Hasta La Gadget!

We’re expecting to get our grubby paws on an NX100 later today for some longer-term testing, but for now, we wanted to go ahead and get you our initial impressions after handling the new mirrorless compact for a couple of minutes following Samsung’s Photokina 2010 press event. The device itself is far smaller than the NX10 of last year, but it’s still decidedly solid, if not a touch thick. The 20mm pancake lens on the model we tested was well built, and the i-Function capabilities were downright impressive. It took us a tick to grok how it works, but a good 30 seconds of learning presented us with loads of on-the-fly flexibility. You simply tap the i-Function button with your right hand in order to select what type of setting you’d like to change (exposure, ISO, shutter speed, etc.), and then rotate the wheel on the lens in either direction in order to change the value.

Despite our doubts, it actually worked beautifully, and now we’re eager to see this type of technology on even more cameras (even if its reserved for Samsung’s range). The 3-inch AMOLED on the rear was also stunning, sharp and bright, and the whole thing fit in our hands well. We’re still fond of our DSLR for most things, but we could totally see a unit like this making the most sense for amateurs who aren’t fond of lugging around something so gigantic. Ergonomics, design and i-Function? All were stellar — here’s hoping the image and video quality meet those same standards, and we’ll be bringing you those opinions just as soon as we can form them. Video’s after the break, if you’re thirsty for more.

Continue reading Samsung NX100 hands-on (video)

Samsung NX100 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC already transitioned its Desire and Nexus One units from AMOLED to Super LCD, and it looks as if the outfit may soon be doing likewise on the highly popular Droid Incredible as it struggles against a long-running AMOLED shortage. The Verizon memo you see above clearly lays out the firm’s intentions, with an entirely new SKU (ADR6300VW3) expected to flush through retail channels “around the end of September.” In other words, those who purchase an Incredible after the end of this month will all but definitely be guaranteed an SLCD unit. We pinged HTC to see if it wanted to deny or confirm the claims, and here’s what we received:

“We haven’t announced any moves towards changing the Incredible display from AMOLED to SLCD.”

Yeah, a textbook denial. Oh, and if you’re wondering whether to rush or retard your impending Incredible purchase, have a look at our Desire head-to-head here. Decisions, decisions…

HTC Droid Incredible nearing switch from AMOLED to SLCD? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wow. That’s the feeling that hits when you pick up the Nokia E7 for the first time. That 4-inch “Clear Black” display really pops as you’d expect from AMOLED and the full QWERTY slider is packed into an incredibly svelte and attractive form factor. Impressions coming up shortly. Until then, check out the E7 next to its N8 cousin and iPhone 4 foe.

Update: Follow the break for some quick thoughts on this bad boy.

Continue reading Nokia E7 first hands-on

Nokia E7 first hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digg If you’ll recall, a little while back HTC waved its white flag amid AMOLED shortages and made the jump to the readily-available SLCD for its Desire and Nexus One handsets. As a quick recap, here’s what CEO Peter Chou said about the swap:

“The SLCD displays provide consumers with a comparable visual experience to HTC’s current 3.7 inch displays with some additional benefits including battery performance.”

So, just how “comparable” is the SLCD? To find out, we picked up both flavors of the Desire to perform some comparison tests. Let’s start off with the picture quality: what caught our attention straight away was how much sharper SLCD is, but alas, AMOLED is still in the lead for vibrancy and brightness. We dug a little deeper and learned that this has to do with the different pixel arrangements on the two types of panels — unlike traditional TFT LCD panels, AMOLED’s PenTile RGBG (red, green, blue, green, etc.) filter matrix utilizes just two subpixels per pixel instead of three in the same amount of space, thus allowing greater transmittance due to the larger red and blue subpixels. But obviously, the downside is that the pictures aren’t as sharp as the denser-packed SLCD. Read on for more!

Continue reading Spot the difference: HTC Desire’s SLCD versus AMOLED

Spot the difference: HTC Desire’s SLCD versus AMOLED originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a sad day for fans of Android, brushed aluminum exteriors, and retina-searing AMOLED displays. Bell’s HTC Legend seems to have come to the end of its days, the provider moving the phone to “end of life” status due to “ongoing supply constraints from the manufacturer.” Phandroid speculates this is due to AMOLED shortages slowing down HTC manufacturing, and that certainly seems like a reasonable conclusion. We also checked out some other suppliers of the phone and they too are not listing it in stock, so this could be a rather abrupt end of the road for one of the best looking, though not necessarily best performing, Android handsets.

Update: David D. wrote in to point out this Forbes article pointing out that chip shortages could also be at least partly to blame here.

[Thanks, Tati]

Bell HTC Legend prematurely put out to pasture due to AMOLED supply constraints? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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