Hasta La Gadget!

Next month? Psshh. For those hankering for a slice of that oh-so-tempting Micro Four Thirds pie, Olympus’ new and improved PEN E-PL1 is now shipping (in blue and gold, anyway) from Amazon. If you’ll recall, the company told us that it wouldn’t be available until March when it launched three weeks ago, but hey, you won’t find us kvetching about early availability. For those who’ve forgotten, this compact camera touts the same 12.3 megapixel image sensor as the E-30 and E-620, and the $599.99 asking price also nets you a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko zoom lens. Good luck resisting.

[Thanks, Ron]

Olympus PEN E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds camera now shipping for $600 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We still don’t have the European or US release dates for the Polaroid Pogo instant digicam but they can’t be far behind the February 26th date just announced for Japan. Looks like we might see a price cut too, given the ¥10,000 (about $110) price in Japan compared to the $199 price announced at CES. Of course, you still have to shell out for the ZINK instant photo paper 10-packs scheduled to run for $4.99, or $12.99 for the 30-pack variety. As a camera, it’s not much with its 5 megapixel sensor, SDHC storage, weak-sauce LCD, and 0x optical zoom as we discovered during our hands-on. What it lacks in specs, though, is made up for by its novelty. 2-inch by 3-inch photo stickers in 60 seconds? Urban ego tagging just got a brand new playbook.

Also announced is a bevy of forgettable budget shooters, including the 12 megapixel t1235, 12 megapixel i1237 with touchscreen LCD, and 9 megapixel a930. Lady GaGa must be so proud.

Polaroid PoGo instant digicam on sale next week, toilet graffiti will never be the same originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not sure if anyone clued you in, but there’s a reasonably large camera show going on in Anaheim, and the shooter news is flowing hot and heavy. General Imaging (or GE, as it were) has just busted out its 2010 range of point and shoot cameras, and while none of ’em are particularly mind-blowing, there are a few here worth paying attention to. The waterproof G5WP (ships in late Q2 for $179.99) is a natural successor to last year’s G3WP, offering up a metal enclosure, 4x internal zoom, a 12.2 megapixel sensor and your choice of gray, red or blue color schemes. The $149.99 X5 megazoom offers up a 15x zoom lens, a maximum ISO of 3,200 and a Q2 ship date, while the J1455 brings a 14.2 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom lens, image stabilization and a multitude of color options for $129.99. The ‘Power Series’ is seeing two new additions today in the 0.83-inch thick E1486TW ($179.99) and E1480W ($149.99), both of which include HD movie modes, optical image stabilization, a 14 megapixel sensor, an 8x optical zoomer and a 3-inch rear LCD. The company’s low-end C- and A-series cameras are also seeing updates today, all of which are detailed in the linked presser.

GE outs PMA 2010 range: X5, E1486TW, E1480W, J1455 and waterproof G5WP originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a beautiful day in Anaheim, which makes it a perfect day to introduce a couple of compact shooters. Regardless of the fact that we just made that up, Casio‘s in full agreement, as it has just pushed out the new Exilim EX-S7 (shown above) and EX-Z35 (shown after the break) at PMA 2010. The pair of low-end cameras offer up 12.1 megapixel sensors, 3x optical zooms and direct-to-web upload options; the S7 ships with a 720p HD video mode and a 2.7-inch rear LCD, while the Z35 gets a VGA movie mode and a 2.5-inch LCD. Neither option will blow any minds, but the relatively low $139.99 / $109.99 (in order of mention) price points just might generate some interest from the novices in attendance.

Continue reading Casio rolls out Exilim EX-S7 and EX-Z35 point-and-shoots at PMA

Casio rolls out Exilim EX-S7 and EX-Z35 point-and-shoots at PMA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hold onto your butts, kids, we’ve got a doozy of a story. Let’s take this one slow: a class-action lawsuit has been filed in Pennsylvania accusing the Lower Merion school district of “unauthorized, inappropriate and indiscriminate remote activation” of webcams in laptops issued to students, without prior knowledge or consent. The tale begins when Assistant Principal Lindy Mastko of Harriton High School informed a student that he was “engaged in improper behavior in his home”; the suit alleges that when pressed for details, Mastko told both the boy and his father that the school district could remotely activate the webcam — a capability that is apparently being used.

The school district has yet to respond to the accusations, so at this point we’ve only got the plaintiff’s side of the story — for all we know this kid took a picture of himself and somehow accidentally uploaded it on the school network. Then again, some purported Lower Merion students just emailed Gizmodo and claimed that their MacBooks’ green webcam lights went on at random times, but they were told by IT support that it was just a technical glitch. Holy alleged invasion of privacy, Batman, this could get mighty interesting. PDF of the complaint available below.

Update: The Lower Merion School District superintendent Christopher McGinley has issued an official response on its website, acknowledging “a
security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops.” Going further, he says the district ”
has not used the tracking feature or web cam for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever” but that the matter is “under review.”

[Thanks, Yossi]

School allegedly uses students’ laptop webcams for espionage, lawsuit ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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