- Author: admin
- Filed under: General
- Date: Mar 20,2010
If you’re a gadget-lover fed up of filling your home with ice white this and brushed aluminum that, then check out this selection of totally stylin’ items offering a design blast from the past.
Retro, vintage, old school or just classic, whatever your interpretation, we’ve dug out ten gadgets that boast classic good looks as well as bang-up-to-date functionality. Read the rest of this entry »
Panasonic announced three HD camcorders back at CES, and now the HDC-HS700 and -TM700 round out the family. With 3MOS sensors that offer high-quality HD image in low-light situations, they won’t be cheap but you’ll get what you pay for.
Back in December, we deemed the HDC-TM300, the predecessor to the TM700, the best camcorder you could buy over $1000. The TM700 retains the 32GB solid state drive, the 3″ touchscreen LCD, the SD card capability, and the full 1080/60p recording HD recording of the TM300 while including some distinct improvements: increased zoom (12x optical and 18x Intelligent Zoom); wider-angle recording with 33mm capability; and more advanced image stabilization.
The HDC-HS700 largely sports the same specs, except it boasts a beefy 240GB HDD and adds a little extra bulk in which to house it.
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Displays
- Date: Feb 9,2010
Finally making the transition from the trade show floor to retail shelving are Panasonic’s famed Viera 3D plasma HDTVs.
The company has just announced it will be launching two 1080p panels on April 23 in Japan, priced at ¥530,000 ($5,932) for the 54-inch P54VT2 and ¥430,000 ($4,813) for its smaller sibling, the P50VT2 (pictured after the break).
For your money, you’ll be getting those deep, deep blacks that ensure a ridiculous 5,000,000:1 native contrast ratio, a plethora of inputs highlighted by four HDMI jacks, and of course a pair of those inescapable active shutter glasses.
Don’t worry though, the screens are capable of working at the necessary 120Hz to ensure smooth frame rates for each eye. Whether the premium paid for 3D is worth it, on the other hand, remains a question best left for each deep-pocketed consumer to make on his own.
- Author: admin
- Filed under: HDTV
- Date: Feb 9,2010
Looks like Panasonic’s push to lead the 3D pack continues unabated. It’s been just over a week since the company announced the opening of its first Blu-ray 3D authoring facility and now word’s coming out of Tokyo’s Yurakucho District that the world will soon be getting not one but four devices, including the DMP-BDT900-K, a pretty straight forward player that features the latest Advanced AVC encoding engine and a generous helping of ports (including two USB, Ethernet, two HDMI outs, one component out, and an SDXC compatible memory card port).
If playback alone doesn’t float your boat (and we don’t blame you), three of the new models include 3D Blu-ray recorders, including the DMR-BWT3000 (2TB), DMR-BWT2000 (1TB), and DMR-BWT1000 (750GB).
All the aforementioned recorders sport 2Digital BS / 110°CS TV tuner, 1 Analog TV tuner, i.Link, SDXC memory card slot, Ethernet, VIERA Link, VOD Services, and BD-Live. Both the 2TB and 1TB models come with a pair of HDMI ports, while 750GB model owners will have to make do with one.
All three are pegged to burn BD-RE discs at 1x, BD-R at 6x, and BD-R LTH, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and DVD-R DL formats. Akihabara is reporting a street date of April 23rd, 2010.
Panasonic’s just announced quite a handful of Lumix compact cameras, featuring both the new Venus Engine VI and Venus Engine HD II that claim to perform quicker with better noise reduction.
What’s more exciting is that these are all compatible with the forthcoming SDXC cards too, but check out their “Happy Mode” — it makes photos “more vivid and true to the color of the scene you memorized.” Yeah, as if we’d want photos that are more, um, real. Anyway, let’s break it down here (clockwise from top left; non-US model numbers in brackets): Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: admin
- Filed under: General
- Date: Sep 5,2009
You know, it’s been nearly forty years since Intel introduced the first microprocessor, and even at this late date the company comprises a whopping eighty percent of the global market for CPUs.
But not so fast! Like an electronics industry remake of The Magnificent Seven (which is, of course, an American remake of The Seven Samurai) NEC and Renesas have teamed up with a stalwart band of companies, including Hitachi, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Panasonic, and Canon, to develop a new CPU that is compatible with Waseda University professor Hironori Kasahara’s “innovative energy-saving software.”
The goal is to create a commercial processor that runs on solar cells, moderates power use according to the amount of data being processed (a current prototype runs on 30% the power of a standard CPU), remains on even when mains power is cut, and, of course, upsets the apple cart over at Intel. Read the rest of this entry »
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 is an upgrade of the popular Panasonic DMC-FZ10. It is a 5 megapixel digital camera with a big 12x Optical Zoom lens and Optical Image Stabilizer.
US Readers buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
DP Review has a good preview of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 and writes – ‘The FZ20 has what we would coin an SLR-like appearance, although in this case the lens portion is fairly oversized compared to the body. The body itself is made from a very tough plastic material, the lens barrel is metal. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, don’t you feel silly. After springing for that 103-incher last year, Panasonic has made a mockery of your spendy home theater with a 150-inch display at CES, and now an upgraded version of the original 103-inch behemoth.
The new TH-103PF10UK upgrades the video processing, anti-reflective coating, “wireless presentation capabilities,” media card reader and adds dual HDMI, but the actual display seems to be the same as last time around.
There’s also a 100,000 hour warranty included, which is only fitting since we’re guessing this new 103-inch won’t be selling for much less than $70 grand. Read the rest of this entry »
