Flash (Gordon) and (poison) Apple

This is humorous. Apparently from a graphic of a T-shirt of a site called shirt.woot.

Flexible OLED screen

This is something I found truely amazing -- flexible OLED screen from Sony. So flexible that it can wrap around almost anything. Will we see a pencil or pen wrapped with this flexible OLED screen, hooking up to the Internet to retrieve answers during exams? High-tech cheaters!

Virtual goods => real goods

Ever think of getting your virtual robots into the real world? That may be a bit too far. But wait, how about a virtual ice-cream? That is somewhat probable.

It's not just probable. But it already happened. You can buy Farmville ice-cream at 7-11! See here for more details.

iPhone 3GS @ US$97

Ha, this one is certainly something. Walmart just officially announced that it'll be selling the 16GB iPhone 3GS for $97 starting Tuesday, a full $100 off the regular price. This is a logical step and it must point to the release of a new iPhone.

I wonder when operator in Hong Kong will slash the price of current 3GS models. Heard that the new iPhone also got video chat capability. For those who got onto the bandwagon of the last batch of 3GS, it would be some money not well spent.

Sony NEX-3, NEX-5

There is no shortage of innovative cameras these days. The latest one entering the ring is the Sony EVIL (Electronic View-finder Interchangeable Lens) NEX-3 and NEX-5. It is very compact and very attractive. The full spec is as follows:

• 14.20 Megapixels
• 3.00x zoom, 18-55mm, (27-83mm eq.) kit lens
• 3.0 inch LCD Viewfinder
• ISO 200-12800
• Shutter: 30-1/4000
• Max Aperture: 3.5
• Mem Type: MS PRO Duo / SD / SDHC / SDXC
• Battery: Custom Li Ion
• Dimensions: 4.4 x 2.4 x 1.6 in. (111 x 60 x 40 mm)
• Weight: 17.7 oz (502 g) includes batteries, kit lens
• MSRP: $700
• Availability: 07/2010

The notable thing is that the price is very competitive and it also accepts SD (a rare inclusion from a Sony perspective).

The full review can be found here.

Street fighter short movie -- from a fan!

Sometimes it is amazing that the work from an amateur is so professional. For those familiar with Street fighter, this is a movie on a shoe-string budget, shot with a Canon 7D with aftereffects done on Final Cut Pro. Amazing.

Face-off iPhone

This is really fun stuff. An iPhone running Android.



Sometimes I wonder, will there be a day we see Acer NeoTouch or HTC running iPhone OS?

Did you notice the author used another iPhone to film the face-offed iPhone?

iPad go International

The long wait outside US for the iPad is over, officially. (Hey, forget all those parallel imports)

Apple said the iPad will be in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on May 28 and then Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July. Those who can't wait (well, you define for yourself) can pre-order starting May 10. Sounds great.

Here is the official statement.

Tegra, AIR, Flash

Bloodshed of the tablet battlefield is just beginning. Here is a new contestant, in a prototype form, running Android.

The biggest selling point for this yet-another-tablet is that it runs fully functional Adobe AIR and Flash, the centrepiece of a warzone. I guess it is faster than those cheapy netbooks. See how it goes if it can ever hit the shelves.

Tegra Prototype

iPhone OS 4

iPhone OS 4 is a major upgrade to the iPhone OS. Again, a bunch of new features, whether or not you will be using it. Some features worth mentioning such as the Apple's way of multitasking. Bad thing is that iPhones older than 3GS will not be able to take advantage of some of the new features.

Notable new features for users include the following:


•Multitasking.
•Spell check.
•Bluetooth keyboard support.
•User-defined wallpaper.
•Tap to focus when recording video, just like with photos, and a 5x digital zoom for the camera.
•Playlist creation and nested playlists.
•App folders for sorting apps! You can even put an app folder in the dock.
•Enhanced Mail with threaded messaging and in-app attachment viewing.
•iBooks, a smaller one.
•And others.
•Game Center for iPhone games like Xbox live.
For multitasking, the following background services are available:
•Background audio.
•Background VoIP.
•Background GPS location data
•Local notifications. (Hmm.... are we getting more annoying ad messages when we are walking around and playing games in the streets? No wonder Apple also launched iAd mobile advertising service)

Some other features for developers to play with:
•Fast app switching.
•iAd. (Apple also want a cut from advertising. Less money flowing to Google AdSense)
•In-app SMS.
•Map overlays
•Quick look for previewing documents.
•Photo Library access.
•Calendar access.
•Full access to the camera.
•Video playback and capture.
•Date and address "data detectors."
•Automated testing and performance / power analysis.
 
Hands-on video available here.

Smartq R7

Of all the ebook readers, the Smartq R7 comes one from China. The spec seems ok. 

• 
  
  7-in TFT LCD with backlighting
• 
  
  800 * 600 pixels
• 
  
  Resistive touch screen
• 
  
  Built-in accelerometer
• 
  
  Support PDF, ePub, TXT, CHM, etc.
• 
  
  Battery up to 8 hours usage
• 
  
  Support SD card
• 
  
  Support 802.11 b/g

The price is not know yet. But it should not be expensive, judging from its other siblings that are priced somewhere around the RMB 1,000 to 1,500 mark as an MID.

Looks quite neat. The good thing is that it has a backlit LCD screen, support SD card and WIFI. It is yet to see the build quality.

The ebook market is just too crowded. I will jump in when there are some clear winners who survived the race.

Wonder robots

There is a fine line between loving gadgets and loving the function of a gadget. While it is fascinating to see so many electronic toy robots available at a very affordable price, it is also interesting to see what these toys can do in reality.

Recently there is a great song 'Nobody' from Korea storming many corners from kids at home to prisoners in Philippines. I could never imagine that it also infected the robots. See the following video.

Clash of the Titans (Apple vs Adobe vs Google)

It is well known that Apple deliberately remove support of Flash from its hand-held devices in order to capitalize a business model so successful that could be easily jeopardize by the existence of Flash and its free offerings. Now it seems that the fight is escalating to a new level.

It looks like that the tablet market is similar to the pre-iPhone era of mobile phone market. Lots of OSes - iPhone OS, Android, Windows 7, XP, Linux and a bunch of others, quickly obsoleted models, applications on many different platforms, etc.

Google comes into the ring, embedding Flash into Chrome. This is a heavyweight, enough to have a kind of tablet that rivals the iPad. See what Engadget said

Nintendo 3DS

3D seems to be the buzzword for now. Cinemas got 3D movies that sell seats like hotcakes. Wanna have one 3D stuff on hand? Nintendo save the day with the Nintendo 3DS, a handheld gaming console that let's you play 3D games. We live in a 3D world, eating 3D stuff, watching 3D movies and playing 3D games. Life is just wonderful.

Hanvon tablet PC

Ha ha, the tablet PC market is definitely heating up. This ULV tablet PC is getting close to what I am looking for except the battery life. It serves a particular segment of people who need to be mobile, run a little bit PC-only software and read books on the go. This one from Hanvon is cool, although slightly more expensive than iPad. Never mind, at least it served my purpose. Eager to get one of this.

Rolltop

It is cool to be the first one to get an iPad (well, not me, as the iPad misses some of my requirements). But it is way cooler if I can get a hold of this computer. See for yourself.

E-PL1 pre-order

Wow! The E-PL1 can now be pre-ordered in Hong Kong. However, the pricing is a bit higher than expected, close to USD 685. Never mind. Nothing is fair. Want to enjoy earlier than others? Pay a bit more money.

George Orwell once said 'Some people are more equal than the others'. Given that the E-PL1 is cheaper than the E-P1, it would be a good second camera to a full-fledged DSLR if you can shell out the bucks. But I hope the pricing could be 'more equal' with other places.

Asus T101MT

The Lenovo S10-3t is a machine that moved me a little bit in thinking that I should get one of them. Reason? I commute to work on a daily basis. There is some spare time that I think I should utilize. I want a machine that can be a PC to run some software but when I am not using it as a PC, it can be converted into a reader for me to read books, lots of books. (Sounds something like an iPad. But the iPad runs only iPhone-based software)

S10-3t is the first netbook convertible that can let me runs some PC software (such as Office) and convert into a tablet, faking as a reader. Of course, it cannot compare directly with a reader with E-ink technology. But when you want the best of both worlds, you are stuck with some very few choices. (There is a new LCD technology that can act both ways as a color LCD and an e-ink display according to selection, which can truly convert a netbook into a tablet reader and vice versa. Really looking forward to that.) However, the form factor is a bit awkward.

T101MT has a predecesor, the T91MT. It is quite a good netbook but still the form factor is not suitable for reading. T101MT is a bit better. I wonder if it can be shrunk to a size even thinner. Then it can fend of some iPad competition.

Fun with magnets

This cube of magnets is just amazing. See for yourself. Beware not to put any storage device nearby. It can destroy any data with ease.

Sony vs Olympus & Panasonic ?

Since the mirrorless M4/3 camp stirred the market with the Olympus E-P1 and then the Girl Friend #1 (GF1) from Panasonic, manufacturers suddenly woke up, learning that consumers actually want a camera that is easy-to-carry, can change lens, has a cool-looking, comes in favors like candies and priced reasonably. Wait a minute, it is not a DSLR. And so, E-P1 seems to open up another market for competition.

We always knew Sony wants it all. Here is comes with an answer. The Alpha series was just announced in PMA 2010. Here you go.



Now wonder our money always went somewhere but our bank.

Canon 550D

Sometimes I wonder why money is spent so quickly. Besides the reason of inflation (well, thanks to the burst of the US banking system, we who live in Asia are having our food much more expensive ever), cool stuff and toys churns out at warp speed. Features just stacked up against each other. Sometimes like the OS in your computer, lots of powerful 'features', only 5-10% are those you will ever use. Now it is time to burn your red-pockets.

Back to this cool little 'entry-level' camera. It was dubbed the mini-7D due to the borrowing of features from the highend 7D. Now the entry barrier is pushed further down but the features are pushed higher up. And it is officially released in Hong Kong now. The packages are quite affordable.

Body only for HK$ 6,480 (~US$830)
Body + EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS for HK$ 7,280 (~US$933)
Body + EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS for HK$ 8,980 (~US$1,151)


If you can read Chinese, more information here.

Nintendo DSi

Nintendo ruled the handheld gaming market. Before the iPhone era, I often saw people swipping a pen on a handheld device, seemingly doing something intense, while on the go. Later I learned that it is a device called NDS. The NDS was king for a while, until its slimmer, lighter cousin, the NDS Lite hit the market. (Yeah, we do not like stodgy stuff, whether it is human being or not). Some friends told me they like to play games like Cooking Mama because it is a whole different gaming experience. (Well, in the subways, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunties all cook.) It is no simple point-and-shoot kinda stuff.

I personally like long-lasting puzzle games (you know, buy less games to save some bucks. Of course, the best way to save some buck is --- ta da, don't play at all). I saw lots of people trucking loads of red-pockets clamoring for a Wii (sigh... me inclusive. Any one got a part time job?) or NDS or something similar.

Now the NDSi not just let you play all the existing games, but also add in social-gaming experience. With a camera, user can play with images on the fly. Gaming with sound is a new feature. It connects with WiFi to play online as well. An SDHC card slot allows user to play music, store photos and saved games. Here is a peek at the device.



More about NDSi here.

Rocket launcher for your office (USB and ... wireless!)

When you are bored in your office, ever wonder killing one or two colleagues just for fun?

Oh oh.... don't get me wrong. I am not telling you to 'kill' them in reality. You can 'kill' one or two by blasting some rockets from your desktop to their cubes, when they trespass along your corridor, or when they invade the tasty tiramisu during afternoon tea. Now it comes a wireless version as well. Pretty cool.





Amazingly, Amazon got one.

AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR

For me, owning a full-frame camera is never high on my wish list. But it would be very cool to own one.

Now this specially built lens for full-frame, FX format censor camera looks pretty cool. The range is good, with VR II as well. It is near Chinese new year. This cool little lens is good for capturing fireworks. Before capturing any fireworks, it would be necessary to collect enough red-pockets to buy a full-frame camera with this little bazooka.

Here are the features:

• Maximum aperture of f/4 through the full 16mm to 35mm range of focal lengths
• Built-in vibration reduction (VR II) of approximately four stops
• Nano Crystal Coat reduces ghost and flare
• Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for extremely quiet autofocusing
• Aberration compensation
• M/A (autofocus with manual override) and M (manual)

Chromium tablet

The iPad scored just enough for graduation. With competitors everywhere, from the past and from the future. A 'Shanzai' factory in China already claims Apple infringing their copyrights, although that device is an Atom powered not-so-slim tablet PC.

Acer said that Chrome OS powered netbooks will sold millions in the upcoming years. A designer dreamed up with a tablet powered by Chrome OS. Quite an interesting illustration. Looks like Apple has to pump up production capacity to capture the cream of the crop before arrival of any Chrome stuff.

You can find it the Chromium tablet illustration here.

iPad: an expensive photo frame

Now we all know the existence of iPad and its look. Wired said it is quite cheap, in terms of production cost. Well, Apple is a company, making money is its objective and is no evil (whether you thinking they are making TOO MUCH is another issue).

One of my friends said, 'I am just scratching my head regarding what sort of photo frames to buy, now this one looks perfect!'

Steve, surfing the Internet is cool. Surfing the Internet on the palm of your hands is cooler. Surfing the Internet on the palm of your hands when your wife is away is coolest. But don't surf the Internet when your wife is doing housework or in the kitchen busy with the meals. Or your iPad will end up hanging on the wall, becoming an expensive photo frame.

Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i

Ever wonder why camera companies churns out new cameras at a pace you just can't keep up with? In my opinion, I think it is perfectly normal from a return-on-equity standpoint if I am a shareholder.

Therefore, Canon gives you some insight on the naming of these new cameras, the Rebel T1i (500D), T2i (550D), XSi (450D). You can guess from their names what it means. When you shell out your bucks, you close one eye (1i), you close two eyes (2i), or you semi-close your eyes (XSi). It roughly tells you how much you are paying. (Just kidding...)

Well, I was initially very impressed, see the spec below:

■18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
■DIGIC 4 processor with ISO 100-6400 (Expansion to 12800)
■Continuous shooting at 3.7fps
■Full HD movie recording with manual control and selectable frame rates
■7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 Clear View LCD with 1,040k dots
■iFCL metering System with 63-zone Dual-layer Metering Sensor
■Quick Control screen to change shooting settings
■Exposure compensation +/-5 stops (although viewfinder scale is still +/-2 stops)
■Select maximum value for Auto ISO
■External Microphone socket
■Movie crop function
■Eye-Fi connected functions compatibility

As a Nikon camper, I think these specs are not bad at all, given the body is only priced at US$799. Add US$100 you'll get a 18-55 kit lens. The price is reasonable as an entry-level DSLR, but you got more than what you paid for.

Of course, it is not the price alone that determine whether a camera is worth buying. Here is a preview.

Nikon Coolpix P100 | Digital Camera Resource Page News

Sometimes I wonder whether there is a digital camera that have the best of many worlds: as manipulable as a DSLR, light weight, can shoot HD movies, lens range from 24 to 300mm, ISO from 100 to 6400, built-in VR, and beyond...

Well well, I know that I am greedy. But this cool little piece caught me by surprise.

Here is the spec in brief:
- 10.3-megapixels
- In-Camera High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- Night Landscape Mode
- 3.0-inch 460,000-dot Color Display
- 5-Way Vibration Reduction (VR) Image Stabilization System
- Optical VR Image Stabilization
- Hybrid VR Image Stabilization
- Motion Detection
- High ISO up to 3200
- Automatically takes up to 10 shots
- Sport Continuous Scene Mode
- Subject Tracking
- Face-Priority AF
- Skin Softening
- Smile Mode
- Blink Warning

Sounds like it targets family users squarely. The problem of in-house parties with low lighting conditions, naughty kids running here and there, and mothers driven mad can now be captured with ease. Looks like I need to save some money for one.

Nikon Coolpix P100 Digital Camera Resource Page News

Tablet PC or iPad?

Now the iPad is not available until March. The hype is over. My expectation is somewhat higher than what was revealed.

I want to have a device that is more powerful than the Kindle, not as restrictive as the iPad, and do a bit of work while on the go. Seems that a netbook is a choice.

But as Steve put it, netbook is just cheap PC, not powerful PC. He is right to some extent. There are users who follow him anyhow. He is the Moses of technology. He waves his staff, the sea divided, and the iPad rose.

There are other users who know a bit about their own needs. I have been researching for a device that can offer me the above 3 functions without draining my blood. Looks like that some manufacturers are answering this minute voice amid the uproaring of iPad.

Lenovo and Asus have 2 affordable devices, S10-3t and T91MT. Both are multi-touch, have swivelable screens, small in form-factor and come bundled with decent software. While I am not a big fan of MS, reality is that many apps runs on it. With cost around US$500 to $600, it is squarely a target for iPad. But it does serve my needs. Choosing a tablet netbook over iPad means you give up certain degree of coolness.

E-PL1 + 14-150mm = freedom

I had been looking for a second camera to supplement my D70 for some time. I like Nikon except the summation of all the weight of the equipments. Now it seems that there is an answer.

The all conditions 14-150mm lens from Panasonic caught my eyes. Combining with the E-PL1, which weight only 334g, looks like a perfect travel companion. One lens is good enough for all travelling. No need for lots of accessories. Well, although the eye-piece is still not there yet.

The lens cost more than double than that of the body... hm... seems like that I need to buy a lottery ticket before I can buy one.

E-PL1, a camera worth waiting for?

These days, things are progressing in retro styles.

First, the deflated US dollar. Things are more expensive then before. Salary did not adjust. And most of us become poorer except the greedy bankers.

Second, protectionism seems coming back. The invisible hand defunct. A visible hand comes to stage.

Then, the E-P1. I am not a big fan, or even a fan, of Olympus. I live in a die-hard Nikon camp. Loved my loyal but aged D70. The E-P1 caught my attention simply because it reminds me of camera design when I was a kid. This is the first time I want to have a camera other than Nikon.

Later, the Panasonic GF-1 (Girl Friend #1?). Well, well, it is not exactly retro. But it is elegant to have such a DC. It keeps you afloat on top of those snap-shot DCs. But it won't propel you up to the DSLR level.

Now the E-PL1. This is a camera striking a good balance. It can do point-and-shoot, do movies, change lens, priced reasonably well, got a bunch of filters, can see effect on-the-fly, ... and the list goes on. The operation

Hands-on preview here:


Amazon Japan is accepting orders. Wonder how many die-hard olympus fans will take the plunge...