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Sony Announces Smallest HD Camcorder

Sahas Katta — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:03:31 +0000

Yesterday Sony announced the smallest full-HD camcorder for consumers. The device is only 1.3-inches wide, 4.7-inches tall, and 2.5-inches deep but has the capacity to record 1920 x 1080 HD video content and capture 4.0 mega-pixel photos. Instead of recording to a miniDV tape, all content is recorded onto the Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo cards. And Sony even includes a 4GB Mark2 card along with the camcorder so you can start recording immediately. The camcorder also features an innovative 2.7-inch touch panel LCD screen. The camcorder is also loaded with plenty of Sony’s automation technology to recognize faces, focus, and adjust to the environment. Although this may irritate professionals, it will however satisfy the consumers it was intended for. The audio is also captured in 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound which will provide top notch audio quality to complement the HD video.

“Sony was the first to introduce a travel-sized camcorder with 8 mm technology in the 1980’s, and it revolutionized the travel and electronics industries,” said Kelly Davis, director of camcorder marketing at Sony Electronics. “This new model is a great example of our expertise in miniaturization, as well as advanced imaging technologies with features like face detection.”

The compact HDR-TG1 HD camcorder will become available next month (May 2008). The current manufacturer’s suggested retail price is set at $900. When it becomes available it can be purchased on SonyStyle.com. in Sony Retail Stores, or through authorized dealers. Pre-orders begin on April 4th.

Links: SonyStyle.com

Sony’s 07 Cyber-Shot Cameras

Sahas Katta — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:01:37 +0000

Over the past two weeks, Sony has announced their lineup of Cyber-Shot cameras for 2007. Each of the four camera series that were announced includes a unique specialty such as WiFi and internal storage. Unlike the last generation, all the new cyber-shots support displaying photos on full 1080 HDTVs using component cables. In addition they all now use a whole new GUI and support even support editing photos within the camera.

Sony DSC-G1

Sony’s first WiFi-enabled camera allows wirelessly sharing photos with other cameras and computers. The cyber-shot features a high-res 3.5″ LCD display, 6 megapixels, 3x optical / 6x digital zoom, and a new interface. The unit accepts Memory Stick Pro Duo media, but has 2GB of memory built in. (~600 full resolution pix) The G1 will begin to Ship in April 2007 for $600.

Sony DSC-T100 / T20

The T100 features a 5x optical zoom and a 3-inch LCD while the T20 has 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD. Both cameras are 8 megapixels and support outputting the images to HDTVs via component cables. Both cameras have a new “face tracking” technology to allow detecting faces and automatically adjusting multiple settings for a “perfect” image. The T100 will be available this month for $400 and the T20 in April for $330.

Sony DSC-W200 / W90 / W80

The W200 has a whopping 12.1 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom, and 2.5 LCD display while remaining under an inch thick. Both the W90 and W80 have the same features except they are 8 and 7.2 megapixels, respectively. All 3 support 1080p HDTV output, face tracking, and auto focus. The “alpha” SLR technology allows photos to be taken in 1sec intervals. The W90/W80 are available now for $300/$250. The W200 will be available in May for $400.

Pre-order: DSC-G1 | DSC-T100 | DSC-W200

8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo

Sahas Katta — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 04:58:06 +0000

Two weeks ago at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Sony announced the long awaited 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. The card weighs less than two grams and is only 0.79 inches wide and 1.22-inches long. The Pro Duo card will work with plenty of Sony’s hardware media products such as the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Mylo, Sony Ericsson phones, and Cyber-shot digital cameras. Although this is good news for many, the current price isn’t. According to Sony, the 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo will be on store shelves next month (Feburary ‘07) for a retail price of $300!

Unless you absolutely want this much storage, we don’t reccomend wasting this much money on it since it costs about $100 more than the PSP itself. Prices should drop as soon as third-party companies such as Sandisk begin to manufacture these cards, however this may a while. As for now, prices on smaller capacities are getting quite cheap. You can now get a 1GB card for as low as $25 and a 2GB card for about $55.

P.S. At least the price is much lower than it originally was. During CES 2006 when the 4GB model was originaly released, the expected cost of the 8GB model was around $800!

Links: SonyStyle.com | Press Release

Apple Introduces The “Macbook”

Sahas Katta — Wed, 17 May 2006 14:35:50 +0000

Today, 05/16/06, Apple announced the second line of Intel Core Processor based laptops. The new “MacBook” line is more affordable than the MacBook Pros which were released in January. Although the MacBooks are cheaper and more compact, the new line now lacks many features and has less power than the MacBook Pros. The MacBooks have a 13″ widescreen display and are available in 1.83/2.0 GHz models and comes in two colors, black and white. (The MacBook is a replacment to the iBook)

The new MacBooks have many of the features the MacBook Pros had such as the built-in iSight camera, Front Row media center, Mag Safe power adaptor, FireWire, WiFi 802.11g, and Bluetooth. The white model is available in 1.83GHz for $1,099 and 2.0GHz for $1,299. The slightly higher-end black MacBook also has 2.0GHz processor, but costs $1,499 because of an extra 20GB of storage. MacBooks are customizable and are available 512MB-2GB RAM, 60-120GB HDD, 4x-8x DVDÂ±RW Drive, and a 64MB Intel Video Card. If you do plan to order one you are in luck, Apple has stated that orders placed today will be delivered by the end of the week.

Links: Apple MacBook | MacBook Tech Specs
More: Apple Store | Comparision Chart | MacBook Pro
Related: 17″ MacBook Pro | Boot Camp

Apple – 17″ MacBook Pro

Sahas Katta — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 19:23:51 +0000

Today, 04.24.06, Apple unveiled a new 17″ MacBook Pro, which is about 5x faster than the original 15″ model. The new MacBook Pro has a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor, a whopping 1680×1050 display, 1GB RAM, 8x Dual-Layer SuperDrive, ATI Mobility Radeon 256MB, and a 120GB Hard Drive. This new laptop will run you about $2,799, but the specs speak for themselves. Although many were hoping for a smaller and cheaper MacBook Pro, a larger and more expensive one was released. However, this may be popular for those that wish to have a powerful portable machine that can now run both Mac OS X and Windows XP. Overall this new addition is an exact replica of the previous 15″ models, which still exist, except this model has a bigger/brighter display and better hardware specs. The 17″ MacBook Pro still has all standard MacBook Pro features such as the iSight Cam, MagSafe Power, Front Row Remote, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. If you do wish to purchase it, Apple will begin shipping them next week.

4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo

Sahil Nayak — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 23:42:59 +0000

Sony is displaying 4GB and 8GB models of the Memory Stick Pro Duo cards in the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. These cards will work with most Sony products, including the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which will enable the unit to truly become a portable media player. They are expected to be released later this year, but no specific date is set yet. When this is released the the PSP will be able to hold just as much content as the iPod Nano. The only disadvantage with this is the price. The 1GB card currently costs around $75 and 2GB card cost about $150-200. The 4GB card is expected to cost around $400 when it is first released and to drop later on. And finaly the 8GB card might cost $800! Also the PSP is not the only type of device that can utilize this. Many Sony HI-RES cameras (Sony DSC-R1 10.3 Megapixels) support this so that there will be plently of storage space, since such large photos may take up over 10MB per shot. Sony Ericsson Phones that play Mp3s will also support these cards making them more powerfull than any iTunes Moto ROKR phones.

Link: Memory Stick Info (CES 2006 Products) | Sony Home