Samsung to launch Wi-Fi-enabled camera

While there are only a few new digital cameras seen at CES this year, Sony has undoubtedly stolen the spotlight with its Cyber-shot DSC-G3, a point-and-shoot with wireless networking capability and HTML browser.

However, the G3 isn't the only Wi-Fi-enabled shooter seen at the tradeshow. At Samsung's booth, we spotted the a modified version of the i8. The unnamed camera comes with wireless LAN function for uploading images to the Web. Within the menu, we saw options for sending pictures to Flickr and Picassa, two popular online photo servers.

The shooter will probably be the successor to the i8, a compact camera with multimedia function. We tried using the camera to send images to Samsung's designated server, and found the process to be fuss-free.

However, the company cannot confirm at press time if the new Wi-Fi-enabled i8 camera will have a Web browser, though it did mention it will launch this digicam some time between June and September this year.

Samsung charts roadmap to be digicam number one

Last year, Samsung said it was aiming to be among the top three brands for digital cameras, and it seems the company has almost met its aim. The Korean chaebol has just revealed an even more ambitious plan--to be the number one digicam brand within the next two or three years.

Kim Soo Bong, vice president of the Strategy Marketing Team for the Digital Camera Division in Samsung Techwin, told CNET Asia that while many manufacturers, including Samsung, are sharing the number three position in the global digicam market now, the company is an "outstanding number three". He said this is possible because the company will differentiate itself from competitors by offering unique design, friendly user interface, better image quality, and superior performance.

Some key trends which Samsung will adopt for its snappers this year would be wide-angle optics, intelligent automatic shooting mode, and most importantly, user-friendliness.
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New Casio Exilims the smallest and speediest yet

When they launched, Casio's high-speed Exilim models with frame rates of 1,000-plus frames per second (fps) wowed all but the purists in the digital photo community. But cameras like the EX-F1 and EX-FH20 are bulky and the features too difficult to use for many. So Casio put the circuitry in the dryer on High and popped out a sensor and chipset that pack its high-speed technology into tiny, easier-to-use digital camera packages: The 9-megapixel EX-FC100 and EX-FS10.

The higher-end FC100 has a 5X zoom lens and sensor-shift optical stabilizer; the much thinner FS10 uses a 3x zoom and no stabilization. Otherwise, the cameras have the same feature set, with novel inclusions like 30fps burst shooting at 6 megapixels; and Lag Correction, a user-determined prerecord interval, which compensates for both slow human reflexes and hardware sluggishness.
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Does Sony DSC-G3 camera get wireless right?

Wi-Fi-enabled cameras have been around for several years, but arguably never took off because they never hit on the right combination of performance and capabilities; at various points we've seen powerful Wi-Fi but subpar photo quality, good cameras but with limited Wi-Fi capabilities, or simply middling all around. Now Sony's giving it a shot with the Cyber-Shot DSC-G3, and it looks like the company may at least get the feature side of the equation right.

The 10-megapixel, 4x zoom G3 includes 4GB of storage and a 210ppi 3.5-inch touchscreen display with Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to wirelessly upload photos and video and deliver e-mail notifications. Unlike other implementations, the G3 gives you the tools to navigate and connect to networks, for instance, behind the terms-of-service agreement screens on public and hotel hot spots, via an embedded Web browser. The combination of organization tools and sophisticated and selective upload greatly expands the usefulness of both aspects of the camera. It includes free AT&T Wi-Fi access to Sony's Easy Upload Home Page until January 31, 2012.

Of course, like the others, this model may turn out to have performance or photo-quality flaws. And some may find US$499 a bit pricey. But hope springs eternal. We'll find out when we get it in; that should be soon, since it's shipping now.

Via CNET.com

New SDXC format can store up to 2TB

The SD Association has just announced a new SD card format to succeed the current SDHC standard (which maxes out at 32GB). Called the SDXC, this new format will be offered in capacities starting from 32GB to 2TB. Data transfer speed is expected to be around 104MB/s, though the SD Association is confident of hitting 300MB/s eventually with the SDXC.

The new SDXC card format is scheduled for a late 2009/early 2010 time frame. It will be available in SD and microSD sizes. Not surprisingly, the SDXC standard will not work in current SD and SDHC devices. The SDXC slot will, however, be backward-compatible with earlier formats.

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