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Fujifilm makes three midseason camera replacements

Like failed sitcoms canceled halfway through a season, Fujifilm is giving the ax to three of its cameras from the first half of 2010. Fujifilm is replacing the FinePix Z700EXR, S1800, and JX250 that it announced February 1 with the Z800EXR, S2800HD, and JX280, respectively. I didn't review the three outgoing models, so I can't say if there was anything necessarily wrong with them. It seems Fujifilm just wanted to retool the models with some new features.

For example, the Z800EXR has a new version of the company's 12-megapixel Super CCD EXR sensor that has a high-speed hybrid autofocus system. Using both Contrast AF and Phase Detection AF, the camera is able to measure the amount of light or contrast in the scene and pick the AF system that will focus the fastest. Also added is improved image stabilization so there's less need to use higher ISOs when using the 5x zoom lens or in low-light conditions. Now it can take panorama shots at 180, 240, or 360 degrees with a sweep of the camera. It retains the prior versions full-metal body and 460K-pixel, 3.5-inch touch screen, too. The FinePix Z800EXR will be available in late August 2010 at a retail price of $229.95, which is really cheap.… Read more

Mimo USB touch-screen monitor now 10 inches

If your laptop display is too small for you, check out the latest USB monitor from Mimo. While its previous offering increased your screen real estate by 7 inches, the latest iMo Mini-Monster Touch comes with a 10.1-inch touch screen that requires only a USB cable to work.

Unlike conventional monitors, Mimo displays can be powered with a single USB connection that also streams video data. It's able to do this as the company has decreased the power consumption of this device to a low enough point that it fits within the power output of a standard USB … Read more

Sony Cyber-shots go 3D

Regardless of your feelings about 3D, there's really no stopping the onslaught of products now. Hence we have Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-TX9 and DSC-WX5 that offer the ability to shoot 3D panorama photos.

The TX9 replaces the TX7, which is barely 6 months old. It has the same body, touch-screen LCD, and lens as that camera, but its backside-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor gets a resolution bump from 10 to 12 megapixels. The WX5 replaces 2009's WX1 and again is built essentially the same as its predecessor, but with the higher-resolution sensor. However, along with the increased megapixels come important shooting feature differences.

First, there's that 3D stuff. In addition to the Intelligent Sweep Panorama found on Sony's earlier Exmor R-based models, these have a 3D Sweep Panorama. Press the shutter release, sweep the camera vertically or horizontally, and the camera captures left and right images and then stitches them together. You then connect the camera by HDMI to your 3D-ready HDTV, pop on your glasses, and enjoy. The results are good, especially considering how easy it is to create them and that they're single-lens cameras as opposed to dual-lens cameras like Fujifilm's Real 3D W1.

The 3D fun doesn't stop there, though. Both cameras have a Sweep Multi Angle option that captures a series of shots at different angles and then combines them into one shot. Tilting the camera left and right plays through the photos, creating a lenticular lens effect. The result is very similar to what you can do with any camera and Start 3D, but these can only be viewed on the camera. And going by what was said at the demo Sony gave us, it seems like it's mostly just a gimmick to sell 3D cameras at retail stores to people who don't own 3D HDTVs. … Read more

Five ways iOS could make its way into Macs

Will iPhones, iPads, and other iOS devices usurp the venerable Mac, as some fear? Will the more versatile, powerful and universally compatible Mac prevail? Why must we fight, people? Maybe we can have it both ways.

We've wondered when (and how) Apple's iOS would evolve to challenge OS X. An absence of Mac focus at this year's WWDC has had Mac users panicking slightly.

In fact, it seems highly likely that Apple's iOS and OS X are bound to merge in some fascinating and (hopefully) useful ways.

How so? Well, let us brainstorm for you. We … Read more

PixelQi display, now with touch screen

The PixelQi screen is one of the most exciting developments in display technology since LED-backlit panels. To be clear, it is not simply an e-ink screen with backlights. Instead, the new panels are based on the same conventional liquid crystal display used by current laptops and monitors.

The main difference is that PixelQi models have an outdoor-readable mode that turns the backlight off. This not only reduces power consumption, the fast LCD refresh rate also allows for video playback, unlike e-ink devices.

Despite not having a single retail model sporting its display yet, at Computex 2010, the San Bruno, Calif.… Read more

Panasonic FX75 is wide, bright, extra Intelligent

It's always nice when the highlight of a touch-screen camera isn't the LCD. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX75, for example, has a 3-inch touch-screen LCD, but the main attraction is really the lens: a compact ultrawide-angle 24-120mm-equivalent lens with a maximum aperture of f2.2 and a 5x zoom. The 14-megapixel ultracompact features the company's Sonic Speed AF system, too, for fast focusing and low shutter lag.

Unlike some previous FX models, this one doesn't appear to have semimanual or manual shooting modes; it's got a whole lot of automatic and scene modes. Fortunately, Panasonic's … Read more

You've got the touch

Formerly available to consumers only when their touch screen computers came with it preinstalled, the Windows 7 Touch Pack bundles six free games and apps into one download. If you have a touch-screen computer but you haven't been quite sure of what it's capable of, this free pack should help point you in the right direction.

The programs are all from Microsoft Surface: Surface Globe will look familiar to fans of Google Maps and Google Earth. You can zoom in and out by double-tapping or using one hand, or two, toggle between satellite and road view, tilt the … Read more

TrueTouch adds hover feature to touch screens

Can you still call a touch screen a touch screen if you don't have to physically touch the panel to register a command? Apparently, yes. Cypress' new hover-detection feature for capacitive touch screens lets you do exactly that. In other words, you don't actually need to touch the display to zoom in on a Web page or enlarge certain points of interest on a map. As your finger moves closer to the screen, the corresponding onscreen bubble (magnifying glass of sort) grows bigger.

This whole proximity sensor concept looks eerily similar to what Apple patented recently. Then again, … Read more

iPad has 'changed' 99-year-old woman's life

Apple's iPad has been enjoying some free advertising as of late. Reports broke last week that the prime minister of Norway was using the tablet to govern from an airport. And now, a story has surfaced claiming a 99-year-old Portland, Ore., area woman is using the iPad to overcome medical woes.

According to a report in The Oregonian, Virginia Campbell, of Lake Oswego, Ore., suffers from glaucoma, making it extremely difficult to engage in her favorite pastimes: reading and writing.

After hearing about the iPad, Campbell, an alumnus of Portland's Reed College, decided that the tablet could be … Read more