Hasta La Gadget!

Fujifilm recently announced a September release (in Japan) for their pocket-sized FinePix Real 3D 3W (¥48,000, approx US$562). The camera is a sequel to last summer’s Real 3D W1 and has many of the same features, but with one new whopper of a feature: the ability to shoot videos in 3D HD.

The W3 captures 3D images via two optical 3X zoom lenses and two image sensors (but plan out those 3D shots beforehand because it’s impossible to zoom when shooting 3D video). 3D videos and stills can be displayed on a 3D TV or you can see them (without the aid of glasses) on the unit’s 3.5 inch LCD monitor. The camera also has the ability to shoot 3D stills, as well as boring (aka “2D”) stills and video.

So, rejoice, sleepy kittens and naked people of the world! Soon you will all be portrayed in the three-dimensional glory you deserve! (Sleepy kittens and naked people being the subjects of the vast majority of photos taken around the world–if the Internet is to be believed).

via TechOn

This week Netgear made a battery of new product announcements related to home entertainment and Powerline networking. On the media side, the NeoTV 550 & 350 HD players look a lot like last year’s Digital Entertainer Elite, minus the 500GB of internal storage and access to VOD services like CinemaNow. Both are however capable of playing a robust list of codecs in full HD from a variety of attached sources like USB, eSATA (in the case of the 550) or SD storage, as well as streaming content from UPnP, DLNA or WMP11 networks. The 550 adds in support for external Blu-ray drives and BD-Live too, all for $219, which should appeal any of the poor souls with an unused standalone drive.

Three new Powerline kits — AV 200, AV 500, and AV+ 500 — were also announced to help consumers avoid the pain of stringing Ethernet in every direction. The entry level AV 200 appears to improve on the previous HDXB101 kit by offering the same theoretical 200mbps in addition to push button security enhancements and greener power consumption. The AV 500 kit provides the same and ramps the networking speeds to up to — you guessed it — 500mbps, while the “+” version throws in a pass-through filtered AC socket to avoid sacrificing precious outlets. Priced all below $200, every kit will available by mid November for all the fall home networking networking your heart could desire. Peep the galleries and PR below for further details.

Continue reading Netgear announces NeoTV 550 & 350 HD Media Players plus other networking goodies

Netgear announces NeoTV 550 & 350 HD Media Players plus other networking goodies originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In June, Genius launched a line of new HD Webcams that came bundled with their new CrazyTalk Cam Suite Pro software that allowed you to change your image into that of an adorable talking panda, a shiny-headed robot, or an adorable but creepy baby. Now, Genius has unveiled the new eFace 2025 HD Webcam, designed deliver great image quality when taking photos with it but also superior video quality on video calls and chats.

The eFace 2025 HD features a 2 megapixel camera, captures 720p video, and features adjustable focus controls both in software and on the face of the camera so you can make sure it’s focused on you regardless of how far away from it you’re sitting. Since the camera comes with CrazyTalk Cam Suite Pro, you’ll also be able to change your image into a talking avatar and upload videos you’ve recorded to YouTube with a single click. The eFace 2025 HD will support Windows and Mac OS, and will be available by the end of the month for $59.99 retail. 

You might remember that we broke news of an updated Apple TV headed to market just a few months ago. If your brain isn’t working right, let us jog it: a trusted Engadget source asserted that the gang in Cupertino would be releasing a $99 version of the set top box, similarly sized and packed with internals akin to that of the iPhone 4 (A4 CPU, 16GB of flash storage), and will introduce new iTunes streaming services the box could take advantage of. Well we’ve gotten a little more info on the project, and it’s not all good. Apparently the box won’t be capable of handling (or enabled to handle) 1080i or 1080p video. Instead it will only push out 720p clips. The word — and cause for much internal debate, we’re told — is that this has something to do with the A4’s inability to crank on higher resolution content, but we don’t see how that’s possible considering the iPhone 3GS could play back full HD video. Furthermore, the device will be getting apps and presumably an App Store entry, though it’s unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications.

Oh, and there’s one more thing — Apple will be officially changing the name of the device to iTV, abandoning the current moniker in favor of something a little more in line with its current iOfferings. Interestingly, that was the name of the Apple TV when it was originally announced by the company, so it appears Steve and friends aren’t so much moving forward as going back to their innocent, untainted roots. Regardless of which direction the company is heading in name-wise, we can likely expect a full reveal sometime in the Fall… so hang tight.

Update: To clear up any confusion, the loss of 1080p is in reference to the previous information we had (linked above, and here) about the new Apple TV — not in reference to the current Apple TV.

Exclusive: Upcoming Apple TV loses 1080p playback, gains apps… and will be renamed iTV originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It still won’t fool your mark if you pin it to a stained T-shirt, but if you’re rocking the plaid button-down look you’ll be happy to know Thanko’s Spy Camera has received an incremental update. For ¥4,980 (about $58), the third revision of the button-hole camera will shoot 8 megapixel stills and record in 1280 x 960 HD for up to 50 minutes on a charge, which sets the household espionage device just this side of crapgadget territory. Bring your own dignity… and microSD card.

Thanko’s Spy Button video camera becomes slightly less ridiculous with high-def video mode originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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