August 1, 2009

Nikon D300S and D3000 Digital SLR Announced


Nikon has announced two new digital SLRs D300S and D3000. The D300s is a DX format 12.3-megapixel DSLR with CMOS sensor, 51-point autofocus and 7 frames per second continuous shooting mode. The camera will also shoot 720p video at 24fps and it has external stereo microphone input along with in camera movie editing. The startup time for the camera is 130 milliseconds and shutter release time is only 49 milliseconds. D330s also features dual card slots for CF/SD memory cards. Read More

July 28, 2009

Creative Unveils Touchscreen Zii EGG For Developers And OEMs


Creative today introduced touchscreen Zii EGG and Plaszma platform for developers and OEMs. Creative says Zii EGG is world’s first handheld based on StemCell Computer technology developed by the company itself. The device features 3.5-inch 480 x 320 LCD screen, 10-point multi-touch display, 3D hardware graphics acceleration for OpenGL ES, 256MB Mobile DDR RAM, up to 32GB internal memory, front and rear facing cameras, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, Accelerometer and SD card slot. Read More

July 27, 2009

Panasonic Reveals Four New Digital Cameras


Panasonic today introduced four new Lumix digital cameras DMC-FZ35 super zoom, DMC-FP8, DMC-FX65 and DMC-ZR1. The first camera in the lineup is 12.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-FZ35 super zoom digital compact camera with 18x optical zoom lens. The DMC-FZ35 features an AVCHD lite high-definition movie recording (720p) capability along with faster Venus Engine HD processor. Other features on the camera are Power O.I.S lens shift stabilization, ISO Sensitivity range of 80 to 6400, 14 shooting modes including Intelligent AUTO, various picture and movie modes, 2.3 fps continuous shooting mode and 2.7-inch LCD monitor. The Lumix DMC-FZ35 will ship in September. Read More

Review Roundup: Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch


Apple updated MacBook Pro 13-inch models by adding built-in battery with up to 40 percent longer battery life (up to 7 hours), LED backlit display with greater color intensity, illuminated keyboard, SD card slot and FireWire 800 port. Apple also reduced the starting price of the notebook to $1,199 making them more affordable while adding new features.
Below we have added links to nine most comprehensive reviews available online for MacBook Pro 13-inch:
Read More

July 26, 2009

Is iTunes Support On Palm Pre Turning Into Cat And Mouse Game?


A new chapter in iTunes war was added this week when Palm released the new Palm webOS 1.1 software update and posted on its blog mocking Apple - “Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync. That’s right – you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1).”

Apple last week updated iTunes software disabling sync feature of Palm Pre. Apple continued to maintain its stance on the topic after Palm’s software update and said, “As we’ve said before, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.”

Palm went one step further by notifying the USB Implementers Forum about improper use of the Vendor ID number by Apple. Palm said, “Openness and interoperability offer better experience for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content they own without interference across device and services, so on behalf of consumer, we have notified the USB Implementers Forum.”

Two things Palm is doing wrong here are one – Palm is hacking iTunes to work with its hardware even though it has no legal permission from the software maker, and second – Palm complained to USB Implementers Forum even though it is wrongly using USB Vendor ID to identify Pre as Apple’s device.

Apple isn’t stopping customers from using their DRM-free content across various devices. In fact you can play a DRM-free song bought from iTunes on any device that supports AAC codec. You can simply drag and drop those songs on the device that shows up as USB drive on the computer or you can use the syncing software that came with the device. What Apple is doing is stopping Palm from using Apple’s proprietary software iTunes for their gain. If Palm had developed a media syncing software for Pre that run on your computer, Apple wouldn’t have blocked it.

Apple has never claimed that iTunes works with various devices. Syncing is a feature of iTunes software (which is proprietary) and not a feature of content customers bought from iTunes store. Basically, Palm is using 10 years of hard work that Apple did building iTunes and advertising it as a feature on Pre. If Palm continues like this, the cat and mouse game will end in a court and Palm’s customers who bought the Pre thinking it has iTunes support will be the one’s to suffer because of Palm.
[Via TechzTalk]