Gizm0 - Gadget Blog for the Technology Obsessed.

Don’t get too excited, this is a concept phone, but a prototype has already been built and shown at Mobile World Conference (MWC 2008). Using NVIDIA’s sick engine, this phone takes the wind out of the N96 hype. Of course one is expected to arrive Q3, and the other may or may not arrive soon, but it should. Its the illness. Don’t want to read specs? Try 12 megapixel still photos and 720P video. That’s right, shoot progressive HD video on your mobile phone.

Here are the jawdropping specs:

• ARM11 MPCore
• HD AVP (High Definition Audio Video Processor) 720p H.264, MPEG-4, and VC-1/WMV9 Decode
• 720p H.264 and MPEG-4 Encode
• Supports multi-standard audio formats including AAC, AMR, WMA, and MP3
• JPEG encode and decode acceleration
• ULP (Ultra Low Power) GeForce GPU
• OpenGL ES 2.0
• D3D Mobile
• Programmable pixel shader
• Programmable vertex and lighting
• CSAA support
• Advanced 2D graphics
• Up to 12Mpixel camera sensor support
• Advanced imaging features
• True dual display support
• 720p (1280×720) HDMI 1.2 support
• SXGA (1280×1024) LCD and CRT support
• Composite and S-Video TV output

Related posts

• Macbook Air Drops Tomorrow - Buy or Not? (0)
• Goodbye iPhone, hello Motorola Z10 (0)
• What's the Best Computer Speakers? (0)
• Rumoured Nikon D60 Feature Breakdown (0)
• Nikon D60 or Canon Rebel XSi? (0)

You were fun, iPhone, but now you’re starting to get a little heavy in the pocket - that shine is getting dusty, and you’re creakin’ like a 40 year old. Your features are getting all confused. You blank in and out cause your light sensors are broken. That EDGE data is starting to creep slower than molasses, and gosh darnit, I don’t want to see a miniature version of the NYTimes, I want to see a mobile version! Oh yeah your camera sucks and how come you can’t shoot video? Aren’t you supposed to be the illness?

Face it, we’re bored with the iPhone’s pet tricks. On to the new. We’re consumers and gadget freaks and we want more, more, more!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enter the Motorola Z10, the cell phone that knocks the iPhone out until June or so when a 3G version of the Mc phone is unveiled. Even then I might be enjoying the video camera on my Moto 210 too much to give it up. Here’s hoping the 3G iPhone has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

The Motorola Z10 has a 3.1 megapixel camera, which isn’t that great at all, but passable. Key however is the phone’s slick look and ability to shoot video.

Like Music? Peep this beauty, the Samsung SGH-i450. Featuring a full digital music player, a 3.5mm headset jack, and Bang & Olufsen speakers. The dual-slider design also offers a touch wheel for menu navigation. Slickz.

Nokia N96: the top phone for Europeans

This thing is the new champ but it sure does cost a whole lotta dough (550 euros). We’ve called it the world’s first superphone. For goodness sakes you canwatch TV on it. But peep out the price, 550 euros is like $800 or something. Still for the feature obsessed, this is the king.  As picky as we are, this thing has more features then we could ask for.  Well, let’s hope the N97 can shoot HD video!  Just kidding, the N96 doesn’t even arrive until late summer 2008!

Full specs of Nokia N96 include:

• WCDMA2100/900 (HSDPA) / EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS) connectivity
• DVB-H Class C, 470-750 MHz
• S60 3rd edition, FP2 UI
• 2.8” QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) LCD TFT display with up to 16 million colors
• 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and auto-exposure
• Dual-LED camera flash, video light, recording indicator, auto-focus assist light
• Secondary VGA (640 x 480 px) camera for video calls
• Video capture in MPEG-4 up to VGA at 30 fps
• Digital Video Stabilization
• Built-in GPS/A-GPS
• WLAN - IEEE802.11 g/b
• Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz, 76-90MHz) with RDS
• Hi-Speed USB 2.0 with Micro USB type B interface
• 3.5mm stereo headset plug , TV-out support (PAL/NTSC)
• Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP stereo/EDR
• 950 mAh battery with up to 220 min talk, 220 hrs standby time, 5 hrs video, 14 hrs music or 4 hrs TV playback
• Dimensions: 103×55×18 mm
• Weight: 125 g

Related posts

• Garmin Nuvifone, iPhone's Newest Competitor? (0)
• Phone of the (Near) Future: NVIDIA's superphone (0)
• Nokia N95 News Round Up (0)
• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Macbook Air Battery Replacement - Not a Big Deal Afterall? (0)

Casio’s Exilim Z9 may not rock 13 megapixels like the Sony W300 we just featured, but it does come in pink, and orange, and all sorts of colors girls and non-geeks find adorable.  That alone may win it a spot in a teenager’s pocket, but Casio Exilim Z9 is no toy.  Rocking 8 megapixels, 23 best-shot pre-sets, an easy mode for people who want to take pictures, not think, and a 3X optical zoom.  It also shoots video ready-made for Youtube.

According to Bill Heuer, Vice President of Casio’s Digital Imaging Division, “Casio’s innovative YouTube Capture Mode allows videos to be recorded and uploaded directly to YouTube in as few as 3 steps, making the EX-Z9 perfect for online video enthusiasts.”

Feature Highlights:

• Stylish, slim, compact model featuring 8.1 million effective megapixels and 3x optical zoom.
• Generous 2.6-inch wide LCD display
• 23 Best Shot Modes for high quality images
• Anti Shake DSP for reducing photo blur due to shaky hands or moving subjects
• Easy Mode for simplifying the camera settings
• Casio’s Face Detection technology for maintaining a sharp focus

Related posts

• Sony W300, a 13.6 Mega Pixel Cyber-Shot! (0)
• Sony Alpha 24 Megapixel DSLR in the Works (0)
• Nikon D60 or Canon Rebel XSi? (0)
• Macbook Air isn't the Only Ultra Portable (0)
• What's the Best Computer Speakers? (0)

With the announcement of the Canon Eos Rebel XSi (e.g. the Canon 450D), one has to pause.  Yes, the newly unveiled Nikon D60 is a great update to the D40 and D40x, but being resolution whores, its hard to miss that the Rebel XSi is 12 megapixels to Nikon D60’s 10 megapixels.   Despite Nikon fanboy assertions otherwise, Canon is not a toy company, 12 megapixels is not just a number.  Canon  has their sites set on killing the megapixel race (24 megapixels on their top camera, the Mark III).  Even hardcore Nikon man Ken Rockwell  has given Canon props for their superior resolving ability when he compared the Canon 5D to Nikon D3.  We also noticed that Canon has a much more generous 3″ LCD “Live View” display, as compared to Nikon D60’s 2.5″.  That’s a huge difference if you want to enjoy the photo you just snagged.  2.5″ sucks.

Nikon D60 does have one very sweet feature - its called Active-D Lighting.  Basically it compensates  for all of those blown highlights that make digital photography and cinematography so challenging.  According to Senor Ken Rockwell, “This feature automatically identifies highlight areas that will be lost, and does its best to bring them under control. It works, and it works automatically.”

So which do we get for our entry level DSLR?  Well the Nikon D60 is slightly more affordable then the Rebel XSi,  (about $750 with lense kit at Adorama vs Canon Rebel’s $799 at J&R).

This reminds us of the battle between Sony and Panasonic camcorders.  The Panasonic HVX200 never had the resolution of the Sony FX-1 or Z1 (they’re both HD camcorders).  The Panasonic was always given credit for producing better looking, more filmic images - probably because of the way they handled dynamic range and highlights, while Sony always resolved better, which matters when you’re considering blow-up to theatrical size screens.

Therein lies your answer.  Are you planning on printing your pics to enormous gallery size displays?  If so, all the way to the high end, Canon is a better choice.  If the D3 can’t resolve as well as the Canon 5D, which is half the price, then resolution whores should stick to Canon.  If however, glorious photos without too much photoshop work is what you’re after, the Nikons are better choices, all the way down to the Nikon D40 (which is what the D60 essentially replaces).  Us?  We’re resolution whores, because we can do whatever the hell we want with the pic in Photoshop, except pretend we shot it in 12 megapixels!

Related posts

• Rumoured Nikon D60 Feature Breakdown (0)
• Nikon D60 price - $750, More Pics! (1)
• Sony XDCAM EX-1, best Video Camera Under $10K? (0)
• Sony Alpha 24 Megapixel DSLR in the Works (0)
• Sigma DP1: 14 Megapixel Droppin' this Spring (0)

The Samsung i80, i100 and s1060 digital cameras are set to drop this Spring.  Some features include all aluminum casing, with a old-school look, 8.1 megapixel sensor, 3X digital zoom, 3-inch LCD (nice and big), and Mp3 player. (why is this a trend suddenly?).  The i100 is 10.2 megapixels with dual image stabilization as well as gulp, travel information for 30 countries.  Hmm.  I’ll stick to Canon thank you.

Related posts

• Rumoured Nikon D60 Feature Breakdown (0)
• Nikon D60 or Canon Rebel XSi? (0)
• Point and Shoot HD Video: Panasonic DMC-TZ5K (1)
• Phone of the (Near) Future: NVIDIA's superphone (0)
• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)

According to the gadgerati, the excellent Nikon D40x is set to be replaced by the Nikon D60. Don’t get too excited, the word on the street is that it is still going to be a 10 megapixel chipset. Ken Rockwell, camera enthusiast, boldly suggests that it “might” appear on January 31st. He expects the price to be $599 for body only, with a modern EN-EL3e battery, 2.5 FPS and a 2.7″ LCD monitor.

While he also expects a 10 megapixel sensor (same as D80 and standard DX sensor size), he expects there to be few less features overall then the D80 and D200. We assume the D80 is going upstream to perhaps the D90 but we’re focusing on the possible D60 because that would represent a true sweet spot of a DSLR.

An Electronista commenter in an earlier post expressed doubt that they would call it a D60, simply because the Canon already sports the EOS D60 moniker. The EOS D60 is the upgraded D30 and a right behind the Canon 10D (which was replaced by 20D, 30D and 40D respectively).

Electronista further reported that Nikon has pulled the D40x listing from its Japanese online store, indicating that they’re also pulling it from production and a new announcement is imminent.

Perhaps the earliest attribution of this “rumour” is from Matthew Lin at DPReview who cites a “very reliable source” that a D60 is in the works for Spring of 2008. He believes Nikon may borrow the high-end EXPEED chipset from the D300 while stripping a few other features not necessary for us over-achieving amateurs.

Related posts

• Nikon D60 or Canon Rebel XSi? (0)
• Nikon D60 price - $750, More Pics! (1)
• Samsung's Latest Digital Cameras - i80, i100, S1060 (0)
• Phone of the (Near) Future: NVIDIA's superphone (0)
• Nikon D60 pic, coming in March! (0)