Digital Gadgets

The Megapixel Race Continues with Samsung’s 10mp Sch-B600

Electronics Co. unveiled yesterday the world’s first 10-megapixel camera phone at the CeBIT electronics show in Germany, the company said in an emailed statement. The new phone (SCH-B600) represents the latest in a string of firsts for the Korean tech giant in the mobile convergence market.

This new device for its home Korean market sports a massive 10 megapixel sensor mated to a 3x optical zoom auto-focus lens that telescopes out of the back of the phone when activated - just like a normal, dedicated point and shoot camera. The thing is, even dedicated point and shoot cameras aren’t using 10 megapixel sensors. A microMMC memory card slot offers plenty of expansion for those massive photos.

Samsung last year introduced the world’s first 7-megapixel and 8-megapixel camera phones. Ever hold a ten megapixel cameraphone? Naw, neither had we, not until today anyway. Straight from the floor at CeBIT, we’ve got the Samsung SCH-B600 with an integrated 10 megapixel shooter. It’s never gonna come anywhere close to the US or Europe so nuzzle up to your monitor real close-like and take in this beauty.

“The 10 megapixel phone belongs to a different level with other camera phones. Samsung was the first company to introduce a camera phone in the world. And we will continue to bring products with more advanced optical technologies”, said Kitae Lee, head of Samsung’s telecom business.

“We have many researchers who are specialized in optical science and they will help us catch up with famous optic technology firms such as Carl Zeiss and Schneider soon”, he added.The handset’s 10-megapixel digital camera features a 3x optical zoom , 5x digital zoom, and a shutter speed as fast as 1/2000th of a second. Auto focus and fill-light functions will also be employed to deliver higher-resolution photographs.

Needless to say, this will be one of Samsung’s higher-end mobile phones, designed for consumers with a fair bit of spare pocket change.In a first for a camera phone, the new offering also has an auxiliary auto focus light, allowing user to better capture images in the dark. The phone can also play music and receive satellite television broadcasts.

Samsung hopes to begin selling it in the second quarter. The price has yet to be set. Samsung’s 7-megapixel camera, SCH-V770, currently retails at around $1,000. Samsung again adopted the “dual face” design for the mobile, which looks like a bar-type phone on one side and a digital camera when flipped. Lee forecast that this year will herald big changes in the cellular phone market, including the emergence of new mobile convergence products.

The phone is equipped with a 2-inch, 16-million-pixel color TFT LCD, supports satellite digital multimedia broadcasting services and comes with a dual-face and dual-speaker system. It also includes TV-out and MP3 player functions. Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled what it said is the first smart phone equipped with an 8-Gbyte hard disk drive. The SGH-i310 combines a phone, a digital camera and an MP3 player that can store about 2,000 songs.

The First Left-Handed Laser Mouse of Logitech – Shaped Cordless

In this world Roughly 13% of the population is left-handed, meaning there are around 850 million people on planet earth with a preference for using their left hand for a variety of tasks, including throwing, pointing, catching and presumably, using a computer. Astonishingly, there has never been a mouse designed just for left handed computer users until Logitech announced its MX610 left-hand Laser Cordless Mouse at CeBIT today.

Southpaws looking for the latest in musing tech no longer have to switch hit or endure wrist-twisting contortions, now that Logitech has announced a left-handed version of the company’s MX610 laser mouse.

The lefty mouse, due out in April, matches the features of its right-handed sibling, including dedicated buttons for e-mail and IM, volume controls, and four-direction scrolling. Until now, most left-handed computer users have only had the choice of navigating with an ambidextrous-shaped mouse or unnaturally using their right hand to scroll point and click.

A mirror image of the award-winning Logitech MX610 Laser Cordless Mouse, the new mouse features 10 buttons, including e-mail and instant messaging buttons that illuminate when new messages are received within Microsoft Outlook, Windows Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Instant Messenger.

With a wireless range of up to 30 feet, people can take the mouse as they step away from the computer, and still be notified when important messages arrives. The mouse also includes volume up, down and mute buttons for controlling music on the PC.

Logitech’s Tilt Wheel Plus Zoom scroll wheel allows people to effortlessly scroll left, right, up and down, and zoom in and out of images, Web pages and open documents. And, remarkably, Logitech is pricing the new version at $59.99, the same price the company charges for the righty mouse.

Could it be that Guerrino De Luca, the company’s left-handed CEO, is behind the egalitarian move? Regardless, we’re ready to pre-order this one and toss our wrist splint for good. With Logitech’s laser technology, the Logitech MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse tracks more precisely and will work on a wider variety of surfaces than optical mice. Logitech was the first company to introduce a mouse with laser tracking. The precise nature of laser light allows a laser mouse to see much greater surface detail than a typical optical mouse with a red light-emitting diode (LED).

Reviewed of Nec’s New Pro 20-Inch Multisync

NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading stand-alone provider of flat panel desktop and large-screen displays, today announced its new series of professional LCD monitors - the NEC MultiSync 90-series.
Most folks wouldn’t even consider dropping $1,300 on a 20-inch LCD monitor, not when top-notch products such as the Samsung SyncMaster 204T are available for half the price.

Designed to deliver technology-leading screen performance to image-critical markets, the new NEC MultiSync 90-series, which will replace the award-winning MultiSync 80-series, contains over 25 new or improved features that produce crisper, clearer images; enable better control and connectivity; increase energy efficiency; and provide greater adjustment versatility.

The folks over at PC Magazine have taken a look-see at NEC’s new MultiSync LCD2090UXi pro display, and while they liked what it can do, they’re thinking it’s probably best left to the pros and their expensable pocketbooks.

The new MultiSync 90-series “i” models, which use IPS-based modules, address the color critical needs of markets such as medical imaging, graphic illustration and photography.

Carrying a standard four-year warranty, among the highest and most comprehensive in the industry, the MultiSync 90-series “i” models include the 19-inch MultiSync LCD1990SXi, the 20-inch (20.1 viewable) MultiSync LCD2090UXi and the 21-inch (21.3 viewable) MultiSync LCD2190UXi monitors.

The new MultiSync 90-series “p” models, utilizing VA-based modules, are well-suited to meet the needs of CAD/CAM and other users who demand high resolutions, precise images, adjustment flexibility and advanced features but may not have a need for exacting color reproduction.

The MultiSync 90-series “p” models will include the 19-inch MultiSync LCD1990SXp and the 21-inch MultiSync LCD2190UXp monitors, which will carry a standard three-year warranty.

We’re guessing the $1299 price tag for a 20-inch LCD is all of a review most people will need to hear, but they went on to find that the display’s powerful color controls, automatic ambient light adjustment, and flat-out great color make it definitely worth the consideration of those who can afford it.

The 1600×1200 display also offers a very wide 170 degree viewing angle, and its 8ms gray-to-gray response time isn’t too shabby either.

The picture wasn’t as perfect when using an analog connection, and DVDs showed some background noise, but neither of those should raise a flag for most pros.

“NEC has a history of developing displays with leading-edge technology,” said Ray Froude, Senior Product Specialist, NEC Display Solutions of America. “By involving end-users such as illustrators, animators, and radiologists in our development process, the new MultiSync Professional 90-series not only raises the performance bar in these image-critical markets, it also delivers the features and improvements these professionals demand.”

Although the monitor is not geared towards the gaming crowd, it did an adequate job of displaying fast-motion video. Its 16-ms (black-to-white-to-black) pixel-response rating gets a boost from NEC’s Rapid Response overdrive technology, pushing the all-important gray-to-gray response to approximately 8 ms.

There was some image ghosting and flicker evident on our Doom 3 tests, but game play was still acceptable, and the colors were vibrant. DVD movie playback was generally good, although some background noise was noticeable. The panel has a wide viewing angle; colors and image sharpness remained true at up to 170 degrees on both the horizontal and vertical planes, with only a slight loss of luminance at the extreme end of the arc.

NEC covers the 2090UXi with an almost unheard of four-year parts, labor, and backlight warranty (three years is the standard). The company also provides 24/7 telephone support and a wealth of product technology and troubleshooting information online. Included in the box are two DVI cables and an analog cable, screws for wall mounting, and a comprehensive user’s manual.

The MultiSync LCD2090UXi is designed for high-end users who require accuracy, performance, and image control in a professional-grade LCD monitor. Although its price will scare off most consumers, we can expect some of its high-end features to start showing up in midrange LCD monitors in the near future.

Hands-on with the Samsung Q1 / Origami

So we managed to get our hands on a Samsung Q1 / Origami device set to roll tomorrow here at CeBIT. Don’t ask how, but it’ll be awhile before we recover from the brutal caning we just received. From the five minutes we spent with it we can tell you, well, it’s an XP Tablet PC with a 7-inch display. Sorry, that’s about it, nothing earth-shattering here folks. In fact, for all the hype, it’s hard to find anything revolutionary or even evolutionary in the hardware specs or loaded software (perhaps that will come when the price is announced). Sure, Samsung did call it a prototype unit, but as the final prototype prior to manufacture we’re told not much will change besides a “brighter TFT LCD.”

Now, beyond what we saw earlier today, Samsung will release their UMPC / Origami device with optional GPS and DMB (and presumably DVB too, eventually) mobile digital TV expansion modules, as well as WiBRO support for when that goes live in Korea around June.

The version we grabbed, the Q1, also supports Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and sports a 30GB hard disk. Unfortunately the whole thing just felt wrong in the hands – very plasticy and without substance. Take a look for yourselves after the break, we’ve got tons more shots.

So what is Origami? We’ll tell ya

Yesterday we had a chance to get Otto Berkes on the line, the man behind Origami at Microsoft, as well as Dustin Hubbard, Group Manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Hardware and Application Development team. We had a few things to ask about what the deal is with UMPCs and Origami, here’s what we learned: Origami is a term originated from Berkes that doesn’t necessarily refer to a device or specific hardware specification, per se, but to an ultramobile PC running Windows Tablet (or Vista, later) and enhanced Microsoft Touch Pack (a suite of apps and utilities meant to optimize using Windows by touch, and not necessarily only by stylus).

Touch Pack consists of a launcher app that better groups and opens apps based on a touchscreen interface; DialKeys, a thumb-based text input system that uses those two onscreen touch inputs on either side; Touch Improvements, a suite of environment optimizations to make using Windows with your fingers a less painful experience; and some other stuff, like Sudoku and an Origami-optimized Windows Media skin to kind of round out the whole thing.

Otto made it pretty clear that Microsoft is aiming UMPCs based on Tablet with Touch Pack at the general consumer, and not necessarily as another device for the already gadget-laden mobile office — we’ll be seeing (and have already seen) initially launches by the likes of Samsung, Asus, and Founder, so keep an eye out for those today.

We did ask about Alexandria, the other Microsoft buzz-video / project we saw the other day, and it sounded like a system MS was working to ease acquiring music and movies online — is Alexandria a service that might be an iTunes-killer, perhaps? We don’t know (we’re working on finding out), but we do finally know what the hell Origami is, and now you do too.