The camera world is all aflutter over Panasonic’s Lumix GF1 digital camera. Along with questions about how the device measures up to the rival Olympus E-P1, the question on everyone’s lips is the GF1 a DSLR wannabe?
It seems the question has some substance. The “R” in DSLR requires a mirror. However, the GF1, the latest in Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds standard, is “mirror-free,” according to the company.
Mobile phone gadget maker Parrot Tuesday introduced one of the few in-dash car stereos meant for iPhone users. The RKi8400 ($400 in the U.S.) was unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
“All iPhone functions — music, navigation of the music directory and playlists and Bluetooth phone capabilities — have been adapted for in-car use,” said Henri Seydoux, Parrot founder and CEO.
We may be getting closer to a hardware version of hands-free navigation for iPhone users. The FCC has released several documents plus photos of a planned TomTom Car Kit for the iPhone.
The kit (pictured above) includes a mount enabling the iPhone to be positioned either vertically or in landscape mode. Engadget also writes the kit includes Bluetooth and a dedicated SiRFstar GPS chipset.
The announcement may be welcome news to iPhone navigators who hoped an actual TomTom product would follow an iPhone app released earlier this month. The app, priced at $99.99 for U.S. and Canadian iPhone owners, competes with the likes of CoPilot Live ($34.99), Sygic Mobile Maps ($39.99), AT&T’s Navigator ($10 monthly fee) and Google Maps.
[Via iClarified and Engadget]
Extra-large Apple tablets with screen sizes measuring 13-inches and 15-inches have been spotted in China, and one was running OS X, according to Gizmodo.
Citing a “100% reliable” source, two prototype tablets were seen in a factory in Shenzuen, China. The touchscreen prototypes were made of aluminum and shaped like big iPhones, the source said.
One of them “was running Mac OS X 10.5.” When I asked, the source didn’t know if these were built for demonstration purposes, or if they were preproduction units. The company has a tight relation with Apple but “it’s not FoxConn.”
Many of the rumors surrounding the tablet have focused on a 10-inch model running the iPhone OS. But as we’ve noted before, Apple has made Snow Leopard a very touch-centric operating aystem, with scores of UI touches designed for fingers.
Of course, Apple is famous for its rigorous prototyping process and always makes hundreds of variations of upcoming products before deciding on the final form factor. But many observers think it’s only natural that Apple will eventually offer tablets with several different sizes, just like it offers different sized MacBooks, though possibly not at launch.
In part two of our clever coverup series (yesterday’s installment: MacBooks disguised as newspapers), we offer you the faux shopping bag from Japan. The item is actually a 30-watt speaker for your iPod or other MP3 player. But there are some strings attached – literally.
Defeating the ‘shopping bag’ motif is the need for the device to be plugged in. This not only blows your cover, but puts your iPod on a leash. Then there is the price – $335 US – and that the speaker is not stereo. Maybe it’s all about style. Boing Boing reports the bentwood ‘shopping bag’ was created by artist Yoshihiko Satoh. A $335 non-stereo wired iPod speaker? Reminds me of the $300 tea kettle from Bugatti.
I’m waiting for the wireless version to appear – maybe disguised as a Walmart or Whole Earth bag.
[Via Gadget Lab and Boing Boing]
Sony Thursday introduced three new digital SLRs in its Alpha family. The cameras feature a number of innovative features for both professional and value-minded photographers.
The Sony a850 is the little brother of the a900, a pro unit released last year. Like the a900, the a850 features a 24.6 megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor. Two BIONZ processors enable fast data capture and image processing, allowing you to snap photos at three frames per second.
Unlike the a900, however, the new a850 sells for $2,000 (body only).
More details and photos after the jump.
Now this is what I call an iPod sound system. Most iPod speakers are pretty weedy. Not the Mix Boombox IMT800, a digital ghetto blaster released on Thursday by Altec Lansing. Available now for $300, the Mix Boombox promises to be loud and heavy.
Altec Lansing also announced a stylish — and loud — 200-watt computer speaker set: the Expressionist Ultra MX6021.
More images and details after the jump.
The Shanzai.com blog has posted pictures of a butt-ugly MacBook Air knockoff. It promises to be dirt cheap but misses the point by being fatter and uglier.
The knockoff also has a smaller screen — 11″ instead of 13″ — runs a shit processor and has no RAM (1.6GHz Intel Atom and 1GB DDR2).
Amusingly, the blog claims the Air’s design has been “improved” by the addition of some missing features, namely: a removable battery, two USB ports instead of one, and an internal slot for a 3G card (the Air has no 3G support built-in).
No word on pricing, availability or whether it can be hacked to run OS X. It does have a Windows key on the keyboard though.
More pictures and the full specs after the jump.
Are you looking for options to keep your desk sleek and uncluttered but don’t want to give up the iMac, iPod, Mac mini and associated gadgets you must have nearby? Maybe you need a makeover. Twelve South, a new All-Mac company, offers two choices: the Book Arc and Book Pack.
The Book Arc is a creative way to vertically store your MacBook. The Book Arc accommodates a closed MacBook (up to 17-inches) or MacBook Air in a 10-by-4-inch slip with silicone cushions specifically designed for these laptops.. The product creates a desktop or workstation from your laptop and display. Running your MacBook closed stops your video display from splitting its resources, causing a noticeable operating speed increase in such intensive applications as Photoshop, the maker claims.
The Book Arc costs $49.95 for individuals or $249.99 for six people. Free shipping for a limited time.
UPDATE: The MacBook stand can actually give your MacBook 13″ a speed boost, claims Wired.com’s Charlie Sorrel. Using lower-end MacBooks (those without dedicated GPUs, like the new 13-incher) with the lid closed frees up the CPU from refreshing the screen, boosting the speed of whatever you’re working on.
For just $35, a professional hardware called Reid will swap out your MacBook Pro’s optical drive for a super-speedy SSD drive.
Why would you want to do this? Because the SSD drive is an unbelievable 7x faster than a traditional hard drive, even a fast one. Use it as your boot disk, and the OS will fly. Store your movies and pron on the regular hard drive, which remains intact.
Reid already has this two-drive setup running on his new MacBook Pro. Reid took out the optical drive, which opened up a spare SATA interface. Apple doesn’t use standard SATA connectors, so Reid had to make his own by chaining together a couple of adapters from Fry’s and Amazon. It’s not pretty, but it works.
Reid is using the SSD as his boot disk and discovered that it runs an incredible 7x faster than his already fast 7200 rpm hard drive (which he’d upgraded also).
It cost about $300. “So, FOR LESS THAN APPLE CHARGES for the single 128GB SSD upgrade (which really is a POS, if you ask me), I got 280GB of reliable hard disk space. FmyWarranty!” he writes on his blog.
He’s now offering to sell the adapter for $30 apiece (plus free shipping). Or he will perform the upgrade himself for $35 (he’s a pr0). The customer supplies the parts. An 80GB SSD runs about $200.
“Just send me a heads up, a check, a second sata drive*, and your MacBook Pro (with a tracking #, PLEASE) and I’ll return the computer to you a day after it arrives (UPS $14.00).”
Email Reid at: [email protected]
If you want the feel of a touchscreen monitor for your MacBook but don’t want to wait until Apple unveils its rumored tablet, Mimo Monitors may have an alternative: a 7-inch display with resistive touchscreen for USB 2.0 Intel Macs.
The Mimo 720-S has all of the features of the Mimo 710-S plus a touchscreen. The screen provides 800×400 resolution and is on a 90-degree pivot. The device weighs less than 1 pound.
The monitor also offers an integrated stand and cover. The Mimo 720-S is $229.99 and requires USB 2.0. Mac users must download Mac OS X drivers.
[Via Mimo]
Here’s a great idea for making tangle-proof earbuds. It’s so simple, I’m surprised no one has thought of it before.
To prevent your earbud wires from tangling when not in use, join them together using a Ziploc-like zipper.
By pinching the two wires together into a single wire, they become tangle-proof, like a piece of thick, rubbery string. The two wires are simply unzipped when you want to use them.
The idea was dreamed up by London design student Lee Washington, who has made a short video to demonstrate them in action — see below.
“The prototype was made very basically with a sandwich bag seal,” says Washington. “It was just designed to demonstrate the concept.”
As yet, Washington doesn’t have a manufacturer. He’s talking to his professors this week about patenting the idea. He now regrets making the video, which is fast becoming popular. He’s afraid his idea will be ripped off.
“This could go either way,” he says. “Either the video will get very popular and someone at Apple will eventually see it or someone will do the idea themselves. That would be a pity.”
Indeed. We wish Washington the best finding someone to market his brilliantly simple idea.
Ever since the first computer laser mouse rolled out, it has required a reflective surface – meaning you had limited options for your pointer. Logitech hopes to do away with that barrier, unveiling two laser mice using the company’s so-called “Darkfield Technology.”
The Performance Mouse MX ($99.99) and the Anywhere Mouse MX ($79.99) offer the technology which can use microscopic deformities in otherwise absolutely clear surfaces, such as glass. A video shows the mice tracking on glass and a mirror.
[Via Logitech]
Have you maxed-out your iPod or iPhone storage? We all likely have a good chunk of the 16GB or 80GB storage still free. Why not put that empty room to use by turning it into backup space? That’s the idea behind Storage Appliance Corporation’s Clickfree Transformer for iPhone and iPod, a device that copies data from your computer’s hard drive to your MP3 player or phone.
So, you are in college, sharing a dorm room, but don’t want to share your laptop with your roommate? How about a very stylish safe? DormVault is a nine-pound $80 vault which the manufacturers claim provides a “rugged steel” protection for your laptop (up to 17-inches), along with accessories.
The DormVault lets you bolt your laptop inside and once closed can be opened only if you know the lock’s combination. All that’s missing is a television with Cameron Swayze with the vault attached to an outboard motor.
If $80 is too steep, maybe you can simply lock your screensaver or as Wired’s Gadget Lab suggests, buy an inexpensive lock box.
[Via Gadget Lab and Gadget Review]
If the average digital camera has become a bit ho-hum, Samsung Electronics America may refresh your opinion. The company Monday introduced three new cameras, one with Wi-Fi and two with touch LCD screens — one on the front and one in the traditional rear position.
Another fake but interesting spyshot of Apple’s tablet has been published by the French blog Nowhereelse.fr.
Says the blog (in translation): “The ball of rumors and other Fakes is clearly open. After photos of a so-called prototype of the new 3G iPod Touch, here is a rather realistic picture of what appears to be the famous MacTablet that we could in this case call iTouch … Anyway I take my hat off to its author if it is a Fake!”
It is fake. The staging with a Nokia cellphone is just too — well, staged. Plus, would Apple put the Home button at the bottom instead of the sides, where it would be easy to hit with a thumb?
Most interesting is that the tablet is shown displaying the “Welcome” message when installing OS X. Other recent tablet fakes have shown the device running the iPhone OS, or a version of. That of course is the big question: what operating system will the tablet run? We like the idea of OS X.
Here’s a clever way to use Twitter to get attention for a new iPhone app — get Twitter users to tweet about a MacBook prize giveaway.
Taptaptap is giving away a $6,000 custom MacBook to a lucky follower of the company’s Twitter stream, drawn at random.
The competition is hotting up as Twitter users retweet the details and the promotion spreads virally. More than 10,500 people have entered so far, less than a day after the competition opened.
To enter, users must follow Taptaptap’s Twitter stream, and then broadcast details of the competition by updating their Twitter status with the competition URL: https://tweetblast.taptaptap.com. The winner will be drawn at random on August 27.
The competition is to promote Taptaptap’s new app called Convert, a unit calculator that costs $1 (launch special).
The winner will get a brand new ColorWare Stealth MacBook Pro — a limited edition MacBook Pro that’s been customized with a soft-touch, matt black coating. Only 10 made, says ColorWare, and worth $5,999.
If you enter, keep an eye on your Twitter account. The winner will notified with a direct message. If they don’t respond within a week, a new winner will be chosen.
Apple is planning a special media event for the week of September 7, MediaMemo reports, citing “multiple music industry sources.”
But Apple won’t tell anyone exactly when the event is. Apple always holds keynote presentations on Tuesdays, so the likeliest date is September 8.
Apple has held a keynote event every September for the last four years to introduce its consumer-focused holiday offerings, typically new iPods and new versions of iTunes.
At this event though, Apple could be introducing several things:
* Cocktail: The presence of multiple music execs suggests a music focus. Apple’s rumored Cocktail project is a secret skunkworks rethink of the LP for the digital age. But it is rumored to be part of the secret tablet project though…
* The Tablet: Many expect the fabled Apple tablet as early as September.
* New iPods: New iPod Nano and iPod Touch with cameras. This seems the most likely.
* iTunes 9: The next version of iTunes is tipped to get Blu-ray, social software support and iPhone app organization. Also seems likely.
* Steve Jobs: Will Jobs make his first public appearance since returning from medical leave?
Maybe all of the above?
Gizmodo’s Brian Lam talked to a high level source who claims to have seen and handled prototypes of Apple’s upcoming tablet.
* The tablet is real (we already knew this though — CoM’s sources have also confirmed it).
* 10-inch screen.
* Looks like a giant iPhone with the same Home button and a shiny black plastic back.
* Two editions: One with a webcam and one for education.
* Will sit between iPod/iPhone and a MacBook, costing $700 to $900.
* Will also function as a secondary screen and/or a touchpad for iMacs and MacBooks, like this 7-inch external USB monitor form MiMo.
* It’s been under development in one form or another for six years, but the first prototype was built at end of 2008. Time to market is 6-9 months, pegging the device’s release date this holiday season.
But just as Lam — who is a great reporter and a straight-shooter – was was about to get to the juicy bit — what OS the tablet will run — his iPhone dropped the call. Classic!
Writes Lam: “My call dropped on some windy road off Skyline Drive. Fucking AT&T.”
UPDATE: I contacted Lam, who said his source didn’t know the tablet’s OS. It’s the biggest secret surrounding the device, he says. Entrepreneur and ugly dog-lover Jason Calacanis just tweeted it runs a modified version of the iPhone OS, citing a developer. Maybe. Here at CoM, we like the idea it’ll run Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
Apple is getting serious about getting green.
To make sure that its massive new data-center is energy efficient, Apple has just hired a top eBay executive and leading expert in the “greening” of cloud computing facilities.
Apple has picked up Olivier Sanche, eBay’s Senior Director Data Centers Services and Strategy, according to the Green Data Center Blog.
Based in San Francisco, Sanche has helped make eBay’s massive global operations carbon neutral since 2007. Most recently, he helped oversee the construction of eBay’s newest data-center, which will meet the highest green standards when it goes online in 2010.
“This new center is built to meet LEED Gold standards,” Sanche writes on his LinkedIn profile. “We broke ground in late-2008 and we are on track to deliver state-of-the-art efficiencies in cooling and power management.”
It looks like Apple needs someone of Sanche’s stature for its fast-growing cloud computing operations.
Apple is building its own huge data-center in North Carolina. The billion-dollar facility will reportedly be 500,000-square-feet and will serve as Apple’s primary East Coast data-center. In 2006, Apple bought a giant 107,000-square-foot facility data-center on the West Coast, in Newark, Calif. The new North Carolina facility will be nearly five times the size of Newark operation. Ground is expected to be broken later this month.
Data-centers are huge power hogs. Google puts its data-centers as close to power plants as possible, just like Las Vegas is next to the Hoover Dam. McKinsey has projected that data center emissions will overtake those of the world’s airlines by 2020.
At eBay, Sanche helped to green a massive data-center operation. The auction company runs more than 15,000 servers worldwide to support of 84 million eBay users. Sanche says the company has been carbon neutral since 2007 thanks to a combination of conservation, solar energy, facilities management and a high-quality carbon offset program.
Sanche is also Vice Chair of the advisory council for The Green Grid, an industry consortium that promotes energy efficiency.
iPod/iPhone fans are always in search of the perfect speakers to blast their favorite tunes in the most comfortable, affordable and longest-lasting way. While the search for that holy grail continues, Logitech early this morning provided two new entrants – one boast near ’round the clock music and another promising portability but with booming bass.
iHome Audio has unveiled its iP1 high-end portable stereo for the iPhone or iPod. The $299 iP1 features the company’s Bongiovi Acoustics’ Digital Power Station (DPS), touted to create richer sound without bigger speakers. The iP1 includes a dock for the iPhone, or iPod, plus a 3.5-inch auxiliary input.
Although not available until October, iHome is taking pre-orders for the stereo. The stereo includes two 40W 4-inch woofers and two 10W 1-inch tweeters.
Along with the iPhone/iPod dock, the iP1 also includes a remote for iPod menu navigation.
[Via iPodNN and iHome Audio]
The Internet has lately played host to a near-infinite amount of fol-de-rol regarding a rather silly post from Weblogs, Inc. and Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis in which he railed against Apple’s recent paranoia. There’s plenty wrong with the gist of his argument (as Leander points out in this rather nice post), as well as a few things that are right on.
But I’m not here to dwell on that. I just want to make one thing very clear: what makes Apple great is not what it puts into its products. It’s what gets left out. As exciting as visions of flying iPhones with 8 sim slots, a Zip disk slot, and dual head-mounted displays might seem, the original iPhone (and iPod, for that matter) became iconic because of its limitations — not in spite of them. Innovation, contrary to Calacanis, is often more about editing than possibility. Apple, more than most companies, is defined by its unwillingness to do too much. The greatest design impact is in what we can’t see.
Displaying an impressive level of tech savvy, Ice-T took a claw hammer to an old PowerBook he’s getting rid of.
In this 4-minute video, you can watch Ice-T smash his old PowerBook to bits. At first, it seems the former rapper is getting revenge on a glitchy machine.
“This Mac gave me a lot of hell,” he says. “It’s kinda like payback.”
But as the video goes on, it’s clear Ice-T is trying to remove and destroy the hard drive, which he’s afraid might fall into the wrong hands.
“I’m gonna get this hard drive out of here, make sure none of my secrets are in here, if somebody should find this computer,” he says.
In the comments, Ice-T takes a lot of flak for destroying the machine (and a bunch of racist garbage). The geniuses on YouTube rip him for not taking the machine to an eWaste facility and releasing toxins into the environment.
While the toxins criticism might be on target, Ice-T was right to destroy the hard drive first. Data is incredibly easy to pull off old hard drives, whether the drive has been erased or not, even in multiple passes. There are plenty of cases of identity theft from old machines. And just weeks ago, journalism students were able to buy a drive full of government secrets from a dump in Ghana.
As the actor knows, the one sure-fire way to destroy all data on a hard drive is to destroy the hard drive. “There’s probably a better way to do it, but i just said, ‘fuck it,'” the Law & Order actor says.
In fact, if recycling an old laptop, it’s a good idea to drill several holes into the case and right through the hard drive before taking it to an eWaste facility (Only if the drive can’t be easily removed obviously, which is the case with many older PowerBooks and iBooks).