Camera-less Nokia E51 target for Q2 APAC launch

I can't believe I actually missed this announcement altogether, but apparently Nokia announced a camera-less version of the E51 last week. According to the bulletin, the E51 variant is expected to start shipping in Europe this quarter. But for us in the Asia Pacific, the launch is slightly later in Q2 for selected markets. Information is scant on exactly which countries the camera-less E51 will be available in and we'll update as soon as we have more information.

Lite-On lets you mold your own mouse

Just when we thought innovation was dead, up pops Lite-On with a genuinely interesting concept. Meet the Moldable Mouse--a peripheral you can sculpt into whatever shape you can imagine.

Instead of you having to contort your hands to the shape of the mouse, the Moldable Mouse conforms to the shape of your hands--great news for lefties and people with superfluous fingers. You simply press it into your preferred shape, then gradually tweak it until it feels like an extension of your hand. Or something rude.

Unlike ordinary mice, which use hard plastics, the Moldable Mouse is made of non-toxic, lightweight clay, covered with nylon and a polyurethane blend fabric. The shape is self-retaining and the entire thing can be printed with a variety of colors or designs to make it even more personal to the user.

Cleverest of all, the selector buttons and touch-sensitive scroll wheel are stick-on parts, which you can position anywhere. These use wireless RFID technology to communicate with the flat base section of the mouse where the circuit board, laser optics and batteries are housed.

Lite-On has yet to announce a release date for the Moldable Mouse, but we can't wait for this thing to hit the market. We'll let you know the minute we know more.

Via Crave UK

Could JPEG XR deliver cheaper, better burst shooting?

When Canon's Chuck Westfall popped by last month to give us a sneak preview of the EOS 450D, I expressed my disappointment that the camera's RAW continuous-shooting maxed out at a mere 6 frames. I asked Chuck if there was anything on the horizon that might deliver a better RAW burst-shooting experience for the can't-afford-a-Mark III set. His immediate and somewhat unexpected response: "JPEG XR". A few weeks later, I put a similar question to Casio's Scott Nelson, a product manager in the camera division, as he showed off the company's burst-mode blitzkrieg, EX-F1--a camera which doesn't support RAW for burst shooting. He, too, indicated that JPEG XR held the key for delivering higher-quality, high frame-rate photos at reasonable prices.

Never let it be said that I couldn't recognize a trend once it whacked me on the head a couple of times.

RAW files--data straight from the sensor--place a heavy performance burden on a digital camera. Though they're same dimensions as JPEGs, RAW files support 12-bit or deeper color, while JPEG and its widely ignored successor, JPEG 2000, support only 8 bits. That makes the RAW file footprint bigger, even when compressed, and increases the required amount of buffer memory. Furthermore, while JPEG-processing chips are cheap, the proprietary nature of RAW files makes it necessary to use dedicated silicon for processing them with any speed. That's a lot of cost to add to a sub-US$1,000 dSLR or enthusiast shooter.


Read more »

Value-oriented Viewsonic projectors get BrilliantColor treatment

While getting a free meal is harder than striking lottery in the city state of Singapore (read: Forget Western-style welfare), it's always comforting to know there are affordable yet capable products out there that stretch the dollars. ViewSonic's latest multimedia projector trio is just one of the fine examples. At as low as S$1,299 (US$854.61), you will get a Texas Instrument BrilliantColor-enhanced PJ513D coupled with a respectable 2,200 ANSI lumens brightness. The former was developed to work around a traditional projector bottleneck for delivering richer hues without compromising light output.

To further minimize cost of ownership, its higher-end S$1,699 (US$1,117.76) PJ551D and PJ560D also offer 15 percent improved lamp efficiency which extends bulb life to 3,500 hours. Lastly, the PJ560 has added picture modes ranging from black to white, to green backgrounds, tailored for each specific surface to facilitate presentation without a dedicated projection screen. With the exception of the PJ560D, the remaining two models are now on sale in Singapore. Launch details for the rest of Asia were not available at press time.

Power strip may keep fire marshal away

OK, so a power strip might not seem very crushworthy, but how many of us have cursed conventional versions over not providing adequate space for a multitude of bricks? In fact, some of us at Crave are on the fire marshal's watchlist for maintaining masses of under-desk cords, adapters, and extensions.

Enter the Socket Sense Surge Strip, which claims to be "the first and only surge strip with six fully adjustable sockets that expand and contract to fit any power adapter". It's not cheap--the strip retails for US$40, according to Popgadget--but the manufacturer says it can "do the job of two ordinary surge strips". Even if it doesn't, it's still a lot cheaper than repairing damage from an electrical fire. We were going to inquire about a bulk discount, but that might just raise more red flags.

Via Crave CNET

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