Sep 07
Nikon made the Coolpix P7000 a much different camera from its predecessor, the gone-nowhere P6000, probably in hope of a better showing against market-leading models like the Canon PowerShot G11 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.
Sep 07
A high-resolution touch screen and HD movie capture highlight the latest Nikon glam cam.
Sep 07
A backside-illuminated CMOS sensor brings high-speed shooting performance and improved low-light photo quality to Nikon’s compact megazoom lineup.
Sep 07
Well well — what’s this? Look like all those rumors about Nikon licking its wounds and gunning hard for the high-end compact camera market were true: this hot little piece is the new Coolpix P7000, Nikon’s answer to the Canon G11. Like we’d heard, it actually drops the megapixel count from the P6000, with a 10.1 megapixel CCD sensor that can hit ISO 6400 sensitivity natively and 12,800 when boosted behind a f/2.8-5.6 7.1x VR zoom lens and a three-inch 921,000-dot LCD display. It also has full manual controls for virtually every setting, an optical viewfinder and accessory hot shoe, RAW support, and a 720p/24 movie mode with VR and continuous autofocus that might actually be useful for more than just casual shooting because there’s a mic jack. There’s also the usual range of Coolpix automatic adjustments and modes, of course, but come on — look at all those manual dials and buttons, people. It’ll hit later this month for $499.99 — we’re definitely requesting a review unit to put this head to head with seemingly-similar G11 and others pro compacts like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5, so stay tuned. PR after the break.
Continue reading Nikon Coolpix P7000 brings manual heat to the prosumer level
Nikon Coolpix P7000 brings manual heat to the prosumer level originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 07
Nikon Coolpix S8100 gets 1080p video, S80 sprouts an OLED touchscreen
Posted in: nikon, Today's Chili
In addition to the intriguing new Coolpix P7000, Nikon also announced the Coolpix S8100 (pictured above) and S80 tonight — sure, they’re not the dramatic new models, but they’re certainly respectable updates to the S8000 and S70. The S8100 actually learned one trick from the P7000: it’s dropped the megapixel count to 12.1 from the S8000’s 14.2 in order to improve light sensitivity — it can now hit ISO 3200 natively, which isn’t bad for a tiny cam with a 10x zoom. It’s also got a new 1080p movie mode and a faster 10fps burst mode — although we’re told it can only burst five frames at a time, so that’s not nearly as interesting. It’ll hit later this month in a few colors for $299.
The S80 goes the other way, boosting the megapixel count to 14.1 from the S70’s 12.1, and upping the 3.5-inch touchscreen to OLED. The touchscreen enables all the same snazzy tricks as on the new S1100pj, including the ability to draw right on your pictures, and and the 720p movie mode and 5x optical zoom are unchanged. It’ll hit this fall in all sorts of colors for $329. Honestly, we’re still not entirely sold on touchscreen controls for cameras to begin with, and on top of that we’re definitely concerned that OLED will make a touchscreen camera virtually useless in daylight, but we’ll wait to see this thing in person before we rain too hard on this parade. Check a pic of the S80 along with both press releases after the break.
Continue reading Nikon Coolpix S8100 gets 1080p video, S80 sprouts an OLED touchscreen
Nikon Coolpix S8100 gets 1080p video, S80 sprouts an OLED touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 07
While it was fun while it lasted, it was obvious that Willow Garage couldn’t keep giving away its ultra-high-end development platform PR2 bots forever. After shipping 11 of the bots to research institutes, Willow Garage is now selling the PR2 to all comers — as long as they’ve got 400 grand in their back pocket. We’ve covered the specs before (oodles of CPU power, two highly articulated pincer arms, and high-end vision systems), along with some of PR2’s recent hijinks, and hopefully we see more of that sort of stuff now that the rugged, ready-for-adventure PR2 is on the market. If you can’t scrap together all the cash, Willow Garage will also be offering a discount $280k version to people and institutions that can demonstrate “past performance and leadership” in open source robotics software — a topic obviously near and dear to Willow Garage’s heart with ROS, the OS that powers PR2 and is slowly spreading throughout much of the world of higher-end personal robotics.
As for the high price and its generally opaque business model, Willow Garage compares the current state of its industry to high end workstations in the 70s, back when researchers were spending more money and time figuring out what their computers could do than actually accomplishing anything with them. Willow Garage isn’t planning on making any sort of killing in the business yet — they’d just be happy to have the PR2 project at a self sustaining level — but they’re working toward what they see as the “next radical shift” in productivity, a personal robotics follow-up to the personal computer revolution. This is a future similar to the one Bill Gates was talking up back in 2006, but of course Willow Garage wants its open source ROS platform to be the “Microsoft” this time around. They certainly don’t plan to corner the hardware market in the process, however: the company hopes the quasi-followup to the PR2 will actually be built by multiple companies.
Gallery: Willow Garage PR2 press shots
Willow Garage now selling the PR2 for $400k a pop originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sep 07
All-optical quantum communication networks nearly realized, ‘Answers to Life’ airing at 9PM
Posted in: light, research, science, Today's Chili, university
Ready to get swept away into the wild, wild abyss known as quantum computing? If not, we’re certain there’s a less mentally taxing post above or below, but for those who answered the call, researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz have a doozie to share. A team of whiz kids at the institution have developed a minuscule optical device that’s built into a silicon chip, and it’s capable of reducing the speed of light by a factor of 1,200. If you’re wondering why on Earth humans would be interested in doing such a thing, here’s the long and short of it: the ability to control light pulses on an integrated chip-based platform “is a major step toward the realization of all-optical quantum communication networks, with potentially vast improvements in ultra-low-power performance.” Today, data transmitted along optical fibers must still eventually be converted to electronic signals before they’re finally understood, but the promise of an all-optical data processing system could obviously reduce inefficiencies and create communication networks that are far quicker and more robust. There’s still no telling how far we are from this becoming a reality — after all, we’ve been hearing similar since at least 2006 — but at least these folks seem to be onto something good… even if it’s all too familiar.
All-optical quantum communication networks nearly realized, ‘Answers to Life’ airing at 9PM originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 07
Apple 2010 iPod lineup, reviewed
Posted in: Today's ChiliCNET reviews Apple’s 2010 lineup of iPod portable media players, including the fourth-generation iPod Touch, sixth-generation iPod Nano, and the fourth-generation iPod Shuffle.
Sep 07
iPod touch review (2010)
Posted in: Apple, ios, ipod, ipod touch, IpodTouch, review, Today's Chili, touch, video
At Apple’s last event, Steve Jobs called the iPod touch the company’s “most popular iPod,” and it’s easy to understand why. In just a few short years, the iPhone-with-no-phone has kept in lockstep with Cupertino’s halo device, benefitting from the same kind of constant hardware and software updating that has helped turned the iPhone into an iconic gadget. The touch has been right alongside the iPhone’s meteoric rise in popularity, becoming the go-to second-pocket slab for millions. There are good reasons, too. Apple boasts about gaming on the device — claiming it beats out both Nintendo’s and Sony’s offerings in sales… combined. While we can’t concede that the device is a dedicated game console, it most definitely games. And it’s still an iPod, an internet device, and a thousand other things thanks to Apple’s vastly populous App Store. Now the player has once again reaped the rewards of iPhone updates, boasting a new Retina Display, the A4 CPU, two cameras which allow for FaceTime calling and 720p video recording, and all the new features of the company’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 4.1. But despite all of the plusses, we still have to ask: is the little do-everything box still worth the premium price tag? We took a deep dive on the latest model and have the verdict, so read on to find out.
Gallery: iPod touch (2010) hands-on
Continue reading iPod touch review (2010)
iPod touch review (2010) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 07
iPod nano review (2010)
Posted in: Apple, ipod, iPod Nano, MP3, mp3 player, Mp3Player, Music, nano, review, Today's Chili, video
Apple’s sixth generation of the iPod nano is essentially the first complete rethinking the product has had since its debut in 2005. The previous form factor — slim and light with a decently sized display and clickwheel — has been all but abandoned. The new design is a complete departure; a full touchscreen device that brings to mind something more like a large, living postage stamp than a portable music player. Along with the radical hardware redesign, Apple has infused the media player with a brand new operating system as well — an interface that looks and plays more like iOS than iPod. We’ve spent the past week or so knocking the nano around to see if it’s worth your hard-earned dollars, and we’ve got the answers inside — so read on for our full review.
Gallery: iPod nano (2010) hands-on
Continue reading iPod nano review (2010)
iPod nano review (2010) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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