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Panasonic intros Lumix DMC-L10 DSLR
Panasonic's still relatively new to the DSLR game, but it looks like it's intent on proving its worth, and it's now rolled out its second such camera: the Lumix DMC-10. This one clocks in at a hefty 10.1 megapixels, and boasts a swiveling 2.5-inch LCD, along with Panasonic's Venus Engine III image processor, a "Supersonic Wave Filter" dust reduction system, and some nifty features like face detection and "intelligent ISO control." You'll also get a LEICA D VARIO-ELMAR 14-50mm / F3.8-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA OIS lens with the camera, which can of course be swapped out if you're looking to mix things up a bit. Look for this one to be available sometime this October with an MSRP of $1,300.%Gallery-6584%
So long ATRAC, thanks for nothing
In case you missed it, Sony's CONNECT music services based on the ATRAC audio format are finally -- at long last -- coming to an end. In North America and Europe, anyway. The off again, on again music service with a penchant for the ol' ATRAC lock-in will be phased out. Buried in that US-bound video Walkman press release, Sony states that, "Specific timing will vary by region depending on market demand, but will not be before March 2008." The CONNECT e-book service for the Reader will not be affected." We expect the swift demise of ATRAC to follow.Update: Connect customers are already being notified of Sony's move away from their "proprietary music format." They'll even provide future "guidance" for converting your library over to WMA or MP3 formats. Good times, eh?Update 2: Those conversions are just for music you added to your library -- not for music you paid for. Sorry, you're gonna be out that cash unless you strip the DRM.[Thanks, Robert H]
HTC's HT1100 (Nike) with TouchFLO lives... on Japan's DoCoMo
There it is, the HTC HT1100, aka Nike, aka the Touch II WinMo 6 Professional slider we've been anticipating. This FOMA handset packs HSDPA (naturally, for DoCoMo) and GSM for international roaming while representing HTC's second handset to feature the TouchFLO interface. The QVGA display has been trimmed back to 2.6-inches while the sliding keypad chunks it up a bit to 112 x 51 x 16.9-mm / 130-grams. 802.11a/b/g WiFi, SIP support, Bluetooth, 2 megapixel camera (with a 0.1 megapixeler up front), FM tuner (?), and microSD round out the specs. So it's official, now we just need a release a bit say, closer to home.[Via Akihabara News]
Sanyo's Xacti DMX-HD1000: the world's smallest 1080i camcorder
We like giving Sanyo heaps of grief over their boxy gear from time to time. But make no mistake, they've nailed it with their Xacti series of solid state camcorders. Meet the DMX-HD1000, their first to record at full, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution video using the HD/MPEG-4 AVC codec. It features the ability to shoot 8 megapixel stills via its 1/2.5-inch CMOS sensor, a 10x optical zoom, 2.7-inch LCD, HDMI-out, and the ability to record direct to SD/SDHC cards for up to 2 hours at a charge. That's plenty of juice since an 8GB SDHC card will only hold about 1 hour and 25 minutes of Full HD recordings. All this in an itty-bitty pistol grip shooter which Sanyo claims is the world's smallest at this resolution. Available in Japan starting mid September for about ¥120,000 or about $1,000. %Gallery-6571%[Via Impress]
Nokia N95 for North America: get it September for $699
Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? The shock of a real, honest-to-goodness N95 with North American 3G bands becoming reality (sorry, T-Mobile, not you!) is still wearing off, and now the company's spouting off about a September release for the darned thing. As we found in our hands-on, this particular variant of the S60 superphone gets tweaked just a bit from the original -- though not as much as the bigger-screened N95 8GB -- offering a redesigned, recessed camera lens (sans protective cover), twice the RAM, dimpled music control keys, and re-upped battery capacity. Nokia claims this very special version of the N95 was made in part because it's been "extremely pleased" with response to the European N95 in these parts -- so to everyone with an N95 in your pocket right now, thanks! As we mentioned, grab it starting next month through a variety of online retailers plus Nokia's flagship stores in New York and Chicago for $699.
DirecTV's new MPEG4 channel show up in guide (in engineering mode)
Ahh, the anticipation of new HD channels. DirecTV has many new channels planned in the coming months and unfortunately we'll have to wait to enjoy them. One well respected AVSForum member got a little treat after work today when he noticed that all the new channel assignments were showing up in the guide. Before you go running to check your guide, you should know that this particular person has a card which enables him to view what the engineers see -- hence the name engineering mode. We're not sure if he works for DirecTV, or how he obtained this card, but we'll be following this closely 'till all the HD goodness is delivered. Check out the full list of channels and their assignments after the jump.
iRobot's Looj wants to clean yer damn gutters
Ok, we're going to do our best to get through this post without making any references to hocking a Looj -- ready? So, guess what turned up in the FCC today? Dad's going to be thrilled. An iRobot robot that revealed the latest place around your home they want to clean: the gutter. And we totally get it -- who likes to clean the freaking gutter, you know? Anywho, the new robot, called, ahem, Looj, has two treads, a remote control, and a strange looking "distruptor / ejector / sweeper" auger assembly for clearing out the drains. Let's cut to the chase though, iRobot, only one question remains: we're all waiting for the robotic colonic, when's the release on that?
HP Virtus revealed
We don't yet know a lot about this happening new HP desktop, except that it's been dubbed the Virtus and it's got some fairly slick design. We'll hit you up with more as we get it -- for now, bask in our gallery of leaked shots.%Gallery-6534%
Nokia's N95 finally US bound with HSDPA
Seriously, did you ever think this day would come? Well it's official, the N95 is heading Stateside. That's right, Nokia's "multimedia computer" is finally touting HSDPA on the US-friendly 850MHz and 1900MHz bands. No more trekking to Europe or your "local" Nokia store for a data-excluded, N95 experience. Otherwise, it's still the same GPS lovin' WiFi monster we've ogled for months. Yeah, we could hardly believe it either until we went hands-on over at Engadget Mobile.
Nokia intros Music Store
Part of its new "Ovi" initiative of online mobile services, Nokia has announced its Music Store service today. Offering up a feature that seems like a perfect (if not obvious) use for HSDPA speeds on handsets, Music Store will offer seamless over-the-air music purchases and downloads directly from handsets combined with automatic two-way synchronization to the host PC. Other features include dynamic music recommendations and a "Mix Me" feature for creating playlists of recommended songs based on genre preferences. The192Kbps (DRM protected, only) WMA tracks will run €1 (about $1.36) with entire albums starting at €10 ($13.66); PC streaming will also be available for €10 a month. Look for it in Europe before the year's out, expanding to other markets thereafter.%Gallery-6518%
Nokia announces XpressMusic 5310 and 5610
Nokia has added two models to its music oriented XpressMusic series today. The 5310 candybar clocks in at just 9.9mm thick, offers 18 hours of music playback -- through the 3.5mm jack if you're so inclined -- a microSD slot supporting capacities up to 4GB, dedicated music controls, and a QVGA display for €225 (about $307) when it ships in the fourth quarter. Next up, the 5610 rocks a slider form factor and features a nifty slide navigation bar underneath the display, metallic and high-gloss finishes, a 2.2 inch QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD slot, and close to a full day of music playback for a tad more than its sibling, €300 (about $410), with a drop date also in Q4.
LG's KS20 ready for the suits with WinMo 6 and HSDPA
Oi, say 'ello to 12.8-mm thin LG KS20, the 3.2Mbps HSDPA cuz to their KU990 touchscreen hottie. Although the KS20 shares much of the looks of the KU990, they've actually trimmed back the display to 2.8-inches (compared to 3-inches on the KU990) while acing that 5.1 megapixel shooter for a skimpy, business-minded 2 megapixeler all riding atop a Windows Mobile 6.0 OS. Expected Q4 in Europe running on some of that Vodafone carrier action, at least. We'll be sure to get up close and personal with it at IFA later in the week if that's ok with you. Though so.%Gallery-6489%
Sony announces 15 new Bravia 1080p HDTVs, including 70-inch LCD
Set your saliva glands for drool, Sony Japan just launched a truck load of new 10-bit 1080p Bravia LCD HDTVs. Ready? We won't keep you in suspense. X series (includes 24p support, "Motion Flow", which sounds like 120Hz, and XMB) KDL-70X7000 (70-inch, LED backlit!) -- should cost about ¥4m, or about $35,000 US. KDL-52X5050 (52-inch) KDL-52X5000 (52-inch) KDL-46X5050 (46-inch) KDL-46X5000 (46-inch) KDL-40X5050 (40-inch) KDL-40X5000 (40-inch) W series (includes 24p support, "Motion Flow", which sounds like 120Hz, and XMB) KDL-52W5000 (52-inch) KDL-46W5000 (46-inch) KDL-40W5000 (40-inch) V series KDL-52V5000 (52-inch) KDL-46V5000 (46-inch) KDL-46V3000 (46-inch) KDL-40V5000 (40-inch) KDL-40V3000 (40-inch) That's all we've got for now, so as always, more details as they come in.
It's on: Apple event slated for September 5th
Well the rumors have been floating around for a few days, and now we've gotten official word -- in the form of the invite you see above -- that Apple will be holding a "special event" on September 5th. Let the speculation begin!
Venturer announces SHD7000 low-cost HD DVD player for holidays
Chinese firm Venturer has apparently been hard at work on a budget HD DVD player, which it's claiming will be out the door and onto store shelves in the US by this holiday season. The SHD7000 should have ethernet, DVD upconversion, HDMI, but the thing only outputs to 1080i, despite supporting TrueHD audio. We don't know just how cheap the SHD7000 is going to be, but entry-level is entry-level, so we expect it'll be less expensive than your other options, save Microsoft's $180 Xbox 360 add-on. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia N81 shown up close and personal
We know Nokia's got a big event planned for London tomorrow, but Unwired View's got the images of just what's being shown: among the releases, the 8GB N81 gaming / media phone will be there (though we've little more information the device itself). Also mentioned: the "N95 8GB" device and some new XpressMusic phones. Stay tuned for more info as we get it.[Thanks, Staska]
Windows Mobile 6 promised for Apache owners on Friday
Although frankly the benefits they'll see are marginal -- especially if they've already upgraded their handsets to AKU 3 -- many Sprint PPC-6700 / Verizon XV6700 devotees will nevertheless be delighted to learn that xda-developers forum member helmi_c is promising an Apache-compatible build of Windows Mobile 6 to be released this Friday, and he's got the screenshots that claim to prove it. As tipster Joey put it, "many of us [6700] owners have been kinda left out in the cold with no WM6 love for the 6700," but where manufacturers and carriers fail to act, you can usually count on the tireless community over at xda-developers to provide a solution -- and from the looks of things, helmi_c's build even trumps the standard upgrade by cooking the HTC Touch interface right in. Good stuff if it does indeed pan out, so we'll keep you posted.Update: Helmi_c wrote in to let us know that he is actually based out of the ppcgeeks community, and the links in this post were quickly adjusted accordingly. Because seriously, would you want to step in between factions of highly motivated geeks and developers? No thanks.[Thanks, Joey S.]
HTC announces TyTN II / Kaiser for Europe
Well it's not quite as good as, say, AT&T informing us that we can walk down the block and pick up one this afternoon, but at least HTC has finally given the Kaiser / TyTN II / 8925 an official place in its lineup. Announcing the quad band Windows Mobile 6 handset for European carriers this morning, HTC revealed that Orange, Voda, T-Mobile, and o2 will all get their hands on this Hermes successor, and all the HSDPA, WiFi, and built-n GPS goodness that comes with it. We wish we had more info on plans for a US release, but with TyTN II hitting the EU in October, we suspect it's only a matter of weeks until we can toss the old 8525 into the retired gadgets drawer. [Warning: PDF link].
Samsung's P2 and T10 Bluetooth players: Stateside in September
Ready for it? We've got the release date for Samsung's tasty new Bluetooth media players with FM tuners: the YP-P2 and YP-T10. September. Ok, it's not so much a date as a range, but mark your calendars anyway and get to saving. How much? Good question, Sammy ain't saying, but you'd best start combing your pockets for the couple of hundie they'll demand. Think about it: the P2 (pictured) brings a proper 16:9 widescreen, 3-inch touchscreen display with up to 8GB of audio/video-hungry flash while the T10 wraps 4GB of your audio and video in a 0.3-inch, super thin dose of sex-ay. Just check the gallery and full specs after the break if you need more convincing.%Gallery-6441%
Sony's Vaio LT HD PC/TV all-in-one packs Blu-ray, CableCARD support
Sony's "floating glass" all-in-one L series has been solid in the looks department for a while now, but the specs have never been much to write home about. Until now, anyways. The new LT HD PC/TV comes in standard and HD models, with the HD version scoring a Blu-ray burner. Other specs include a 22-inch WSXGA+ LCD, 1.3 megapixel camera, Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, discrete graphics and 802.11n WiFi. We're particularly stoked about the CableCARD slot for viewing HD channels, and it's always nice that the TV function of the PC can be switched on and off independently, so you don't have to wait for the unit to boot to start watching. The standard version will go for $1,900, while LT HD runs at a steep $2,900, and both should be available this October.
