Hasta La Gadget!

While the British military has had a love-hate relationship with Apple’s darling, the US armed forces are reportedly warming up quite well to the iPod touch. A fresh Newsweek report asserts that the touch is increasingly replacing far more expensive dedicated devices in the field, noting that it is being used to spearhead the future of “networked warfare.” Equipped with a rugged shell and software developed by language translation firms (among others), the device is being used to aid communications and acquire information from databases. In fact, the US Department of Defense is “developing military software for iPods that enables soldiers to display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway across the globe,” and snipers are already utilizing a ballistics calculator to add precision to shots. And hey, it’s not like easy access to Tap Tap Revenge is really bad for morale, either.

[Via CNET]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Apple’s iPod touch tackling “networked warfare” for US military originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There will, at some time, be replacements for the Nikon D300 and the Nikon D700. These are being anticipated with rumors that are reaching levels usually reserved for Apple products, and the latest, from Digital Rev, offers some pretty sweet Photoshop mock-ups along with faux-specs.

First, a note on where these cameras fit in the lineup. The D3 is the headline camera for Nikon (the D3x is really more of a special-edition D3 with a bigger but less sensitive sensor), the D700 is a smaller, cheaper version which is almost identical internally to the D3, and the D300 is like a D700 with a crop-frame sensor.

While Digital Rev’s piece is pure speculation, it raises some good points about what we might see in a new high-end DSLR from Nikon, although the actual guesses — a flip-screen and video — might be a little off-target. Let’s take a look at the “D750” to see why things don’t quite work.

The only real changes are the resolution (16-18 MP), the flip screen (with the current D700’s high resolution screen) and full 1080p video. The problem is that the D700 is a cut-down D3, and currently there is no flip-screen, video-recording D3, nor do we think there will be any time soon. The D3 (and the inevitable D4) is a professional machine and video is, at least so far, little more than a gimmick. That Nikon lacks a DSLR capable of proper video is true — the D90 only records motion jpeg files and only does that at 720p. Canon’s 5D MkII, on the other hand, outputs “proper” movies files and does it all the way up to 1080p. But even the Canon can only run for a limited time — the length of clips is limited by both size and in order to keep the sensor from overheating.

But will we see a D700-level camera with video? To compete with Canon, the answer would have to be “yes”. But as the D700 currently shares the exact same image chain as the flagship D3, the whole lineup would have to change. This would make the camera more expensive (Nikon likes to share electronics and even body-shells between different models to bring down costs). This makes it seem like the answer is “no”.

More likely is a D400 with 1080p video, which is exactly the guess that Digital Rev is making. It would also get a 16-18 MP sensor, although in smaller DX-dimensions. To us this seems plausible.

But then, Nikon could just throw everything up in the air and start over. The D3 was a surprise — a full frame camera with “just” 12 megapixels that went on to be a hit. What we do know is that whatever happens, given Nikon’s recent form it is like to be a surprise. I don’t care much for video myself, but a D700 with a flip-out screen would be killer.

The Nikon D400 & Nikon D750 Revealed or Just Viral Marketing? [Digital Rev via Photography Bay]

How much would you pay for an Intel Atom N280-based netbook? $300? $400? How about $600. That’s the tax-inclusive starting price for Toshiba’s 10.1-inch Dynabook UX followup to its dowdy NB100. While ditching the wooly-eyebrowed chub infecting most 1.6GHz N280 netbooks, the UX remains saddled with 945GSE graphics (not GN40), a 10.1-inch, LED backlit 1024 x 600 pixel resolution and 160GB disk. A bit steep considering CULV thin-and-lights are about to flood the market. Get up tight with the Tosh chicklets after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba 10-inch Dynabook UX’s got talent

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba 10-inch Dynabook UX’s got talent originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you want to run Windows with a multi-touch trackpad, you could always just buy a Mac and run, say, Vista in a virtual machine. Unless you actually need a new computer, though, that’s an expensive way just to get a response to more than one finger.

Better to buy this little external USB pad, which gives you most of the functions you find on new MacBooks and all iPhones. The SmartTrack Neo from Filico is a plug-in pad which measures 77 mm x 45 mm (3” x 1.8”) and throws in a couple buttons, too. Supported gestures are the pinch, the swipe, two-finger rotation and all manner of one, two and three finger gestures, configurable in software.

The size of the unit, and the fact that you’ll need to plug it in to a USB port, mean that it still isn’t as good as a built-in version, but the advantage is that you could use this with a desktop machine, and even a PowerMac won’t do multi-touch. Unless you install Windows on it, we guess. PC only, $50.

Product page [Diatec via Akihabara News]

In continuation of a recent trend of major manufacturers announcing a new-found interest in making a buck off developing nations solar-powered cellphones, AU (KDDI) and Sharp have announced the June launch of this unnamed solar handset. Besides being the world’s first waterproof solar handset, it charges to a minute of talk or 2-hours of standby after just 10 minutes in the sun. No other specs were announced though we seriously doubt it’ll be a power-sucking feature- or smart-phone. Naturally, it’ll still be a boon to people where electricity is scarce but what about the industrious guy who owns the village car battery?

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under: Cellphones

World’s first waterproof solar cellphone from Sharp makes Somalian pirates say arggg! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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