Hasta La Gadget!

Our early info on this diminutive shooter only indicated it’d be waterproof, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see some further optimizations thrown in for use in less hospitable environments. You’ll be able to go down to 10 feet under water with the TX5, drop it from a 5-foot height, or explore the tundra at temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius) without the camera throwing in the towel. So Sony claims anyhow. Other features include a now confirmed 10fps burst mode, a 10.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor, 4x optical zoom plus optical image stabilization, and a 3-inch touchscreen on the back. The one thing that doesn’t make the transition from rumor to reality is the reputed 1080p movie mode — the TX5 makes do with a still desirable 720p video recording. Sony’s also kicking out the DSC-H55 (pictured after the break) today, which will have the same video mode, but adds a 10x optical zoom and a thicker, non-weatherproofed body. Both cams will happily write to Class 4 and above SDHC cards when they debut this April, priced at $350 for the TX5 and $250 for the H55.

Continue reading Sony’s DSC-TX5 is waterproof, freeze-proof, dust-proof, and headed for retail this April

Sony’s DSC-TX5 is waterproof, freeze-proof, dust-proof, and headed for retail this April originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That might pretty Touch of Color aesthetic Samsung’s been rather fond of is popping up on the virtual US retail shelves by way of the 15.6-inch R530 laptop. Both it and the black 14-inch R430 are sporting a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, and Intel’s stock-in-trade GMA 4500MHD graphics. Interestingly enough, both are priced at $654, so 15.6 inches of screen space is just a tinge too big or you think ToC is a rather silly look, you’re not being punished.

Samsung R430 / R540 laptops now partying stateside originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s Cyber-shot TX5 takes the features of 2009’s TX1 and wraps them up in a rugged body.

Yale students build spokeless bicycle in one semester, now looking for jobs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are only two possible reasons for why a gadget freak like you would want a cheap phone: you’re either a very sensible person (who probably got mugged once), or you’re saving up for the phone of your life. Oh, who are we kidding? We all want a nice phone for next to nothing, right? The legendary Motorola MOTOFONE came close, but check out these new bad boys — the sub-$15 Vodafone 150 and the sub-$20 250, produced by TCL. Fine, they may look more like toys than your everyday eye candy, but you do get five hours of battery, SMS, two games on that mini monochrome screen, and even an LED torch on the back — and what’s more, the lowly 150 is claiming the holy grail “world’s cheapest phone” title that every manufacturer with an interest in emerging markets would kill to own. For an extra $5 there’s even a larger screen in color (!), not to mention FM radio. If you want one, you better start flying walking to either India, Turkey or Africa where the phones will be launched over the next few weeks, or you can just gaze at Fonehome’s hands-on video of the 150 after the break.

On a similar topic, ST-Ericsson has launched the U6715 mobile platform with 7.2Mbps HSPA modem for Linux-based OSes (Android and MeeGo, to name a couple), and expects participating manufacturers to deliver sub-€100 (about $137) smartphones in the first half of 2010. Apparently, the trick is to use “structurally-less expensive silicon, without compromising the end user experience.” With a 1000mAh battery, the platform will deliver up to 40 hours to musical entertainment — twice that of the Nexus One with 1400mAh — and up to seven hours of 3G talk time on one charge. Pretty sweet at first blush, except there’s no mention of what the CPU would be clocked at. Regardless, all we want is some smooth video playback from the “elegant and powerful multimedia engine” — is that too much to ask?

Continue reading Vodafone 150 lays claim to ‘world’s cheapest phone’ title, ST-Ericsson works on thrifty 3G

Vodafone 150 lays claim to ‘world’s cheapest phone’ title, ST-Ericsson works on thrifty 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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