Hasta La Gadget!

If you think there’s something in the air, you could know for sure by just pointing your Android phone at it.

An Android app called Visibility, developed by researchers at University of Southern California, lets users take a photo of the sky and get data on the air quality.

The free app is currently available for phones running Android 2.1 version of the operating system.

“Airborne particulate matter is a serious threat to both our health and the environment,” say the researchers on their blog. “We are working towards an optical technique to measure air visibility, and hence an estimate of some kinds of air pollution, using cameras and other sensors available on smartphones.”

It’s a neat idea and it’s interesting to see how smartphones are giving rise to the trend of citizen science and crowdsourced data.

As smartphones become ubiquitous and increasingly powerful, researchers are increasingly using the devices to do complex computations and use it for crowdsourced data gathering. For instance, as part of a project called ‘Common Sense’ Intel’s research labs developed sensors that could be attached to GPS-enabled phones and measure air quality.  The data gathered from these sensors would be brought back and processed to help researchers understand pollution levels.

The Visibility Android app hopes to offer something similar but make the process more user friendly.

With the Visibility app, each user photo of the sky is tagged with location, orientation and time. The data is transferred to a server where the calculations take place. The level of air quality is estimated by calibrating the images sent and comparing their intensity against an existing model of luminance in the sky, say the researchers.

The result is sent back to the user and the data is also used to create pollution maps for the region. An iPhone version of the app is in the works.

See Also:

• Social Networking Meets Apps in New Android App Store
• Independent App Stores Take On Google’s Android Market
• Hands-On: Android App ‘Layar’ Brings Reality’s Unique Snowflakes
• Indie Coder Proves Android Apps Can Make Money, Too

Photo: Mobile Sensing/USC Robotics
[via TreeHugger and Gizmag]

We didn’t get a chance to lay hands on any of the colored variants, but the solid black Optio RZ10 was easily one of the best feeling point-and-shoots we’ve touched in quite some time. Pentax doesn’t advertise the coating as being “soft touch,” but that’s exactly the vibe we get. It’s also shockingly small to have a full-on 10x optical zoomer, and while things will get pretty ugly at ISO 6400, it’s one of the few handhelds that even give you the option. The K-5 DSLR, on the other hand, simply didn’t feel like a $1,600 piece. And it should, given that’s what Pentax is charging for it. Sure, it’s solid enough and comfortable to grip, but it’s got a lot of proving to do in the reviews to come before we fully recognize the value proposition. Head on down below if you’re up for more eye candy.

Pentax K-5 DSLR and Optio RZ10 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And you thought Ricoh’s G700 was fully featured. Premiering at Photokina this week, the souped-up G700SE is a modified version of the G700 that appeared last month, with this guy able to accept add-on modules that can boost functionality by a good bit. The prototype unit here in Germany was showcased alongside of the GP-1 GPS dongle and a BR-1 bar code scanning module, with the latter meant more for governments and enterprises. It’s still encased in a dust- and water-resistant shell, and it packs integrated 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR to boot. All of the other specs remain the same from the original G700 (which you can peek here), and if you’re looking to buy one, you’ll have to wait until the earlier half of 2011 for it to splash down at around €799 ($1,070) — according to booth representatives, anyway.

Oh, and for fans of the GXR series, we stumbled upon an A12 28mm f/2.5 lens module that’ll slot right into the company’s interchangeable camera starting in Q4. So long as you have €649 ($869) to spare.

Ricoh’s rugged G700SE point-and-shoot does Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and more (eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s a Photokina around, you can bet your bottom dollar that Sanyo will be there. Boasting a booth chock full of camcorders and pocketable cameras, we waded through to find three new Xacti camcorders (VPC-CG21, VPC-PD1 and VPC-GH3) on display alongside a simplistic new shooter, the VPC-E1500TP. Starting with the latter, this one brings just the basics in a fairly vanilla enclosure: a 14 megapixel CMOS sensor, 720p video, a 4x optical zoom, 3-inch rear touchpanel, 32MB of internal storage space, an SD / SDHC expansion slot, ISO range from 100 to 3200 and USB connectivity. Pricing and availability wasn’t offered for this fellow, but we’re betting it’s below $150 and in stores tomorrowish.

Moving on to the camcorders, the CG21 ($149) is a typical pistol-grip machine with a 10 megapixel sensor, the ability to capture 1080i, a 10x optical zoomer and an SDXC card slot. The $199 GH3 looks more like your mother’s Handycam of old, offering a similar 10 megapixel sensor, SDHC card slot, 10x optical zoom and 1080i video capture. The starlet was the $199 PD1, a Flip Video-styled camcorder with dual microphones, 10 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, SDXC card slot, 1080/30p recording, an integrated USB arm and a rather impressive rear LCD. The whole lot is making its way out to dealers now, so feel free to start poking and prodding if you must. Galleries are below, per usual.

Sanyo debuts E1500TP point-and-shoot alongside Xacti CG21, PD1 and GH3 camcorders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It might cost as much as a small car at €9,995 ($13,132) before tax, but believe it or not, the H4D-31 represents one of Hasselblad‘s most affordable offerings to date. Promising to bring all the goodness of the H4D-40, but at a more reasonable price point, this new shooter offers 31 megapixels of resolution and a choice of either an 80mm prime lens or a CF-lens adapter to let you attach V-System gear you’ve already got in your inventory. As such, it’s attempting to perform the fine balancing act of appealing to both system stalwarts looking to go digital and DSLR enthusiasts tempted to step up to a larger sensor. We’re still in love with Nikon’s D3S, but you’ve got to admit, that H-embossed focusing ring sure looks sexy.

Continue reading Hasselblad H4D-31 cuts the entry price for medium format excellence to $13k

Hasselblad H4D-31 cuts the entry price for medium format excellence to $13k originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 05:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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