Best computer news

Samsung once again wants to show the world they are innovators in the point-n-shoot camera arena. They want to show the world you can have a “super zoom” camera with advanced features which is not as big as a brick. They also want to show you don’t need external attachments to get GPS/Geo-Tagging. To do all this, Samsung have released their HZ35W / WB650 15x compact Point & Shoot camera. Can one camera do all this?
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If there’s a reason why people would stop upgrading their handheld camcorders to a better model, it’s mostly because of lack of optical zoom and other advanced features. There’s just no incentive to drop another $200 on something that is technically the same. Granted, there’s no shortage of shameless Flip wannabe from Creative, JVC, Kodak, RCA, Samsung and Sony, yet none of these have the said feature. Sanyo, coming out of nowhere, outs the Xacti VPC-PD2BK – the first budget handheld camcorder with a 3x optical zoom.

The 3.7 oz. Sanyo Xacti VPC-PD2BK offers a much needed 3x optical zoom with a 37mm wide-angle lens. This is coupled with a built-in flash and burst-shoot mode that snaps a series of 2MP images. There’s also the ability to shoot 720p60 to capture fast moving targets; and 1080p30 to max out the HD pixels. The slide-out USB connector takes care of battery charging and video / photo syncing to a PC. All the clips and pictures are stored on a SD card (supporting up to 64GB SDXC). If there weren’t good enough, the same slot is compatible Eye-Fi cards to upload files directly over a WiFi connection. Expect the Xacti VPC-PD2BK to hit retail as early as September 1st for $169.99.
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The original Samsung S2 has gathered attention in the blogosphere for being the first native USB hard drive on the market. That implies the traditional on-board SATA interface is replaced by USB. This results in a smaller chassis as you no longer have to make room for the SATA-to-USB bridge. At the same time, the drive likely performs faster without going through said controller.

Now, Samsung comes up with USB 3.0 version of the S2 Portable Drives. They only come in 320GB and 640GB with spindle rate at 7200-rpm to leverage the full potential of SuperSpeed USB. These drives as with other 2.5″ internal counterparts are equipped with noise reduction technology. If they break new speed record, we don’t mind a little noise. The S2 Portable 3.0 is also loaded with Auto Backup, SecretZone and SafeyKey, the functions of which should be pretty self-explanatory. Expect both models to hit Europe first and then first of the world at a later date.
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Various sources have hinted that MS is working on a touch sensitive-model of the Arc Mouse. Many have hoped for a MS-version of Apple Magic Mouse, but it would appear that might not be the case according to some leaked info from a German online store. The new input device, called Arc Touch, shares the same unconventional shape as its predecessor. There’s however one distinct difference; instead of going with a foldable design, the Arc Touch’s rear section is now rubberized and seems to be bendy. This suggests the palm rest height could be adjustable.

Details are sketchy as to what the touch actually does for this mouse. Since the $69.95 Arch Touch won’t be shipping until late 2010 at the earliest, we figure there would be at least some robust multi-touch capability. You really can’t expect people to fall for a conventional mouse with a touch panel designed exclusively for vertical scrolling. Lastly, the Arch Touch features a 2.4Ghz nano wireless USB transmitter. Simple input devices that aren’t true plug-n-play likely see to more refunds. It probably makes sense to stick proprietary wireless USB connection for now.
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Illuminated keyboards are great except of their dependencies on USB cables as their backlighting feature can be a real power drain so you don’t ever see a wireless version of these. That is until now. Logitech has officially announced Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800; the company cites it has put a lot of effort into maximizing the energy efficiency. The first thing Logitech added is an ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts backlighting level based on surrounding brightness. The K800 Wireless Illuminated Keyboard even has hand proximity sensor to detect when your hands approach the keyboard so it can turn on and off the backlighting as needed.

Lastly, the K800 still allows you manually adjusts illumination level to suit different lighting conditions. All these add up to offer 10 days of battery life. When battery eventually runs out, an indicator light will alert you and then you can recharge the battery with included micro-USB cable. As with other Logitech’s mice and keyboards, the K800 maintains wireless connection via a 2.4Ghz Unifying receiver which is universally compatible with a number of Logitech’s input devices, namely the mighty Anywhere MX and Performance MX. The K800 Wireless Illuminated Keyboard goes for $99.99 – $20 more than the original wired version shipping since 2008.
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ioSafe finally adds the SuperSpeed to its impenetrable external survival drive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound it cannot but it is now faster than a speeding bullet. The ioSafe has been making headlines being able to hang on to its data in the face of many natural disasters. Extremes of fire and flood are tolerated by the new ioSafe SoloPRO USB drive, just like its predecessors. ioSafe cites SoloPRO’s rugged disaster proof design allow the drive to withstand 1550ºC fire for up to 30 minutes or to survive water submersion at a depth of 10 feet for up to days.

Offering storage capacities from 1TB to 2TB, if you are actually using data in that order, you know that even USB 2.0 isn’t quite up to the task. This new line adds eSATA as well as USB 3.0 options. The latter interface will easily boost the SoloPRO performance upwards of 100MB/s. ioSafe has been producing the drives that really protect your data, but with the upgrade in speed you might actually want to use it. On top of the speed, they add assurances; ioSafe allows you to purchase data recovery services as part of your purchase. They warrant that they’ll pay to have your data recovered by data recovery specialists in the case that any damage occurs within limits. This service will cost you a little extra, but if you are investing in the level of security of the ioSafe, you’re probably eventually going to need it.
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Never thought the Nikon pico projector camera (S1000pj) would see an upgrade a year after its release. After all, the LED protection system did add a lot of weight to the camera, and the the brightness rating at 10 lumens isn’t exactly stellar. The sales number likely convinced Nikon to give green-light on the CoolPix S1100pj. There are several major improvements found on the S1100pj. The hybrid now sports a 3″ 460k-pixel touchscreen which can be used to draw on images projected from the camera. This greatly contrasts with the 2.7″ plain LCD on its predecessor.

The brightness rating is also boosted from 10 to 14 lumens. Though, the Nikon S1100pj can only throw a VGA image at about the same size (47″ from 7 feet away) as last year model. And not surprisingly, the S1100pj can now capture in 720p HD. Equally important is the addition of built-in PC video capability which in essence, projects whatever that is on the computer screen through the S1100pj’s Hi-Speed USB interface. (This reminds us of the Sanwa USB-only pico projector.) Specs-wise, the S1100pj for a camera isn’t that much different than the 2009 version, but Nikon ups the S1100pj to 14 megapixel and adds Expeed C2 image processor to optimize low-light performance. Expect the project camera hybrid in black, green, silver and violent at $350 this September.
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Star Wars Mimbots – cute mashup of flash drives and designer toys – have become hot collectibles for fanboys and geeks alike. Even four years after the debut of the first series, the the force is still strong with the Star Wars-themed Mimobots. The latest 6th generation is already the second set announced in the year to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, and this series brings the much anticipated Yoda.

Mimoco now makes much more accurate, albeit cartoonish, representation of the characters’ faces. (The first series is a fail. No offense, but they did put pointy ears on R2-D2 and Darth Vader.) Luke Skywalker also makes second appearance, only this time he’s dressed for the cold wasteland of Hoth. The other two are Wampa and Snowtrooper. At this rate, Mimoco could find itself running of Star Wars original trilogy characters in a year or two unless they reboot the series with Jar Jar Binks, Mace Windu and General Grievous.
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Laptop replicator is one of the few applications that truly benefits from UWB-based Wireless USB. The USB cable is too much of a hassle when you need to re-connect the same cable every time you return to your desk. Albeit a niche (and rather costly) accessory, wireless notebook docks do prove to be useful in cubicle environment. The new Toshiba Dynadock W20 is a modest upgrade over last year’s Wireless U dock.

The improvements are the ability to output at full HD (1920 x 1080) through the unit’s DVI port. Toshiba claims you can hook the dock with up to 3 monitors at once; though we don’t see any additional video-out other than one standard DVI-I. Additionally, you will find 4 USB 2.0 ports all of which are Sleep & Charge capable. The Dynadock W20 also works over wired connection. It has a few things missing however, notably the 7.1 surround sound and Ethernet jack. As the W20 is available anywhere in the world but North America, those of you in USA and Canada interested in this niche accessory should check out Dynadock Wireless U instead.
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Anything that has to do with Android platform always becomes the center of attention among bloggers. That’s largely the reason why this Philips GoGear Connect PMP creates some excitement, but it’s primarily because of the possibility of running a bewildering array of Android Market apps on this relatively unknown player. Specs-wise, the GoGear Connect sports a 3.2″ touch screen; comes with 16GB internal memory (microSD slot provided for expansion); equips with a camera on the back; and interestingly, packs with a GPS as well as HDMI-out (720p max. output).

There’s also one curious looking button in the front of the horizontally-oriented PMP, but we weren’t shown the GoGear Connect from other angles so there’s no way if there are other buttons. Other than the fact the new Philips GoGear runs Android 2.1, the GUI skin isn’t anything to write home about. If Philips believes the Connect (£199.99) has a chance, it better ships PMP internationally before the iPod touch 4 hits sometime this month.
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