In all its undiluted glory, we present the Sony Press Conference feature the new Cybershots and Alphas. Enjoy! → Read More
PMA 2007 is the first time Kodak is publicly showing its newest 12X optical zoom camera, the $299.95 7.1-megapixel EasyShare Z712 IS. Probably its most impressive feature is the click-to-capture time of .26 seconds. And while I didn’t time it, it was incredibly fast despite the showfloor unit being a pre-production model. → Read More
In case you didn’t know, one of the biggest camera, film and printing (and accessories) conventions started today: Photo Marketing Association 2007. Sadly, most of the stuff that’s on display is already announced. But, while perfect, vendor-supplied images of the cameras are readily available to the masses, CrunchGear wanted to give you a chance to see the cameras a little more realistically presented — fingerprints and all — along with, hopefully, a better idea of how the cameras really look and feel. Sony held a press conference this morning, before the show even opened, announcing a couple new digital SLR Alpha series cameras and the Cybershot DSC-G1. (John is currently editing up some video of the announcements we’ll be posting shortly.) The G1 was a shocker with its 2GB of storage, WiFi that lets you trade photos between cameras or with a PC, and one of the sweetest GUIs we’ve ever seen on a camera. Check back later tonight and tomorrow to see continued coverage of the event. → Read More
Some guys get off on cars, some guys like wine or women. Brian at Spungle likes laptop cases. How do we know? Why else would a grown man make pee over a heavy duty laptop case with plenty of pockets but little that would encourage erotic or even platonic love. That said, head over for the full review and you can even win a Vyper if you’re careful. Booq Vyper Exo (Verdict: Perfect Protection) [Spungle] → Read More
The GDC floor is a barren wasteland in regards to hardware. I’ve scoured it back-and-forth and come across few items worth reporting. Most of the physical things on display are worthless baubles, but there are at least a few things worth mentioning. One such item is the Novint Falcon. It looks rather stupid, and I’m not sure how useful it’ll be in the long run, but it is an impressive novelty nonetheless. → Read More
If you loved the preview of the Playstation Home we gave you yesterday and want to know more about it then check out the official Beta site. You’ll need to check it everyday because registration hasn’t started and they will surely go quick. Beta Trial [via Giz] → Read More
http://gamevideos.com:80/swf/gamevideos11.swf?embedded=1&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&src=http://gamevideos.com:80/video/videoListXML%3Fid%3D9890%26ordinal%3D1173393229698%26adPlay%3Dfalse Galaxy is a little aged by now but it still looks hot. I still feel a little funny over Paper Mario, though, like my pants are too tight. → Read More
Most of the good forward looking product information we get out of Microsoft is from the many blogs written by its employees. And when a post is deleted by one of those bloggers, it’s a big alarm bell to seek out and find what they originally wrote. See, for example, our post from last year confirming that Microsoft is working on an online storage product. Today the deleted blog post strikes again (although in this case it’s an altered blog post). Microsoft developer Tod Hilton wrote a blog post that says it’s his last day with Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services. He’s now moved to the Excel Services team, he says. Hilton originally posted information on where the product is headed, then quickly removed it. The original text said” The product has tons of potential and will probably be competing with the likes of Google Spreadsheets, DabbleDB, Zoho and JotSpot Tracker. It’s a really exciting time to be working on this product! He then removed those sentences and said: update: I removed some of my personal opinions from this post. I do not want to confuse anyone who might take them as prophecy. While this doesn’t give away a whole lot, it’s clear that the team is looking to compete directly with Google Apps and Zoho, something they don’t do now. That implies that they are building an online reader/light editor at least for Excel. → Read More
AMD’s next-generation of mobile graphics parts will be pretty badass thanks to the suite of tools that were announced today. Rendermonkey 1.7 is the most notable tool as it’s a shader tool that allows developers to write graphics code for a variety of devices that support OpenVG 1.0, OpenGL 2.0 and Unified Shader Architecture technologies. Unified Shader Architecture is a big deal because it’s one of the biggest selling points of the Xbox 360. It’s a huge plus that AMD will be supporting these technologies for upcoming mobile parts. Rendermonkey is already widely used and it will allow for an easy transfer of older titles that have AMD’s new Imageon processors. Update Read on for details. → Read More
The SMT5700 is the AT&T’s first smartphone, hearkening back to the dark ages of the SMT5600 which was considered one of the best smartphones in the Americas before it disappeared. Looks like this new model is running WinMo 5 and has a 2-megapixel camera. Not sure if this is a contender in the WinMo6 landscape, but we shall see. Big changes afoot at Cingular/AT&T land. AT&T’s QWERTY-equipped SMT5700 drops by FCC [EngadgetMobile] → Read More
So you and your buds are baked and looking for something that will remind you all that you have hands. Why not throw a ball around that will shock you? Simply plug in and recharge the ball and begin throwing. Switch on the timer and one of you gets a mean shock. Not as bad as a Taser to the heart, but just as fun! Available now for a mere $40. Product Page → Read More
The E-series from GE comes in four flavors: 850, 1030, 1040 and 1240. Let’s start with the basics and I’ll fill you in on the minute details later. The E850 is the mid-level point-and-shoot camera in the GE lineup. Picture taking is a breeze with the 8-megapixel resolution and 28mm equivalent (aka fakey fake fake) wide-angle lens, but it does come in handy for those close-quarters group pics. The 850 has a 5x optical zoom and 5.1x digital zoom for the whopping 3-inch LCD for your viewing pleasure of course. The basic features are the same throughout the GE lineup. The E-series is also available in black, silver, red, blue and white. → Read More
http://gamevideos.com:80/swf/gamevideos11.swf?embedded=1&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&src=http://gamevideos.com:80/video/videoListXML%3Fid%3D9856%26ordinal%3D1173339884823%26adPlay%3Dfalse Seriously. This is amazing stuff. Wii, I’m re-in love with you. via TechEBlog → Read More
http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=17614 Straight outta GDC we have an odd new Zelda game for the DS. The Phantom Hourglass includes multi-player game play with some basic capture-the-flag action. I’m not amazed, but I do like me some Zelda. Via GameTrailers → Read More
Though headshots and blowing the enemy’s leg off in battle are fun in video games, non-lethal weapons can prove extremely useful in real-life situations. Danish company Empire North is working on a GPS-based rifle called ID Sniper that’s designed to embed a tiny GPS chip in a target’s body from up to 1.1km away. But if you’re thinking that GPS chips are the only thing against you, think again. The scope on ID Sniper is equipped with a special camera that will take a picture of the target for future reference. Plus, you won’t even know when the GPS chip hits you. Empire North claims that it feels like getting a small mosquito bite and that pain is absolutely minimal. Though I see some great uses for the ID Sniper, it would still be much better with GPS chips inside real bullets. GPS chips implanted in humans w/ sniper rifle [Navigadget] → Read More
The GE A730 and A830 are the budget friendly entry-level digi’s of the line-up, but they claim to have the ‘firepower of cameras nearly twice its price’. The A730 has 7-megapixels while the A830 has 8-megapixels. Both have 3x optical zooms, but the A730 has 4.8x digital zoom and the A830 has 5.1x digital zoom. Both have 2.5-inch LCD, and the same features and color options as the rest of the bunch. The A-series will have a price tag of around $150. Product Page → Read More
http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=11564 Well, if Sony can mash-up Sims, Second-Life, and Nintendo’s Mii Parade, why can’t a bunch of Peruvians make Super Mario Doom? via GameTrailers → Read More
The man in that picture, 79-year-old David Wetzel, drives a 1986 Volkswagen Golf powered by used vegetable oil he gets for free from a dining hall. Everything was going fine until the Illinois Department of Revenue knocked on his door and accused him of ducking a motor fuel tax and operating a fuel business without a license. The Wentzels, who are on a fixed income, are facing fines and imprisonment. Luckily, some state legislators are stepping in to ensure these folks aren’t sent to the Supermax, but seriously: it’s stuff like this — the blind implementation of laws that have no bearing on fact — that is most threatening to alternative fuels and energy. Sixty years ago some guy wanted to open two gas stations instead of one and you have two taxmen knocking on an old man’s door years later. State makes big fuss over local couple’s vegetable oil car fuel [Herald Review via TechDirt] → Read More
The Consumerist just popped the Sprint wall of silence with some great tips of getting into a cheap contract and then getting out of it. It looks like all that’s left is getting into the secrets of T-Mobile. I could use some cheap airtime as my T-Mo bill tops out at $120 each month now. 6 Confessions Of A Former Sprint Sales Rep [Consumerist] → Read More
The Amazon/TiVo partnership announced last month has officially rolled out. Nearly 1.5mm TiVo subscribers can now buy or rent digital movies (and buy TV shows) from Amazon’s Unbox service and download / watch those movies on their TV via their TiVo. Nearly 600,000 of the 1.5mm compatible TiVo boxes are connected to broadband Internet connections. Amazon/TiVo are offering $15 in free movies and TV shows to get users to try the service. This is the second time that Amazon has beaten Apple to the punch — you’ll recall that Amazon rolled-out their Unbox service one week prior to Apple rolling out their own service for selling digital movies / TV shows. That didn’t seem to matter, as Apple has rolled over Amazon with digital movie and TV show sales. This might be another one-week head start that Amazon has to gain some ground with their digital movie / TV show downloads service to the TV, considering the much-anticipated Apple TV is expected to release later this month. However, Apple has all their passionate iPod users (60 million strong) and have also sold millions of digital movies / TV shows that users will easily be able to watch on their new Apple TV device instantly. Amazon also offers movie rentals, whereas Apple still does not, despite rumors. Amazon appears to offer nearly 1,000 videos for sale and nearly 500 for rental. A movie download to the TiVo appears to take an hour (from one perspective), whereas consumers can still get pay-per-view or video-on-demand movies instantly — however they offer a limited selection of titles. Competitors loom, with Wal-mart entering the digital movie downloads market last month and others have existed for awhile — Guba, CinemaNow, and Movielink. Editor’s Note: This post by Steve Poland, whose blog Techquila Shots brainstorms web start-up ideas. Steve will be at SXSW this weekend if you want to chat about web start-ups. → Read More
