Hasta La Gadget!

It’s been quite a month for leaks and the announcement of new cameras by various manufacturers. This week, a pair of new Olympus interchangeable lens compact cameras leaked as well. A few scant details of the cameras were also offered along with the leaked photos.

The black camera you see is said to be called the E-PL5, with the silver camera called the E-PM2. As you can clearly tell, both offer interchangeable lenses and look very similar. At first glance you could almost mistake them as two different colors of the same camera. However there are slight differences, such as the black camera having a knurled knob on the top, likely a manual control of some sort.

Rumor has it that both cameras will use the same sensor as found in the Olympus E-M5. The cameras also should have the same image processing engine called TruePic VI. Both of the cameras are also said to have touch screens on the back. The silver camera is said to sell for €399 (~$523 USD) with the black camera going for €599 (~$785 USD). Both prices reportedly include 14-42 mm kit lenses. Expect more details in the coming weeks.

[via 43rumors]

Secrets have been hard to keep in the camera world lately, and now Olympus has undergone its second leak in as many days, but this time with a couple of higher-profile actors — the E-PL5 and E-PM2 mirrorless cameras. Both will use the Olympus E-M5 sensor with TruePic VI image engine and touchscreen, and are reported to be priced at €399 ($520) for the E-PM2 with a 14-42mm kit lens (in silver, below the break) and €599 ($780) for the E-PL5 with the same lens, shown above. That follows earlier leaks from Sony, Fujifilm and others, along with two upcoming lenses from Olympus that were also outed ahead of time. Hopefully, there’ll still be a couple of surprises left when Photokina rolls around next week.

[Image credit: Digicam Info]

Continue reading Olympus E-PL5 and E-PM2 interchangeable lens cameras leak into view

Filed under: Cameras

Olympus E-PL5 and E-PM2 interchangeable lens cameras leak into view originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 07:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Photokina’s just around the corner, folks, so it’s only natural for a few of the cameras to get leaked before their official debuts in Germany. What you see above is a picture scrounged up by the folks at Digicam info, and it appears to be of the Olympus XZ-2, an update to the company’s XZ-1 point and shoot. From the looks of things, the new model largely retains the look of the old, save for a faux leather grip and the addition of a toggle switch of unknown purpose on the front. It also seems that Olympus will be rolling out an underwater case and a molded cowhide cover to go with the camera when it arrives. Folks searching for a closer look at the hardware can find it at the source below, or y’know, wait until we get our hands on it next week.

Filed under: Cameras

Unnamed Olympus point and shoot leaks, looks like the XZ-2 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google is accused of threatening to cut Acer off from the official Android teat, after a phone collaboration between the manufacturer and Alibaba was axed at the last minute. Acer and Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba had been planning to launch the CloudMobile A800 smartphone together, Reuters reports, but the event itself was suddenly shut down after Acer was apparently told that “Google would terminate Android product cooperation” if the phone was revealed.

Acer has declined to comment publicly on the issue, but Alibaba proved not to be so reticent. “Our partner received notification from Google” it said in a statement, “that if the new product launch with Aliyun went ahead, Google would terminate Android product cooperation and related technical authorization with Acer.”

That would be a particularly draconian approach, and it’s not something we’ve heard of Google threatening before. It seems the frustration came not from a forking of Android but Alibaba’s intention to use another OS, Aliyun, of its own creation, TNW reports; that runs webapps, based on Alibaba’s servers, though can also install Android apps.

Without a comment from Google, then, or Acer, it’s hard to say what’s happened. Alibaba has not given any indication of what it plans to do next, now that Acer is apparently out of the picture. In a statement, published on the official company news site, it described Google’s decision as “clearly unfair to consumers.”

“We believe that by introducing the Aliyun OS we are giving consumers and hardware makers more options which is the foundation of a healthy and strong market” Alibaba said. “We think that it should be left to the market to decide.”

Google threatened Acer with Android excommunication claims Alibaba is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

iPhone 5 LTE connectivity is looking increasingly likely, hours ahead of the much-anticipated smartphone’s official debut, with claims of confirmation that the Apple device will run on new 4G network EE. Sources have supposedly verified to the Guardian that 4G infrastructure vendors have been testing iPhone 5 LTE handsets compatible with EE’s 1800MHz band 4G, and that Apple has apparently registered the new devices with the GSMA in filings yet to be made public.

The chatter comes as no great surprise, given the sway of the rumor-machine over the past months. LTE had long been anticipated for the new iPhone, particularly after the company included it in the new iPad, with Apple refusing to add it to the iPhone 4S over concerns about early radio chipset bulk and battery demands.

What’s been more uncertain, however, is which exact bands the iPhone’s LTE might be compatible with, a thorny issue of fragmentation given there are believed to be around 36 different frequencies in active 4G deployment around the world. No one iPhone could hope to cater to them all, meaning some countries (and operators) will be forced to do without 4G.

EE dropped a heavy hint at its launch yesterday that a new device was fast incoming with LTE support for the UK network, though declined to confirm that it was, indeed, the iPhone. Previous leaks indicated Apple would attempt to spread compatibility among networks worldwide, though failed to specify which they might be.

According to this latest insider, UK iPhone 5 testing by Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Ericsson has been underway “for some weeks both in labs and in public places.” In the US, the handset is expected to run on LTE networks operated by Verizon and AT&T, though we don’t yet know whether a single device will deliver that or if Apple will release two versions.

Join us at 10AM PT (1PM ET; 6PM UK) for all the news as it happens at live.slashgear.com!

iPhone 5 LTE support for EE 4G reportedly a done-deal is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.