CS1
Colors	Silver (S)
MSRP	$299.99
Sales Start	February, 2010

*1 For consumer-use Full-HD (1920 x 1080) video cameras with optical zoom lens

Volume: approx. 126 cc; weight: approx. 142 g; thickness: approx. 27 mm; as of the announcement on January 6, 2010

*2 SANYO Xacti "Full HD" means data recorded at 1920 (horizontal) x 1080 (vertical) pixels

Main Features

1. New style of Dual Camera with the world’s smallest, lightest and thinnest super-slim^*1 body

– Product development for the series has been carried out with an

emphasis on a compact design that can be taken anywhere and anytime,

using the concept of a handy device for recording the moments of daily life.

– In order to make the new models even more compact than previous

models, SANYO has developed a slim sensor module and a new super slim lens.

– With its compact size (approx. 126 cc in volume), lightweight design

approx. 5 oz), and slim body (1.06″ in thickness) for superior portability, the VPC-CS1 is a new style of video camera that will radically expand the situations where it can be used.

– The original vertical ergonomic style enables slim body with usability^*3

*3 Results from collaborative research on the relationship between thickness of the grip and physical burden with Professor. Katsunuma and Professor. Simomura at Humanomics Section, Department of Design Science, Graduate School of Technology, Chiba University

2. Easily captures beautiful Full HD^*2 videos

– Not only it features a super slim and compact body, but also the VPC-CS1 can capture Full HD videos with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels.

– The video format used for this model is “MPEG-4 AVC / H.264,” which is easy to use on PC and Internet environments, as it is a single file format, similar to the one used for still photos.

“MPEG-4 AVC / H.264” is fully supported by the latest Windows^® OS, “Windows 7”^*4, which was launched in October 2009.

– Consequently, video files are displayed in the same thumbnail format as still picture files, and they can also be played back directly with Windows Media Player, and editable with Windows Live Movie Maker^*5, and are Device Stage compatible. This makes the files even more convenient for use on computers.

To enhance its versatility, the VPC-CS1 is undergoing official certification to support iFrame^*6, a next generation video format that has been designed to allow users to easily import, edit and share high quality video. This format enables the camcorder function to record in the same format used for editing on a computer, dramatically speeding up the processes of importing, editing and sharing movies across multiple platforms and devices.

iFrame is a computer-friendly format, and can be used with both Mac and PC compatible applications due to the use of standards-based technologies such as H.264, AAC, and MP4.

When combined with iMovie^*6 in this capture mode, it is possible to realize even greater convenience in the procedure of capturing, uploading to a computer, editing, and sharing.

*4 Windows is a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

The official name of Windows is the Microsoft Windows Operating System.

*5 Downloadable from the Microsoft Corporation website.

*6 iMovie is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. The iFrame logo and the iFrame symbol are trademarks of Apple Inc. Compatibility pending official certification.

3. “Sound Zoom” function enables clear sound recordings according to the scene

Sound is an important element for increasing the realism of videos. The VPC-CS1 has three microphone modes for recording clear sounds according to the scene and purpose.

(1) Wide Mode: Stereo recording with high channel separation.

(2) Gun Microphone Mode: Recording that focuses on sound emanating from the direction that the camera is pointing, while reducing sounds from other directions.

(3) Zoom Combination Mode: Automatically changes the directivity and sound gathering format according to the zoom positions.

4. Other Features

– Produces high-resolution 8-megapixel^*6 images.

– Wide capture range from an advanced 10x zoom to a 38-mm wide angle lens.

– “Digital Image Stabilizer” *⁷ and “Face Chaser Function” *⁸ for videos

– “The new Digital Image Stabilizer,”*⁷ “Face Chaser Function”*⁸ and “Target a Color Function” ^*8*9 for photos

– “Sequential Shot” ensures capturing the perfect images.

– “Eye-Fi card compatibility”^*10 enables automatic uploading of images to a computer.

– Mini HDMI terminal^*11 for viewing high quality and clear images on TVs.

– Compatible with large-capacity recording media, SDXC memory card.

Posted by: Matt

XBOX Natal coming late 2010

We saw project Natal demonstrated on the XBOX last year at E3 and I think it’s set to be a revolution in gaming, allowing you to play games and interact with the XBOX using nothing but your body.

Looks like Natal will launch later this year. We cant wait!!

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) – Microsoft announced Wednesday that "Project Natal" gesture recognition games, where the human body serves as the controller, will be released at the end of the year for the Xbox 360 videogame console.

"2010 is going to be the biggest year in Xbox history," Robbie Bach, the head of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, said in a speech which kicked off the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) here.

"This holiday 2010 you’ll be able to bring home Project Natal which will work with your existing Xbox 360 console," Bach told exhibitors and journalists at the gadget extravaganza.

"With Project Natal we are removing the last barrier to gaming — the controller," he said, providing "an entirely new but completely natural way to play.

Bach’s announcement followed a keynote speech by Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who said the US software giant has raked in 20 billion dollars from sales of 39 million Xbox 360s and more than 500 million associated games.

A prototype of Natal was unveiled to rave reviews by Microsoft at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) videogame industry show in Los Angeles in June.

The technology uses a 3-D camera and gesture recognition software to let people play videogames using natural body movements instead of handheld controllers.

Natal lets people play driving games, for example, by simply moving their hands as if turning a car steering wheel.

On-screen figures in boxing, skateboard, soccer and other sports titles mimic the body movements of real-world players.

Microsoft last year released a software kit for videogame makers interested in designing titles to take advantage of Natal’s capabilities.

British videogame icon Peter Molyneux, chief of Lionhead Studios, has described Natal as a "landmark in computer entertainment."

Posted by: Matt