Hasta La Gadget!

A lack of surprise isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It seems the best bullet points of Olympus‘ CES unveils have been leaked in some way, shape, or form, but that doesn’t detract from the quality. There is, in fact, a 12.3 megapixel PEN E-PL2 with a new “silent autofocus” lens that should clear the air a bit when shooting 720p HD video. The E-PL1 follow-up also has new creative filters with fine-tuned adjustments, face / eye detection, RAW support, an ISO range up to 6400, a 3-inch LCD, SDXC slot, and a second generation accessory port compatible with both previous E-PL1 dongles and new ones like a MAL-1 macro spotlight or a PENPal Bluetooth transfer. That MSC lens, too, is compatible with various “affordable” conversion lenses (fish eye, wide-angle, macro). Look for this body and lens kit later this month for a cool $599.

The other Olympus shooter making its away around the rumor mill, the 10 megapixel XZ-1 (also due out in January), is a pretty interesting device. Though not quite a Micro Four Thirds (that Zuiko lens is firmly affixed), it boasts full manual controls (including focus), 4x optical zoom, RAW support, an SDXC slot 720p 30fps HD video, a 3-inch OLED screen, and support for peripherals like an external mic and electronic viewfinder — and it’s pretty light, to boot. We got only a brief chance to play around with it but walked away mighty impressed with what we saw. The only catch is that $499.99 price tag, which we do understand for its pricing but would also lament not forking over the extra Benjamin for something more versatile like the E-PL2.

Hold on, we’ve got three pocket shooter subcategories to satisfy. There’s the $139.99, 14 megapixel VG-120 budget camera due out in January, with 5x optical zoom, 720p video, and a 3-inch LCD. The waterproof / shockproof / freezeproof TG-310 and TG-610 are coming in February with a 14 megapixel sensor, 720p video and a 3D photo mode ($199.99 and $299.99, respectively). Lastly, the 14 megapixel SP-610 wide angle ultra zoom also boasts 3D photo mode, along with a 22x zoom — that one’s marked $229.99 for spring 2011. Okay, now that we have all that out of the way, enjoy our hands-on shots and press imagery below, and a tome of press releases after the break.

Continue reading Olympus’ PEN PL-2 touts ‘silent autofocus’ lens, XZ-1 straddles line between MFT and pocket shooter

Olympus’ PEN PL-2 touts ‘silent autofocus’ lens, XZ-1 straddles line between MFT and pocket shooter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Well, would you look at what we found hanging around Toshiba’s CES kick-off party. Okay, so Tosh’s still unnamed tablet wasn’t running Honeycomb like the final unit will, but Toshiba’s loaded Android 2.2 on there to give us a better idea of how it will work when it’s finally ready. There’s really not much we can say that we didn’t already say before — it’s still a very nicely made tablet and we’re really digging that rubberized back. As for the screen, the viewing angles were quite wide and Toshiba showed off its Resolution +, which will enhance video or photos on the fly to make them look more HDish. If you’re interested in seeing a bit more, hit the break for short video.

Continue reading Toshiba’s unnamed Android, Tegra 2-powered tablet powers on!

Toshiba’s unnamed Android, Tegra 2-powered tablet powers on! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 02:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Today at CES, Mophie showed off a prototype of its Pulse game grip for the 4th-generation iPod touch, which features battery-powered front-facing stereo speakers and haptic feedback by Reflex Technology. We spent some time using the Pulse and came away rather impressed. Game audio, music, and even the keyboard tick sound get translated into convincing pulses and vibrations. The iPod touch interfaces with the Pulse via the 3.5mm headphone jack, and a switch on the bottom left edge turns the haptic feedback on and off. As a bonus, the Pulse also offers full case protection. No word yet on availability or pricing, but you can check out the prototype in the gallery below.

Mophie Pulse haptic game grip hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 01:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

AMD’s Fusion processors might finally be well and truly official, but all the hardware that will wrap around them hasn’t yet filtered through into public knowledge. One such machine is the above, as yet unnamed, VAIO laptop from Sony. It’s an 11.6-inch machine driven by an E-350 Zacate chip (meaning a dual-core APU running at 1.6GHz) and the particular unit we handled also came with 4GB of RAM, 500GB of HDD storage, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth and that utterly delectable pink lid. Construction felt solid enough, with little to no flex in the keyboard and a sturdy display hinge. This HDMI-equipped laptop also feels pretty light in the hand and is easy enough to hold and to adore with just one hand. The one thing that shocked and disappointed us was that once we unplugged it from the mains, the VAIO offered us a measly three hours and six minutes of autonomous runtime. Before you rush to accusing AMD of over-promising with its Fusion chips, do note that it was running an Internet Explorer-based graphical benchmark, which obviously isn’t your typical usage scenario, as well as Sony’s excessively frugal 3500mAh battery. This thing with a beefier power cell could be a pretty gorgeous lightweight mobile computer, in our opinion, let’s see if Sony decides to give us such an option when it makes it official some time soon. The AMD rep informed us that this and all the other Zacate laptops should be making their way to market in the next six weeks.

Sony shows off 11.6-inch VAIO laptop with AMD Zacate goodness inside (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

When you’re racing down the slopes, scuba-diving somewhere exotic, or zipping around on your motorcycle, the last thing you probably want to think about doing is shooting video. But if you’re the type who just has to capture every adrenaline-pumping moment, Liquid Image has you covered with its new line of camera-equipped goggles. The $349 Scuba camera mask supports depths up to 100 meters, and does stills and video in 720p. The $400 Impact series also does both still and video, but it bumps the resolution up to 1080p. All of these goggles have a microSD slot, as well as buttons along the side for switching between the respective modes. Beware, once you start recording, you’ll no longer be able to tell your friends you’re in the Black Diamond Club when you really just spend all day on the bunny slope. Press release is after the break.

Continue reading Liquid Image Xtreme Sport Cam goggles hands-on

Liquid Image Xtreme Sport Cam goggles hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments