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Canon 5D Mark III update to unlock high-end HDMI video

Canon plans to release a notable firmware update to its high-end EOS 5D Mark III in April that will let videographers use the SLR to record uncompressed HDMI video.

As the successor to the 5D Mark II that jump-started the video SLR revolution four years ago, the 22-megapixel 5D3 has big shoes to fill. The new update surely will help professionals who need better quality, even if ordinary folks need not care much. Here's what Canon had to say about the news:

When shooting video, HDMI Output makes possible the recording of high-definition uncompressed video data (YCbCr 4:2:… Read more

iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III head to head... in a blender

Just when I thought the iPhone 5 versus Samsung Galaxy S3 torture head-to-head trend couldn't go any further, Blendtec has upped the ante again.… Read more

Use voice commands from the Samsung Galaxy S3 lock screen

Perhaps you're not a fan of using patterns, PINs, or passwords to unlock your smartphone -- either it's too much hassle or you often forget what you picked. With the Samsung Galaxy S3 you can set up voice commands for doing things like unlocking the device, checking missed calls, or starting the camera. All you need to do is tap the power button and say one of your preset commands.

Here's how to set up your lock screen voice commands:

Step 1: Open the Settings menu and then head to the Security and lock screen option.

Step … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S3 price drops $100 Sunday only at Best Buy

And just like that, the Samsung Galaxy S3, which has reigned as king of the Android smartphone hill since the summer, seems to be on its way to being a has-been.

A release from Best Buy indicates that the retailer -- also not quite the big shot it used to be -- will be slashing $100 off the price of the Galaxy S3 for this Sunday, October 14, only.… Read more

Mini Galaxy S3 evidence piling up before Samsung event

Looks like "mini" is going to be in this holiday season. There's more reason to believe today that Samsung is going to be introducing a smaller version of its blockbuster Galaxy S3 Android phone later this week.

Samsung sent out an invite for an October 11 event that says something about small being big or some other clever, oxymoronic and mysterious marketing speech, depending on which translation app you use. … Read more

iPhone 5 so far: One road warrior's two-week test

Two weeks in, I've got a better feel for the iPhone 5, both good and bad.

After upgrading from the iPhone 4S to the 5 two weeks ago yesterday, I've been on the road -- bouncing between the east and west coasts. That's plenty of opportunity to test the iPhone 5's mettle.

The good, the bad, the meh:

Wi-Fi: This was the first gotcha. After arriving at my destination in Philadelphia, a Wi-Fi network I needed to access didn't take -- despite working fine with a host of other devices, including an iPhone 3GS and … Read more

Color me prettier: Galaxy S3 display outdoes iPhone 5's

Galaxy S3 fans have one more thing to lord over iPhone 5 owners: a superior display.

That's according to a study from IHS, which concluded that Samsung's flagship phone had a screen that was both thinner and had a wider color gamut.

The Galaxy S3's display is just 1.1 millimeters thick and offers the full color gamut of the NTSC standard. In comparison, the iPhone 5's display is 1.5 millimeters thick and offers 72 percent of the standard color gamut.

With consumers increasingly concerned with the minute details and specifications of their mobile devices, … Read more

The truth about iPhone 5's first weekend sales

commentary Apple supporters triumphantly cheered on the company after it sold 5 million iPhones over the weekend. Wall Street, however, was disappointed by the figure after seeing the long lines on Friday.

The correct reaction probably lies somewhere in the middle. Perhaps a polite golf clap?

For analysts, it was a classic case of hype feeding into the estimates, which ramped up to as high as 10 million for the first weekend, numbers that even a powerhouse like Apple couldn't hope to achieve.

"We find it unfortunate that some analysts continue to publish irresponsible estimates without taking into … Read more

iPhone 5, Galaxy S3 displays go head to head -- iPhone wins

Apple's iPhone 5 beat Samsung's Galaxy S3 in a display tech "shoot-out" at screen testing firm DisplayMate Technologies.

The iPhone 5's Retina screen is the best smartphone display that DisplayMate has tested to date, according to results the firm posted today.

iPhone 5: "It is a significant improvement over the display in the iPhone 4," said DisplayMate's Raymond Soneira, who cited much lower screen reflections, much higher image contrast and screen readability in high ambient lighting -- the latter, the highest he's ever tested.

DisplayMate -- which gave the display an "A" -- also cited improved color gamut and factory calibration that "delivers very accurate colors and very good picture quality." The Retina iPad is the only thing that beats it in accuracy, according to Soneira.

Galaxy S3: While DisplayMate said the OLED display is "very good" and gave it a "B+," it fell short of the iPhone 5.

The problem, comparatively, as Soneira sees it, is that the Galaxy S III's OLED technology is still on steep development curve. OLED is "a new technology that has not yet been refined to the same degree as LCDs, particularly the IPS LCDs on the iPhones, so it doesn't objectively test or perform as well as the iPhone 5," according to Soneira.

The brightness on the Galaxy S3's display is about half of the iPhone 5 "due to power constraints resulting from the lower OLED power efficiency," among other issues, that makes for poorer image contrast and screen readability in high ambient lighting compared to the iPhone 5, said Soneira.

Other issues he cited are a "lopsided" color gamut and calibration. "For some reason Samsung has not bothered to calibrate the Color Gamut on any of its OLED displays, so they are wildly inaccurate and produce inaccurate and over saturated colors." … Read more