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Posts Tagged ‘camera’

Motorola’s Droid Xyboard a slick, well-performing tablet that’s easy on the eyes. Too bad it has such a stupid name.

The Android device, which runs on Verizon’s 4G network and is available now in Verizon stores, is actually Motorola’s second shot at the tablet game. The Xyboard is the company’s follow-up to its pricey, not terribly popular Xoom tablet, which was released in February of 2011.

The design has been overhauled to match Motorola’s newest mobile hardware — the tablet has clipped corners like the Droid Razr. The Xyboard comes in both … [Read More...]

This is the year millions of owners of so-called feature phones — devices which handle little beyond voice calls, texts, and photos — will finally upgrade to true smartphones.

At least, that’s the hope of Microsoft and Nokia. The two tech giants have been floundering to get a foothold in the U.S. smartphone market ever since the iPhone launched in 2007. The two companies have partnered up to make a more cohesive play in the realm of touchscreens, apps, and streaming media, and this is their most accessible U.S.-bound device so far.

The Nokia Lumia 710 runs the latest version … [Read More...]

Cut yourself a li’l slab o’ Honeycomb

A slew of hardware makers that didn’t start out as online bookstores—including Acer, Samsung, and Toshiba—debuted 7-inch Android Honeycomb tablets just in time for Amazon’s Kindle Fire to steal their thunder. The apparent goal: to discover if anyone is actually interested in 7-inch tablets. Acer’s Iconia Tab A100 serves as our guinea pig for this form factor.

Like most Honeycomb tablets to date, the Iconia A100 is based on Nvidia’s 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, coupled with GeForce graphics and 1GB RAM. The multitouch LCD retains the 16:9 aspect ratio that other Android … [Read More...]

Jocelyn Lieppman is a senior at the University of Oregon who has traveled the world, wrestled for high school varsity, and will break out into camp songs on impulse. Originally from Seattle, she grew up in Houston, Texas. She currently works as a Microsoft Windows UCrew Student Representative at U of O. Adventure is in her heart, and as such it no surprise that she is an international studies major who hopes to be paid to travel one day and share her experiences with others.

Recently, I was asked in an interview, what I would consider my greatest strength. After … [Read More...]

Last month’s release of Chrome 14 brought along with it Native Client (NaCl) support, paving the way for the execution of native C code within the browser. Native Client is meant to turn the browser into a playing ground for serious 3D games and powerful apps. That said, there haven’t been any real signs of that transformation in the few weeks (a seriously long time in Chrome years) since Chrome 14’s launch. But a new development might just help expedite the whole process.

The Bullet Physics library has been ported to NaCl. Published under the zlib license, Bullet has spread … [Read More...]

Samsung is taking its surveillance game to the next level by introducing a new series of Full HD analog video products. Included in the new lineup is the HD-SDI 1920×1080 box camera, HD-SDI 1920×1080 dome camera, and a four-channel HD-SDI digital video recorder (DVR). Samsung’s HD-SDI technology makes it possible to transmit uncompressed and non-packetized digital video signals with no loss of image data and zero latency, the company said.

The obvious benefit here is improved image quality, which is more than five times better than conventional analog technology, Samsung says. But it also offers a “more cost-effective and easier … [Read More...]

The battle over the mainstream tablet market all but over, smart competitors are turning to a familiar tactic to attempt to compete with the iPad juggernaut: Slashing prices.

Bargain tablets are set to hit the market in droves — expect CES 2012 to be flooded with the things — as manufacturers race to hit that magic price point that drives so many consumer electronics devices, $200.

Velocity Micro — a brand better known for its ultra-pricey, high-end gaming rigs — is getting there. Its first tablet product, the 7-inch Cruz T301, was met with general disdain, and VM went back … [Read More...]

A good wireless speaker tied to an okay networked audio ecosystem 

iHome manufactures dozens of Apple-oriented audio devices, ranging from headphones to speaker docks. The AirPlay-capable iW1 wireless speaker is by far the company’s most advanced product, but its $300 price tag pits it against some tough competition, including the Sonos Play:3. 

Most people will stream music to the iW1 over their Wi-Fi network using Apple’s AirPlay technology, or by docking an iOS device using the provided USB cable. But you can connect any audio source to the speaker using a 1/8-inch cable. AirPlay is a very good media-streaming solution—as … [Read More...]

Sony’s new Alpha NEX-5N takes great-looking stills and vibrant 1080p/60fps video, but many users have reported the audio is driving them bonkers. It seems that when the camera is moved, even slightly, it produces a clicking sound. A minor annoyance when taking stills, but it makes the audio track in videos pretty much useless.

Engadget tracked the problem down to the camera body itself. So this has nothing to do with the lens or anything external. There just appears to be something not quite tamped down inside the device. According to reports, this happens in all NEX-5N units. Sony has … [Read More...]

Inventing excuses after losing, dying, or in general just playing like crap is a time-honored tradition among gamers. We’ve heard them all — teammates who don’t pull their own weight, cheaters, tons of lag, screen glare, and worst of all, faulty or unresponsive controllers.

So here’s the bad news: Razer’s Onza TE will make covering up your ineptitude with hardware-based justifications even less tenable. But don’t panic. The good news is you might not have to make as many.

At just $10 more than Microsoft’s standard-issue wired controllers (and the same price as the wireless versions), the Onza TE is … [Read More...]

Do you need gigabytes or performance? Laptop upgrades or a screaming new gaming PC? We walk you through what you need to know to pick the right storage solution for your PC.

Storage. Always needed, often overlooked.

Often lost in the buzz surrounding the latest DirectX 11 GPUs and hexacore CPUs is the ability to actually store and retrieve your stuff. Your applications, games, photographs, digital music and everything else lives on your hard drive. But that boring old rotating magnetic disk just doesn’t seem exciting or high tech – even though the technology in a hard drive is actually … [Read More...]

Metro 2033 was many things – atmospheric, frightening, jaw-droppingly gorgeous – but it wasn’t perfect. Enter Metro: Last Light. 4AGames is going all out with the sequel to its underground hit, and it’s dropped a whopping 12-minute gameplay demo to prove it. To be sure, this demo’s a bit heavier on the slow-mo gunsplosions than 2033, but 4AGames assures us that the final game will still pack just as many gritty, grimy sense-engulfing moments of pure immersion as its predecessor. So then – no longer burdened by that burning question – grab some popcorn, sit back, and consider building a … [Read More...]

Pretty impressive—if you don’t like email, apps, or games

For the record, the Maximum PC Lab keeps both feet planted squarely in the present tense. We don’t believe anyone should buy hardware based solely on its future potential. So what then to make of RIM’s nascent and decidedly half-baked Blackberry Playbook? Unless you’re 1) a Blackberry owner, 2) don’t care about apps or games, or 3) a devoted BB fanboy, the answer is: not much.

By the time you read this, it’s possible that the Playbook might be more complete via OS updates. The release version, however, omitts some basic … [Read More...]

Mothers, lock up your gamers. The PlayStation phone has arrived.

And while it’s a bit on the chubby side, we think that, for Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play, big is beautiful.

You could almost call the Xperia Play the shorter, fatter cousin to the svelte Xperia Arc, which Sony Ericsson once described as the “world’s thinnest smartphone.” At .62 inches, the Play looks positively bulky compared to its Xperia-line relatives — a veritable Jan Brady to the Arc’s Marcia.

But Sony Ericsson had to … [Read More...]

Your Windows Phone 7 device is officially obsolete. At a press event in New York this morning and several media events around the world, Microsoft cut the ribbon on its next generation Windows Phone mobile platform codenamed “Mango,” which introduces “more than 500 new features to push the boundaries of the smartphone experience.”

Before we jump into Mango and it’s many new features, let’s put some worries to rest. Yes, your Windows Phone 7 device is yesterday’s news, but don’t toss it in a river just yet. Not only would that be environmentally irresponsible, but Microsoft is making the Mango … [Read More...]

Undeniably attractive and super skinny, Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc is ready for a career as a runway model.

This fashionable specimen measures a mere 0.46 inches thick at its thinnest point, the middle of the concave arc that runs vertically down the back of the phone. It manages to make my iPhone 3GS look almost obese in comparison.

Slimness is a virtue in devices, as it reduces that embarrassing Visible Phone Line in your pocket. But premium phones usually have a bit of heft to them, and in that respect, the Xperia Arc feels a little too thin. Flimsy, even. … [Read More...]