Insert Coin: Piper melds home automation and security in a simple hub (hands-on)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Insert Coin Piper puts sensorbased home automation and security in one hub handson

Home automation and security cameras seldom combine elegantly, especially for apartment dwellers who can’t rewire their living spaces. Blacksumac, however, believes it can seamlessly meld those technologies through its upcoming Piper hub. The device links both a fisheye camera and environmental sensors to a Z-Wave-based home automation system. Out of the box, it can watch for intruders, listen for (or produce) loud noises and monitor local conditions like temperature. Once Z-Wave peripherals are involved, you can program sophisticated triggers and responses: Piper can send a warning when a door opens, for example, or turn on air conditioning when it’s hot. We’ve had a chance to see Piper in action, so read on for both our early impressions and details of what you’ll get if you make a pledge. %Gallery-slideshow73286%

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Source: Indiegogo

Canon intros PowerShot G16, S120, SX170 IS, SX510 HS point-and-shoot cameras

Canon intros PowerShot G16, S120, SX170 IS, SX510 HS cameras

Canon’s got a handful of incremental updates to detail today, including a selection of PowerShot point-and-shoots. The G16 is the priciest of the bunch, ringing in at $550. This model, which is set to ship in October, replaces last year’s G15, and includes a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 6 processor, 5x 28-140mm f/1.8-2.8 optical zoom lens and 1080/60p video capture. Next up is the S120, retailing for $450, also in October. This pocketable S110 replacement includes a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 6 processor, 5x 24-120mm f/1.8-5.7 optical zoom lens and 1080/60p video capture. The SX510 HS is the cheapest of this premium bunch, with a $250 MSRP. This superzoom, expected in September, packs a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 processor, a 30x 24-720mm f/3.4-5.8 optical zoom lens and 1080p video.

The G15, S120 and SX510 HS all include built-in WiFi, letting you pair the camera with Canon’s Image Gateway Android or iOS app to upload shots to a variety of social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. The final model, the PowerShot SX170 IS, does not include WiFi. It’s quite a bit cheaper at $180, however, and should ship in September. This entry-level cam includes a 16-megapixel sensor, DIGIC 4 processor, a 16x 28-448mm f/3.5-5.9 image-stabilized lens and 720p video. That last flavor replaced the SX160 IS, which launched last year as well. The SX170 swaps a rechargeable battery pack for its predecessor’s AAs, resulting in a thinner profile. Catch a bit more on all four models in the press release after the break.%Gallery-slideshow73255%

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Canon appeals to internet socialites with PowerShot N Facebook camera

Canon appeals to internet socialites with PowerShot N Facebook pointandshoot

Facebook fanatics have a smartphone to call their own, and now they have a camera, too. Canon’s PowerShot N, which first made its debut at CES, just scored a few (relatively minor) tweaks. The point-and-shoot features an unusual square design, so it can be rotated and held in a variety of orientations. There’s a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 5 processor, 28-224mm f/3.0-5.9 8x optical zoom lens and a 2.8-inch capacitive-touch tilting LCD, just as you’ll find on the original. In fact, the Facebook branding represents the only significant change here, including a dedicated button on the side to upload images to the site (via built-in WiFi) and a new Facebook upload option in the system menu. It’s hardly worth “upgrading” from the original N, but if Facebook is your life, get ready to hand over 300 bucks for this Canon online store exclusive beginning next month.

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Samsung Galaxy NX arrives in the UK ready to ship

It’s been a couple of months since we got to play around with Samsung’s latest Android-powered camera, the Galaxy NX, but consumers over in the UK can now grab the camera from a couple of retailers that have it on sale. Jessops, Currys, and Wex are selling the Galaxy NX for a staggering £1,299. That […]

Garmin VIRB and VIRB Elite action-cams pack ANT+ and 1080p

Garmin has weighed into the action camera market, taking on GoPro with the VIRB and VIRB Elite, each with a waterproof casing and Full HD recording. Promising IPX-7 waterproofing and ruggedization – rather than demanding separate cases – the VIRB and VIRB Elite can shoot up to three hours of 1080p footage from a full […]

Garmin prepares for battle with sensor-packed VIRB action cam (hands-on)

Garmin prepares for battle with sensorpacked VIRB action cam handson

There are more than enough action cams on the market, but that’s not stopping Garmin from jumping head first into that saturated space. The GPS maker hopes to bring something fresh to the table with its $299 VIRB and $399 VIRB Elite, a pair of ruggedized camcorders that do more than simply snap footage from within a clear protective shell. Both models can shoot 1080p clips at 30fps and 16-megapixel still photos (while recording video) for up to three consecutive hours with one 2,000mAh cell, but they offer a variety of features that some competitors can’t match, including a low-power 1.4-inch transflective LCD for navigating menus and previewing footage, optional (digital) IS and the ability to sync up with a variety of other Garmin devices through ANT+.

That last feature is perhaps the most compelling here — VIRB’s ANT+ chip lets you add on accessories like a heart rate monitor while also pairing with the company’s Fenix watch, logging GPS coordinates and other stats with each captured clip. The pricier Elite flavor brings positioning sensors on board, however, along with an altimeter and WiFi, which you can use to connect the cam to a dedicated Android or iOS app. That software component lets you see a live preview and control basic settings (video start/stop and still image capture) remotely — eventually, you’ll be able to send content from the device to your phone or tablet, though that functionality isn’t included just yet. A tiny remote will also be available as an add-on, should you opt to leave your smartphone at home.

It’s easy enough to operate the water-resistant camera without a remote though, even with it mounted on your helmet or attached to a surf board. A large sliding record button lets you power up and start shooting video right away, even when the camera’s turned off. There’s no built-in storage, but you can slide in your own microSD card under the battery. The Garmin VIRB ships next month for $299, while its Elite counter part will ship around the same time for $399. Check out that base model, along with some of the many optional straps and mounts, in our hands-on photos just below.%Gallery-slideshow46976%

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Jim Jannard steps down, hands the Red Camera reins to Jarred Land

Jim Jannard steps down, hands the Red Camera reins to Jarred Land

With Red Camera’s industry footing now quite solid, CEO Jim Jannard is relinquishing his position at the helm. Jarred Land, the company’s president, will become the new face of Red. Jannard announced the leadership change in a post today over at Reduser, the forum he’s used to announce everything from a lawsuit against Sony earlier this year to a DSLR replacement that never quite saw the light of day, way back in 2008. Today’s thread, titled “My Final Post,” details Jannard’s nearly eight years at the company he founded, which began with the NAB 2006 debut of Red One and ran through shipping the Dragon upgrade, the component that essentially served to make “Obsolescence Obsolete.” What’s next for Jim? Retirement might be in order, and with upwards of $2 billion in the bank following his sale of eyewear and apparel maker Oakley, he certainly has the financial footing to back some pretty posh R&R.

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Source: Reduser

Multitaskers Beware: This Service Makes You Focus On One Thing

Multitaskers Beware: This Service Makes You Focus On One Thing

Online instructional courses or web training can be boring. So that’s where any distraction ever comes in. Learning! But the online training company Mindflash is offering a new feature for their iPad services that ensures actual focus and participation. No reading Gizmodo allowed.

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This High-Speed Digital Camera Can Freeze Objects Moving 7,500 MPH

This High-Speed Digital Camera Can Freeze Objects Moving 7,500 MPH

When it comes to high-speed photography—and we’re talking about freezing explosions and other occurrences that are over in just thousandths of a second—something known as film-based streak photography has always been the go-to technology. But as film continues its slow death, a company called MetroLaser has come up with a digital alternative that can freeze objects moving at almost 7,500 miles per hour, which is roughly ten times the speed of sound.

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Promo material suggests Sony Honami smartphone may shoot 4K video

Marketing slide suggests Sony's Honami smartphone may shoot 4K video

Alright, we admittedly don’t know a great deal about the provenance of the slide above. It was first picked up on Chinese social networking site Weibo, but the original post seems to have been deleted. What we do know, however, is that Sony’s forthcoming flagship phone, codenamed Honami, has already been rumored to possess a 4K-ready processor (the Snapdragon 800), and that Sony is wildly enthusiastic about 4K as something that can unite its expanding hardware ecosystem. The slide’s title therefore has a ring of truth to it, because it’s accompanied by Bravia branding and sounds like realistic marketing babble from a TV-focused presentation:

“How do you get 4K content? By shooting videos with a 4K cellphone.”

The slide also details a 20-megapixel Exmor R rear camera sensor for Honami, which tallies with earlier reports, as well as a meaty 2.2-megapixel front-facing camera. The only issue we have is with the quoted 4K video resolution of 4,000 x 2,000 — it’s unusual and doesn’t match the Ultra HD resolution Sony has settled on for its 4K TVs (3,840 x 2,160). In any case, resolution is only half the story. This is all speculative, of course, but if other bottlenecks in this phone forced Sony to compress the heck out of captured 4K video, there’s every chance it’d end up looking worse than 1080p.

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Source: Vgooo