Pocket-sized Sony HDR-TG1 Camcorder

WORLD’S SMALLEST FULL HD CAMCORDER FROM SONY

Nowadays, HD camcorder is a buzz word. And if the handycam is from Sony it appeals more to us. Yes, I am talking about diminutive and compact Sony HDR-TG1 camcorder, which records video in full HD resolution (in 1080i video mode). This high-definition capability influences the choice of vacationers, who don’t want to “travel heavy.” Another advantage for any traveler is the hanycam’s durable titanium body, which makes it highly resistant to scratches.

The hanycam is embedded with advanced video and audio technologies with simple and intuitive operations. Sony HDR-TG1 is equipped with a high-quality Carl Zeiss10x optical zoom lens and 2-megapixel CMOS sensor, engineered to minimize picture noise. Audio signals are captured in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. And the in-built zoom microphone feature senses signal for clear recordings along with the video.

 

160GB PS3 and PSP coming in October

Details on the new PlayStation 3 have been revealed officially by Sony today. Among the announcements was the crucial release date of 31st October 2008. This launch date is for Europe only, it will hit the streets in the US in November. We could see the new 160GB PS3 coming to India only in 2009.

The new technology in the PS3 includes the wireless keypad which enables you to type on it.

On the other hand the new PlayStationPortable will come with a built-in microphone and an anti-reflective screen.

"Consumers also are utilising PS3 as an entertainment hub for their digital media, placing content such as their entire music collection on the hard drive," said Jack Tretton who is the head of the America Sony gaming division.

The 160 GB PS3 will cost about 450 Euros, and close to $500 in the USA. The PSP will be launched at an introductory price of $200.

Hitachi DZ-HS503 DVD / HDD camcorder

Hitachi has come out with another addition after the Hitach DZ-HS303 and DZ-HS301 versions of their HDD camcorders. The Hitach DZ-HS503 camcorder will come with a 30 GB hard disk and provision for recording on to 8 centimeter DVDs. These will obviously include DVD-RAMs to DVD-RW.
The other specifications of the DZ-HS503 camcorder is the 2.8 megapixel CCD, 10x optical zoom, and a 2.7 inch TFT LCD screen. There is a provision for an extra SD card slot if you want to store medium quality photos.
The Hitachi DZ-HS503 DVD / HDD camcorder will cost close to $1,100 which is a bit over priced but worth it in our opinions.

Sanyo Xacti HD1000

Today Sanyo announced the Xacti HD1000 with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. This is probably the smallest and the lightest full HD digital camcorder out there. The camcorder can write to SDHC memory to a 8GB memory card.
The camcorder comes with a 10x optical zoom, 2.7 inch widescreen LCD display, and HDMI output. The weight of the HD1000 is close to 9.5 ounces.
The Xacti HD1000 costs around $800 and will be available for shipping in september.

JVC GR-DA20 Camcorder - With Sliding LCD

VC's newest digital camcoder comes with a beautiful LCD sdcreen which can be moved and adjusted while recording or to record from different angles. The GR-DS20 camcorder comes with a 1/6 inch 800K CCD sensor, 34x optical zoom, a 3D noise filtering facility and 16:9 widescreen capture mode.
The LCD screen is a 2.4 inch screen which can be moved to different angles to capture better shots. There is also a Nightscope function in the camcorder which enables low-light recording too. No idea as to when this will be available or even for that matter the ever so important question - PRICE!

Hitachi BD70E and BD7HE Bluray Camcorders

The Hitachi BD70E and BD7HE are the latest Blu-ray camcorders announced by Hitachi. The Blu-ray camcorders feature a 5.3 megapixel CMOS sensor with 1920 x 1080 Full HD recording capabilties. The recorded bit will be done on 8cm blu-ray discs which are pretty costly to say the least. Normal DVD discs can also be used if you dont want to use Blu-ray media.
The camcorders record media in MPEG-4/H.264 compression type. In standard quality mode 2 hours can be recorded on the BD70E while 8 hours can be done on the BD7HE.

JVC GR-DA30US

The JVC GR-DA30US has just been launched and that too for a great price i must add. The JVC GR-DA30US will cost you only $200 and it starts shipping around october/november. This camcorder will be available on Amazon.com then. But if you are too excited to get this fast, then head over to BestBuy.com as they say its available for immediate shipping.

The JVC GR-DA30US also comes with a 30x optical zoom with a 680K, 1/6 inch CCD  and 340K effective pixels. This is an update to the JVC GR-DA20 Camcorder - With Sliding LCD.

BenQ DC-T800 Digital Camera

BenQ has just announced the successor to their DC-T700 digital camera which it launched at the start of the year. The DC-T800 comes with a 8 megapixel ccd and is thinner than the T700.

The DC-T800 has a 3 inch touch screen and a super-shake free feature, which will give you much better photos than before. It features other stuff like Face Tracking, Photo editing, and you can also take good videos with it.

The camera can record videos at 30 frames per second with 640 x 480 pixels MPEG-4 quality. The camera will soon be released probably expected in the start of October.

Sony Cybershot DSC-T2

The Sony Cybershot DSC-T2 is a nice and compact camera which comes with in-built flash memory of size 4GB. This is pretty decent as you can store about 1000 pictures of 4 megapixel resolution and about 500 with the top quality of 8 megapixel - on it quite easily. The Sony Cybershot DSC-T2 comes with a 8 MP lens and a 1/2.5 inch CCD.

The Camera has a touch panel which measures about 2.7 inches and has a 230k pixel resolution. A 3x Carl Zeiss lens to top it off is great. This camera will be available in the holiday season for around $400 .... so start saving now!

Nikon comes out with Coolpix S550 CoolPix S210 and S520

Nikon has rolled out another set of low end to medium range digital camera. To start with the Nikon Coolpix S550 comes with a 10 megapixels CCD with 5x opitcal zoom and an  electronic stabilization. The camera has a 2.5-inch LCD and is due to come out in February  for an estimated price of $229

The other two are the 8 megapixel CCD ones, namely the S520  and the S210. The S520 will be released in march for about $229 and the S210 will be available for $179 which is a good price for a 8 megapixels camera.

The Nikon cameras nowadays come with a 2.5 inch LCD so that is standard for all.

JVC Everio GZ-HD5 and EVerio GZ-HD6 HD

VC always do the right things in terms of experience and add-ons, but they don't always get the price right. This week they have decided to rolls out a few more high definition digital cameras the Everio GZ-HD5 and the GZ-HD6. Both these are available in black as well as silver color. Although i doubt whether the hardcore HD Camcorder freaks care too much about what color they are getting as long as it can handle 1080i easily.

The Camcorders can capture good video at 1920 x 1080 resolution having the latest Genessa tech chips. It comes with appropriate HDMI component, iLink and mini- USB connections.


The GZ-HD5 comes with a 60GB hardisk, while the GZ-HD6 comes with a huge huge huge - 120 gig harddrive! I think thats enough to store a lot of footage!

Also, as usual... they have kept us guessing when it comes to the main question --- Price?!

Kodak EasyShare Z1012 IS

The Kodak Easyshare Z1012 is going to be the next flagholder for the Kodak special and high end cameras. The camera comes with a 10 megapixel resolution with a 12 x optical zoom.
Have a look at this beauty of a camera -

Sanyo Xacti CG9 - Camcorder

Sanyo has really upped the tempo in the camcorder market, they are definitely one of the most exciting ones out there and they certainly don't flatter to deceive. The all new spanking new version of the Xacticamcorder has been released and this time it is with a 9 Megpixel CMOS.

The Xacti CG9 comes with a "face chasing" technology which is what most manufacturers are eying in the coming years. The Xacti CG9 has a negligible 40 mb internal memory with a 5x optical zoom. The video codec used is H.264, and the video is recorded in VGA quality at 60 frames per second (top fps).

This cam focuses more on stills and less for HD recording as it looks. With the CMOS we think it will do a better job than the normal CCD technology. CMOS sensors do deliver higher MTF (colloquially referred to as sharpness) at High Defination data rates than CCDs do.

Pricing on this one, not known yet.... will update this space for you camcorder freaks!

Casio announces EX-Z300 - EXZ250 and EZ-Z85 cameras

The Casio Exilim range of cameras has been expanded by the company in order to obtain a larger market share in the digital camera market. The Casio EX-Z300 is our favorite one amongst the three cameras.

The Casio Exilim EZ-Z300 is a 10.1 megapixel camera with 4x Zoom and about 40MB of internal memory. The camera comes with a neat 3inch LCD display which guides you in taking good photos with high quality.

The Casio Exilim EZ-Z250 has a 9.1 megapixel camera with almost the same features mentioned above in the Z300.

Both these cameras run on the Exilim Engine 3.0 which offers high noise reduction, good quality images. Face detection to an extent and shake reduction as well.  The Z300 and the Z250 both have movie modes which can record video with H.264 codec which is same as MP4 and can be played on your iPods or Zunes.

The Casio EZ-Z85 is also a 9.1 megapixel camera with similar features except the 2.6 LCD screen instead of the 3inch screen.

The EZ-Z300 will cost you around $300, EZ-Z250 around $250 and the best bet for value money buy is the EZ-Z85 for less than $180.

HTC S740 - Dual Keypad Smartphone

HTC has come out with a design which others have not dared to try. A dual keypad one with a normal keypad on the top like any ordinary phones and the slider opening up to unveil a full scale QWERTY keypad.

The only awkward thing we notice in the phone is the screen when used with the full-scale keypad. It just doesn't fit. When using a QWERTY keypad you need a complete display to view emails and other things but due to the 12-keypad on the front this is not possible.

The data connectivity offered by the HTC S740 is faster than 3G coming up to over 7MBPS. The phone weighs around 140 grams and measures 116.3 x 43.4 x 16.3 mm with a 2.4 inch QVGA display. Normally we would expect a VGA display but due to the small scren size we will have to settle for QVGA. Other features like Wi-Fi which has become customary in all new phones along with 256MB of inbuilt memory, 3.5mm audio jack, and Usb 2.0 port.

The S740 comes with a Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system running on Qualcom MSM7225 , 528 Mhz processor. The phone is WCDMA compatible along with HSDPA and GSM capable. There is GPS and AGPS navigation along with a FM radio built-in.

This HTC smartphone is scheduled to be released in mid September 2008 and could retail for $550 without carrier subsidy

LG Flatron M228WD LCD TV

The LG Flatron M228WD was spotted recently on many sites so why not we take a look at it ourselves too. The LCD TV is a 22 inch one very similar to the LG M228WA with just a letter difference. The good thing about this one is that it comes with the HDMI port instead of the DVI one with an integrated digital TV tuner.

The LG Flatron M228WD has a resolution of 1680 x 1050, with 300 cd/m2 brightness with 5ms response time. The TV does have a slightly low contrast ratio of 3000:1.

Price is rumored to be around $400 so its not that pricey.

iPhone to be launched in September in India

Confirmed reports from plenty of sources that the 8GB iPhone from Apple is going to come to India (officially) in September. We have seen plenty of iPhones here on the streets of Bombay purchased from gray markets at a good price. The prices floating around for an iPhone in Mumbai are around Rs. 20,000 to 22,000, depending on your source.

The 8GB version will be officially launched in September this year for a price of Rs. 28,000, much more than the price in the US.

The phone will be launched with Vodafone and finally there will be a "legal" way to get your hands on this. Although we doubt many users would go this way :

3G iPhone is finally official!

The 3G iPhone was announced yesterday by Steve Jobs at the Apple Developers Conference in San Franciso. The new iPhone is actually a little thicker than the old one, but you really don't notice it - thats what the hands-on reviewers at Gizmodo say.

The phone comes with 3G, GSM, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as connectivity options. The back of the iPhone has been the main change 'appearance wise'. It now has a black plastic cover with a camera on the top right.

The new 3G iPhone also provides better audio clarity and the person at the other end can also hear ou better. All in all, at a reduced price of $199 bucks this is surely a good deal. The phone will now be available with over 40 carriers. They are listed below for your reference.

• México: América Móvil
• United States: AT&T
• India: Bharti Airtel
• Philippines: Globe Telecom
• Hong Kong: Hutchison Telecom
• UK & Ireland: O2
• Portugal: Orange and Vodafone
• Austria: Orange and T-Mobile
• France: Orange
• Switzerland: Orange and Swisscom
• Canada: Rogers (wheeeeeee) and Fido (le wheeeeee)
• Singapore: SingTel
• Japan: Softbank
• Italy: Telecom Italia and Vodafone
• Spain: Telefónica
• Denmark: TeliaSonera
• Finland: TeliaSonera
• Norway: TeliaSonera
• Sweden: TeliaSonera
• Germany: T-Mobile
• Netherlands: T-Mobile
• Australia: Vodafone and Optus
• New Zealand: Vodafone

Launching in India before the turn of the year, so wait up before you go shopping for a new phone. Officially out on sale in the USA around July.

War - Nokia N96 vs Apple iPhone

We realise that we have been going on and on about the iPhone and the Nokia N96, but thats all what we can do since this is our job and specially when the two iconic phones launched together in the same week in India.

Price Comparision:
The Nokia N96 will cost you around Rs. 36,000 while the Apple iPhone 3G with 8GB memory will cost Rs. 31000 and 16GB about Rs. 36,100. On price points even though they are hugely expensive we give them equal rank.

SMS Forwarding, FM Radio:
These two features are the darling of any mobile phone user in India. Since Texting messaging is really cheap in this part of the world forwarding SMSes is a very normal thing for all users. FM Radio is the life of people whilst traveling this is your one source of entertainment on the roads of the Indian metro cities. The lack of both these features on the iPhone is a big minus as far as its Indian market is concerned.

Battery Life:
Nokia N96 wins on this hands down. There have been lots of problems with the battery drainage of the Apple iPhone and these don't seem to stop. You will have to charge your phone everyday or twice a day for that matter if you are a heavy user.

GPS:
This is not a huge factor for the Indian market, but still a talking point. On the GPS front Nokia again wins this pretty easily.

Video Calling:
Video calling is not possible on the iPhone and the Nokia N96 is pretty good at it.

Data Transfer and Bluetooth usage:
A major , major talking point regarding the iPhone. The bluetooth on the iPhone can only be used for hands-free calling. No data transfer allowed between handsets or even with a computer with bluetooth enabled.

Storage:
You thought the storage factor will play in for the iPhone ? That isn't true. The Nokia N96 comes with 16GB of internal storage plus you have the luxury of adding a 8GB memory card giving you a whopping storage of 24GB. The iPhone again loses here.

Design:
There is no beating the iPhone, as simple as that!

All in all, if you are looking for more bang for the buck, go for the Nokia N96. Lookwise and as a fashion symbol, we still say there is no beating the iPhone!

Nokia 6600i unleashed in India

The Nokia 6600i has just been launched in India and it establishes itself as the smallest 5-megapixel phone in the market. The 6600i has a slider form factor with an extremely impressive design and style.

The camera being the phones USP promises to deliver crystal clear imaging with its 8x zoom and auto focus functionality. It also comes with a dual LED flash for enhancing image quality.

Other features include FM radio, playback for all kinds of media files/formats, stereo headsets and bluetooth v2.0. A microSD card slot capable of holding a 16GB card fits perfect for this phone.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7

Photo by Jens Mortensen

$400  •  panasonic.com

7 out of 10

 

Panasonic's GPS-Enabled Snapper Is a Fantastic Urban Tour Guide

The GPS-enabled Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 is a great camera to bring with you on the road. No it won't lead you to safety if you're lost in the Himalayas — it might not even get you home from a trip the mall — but it will geotag your shots so you can digitally place them on a map in programs such as Apple's iPhoto 09 or Aperture 3.
Not only does the Panasonic ZS7's GPS embed latitude and longitude coordinates into your photos, it will display the image's city, state and country details right on the 3-inch LCD along with nearby points of interest from a library of more than 500,000 landmarks. We took this pocket-friendly camera on a five-borough photo tour of New York City and were jazzed by what it found, including an art gallery we weren't even aware of in one of our neighborhood shots in upper Manhattan. Red Stripe–sipping, moped-touting hipsters aren't this "in-the-know."
But the 12.1-MP ZS7 sometimes felt a step behind what we were shooting, carrying over info and coordinates from a previous photo op. For instance, even though we were practically standing on top of the massive George Washington Bridge, the camera insisted we were still at the art gallery which was a mile behind us. Later, when we took some night shots of the East River from Queens, the ZS7 said we were at a park in the middle of Brooklyn we had passed half an hour before. D'oh!
Despite its occasionally absent-minded site-seeing skills, the ZS7 had the best image quality of all the GPS cameras we tested. Photos we shot in Staten Island of Fort Wadsworth at sunset were beautiful, with sharp detail and bold but natural-looking color. It was also the fastest to use overall, with blazing autofocus speed and no shutter lag.
WIRED Embeds location details in HD videos too. Landmarks library spans 73 countries. Long 300-shot battery life prevents GPS drain.
TIRED Occasionally misidentified landmarks. Make sure camera resets GPS coordinates, or you'll get info from your last trip. Have to dig through menus to turn GPS on.

• Style: GPS-Enabled
• Manufacturer: Panasonic
• Price: $400