Hasta La Gadget!

Having a hard time parting ways with a certain plucky, lightning-scarred orphan? J.K. Rowling feels your pain (as she counts her money) and has teamed up with Google to help you fall in love with the world of Hogwarts all over again — e-book style. The voluminous tomes will be making their exclusive electronic debut through Google’s eBooks platform as part of the Sony-backed Pottermore site launching this October. El Goog’s open format plays nicely with “more than 80 ereaders” — we’re looking at you iRiver Story HD — and can also be downloaded in app form for iOS and Android smartphones. But the integration doesn’t end there — under terms of the agreement, Google Checkout “will be the preferred third party payment platform” for all the site’s Harry Potter knick knacks your credit limit will allow. It’s ok, you don’t have to let go of the dream just yet. There’s still a little wizard inside us all.

J.K. Rowling, Google to bring Pottermania to your e-reader originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Traditionally known as DSLRs, interchangeable lens cameras (ILC) have always promised excellent image quality, speed, and versatility. But their enormous size and weight, lofty price tags, and intimidating design have forced casual photographers to focus on compact and superzoom point-and-shoot cameras instead, often leaving those bulky, confusing monstrosities to the pros. Enter mirrorless models, which scrap an optical viewfinder in favor of shrinking both body size and price tag, have provided the rest of us with a welcome mat to the world of powerful sensors, high-speed shooting, and swappable lenses — with relatively little sacrifice along the way.

The 16-megapixel Alpha NEX-C3 builds upon the successes of its predecessor — the NEX-3 — sporting a slimmer body and redesigned APS-C sensor. It also adds a reported 20-percent boost in battery life, improved low light performance, and a slimmer, more attractive design. We spent well over a month using the NEX-C3 as our primary camera for product shoots, trade shows, hands-on videos, and vacations, and were blown away by its performance as both a versatile still snapper and a powerful video camera. It’s important to note that while the C3 does capture 720p video, it can’t shoot in 1080p, so you’ll need to look elsewhere if you need full HD. Like all mirrorless cameras, there’s also no optical viewfinder, nor is there a traditional hot shoe. Instead, Sony included the same propriety connector found on the NEX-3 and NEX-5, enabling connectivity with a dedicated external microphone and a limited variety of external flashes, including the compact strobe that ships in the box. While some photographers may find the NEX-C3 inadequate for their needs, we absolutely loved shooting with it, and we think you will too. Jump past the break to see why.

Continue reading Sony Alpha NEX-C3 review

Sony Alpha NEX-C3 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready for yet another S1 / S2 teaser video that tells you more about the marketing team’s potential extra-curricular indulgences and absolutely nothing new about the tablets? Well, drop those tabs and strap in for some doll-voiced la la la’s as Sony leads us even deeper into the late-night realm of desktop toys and the tablets they love. Shots of the stylish slates displaying video and gaming functionality are all but hidden in a “filled with fun” maze of booby-trap triggered contraptions. It’s a romp through the sort of endearing Tim Burton-esque, high-art nightmare Sony’s dabbled in for past Playstation campaigns — so we’re not too surprised. Hit the break to hitch a ride on this video wonderland.

Continue reading Sony’s latest tablet teaser plunges deeper into the rabbit hole, still tells us nothing

Sony’s latest tablet teaser plunges deeper into the rabbit hole, still tells us nothing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a move suggesting they might be ready to accept the realities of the internet era, major US record labels have reached a deal with Chinese search engine company Baidu. The agreement between the search giant and One-Stop China, a joint venture of Universal, Warner and Sony BMG, will result in licensed tracks popping up in searches instead of pirated ones and resolve years of legal wrangling between the two sides. Baidu launched its ting! social music service earlier this year with support from local labels and EMI, while this new deal will see labels paid per-play, per-download and from advertising. Between this and the recent launch of Spotify in the US the cheap and easy fun of music piracy is slipping away rapidly, if record labels continue to act sensibly then illegal downloads will soon be limited to hipsters ironically cracking open vintage editions of Soulseek.

Continue reading China’s Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads

China’s Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If we’re looking at sales figures of 3.5 million units in the first year for a new laptop, smartphone, or camera, then we might be impressed. But 3D Blu-ray discs? When half were included in the box with a Blu-ray player? Man, that’s gotta sting. Those numbers are based on an IHS Screen Digest estimate, tallying US sales beginning in June of 2010 and ending last month, though many larger titles didn’t make their debut until later in the year. Still, if those results are even in the ballpark of official (unreleased) numbers from BD distributors, then things really aren’t looking up for 3D. With fewer than 100 titles even available on Blu-ray, however, we’re not really surprised that discs aren’t exactly flying off the shelves. Obviously, as a growing number of movies are filmed in 3D we’ll see BD title availability increase as well, but with the technology’s lackluster beginnings over the last year and no sign that consumers are ready to spend more to embrace that new dimension, 3D may continue its slow crawl toward the mainstream for some time to come.

Report: 3.5 million 3D Blu-ray discs ‘sold’ in first year, half were bundled with hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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