HTC Touch Diamond – Competition For The iPhone?
May 8, 2008
The iPhone was far and away the must have gadget of the last year for many people. Touch screen goodness and a good set of features made it truly stand out from the crowd, although the millions of people that will seemingly buy anything with the Apple logo also helped its popularity I’m sure. Recent news on the iPhone is that it’s now unavailable in the UK but an updated 3G version will be available very soon.
In the meantime, here’s a potential competitor to salivate over. The HTC Touch Diamond is expected to be released in less than a couple of months although no firm information on networks and pricing have been released. Murmurs have indicated that Orange will be the first to offer the Touch Diamond at a sim-free price of £400 or, if you’re willing to sell your soul on a monthly basis, you could get the handset free.
As well as offering a full touch-screen interface with 2.8” display, it will have built in A-GPS software to use with any satnav application. It will also have a 3.2MP camera and 3G data meaning that users will be privvy to speeds of up to 7.2MBps. FM radio and built in WiFi and bluetooth round off an impressive set of features that is designed to make the Touch Diamond compete with the latest incarnation of the iPhone.
Style And Features From The LG Secret
April 26, 2008
LG took a giant leap in the mobile phone industry with the releases of the LG Chocolate and the LG Shine. As of the 24th
April (Europe release date - America and Asia to follow), they’ve taken their third step with the release of what is the slimmest, and arguably best looking, 5 Megapixel camera phone available in Europe.
The LG Secret offers the same level of design as its black label predecessors but packs in even more features. The carbon fibre body is not only designed to look good but also ensures that your mobile phone looks as good after several months as it did on day one. Even the LCD uses tempered glass to provide a ruggedness and hardiness not always associated with mobile phones.
120 frames per second of DivX video combines with the impressive 5 Megapixel camera and a plethora of high specification features to give a powerful mobile experience. The Touch Screen design is, in all probability, an attempt to cash in on the unparalleled success of the Apple iPhone but that’s not a reason to complain so long as it works properly – and all early indications show that it does just that.
LG have really stepped up to the plate recently as a serious mobile phone manufacturer, and the Secret is certain to carry on this lineage of high quality and good looking phones.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 Digital SLR Camera Review
April 11, 2008
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 is the second digital SLR camera that Panasonic has manufactured and this second model is packed full of easy to use features that help take stunning photographs.
The L10 is a modern looking digital SLR compared to it’s predecessor which was modelled a traditional SLR camera. The result is a better looking camera which is easier to use and handle as the size and ergonomics are not overbearing like some other cameras on the market. Panasonic have also included some new features which I like. This includes the new 2.5 inch flip out screen which rotates so you can use it like a normal digital camera or to take self portraits. The LCD screen has an auto focus system which adapts when you alter the zoom and focus with perfect accuracy. When you flip the screen back in the optical view finder comes back into use - it is very simple but also very clever.
The 10.1 mega pixel L10 has also benefited from some of the new features from their new LZ camera range. This includes automatic facial recognition and mega O.I.S image stabilizing which can easily be switched on with a button on the side of the lens. The O.I.S has three settings depending on what you are shooting at the time, we found that the system worked well to reduce shake and to test to the max we took pictures on board a high speed rib on the River Thames.
The L10 is very easy to use and is aimed at users new to digital SLR cameras. The selection dial on the top of the camera is a nice touch and includes five programs that can easily be selected depending on what you are photographing at the time. Panasonic have also included the new Intelligent Auto technology (IA) on this camera which makes point and click photography possible for the first time with digital SLR’s.
The intelligent auto feature automatically removes red eye, handles scene selection modes, adjusts light configurations, reduces colour bleed and noise reduction - the results are amazing and show that Panasonic have developed their IA technology a great deal since their last model.
To demonstrate the new technology we took some pictures with the L10 in London, some were taken on the River Thames and some were taken on land.
Click for a larger image:
We were very impressed with the L10. The pictures were taken by a colleague of mine who had never used a digital SLR camera before, we only had around 35 minutes to take the pictures and as you can see the results were great (bearing in mind most of them were taken at high speeds on a speed boat).
If you are thinking of venturing into the world of digital SLR then we would highly recommend you give this camera a look, it is easy to use and delivers great looking pictures from either extreme close up or from a distance. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Panasonic HDC-SD9 Camcorder Review And Specification
April 9, 2008
A few weeks ago we were invited to Panasonic’s imaging event in London to test the latest cameras and camcorders Panasonic has to offer. Today we attended the event at the perfect venue to test cameras, the Dali universe (which is next to the London eye, houses of parliament, near tower bridge etc). So there was plenty to snap away at.
I reviewed the Panasonic HDC-SD9 camcorder and today I am going to show you some of the stills that were taken whilst speeding along on a boat - this was the perfect test for the Panasonic’s OIS camera system which automatically reduces shakes caused by a wobbly hand! First of all I would like to tell you some facts and my thoughts on this camcorder.
The Panasonic HDC-SD9 the smallest and lightest full High Definition camcorder in the world. It records in 1920×1080 at 25P. In layman’s terms that means it records in the same true to life format as you would see on Emerdale or Eastender’s compared to the standard movie format of 24P.
Another neat feature is the face detection and intelligent shooting guide which makes filming as simple as pie. Here is some blurb from the Panasonic site that explains what technologies the camera offers “It also offers Panasonic’s original 3CCD camera system, Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), and a Leica Dicomar lens – three technologies that team up to deliver full-HD images of exquisite beauty. Viewed on today’s high-quality large-screen TVs, video clips shot with the HDC-SD9 are simply breathtaking”. This means you can record professional looking movies in full HD at the click of a button.
Another feature that I like is the fact that the HDC-SD9 uses dual memory of a SD card and an internal 60 GB hard-drive. This means you can easily upgrade the memory in the future and you also gain all the benefits of having SD memory (easy to share, easy to transfer and more versatile when you come to print and SD cards are now cheap as chips).
As I mentioned earlier I took quite a few still pictures with the camcorder. The reason for this was that I believe this type of camcorder is a great replacement for a standard digital camera. The photos were sharp and as clear as the video, this is a great point and click camera as well as a camcorder. One nice feature (which has become standard on most camcorders now) is that the HDC-SD9 has a dedicated photo button at the top back of the camera, this can be quickly used between filming without having to change filming modes. All you have to do is pause filming and take the photo - it’s so simple but extremely effective.
The camera records in 5.1 channel sound and one thing I noticed from the dismantled demo they had on show was it also has five microphones. This sound quality is great and when matched to the picture quality makes a really decent film on the simplist point and click settings.
In summary I feel this is a great little camcorder with some outstanding features, I love the compact size and ease of use and the HD film it delivers is amazing.
Here are some digital stills taken with the Panasonic HDC-SD9 camcorder:
Here are the links to the images if you want them in 1920×1080:
Big Ben and houses of parliament | London eye photo | Tower Bridge Photo | Views From The River Thames | Tower Bridge Full Size Photo | The Carrot Building in London | Big Ben London | Houses of parliament | Royal Naval War Memorial London
Flying Stick Camera | A Digital Camera That Flies
January 27, 2008
The flying stick digital camera has landed, or should that be taken off?
The flying camera uses kinetic energy produced by rubbing the stalk between your hands and letting go. When the energy has been used it simply twirls back towards the ground safely.
Whilst the camera is in the air it uses face recognition technology to make sure it is capturing the action as it happens.
This is a quirky gadget which really is more of a toy than a digital camera, but hey fun is fun!
Phillips AJL308 Clock Radio And Photo Frame Only 99.98
January 13, 2008
PHILIPS AJL308 Clock Radio with Picture Frame – MP3 player and 7” digital photo frame in one - Only £99.98
Product code: 421396
Buy The Philips AJL308 at PC World
Kodak V1253 Digital Camera Now £50 Off
January 13, 2008
Kodak Easyshare V1253 Digital Camera – Save £50, Now Only £149.99
Product code: 639905
