Digital Gadgets

Review of Sony Cybershot DSC-M2 Digital Camera

The new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M2 digital camera combines great quality digital still photography and impressive movie-shooting capabilities.

Cyber-shot DSC-M2 is the company’s second-generation M-series hybrid camera. You know, the one that’s supposed to squash all the bugs that were in the M1 and prove that this odd cross between a camcorder and digicam really works.

All of you know just how much I like those all in one devices. Well actually if you don’t get my sarcasm then I must tell you I don’t like all in one devices. You know the cell phone, camera, pda, radio, remote control, and garage door opener. Those type of devices.

I have come across one device that kinda makes sense. It combines a digital camera and a real video camera. I am talking about the Sony Cyber-shot M2. This stylish aluminum body features a 5.1 digital camera, a 2.5 inch LCD screen and 3x optical Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens. For a video camera the lens really stinks but the camera is very portable small enough for your pocket. The video camera captures movies using MPEG-4 recording. The video camera holds about 50 minutes of great quality video on a Sony Memory stick Pro Duo.

The aluminium body has a special finish to create a luxurious and classic satin metallic look and feel. Equally impressive on holiday, at an evening party or a family barbecue, the Sony Cybershot M2 always exudes style. The ergonomically designed one-handed grip sits neatly in the palm of your hand, and the slightly tilted lens axis on the Sony M2 allows you to hold and shoot with a natural wrist position.

The camera automatically switches into photo mode as soon as you flip up the large LCD screen. The control layout has been designed with ease of operation in mind. For example, the Photo and Movie buttons are arranged in a horizontal line, within easy reach of your thumb. The shuttle control feature on the back of the device allows you to easily scan forwards and backwards through your movie footage and photography to reach the scene you want to view.

Now why do I think this camera makes sense? I always want to take my video camera out on vacations or to family events but carrying both my regular digital camera and a video camera makes me a target for thieves and chiropractors who want to treat me for my aching back.

Additionally, the new camera offers stereo audio recording to truly capture the full experience of being there with surprising fidelity for such a compact device. And, while some digital cameras do not let you zoom in movie mode, the Sony DSC-M2 model continues to zoom in all modes.

The camera is supplied with Nero Vision Express 3 software so that editing footage and burning it to DVD is effortless. Convert video clips into home videos for everyone to enjoy. The supplied Cyber-shot Station cradle provides a convenient connection point for television viewing, USB transfer, and in-camera battery charging. The new camera features pocket album and slide show plus movie functions to maximize your viewing enjoyment.

The camera’s image resolution is ideal for making high-quality prints. Simply connect the model to a Sony DPP-FP50 digital photo printer and print from the convenience of your own home. You can even create postcards or calendars using the printer’s supplied software. With Sony’s ImageStation® online photo service, you can expand your options to print tens or even hundreds of pictures, create online photo and video albums, or make customized gifts from coffee mugs and photo books, to calendars and T-shirts.

The camera is supplied with a Cyber-shot Station™ cradle, which makes charging and connecting to a computer, printer or TV even simpler; an InfoLITHIUM™ battery; AC adapter; AV/USB cables, PicturePackage v. 1.2.1 and Nero Vision Express 3 software; and a wrist strap. Optional accessories include a form-fitting case (LCS-MHB) for about $40, a travel charger (BC-TR1) for about $60 and a tripod (VCT-R100) for about $35.

Review of Southwing SH310 Bluetooth Headset

The SH310 is comfortable to use with or without an ear hook, and can be clipped to your clothes or attached to your phone. It is one of the smallest headsets in the world and weighs just 11 grams and offers the innovative Push4TM Favourite Number button and is compatible with all Bluetooth phones.

SouthWing has announced the SH310, the latest SH 300 range hands-free headset. This versatile headset is addressed to the dynamic user who is always on the move. It encompasses the most advanced technology, including the innovative Push4 Favourite Number button.

Favourite number button - With the Push4TM favourite number button, get instant access to your favourite number or preferred voice service. Just by pressing the Push4TM button you are automatically connected. The Push4TM button can easily be reprogrammed with another specific number of your choice

Extended talk-time - The SH310 boasts a very competitive talk-time of six hours and thanks to the auto-sleep function the stand-by time is up to 300 hours.

The SH310 is one of the lightest headsets in the market, weighing only 11 grams. It may be used with or without the flexible ear hook, and may be carried in different ways: attached to the phone or clipped to clothes. It includes 3 different covers, allowing users to customise their headset. Its avante garde design and the fact it easily adapts to different situations, makes it a great choice for the versatile user.

The SH310 is compatible with all Bluetooth mobile phones. It offers impressive audio quality and many call functions such as: voice dialling, automatic hang up, volume control, mute, redial and battery level indicator. It reaches up to 6 hours talk-time, and 300 hours in stand-by thanks to the auto-sleep function.

Easy to use carry and store - With several attachment options, the headset is comfortable to use with or without an ear hook, and can be clipped to your clothes or attached to your phone with the included headset cord. It is one of the smallest headsets in the world and weighs only just 11 grams.

Voice dialling - The SH310 offers you support for voice dialling. Who do you want to speak to? Simply call the name without using your hands and you’re connected.

3 interchangeable Colorium covers - The SH310 comes with 3 different interchangeable covers, each in a different colour, which allows users to customise their headset.

Key Features

Favourite number button
With the Push4TM favourite number button, get instant access to your favourite number or preferred voice service. Just by pressing the Push4TM button you are automatically connected.
The Push4TM button can easily be reprogrammed with another specific number of your choice

Extended talk-time
The SH310 boasts a very competitive talk-time of six hours and thanks to the auto-sleep function the stand-by time is up to 300 hours.

Easy to use carry and store.

With several attachment options, the headset is comfortable to use with or without an ear hook, and can be clipped to your clothes or attached to your phone with the included headset cord. It is one of the smallest headsets in the world and weighs only just 11 grams.

Voice dialling
The SH310 offers you support for voice dialling. Who do you want to speak to? Simply call the name without using your hands and you’re connected.

3 interchangeable ColoriumTMcovers
The SH310 comes with 3 different interchangeable covers, each in a different colour, which allows users to customise their headset.

Bluetooth V1.2
With Bluetooth V1.2 your headset benefits from better performance and reliability.

Intel’s Ultra Mobile PC on track for Q1 release

Not every mobile computing device has to fit in your pocket. Intel is hoping that users will fall in love with some new tiny PCs based on a new Intel platform. And they are so anxious to get them into your greedy little hands that they expect to get products out this quarter. This is at least an amazing six months earlier than previous estimates.

We’re so used to vaporware and devices which never show up on the market that it’s more than a little surprising to hear of a schedule for a whole new class of devices to be moved up like this. But we welcome it with open arms. Maybe even with open wallets.

Two new products are designed to advance the ultra-small PC format, which squeezes Windows into devices comparable in size with a handheld PDA.

OQO has updated its namesake handheld to include Tablet PC functionality, while newcomer DualCor Technologies has unveiled an unusual device that runs both Windows XP and Windows Mobile.

The first Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs) are now expected quarter from Samsung, Asus and Founder. They will have “ULV Pentium M processors with 90 nm Dothan core as well as a 915GMS chipset.”

The second set of devices gets even better and are expected later this year, with new low-power processors. They “… will include devices from LGE, Acer and Averatec and run Windows Vista.”

OQO has issued the OQO model 01+ Tablet Edition, a PC weighing less than 450g that runs Windows on a 5in display. The device is an update of the original model 01 that launched late in 2004, and adds Tablet PC capability through a touchscreen and the Tablet PC Edition of Windows. The OQO model 01+ Tablet Edition is priced at $2,099 (£1,190) and is available via reseller Expansys.

Looking ahead, DualCor will in March ship its cPC, a handheld device that also has a 5in screen, but comes with two processors. A 1.5GHz VIA processor runs Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, while an Intel XScale chip runs Windows Mobile 5.0 at the same time. This approach combines the application-compatibility of a PC with the always-on communications features of a smartphone in a single device.

According to Paul Otellini’s keynote speech at IDF Fall 2005, UMPCs will integrate a new category of processors that will consume as little as 0.5 watts. Intel executives also mentioned that UMPCs will achieve a continuous operation time of about eight hours. Our sources now tell us that at least the first generation of UMPCs may not include such a new processor, but rather rely on a proven platform, which will consist out of ULV Pentium M processors with 90 nm Dothan core as well as a 915GMS chipset.

These UMPC devices will boast the following (but maybe not all right away):
* One week standby time
* Eight hours continuous operation
* WiFi
* Wireless WAN (maybe EVDO or HSDPA)
* GPS

Intel is also very aggressive in extending the wireless feature set of UMPCs. Wi-Fi capability is a standard feature by now, but Wireless WAN - such as EVDO and HSDPA - as well as integrated GPS capability will be able to draw some attention to those devices.

Intel is also very aggressive in extending the wireless feature set of UMPCs. Wi-Fi capability is a standard feature by now, but Wireless WAN - such as EVDO and HSDPA - as well as integrated GPS capability will be able to draw some attention to those devices.

What we do not know yet is how much UMPCS will cost. However, it has not been a secret that the OQO ultra mobile PC’s price tag of $2000 has been much too high to be able to allow the device to enter the mainstream market. It does not take too much talent to forecast that Intel UMPCs will be available at a significantly lower price.

There is no specific statement that these devices are expected to run standard desktop releases of Windows, or something close to it, but that seems to be what is being intimated.

Price ranges have not been announced, so we don’t have much more to go on that the TG Daily speculation that it should be coming out at a significantly lower price point than the $2000 OQO handheld computers.

Although they are relatively expensive, such ultra-mobile PCs may appeal to staff who need to run full-blown Windows applications while on the move, but who find most laptops too large or cumbersome for their requirements.

In the next few months more details should appear, and we’ll find out if this is for real or just another sneaky way of creating some buzz to test the market.

Review of LG VX8100

Released for Verizon Wireless, the LG VX8100 incorporates all the breakthrough technologies of the VX8000 including high-speed EV-DO, megapixel camera, and video and music on-demand, but goes further with integrated Bluetooth capability for wireless connectivity, and a miniSD slot for external memory.

With each new release, handsets grow more advanced; combining a broad range of features into a compact device. Due to the widespread use and popularity of the cell phone, it’s the perfect foundation to build a multifunctional gadget, being just a pocket’s reach away.

Initially digital cameras broke ground, making sure users would never have an excuse for leaving the camera at home. Then, as MP3s overshadowed polyphonic ringtones as the sound of choice, portable music players begin being integrated.

But Asia and Europe have always been light-years ahead of North America when it comes to handsets. And a glimpse overseas has given anxious consumers of what’s to come in the future.

Details of the LG VX8100 have leaked, even before the phone it replaces (LG VX8000) hit store shelves. The LG VX8100 was approved by the FCC in December, and as usual the FCC provided photos. Some photos show Verizon Wireless branding on the phone, which comes at no surprise since the company is aggressively trying to promote EV-DO.

EV-DO (not expressly mentioned in FCC docs, but a major feature of VX8000 which is likely to carry over)
miniSD The LG VX8000 (the 8100’s predecessor) is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2005. There is no word on when the 8100 will make it to market.

With Verizon Wireless’ launch of EV-DO, more possibilities emerged; allowing subscribers to access broadband-like speeds on their mobile device. Through Verizon’s VCAST service, movie and television clips are able to be streamed and watched on the go.

The LG VX8000 was the first device to feature the promising new 3G technology, but drawbacks in size, weight, and design hindered its appeal to the mass market. But with the release its successor, the VX8100, LG hopes to correct past mistakes and attract tech-hungry consumers.

Since the VX8100 is a video phone, an ample amount of storage is needed to stream and store large files. And should users find themselves out of internal memory, an expansion slot along the right side accepts miniSD cards.

Opening the VX8100 reveals the internal screen; able to display a brilliant 262K colors at 176 x 144 px in resolution. Conveniently placed, the 5-way directional keypad is surrounded by Send, Camera, Clear, Power / End, and Left and Right soft keys for additional shortcuts.

Out of the box, the LG VX8100 comes with a standard 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery, AC adapter, back cover plate, Welcome CD, and user manual.

Features of the LG VX8100 include:

1.3 megapixel camera with video recording

miniSD

MP3 audio player, dual speakers for stereo sound, and a 3D graphics engine make this a formidable handset in 2005.