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Nikon D5100 and ME-1 external mic coming April 21st, we go hands-on (video)
Okay, so Nikon kind of spoiled the surprise with this one, but we can now enlighten you with the full details of its upcoming midrange (or "advanced beginner" as Nikon calls it) DSLR refresh. The D5100 takes the spot of the venerable D5000, but follows the previous generation's recipe for success pretty closely. The D5000 was a stripped-down D90 in a simpler, smaller package that came with an articulating LCD, and the D5100 just so happens to feature the same mighty 16.2 megapixel sensor as the D7000 (Nikon's current high-end consumer DSLR) augmented with a flipout screen. Having the D7000's internals helps the new shooter churn out 1080p video at 24fps, 25fps, or 30fps, depending on your preference for up to a maximum of 20 minutes. The D5000 is only capable of five-minute bursts of 720/24p video and isn't able to continually autofocus, which the D5100 can. The D5100 also betters its predecessor in terms of physical fitness, coming in at a healthy 10 percent lighter and smaller, while a good number of the physical controls have been repositioned in order to allow for a new horizontal opening mechanism. That'll be a well appreciated tweak for tripod users. The new screen's also 17 percent thinner, we're told, and steps up to a 3-inch diagonal with a 920k-dot resolution. Solid stuff. After the break you'll find a full spec sheet along with some video action with the D5100. Pricing for this camera is set at $800 / €777 / £670 for the body only or $900 / €904 / £780 for the body plus an 18-55mm VR kit lens. The ME-1 external mic introduced alongside it -- did we not mention the D5100 has an external mic input -- will cost $180 / €139 / £120 and both are expected in stores on April 21st. %Gallery-120375% %Gallery-120376% %Gallery-120374%
NVIDIA sends GeForce GTX 550 Ti into the $150 graphics card wars
It wasn't that long ago that we were commending ATI on the stellar regularity of its product launches while NVIDIA was floundering, yet now the roles are reversed and we're seeing NVIDIA flesh out its second generation of Fermi products with the midrange GeForce GTX 550 Ti presented today. Its biggest attraction is a $150 price tag, but it makes a major concession in order to reach that pricing plateau -- there are only 192 CUDA cores inside it, equal to the previous-gen GTS 450, but less than the celebrated GTX 460. NVIDIA tries to ameliorate that shortage of parallel processing units by running the ones it has at an aggressive 1800MHz allied to a 900MHz graphics clock speed, and it also throws in a gigabyte of RAM running at an effective rate of 4GHz. That too is constrained somewhat, however, by a 192-bit interface, rather than the wider 256-bit affair on its bigger brother GTX 560 Ti. What all these specs boil down is some decent performance, but few recommendations from reviewers -- mostly due to the abundance of compelling alternatives at nearby price points. Hit up the links below for more. Read - AnandTech Read - Tech Report Read - Guru3D Read - PC Perspective Read - techPowerUp! Read - Hexus
Motorola Spice is the Brazilian Android portrait slider of your mid-range dreams
Hey, remember that weirdo Motorola XT300 portrait slider we saw with hints of Droid branding back in August? It was just announced at CTIA (and released in Brazil) as the Spice. Apart from the form factor, it's basically a Flipout with a different hinge -- it's got Android 2.1 with Motoblur, a 528MHz processor, a 3.2-inch QVGA screen, Motorola's crazy "Backtrack" rear trackpad, and a 3.2 megapixel camera -- but it was apparently designed and built entirely in Brazil, so that's something. We're assuming AT&T passed on this one when it chose to release the Flipout, Flipside and Bravo instead, but damn -- can someone please take this form factor and put it together with a high-end Android spec sheet already? We have cash money.
Nokia firms up touchscreen phone plans, says it will focus on 'mid-range' markets
We've been hearing whispers about Nokia's touchscreen "Tube" phone for what seems like ages, and now it appears that the wait is almost over... with potentially less than inspiring results. In a statement released today from the company's head of devices, Kai Oistamo, the phone-maker says it will be launching a series of touchscreen devices in the second half the year, with the first model -- likely the Tube -- aimed at the "volume market." Oistamo claims that the mid-range market (not the high-end sector that devices like the iPhone 3G occupy) account for 50 percent of the total value of the touchscreen phone game. Essentially, it looks like Nokia's strategy will be business as usual, likely flooding the field with unspectacular mid-range phones, rather than taking on pricier competition like recent Apple and Samsung devices head-to-head, at least initially. Of course, who can argue with the company that shipped 122 million units in Q2 2008?
Nokia outs midrange 6500 in slider and candybar flavors
It may not be the biggest news today out of Espoo, but Nokia has brought out a pair of very capable midrange handsets -- so capable, in fact, that we're kinda surprised Nokia is voluntarily using the term "midrange" to describe them. The 9.5mm thick (nice!) 6500 Classic is a sleek, anodized aluminum candybar featuring a 2 megapixel camera, 1GB (yes, 1GB) of internal storage, Bluetooth, QVGA display, microUSB port for charging, audio, and data, and quadband GSM plus UMTS on the 850 and 2100MHz bands (read: compatible everywhere but the US). The 16.4mm thick 6500 Slide is -- you guessed it -- a slider with just a little bit more meat on its bones than the Classic, upping the cam to a Carl Zeiss autofocus 3.2 megapixel piece and including a microSD slot, integrated FM radio and TV out. Look for both to be available in the third quarter; €320 (about $431) for the Classic and €370 (about $498) for the Slide before subsidies.%Gallery-3559%
