Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, August 03, 2012

A Wi-Fi NEX Camera Would Be Fine and All But Sony Needs to Chill Out [Rumors]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5931550/a--wi+fi-nex-camera-would-be-fine-and-all-but-sony-needs-to-chill-out

A purported leak reported by Sony Alpha Rumors has outed the latest incarnation of its Sony's mid-range mirroless, interchangeable-lens camera beast, the NEX-5N. Well, it's two cameras really; the Sony NEX-5R and Sony NEX-6 will supposedly be announced in September.

The cameras were discovered on the product listing of an Indonesian company. According to Sony Alpha Rumor's reports, the cameras will be Wi-Fi enabled much like Samsung's latest of mirrorless cameras. The NEX-5R will supposedly have the same vanity-friendly 180-degree tilting screen that's good for taking self-portraits. The NEX-6 looks to be a new addition to the line. It will supposedly be a cheaper version of the $1300 NEX-7 with a lower-resolution electronic viewfinder.

We're fond of Sony's NEX camers. At $600 with a lens, the fantastic NEX-F3 (pictured above) is one of the best camera deals out there—just like the NEX-C3 a year before and the NEX-3 a year before that. Yup, Sony has been upgrading its mirrorless line-up every single year. And now it's apparently adding a fourth camera? After a while these little iterations and different version almost start to feel like product spam. Why not save the bitsy upgrades for a monster refresh? Do we need so many concurrent versions of basically the same thing? As we've seen with companies like Nikon and Canon, sometimes spacing upgrades out gives consumers new products that actually have appreciable differences from their predecessors. But, hey, as long as Sony's cameras keep kicking butt, we've got no right to complain. [Postel.go via The Verge via Sony Alpha Rumors]

Verizon survey reveals FiOS Companion Android tablet, aka the Motorola Corvair

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/03/verizon-fios-companion-tablet-motorola-corvair/

While it hasn't actually started to roll out yet, one of our readers sent in pics of a Verizon FiOS survey gauging reactions to a new device that "may be available in the future" as the FiOS Companion tablet. As described in the survey, it's a WiFi-connected Android slate that not only runs the usual apps, but also works as universal remote control and streams "select" TV channels (probably the same ones as the Xbox 360 app) directly to its screen. The sole picture included confirms we're looking at the Motorola Corvair 6-inch Android 2.3 tablet that surfaced late last year with all of those features, home automation tie-ins and a 4000mAh battery. The survey questions don't reveal much else about its capabilities or potential pricing other than asking users if they would be interested in customizing their own home screen, and how. We'd hope the software has seen some updates since its original leak, but knowing this market that seems unlikely. All we can do now is help Verizon / Motorola with that customer research they were hoping to perform so let them know -- is this something you'd be interested in?

[Thanks, anonymous]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablet PCs

Verizon survey reveals FiOS Companion Android tablet, aka the Motorola Corvair originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

BLU Products intros Vivo 4.3, says it's 'world's first' dual-SIM smartphone with Super AMOLED Plus

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/03/blu-products-vivo-4-3-smartphone/

It feels like it was only yesterday that BLU was keeping us slightly occupied with its Studio 5.3 and TouchBook 7.3 devices, which, as you may or may not know, left us with somewhat of a bittersweet taste in our mouths. Still, the past is the past, and now the company's back for more with the recent revelation of its Vivo 4.3 handset; one the company's loudly dubbing as the "world's first dual-SIM smartphone with Super AMOLED Plus." Regardless of any global, self-induced titles, the 4.3-inch Vivo appears to offer some interesting features of its own, including that aforementioned Super AMOLED Plus screen, a 1GHz, dual-core Cortex A9 CPU, dual-SIM capabilities and a tweaked flavor of Android 4.0. What's best, however, is BLU plans on selling the Vivo 4.3 unlocked in the US next month for $250, while additional availability is "soon to follow" through Latin America and some parts of Asia.

Continue reading BLU Products intros Vivo 4.3, says it's 'world's first' dual-SIM smartphone with Super AMOLED Plus

Filed under: Cellphones

BLU Products intros Vivo 4.3, says it's 'world's first' dual-SIM smartphone with Super AMOLED Plus! ori ginally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

BLU Products | Email this | Comments

This $200 Camera Turns Your TV Into a Skype Center [Skype]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5931526/this-200-camera-turns-your-tv-into-a-skype-center

Using Skype on your TV is kinda neat: it opens the conversation right up and makes group chats more fun. Now Skype and Logitech have announced a new TV-mounted camera that lets you do that conveniently—for a price.

The TV Cam HD is compatible with any HDMI-equipped TV, and can use either Wi-Fi or ethernet to hook up to the internet. The device is pre-loaded with Skype—running on what we're not quite sure—so you can just use it to log in to your existing account and make video calls, or proper phone calls using credit.

The thing rings when your TV is on or off—which is either a curse or a blessing, depending on your view—and has a zoom feature which may be useful if you're sat on the sofa by yourself. It also claims to work well in low-light conditions, but some real-life experience is probably needed before that claim is believed.

If you feel like you've seen something like this before, then that's because you probably have. The TelyHD offers a very similar concept, but retails at $250.

By comparison, the Logitech TV Cam HD is set to cost $200. But while that is $50 cheaper, it's still astronomical for what amounts to a webcam with some processing power and pre-installed software. What you're paying for, of course, is convenience—it's just up to you to decide whether it's worth it. [Logitech]

Dropped calls, slow download speeds rank among top gripes of mobile users

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/03/pew-research-dropped-calls-complaints/

Everyone has an opinion, and if they all stink, then Pew must have one hell of a tolerance for foul odors. The research group recently surveyed a number of mobile phone owners to determine their primary complaints, and while it's not much of a surprise, slow network performance stole the show. In all, 77 percent aired at least some dissatisfaction with download speeds, and nearly half of all respondents cited frequent frustration. The story is similar for dropped calls, as 72 percent of those surveyed claim to experience the annoyance at least occasionally. While less widespread, the distribution of those who receive unwanted marketing attempts via either telephone calls or text messages is roughly equal -- it seems reasonable to assume that many respondents are harassed by both means. For more surveys*, just text #eng-123 to 9999. *Outrageous fees will apply.

Continue reading Dropped calls, slow download speeds rank among top gripes of mobile users

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless