Author Archives: Zach Honig

BlackBerry Z30 coming to Verizon, pricing and availability TBA

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BlackBerry Z30 coming to Verizon, pricing and availability TBA

It's hardly the biggest BlackBerry shocker of the day, but at least a few BB 10 fans should be able to breathe a sign of relief at Verizon's Z30 announcement. That handset, in all its BB 10.2 glory, is indeed coming to Verizon's LTE network. Pricing and availability remain the key unknowns here, but the Z30, which ships with a 5-inch Super AMOLED display, 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro and a 2,880mAh battery, is indeed on its way, Verizon logo and all.

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Source: Verizon Wireless (Twitter)

Sony Cyber-shot QX10 review: a WiFi ‘lens camera’ that mounts directly on your smartphone

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DNP Sony Cybershot QX10 review a WiFi 'lens camera' that mounts directly on your smartphone

Earlier this month at IFA, Sony introduced an entirely new type of point-and-shoot camera. The QX10 and its big brother, the QX100, are missing a built-in LCD. Instead, framing, image review, configuration and even storage are all handled on another device: your smartphone. These "lens cameras," as they've become unofficially known, mount directly on a handset you already own, pairing with Sony's PlayMemories Mobile app via WiFi. The benefits are considerable. The absence of a display allows for a more compact body, improved power efficiency and a lower price tag. The QX100, for example, includes the same optics as Sony's flagship RX100 Mark II, but retails for $500, compared to $750 for its fully equipped counterpart. The QX10 is the more mainstream of the two, with a smaller footprint and an affordable $250 price tag. We focus on this model just below.%Gallery-slideshow85039%

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LG Vu 3 teased with semi-transparent QuickView case, expected to launch in October

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LG Vu 3 teased with semitransparent QuickView case, expected to launch in October

LG's oddly shaped Optimus Vu II is slated for an update next month, according to Korean site ETNews. The 4:3 large-format device, dubbed simply Vu 3 (LG has dropped the Optimus branding from flagship devices), has also appeared on an LG microsite, which serves to both confirm the handset's existence and tease a pair of semi-transparent QuickView cases. The phone covers, available in black or gray, appear to feature a see-through design, enabling some pretty spiffy animated notifications. As for the phone itself, you can expect a Snapdragon 800 chipset, a 13-megapixel rear camera and LTE-Advanced support. It's slated to hit KT Telecom, SK Telecom and LG U+ in Korea in the coming months.

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Source: LG, ETNews

Sony’s PS Vita TV launching in Asia in January, regional pricing TBA

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Sony's PS Vita TV launching in Asia in January, regional pricing TBA

Earlier this month, SCEJA president Hiroshi Kawano announced that the PlayStation 4 would hit Japan on February 22nd, a full three months after the console's mid-November launch in the US. To help ease that pain, however, Sony introduced a new product at the same event: the $100 PS Vita TV. The compact device, which offers Vita-like functionality but with a DualShock 3 controller and TV output, is scheduled to launch in Japan on November 14th. Now, at a pre-Tokyo Game Show event in Japan, we've received word that the same box will hit stores in other Asian countries, such as China and Korea, come January 2014, with pricing for those countries yet to be announced. Sadly, it's still unlikely that the Vita TV will debut in Europe or North America.

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Source: Engadget Chinese

Triposo Travel Belt vibrates to help you locate attractions (video)

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Triposo Travel Belt vibrates to help you locate attractions video

A decade ago, all but the most connected of travelers would leave phones and other devices at home, opting instead to plan visits to restaurants, museums and other tourist sites from a paperback book. Now, with mobile data and services like KeepGo enabling cheap roaming when you're abroad, there's more incentive to bring those gadgets along, powering exploration in real time with crowdsourced recommendations from a mobile app. One such application, however, will soon employ an unusual solution that'll let you keep your handset tucked away, without wandering astray.

The Triposo Travel Belt communicates with a companion app through a wired connection -- developers opted for a standard 3.5mm cable that plugs into a headphone jack, rather than Bluetooth, keeping things simple and maximizing compatibility. After you select a destination, the app will push directions through the headphone jack to four vibration motors, which activate based on your orientation and the direction of your destination. The belt will vibrate in the front, back, or either side to guide you to a pre-selected address or POI. There's a working prototype out and about, but the creators need some cash to get the belt to production. You can help with a $30 $50 Indiegogo pledge, which should get you a Travel Belt in hand by February. There's a demo video, too, posted after the break.

Update: Since going live with its Indiegogo page, the company has raised the price of the belt from $30 to $50.

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Source: Indiegogo

Ricoh Theta WiFi camera shoots 360-degree photos for $399 (hands-on)

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DNP Ricoh Theta WiFi camera shoots 360degree photos for $399 handson

It's a big week for LCD-less WiFi point-and-shoots, but today's offering is a bit more unusual than Sony's lens-camera duo. What would you pay for a 360-degree camera that's compact, easy to use and compatible with an iOS app? $100? Maybe a buck fifty? Ricoh's betting big on a figure far higher -- a "consumer-friendly" $399. And we're not sold. Sure, the Theta is a unique device, but 360-degree images have limited appeal, and the fact that you (and your friends) will need to download a dedicated app just to view them without distortion doesn't help to seal the deal. Still, we're always up for trying out something new, and we're guessing you might be a bit curious, too. Click past the break as we go full circle with Theta.

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Panasonic’s 20-inch 4K Toughpad tablet ships in November for about €4,500

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Panasonic's 20inch UTMB5 4K Toughpad tablet ships in November for TK

Panasonic's 4K Toughpad tablet initially debuted at CES in January, but here at IFA in Berlin, the company is finally ready to shed some light on availability. Speaking at a press conference focused on the device, GM Jan Kampfer detailed the giant slate, which includes a fiberglass housing and sports a 3,840 x 2,560 (230 ppi) power-efficient IPS display with 176-degree viewing angles. The UT-MB5 supports 10-finger touch and includes a Bluetooth-enabled optical Anoto Live Pen with a six-hour battery life and palm rejection. The Toughpad was designed with creative types in mind, such as artists and architects -- though we wouldn't mind having one around as a fantastic (albeit pricey) portable 4K movie viewer.

There will be two models: a Standard flavor that weighs in 2.3kg and includes 4GB (expandable to 8GB) of RAM and a 128GB SSD, and a 2.7kg Performance model with 8GB RAM (expandable to 16GB) and a 256GB SSD. The company is targeting design pros with that latter version, such as those working with 3D modeling tools, while the lower-powered spec would be a better fit for healthcare users, retail or sales professionals. Panasonic aimed for workstation performance here, so both devices include Intel Core i5 processors and run on Windows 8.1. There are three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, an SD card slot and an optional desktop cradle and mounting point adapter. They're also quite durable, and are reinforced to survive 76 cm (2.5 ft) drops. The Standard model will ship in November, while the Performance slate is expected in early 2014.

Update: Microsoft is reporting that the device will ship in the US and Europe beginning this Saturday, September 7th, but Panasonic executives at the IFA event are confirming a November timeframe. The Toughpad on stage is being described as a "prototype," further reinforcing that the slate is not ready to ship.

Update 2: Panasonic reps quoted pricing for the standard version at €4,508 (about $6,000), with the Performance version MSRP to be announced. The optional pen will retail for €280 (about $370).

Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!

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Nikon’s LD-1000 LED Movie Light, a bright addition to Nikon 1 video shoots

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Nikon's LD1000 LED Movie Light, a bright addition to Nikon 1 video shoots

Yup, it's just a light. But the LD-1000 is made by Nikon, and designed to attach to the company's 1-Series mirrorless cameras, such as the J3 or V2, which makes it at least mildly interesting. The AAA-powered bracket-mounted lamp includes four white LEDs and a diffuser, and while its primary focus is to illuminate a subject during a video shoot, you can also use it to provide fill light for still photos, or whenever a constant low-power stream of illumination is more appropriate than a flash. Pick it up in black or white in October for a somewhat ambitious $99.95.

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Nikon’s comically compact Coolpix S02 features a 3x lens, 1080p video and boosted image quality for $180

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Nikon's comically compact Coolpix S02 features a 3x lens, 1080p video and boosted IQ for $180

Nikon's Coolpix S01 is adorable, and its successor, the S02, is too. The itsy-bitsy point-and-shoot is one of the smallest and lightest zoom-equipped cameras on the market, but it's hardly the most powerful. That's to be expected -- the Coolpix S02 will fit in the smallest of palms, and its $180 price tag is reasonable given the spec list. There's a 13.2-megapixel CMOS sensor (compared to a 10MP CCD on last year's model), a larger 2.7-inch touchscreen, 1080p video (up from 720p) and a 3x 30-90mm f/3.3-5.9 lens. Due to the cam's small size, there's no room for a removable battery or expandable storage, so you'll be limited to the internal cell and fixed 7.3GB for saving images and video clips. Expect the S02 to hit stores later this month in silver, white, pink and blue.

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Nikon focuses on prosumers with full-function Coolpix P7800 point-and-shoot

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Nikon focuses on prosumers with fullfunction Coolpix P7800 pointandshoot

Say hello to the Coolpix P7800. It's an incremental bump, so we wouldn't necessarily recommend ditching last year's P7700 to upgrade, but if you've been holding out, there's a bit more value here. Cosmetically, the most significant addition is a 921k-dot EVF, which Nikon reps feel justifies a jump in price, from $500 to $550. You'll also find a 1/1.7-inch 12.2MP BSI CMOS sensor, 7.1x 28-200mm f/2-4 lens and a 3-inch 921k-dot RGBW articulating LCD, which, like on the D7100, yields better clarity and contrast. There's 1080/30p video capture, an 8 fps continuous shooting mode (but only for six consecutive JPG frames) and an ISO range of 80-3200. Surprisingly, there's no built-in WiFi, but you can add on the $60 WU-1a for wireless connectivity. There's also a full-size hot shoe, for attaching an external strobe and the like.

One of this flagship point-and-shoot's most attractive features for advanced shooters is the manual control. There's a mode dial up top near the shutter release, with access to manual and aperture-priority modes, for example, along with a dedicated exposure-compensation dial, giving you direct access to three stops over and under the metered values. There's also a built-in three-stop neutral-density filter, netting a bit more flexibility for video shooters. Absent this time around, however, is the quick access dial. It's been replaced with a dedicated button and a corresponding on-screen menu, which some photographers might even find more efficient. Nikon's planning to ship the Coolpix P7800 later this month, with an MSRP of $550.

Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!

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