Recent Comments:
NTT DoCoMo, Softbank announce grand total of 37 phones: Android, perfume holders, and more {Engadget}
Nov 10th 2009 4:48PM "We'll admit -- we didn't think we'd live to see the day when Canada had three live networks with data rates trouncing Japan's."
Japan already has a WiMAX network with extensive coverage in the Tokyo & Kanagawa, and Osaka areas, expanding every month. Next month they're providing coverage along the major Shinkansen rail network.
Speedsd of 40 down / 10 up, rates at $45/mo.
Leica X1 photo gallery proves that big shots do come in little packages {Engadget}
Nov 8th 2009 7:20PM Just as a reality check, high-end DSLRs are also capable of incredibly average shots. That doesn't mean they /aren't/ capable of excellent photos.
It comes down to the artistry of the photog. An DPR reviewers focus only on the technical parts of the cameras they review.
People who look at DPR photos expecting creative photos are looking for the wrong things. The test photos are to demonstrate contrast, vignetting, (purple or color) fringing at wide angles or wide f-stops, bokeh, pixel/sensor sharpness, lens resolving power, and so on.
In that regard the X1 does rather well for a pocketable camera.
The comparison to the 7D is hard to make. You can't get more average than the 28-135mm kit lens, which isn't even an L lens (versatile yes, but f/3.5-5.6, fringing and vignetting, mediocre resolving); and if you pay up for better glass you've already spent more than the cost of the X1. Preferences for pocketability vs lens versatility are still up for grabs.
Still, I agree it's not worth the price tag Leica demands. I'd only go for the M series with its excellent lineup of lenses. But then for that price I'd just go for a GF1 or EP2 and splurge on m4/3 lenses.
Leica X1 photo gallery proves that big shots do come in little packages {Engadget}
Nov 8th 2009 7:03PM If you didn't notice, there was a big note saying the pictures were taken in DNG raw format. That's 16 bits per channel (RGB) per pixel, or 48bpp. For reference, your average TN panel only outputs 6 bits per channel per pixel (18bpp). The standard "16.7M colors" that most everyone is used to is 24bpp.
HTC HD2 officially coming to US, out in Europe and Asia today! {Engadget}
Nov 4th 2009 7:35AM North America has comparatively poor carrier competition. The States specifically has only 4 major carriers, and only one of them uses the semi-standard UMTS 1900mhz 3G spectrum: AT&T. And you can probably imagine why AT&T doesn't care to jump on the latest smartphones (hint: it could hurt their sales of that other phone).
That leaves Tmo US, which uses a non-standard UMTS 1700mhz spectrum, or Sprint/Verizon on CDMA frequencies; either way, HTC would have to crank out a completely separate batch -- and thus why HTC has historically produced Europe/Asia phones first, and then followed up with North America versions later.
HTC HD2 officially coming to US, out in Europe and Asia today! {Engadget}
Nov 4th 2009 7:26AM Actually, I think they teach reading /in/comprehension in troll school.
IIRC, the course is called "LALALALALALAICANTHEARYOULALALALALA 101"
Canon's EOS 1D Mark V DSLR defying death, launching tomorrow? {Engadget}
Oct 20th 2009 8:02AM Sure, the number 4 can be pronounced "yon" instead of "shi"
But it's actually common practice in modern Japanese to use English pronunciation of numbers in product names.
In the case of "Mark IV", they will call it "maaku foh", just as the current 1Ds/1D mIII are called "maaku surii". And when I bought my 5DmII, the salesperson reviewed my purchase as "maaku tsuu".
The same applies to the class name. 1D(s) is called "wan dii (essu)" instead of "ichi"; 5D is "faibu dii" instead of "go dii", and so on. The same applies for Nikon models, and most other major product names 10 and below.
Of course, if Canon makes it up to Mark XI and beyond, they may switch back to Japanese. "Eleven" and "twelve" are too complicated to approximate in Japanese.
Panasonic serves up latest prototype robots, dish washing servant included (video) {Engadget}
Oct 18th 2009 11:44AM sudo make me a sandwich
Verizon asks 'if the iDoesn't, what does?' {Engadget}
Oct 17th 2009 2:40PM Also, I think Verizon is going with the smaller-fish-but-bigger-numbers strategy.
The iPhone is (in the public mind) still the big ticket, but it's still a one-device act; you can get a whole bunch of other top-tier products that individually might not sell as well as the iPhone, but together would probably put iPhone sales to shame.
And it works on two fronts: 1) not everyone on the network is going to want the exact same phone, so greater selection = greater overall user adoption, and 2) AT&T already suffers from iPhone data deluge (or maybe their network is just subpar), so launching a device lineup with breadth (targeting different usage demographics) will potentially allow them to manage their network better, according to those usage segments.
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's Squirrel project revealed... as the Square iPhone Payment System {Engadget}
Oct 17th 2009 2:16PM Because the patent-holders for Felica (probably) aren't American companies, which means the requisite licensing fees would be going overseas (mainly to companies that come up with this technology in the first place), instead of to domestic corporations that as of late seem to be more interested in pocketing your cash than developing more advanced technologies.
I mean, from the cynical point of view, it's more profitable to reinvent the wheel in a way that siphons money into your account, rather than to actually innovate anything, correct?
Which is partly why countries like Japan and Korea have been improving their mobile cashless payment systems for years (with deep integration into vending machines, convenience stores, gas stations, public transportation, etc), while America -- or even major cities in America -- can't agree on a single system to use, leaving you only with the option of having to carry a dozen different RFID credit cards, keychain tags, and dongles, or just stick with regular payment methods.
Toshiba 43nm MLC NAND-based SSDs spotted in retail {Engadget}
Oct 9th 2009 5:33AM Should've been @ethana2
