Hasta La Gadget!

Tired of touchscreen tablets that lack speed, a usable UI, or support for a certain streaming video format that will go unnamed? As one of our favorite sayings goes, if you want it done right, do it yourself. One Engadget reader took that idea to heart in crafting the 13.4-inch carbon fiber contraption you see above, imbuing it with enough high-end netbook parts to run Windows 7 at a brisk pace and play 720p video on its large, resistive touchscreen. Starting with the guts of an MSI X320, adding an accelerometer and 40GB solid state drive and finally sandwiching a random Chinese digitizer on top, the whole 1.6GHz Atom Z530 machine cost him under $700 in parts. For that price, we’re sure many of you would be happy to follow in his footsteps, but if not, by all means continue complaining to your tablet manufacturer of choice. We have another favorite saying: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Video after the break; Q&A with the creator at our more coverage link.

Continue reading MSI X340 reborn as DIY carbon fiber tablet, watch it stream YouTube at 720p (video)

MSI X340 reborn as DIY carbon fiber tablet, watch it stream YouTube at 720p (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aiptek has certainly done its part to lower the prices of consumer electronics like pico projectors and pocket-sized camcorders, and now it looks set to destabilize the 3D camcorder market — a market that doesn’t even properly exist yet, with only Fujifilm’s $600 FinePix Real 3D W1 filling the need. Aiptek was showing off its i2 camcorder, a Flip-like device (even with a pop-out USB connector) that has been augmented with a second five megapixel CCD. It’s capable of recording 720p video and is set to retail for about $250, making it a relative bargain. The camera is set to launch in Asia in July, where we figure it’ll take about 30 seconds for someone to paint one up like Domo Kun.

Aiptek leads the affordable 3D camcorder rush with its i2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ll remember the TX5 as Sony’s do-it-all solution for compact camera fans. It aims to be both stylish — with a slender 0.7-inch profile and a 3-inch touchscreen — and rugged, thanks to a metal frame that makes it impervious to water, dust and sub-zero conditions. Throw in the backlit Exmor R CMOS sensor, optical image stabilization, SDHC compatibility, and 720p movie mode and you’ve got a pretty fearsome paper tiger on your hands. But does it roar in reality? According to Photography Blog, you won’t be getting the finest image quality around, but the TX5 impressed with some terrific high ISO performance, excellent handling of chromatic aberrations, and a versatility that allows you to take photos you might not otherwise get to with more conventional shooters. That is an opinion broadly shared by CNET, though both reviewers agreed that pricing will be a tough pill to swallow given that this is still just a 10 megapixel point-and-shoot. Hit the sources for more or mosey on past the break for a sample video.

Continue reading Sony’s waterproof and dustproof DSC-TX5 stands up to review scrutiny

Sony’s waterproof and dustproof DSC-TX5 stands up to review scrutiny originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At CES this past January we were smitten by Sanyo’s little VPC-CS1 camcorder and now, many moons later, it’s coming to retail. Akihabara News has taken it for a test drive and, as you might expect from something only 29mm thin, it has some compromises. The most glaring issues appear to be related to image quality, with the review stating: “Shooting in low light will give you really crappy images.” Also, it turns out the cam’s touted 1920 x 1080 at 60fps mode is actually interlaced, meaning it’s time for a return to scanline mountain. While 720p mode is said to be rather better looking, still shooting is said to be “simply useless.” Despite all this the review has a positive conclusion, and we could see the same for users more interested in form than function. Those looking for image quality, however, will want to look at the sample videos and images on the other end of that source link below.

Sanyo’s slinky Xacti VPC-CS1 camcorder reviewed: form trumps function originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This traditionally-shaped camcorder may not be ergonomically friendly, but it is environmentally friendly — ostensibly, anyway. It’s the HDV-T900 from Jetyo, a 720p30 model that records to SDHC memory cards through what appears to be a fixed zoom lens (its specs promise only an 8x digital zoom). The thing that makes this a conversation piece is the solar cell on the backside of the three-inch LCD display. It’s hardly encouraging that the company’s site doesn’t say anything about how quickly it recharges the 4 AA batteries used for power, or indeed how long those batteries can power the thing in the first place. But, the site does say the current from the solar cell is 120mA, so we can do the math. Assuming you’re using something like 2,500mAh AA rechargeable cells, you’re looking at about 25 hours of sunlight to recharge one battery and there are, of course, four used here. Hey, sounds like a good excuse to extend your vacation to us.

Jetyo’s HDV-T900 solar-powered camcorder will capture only your brightest holiday memories originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Apr 2010 02:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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