eK-gadgets info

A little over a month ago, Panasonic made big waves in the digital camera world with their announcement (along with Olympus) of the Micro FourThirds standard. Today, the first camera to use the m4/3 standard has arrived: the Lumix DMC-G1. Since it doesn’t have a mirror, it can’t be called a digital SLR. Instead, Panasonic is calling it a digital interchangeable lens camera.

I had a chance to use the G1 a few weeks ago, and I’ll share my impressions with you, right after I go over the specs:

Lumix DMC-G1

• 12.1 effective Megapixel Live MOS sensor; same size as on a regular FourThirds camera
• Micro FourThirds lens mount, with 2X focal length conversion ratio
  • First two lenses to be announced are the F3.5-5.6, 14 - 45 mm and F4.0-5.6, 45 - 200 mm lenses; both have image stabilization
  • Lenses coming in 2009 include: F4.0, 7 - 14 mm, F1.7, 20 mm, and F4.0-5.6, 14 - 140 mm OIS
  • Supports regular FourThirds lenses via the optional DMW-MA1 adapter
• World’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens camera (according to Panasonic)
  • Body is 4.9 x 3.3 x 1.8 inches in size, weighs 385 g; compare that to the Olympus E-420, which is 5.1 x 3.6 x 2.1 inches and 380 g
  • Will come in three colors: black, blue, and red
• Venus Engine HD image processor
• Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system
• Since there’s no mirror inside the camera, it’s live view only on the DMC-G1
  • You get 100% field-of-view, customizable displays, and preview of shutter speed and aperture adjustments
  • Flip-out, rotating 3-inch LCD display has 460,000 pixels
  • Super high resolution electronic viewfinder has an unbelievable 1.44 million pixels and 1.4x magnification
  • Shooting info is displayed on the main LCD when you’re using the EVF; when you put your eye to the viewfinder, the LCD shuts automatically
• Full manual controls, plus Intelligent Auto Mode (complete with face detection and auto scene selection)
• 23-point contrast detect autofocus system with speeds that rival traditional phase difference AF
• Camera can take 7 RAW and an unlimited number of JPEGs at 3 frames/second
• Hot shoe for external flash
• SD/SDHC memory card slot
• Ports include USB 2.0 High Speed, HDMI, and remote control
• Uses DMW-BLB13 lithium-ion battery; 350 shots per charge with the EVF, and 330 with the LCD
• Will ship with the 14 - 45 mm lens this November; pricing to be announced next month

Here is something that will knock the pants off of that boring little dock Apple bundled with your iPhone.

Sony’s new ICF-CD3iP iPhone dock not only charges your iPhone, or iPod, but the list of features is a pretty extensive one. This device also includes a built in block along with a CD player and AM/FM radio.

That’s not it though, if you’re having trouble getting out of bed and just so happen to pick one of these up you can choose from the convential buzzer to wake you up OR the CD player, radio or connected iPod. Pretty cool.

This thing is expected to sell for $100 and go on sale in October in USA.

Oh my, but what do we have here today? It looks like the FCC has a chic phone to analyze. The Vertu Signature S Design is
Oh the new model from Nokia’s luxury division. Well then go ahead and tell your boss you found out the next Vertu is available. I’m sure he is too busy to read these lines, but he’s probably definitely interested in the device.The new phone might just have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. 3G is there via HSDPA, quad band EDGE and WiFi. Can you imagine that? It’s definitely a first from Vertu handsets. How much will it cost? We’re probably going to find out soon!

via Engadget

There’s another netbook from Toshiba ready to enter the already over saturated market. It’s the Toshiba Satellite NB105 from Toshiba Mexico. But don’t worry, it’s basically the same computer we’ve gotten used to under a different name.

The Toshiba NB105 features:

• 8.9 inch LCD display at 1,024 x 600 resolution
• Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor
• 1GB RAM
• 120GB hard drive
• Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• SD memory card slot
• Windows XP Home only.

Surprisingly there’s no Linux version available yet. And I don’t know anything about prices yet but they should be in the usual range.

Sony unveiled two new Vaio laptops in the NS and CS series, both equipped with Blu-ray Disc technology. Pushing HD entertainment to the mid-range laptops, the NS notebook features the BD-ROM drive as an optional accessory but comes with DVD/CD read-write functions.

The VAIO NS is equipped with a 15.4 inch widescreen display and XBRITE-ECO LCD technology. An integrated AV mode with dedicated menu lets you conveniently access up to nine programs from a single location. Under the hood is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Available in nightfall blue, silk white and granite silver, the VAIO NS will start at US $650 for the non-Blu-ray Disc model and the one with it will start at around $1,000.

The VAIO CS, on the other hand, comes in glossy sangria, dove, black and even black matte finish, and features a 14.1 inch widescreen display. It comes with a built-in AV slide control that lets you control functions such as play, pause, rewind, fast-forward, etc. at the touch of a button. The laptop features a uniquely designed keyboard where the keys are spaced far apart - something that might take time getting used to. The CS model will start at about US $920 and the BD model for $1,070.

Available online and at Sony retail stores.