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Laptopmag.com photo shootout finds iPhone 5s camera beats vaunted Nokia Lumia 1020
You've probably seen the Nokia Lumia 1020 ads with the neon-lit motor scooters being photographed with the smartphone, with a tag line that says the photos are better than you'd get from an iPhone 5s. Well, the guys from Laptop decided to check out the cameras in a number of real-life situations, and they found that the iPhone 5s camera roundly beat the capabilities of the Lumia 1020. The team did 10 separate tests with identical lighting conditions and subjects. The iPhone 5s won eight of the tests (one was a tie), while the Lumia 1020 ended up winning three. What was the big difference? Well, the colors were more accurate on the iPhone, with the Lumia 1020 showing a blue color cast on a number of images -- even after a firmware update that was supposed to resolve the issue. Laptop also said that "Apple's device also excelled when delivering detail and contrast." Laptop notes that the Lumia 1020 allows recomposition of images after taking a shot due to the 41-megapixel resolution of the camera, but the iPhone 5s "snapped better-looking images in a wider range of conditions." The Lumia offers the user the ability to manually adjust ISO, shutter speed, white balance and other settings, but the testers note that the iPhone 5s is a "better everyday smartphone camera" because you don't need to make those adjustments.
Comparing the iPad mini, Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 displays
Now that the iPad mini has hit the market, choices for consumers have become a bit more complex. After all, the iPad mini (US$329), the Kindle Fire HD ($199) and Google Nexus 7 ($199) are all small tablets that are targeting the same market, each with its own app ecosystem (Apple App Store for the iPad mini, Kindle Appstore for Kindle Fire HD, Google Play for the Nexus) and fan base. One real difference to consumers is where the eye meets the app -- the display. DisplayMate Technologies Corp. did a "Display Technology Shootout" for Gizmodo comparing the displays on the three tiny tablets, and the results were ... interesting. The full results of the shootout are here for your viewing pleasure, but TUAW will provide you with a couple of highlights. First, the iPad mini placed third in the comparison behind its competitors, but still managed a "B" in terms of "overall display grade." Next, the iPad mini received a "poor" score for reflectance (the amount of light reflected from a pencil beam of light). Finally, the iPad mini has the shortest battery life of the three devices tested, although at 6.1 hours it's still rated as good. An informal tally of personal results from a weekend of iPad mini usage compiled from tweets seems to show that most owners are quite happy with the display. A number of those tweeting said that the light weight more than compensates for the non-Retina display. What's your take on the iPad mini display?
Camera showdown: iPhone 4S vs. iPhone 4, Galaxy S II, Nokia N8 and Amaze 4G (video)
Siri's sweet and all, but for many of us that new eight megapixel sensor and f/2.4 aperture lens are what really makes Apple's iPhone 4S an appealing upgrade. We spent the weekend shooting around New York City with the iPhone 4S, along with some other top smartphones -- the iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S II, Nokia N8 and HTC's Amaze 4G -- in order to determine just which phone's camera reigns supreme. And in order to capture video and stills with consistent framing among all five devices, we secured each smartphone to that homemade quintuple cameraphone mount that you see above -- it may be an early prototype, but it got the job done. Jump past the break to see the results, and check out our comprehensive iPhone 4S sample gallery below.%Gallery-136711%
Red One faces Arri Alexa in high-res, Choose Your Own Adventure-style face-off
Most of the time when one product takes on another in a no-holds-barred face-off somebody walks away with a championship belt. Not this time. Here it's Gunleik Groven, Norwegian filmmaker and photographer, comparing the RED One Mysterium X and the Arri Alexa, two pro-quality shooters that come in at a price semi-pro producers can afford -- the RED clocking in at $42,485 the way Gunleik configured it, the Arri at $70,000. There are some obvious differences, like the RED shooting at 4K and the Arri at 1080p, but the vast majority of the comparisons here are far, far more subtle than that, meaning you're just going to have to pore over the comparison on the other end of the source link yourself and download the gigabytes of sample footage that's been thoughtfully provided. If you do need something of a conclusion, though, it's this: "These are both excellent cameras we could only dream of 5 years back... you cannot really complain on the equipment if you don't get your shot with either of these."
Mirrorless camera shootout: DSLR alternatives get sized up and ISO-examined
It all started with Micro Four Thirds, but now just about everyone is jonesing to play along in the mirrorless camera game. The crew over at Serious Compacts managed to get ahold of quite a few contenders (Samsung's NX10, Sony's NEX5, Olympus' E-P2 and E-PL1, and Panasonic's GF1, GF2 and GH1), and rather than taking 'em apart one by one, they've decided to size 'em up in a fantastic size comparison piece. From lenses to bodies, all six cameras are shown from various angles, and even if you've convinced yourself to not be in the market for one of these bad boys, the eye candy alone is worth a peek. Furthermore, the group has been entered into a telling ISO comparison test, but if you came here looking for a spoiler, you'll be sorely disappointed. Tap those links below to get your study on, won'tcha?
Budget compact shootout finds the best little digicams for your buck
Sure, we all like reading reviews of high-end compact shooters, like the Olympus E-PL1 and Ricoh's transforming GXR, but, when it comes to actually putting down the credit card most folks go with something a bit more... frugal. So, Digital Camera Resource Page has created the 2010 Budget Camera Shootout, which includes eight cameras in the $150 to $180 range with tiny cases and 4 or 5x zoom lenses. Contenders include the Olympus FE-4030, Samsung SL600, and Canon SD1300. It's perhaps no surprise that the PowerShot, long king of the budget roost, comes out on top, but we won't spoil the rest of the rankings, which do include some unexpected performances, and should enable your buying with confidence for this summer's shooting season -- without blowing your budget.
HD webcam 3-way shootout: SkypeHD's best take on Logitech
As we mused when we recently got a chance to try out the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910, it wasn't long ago that VGA was good enough for online chatting. No more, and with the release of SkypeHD going high-def is easier than ever. To find out which multi-megapixel movie maker you want to clip onto your display, and to see how the SkypeHD-compatible offerings stack up against Logitech's latest HD shooter, we gathered three cameras at a range of prices. Two will work with some particularly advanced TVs, while the third cam shuns Skype, offsetting that shortcoming with a middle-ground price and superior video quality. Which is your ticket to HD chat bliss, and how do they all compare to plain 'ol VGA? Find out after the break. %Gallery-96402%
Twitter for Android: the best apps reviewed
You know what's awesome? Cookie dough ice cream. But when it comes to the smartphone market, the 18-month-old, steadily-growing Android platform is equally wondrous. Sure, Google may have a tiny bit of catching up to do when compared with Apple's market share, but at least Android users are already spoiled with a handful of good Twitter apps. Better yet, Twitter has now thrown in its official app to spice up the competition, so we thought it'd be interesting to put it head-to-head against the third-party clients. Read on to find out if we have a winner.
Android display battle: In the end, there can be only One
It's not everyday you get to see six (6!) Android devices pitted against each other in a display-quality grudge match. No, not that sensor sensitivity nonsense again, rather, just a plain ol' video playback comparison for your subjective observations. Fortunately, the Android-loving kids over at HDBlog shot a video of the MyTouch 3G, HTC Hero, Motorola Milestone / Droid, Acer Liquid, Nexus One, and Samsung Galaxy (laid out clockwise in the image above). In our opinion, the Nexus One with its 3.7-inch AMOLED display packing a 800 x 480 pixel resolution comes out on top with the best overall image (though slightly on the red end of the color spectrum) -- good thing the video wasn't shot outdoors where that AMOLED is all but unreadable. But hey, that's our opinion, form your own in the video after the break.
SSD shootout, round III: OCZ, Corsair and PhotoFast butt heads
Like clockwork, we've stumbled upon yet another updated SSD shootout almost a year to the day since the last one, and nearly two years since the first. Since 2008, we've seen OCZ introduce a new "garbage collection" algorithm for its Vertex Series 120GB SSD, Corsair introduce its P64 and PhotoFast make waves with its supposedly speedy G-Monster-V5. The benchmarking gurus over at HotHardware had the patience to sit 'em all down and break out the rulers, and the long and short of it is this: the Vertex Turbo and G-Monster V5 bested the Corsair, with the PhotoFast drive in particular showing remarkably strong performance in read / write tests. Of course, all of the units were quite a bit quicker than traditional HDDs, but the folks at HH maintained that SSD pricing is still way out of reach for many consumers. But hey, if you've got the means to lay down $3 per gigabyte, feel free to tap that read link and ingest.
AVReview pits four high-end receivers against each other
Despite the trickle down of advanced features on many manufacturers' lower-end receivers, there's still plenty of room for their upper-echelon offerings as well, and the UK's AVReview put four £1,200 - £1,500 ($1,750 - $2,200) receivers in a matchup. Entering the ring were the Onkyo TX-NR906, Pioneer SC-LX71 (SC-07 in the US), Sony STR-DA5400ES and Yamaha RX-V3900; we only wish models from Denon and Marantz would have made it to the contest as well. That said, matching up four receivers is not to be taken lightly, and it sounds like each of the contestants would serve you well in both features and absolute performance. We won't spoil the ending for you, but even though only one receiver snagged the overall crown, at this price point you should know that things are more nuanced than a single "winner;" your personal priorities are going to be the biggest variable in choosing the best model for you.[Boxing glove image courtesy germes-online]
DDR3 shootout pits OCZ, Kingston and Corsair against one another
DDR3 modules aren't exactly new or anything, but given just how low the prices of big time kits have become, we figured it prudent to pass along one of the most thorough shootouts on the subject that we've seen. HotHardware grabbed a few DIMMs from the labs of OCZ Technology, Corsair and Kingston, threw 'em all in a Core i7 rig (not simultaneously, silly!) and benchmarked the lot until they literally fell asleep at the keys. The results? We'd love to tell you which sticks came out atop the pile, but that would just be spoiling the fun for you, now wouldn't it? Give the read link a look if you're ready for the action.
HTIB shootout picks the best at a variety of price points
We've already seen one speaker guide pop up this fall / winter, but for those not so keen on piecing together a multi-channel setup themselves, PC World has a solid alternative. It has taken a cold, hard look at seven home-theater-in-box (HTIB) setups ranging from $500 to $3,000 and picked the best one at each price level. We won't spoil anything here, but if you've been looking for some assistance in choosing from the plethora of options out there, this ain't a bad place to get educated.
CNET UK hosts Blu-ray player load time shootout, PS3 wins
Long load times on Blu-ray players have always been a pet peeve of ours, and obviously we aren't alone. The gurus over at CNET UK rounded up four of their favorite decks and popped in a test disc (Vantage Point) in order to find which was the quickest at getting down to business. Trailing the pack was Pioneer's BDP-LX71, which took a staggering 1:54 to load and play the film. Panasonic's DMP-BD35 nabbed the bronze in unceremonious fashion (1:16), while Samsung's BD-P1500 slipped in second with a 1:09 load / play time. As we gave away in the headline there, Sony's PlayStation 3 easily took first with a test time of just 42 seconds. We'd love to know if any other untested decks could outperform that -- anyone care to time their unit and chime in below?
Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter roundup: get universal control of your PS3
So, here's a conundrum for ya. Sony's PlayStation 3 has been all but universally hailed as a stellar Blu-ray player and a respectable part of any home theater. But Sony forgot to include an IR receptor on the thing, making it incompatible with the vast majority of universal remotes on the market. Solution? An Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter. For the longest while, the original IR2BT was the de facto choice for handling the conversion, but now that it has been replaced with the more expensive (and versatile, in fairness) IR2BTci, CNET decided to roundup three other viable options so you, the almighty consumer, could make the choice that serves you best. Hit the read link for a gathering of the reviews, and don't forget to curse Sony for making you go through this exercise in the first place. Update: RemoteShoppe has a similar, and equally helpful, roundup of its own.
Blu-ray studios get graded, Sony Pictures comes out on top
Kudos, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment -- you've apparently been doing quite well in the Blu-ray department this year. The folks over at Sound & Vision recently took a hard look at a number of BD-releasing studios this year in order to give 'em all the grade they deserve. As for criteria? Critics looked at the "technical prowess of the audio and video presentations, the adoption or avoidance of available Blu-ray exclusive technologies (BD-Live, etc.) and the breadth and diversity of their releases as well as their reaction to the unique challenges of the latest evolution of the BD market." Interested to see how the rest of the competition fared? Give the read link a look for all the dirt.
HP's MediaSmart EX475 takes on homegrown Windows Home Server systems
If you've somehow managed to hold off from buying one of HP's MediaSmart servers (or, you know, just forgot about your plans to buy one), MissingRemote has a nice writeup explaining the benefits of picking one up versus building your own. The storage junkies over there pitted an EX475 against a "home brewed Frankenstein" and a server built with WHS-specific parts in order to see which of the three would emerge triumphant. In the end, HP's own unit managed to garner the most of their love, which was quite surprising to be honest. Sure, building your own can be a ton of fun, but the EX475 just delivered in every important area for right around the same price as the other two homegrown competitors. Don't believe us? Tap the read link and check it out.
SSD shootout, round II: OCZ, Super Talent and Mtron do battle
If you'll recall, a slew of prohibitively expensive SSDs were pit against one another last summer in a battle royale of pricey HDD replacements. Fast forward a year and change, and the barrier to entry for one of these heralded devices has dropped significantly. That being the case, we've a feeling HotHardware's latest shootout will be a whole lot more relevant for the average joe / jane. The aforementioned test simultaneously reviews the OCZ Core Series 64GB MLC, OCZ 64GB Standard SLC, Super Talent MasterDrive MX 64GB MLC and the Mtron MSP 7500 32GB SLC. Interestingly, the writeup didn't conclude with a medal ceremony, but rather, it elaborated on the merits of each and where it would likely fit best. You know what that means -- time to bust out the spectacles and get to readin'. Chop chop!
Netflix Player, Apple TV and VUDU compared: movie STB shootout
Talk about timely, yeah? Just hours after our latest Ask Engadget HD question pondered which of the three big hitters in the movie set-top-box arena was superior, along comes a comparison of the trio from PopSci. Of course, this being Engadget HD, we've all ideas many of you won't agree with the verdict put out (hint: Roku's box is deemed the winner), but some decent points are made nonetheless. For starters, the Netflix library is far more expansive than those offered up by Apple and VUDU; for folks looking for the widest range of titles (and cheapest method of renting), it's hard to overlook the Netflix Player. For junkies that just have to have HD, your choices are clearly defined, and between the Apple TV and VUDU, critics noted that the former's ability to dabble in YouTube was a perk that may sway certain buyers. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, be sure and hit up the read link if for nothing more than the pros / cons -- the decision's still yours, you know.
Dell Latitude XT displays compared: daylight viewable vs. LED
When Dell's long-awaited Latitude XT finally hit the scenes, many were captivated by the idea of a daylight viewable screen on such a portable rig. Up until now, however, there's been little analysis over which was actually superior. Granted, we aren't saying that you can't disagree firmly with GottaBeMobile's assessment, but after checking each out for an extended period of time, Rob Bushway actually concluded that the LED-based machine was preferable. Aside from coming in a few ounces lighter, the LED-equipped unit didn't seem to perform noticeably worse than the DLV counterpart, and even battery life was practically the same for each. Don't take our word for it, though -- check out the entire writeup (video included) in the read link below.
