Hasta La Gadget!

Is it just us, or are these flash-only camcorders getting bigger? Or maybe we’re just shrinking. Canon’s new VIXIA HF S11 AVCHD flagship certainly seems beefy — both in size and build — but we suppose that comes with the territory. Canon was showing a demonstration of the new stabilization tech, which can help mitigate the nauseating effects of shooting while walking, and if it works as well in practice as it did in the demo (unlikely), it could be a real lifesaver for part 24 of our ongoing Blair Witch Project remake. It’s hard to argue with the shooting time built-in and SDHC expandability on offer, but we suppose the HF S11 serves as a reminder that the gulf between “real” camcorders and their pocket cam brethren is indeed a wide one.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV

Canon VIXIA HF S11 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, the G11 might grab all the headlines, but there’s tons of meat to the rest of Canon’s new point and shoots. The S90, for instance, packs the same sensor of the G11 into a deliciously compact (though scarily plastic) body, the new SD940 IS Digital ELPH cams show off slim, curved metal bodies befitting their lineage, and the SD980 IS doesn’t sacrifice much in the name of fashion — while using their ultra-sized touchscreens to the utmost. All the cameras we handled were labeled prototype, and so hopefully the d-pad jiggle we detected on most of these (particularly pronounced on the S90) will be rectified before these hit shelves, but otherwise we like what we see so far.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon’s PowerShot lineup hands-on: the best of the rest originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, we can hardly believe it ourselves, but Sony came a-knockin’ at our door today, and we were more than willing to answer. The PlayStation 3 Slim is now official in-house, and it’s a matte-laden beaut. Enough chitchat — live vicariously through our unboxing and hands-on pics below!

Update: Some details for clarification. The buttons in the front are now physical and actually “click” in to function. The PS logo above the disc drive does not rotate for vertical use, and yes, the hard drive is swappable — as you can see from the pictures, there’s a screw on the bottom, hidden by a panel, that lets you take off part of the front for access. We’ve also lined it up against our standard, fatty PS3, and we gotta say, it’s noticeably lighter.

Update 2: Here’s a more thorough comparison between the slim, the original, and the Xbox 360. Some people were asking about the texture of the matte finish, and compared to Microsoft’s console, it’s just a teensy bit rougher (and on that note, about the same weight, too). It’s still just as glossy as the original on the sides, however. We still gotta compare the noise of the slim, stay tuned!

Update 3: While our tests were far from thorough, the initial results from our quick-and-dirty decibel ratings show some promise. With a baseline of 49 decibels, the Slim averaged 53 to 56 db when in use / playing a game / installing data (in this case, Metal Gear Solid 4), compared to the 55 to 58 db of the original. Blu-ray movie playback is where it becomes noticeable, as the slim peaked for us at 60 db when the original was doing 70 db running the same disc.

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Filed under: Gaming

PlayStation 3 Slim unboxing and hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s the phone that Nokia should’ve used to introduce the world to Symbian S60 5th edition, but is it the “hero”-type device that it was marketed as? Nokia’s N97 is undoubtedly expensive, debatably beautiful and thoroughly polarizing (as two of our own found out). While it’s impossible to say the handset was introduced to go head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone (the whole “only sold off contract” thing kind of hampers that), there’s little doubt that this phone was Espoo’s most significant attempt yet to make a name for itself in the full-touchscreen smartphone market. If you handed over the handful of C-notes required to take this bad boy home, why not tell us exactly how you feel now that you’re an owner? What would you like to see changed on Nokia’s next attempt? What measures up? What falls short? You’ve got one shot (maybe two, depending on the mood of our comment system) — don’t screw it up.

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change Nokia’s N97? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Lulu, who can’t seem to select a camcorder worthy of being carried around in her Fifth Pocket[TM].

“I need help! I want a small pocket camcorder but I’m not sure which one to get. I don’t want to fall into the hype of the Flip because I worry two hours won’t be enough. What should I be looking for when considering a small camcorder and where can I get a good quality one with expandable memory? Thanks!”

The pocket camcorder arena has blossomed into something of a small giant here recently, with entries from Sony, Samsung, Kodak and Creative flowing in to compete with the Ultra HD. For those of you who’ve laid down the cheddar, why not share your experiences here in order to direct Lulu to making the right choice? Surely you won’t pass on an opportunity to help a fellow nerd. Surely.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Digital Cameras

Ask Engadget: Best pocket-sized camcorder out there? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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