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Dealers and pimps: Lexus makes F accessories available a la carte

When Lexus unveiled its IS-F sedan at the Detroit auto show this year, it was the first factory-tuned model that we had seen from the Japanese automaker. Today, Lexus unveiled a range of performance accessories to allow owners of standard IS250 and IS350 models to cash in on the "F" factor by pimping their rides with their choice of performance-enhancing components.

IS drivers will be able to choose from a number of dealer options, including upgraded brakes, a carbon-fiber engine cover, a performance air-intake, and F-branded 19-inch forged alloy wheels. According to Lexus reps, the accessories will be … Read more

Lexus getting into the aftermarket business

Now here's a teaser. We got an e-mail from Lexus' PR firm this week informing us that Lexus is going to be debuting a "new performance accessory line" at this year's SEMA show. Like the rest of the automotive world, we are already salivating at the prospect of the IS-F sedan, which will be coming to our shores next January, but the press release's headline suggested that Lexus will offering tuner kits and the like to those who don't have $60,000 to drop on a factory-pimped model.

The trouble is, despite the alluring … Read more

Canon's budget megazoom, the PowerShot SX100

The continuing popularity of its less-expensive but last-generation PowerShot S3 IS and its competitors around the $300 price mark such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 and Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS has likely driven Canon's decision to release a new megazoom option in that price class. The PowerShot SX100 IS, which Canon expects to ship in early October for $299, offers some attractions over the S3 IS, but makes some tradeoffs as well.

S3 IS SX100 IS S5 IS Resolution 6 megapixels 8 megapixels 8 megapixels Lens (35mm equivalent) f/2.7-to-f/3.5, 36mm-to-432mm (12X) f/2.8-4.… Read more

Slide show roundup: Coby MP-C7082, Blue Raven MediaMate 7000, and Sony MEX-BT2500

Today we have some pictures of a bad, bad MP3 player. So bad our editors gave it a 2.3 rating. Poor thing. It looks so sleek and spacey. We also have pics of a gigantic wide-screen PVP with built-in DVR capabilities, as well as a slide show of a good entry-level car stereo. And we have two slide shows on the Canon PowerShot S5 IS. One shows its features and design, and the other presents some image samples. Check them all out below.

Photos: Coby MP-C7082

It is a rare day indeed that we come across a piece of … Read more

Sony DAV-IS10 Micro Home Theater: the littlest HTIB ever

For every person who loves the idea of 6-foot tower speakers at each corner of the room, there are 20 others who prefer their home theater to be heard but not seen. It's for that latter group that the Sony DAV-IS10 Micro Home Theater System was designed. The system crams an entire 5.1 home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) down to Mini-Me proportions: the 2-way 100-watt subwoofer barely outsizes a couple of phone books, the DVD/CD player head unit is a bit larger than a Mac Mini, and the five satellite speakers are--as Sony's press kit helpfully points out--"about the size of a golf ball." Despite the minuscule size, the DAV-IS10 will include the much of the same impressive features found on Sony's trio of Bravia HTIBs: DVD upscaling to 720p and 1080i via the HDMI output, automated speaker setup (which Sony calls "Digital Cinema Auto Calibration," or DCAC), and HDMI-CEC capability (the ability to control compatible TVs via the IS10's remote when connected via HDMI--"Bravia Theater Sync," in Sony speak). The system also features a Digital Media Port, so it can interface with Sony's quartet of proprietary digital audio accessories--though that's less of an enticement, now that we've been underwhelmed by the first two we've reviewed, the TDM-IP1 iPod dock and the TDM-BT1 Bluetooth interface. … Read more

Two new PowerShots sport stabilization

update 5/8/07: Here's a lesson for all of us: Don't try to blog at 1am after doing a 7-hour shift of cat adoptions.

Okay, maybe that's just a lesson for me.

It turns out I made a couple of mistakes in this blog entry. At least my errors were pointed out by polite readers, not the ones who feel compelled to verbally abuse you for the occasional slipup. You know who you are.

In any case, I've updated the text to reflect islandgirl45CV's comments, as well as an email from a reader about … Read more