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Panasonic Lumix GF2 vs. GF1... fight!
If yesterday's preview of the GF2 wasn't enough for you, here's a little more eye candy to feast upon. We paired up Panasonic's all-new Micro Four Thirds shooter with the GF1 that preceded it and collected a nice little gallery for your perusal below. The major difference between the two is in their dimensions -- the GF2 feels a lot closer to your typical compact camera -- though there are plenty of smaller modifications as well, such as the refashioned grip on the camera's right side, the replacement of the jog dial up top with a stereo mic array, and the introduction of a luminous iA button for switching on the intelligent auto mode. The back of the GF2 is also quite a bit tidier, which has been achieved mostly by eliminating some buttons in favor of the touchscreen interface. Check it all out below or jump past the break for some video action. %Gallery-106820%
Sharp IS03 ASV display vs. iPhone 4 IPS display... fight!
Two 3.5-inch displays at 960 x 640 resolution, both equipped with fancy wide viewing angle technologies. Does the Sharp IS03's ASV get the nod over the iPhone 4's famously good IPS? After peeping them side by side, we're not sure any mere mortal could call it -- both look bright and ridiculously crisp from every conceivable vantage point and have roughly the same amount of gloss, though the IS03 has the advantage of a second always-on monochrome LCD strip. Regardless, we're just happy to see that we've got at least two suppliers of excellent 960 x 640 mobile displays in the industry now -- let's just hope they can keep up with demand. %Gallery-104499%
Nokia N8 vs. iPhone 4: camera showdown
What's the first thing you should do when you get the N8? Considering it packs the biggest image sensor embedded in a phone yet, Carl Zeiss optics, and an eight-digit pixel count, it seemed obvious to us that the answer was to take it on a picture- and video-taking stroll around London. On our way out we saw our iPhone 4 looking all sad and lonely, so we went ahead and brought it along as well. Below you shall find one gallery of pure, unadulterated N8 sample shots, another interspersed with the iPhone's results for comparison's sake, and a final one with side-by-side 100 percent crops from each image taker. Once you've digested all of those, we suggest hopping past the break and tucking into some tasty video comparisons for dessert. Naturally, all the images are entirely unretouched (but for our masterly watermarking) and the iPhone 4's HDR hocus pocus has been left off. We've also provided a zip file containing all the full-res imagery shot with the N8 in a link below. A quick note is also merited about the N8's resolution. The sensor's display ratio is 4:3, which means that full 12 megapixel shots are only available in those dimensions. The camera software, however, defaults to shooting 9 megapixel snaps at the increasingly popular 16:9 ratio -- this is done simply by cropping away the "excess" bars at the top and bottom of the image, meaning that the 9 megapixel images are giving us identical performance as the 12 megapixel ones, they're just chopped down (from 4000 x 3000 to 4000 x 2248) for the sake of convenience. Now, on with the show!%Gallery-103838%%Gallery-103849%%Gallery-103858%
Apple TV vs Roku HD... fight!
Two tiny black 720p boxes, two interesting choices. The $59 Roku HD will put Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and Roku's 75 other content channels on your TV quickly and easily, while the $99 Apple TV offers up iTunes rentals, Netflix, and eventually AirPlay streaming from your iPad or iPhone. (You could step up to the Roku XDS with 1080p support for $99, but we don't think the extra money will be really worth it until the USB playback channel is released and / or there's more useful 1080p content available.) It's a tough decision, so check out our Apple TV review, our Roku XDS review, and our in-depth comparison chart to just try to make up your mind. Then again, you could grab 'em both and still not break the bank. %Gallery-103840%
iPad vs. PlayBook... fight!
Okay, we've got a long way to go before we can do a fair, apples-to-berries comparison between these two titans of industry, but consider this your first sneak preview of the deathmatch to come. As we mentioned in the previous post, the PlayBook is hopelessly locked away in insanely thick Plexiglas -- and the iPad is unactivated, though that doesn't much matter for getting a sense of the size comparison between 'em. Needless to say, the PlayBook looks way easier to lug around... but we just won't know by how much until we've got one resting in our sweaty, eager palms. Hit up the gallery! %Gallery-103441%
Nokia CBD vs. Apple Retina... display fight!
Come on, you knew this post was coming. Here we have a prototype Nokia E7 and its new 4-inch, 640x360 pixel Clear Black Display pitted again the iPhone 4's 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel Retina display. To our eyes, the iPhone 4 display has a noticeable blue warmth and wasn't as vibrant or bright as the CBD. The CBD, however, did come across a bit oversatured (just look at those red "breaking news" bars), but hey, it's AMOLED. It certainly looks just as good as the Galaxy S' Super AMOLED. We'll have to see how the polarized layer on the CBD affects sunlight viewing. More on that later. Until then, play nice dear readers.%Gallery-102126%
iPod nano vs touch vs shuffle... fight!
Three new iPods under one roof -- how could we not throw them on a table and see how they size up against one another? Obviously, the iPod touch is the black sheep here in terms of sheer physical space, but the width / height difference between the nano and shuffle is as marginal as you probably guessed. More pics below! %Gallery-101004%
PlayStation Move review
The PlayStation Move. It's funny to think just 15 months have passed since Sony first unveiled its motion controller, and now we're mere weeks away from hitting the retail market. To be sure, it's not like the company didn't have waggle on the mind already -- patents dating as far back as 2005 reveal as much, and of course the incredible success of Nintendo's Wii proved there's a market for more physically exerting gameplay. And it's not just PlayStation; Microsoft's got its controller-free Kinect motion camera system coming this November. So, in the year where all major game consoles now ask you to get off the couch and earn arm muscle, how does Move fare? Read on for more!
ATI CrossFireX versus NVIDIA SLI: performance scaling showdown
We know who the daddy is when it comes to single-card graphics performance, and we've even witnessed NVIDIA and ATI duking it out with multiple cards before, but this here roundup is what you might call comprehensive. Comparing a mind-boggling 23 different configurations, the Tech Report guys set out to determine the best bang for your DirectX 11 buck. Their conclusion won't shock those of you who've been following the recent love affair between reviewers and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 460: a pair of these eminently affordable cards regularly outpaced the best single-GPU solutions out there. Slightly more intriguing, however, was the discovery that its elder siblings, the GTX 470 and 480, have improved in performance to the point of being markedly ahead of ATI's Radeon HD 5870, with the blame for this shift being put squarely on the shoulders of NVIDIA's driver update team. Hurry up and give the source a read while it's still fresh, we can't imagine ATI letting this be the status quo for too much longer.
Canon 7D vs Barbie Video Girl... fight! (video)
Naturally, the $1,800 Canon 7D loses out to the $50 Barbie Video Girl in the "creating unrealistic body images" category. Preference for magenta, however, was a tie.
iPhone 4 Retina Display vs. Galaxy S Super AMOLED... fight! (updated)
If the title of this post isn't enough to entice you, we don't know what else to say. We've gone and run some sunlit comparisons between Apple's brand spanking new phone's Retina Display and Samsung's equally fresh and exclusive Super AMOLED panel on the Galaxy S. We don't know if we'll be able to settle the argument, but we're certainly going to subject both superphones to an expansive visual inspection. Follow us after the break for video exploration of this most pressing topic. Update: Due to the Galaxy S having a separate setting for browser brightness, which we didn't max out in the original investigation, we've gone back and collected some truly 100 percent illuminated pictures. See the gallery after the break. Keep in mind that this shouldn't discredit most of the work done here, as we were more interested in pixel-level detail than brightness.%Gallery-96227%
Super AMOLED vs AMOLED vs LCD in direct sunlight... fight! (video)
By now you know that (one of) AMOLED's Achilles' heel is readability in direct sunlight. But Samsung's been working hard to fix that with its new Super AMOLED technology. Techblog took the display to task by pitting the Samsung Galaxy S (4-inch, 480 x 800 pixel Super AMOLED) against the HTC Desire (3.7-inch 480 x 800 pixel AMOLED) and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 (4-inch, 480 x 854 pixel TFT LCD). It's clear from the video embedded after the break that the LCD still has the edge in the harsh Greek sun, but the Super AMOLED certainly makes a much stronger showing than its AMOLED sib. In fact, differences in visibility between the LCD and Super AMOLED are often indistinguishable, like the picture above. That'll be good news for us just as soon as Samsung can start meeting demand... regardless of what Stevie J has to say. Check the video after the break and be sure to click the source for some more side-by-side pics, including a few taken indoors where that Super AMOLED display really shines.
iPhone 4 vs. EVO 4G... fight!
If you put your ear up to the screen, you can hear these two beasts snarling at one another. Hit up the gallery for more shots, along with some iPhone 3G for good measure. Let's see how they stack up on the big stats, shall we? iPhone 4 EVO 4G Screen 960 x 640, 3.5-inch 800 x 480, 4.3-inch Thickness 0.37-inch 0.47-inch Primary camera 5 megapixel 8 megapixel Secondary camera VGA 1.3 megapixel Video chat FaceTime Qik Not enough for you? We'll have a big comparison of all the "majors" for you shortly. Now, there's a lot left to learn about Apple's FaceTime video chat service. For instance, they called it "open," but they also only mentioned a zero-configuration iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 calling setup. Meanwhile Qik can make calls between EVO 4Gs, but also stream video live to the web (while the iPhone needs to record and then upload to get "social" using its official apps). No mention was made of the FaceTime call resolution, but given the fact that the front camera is merely VGA, it's probably streaming at the same 640 x 480 that Qik is constrained to in the free service. However, a premium version of Qik for $5 a month lets you go beyond that resolution, using the EVO's higher resolution cameras. Perhaps the largest distinction is the fact that the EVO can stream video calls over 3G or 4G, while the iPhone 4 is constrained to WiFi for the time being. Naturally, we expect other video calling apps (Skype, please?) to crop up on both platforms and give these initial offerings a run for their money. %Gallery-94632%
Physicist fight: how heavy is a kilogram?
Physicists are currently hotly debating a topic some of us never think about -- or if we did -- surely we'd think 'there's an answer for that, even if I don't know what it is.' The question? The question at hand is 'how heavy is a kilogram?' The currently accepted answer is the mass of a cylinder of platinum and iridium called the International Prototype Kilogram. The problem with that definition, of course, is that not just anybody can measure it -- since most of us don't have an International Prototype Kilogram laying around, especially since every time the thing is picked up a few atoms rub off of it making it a little bit lighter. Because of this, the actual International Prototype Kilogram (yes, there does only seem to be one in existence) is stored in a vault in Sevres, France, limiting the lay person's ability to determine the actual weight of a kilogram. There are other options on the table, of course, including one involving a two-stories high piece of equipment that costs around $1.5 million -- which isn't much better, when you think of it. Enter Ronald Fox and friends over at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. They're suggesting a rather shocking solution: make the kilogram equal to the mass of a certain number of carbon-12 atoms (2250× 28148963^3 of them), also known as a cube of carbon measuring 8.11 centimeters on each side. This would mean, of course, that pretty much anybody could determine the weight of a kilogram at home. But we wouldn't want that, now, would we?
Flash 10.1 on Froyo goes tete-a-tete with Flash Lite 4 on Eclair: butter vs. stutter (video)
Believe it or not, your newly-upgraded Nexus One isn't the first Android smartphone to have Adobe Flash video capability, nor even the first to play said content on a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU -- Europe's been rocking the HTC Desire since April, which sports a little something called Flash Lite even on the older Android 2.1 OS. Will frozen yogurt outperform puff pastry on its home turf? Find out in a blind taste test video showdown after the break.
Boeing's unmanned Phantom Ray makes dramatic video debut, set to take off this December
The big new trend among wargadget makers seems to be the elimination of the fleshy operator, and we're seeing it happening with helicopters, boats, and even space shuttles. The Phantom Ray is Boeing's take on how we can do the same to jet fighters, and it's had its official unveiling in St. Louis this week. Primarily intended to serve as a reconnaissance and intelligence drone, this 36 foot-long airborne robot will be able to cruise at speeds of up to 614mph, and will even do a bit of suppression fire when you need it to. It's designed to be undetectable by radar and offers a minimal heat signature for missiles to lock on to, as its engine is buried deep within the body. Sounds ominous indeed, but the Phantom Ray will serve as the testbed for even more advanced technologies and will take its first flight in December of this year. See its grand debut on video after the break.
Apple iPad vs. Dell Mini 5 / Streak... fight! (Bonus: smartphone pile-on!)
Occasionally we've had strangers -- very likely non-Engadget readers -- coming up to us and ask, "Sorry mate, but is that the iPad?" To which we reply, "No, it's the Dell Mini 5." This may sound like a silly boo-boo to make, but there is this common misconception of the iPad being just "a bigger iPhone" while not knowing how much bigger it is (despite our best effort). To clear this up once and for all, we've brought the two devices in question together -- the Mini 5 / Streak smartphone on the left, and the iPad on the right. Now it's up to you guys to spread the love. As a bonus, we also threw in various phones -- HTC HD mini, Nexus One, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, and HTC HD2 -- to pile on top of Apple's latest toy, just to kill the Sunday afternoon. No magical and revolutionary devices were harmed in the making of this article. [Thanks for the toys, Chris and Andy]%Gallery-90236%
iPad vs. JooJoo... fight!
Sure, they might be worlds apart in quality, usefulness, and desirability, but even still, comparisons are inevitable. The iPad (right) and the JooJoo (left) hit the hands of consumers on the same weekend, offer large-screen browsing experiences controlled entirely by a capacitive touchscreen, and... well, you get the idea. So, how do the two devices stack up externally? It's a pretty fair fight, hardware-wise. The JooJoo is thicker and heavier, but also scores a good amount more screen space -- its 16:9 ratio almost turns it into an extruded lengthwise version of the 4:3 iPad. Unfortunately, that screen is a real let down when viewed off axis, and isn't nearly as responsive or accurate as the iPad's in use. Both of the devices offer scratch resistant glass fronts and brushed aluminum backs, though there's a bit of give to JooJoo's materials that smacks of slightly lower quality. You can read the reviews to get an idea of how dramatically different these two devices are in actual use, but if you want to satisfy a baser lust for straight-on comparison shots, hit up the gallery below.
Ex-Ensemble Studios lead designer responds to Bettner rant (update)
Aside from a very small handful of points, it would seem there's a major disconnect between two ex-Ensemble Studio employees over why the studio was shuttered by Microsoft last year. Ian Fischer (an ex-lead designer at Ensemble, now at Robot Entertainment) details on his blog the many disagreements he has with (claimed) ex-creative lead Paul Bettner's recent rant at the Game Developer's Conference in a panel called "Fired and Fired-up: Jobless Developer's Rant." We say "claimed," because even Bettner's job title is called into question during the response. "Neither you, nor anyone else, was 'Creative Director' at our studio," Fischer alleges. Further, Fischer rebutes Bettner's claim that Ensemble shut down due to a "reliance on crunch" to finish projects that got more and more expensive by the year, saying it had more to do with "chasing after the MMOs and FPSs and RPGs and RTS-differents we constantly had in prototype." He also says that the communication with Microsoft never broke down and that if the publisher had wanted to lower the developer's operating costs, "they could have done so with a phone call ... ES enjoyed a long relationship with Microsoft (as many ex-Studios people now at Robot or Bonfire still do), first as a partner and then as part of the corporation after 2001." So, according to Fisher, what was the reason that Ensemble shut down? "If you want to find mistakes with what we did, I'd suggest that those trips into the weeds, looking for new territory, with a partner who wasn't fond of being there, was more our error," he suggests, referencing the aforementioned prototypes. Update: You can find Paul Bettner's full response to Fischer's claims after the break.
Apple vs. Google gets personal: 'Steve Jobs simply hates Eric Schmidt' (video)
Image Credit: Daniel Adel, New York Times Nothing sells papers (or ads) like turning a little corporate competition into something personal. Case in point, a New York Times piece from the weekend titled "Apple's Spat With Google Is Getting Personal," that opened with this rather ominous, one-sentence paragraph: "It looked like the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Cue the orchestra. The lengthy piece chronicling the relationship between the Silicon Valley titans was formed by two dozen interviews with industry watchers, investors, and current and former employees. It covers a timeline spread that began with Google and Apple working in harmony to prevent Microsoft's domination of online services and mobile devices, and ends with Apple's patent lawsuit against HTC that reeks of a proxy battle against Android and Google. According to the NYT then, the heart of the dispute is betrayal, or Jobs' belief that Schmidt (a former Apple board member) "picked his pocket" by developing cellphones that "physically, technologically and spiritually resembled the iPhone." Here's how one especially feisty encounter is described: "At one particularly heated meeting in 2008 on Google's campus, Mr. Jobs angrily told Google executives that if they deployed a version of multitouch - the popular iPhone feature that allows users to control their devices with flicks of their fingers - he would sue. Two people briefed on the meeting described it as "fierce" and "heated."" And that's just the beginning. Read the rest after the break.
