Archive for January, 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

Sony announces Bloggie at CES

CES gets under way today in Las Vegas so expect to see plenty of new products announced over the next few days. Sony are the first to start firing over press releases to us this morning and a couple got my attention.

First of all Sony have just announced that they will expend their memory card offering and will start selling SDHC and MicroSDHC memory cards in 2 to 32GB capacities. Until now Sony only offered their Memory Stick memory card products.

Secondly Sony have announced a new HD camcorder called the ‘bloggie’. The thing that caught my eye about the bloggie is the Facebook and YouTube integration allowing you to easily share your content with friends and easily upload your clips and photos. There’s even a funky option to take 360 videos on one model which sounds interesting!

Check out the press release below, there will be plenty more over the next few days!

The Sony bloggie

Sony bloggieT: upload in style

Fun and easy to use new Mobile HD Snap Cameras

· Slim, compact MHS-PM5/PM5K and MHS-CM5 capture 1920×1080 Full HD MP4 video clips and 5 megapixel still photos

· Eye-catching styling and premium features

· 270° swivel lens for perfect self portraits (PM5/PM5K only)

· Embedded PMB Portable software and built-in USB connector for quick, easy web uploads via PC and Macintosh

· Shoot and view amazing 360 Videos (MHS-PM5K only)

It’s all about capturing the moment. And it’s the spirit of fun, spontaneous still and video shooting and sharing that comes alive with the launch of bloggieT – a fresh concept in style-conscious, premium quality Mobile HD Snap Cameras by Sony.

The bloggieT makes its European debut with two exciting, new models. Both cameras make it brilliantly easy to grab crisp photos and video clips for quick, hassle-free sharing on the web.

Slipping effortlessly into a pocket or bag, the bloggieT MHS-PM5/PM5K and MHS-CM5 are perfect partners for parties, days out or trips away when you don’t want to miss the action.

Colourful, light and easy to carry, bloggieT is the fabulously spontaneous way to share memories, update your personal blog or post to social networking apps while you’re travelling. Just point and shoot: then walk into any internet café, hook up bloggieT and upload your life using the camera’s embedded PMB Portable software.

Both new bloggieT models are fun and simple to use. Press a button and shoot crisp, clear 5 megapixel still photos. Press another button and capture the moment in sparkling Full HD MP4 video.

The PM5/PM5K and CM5 can record both super-smooth 1280×720/60p video and high resolution Full HD 1920×1080/30p clips. On-board SteadyShot image stabilisation* cuts camera shake when you’re shooting handheld, and Face Detection fine-tunes camera settings for clear, captivating portraits.

*Available with 720/30p shooting mode only

Styled in a choice of four vibrant colour finishes, the PM5/PM5K features a rotating lens that swivels 270 degrees to capture life from any angle: get down low, aim high or record yourself. The bright, high resolution 6.0cm LCD screen shows camera settings in the bottom half of the display while you’re shooting. When you want to see the results, turn bloggieT horizontally and enjoy your clips and photos in screen-filling landscape format.

 

The PM5K also includes a special 360 Video lens adaptor that lets you experience incredible panoramic videos. Just slip on the adaptor and start shooting in 360 Video mode: there’s no need to make any other adjustments. bloggieT captures panoramic video as specially encoded files that can be ‘unwrapped’ for PC viewing using supplied PMB software and 360 Video Player application. It’s a completely new way of seeing the world from every angle.

Featuring ‘pistol grip’ vertical styling, the CM5 boasts a high-quality 5x optical zoom lens, plus a swivel 6.2cm LCD screen that flips out for comfortable shooting and viewing. The CM5 also sports an HDMI connector, letting you enjoy photos and Full HD clips on your BRAVIAT or any HD TV.

 

bloggieT includes everything you need to keep track of your digital lifestyle. After shooting, both cameras link directly to your PC or Mac via the built-in USB connector that tucks away snugly when not in use.

The embedded PMB Portable software launches automatically when bloggieT is connected to your PC or Mac, letting you view, select and upload clips to popular social apps and media sharing sites like PicasaT and YouTubeT. There’s no need to install any editing or file transfer software on the computer, making bloggieT ideal for use in any internet café while you’re travelling. You don’t even need to carry a charger with you: the camera’s battery is automatically charged while it’s connected to your computer via USB.

 

The simple integration for sharing content on Facebook® will also be available as a downloadable update to this software in spring. This complements the existing sharing capability with such sites as YouTubeT and PicasaT Web Albums. With the new version, users will have the ability to share photos and videos on Facebook® directly from PMB Portable software.

*Updates for PMB Portable software will be available for download from Apr 2010 onwards.

A slot for Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD/SDHC memory cards (sold separately) caters for users’ personal shooting preferences. There’s also a full range of optional accessories by Sony to help you get the best out of your bloggieT.

The bloggieT PM5, PM5K and CM5 Mobile HD Snap Cameras are available from Feburary 2010.

Posted by: Matt