f5
Latest
LG Optimus F5 mid-range LTE smartphone hits France April 29, global dispersion to follow
LG's F-series handsets may not be in the same class an HTC One or GS4, but we can't help but appreciate the solid specs and LTE-goodness baked into these mid-range devices. Following a debut alongside its F7 sibling at MWC, the F5 will begin trickling out to French retailers on April 29th. While there's no mention of US availability -- despite a recent leak pegging it for Verizon -- we do know LG will soon be pushing it out to parts of Asia and Central / South America. Aimed at markets new to LTE, the smartphone packs a beefy 2,150mAh battery, 5-megapixel camera, 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 4.3-inch screen for showing off LG's skinned version of Android 4.1.2. If you're curious to give LTE a go and this looks like a winner, you'll find the full press release after the break.
Alleged press shots out LG Optimus F5 as Verizon's mid-range Lucid 2
About a week ago, we went hands-on with LG's new mid-range LTE-capable Optimus F5 and F7 smartphones at MWC. At the time it was unknown where these handsets would land in the US, but it appears that we now have the goods on the former. According to a pair of alleged press shots obtained by UnwiredView, LG's F5 will be showing up on Verizon in the not so distant future. Said to be a follow up to last year's Lucid, this mid-tier device's main bullet points include a modest 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera (capable of 1080p video capture) and Android 4.1.2. Sure, the Lucid 2's specs remind us more of a keyboard shortcut and less of a powerful storm -- we just hope that its price tag will also be a refresh. If so, that should make this device a considerable option for first-time smartphone buyers looking to make the jump to LTE.
Red sues Sony over patents, wants disputed F-series cameras 'destroyed' (updated)
We reported that Sony was going "Red hunting" with it's new F-series pro camcorders, but it looks like Red has flipped that scenario. It's suing Sony for allegedly violating two of its patents -- asking for an injunction to stop sales plus an award for damages, and even that that the F5, F55 and F65 models in question be "delivered up and destroyed." The Hobbit camera-maker claims the video cams have "resulted in lost sales, reduced the business and profit of Red, and greatly injured the general reputation of Red." The patents involve Red's implementation of RAW video, but no details were given as to how it thinks those processes were infringed. Anyway, you can now add high-end video cameras to the growing playbill of patent follies. Update: Red leader Jim Jannard has issued a statement on Reduser as to why the company felt it needed to sue Sony. We have taken a bit of flak for filing a lawsuit against Sony Electronics. #1. Sony stepped up and finally supported 4K from cameras to displays. That is helping to cement 4K as the real cinema standard. Good. We actually have a Sony 4K 84" display and Sony 4K projector at RSH for reference. But... #2. We are heavily invested in concepts, inventions, designs, development and manufacturing of RED cameras, REDRAY and the RED Projector. Each is unique and has motivated the industry to get better, for the benefit of all. We don't mind others joining the 4K revolution... quite the contrary, we embrace it. What we don't accept is others just borrowing our technology, intentionally or unintentionally. We admire invention and happily pay for and license great technology from other companies when it is useful to our program. #3. We have created many jobs in the US leveraging our vision and technology and we will aggressively protect our employees. Every single job matters. It is a magic trick to build a camera in the US, especially at the highest level. This cannot be done if others are allowed to just take what we have done and use our work as their own. #4. Our customers have invested in our technology. They need to be protected and their investment needs to be protected. We have an obligation to our customers so they will not have their investment diluted by a proliferation of the proprietary technology they invested in. We don't mean to be heavy handed. We saw 4K as the future standard in 2005. We have endured comments that "RED was a scam". "1080P was good enough." "What does a sunglass guy know about cameras?"... as well as others I would never publish. Patents are here for a reason. They protect IP. Receiving a patent now means that you have an obligation to protect it... or they have absolutely no value whatsoever. We are anxious to resolve this and have everyone move along. But in the end... our ideas, employees and customers matter. We will tenaciously protect all of them. [Thanks, Andrea!]
Sony takes the wraps off 240Hz, RFID enabled BRAVIA LCDs in Japan
If the trouble of typing in a credit card number was the thing keeping you from renting acTVila video on-demand movies in Japan, Sony's fixed that right up by including FeliCa reading capability in the remote for its latest BRAVIA LCDs. No longer tied to an ugly outboard box, now you need only to press your credit card, cellphone or other RFID enabled device against the remote to authorize payment. The Japanese edition W5 and F5 line of LCDs mostly feature 240Hz MotionFlow and the latest BRAVIA Engine 3 display processing, and top out around ¥450,000 ($4,614) for a 52-inch. Check out video of the RFID remote on Akihabara News or embedded after the break and imagine living in a Blade Runner-type world of the future where overpriced rentals downloaded via fiber directly onto an HDTV screen are billed to whatever card desired with a mere flick of the wrist, as opposed to overpriced, overcompressed rentals that shamefully expand ones cable bill each month.[Via Akihabara News & AV Watch]
Mac 101: Pressing F5 in a text field
More Mac 101, TUAW tips for new and returning Mac users. If you're typing in a text field (in Safari, TextEdit, or most any Mac OS X app), you can press F5 while your cursor rests in a particular word to see a list of words that begin with the letters after the last space. Holding down Option and Pressing Escape works, too. So, for example, if you type create, you get a list of words including create, created, and creates. If there are a lot of words in the list, it only shows the first 100 results, sorted alphabetically. The results come from Mac OS X's built-in dictionary. This trick is useful for when you have a word on the tip of your tongue, need help with possessive apostrophes, or are stuck on a crossword clue. [Via AppleGroup]
Motion Computing unveils "semi-rugged" F5 Slate PC
It's been a solid tick since we heard a peep from Motion Computing, but nearly a year after we first wrapped our paws around the firm's C5 medical tablet, the F5 has arrived. Granted, this bugger is more suited for service industries and field work than the ER, but its "semi-rugged" nature ensures that it'll get the job done almost anywhere. Packed within the IP54-compliant (read: dust, water, shock and temperature resistant) chassis is a 1.2GHz Intel Centrino U1400 processor, 10.4-inch XGA (1,024 x 768) View Anywhere display, 40GB HDD (optional 32GB SSD available), built-in 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth, WWAN (EV-DO) support and a 2-megapixel camera for good measure. Additionally, you'll spot an optional barcode reader, integrated RFID reader / passive tag, a biometric scanner, three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA output and a battery good for about 3.5 hours of usage. Unfortunately, such a well-spec'd Slate PC won't come cheap, as this creature will set you back a stiff $2,699 to $4,000 depending on configuration.Update: Check out videos of the F5 surviving a brutal drop test and enjoying the rain after the jump. %Gallery-17243%
