Tech Buzz: All the pretty faces
I have always been a little apprehensive toward fixed focal length lenses on mobile phones. But after getting acquainted with the Ricoh GRD IV camera over the weekend, I realized that a fixed focal length lens actually made me exercise more creativity in shot composition. That's why we set out to do a generic segment on how to improve your shots using a fixed focal length lens--whether it's on your smartphone, point-and-shoot or dSLR.
Finally, we highlight the top five ways to share files now that Megaupload has been shut down.
(Credit: Pentax)
Pentax has recently announced its latest long-zoom compact which is the first of its kind to feature two shutter buttons--one for normal shooting and the other for capturing images in portrait-orientation. The vertical shutter button is accompanied by a second zoom lever and a vertical tripod socket--allowing the camera to be mounted vertically as well.
This 16-megapixel long-zoom compact is equipped with a versatile 20x optical zoom, a 3-inch widescreen LCD display and is capable of capturing 720p HD videos. The new camera also incorporates a new sensor-shift based image stabilization mode which the company claims can prevent camera shake in images resulting in sharper images. This function is also available in its movie mode and provides more fluid-looking videos.
As a result of its weak performance, the company will be retrenching 10,000 workers--or one in 10 employees--to cut costs. 70 percent of the job cuts will be in Japan, and a majority will come from its mobile phone business.
NEC is known for its Medias smartphones based on the Android OS, which have been among the hottest handsets at the Japanese telco NTT Docomo. However, its market share has been cannibalized by stiff competition, particularly from the Apple iPhone.
Nintendo has finally stepped forward to announce the availability for its Wii U. The next-generation game console will be launched in Australia, Europe, Japan and the US before the end of 2012. However, there's no further information on estimated pricing, as well as release dates for other countries in Asia.
On a separate note, the producer of the Street Fighter X Tekken game, Yoshinori Ono, has hinted that the Wii U prototype unveiled last year is not a good reference for the finished product. The actual console will purportedly ship with a new feature which is different from Microsoft's Kinect and similar accessories.
Scene from a New Zealand courtroom: Kim DotCom (far right) and others arrested January 19. (Credit: 3News.co.nz/Screenshot by Jonathan Skillings, CNET)
Are you one of those affected by the FBI takedown of MegaUpload last week?
Together with the UK Pirate Party and others, the Spanish branch of the Pirate Party, a political organization whose ideals include copyright reform and freedom of information, has created an online platform for affected users or organizations to register their complaints.
(Credit: Microsoft)
When Microsoft announced the Mango update with its 500 new features, the company said it would have support for multiple calendars. However, at launch, it seemed that while you could have as many as you wanted, you would not be able to view shared entries on your main calendar.
We had previously erroneously thought that issue was Microsoft's fault (though spokepersons from the company had promised us that the company was working on it). Now it seems that the problem was mostly on Google's end, as the search giant has just announced Google Sync support for Windows Phone 7.5 devices.
(Credit: Sennheiser)
If regular RF- (radio-frequency) or Bluetooth-based wireless headphones aren't good enough for your home entertainment rig, perhaps Sennheiser could have a solution. The company's latest RS 220 circumaural cans are said to deliver uncompressed high-fidelity sound over a distance of up to 90m.
The new headphones are pretty stylish, too, and are based on Sennheiser's well-received HD 600-series over-the-ears. The RS 220 is meant to provide a wireless option for hi-fi enthusiasts, with a built-in rechargeable battery providing up to 8 hours of audio ecstasy.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop shows off the Lumia 900 at CES 2012. (Credit: Lori Grunin/CNET)
Change is never easy. Just ask Nokia, which today posted its third consecutive quarter of hefty losses, despite strong sales of its new Windows Phone portfolio.
In the fourth quarter, the Finnish handset maker said it lost 1.07 billion euros, or US$1.4 billion. During the same period a year ago, the company posted a 745 euro profit.
Overall handset sales dropped by 29 percent compared with a year ago. The company sold 19.6 million smartphones during the quarter and 93.9 million feature phones. In total, it sold 113.5 million devices, which is down from 123.7 million total devices in the fourth quarter of 2010. Nokia also saw prices for its handsets fall. The average price for a handset in the fourth quarter was 53 euros compared with 69 euros a year ago.
Ever since Google opened the digital doors to its Google+ social network in June, it's been an adult-only area.
Today, the company changed the terms of joining the network, allowing in teens for the first time. In the United States and most other countries in which Google+ is available, anyone 13 or older can now join. Facebook has the same age requirement.
Google vice president of product Bradley Horowitz, a co-leader of the Google+ effort, announced the move in a post on the network, taking a swipe at competitor Facebook along the way, noting that teens have unsatisfactory networking options now.
Jailbreaking is not a crime, says the EFF Web site. (Credit: Jailbreakingisnotacrime.org)
Apple, who had objected to the ruling, said in a letter that allowing jailbreaking would result "in copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical effects, adverse effects on the functioning of the device, and breach of contract".
The company has managed to stave off jailbreaks for its newer devices (like the iPhone 4S) until a team of hackers recently cracked the code--allowing users to easily jailbreak these devices with a simple program.
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