Orange Unveils Solar Tent

Topic: Portable Devices

Orange unveiled a concept solar tent this week at Glastonbury along with the music festival held there. The tent was inspired by the new flexible photovoltaics in development.

If the tent is produced, it will be covered with flexible semi-photovoltaic fabric that is woven on both sides with coated solar cells. The solar power would be channeled for four uses -- heating, lighting, communications, and recharging. Read more

Posted on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:49:29 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Sony Tosses Trio of DSLRs at New Users

Topic: Portable Devices

Sony has announced three new DSLR cameras including the a230, a330, and a380. The a220 and a330 are both 10.2MP cameras and have a 2.7-inch LCD screens. The a230 also gets to be known as the world's lightest DSLR camera weighing in at 450g.

The a330 also features a tilting LCD screen. The high-end a380 sports a 14.7Mp sensor. Sony also uses a new interface on the cameras that explains what the terms associated with a DSLR camera mean and shows how to adjust settings like shutter and what effects that has on your images. Read more

Posted on Mon, 18 May 2009 12:04:10 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Limited Edition Red Panasonic TZ7 Available

Topic: Portable Devices

The Panasonic DMC-TZ7 hybrid point and shoot camera is being offered in a new and limited edition red hue. The camera is also available in black, silver, and brown colors. All of the versions have the same specs.

Specs include 10MP resolution, 3-inch LCD, 12x optical zoom, 25mm wide-angle lens, and AVCHD Lite video recording. A button on the rear of the camera changes from video to still pic taking. Read more

Posted on Thu, 14 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

The new Amazon Kindle DX

Topic: Portable Devices

Amazon have officially announced their latest e-book reader, the Kindle DX. It boast's a 9.7 inch screen, Built in PDF reader, auto-rotate capability and can hold up to 3,500 books.

It is available for pre-order on the Amazon website for $489 and will start shipping in the summer. Read more

Posted on Thu, 7 May 2009 09:45:00 GMT | by Richard Hurst

Samsung SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 Camcorders Unveiled

Topic: Portable Devices

Samsung has announced a pair of new camcorders that are designed with ergonomics in mind. The two new camcorders are the SMX-C14 and the SMX-C10. Both of the camcorders are compact and feature Samsung's Touch of Color finish used on the Samsung line of TVs.

Both cameras offer 10x optical zoom and hyper image stabilization. The cameras have a 2.7-inch screen and the cameras both use Samsung's Active Angle Lens. The SMX-C14 has 16GB of internal flash memory and storage can be expanded with SDHC cards. Video is compressed using H.264 compressions allowing for over six hours of recording to the internal memory alone. Read more

Posted on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:00:00 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Flip Ultra HD Camcorder Debuts

Topic: Portable Devices

The Flip Ultra HD camcorder has hit store shelves in the US making it one of the smallest HD camcorders in the market. The big feature of the new camera is the HD recording resolution.

The new camcorder also gets more storage allowing for 120 minutes of HD recording before you need to delete or download the video on the camera. Other features include an HDMI output for easy connection to a TV. Read more

Posted on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:51:39 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Rumors Build for New Zune Model

Topic: Portable Devices

Apple and Microsoft tried to take their OS battle into the music player realm, but that failed to materialize when Microsoft's Zune wasn't able to gain traction and challenge the iPod in the market.

Microsoft has remained committed to the Zune despite lackluster sales and rumors are swirling that a new Zune is coming soon. The new player is reportedly called the Zune HD and boasts a brushed aluminum back with an all glass front. Read more

Posted on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:36:01 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Nikon D5000 DSLR Unveiled

Topic: Portable Devices

Nikon announced a new DSLR camera this week called the D5000. The camera offers 12.3MP resolution and a DX-format CMOS sensor along with a 2.7-inch LCD boasting 230k pixel resolution. The biggest feature about the LCD is that it is the first from Nikon that is angle adjustable.

The LCD also offers live view allowing you to angle it in any direction to get the best shot. Nikon includes the ability to record HD movie footage in the camera with 1280 x 720 recording with 24fps speed. Other features include 11 point autofocus and active D-Lighting. Read more

Posted on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:34:43 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Trace Me Luggage Tracker voted best Pick for Luggage Return

Topic: Portable Devices

If like me you're one of the unfortunate people to have been standing in an airport waiting for your suitcase to appear on the carousel only for it to never arrive, then the luggage tracking service by Trace Me is just what you need. Named as budget travel magazine’s best pick for luggage return. Read more

Posted on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:56:16 GMT | by Richard Hurst

BeamBox Evolution R-1 Projector is so small

Topic: Portable Devices

If like me you love your gadgets to be on the small size but packed with features then you're going to love the latest release from Beambox.

The Evolution R-1 pocket projector is a sexy, sleek projector that will fit into the palm of your hand. Weighing in at 175g, which is no more than your ipod it will comfortably fit into your pocket or briefcase. The best thing about it is that it has no wires. It has a built in battery that will last 90 minutes when running video continuously and has 1GB built in flash memory, which is then further supported by Micro SD slot for up to a further 4GB of memory. Read more

Posted on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT | by Richard Hurst

Apple iPod Touch versus new Sony X Series NWZ-X1000 Walkman

Topic: Portable Devices

Music lovers will be happy to see that Apple's iPod Touch finally has a worthy contender with the upcoming Sony OLED Walkman NWZ-X1000 (NWZ-X1060 and NWZ-X1050). Or will they? The iPod touch is well established and has a huge ecosystem that supports it with iTunes and the App Store. Sony attacks with a huge list of features in the Sony OLED Walkman NWZ-X1000, tring to lead you away from the iPod touch.

The Sony OLED Walkman NWZ-X1000 has a granite looking shell, which looks pretty cool, on the exterior of the player. On the audio side it will play MP3, WMA, and AAC at up to 320kbps, and for video there's MPEG-4, H.264, and WMV support. The video is limited at 320 x 240px despite the 3-inch OLED screen's 432 x 240px native resolution. This is about a quarter of those pixels gone to waste. Other goodies include FM tuner, 802.11g/b WiFi, internet browsing with YouTube support, and 33 hours of battery life when grooving to tunes and 9 hours when watching video. Read more

Posted on Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:48:36 GMT | by Sandeep Bardia