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LG's wacky 'Friends' accessories might just annoy its enemies
LG didn't just roll up with a new phone. It turned up with an entourage of devices in one of the most refreshing, if a little baffling, launches in MWC history. The devices all center around the G5, and include drones, rolling robots and high-fidelity audio accessories: quite the family. LG's calling these accessories "Friends," and while it's a little unexpected, the collection offers something compelling: a line of gadgets that not only plug into the LG G5, but also into pretty much every hot trend right now.
LG's modular G5 is its most daring flagship phone ever
LG is in a tricky position: starting with the G2, it's made consistently lovely flagship smartphones, but it can't even crack the top five top-selling mobile brands. The time has come for something seriously off the wall, and, well, LG went for it. Say hello to the LG G5, the most ambitious smartphone the company has ever made.
Live from LG's keynote at MWC 2016
LG is getting ready to kick off the festivities at Mobile World Congress 2016. We're expecting to see LG's new flagship smartphone, the G5. And this is just the start of a very interesting -- and tiring -- day. The company's press conference starts at 8AM ET, so be sure to stay tuned into this page and watch the livestream here.
Watch LG's MWC 2016 press event here
We're just a few minutes away from LG's huge press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where the Korean giant has already confirmed it'll be debuting its latest flagship smartphone, the G5. Check out LG's livestream below, and follow along with our liveblog when the event starts at 8 AM Eastern.
The LG G5 will let you lock and load new batteries
In the lead up to MWC, we've heard plenty of rumors about the LG G5 and its swappable accessories. The general idea is that you'll be able to slide out the bottom of the phone and replace it with some fresh or scenario-specific hardware. Now, we're starting to see exactly what those modules will look like. A photo on the Chinese site Weibo reveals a battery accessory with a bright, yellow cell. So when you're starting to near the red, you'll presumably be able to swap your battery out like a firearm magazine.
LG G5 already has a touch-enabled Quick Cover
There's still over a week left before LG launches its newest flagship phone, but we know two things for certain: First, the G5 has an "Always On" display, and second, you will be able to get a Quick Cover case for it. The Korean company has announced that it's releasing a touch-enabled case for (in its own words) a "smartphone that does not officially exist" yet. LG says the cover is wrapped in "a unique film with a glossy metallic finish" for a luxurious feel. Also, you'll be able to take calls and control the alarm settings through its semitransparent mesh material, without having to open the case.
LG will unveil the G5 on February 21st
It's no secret that LG has something planned for Mobile World Congress this month (it mentioned an event weeks ago), but the Korean tech giant is now making it clear as to what's up. It's posting teasers confirming a G5 unveiling just ahead of MWC, on February 21st. Yes, that's the same day that Samsung announces the Galaxy S7 -- unlike last year, LG isn't waiting until sometime after the big mobile trade show to debut its latest flagship smartphone.
Flickr Find: It's Apple Time!
What better way to use an old G5 tower than to grab a panel from the old machine and toss it into a homemade clock? This unique wall piece was created by Flickr user Chris Sasse, who uses the clock to tick off the hours in his office.
Panasonic GH3 and G5 firmware update brings low light AF, silent shooting
If you've been spooking subjects or failing to focus on them with your Panasonic Lumix GH3 or G5, you might feel like you got a brand new camera today thanks to a firmware update. Its new features include low-light (-3EV) autofocus and a "silent mode" setting that'll turn off the electronic shutter, all sounds and the flash emission in one go, leaving subjects like deer or golfers undisturbed. You'll also get an exposure compensation shutoff reset option, better AF performance with certain lenses and a WiFi fix for Mac computers. You can grab it at the source, proving it's not only hackers that bring free goodies to pricey cameras.
Panasonic G5 mirrorless camera gets September 13th release date in Japan
We enjoyed our short time with Panasonic's new mirrorless G5 in our hands-on last month, even if it was a little on the porky side. And, if you hail from the Land of the Rising Sun and had your heart set on one of these 16-megapixel shooters, Panny's announced you'll get your chance from September 13th. We're getting dangerously close to missing the stateside launch target of August, but where the US website is showing the G5 as unreleased, availability on Amazon tells a different story. We're reaching out for confirmation on that -- as well as pricing -- and will update should we hear more.
Panasonic's Lumix lineup grows: DMC-G5 Micro Four Thirds, DMC-FZ200 superzoom and DMC-LX7 hands-on and sample shots
It's been nearly half a year since Panasonic's Lumix series of cameras got any new members, but today the company is introducing three more shooters to the family. First up is the DMC-G5, the latest addition to the company's Micro Four Thirds lineup. It's the successor to the G3 and packs a 16-megapixel sensor capable of shooting 1080p videos at 60fps and stills in up to 6fps bursts at a max 12,800 ISO at full resolution. The G5's LVF has a proximity sensor to automatically switch between it and the camera's 920,000-dot capacitive screen depending on which one you're using to frame your shots. When the G5 goes on sale next month, you'll have your choice of black, silver and white models.%Gallery-160553% In addition to the G5, Panasonic's also introducing a new superzoom camera, the DMC-FZ200 and a high-end DMC-LX7 point-and-shoot. The FZ200 replaces the FZ150 and pairs a 12-megapixel sensor with a 25-600mm constant f/2.8 aperture Leica Elmarit lens with nano surface coating to reduce flare and ghosting. It has a 24x optical zoom and shoots 1080p video at up to 60fps along with stills in up to 12fps bursts, though its max ISO is only 6,400. Meanwhile, the LX7 has arrived sporting a 10-megapixel sensor and a 24-90mm, f/1.4-2.3 Leica Summilux lens with the same nano surface coating as the FZ200. Like its Lumix brethren, it shoots 1080p video at 60fps, and shares the same maximum 12,800 ISO as the G5. It'll be available in black and pearl white when it ships in August. We got to spend some time with all three, so join us after the break to learn a bit about what its like snapping pics with this trio of Panasonics.%Gallery-160554%%Gallery-160552%
G5 Mac "Pro" (sic) receives Macquarium treatment
All the little fishies in bottom of the sea wish that they were swimming in my G5 Mac PC Or for the geekier devs among you: Joy to NSFishies in the G5 PC, @selector(joy:) to you and me... Video of the case conversion follows for your delectation. [via Gizmodo]
TenFourFox brings Firefox 4 to PPC Macs
Firefox 4 received quite a bit of fanfare when it finally rolled out of beta. Unfortunately for some Mac users, Mozilla decided to drop support for PowerPC processors and therefore Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger from FF4, meaning that G3, G4 and G5 users were left out in the cold. If you're one of these users lovingly still using PPC Macs, the folks behind the Mac Classic browser, Classilla, have come to your rescue and brought Firefox 4, with nearly all the trimmings, to the now discarded Mac architecture. TenFourFox takes code from Firefox 4 and tunes it for OS X 10.4 (compatible with 10.5) and the PPC-architecture. In fact, TenFourFox is offered in hand-tuned builds for each PPC processor: the G3, the G4/7400 and /7450 and, of course, the G5. With the upgrade from Firefox 3.6, you get all the JavaScript speed improvements that Mozilla rolled into Firefox 4, making it by far the fastest browser available for the PPC-Mac. You'll also get WebM video support, access to most of the Firefox 4 add-ons and, of course, HTML5 and CSS3 support. If you're using a perfectly decent and still loved PPC Mac, now is the time to furnish it with a modern browser and extend its life on the Web for years to come. [via MacStories]
The dual-core Sandy Bridge laptops have arrived! Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Sony start shipping systems
If your eyes have been glued to Engadget this week, you've noticed that there have been quite a few new laptops unveiled. Sure, Samsung's rail-thin Series 9 stole a lot of the glory, but Dell and ASUS also rolled out a few new Intel Sandy Bridge systems. But something else big happened this week in the portable computer world -- a good number of the dual-core Sandy Bridge systems finally started shipping to you laptop-loving people. Wait, but didn't that happen back at CES? Not quite: while Intel announced the availability of Sandy Bridge back in January, it only started to ship its quad-core chips -- now all the dual-core Core i3, i5, and i7s are ready and so are the systems that house 'em. We've gathered a list of the rigs that are now up for order or hitting retailers. Hit that read more link for a breakdown, and start deciding if you need some fresh dual-core power in your life.
iMac turned ant farm for sale on eBay
We've seen lots of interesting ways to use old Macs, including the great Macquarium that pops up every now and again. But I think an ant farm is a new one -- that's what this 17" G5 iMac has been turned into. An eBay seller in Hawaii says he emptied out the Mac's insides and built a custom habitat to slide in and out of the unit, and then he filled it up with a special gel designed to grow and support a colony of ants. The only issue? He can't get the ants he'd need for the farm in Hawaii, so he's selling the whole kit and caboodle, ants not included. The habitat is also watertight (though it's a little small), but if you wanted to use this as a Macquarium, that would work, too. Perhaps for Sea Monkeys? I think an ant habitat would be a little more original, however. Just hope that they don't get free. As of this writing, the price is set at only $1 with no reserve, so anyone who wants to try using an old repurposed iMac can jump at the chance.
Grating cheese on a G5
Ah, the once mighty Power Mac G5. It used to be the envy of film editors and art designers everywhere. With a 1.6 GHz CPU, a whopping 256MB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive, it was once the tower-iest of PC towers. Just seven short years later, it's reduced to grating cheese in some nondescript office environment. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Actually it's just the case doing the grating -- you have to admit, with all of those tiny holes for ventilation, the case works pretty well. It does make a mess, though, and there's quite a bit of cheese still left on the unit. It may not be able to run 10.6, but the old G5 will spruce up your salad if you so choose. Thanks, sivil!
Setting up a "Writing Mac"
I've got a basement full of Macs in various states of repair, which shouldn't surprise you. One of my hobbies is re-purposing those old machines. For instance, there's a G3 All-In-One on my workbench which runs iFixIt.com when I've got a project. Additionally, I use a G4 iMac as a Daylite server.I've also had a G5 iMac for a while, but nothing for it to do. Earlier this week, I gave it a fresh install of Mac OS 10.4 and thought I'd use it for blogging and other writing. No web browsing, Twitter, iPhoto or the like. Call it a "Writing Mac." Here's how I set it up.Reduce distractionsThe Dock and drives are hidden from the Finder. No Twitter clients are installed, and only a few bookmarks are in place. The home folder contains only the default items and there's no music in the iTunes library. In other words, there's nothing to compete for my attention.Streamlined for workI've populated the dock with apps that support writing and nothing more. I've moved it to the lower left-hand corner by choosing "Position on screen > Left" from the Dock preference pane and this little bit of command line editing from Shawn Blanc:defaults write com.apple.dock pinning -string endNow I can have the dock tiny yet accessible as I run my writing software. Speaking of which ...The softwareYou'll see a few icons in my Dock. After the Finder and Mail, is Scrivener. If you've got a large writing project to complete, Scrivener is the companion you'll want on your side. Research, outlining and organization is a pleasure with such a great application. I've also got Apple's Dictionary in the Dock because, believe it or not, 'ol Dave isn't so good with the spelling.Next is Yojimbo (I had to upgrade to 10.5.7 to get this to run. D'oh!). I only started using this app recently, but I can see the appeal. When running, it puts a small tab on the edge of the desktop. It's easy to drop bits of text, images or URL's in there to use as reference. The good stuff, once reviewed, gets moved into Scrivener. Finally is my beloved ImageWell for editing images for use here on TUAW. It runs on 10.4 and is just the tool for quick-and-dirty cropping and resizing. At last, iTunes streams Radio Paradise, my favorite Internet radio station.The best part is that there's almost nothing to back up (other than Scrivener projects, which I drop in my Dropbox). If this machine's HD croaked tomorrow, I'd be able to pick up where I left off with minimal fuss.So there you have it, my Writing Mac. Aren't legacy machines fun?
OS 10.6: PowerPC officially left behind
It's not news. It was just less than a year ago that we initially announced that Snow Leopard would likely be Intel-only. Still, it was a report based off an initial developer's release of the software, and PowerPC users prayed that maybe it was a mistake. Maybe Apple would change its mind and toss a bone at these faithful users of Macs-gone-by. But, the emerging reality showed that Apple has left its PowerPC days behind. In February, we reported on how GarageBand's new Learn to Play feature was Intel-only. In addition to that, not every feature in iPhoto was available to PowerPC users. During that same month, we reported that even more G4 systems were being added to Apple's vintage and obsolete lists. Now the writing is fully on the wall for PowerPC users. The official release of tech specs for Snow Leopard indicates that it is an Intel-only release, meaning that if you do want to go past Leopard, you'll have to upgrade. There are still a lot of PowerPC users out there, and they're still very good machines... but are owners of older Macs going to be satisfied without the latest OS? Answer our poll or let us know in the comments: what does Snow Leopard mean to PPC owners? %Poll-31002%
Got a G4 or G5? iPhoto '09 will be missing features
As Apple continues a march toward all Intel-based computers, those hanging on to perfectly good G5 and G4 computers are left to watch features slowly bleed off.In the recently released iLife '09 package, iPhoto has left some owners of older Macs wondering where their slide show transitions have gone.Apple has now released a support document detailing what is missing: The number of slideshow themes available in iPhoto '09 depends on your Mac's processor and, in some cases, available vRAM: Intel-based Mac computers, PowerPC G5 with more than 64MB of vRAM: All iPhoto '09 slideshow themes are available. PowerPC G5 with less than 64MB of vRAM: Only Classic, Ken Burns, Scrapbook, Sliding Panels are available. PowerPC G4: Classic and Ken Burns are available. Apple has also changed the minimum specs on Garageband '09, noting that one of the apps most desired features is Intel only: GarageBand Learn to Play requires an Intel-based Mac with a dual-core processor or better.It is also rumored that the next version of OS X, Snow Leopard will completely drop support for PowerPC processors. Last year, iMovie dropped PowerPC support, so it looks like the handwriting is on the wall. Apple's push to get consumers and businesses to change to the newer Intel platform will get less and less subtle as time goes on.
Garmin's new nuvi 885T, zumo 660 and G5 GPS units for drivers, bikers and golfers
Garmin's gone all diversity-happy on us this morning with three new chock-full-o-features portable GPS devices. The nuvi 885T is the real flagship here, offering speech recognition, lane assist junction view and MSN Direct traffic info and other cloud-based services. The unit centers on a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen, and offers up Bluetooth for hands-free calling and an FM transmitter to pump turn-by-turn instructions and music through your car stereo. Unfortunately, the hotness doesn't come cheap: the 855T goes for $800, with an MSN and Bluetoothless version going for $700. The zumo 660 is built for motorcycle types, with a 4.3-inch glove and sunlight-friendly touchscreen display. There's Bluetooth for pumping turn-by-turn directions to your helmet headset, and more of that lane assist goodness, but the $800 pricetag might quell your enthusiasm. Finally, the G5 offers up a 3-inch touchscreen, with what sound to be some pretty intuitive tap and drag functionalities. Pictures of the 660 and the G5 are after the break. Read - Garmin nuvi 885T Read - Garmin zumo 660 Read - Garmin G5
