Monday, September 28, 2009

Production Canon EOS 7D video samples hit the web

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/28/production-canon-eos-7d-video-samples-hit-the-web/

We've already seen some video from a pre-production Canon EOS 7D, but it looks like it's hitting stores now, and this is the first video we've seen from a final retail unit. It's genuinely impressive, especially since filmmaker Dan Chung says most of it was shot at 1600 to 6400 ISO, but it's important to realize that he was also using some seriously expensive lenses, a specialized video viewfinder, a wide-angle mattebox to reduce lens flare, and a separate external microphone for audio. Was that enough responsible skepticism for you? Good, because we also think the 7D looks like it's going to rock, and we can't wait to try one out. Video after the break, along with a shot of Dan's video rig.

[Via Planet5D]

Continue reading Production Canon EOS 7D video samples hit the web

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Production Canon EOS 7D video samples hit the web originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's 50-inch 3D plasma announced, seeks fine family home

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/28/panasonics-50-inch-3d-plasma-announced-seeks-fine-family-home/

True, Panasonic's 103-inch 3D television is more desirable, but Panny's new 50-incher will be more affordable when it comes time to buy your first 3D set. The 1080p TV requires viewers to wear special specs, naturally, in this case, Panasonic's active "shutter" glasses. As the name implies, the lenses switch in sync with the TV so that the right image is seen by the right eye and the left image is seen by the left eye. All that quick image swapping requires new PDP materials and chips to maintain screen brightness. The new prototype will be on display at Ceatec show in Tokyo next week with plans for commercialization in 2010. You know, assuming anyone wants it.

Filed under: Displays

Panasonic's 50-inch 3D plasma announced, seeks fine family home originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 7 coming to netbooks in all its myriad flavors

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/28/windows-7-coming-to-netbooks-in-all-its-myriad-flavors/

It would seem that the humble netbook owner's Windows 7 options just keep improving as the grand new OS comes closer to release. After plans to limit netbooks to running three apps at a time were thankfully scrapped, Microsoft has now confirmed with us that it is going to allow OEMs to splash any version of Windows 7 they desire onto their Atom-powered miniature laptops. That's right, you can totally rock Windows 7 Ultimate and Aero visualizations on a machine that can handle neither. Joking aside, it's pleasing to see the Redmond brain trust steer clear of arbitrary limitations on customer choice.

[Via GadgetMix]

Filed under: Laptops, Software

Windows 7 coming to netbooks in all its myriad flavors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saturday, September 26, 2009

Data Shows What Everyone Knows: Gimmicky Apps Aren't Used Frequently [IPhone Apps]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/s1-6NF7k2OU/data-shows-what-everyone-knows-gimmicky-apps-arent-used-frequently

Think about how many times you use gimmicky apps—fart generators, zit poppers—past the first few days after you downloaded them. Now think about news and social networking ones. Big difference, right?

This study by Flurry Inc. shows that news apps are used and retained the most past a 90 day period after purchase, followed up by social networking, book apps, health and weather, and finally, games. Last on the list is Lifestyle, which are those gimmicky apps that you try out once or twice and then delete.

Super obvious, and actually useful if you're trying to make an app for any of the numerous app marketplaces now. If you're making a subscription app, you don't want to make it gimmicky. But if it's a buy-once sort of thing, gimmicky apps will do fine—your customers already paid, so who cares how many times they use it, right? [GigaOm]

Launch Your Own Satellite Into Orbit for Only $8,000 [Satellites]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/WDDlydm7SH8/launch-your-own-satellite-into-orbit-for-only-8000

Looking to start your own satellite TV station? Perhaps you want to take your stalking of your ex to the next level. Well, if you have $8,000, Interorbital Systems can help make that happen.

The Mojave, California based company is planning to start sending NEPTUNE 30 rockets into low-earth orbit, and they'll sell you a spot on board for a relatively cheap price. Here's CEO Randa Milliron on how this works:

The scenario goes like this: the builder pays IOS $8000 for the kit/launch combo, builds the kit, sends IOS the completed satellite for testing, inspection, and integration into the NEPTUNE 30 rocket. It is then launched. Lift off is not via your very colorful description of candles or hot air, but with four pillars of fire generating 40,000 pounds of thrust. It launches into a circular 310km polar low-earth-orbit (LEO) from the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga.

When a person buys a kit, ideally he or she has an experiment, task, performance, or other use in mind for the satellite. It's really for people with a good set of electronics and programming skills, or for those who want to learn and prove their skills in the field. It can be used as a team building exercise or a solitary triumph. It's the ultimate educational tool that allows the user to do real space-based orbital science at what are (comparatively) dollar store prices. Somehow, the bragging rights of being able to say, "I just sent my first satellite to space and it said hello to me!" are a far better return on investment than most other purchase options.

Sounds interesting! Whether or not this will all actually, you know, happen, remains to! be seen . [H+ Magazine via Boing Boing]

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ Review: An HD Video Decoder That Actually Works [Review]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/GQJEZBFwrNI/seagate-freeagent-theater%252B-review-an-hd-video-decoder-that-actually-works

Seagate built this second-gen FreeAgent Theater+ to be equally Mac and PC friendly, and to decode any video file you throw at it, regardless of resolution, framerate or other variable. Despite a crappy interface, the mission is a genuine success.

The Price

$150 without drive; $290 with 500GB drive included.

The Praise

As I mentioned, the video decoding on this is better than anything I've ever seen in a $150 box. The Theater+ is very comfortable with HD video, not only because of its HDMI output but because when I dumped some QuickTime 1080p movie trailers on a drive and docked it, the trailers played back without a single hiccup. Ditto for high-def MKVs I downloaded from the DivX 7 showcase. If you encoded a video with subtitles or variable audio tracks, the choice appears up when you hit the menu button during playback. And disc images of DVDs? It's like there's a real live DVD in there, only there isn't!

Some more coolness: It remembers where you are in a movie, so you don't have to worry about stopping then coming back and having to find your place, even when you're viewing a DVD image. And since it's connected, it can hop on your NAS drives to pick up movies and other files. Again, no problems playing back. (Note: I didn't try the wireless option, which will sell separately for $70 later on—I used Ethernet through a Linksys powerline adapter).

The chart of accepted video codecs is long, but unlike most players of this price range, there are very few fine-print exceptions. What can't you play? Very very low-rez (viral) WMVs got the ix-nay—higher rez WMVs play just fine. What else? DVD disc images in the .img format don't show up, but switching a .img to the supported .iso is surprisingly easy. That's it. It didn't brick any other assorted video in my library, out of hundreds of files.

The Scorn

I won't lie, the interface on this baby is pretty heinous. It's media manager circa 2002, which means that I would expressly stay away from photos and music, despite its ability to read any of those files too. Movies are good because you don't need a lot of browsing—I just switched it from the ridiculously blocky "thumbnail" view to a standard list view, and skimmed my movies in alphabetical order. The good news is, you can change filenames to make it look a little prettier: dont_tempt_me.m4v becomes Don't Tempt Me.m4v.

I also wouldn't bother with Seagate's media manager software for "syncing" content to the hard drive. Maybe run it once for it to set up a folder structure on your drive, then copy video files over to it to your heart's content. You don't even have to use a FreeAgent Go drive, though it looks nice, nestled in there. You can plug just about any drive (NTFS, HFS+ or FAT are all fine, format wise) into a USB port, and navigate to it through the "devices" list.

As I mentioned, this is a networked device, but the internet options are as of now pretty lame: A non-personalized Flickr feed, a Picasa w! idget, a stock ticker and a weather program, all of which are bargain basement plug-ins. Call me when Netflix and Pandora arrive.

The Verdict

What do I personally want? A basic video player that can read the 150 to 200 DVDs I ripped in H.264 to save space, plus all of the crap that Apple TV and the lesser media adapters seem to have a problem with. Video should be either local or on a NAS, and I shouldn't have to worry about codecs or resolutions or any of the crap others seem to freak out about. I don't need help with music or photos—it's strictly about movies and longer-form TV. Because of that, I am a fan of this little box. Once it starts shipping, I encourage you to check it out. Just heed the following rules:

• Don't buy the 500GB drive bundle for $290—Amazon sells the 500GB FreeAgent Go right now for $106, so there's no way the bundle makes sense (as currently priced).
• And don't accidentally go buying the old FreeAgent Theater. It's my understanding that the first go 'round wasn't so pretty. From the looks of this massive overhaul, Seagate probably should have done more than just add a plus sign. [Product page; Amazon sales page]

In Brief

Decoded every video I selected, with two extremely negotiable exceptions

Compatible with Mac and PC formatted drives, and has no issues with folder hierarchies

HD! , HD and more HD—720p and 1080p look good and play back smoothly

No problem locating NAS drives on the network, and no hiccups in playing back DVD disc images over the network

Internet widgets at present are dumb, but a future firmware update could bring something nice

The user interface is pretty ugly—your best bet is to clump your videos together into easy folders (Movies, TV, etc.) and to avoid using this to manage photos and music

FreeAgent Theater Media Manager is an insult to anyone who actually knows what this product can do for them

Homemade Astro-Photography: Look Out, Hubble [Astronomy]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/mc7AELwC3d4/homemade-astro+photography-look-out-hubble

Wired has a selection of reader-submitted space photos, and they're more impressive than I could have imagined. This one is a shot of the Pelican Nebula, 2,000 light years away, with a 114-minute exposure. Awesome. [Wired]

ASUS Eee Top ET2002T and ET2203T touchscreen all-in-ones land in October

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/25/asus-eee-top-et2002t-and-et2203t-touchscreen-all-in-ones-land-in/

Looks like we've got ourselves another Windows 7 launch, folks. The Eee Top ET2002 and ET2203, which have graced these pages with their touchscreens before, have ironed out an all-too-familiar launch date (October 22nd) and some fairly competitive Europe prices, weighing in at £559 and £819, respectively. That's roughly $893 and $1,312 US, but usually the UK to US conversion on these is dramatically less than the true conversion rate (though we feel rather bad for the folks in the UK, in our own patronizing, American sort of way). Either way we're happy to see NVIDIA ION popping up again, and the whole concept of a low-end touchscreen PC is certainly intriguing with Windows 7 along for the ride.

Filed under: Desktops

ASUS Eee Top ET2002T and ET2203T touchscreen all-in-ones land in October originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC HD2 inches closer to reality, hitting Europe in October for around 600 Euro?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/25/htc-hd2-inches-closer-to-reality-hitting-europe-in-october-for/

We already heard about a potential October 12 launch for the HTC HD2 (Leo) on O2 in the UK, and now we're hearing October for the Netherlands as well -- with a 550 to 600 Euro price range. Of note, the tipster who dropped this knowledge on pocketnow.com also says that Pocket IE on the phone won't have multitouch gesture support, despite the capacitive screen's support for multi-finger input -- though with Microsoft's own Zune HD sporting a multitouch version of Pocket IE, we have to believe it's in the works. Just like everything good and decent planned for Windows Mobile.

[Via All About Phones]

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC HD2 inches closer to reality, hitting Europe in October for around 600 Euro? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone MMS is now live!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/25/iphone-mms-is-now-live/

All you've gotta do is plug that iPhone 3G or 3GS into iTunes, run the teensiest of updates, restart the phone, and you can at last make that fashionably late entrance into the 21st century you've always dreamed of. That's right folks, MMS on the iPhone is live on AT&T at last.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iPhone MMS is now live! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RAmos' Android-based W7 MID gets real - real familiar

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/25/ramos-android-based-w7-mid-gets-real-real-familiar/

We had a pretty clear indication that this one was coming, but it looks RAmos has finally gotten official with its once mysterious Android-based MID, now known from here on out as the W7. As rumored, this one is a Rockchip-powered device, and packs a 4.8-inch, 800 x 480 touchscreen, 720p video support (via HDMI output, presumably), built-in WiFi, and no 3G, although that apparently could still be in the cards for the future. It also just so happens to bear more than a passing resemblance to eviGroup's recently-debuted Wallet Android MID, and another, non-existent MID / tablet you might have heard of. What's more, RAmos also seems to have taken the opportunity to debut a few other, non-Android-based MIDs and PMPs, including the T11TE (which apparently boasts 1080p output over HDMI), the T9HD, and the T7 -- although details on those are few and far between at the moment.

[Via Electric Echoes, thanks Sere83]

Filed under: Handhelds

RAmos' Android-based W7 MID gets real - real familiar originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Archos Android Phone Tablet introduced on video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/26/archos-android-phone-tablet-teaser-video-hits-the-web/

We'd heard that Archos had teased an Android-based phone when it launched the new Archos 5 Internet Tablet, and now we have video proof. We don't speak French well enough to translate what's being said here (or, really, translate anything other than "le singe conduit l'autobus") but that spec sheet isn't too hard to figure out: we're looking at a 1GHz ARM Cortex processor under a 4.3-inch 854 x 480 screen in 10mm thin titanium casing with what looks like a front-facing camera. Yeah, not too shabby at all, especially considering Archos has that interesting media layer running on top of Android already -- let's hope we find out even more soon. Video after the break.

[Thanks, Fernando]

Continue reading Archos Android Phone Tablet introduced on video

Filed under: Cellphones

Archos Android Phone Tablet introduced on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo Ion-powered IdeaCenter Q110 nettop on sale now

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/26/lenovo-ion-powered-ideacenter-q110-nettop-on-sale-now/

The slow wave of NVIDIA Ion-based machines continues to wash in -- as expected, the Lenovo Q110 nettop is now on sale. We'd actually wait another couple weeks to score this rig with Windows 7 preloaded, but if you're into Vista you can grab it right now for $399 with 2GB of RAM and a 160GB drive and take a free upgrade disc when it's available. Anyone gonna throw down?

[Via Netbooked]

Filed under: Desktops

Lenovo Ion-powered IdeaCenter Q110 nettop on sale now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, September 25, 2009

ASUS and Sager issue first Core i7 mobile-based laptops

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/25/asus-and-sager-issue-first-core-i7-mobile-based-laptops/

Not sure if you got the memo, but Intel introduced a few new processors this week at IDF. In fact, they were chips designed to work in laptops! While Dell and Alienware were quick to issue new rigs based around the mobile iteration of the Core i7, a few others are slowly trickling out. ASUS has just introduced its M60J, a 16-incher that can be outfitted with a 1.6GHz Core i7 720QM or 1.73GHz Core i7 820QM. Other specs include a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT240M GPU, up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, upwards of 1TB of HDD space, an optional Blu-ray drive and a lackluster 1,366 x 768 resolution. Sager's also jumping in on the action by pushing out a 15.6-inch NP8690 that offers the same shiny CPUs, a 1GB GeForce GTX 280M GPU, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a 500GB HDD and a 1080p display. As for pricing? Mum's the word on the former, though the 7.6-pound Sager gets going at just under $1,800.

Read - ASUS M60J
Read - Sager NP8690

Continue reading ASUS and Sager issue first Core i7 mobile-based laptops

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS and Sager issue first Core i7 mobile-based laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of fee! ds.< /p>

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NVIDIA: Chrome OS on Tegra is money, not that anyone ever doubted it

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/25/nvidia-chrome-os-on-tegra-is-money-not-that-anyone-ever-doubte/

Kevin C. Tofel certainly knows his way around ultra-portable devices like MIDs, UMPCs, and netbooks. And during a product briefing with NVIDIA, the managing editor behind jkOnTheRun received confirmation from NVIDIA that it's working to deliver Google's Chome OS on the Tegra smartbook platform, eventually. Anyone surprised? Tegra is ARM-based and Google has been perfectly clear that its Chrome OS is targeting ARM and x86 systems ranging in size from netbooks to full-size desktops. But hey, it's Tegra and Google's unproven OS together at last... what could go wrong? Until that day it'll be Windows CE or Android (and maybe a Linux distro or two) when the first Tegra-based Smartbooks begin shipping from carriers, well, right about now.

Filed under: Laptops

NVIDIA: Chrome OS on Tegra is money, not that anyone ever doubted it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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