Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung has jumped the CES 2010 gate and announced a new, rangefinder-style camera a couple days before the gadget-fest begins. The NX10 joins the Olympus Pen and the Panasonic GF-1 in a growing segment, made up of cameras with large, DSLR-sized sensors in mirror-less, compact bodies.

Samsung’s advantage is that its 14.6MP sensor is bigger than those of the competition, using a full APS-C sized chip – roughly 28.4 mm diagonally – instead of the Micro Four Thirds, which offers just 8mm. It also has a built-in viewfinder, unlike its rivals, although as it is electronic and has just VGA resolution, you might wish Samsung had saved the space and made a smaller body.

And it is a chunky camera. Samsung has opted to make a small DSLR-style camera rather than squeezing a large sensor into a compact camera like Panasonic and Olympus. Other features to be found inside are 720p video (MPEG4, with H.264 compression), a 3-inch OLED screen, a claim to faster autofocus (these cameras all use contrast-detection autofocus, so are slower than DSLRs), and that’s about it. Samsung clearly didn’t get the memo that the megapixel race is over — even on a big sensor, the camera only goes up to a pedestrian ISO 3200.

The NX10 will ship with three new lenses, based on a brand-new lens mount (35mm-equivalent sizes in brackets): a 30mm ƒ2 (42.6mm) pancake, a 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6 OIS (27.7-84.7mm) and a 50-200mm ƒ4-5.6 ED OIS 77-308mm.

We don’t know who’ll be buying these. The size advantages over a DSLR are real, but not that big. Prices are to be announced, probably at CES this week.

Samsung NX10 Preview [DPReview]

See Also:

• Panasonic Micro Four Thirds 'Rangefinder' with Leica Lenses …
• Olympus EP-2 Comes Out Early, Almost No New Features
• Olympus Pen E-P1

Freescale Semiconductor is helping to kick this year’s CES off with a bang, as its latest reference smartbook design actually has somewhat of a sexy flair to it. Currently, the model is little more than a great idea, but the company is hoping to have it available for partner evaluation starting next month. In theory, at least, this “smartbook tablet” would boast an ultrathin form factor, weigh around 0.8 pounds and get powered by a 1GHz i.MX515 processor. Other specs would include 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 touch panel, 4GB to 64GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, optional 3G WWAN module, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, a USB 2.0 socket, audio in / out, 3 megapixel camera, inbuilt 3-axis accelerometer, an ambient light sensor and a 1,900mAh battery. We aren’t quite sure what kind of bulk discounts Freescale is counting on, but it’s hoping that this design will “enable a second generation of smartbook products with prices less than $200.” We dig the ambition and all, but we’re guessing OEMs will actually want to turn a profit should they sign on to sell something like this.

Continue reading Freescale reveals 7-inch smartbook reference design, hopes to see it ship for $200

Freescale reveals 7-inch smartbook reference design, hopes to see it ship for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And just like that, the CES 2010 on-switch has been well and truly pressed. After HP, Sony and Lenovo all exposed their hardware to the world prematurely, it was inevitable that other companies would “accidentally” follow suit. Thanks to CNET‘s snooping, we’re now staring at a trio of new Core i3 models from Dell, Toshiba and Gateway — highlighted by an unannounced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 powering a 1600 x 900 15-inch display on the Gateway, which also squeezes 500GB of storage under a shockingly low $692 price tag. On the Atom front, the Mini 210 is joined by a Toshiba NB305 — sporting the N450, 250GB HDD, up to 11 hours’ claimed battery life, and a $438 sticker — as well as Gateway’s effort with a smaller 160GB HDD but also suitably reduced $285 asking price. Hit the links below to get freshened up on all the juicy details.

Read – FutureShop.ca (Gateway NV5905H)
Read – FutureShop.ca (Toshiba Satellite L500-00F)
Read – Costco (Dell Inspiron 15)
Read – FutureShop.ca (Gateway LT2102H)
Read – FutureShop.ca (Toshiba NB305-00F)

Dell, Toshiba and Gateway Core i3 laptops get revealed early, joined by Pine Trail netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo has always had a certain knack for producing some of the most reliable, ergonomic and slender ultraportables on the market (see ThinkPad X301 and ThinkPad X200). But they’ve always had one issue: prices that ring up at well over a grand. Where’s the killer ThinkPad ultraportable for the rest of us been? Well hello, ThinkPad Edge 13 – a thin, light Intel ULV powered laptop with an entirely new design that starts at $549. Yes, $549. But at that price point and with some serious changes to some traditional elements can it live up to the ThinkPad quality that we’ve been accustomed to for years? And can it stand out in the overpopulated CULV-based laptop market? We spent a couple days putting a spec’d-up $899 model through our daily grind — read on for our full review.

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13 review

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13 review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The world needs another wireless HD system like it needs another thousand gallons of goop spinning in the middle of the Pacific, but regardless of the facts, ProVision is set to introduce one such system at CES this week. According to details scrounged up by Pocket-lint, the AXAR technology will function much like WHDI does currently. The difference? Increased range and a knack for distributing to more than just an HDTV. It’s expected that AXAR will find its way into TVs, set-top boxes and a range of network devices in time for Christmas 2010, where it will allow any AXAR-enabled device (a laptop, phone, PMP, HDTV, PC, etc.) to receive 1080p content from a media player, Blu-ray player or similar. Better still, it can also distribute those signals to WiFi-enabled products if your network can handle it. Currently, the tech can support two separate HD streams at the same time, and it can broadcast ’em to a living space that’s three times that of the Buckingham Palace. We’ll be sure to poke our nose around for more at CES, but in the meanwhile, feel free to catch a few first impressions down in the source link.

ProVision’s AXAR to wirelessly stream HD content to just about anything originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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