Bowers & Wilkins isn’t a name that’s generally associated with “mere mortals.” Sure, you’ll find B&W gear within palatial mansions and the drool-worthy motorcars, but by and large, these guys stick to the high-end and never bother coming down to the level of the layperson. Thanks to Apple, it seems that even this company couldn’t resist the temptation of pumping out its own iPod sound system, with the Zeppelin Mini being the second that it has sold. At $399.99 (MSRP), this one is positioned alongside more pricey options like Bose’s SoundDock, JBL’s On Stage 400P, Altec Lansing’s Mix iMT800, iHome’s iP1 and Boston Acoustics’ i-DS3. As is typical with B&W gear, the Zeppelin Mini is nothing short of beautiful, but do the acoustics really match the design? Read on for a few of our impressions.
Earlier this year, one of our dear readers wrote in asking the collective audience which wireless keyboard was the best out there for their living room. We’ve since seen all variations of that very inquiry, but the most common one was this: “what’s the best wireless keyboard for travel?” As more and more users resort to netbooks for getting things done on the go, more and more users are pulling their hair out as they attempt to bang out this month’s sales report on an 85 percent full-size keyboard. A few months back, Microsoft let loose a new Bluetooth ‘board that seemed perfect for the weary-eyed jetsetter, and we’ve been toying with it for the last little while. It’s easily one of the thinnest and lightest keyboards we’ve seen, and the carry-along-or-don’t numeric pad is certainly a nice touch. But is this slab of circuitry really what your digits need when typing on the go? Hop on past the break for a few of our impressions.
iriver’s E30 hasn’t shaken any trees since quietly launching in mid-August, but evidently the minuscule, no-frills player is shipping over in China. Available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB flavors, the pocket-friendly DAP is currently selling for around $66 at the low-end, and if you’re eager to see precisely what it looks like in the wild, that source link down there has the goods you crave. Sadly, there’s still no definite word on a US release, but if you find yourself a few time zones over this holiday season, we’re certain it’d make for a great in-flight partner on the way back.
Whether making your own lens hood to create custom bokeh, breathing like a sniper to get a blur-free photo, or angling your body to look the best in pictures, we shared some great photography hacks this year.
Software and Photoshop tricks are great, but they’re a poor substitution for doing things in-camera. Over the last year we shared a variety of hacks for taking better photos, looking better in photos, and ways to get professional results without spending your rent money on camera accessories.
What’s a bokeh you say? It’s that oh-so-wonderful fuzziness in the background of photographs with a shallow depth of field and accompanying starry highlights. You can create you own bokeh effects with a little craftiness.
We live in a culture of oversharing, so odds are someone, somewhere will be snapping and posting photos taken of you at various events. To help ensure you look your best, heed where you position your tongue.
People often lament that they “just missed it!” upon seeing they failed to capture a pivotal moment in the action. You can avoid missing the action by treating your still camera like a video camera.
You have a camera and a willing subject, but you’re not sure how to break your portraits out of the flat blandness that plagues many snapshots. Avoid boring compositions with these tips.
Many a photography enthusiast has assumed the equipment necessary is far too expensive for quality high speed photography captures. A high speed capture studio on the cheap can be had with this handy guide.
Making abstract wallpaper and gorgeous slow-exposure shots doesn’t require a bunch of design apps or photography lessons. Learn how to literally toss your camera to make abstract light art.
Whether you head 30 or 3000 miles away, you’ll want to bring back great photos of your vacation. The New York Times posts questions and answers on how to achieve great vacation photos.
Taking a good self-portrait is both a handy skill and a way to expand your photographic repertoire. Save your next profile picture from the camera-held-at-arms-length cliche with these tips.
Daytime photo tricks don’t always translate when you’re trying to capture the perfect night shot. The Photography Bay web site outlines tips for taking a stellar post-sunset shot without relying on a tripod or expensive flash system.
When the camera comes out, a lot of people instinctively declare that they look awful in pictures. Learn how to be more photogenic and put your best face forward.
If the DIY Fiber Optic Ring Flash we wrote about required too many specialist parts for your taste, check out this much simpler remix. The construction is easy and done with common household items.
Photography is a creative art, no doubt, but creative doesn’t mean doing everything willy-nilly however you want. Use these basic rules of composition to give your photos an extra boost of visual appeal.
Beauty dishes are great flash modifiers for portrait photographs, but even a cheap model will set you back at least $100. Skip it—a surprisingly effective DIY beauty dish costs less than $20.
Gizmodo’s John Mahoney explains how to take high dynamic range (HDR) photos so that the results of your photograph more accurately recreate what you were seeing when you snapped the shutter.
You don’t need a blockbuster budget to get high-quality light for your portraits. By coaxing the sun to help in your photographic endeavors, you can create stunning portraits on a tiny budget.
Lightboxes aren’t just for the professionals any longer. Using them to illuminate your Craigslist and eBay listings can help make a sale, and amateur photogs can get professional-looking shots with one. Create your own using K’nex and a little know how.
Panoramic software has come a long way toward making panoramic images child’s work. Great software or not, there’s no substitution for good source material. Take better panoramic pictures with these tips
Whether you’re interested in learning more about lighting to add to your photography skill set or you’re just curious how proper studio lighting works, this handy guide will provide some photo-enhancing insight.
Tilt-shift lenses create a great miniature effect on photographs of everyday things. The problem? These specialized lenses are insanely expensive (think $1,000 range). This video from Make demonstrates how to make a DIY tilt-shift lens on the cheap.
Sunsets are one of nature’s more spectacular displays, and a good one is worth preserving with a photograph. Take pictures that will capture the perfect dusk moment with these photography tips.
The right flash can make or break your shot. Unfortunately, not all built-in flashes are created equal. DIY web site Instructables demonstrates how to create a worthy on-the-spot flash diffuser using an empty cigarette packet.
A high-end macro lens for your camera can easily run upwards of a thousand dollars, but you can make a super-simple macro lens for a few bucks out of old binoculars.
Have a favorite photography-related hack from 2009 that wasn’t featured here? Let’s hear about it in the comments.
Up until now, the only official shot of the Joojoo tablet was that seductive snippet of the corner. ‘Course, you got a pretty good look of the thing if you bothered to watch our sit-down with Fusion Garage’s Chandra Rathakrishnan, but it’s still a pleasing sight to see the company push out a nice gallery of press shots to really tickle the senses. We aren’t exactly sure if these guys have Cameron’s approval to use Avatar screen shots to promote their product, but at this point, we wouldn’t put anything regarding the Joojoo beyond the realm of feasibility. Oh, and if you were wondering how you’d eventually use this thing as an at-home movie viewer, the $29.99 dock accessory pictured above is the answer. One word of caution, however: given all the drama surrounding this thing, use that pre-order button at your own risk.
P.S. – Our good pal Chippy is suggesting that the only possible CPU / GPU tandem that could result in the claimed 1080p support and 5 hours of battery life is the Atom Z530 and the GMA500, both from Intel. Hopefully we’ll hear something official in short order.
Dell’s 9.99mm thin Adamo XPS wasn’t supposed to ship to even the earliest orderers until December 22nd, but it seems as if a minor Christmas miracle has happened over at Adam’s office. In fact, those ordering one of these slimsters today won’t see it until mid-January, but if you got in early, there just might be hope for you yet. Oh, and if you’re pretty certain that your order will simply be delayed indefinitely as Old Man Winter holds you down, feel free to cheer yourself up by perusing the gallery below. Or slip into an infinite loop of depression — your call.
That’s right, sailor, Qualcomm has been dishing some more info on the future of smartbooks, and we now know that the Lenovo number we noticed being teased earlier this month will be driven by a vanilla copy of Google’s Android OS. Other data of import includes a purported battery life of more than eight hours and always-on connectivity through 3G (provided by AT&T in the US), WiFi and “other radios,” all of which should go nicely with that 1GHz Snapdragon chip under the hood. If you ask us, and you should, this looks like the perfect candidate for a bit of USB-mounted Chrome OS glory.
Update: Lenovo’s PR team contacted us to clarify that the above device, although strikingly similar to the Lenovo machine (possibly a reference design), is a separate, Quanta-manufactured smartbook that was on display at a Qualcomm event last week. Nevertheless, it could still end up bearing Lenovo regalia, given that Quanta produces the IdeaPad line.
The elusive Pandora handheld and the Phantom gaming system have a lot in common. Thankfully, there’s one critical difference, and that’s the fact that the dutiful souls behind what’s sure to become the world’s next favorite pocket gizmo actually have some proof that mass production is tantalizingly near. The latest update has quite a few images of the final mold, and we’re also told that mass production has begun on the mainboards. All that’s left to do is add a touch of paint, snap a few things together and yell “Hello World!” for all the world to hear. Hit the read link if you’re badly in need of getting some drool out of your system.
To think, it’s been over five years since we last tackled how to get music off your iPod, as opposed to the other way around. Back then, the classic model had only recently added the infamous click wheel (while still rocking the monochrome screen, mind you), iPod nano was still called the mini, and viewing photos was a brand new feature worthy of having its own line. It’s time to take another look at how to transfer media of all sorts — audio, video, and pictures — from a variety of iPods and iPhones back to your Windows or Mac OS X machine.
If you managed to catch the last Engadget Show, you inevitably saw our own Paul Miller carve it up a bit on Tony Hawk: Ride. Of course, Mr. Miller is known ’round these circles as a “professional skater,” so there’s a solid chance he could’ve handled just about anything the guys and gals at Activision threw his way. The reality of the matter is that not everyone feels safe and secure on something resembling a skateboard, and now we’re being let in on the world of prototypes that were used to land on the final design. Within the read link you’ll find randomly placed arcade buttons, trucks with no wheels, a terrifying amount of sensors and a comical amount of duct tape. Yeah — even the whiz kids that make your dreams a reality start with duct tape. Go on, have a peek if you’re in disbelief.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
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Whether making your own lens hood to create custom bokeh, breathing like a sniper to get a blur-free photo, or angling your body to look the best in pictures, we shared some great photography hacks this year.
Whether you head 30 or 3000 miles away, you’ll want to bring back great photos of your vacation. The New York Times posts questions and answers on how to achieve great vacation photos.
Taking a good self-portrait is both a handy skill and a way to expand your photographic repertoire. Save your next profile picture from the camera-held-at-arms-length cliche with these tips.
Daytime photo tricks don’t always translate when you’re trying to capture the perfect night shot. The Photography Bay web site outlines tips for taking a stellar post-sunset shot without relying on a tripod or expensive flash system.
Photography is a creative art, no doubt, but creative doesn’t mean doing everything willy-nilly however you want. Use these basic rules of composition to give your photos an extra boost of visual appeal.
