Gadgets and New Technologies

This loupe on a loop is an attempt to answer a question we have never asked, namely “How can I turn my camera’s LCD screen into a viewfinder?”

The PRO-MC monitoring with two straps (to unfairly quote its machine translated name) is a $50 widget which sits over any LCD screen up to 3″ and magnifies it. The rubber edged box also cuts out extraneous light, which could conceivably help you in very bright sunlight, especially if you don’t have an optical viewfinder.

I want to sneer at this as being a totally useless product, an overpriced niche toy, but two things stop me. One, I think that getting the camera up to your eye, by whatever means, will give you better photographs — more considered and certainly less shaky.

(Read the full post about ‘LCD Magnifier Adds a Faux-Finder to Digicams’…)

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WEbook (pronounced “we-book”), a collaborative book writing website that launched this past spring, puts to the test several premises about writing and publishing, the first being that every person has at least one book - or one story - in them worth telling (or some variation of that idea). The second premise is their tagline, “Writing loves company,” which is already proven, in part, by the fact that hordes of people participate in writing workshops every year to have their writing critiqued and to critique the writing of others. The third premise may or may not flow naturally from the first two: that aspiring writers, if given the opportunity and the right tools, would be drawn to collaborate on writing books with other writers with like interests.

(Read the full post about ‘WEbook: Collaborative book writing, publishing and social networking’…)

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Apple and AT&T have together lifted the curtains just a little bit more on the iPhone 3G, posting preview videos and pricing details on the widely-anticipated smartphone.

First, the pricing: Although Apple set the price of the iPhone 3G at $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB), you won’t get that price if you’re a current AT&T customer and you’re not eligible for an upgrade. The good news: Anyone who purchased an iPhone 1.0 prior to the July 11 release date of the iPhone 3G will be eligible for upgrade pricing. If your contract is up, or almost up, you should also be eligible for the upgrade price. Also, all new customers will get the lower price.

(Read the full post about ‘Apple, AT&T Release iPhone 3G Videos and Pricing Details’…)

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Dash Navigation has made available an update for the Dash Express, making it the first Internet-connected automotive GPS device from its stable that allows one to wirelessly update the device software without having to purchase upgrades separately while going through the hassle of installing them through a PC or DVD download later on. All you need to do is turn on your Dash Express and the updating process will kick in - provided you’re within range of a compatible Wi-Fi network, that is. Sounds like a no-brainer to me, somewhat akin to Windows XP’s Automatic Updates. Check out the new features that comes with the update right after the jump. (Read the full post about ‘Dash Navigation updates Dash Express’…)

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Concept camera - control your emotionsJul 01, 2008 It is an interesting moment when some models of modern cameras are able to define when to release the shutter based on external factors, as a smile or a blink of the eye.

The major part of the control is delivered to the gadget more and more often. That’s why, German designer Akbiyik Volkan has developed a shooter that acts according to its own settings. Now taking photos depends on your mood and emotions.

As it is seen on the picture, the gadget is supposed to be worn over your ear, just like a hearing aid. There is a thin lens, which faces the direction you’re looking at, and snaps the shot. (Read the full post about ‘Concept camera - control your emotions’…)

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The upcoming launch of iPhone 3G is creating a major buzz across the Indian Smart Phone communities. Vodafone and Airtel started pre-registering customers for the iPhone 3G last week, and ever since, offices and blogs have been abuzz with various discussions. But the most popular amongst them all is the discussion on price. Many think it will be just a shade over Rs 8,000 (the rupee equivalent of the price in the US, which is $199). That is a great price for the 8GB product, and will certainly have every competitor worried.

The major smart phone hardware market players in India include Nokia, blackberry, Motorola, and QTek.

(Read the full post about ‘iPhone in India: Is it Rs 8,000($199) or more?’…)

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Photos Gallery: Samsung OMNIA Live The Samsung OMNIA is the top of the line touch display phone in Samsung’s arsenal and it *might* come to AT&T soon. We recently played with it and we have to say that it is a really nice phone. Oh sure, it does not have mobile OSX, but believe me, it generated much oohhh and aahhhh when it was presented and passed along for people to try. We got our hands on it and found it to be a great device with tactile feedback and every feature that you might want, including push-email, GPS and 3G+ connectivity. Specifications in the full post and stay tuned for the confirmation of this info. (Read the full post about ‘Samsung OMNIA on AT&T Soon?’…)

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In addition to the new D700 announced today, Nikon has also shown us the new SB-900 flash, which will replace the old flagship model, the SB-800.

So what’s new? The SB-900 is slightly less powerful (a guide number of 34 instead of 38), but has an extended zoom range, able to cover 17-200 mm without a diffuser panel (and 14mm with the panel). You can also choose the shapes of the light; center-weighted, standard and “even” (which gives a flat edge-to-edge light). It will also spin through 180º in either direction in addition to the tilt function.

Nikon says that recycle (recharge) times are quicker, although the SB-900 uses four AA batteries, one less than its predecessor.

(Read the full post about ‘Nikon Announces New Top-End Speedlight’…)

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So the photo of the new Nikon DSLR model that has been circulating on the web the past couple of days is actually true. Nikon has made the D700 official and its product page its up at the Nikon USA site. From the looks of it, the Nikon D700 seems to be a powerful new Digital SLR camera and it has a price to match, retailing for $2,999, it is definitely geared for the prosumer market.

So, what do you get from the price? A 12.1-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor with Nikon’s EXPEED image processing technology, ISO sensitivity of up to 6400, continuous shooting at 5 fps, a 3-inch VGA color monitor with 170-degree wide-angle viewing, two live shooting modes, rugged magnesium alloy body, Dynamic Integrated Dust Reduction System, Nikon’s Scene Recognition System, and much more.

(Read the full post about ‘Nikon makes the 12.1-megapixel full-frame D700 DSLR official’…)

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Gamers around the world have already created over a million creatures using the recently released Spore Creature Creator. That came in 2 versions – a free one with a limited set of creature parts, and a paid-for version that gave you the whole wardrobe.

If you went for the free version you’ll be happy to know the number of parts you can play with is set to expand. HP has released its own version of the creation tool that offers twice as many parts. Anyone buying a HP or Compaq Presario desktop or laptop in September may also find the creation software included with the machine.

It looks like HP have done a nice marketing deal with EA to get this exclusive “extra parts” version of the Spore creation tool.

(Read the full post about ‘HP releases exclusive Spore Creature Creator’…)

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