Monday, May 10, 2010

Review - Olympus PEN E-P1 12.3 MP (Olympus' pen series digicams)



Olympus PEN E-P1 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 17mm f/2.8 Lens and Viewfinder (Silver)


It is quite interesting, how we change our thinking and behavioral patterns in a short span of time. Just a decade back most of us had bulky looking film cameras, although the era of digital cameras had started. Today, we have plenty of sleek, digital cameras.

Olympus has come up with its Pen series of digital cameras which have been designed in a retro manner - a version that makes us, take a trip back in time once again. Now, just because it looks retro doesn’t mean that the 12.3 megapixel E-PL1 is bulky and huge. Unlike the normal sleek cameras which slip out of your hands, this one sits easily on your palm and at the same time doesn’t feel like a rock. But it’s not something that can be carried in your pocket.

Going to its physical features, the body looks pretty robust with a black plastic hand-grip on the front of the camera to keep the device steady. The rear end has a 2.7" LCD screen which seems quite small going by the overall size of the device. With it, there is an array of buttons to access the menu, play, navigate etc. At the top, we have a stylish flash which pops open when a button slides. Along with it we also have a hotshot which can be used to attach an external flash or electronic viewfinder. And just before we forget it, the rear end also houses a recording button for HD videos which allows instant, one-touch filming at 720p.

Its screen has a Super Control Panel which lets you change all the important settings (you don’t have to go to the menu for this). Four of the commonly-used functions  - exposure compensation, focusing mode, flash and drive mode — have their own dedicated buttons on the navigation buttons. Where it scores over other digital cameras is its interchangeable lens feature which helps it capture amazing shots with whatever type of lens you wish to, but, only when the subject is not in motion. Even the kit lens which is around 14-42mm, gives it almost a DSLR sort of effect to play with.

But, how does it perform? Does it give us impressive shots even in difficult conditions? Is it worth chucking away the new-age cameras in exchange for this retro bundle? Then here is the list of the reviews captured so far, for its ‘captures’:

1) The performance is pretty decent in normal light. But in trying conditions, the camera takes its own sweet time to process.

2) Those who love to click from moving cars; better stay away from this one.

3) The quality of the stills is absolutely superb, almost at par with the digital SLRs. It captures colors brilliantly and even the minute details can be figured out with ease.

4) The E-PL1 gives you six ISO levels and if you’re using the highest setting of ISO 3200, the shots will be fine as long as you don’t blow them up into a poster.

5) For night photography enthusiasts, this one lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 60 seconds and has a Bulb mode as well for exposure times as long as 30 minutes. This feature obviously gives you a lot of leeway when you’re experimenting with crazy light and capturing night shots.

6) The image stabilizer works well when used in low-light conditions and even if you’re using 1/5th the shutter speed, it manages to eliminate shake. Though the 12.3 MP image is a bit soft a little editing can make it a perfect shot.

7) The Enlarged Display function helps in manual focusing. Select your focus mode and press the zoom-in button repeatedly until a green rectangle appears in the middle of the display. Now, you can move this rectangle to any part of your screen and magnify it by pressing zoom-in again. You can raise this magnification up to 10x or 14x by pressing the Info button. This is real, non-interpolated magnification which can be very useful for accurate manual focusing.

This camera is particularly suitable for people who love to dabble in photography but are a little intimidated by the heavy duty DSLRs.
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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Ipad Updated to DropBox Application



Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi)



The newly launched Dropbox 1.2  has brought the compatibility of the iPad to the very much known file-sharing and web storage application of the iPhone.

The current users of iPhone can now simply take the advantage of the iPad compatibility,  as the latest edition of the Dropbox 1.2 is a universal application and can simply be opted by updating the current copy of the application.

In fact, the note released with the version states that there exists an application parity of the iPhone and the iPad versions of the client, therefore the users of the iPad will be able to experience and enjoy all the features they did on the iPhone.

The newly added feature to the iPad of its ability to transfer from the Dropbox app, the PDF and other documents to another application simple enhances the support for the landscape orientation on the Apple’s iPhone.
The Dropbox 1.2 provides a free space of 2GB and is basically a file sharing service along with the facility of online cloud storage to its users. And also tiers pricing the users, who wish to attain more storage space. The files on the Dropbox’s servers can be easily accessed by the users, who have the free iPhone OS installed.
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New Fiber Optics Technology to Speed Up Internet 100 times

It may look like a piece of gel but it's a new nano-based telecom technology "enabler" that can make computers and the Internet hundreds of times faster.
The technology, that may be in use only five or 10 years in the future, is being designed by Koby Scheuer of Tel Aviv University's (TAU) School of Electrical Engineering.
Scheuer has developed a new plastic-based technology for the nano-photonics market, which manufactures optical devices and components. His plastic-based "filter" is made from nanometre (a billionth of a metre) sized grooves embedded into the plastic.
When used in fibre optics cable switches, this new device will make our communication devices smaller, more flexible and more powerful, he says.


"Once Americans have a fibre optics cable coming into every home, all communication will go through it - telephone, cable TV, the Internet. But to avoid bottlenecks of information, we need to separate the information coming through into different channels. Our polymeric devices can do that in the optical domain - at a speed, quality and cost that the semi-conductor industry can't even imagine. Right now, we could transmit all of the written text of the world though a single fibre in a fibre optics cable in just a few seconds. But in order to handle these massive amounts of communication data, we need filters to make sense of the incoming information. Ours uses a plastic-based switch, replacing hard-to-fabricate and expensive semi-conductors.Our plastic polymer switches come in an easy-to-work-with liquid solution. Using a method called 'stamping,' almost any lab can make optical devices out of the silicon rubber mould we've developed." says Scheuer.


In the next decade, fibre optic cables that now run from city to city will feed directly into every individual home. When that technology comes to light, the new plastic-based switches could revolutionise the way we communicate. Semi-conductors, grown on crystals in sterile labs and processed in special ovens, take days and sometimes months to manufacture. They are delicate and inflexible as well, Scheuer explains. His biggest hurdle, says Scheuer, is in convincing the communications industry that polymers are stable materials. 
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Asus EEE PC 101


The makers of the original EEE PC, Taiwan-based Asus has launched another version, Asus EEE PC 101. This is the company’s first EEE PC version with an nVidia ION LE chipset.
The 12-inch gadget runs on Intel’s Atom N270 processor, has 1GB RAM and a 160GB hard disk drive. The Netbook plays 1080p video well and has an HDMI out.

Other features include WiFi, Bluetooth and a 0.3 MP webcam. The Asus EEE PC 1201Nl runs on Windows XP and has not migrated to Windows 7 yet. 

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LG GU285 Unlocked 3G Cell Phone with 1.3 MP Camera, E-mail, Stereo Bluetooth and FM Radio --International Version with Warranty (Black)


LG GU285 Unlocked 3G Cell Phone with 1.3 MP Camera, E-mail, Stereo Bluetooth and FM Radio --International Version with Warranty (Black)



The Korean electronic giant LG has been in the news lately with phones for almost every occasion. The Korean major has further extended its mobile portfolio in the country with the addition of LG GU285.

LG GU285 is a 2.2-inch touchscreen phone which can’t print pictures via Bluetooth. It has 2 cameras — a 1.3 megapixel at the back and a VGA camera on the front side for video calling. The phone supports GPRS/EDGE, can load emails and is 3G ready.

Other features include expandable memory up to 8GB, music playback, FM Radio and ‘Try & Games’ which offer games like Sudoku, Ferrari GT and more.More >>>
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iPad sales touch 1-million mark

Apple has announced that it has sold a million iPads ever, since the tablet computer was launched on April 3 this year.
"One million iPads in 28 days - that's less than half of the 74 days it took for the iPhone to achieve this milestone," Apple's CEO Steve Jobs said, adding that the millionth iPad was sold on April 30.


iPad users have already downloaded over 12 million Apps from the App Store and over 1. 5 million ebooks from its new iBookstore.


"Demand continues to exceed supply, and we are working hard to put this magical product into the hands of even more customers," Jobs said.


The 0.5-inch tablet computer, which weighs 1.5 pounds, enables users to browse the web, read and send email, watch HD videos, listen to music and read ebooks through its multi-touch user interface.
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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Apple launches 3G iPad



In the second stage of a two-part rollout, Apple Inc began selling the pricier, high-speed wireless version of the iPad in the United States, following the successful launch of the short-range Wi-Fi tablet earlier this month.
Although the event certainly lacked the buildup and excitement of the April 3 debut -- with the heartiest waiting in line overnight -- some Apple retail stores in big cities still saw decent-sized crowds ahead of the 5 pm launch.


At a store in downtown San Francisco, roughly 75 people stood in line 90 minutes before the 3G iPad went on sale.
Several people said they had waited for the more expensive version of Apple's tablet because they saw it as a potential replacement for their laptops, at least in certain situations.


"I'm going to take it everywhere with me, I already take my laptop everywhere, and it'll definitely replace my laptop in a lot of cases," said Long Nguyen, 22, who works in IT repair and was first in line.


The 3G model -- which is also Wi-Fi compatible -- starts at $629 and tops out at $829. The Wi-Fi-only iPad starts at $499. 
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Saturday, May 1, 2010

Nokia to Release X2 phone



Top mobile phone maker Nokia has marked the release of a new phone called the X2, photos posted on the firm's website confirmed.

The candy bar X2 sports a 2.2-inch QVGA screen and weighs 81 grams.

The phone also comes up with dual speakers, dedicated music keys, FM stereo and support for up to 16GB of storage via microSD card.

Apart from this, the other key features are Bluetooth 2.1, 3.5mm headphone jack and USB 2.0.

X2 also provides a direct access to Facebook from the homescreen and offers the Nokia Messaging for email and Instant Messaging. Various other illustrious features include instant access to apps from Ovi Store, a 5 megapixel camera and a video recorder.
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