Nikon Intros Three new Coolpix Digital Cameras

Nikon on Thursday introduced three new models to its Coolpix digital camera line. The P80 will be released in April for $399.95. The S52 and S52c are coming in May for $249.95 and $299.95, respectively.

The P80 is a 10.1 megapixel model featuring an 18x optical zoom lens that offers a 27 – 486mm focal length (35mm equivalent). It also features optical vibration reduction. Other features include an all-new Sports Continuous Mode, which lets you shoot up to 30 consecutive pictures at four, six or 13 frames per second (depending on resolution). It has light sensitivity up to ISO 6400 and a 2.7-inch LCD monitor with anti-reflective coating and 230,000 pixel resolution.

The S52 and S52c both sport 9.0 megapixel sensors, 3x 38-114mm zoom lenses, optical vibration reduction and ISO 3200 sensitivity. They also have 3.0 inch LCD displays and use Nikon’s “Expeed” image processing, which the company claims reduces noise in images.

The S52c can send images through e-mail using a built-in Wi-Fi connection and supports Nikon’s “My Picturetown” online service and Flickr. The S52 uses USB 2.0 to connect to a host Mac or PC, instead. The S52 will be available in red or black; the S52c will come in black only.

Yahoo Adds Video to Flickr

Yahoo has added support for video to its photo sharing site Flickr.

Yahoo wants users to start sharing videos, shot by still cameras, camcorders and camera phones, as well as photos, and Video on Flickr provides an easy solution for consumers, according to the company.

Video can be up to 90 seconds long, and no more than 150M bytes in size. To upload video you have to be a Flickr Pro user, but everyone can watch.

Users can upload videos directly from mobile phones, and integrate videos and photos into a stream.

There is also an API for third-party developers to create programs or services using authorized video submitted to Flickr.

Whether it will be able to compete with Youtube remains to be seen, but Yahoo thinks there is a huge untapped market of which it can take advantage.

More than 40 percent of consumers between 18 and 44 are capturing personal video clips with their digital cameras, but they are not taking advantage of Web sites to effectively share their videos.

Fifty-five percent of respondents to a survey commissioned by Yahoo said they merely play back video clips for their friends on their camera device or PC, and 20 percent don’t share these clips at all.

Canon Rolls Out a Portfolio of Next Generation Products

Canon India announced the launch of 23 next generation digital camera and camcorder products of its camera division. The launch also introduced technologies in sync with the youth trends and lifestyle of today.

At the launch Canon unveiled products from Canon’s Imaging Communication Products division which included 8 Digital Compact Cameras, 12 Digital Video Camcorders, 1 Digital SLR and 2 Selphy printers.

The first revolutionary technology introduced is the “Flash Memory” in the new Canon HF10 dual flash camcorder. This technology offers dual advantage to the customer and makes it possible to reduce the size of device and make it a compact stylish package. Battery life is extended with the use of flash memory, as less power is required to operate the camcorder as compared to other storage media types.

The camcorders have other interesting features like quick start to offer ease and convenience to the customers. With the user-friendly and compact HF series camcorders, users can enjoy upto 6 hours of high-quality HD video footage (using Long Play mode)  and a 16GB internal flash memory is offered by HF10. Flash memory storage allows HF10 to be designed in a compact and lightweight form factor that fits comfortably in the user’s hands. Flash memory also offers the advantages of fast read and write speeds for storing video recordings.

With the launch of the dual flash camcorder, Canon claims it to be the only company offering all formats of video camera offering including High definition, Cassette, DVD and now flash with HF10. The range also includes features of advanced zoom which is the highest in the industry at 45x in a compact body.

The camcorders also come with additional features like Instant Focus, Video light , a new user interface and search function in the review mode and are other features which have been introduced. Canon Digital camcorders currently contribute 10% to the camera division turnover and this new launch is expected to increase this contribution to 20% by Dec 2008.

Canon also unveiled their new digital compact camera products with the  latest technology on face select and track, motion detection  and AF ”point” zoom. In face select and track, the main subject always stays within the frame and the camera tracks the subject. In Motion Detection, the camera ensures clear pictures even if the subject moves.
This is achieved due to automatic adjustment of setting. AF Point Zoom technology enables the user to review one main subject within a wide frame pre and post shooting. The new launch includes Selphy printers with more lifestyle look with curvature which offer more options for creative printing.

The digital camera now comes in new body colours, robe design axiz and different curves and shapes. In the D-SLR portfolio, there is a new feature of ‘live view’ alongwith higher megapixel. The EOS 450 D features Canon’s EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Live View Function, a powerful DIGIC III Image Processor, plus a new 12.2 megapixel CMOS Sensor and is available in a kit with the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens with Optical Image Stabilizer.

Nokia Readies iPhone Response

Nokia remains at work on its answer to the Apple iPhone, codenamed “Tube,” a company official said on Monday.

Shown in a slide at the Evans Data Developer Relations Conference in Redwood City, California, Tube looks similar to the popular iPhone. The Nokia device showed graphical displays, such as a promotion for the movie Shrek the Third. Other capabilities will be featured, such as the ability to upload photos.

“It’s our first touch device,” said Tom Libretto, vice president of Forum Nokia. Interfacing with the system is done via touch similar to the iPhone. He said the company has not published the planned date of shipment for Tube.

Nokia believes it can compete with iPhone, and during his presentation, Libretto compared volume shipments of iPhone to Nokia’s shipments of phones. Since the launch of iPhone in June, Apple has shipped 5 million to 6 million of the devices, paling in comparison to Nokia’s device shipments, Libretto said. “We’ve done that [volume] since we’ve had dinner on Friday,” he said.

(Apple afterward said 4 million iPhones had shipped worldwide by January.)

The Tube will support Java, something Apple has been reluctant to do with iPhone.

LG Teases Latest ‘Black Label’ Cell Phone Ahead of Launch

LG has begun teasing the upcoming launch of the third cell phone in its style-focused “Black Label” family of handsets.

The phone, the name of which wasn’t announced, will follow on from LG’s popular Chocolate and Shine handsets that launched in 2006 and 2007.

It will be officially unveiled and named at a product launch in London on April 24, but ahead of that LG released three images of the new phone.

It’s a slider-type handset with a shiny face, three shortcut buttons for answering a call, hanging up on a call and a cancel button sit below the shiny face and the upper part of the phone’s body is covered in what appears to be a faux leather plastic. Previous LG phones have touch-sensitive keys underneath the shiny cover and the new phone appears to have enough room for such a keypad but it’s impossible to tell from the images if there is indeed one.

The only technical detail available was the inclusion of a 5-megapixel camera.

The phone will first be available in Europe before being launched in other regions around the world, said LG.

Intel Gives Its Classmate PC a Makeover

Intel unveiled an updated version of its Classmate PC laptop at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Shanghai, but changes made to the device are largely cosmetic–at least for now.

The new Classmate PC has a sleeker look than its predecessor, and should appeal to a broader range of users. It also offers the option of a 9-inch screen instead of a 7-inch screen, and can have a built-in video camera.

However, most of the laptop’s internal components remain largely unchanged from the original Classmate PC. The new laptop also retains the soft plastic cover that does double-duty as a carrying handle.

Pictures of the updated Classmate PC slipped out ahead of IDF when a Malaysian PC maker unveiled the device at an event, and pictures appeared online last week. A product sheet for the new laptop was also leaked from a U.S. PC maker, giving observer a first glimpse of the machine.

Like its predecessor, the latest Classmate PC runs Linux or Windows XP and can include specialized software for schools.

One of the most useful improvements to the new Classmate PC design is the location of its memory-card slot. In the first version, this was located behind the laptop hinge and was hidden by the plastic cover.

This slot was moved to the right side of the chassis in the new version, where it remains protected from dust by a rubber cover but is more easily accessible.

The keyboard remains the same size on the new Classmate PC, and most adults will likely find the keys a bit cramped for extended typing. But Intel has added color to the function keys to make them stand out more. In addition, the trackpad is larger, making it easier to use for adult-sized fingers.

Both Classmate PC versions are based on the 900MHz Celeron M processor and available with either hard drives or solid-state drives, which use flash memory chips instead of a spinning magnetic platter. The solid-state drives are available in 1GB and 2GB capacities.

Sharp Launches Mobile Phone for Bloggers

Sharp has launched a new mobile phone in Japan that features a small QWERTY keyboard and a tool allowing users to easily update their blogs.

The Sharp 922SH went on sale on Thursday and has a 3.5-inch display that folds out to the side so the phone can be used more like a miniature laptop than a traditional clamshell phone. The widescreen VGA display has a resolution of 854 pixel by 480 pixels.

The phone has an RSS reader and a PC-style web browser in addition to one more adapted to mobile use.

There’s a three-row QWERTY keyboard above which sit hot keys for functions such as digital mobile TV and the camera. There are also buttons for phone functions, navigation keys and a shortcut key to Yahoo Mobile, the mobile internet service offered by Softbank, which is the largest shareholder in Yahoo Japan.

The phone works on the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) used in Japan and the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) networks found elsewhere. Its features include Bluetooth and a 2MP main camera and 110,000-pixel sub-camera for videoconferencing. It accepts Micro SD memory cards.

The phone measures 56mm by 116mm by 17mm and weighs 132g. Battery life is 250 minutes of talk time on WCDMA and 270 minutes on GSM with standby time at 340 hours and 310 hours respectively, said Sharp. TV viewing time is 4.5 hours.

The phone is locked to the Softbank network in Japan and there are no plans at present to launch it overseas.

Multi-Touch Trackpad for Asustek’s New Eee PC

The next generation Eee PC laptop by Asustek Computer will come with a multi-touch trackpad in addition to the larger screen, better Webcam and increased data storage, a company representative said Thursday.

The Eee PC 900 boasts an 8.9-inch screen, larger than the 7-inch display on the original Eee PC 701 model, along with a 1.3 MP camera and 12GB solid-state disk drive (SSD). The Webcam on the Eee PC 701 is only 0.3MP and the largest SSD is 8GB.

The Eee PC 900’s oversized touchpad works similar to the Macbook Air. Using two fingers, a person can zoom in and out of documents and photos, scroll up and down, and more, an Asustek representative said.

A picture of the Eee PC 900 can be found on the Federal Communications Commission’s Web site, where details were submitted for approval by the U.S. government regulator.

A few things the Eee PC 900 will not have include a touchscreen and GPS (global positioning system), the Asustek representative said, despite some news reports to the contrary.

The Eee PC 900 will come pre-loaded with either Microsoft Windows XP or Linux OSs, the representative said.

The first devices will likely hit some markets by June this year. Pricing will vary by country, but in Europe, the new Eee PC will cost around $626.

Panasonic Unviels Touchscreen Camera

Panasonic will soon begin selling a compact digital still camera that makes easy work of sometimes complicated features thanks to a touchscreen display.

The Lumix DMC-FX500, which was unveiled Wednesday at the Photo Imaging Expo in Tokyo, allows users to keep a focus lock on objects in the shot by just selecting the object with a finger on the 3-inch screen. As the object moves about inside the frame the camera keeps track of it and keeps it in focus.

The feature is especially useful when taking shots of subjects that are moving or won’t keep still, like kids or pets, and the use of the touchscreen makes it simple for users with even a low level of photographic skill to master.

In a demo here at the show the camera managed to track successfully several objects although was sometimes confused when an object moved in front of a background that was the same color or when two similar objects came close together in the shot.

A second function tied into the touch panel will put the camera into the most appropriate mode depending on the subject selected. For example, if the user selects a face on the screen the camera recognizes it’s a person and switches to portrait mode while if a nearby object is selected it automatically jumps to macro mode if needed.

In manual mode adjustments to the aperture and shutter settings by moving sliders on the screen and in playback mode a finger is all that’s needed to zoom in or out on an image.

The camera, which becomes the flagship model in Panasonic’s Lumix FX range, has a 25mm wide-angle lens, 5X optical zoom and resolution of 10 megapixels. Other features include a 1280 x 720p video mode and a 16:9 still image mode that’s intended for pictures viewed on a widescreen TV.

It will go on sale first in Japan, where it will debut on April 12. It will hit the U.S. market in May and cost about $400.