Sony announces the development of a full frame 24.81 Effective Mega pixel CMOS sensor today at Japan. The newly developed CMOS image sensor uses Sony’s Column-Parallel A/D Conversion to reduce image degradation, noise and increase dynamic range with a high speed conversion rate of 6.3 fps. This posts quite a challenge to Canon’s 21.1 MP Full frame sensor.
If you are a digital photographer or graphic designer, you probably seen the demo of Contact_Aware Image Sizing video posted on the web during the Siggraph 2007. The presentation wowed me, they are using a unique image resizing algorithm known as ‘seam carving’ to calculate then alter the least important pixels of an image to reduce geometric distortion. The Content Aware, aka Liquid Resize or Retarget was originally developed by a husband-wife team of Ramin Sabet and Irmgard Sabet-Wasinger from Vienna, Austria. It was based on the algorithm co-invented by Shai Avidan and Ariel Shamir from Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs. The ground-taking technology is now officially acquitted by onOne Software, an imaging software company that also brought you variety of Photoshop Plug-ins.
Transcend, one of the fastest growing memory card and digital media company announced a new addition with bigger capacity to their line of 133x CompactFlash family. The latest 32GB 133x CompactFlash operates in both IDE PIO mode 6 and Ultra DMA mode 4 with capability to produce read/write speeds up to 45MB/16MB per second. The RoHS compliant CompactFlash features built-in ECC (Error Correction Code) and comes with a lifetime warranty. Transcend has not disclosed the card’s price and availability at this point.
[via press release]
Cor blimey, there’re a whole load of new Nokia phones about to sashay their way off the electronic catwalk and into your nearest carrier’s cell-tower range. Some of them are curious and new, blinking like fresh kittens in the harsh Summer sun, while others are updates of more mature phones, street-wise and cunning, but with a hint of innocence around the eyes.
No prizes for guessing whose design portfolio Sony have been sneaking peeks into, those minxes. But then there’s no denying that their VAIO N10 series is a good looking machine. With an A4-footprint and Sony’s delicious 15.4″ X-black screen (which is guaranteed to bring all the boys to the yard), a minimum of 512mb of memory and at least an 80gb hard drive, an Intel Core Duo processor finds just about every modern tick box on the spec sheet checked.
REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 14, 2006 — Marking the next big milestone for its Connected Entertainment vision, Microsoft Corp. today unveiled details of the first products to be released under its Zune™ brand. Designed around the principles of sharing, discovery and community, Zune will create new ways for consumers to connect and share entertainment experiences. The Zune experience centers around connection — connection to your library, connection to friends, connection to community and connection to other devices.
“The digital music entertainment revolution is just beginning,” said J Allard, vice president, design and development, at Microsoft, who is leading the charge for building the family of Zune products. “With Zune, we are not simply delivering a portable device, we are introducing a new platform that helps bring artists closer to their audiences and helps people find new music and develop new social connections.”
Continued »
12 September, 2006 Los Angeles, USA — i-mate’ , the specialist in Microsoft Windows Mobile powered devices and software applications, today announced it has launched two new devices for distribution in the U.S., Latin America and Canada. The announcement was made at CTIA Wireless IT 2006, a leading wireless industry tradeshow being held in Los Angeles Sept. 12-14.
The i-mate JAQ has everything the busy manager needs to do business on the move in a no-frills heavy-duty device. The i-mate’ JAQ is a quad-band device that operates on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. The device features a full QWERTY keyboard, 128 MB ROM/64MB RAM, 64k 2.8” color LCD screen, MiniSD memory card expansion, integrated antenna, Bluetooth® compatibility.
The i-mate SPL is a great-looking device that will attract buyers that want a stylish device plus the benefits of the Windows Mobile® platform. For business or pleasure, it’s got what it takes for users who want the functionality and features of an affordable Windows Mobile powered device. The i-mate’ SPL is a GSM/GPRS tri-band device featuring 128MB ROM/64MB RAM, 65k 2.2” color LCD screen, MiniSD memory card expansion, integrated antenna and Bluetooth® compatibility.
Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced it will enable more customers to benefit from Sprint Mobile Broadband services with the expansion of its EV-DO Revision A-capable device portfolio, with two new mobile broadband cards by the end of the year. Sprint, which operates the nation’s largest wireless broadband network covering 158 million people, currently offers one other EV-DO Rev. A-capable device — the Sprint Mobile Broadband Card by Novatel Wireless (S720).
All three cards operate on the current Sprint Power Vision(SM) Network with average download speeds of 400-700 Kpbs. These cards will also provide even faster average download speeds of 450 – 850 kbps and broadband upload speeds of 300 kbps – 400 kbps in coverage areas expected to be upgraded starting later this year. These data rates will provide customers with remote access to richer applications and services such as high-speed video telephony, video messaging, music-on-demand and the ability to upload large files. Sprint expects to start its rollout of the upgraded network (known as EV-DO Rev. A) during 4Q 2006 and will reach more than 40 million people by the end of the year.
Continued »
Sept. 12, 2006 Logitech (SWX:LOGN)(NASDAQ:LOGI) has reinvented the Harmony(R) remote control. Adding a touch of luxury to its award-winning family of Harmony advanced universal remote controls, the company unveiled its new flagship Harmony 1000 remote, which includes a striking, color touch-sensitive screen. While it looks as expensive as traditional high-end, custom-installed remotes, the Harmony 1000 remote is more affordable, is easier for consumers to set up, and sets a new standard for ease of use.
“The Harmony 1000 remote delivers affordable luxury — it simplifies control of today’s complicated home-entertainment systems at a fraction of the price of traditional custom-installed remotes, and it’s luxurious in its sophisticated design, which adds an element of prestige to any living room,” said Bryan McLeod, vice president of Logitech’s remote control products. “The Harmony 1000 remote is the interface that people crave for their home-entertainment system — it’s sleek, it’s easy to use with its one-touch activity based control, and it comes without a prohibitive price.”
Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the new BlackBerry® 8703e operating on Verizon Wireless’ Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network. Available to Verizon Wireless customers beginning Sunday, September 17, the BlackBerry 8703e integrates advanced device hardware, software and network technologies in a powerful handset with a full 35-key QWERTY keyboard.
SlashGear Japan
