Hands-on review: Sony NEX-F3
At first glance, the Sony NEX-F3 looks very similar to the Sony NEX-C3 that it replaces, but we discovered there are a few key differences when we used a pre-production sample.
At 16.1 million, the new compact system camera (CSC)'s effective pixel count, for example, is near identical to the Sony NEX-C3's 16.2 million pixels, but we are told that the sensor is newly designed to match perfectly with the third generation Bionz processing engine borrowed from the Sony Alpha 77.
This processor enables faster response times so the Sony NEX-F3 can shoot continuously at up to 5.5fps (in Speed Priority mode). It also enables better noise control, and this has given Sony the confidence to push the Sony NEX-F3's maximum sensitivity setting to ISO 16,000.
Screen
Perhaps the most noticeable change since the Sony NEX-C3 is the extra flexibility of the Sony NEX-F3's LCD screen, which can now flip through 180 degrees to make it easier to shoot self-portraits.
This is further enhanced by the new Self-Portrait mode, which uses face detection to identify the correct focus point and fires the shutter three seconds after the shutter release has been depressed. Alternatively, there's the option to use Smile Shutter mode, which fires the shutter when the subject smiles.
The 921,600 dot screen is clear and reflections seems well controlled, making it easy to use.
We were only able to use the pre-production sample of the Sony NEX-F3 indoors, but since we are told it uses the same screen as the NEX-C3, we can fairly safely assume until we test it fully that it also provides a clear view in bright conditions.
Auto Portrait Framing
Sony is keen to help inexperienced photographers take better images, and like the Sony Alpha a37 and Sony Alpha a57, the Sony NEX-F3 features Sony's Auto Portrait Framing technology.
When activated via the menu, this identifies faces within the scene and crops around them automatically to create a better composition. We've played with this a few times now and it works pretty well, but just in case you prefer the original composition, the camera records both it and the cropped version.
Novices will also appreciate Sony's Superior Auto mode, which automatically selects camera settings to suit the scene - we look forward to testing it to see how the new Hand-Held Twilight, Auto HDR, Slow Sync and Daylight Sync options perform.
Video
While the Sony NEX-C3 can record 720p video, the Sony NEX-F3 can shoot Full HD 1080p footage at 50i/25p in AVCHD format with full-time autofocusing.
Sony's Clear Image Zoom technology, which is a form of digital zooming, is particularly useful for those using the Sony NEX-F3 to shoot video, since it enables quieter, smoother zooming of up to 2x without loss of image quality.
The technology is also available for stills shooting, but there is interpolation to maintain image size.
Flash
Sony supplied a small external flash unit with the NEX-C3, but feedback indicated that photographers would rather see this built-in, so the Sony NEX-F3 has a small pop-up flash.
With a guide number of just 6m at ISO 100, this isn't the most powerful unit around, but it will prove useful at night-time parties and social events, as well as for providing fill-in light when shooting outside during the day.
While the flash can be set to pop up automatically when required, it can also be triggered manually.
Build and handling
Like the Sony NEX-C3, the Sony NEX-F3 is small and somewhat dwarfed by the standard 18-55mm zoom lens, but the grip has been enhanced to make the camera feel safer in your hand.
Although it is constructed from engineered plastic, the Sony NEX-F3 feels well made. Its minimalist design also gives it an attractive, high-quality appearance.
Like on the Sony NEX-C3, there are few direct controls on the Sony NEX-F3 and adjustments are made via onscreen menus that are quick and easy to understand and navigate.
Touchscreens are becoming increasingly popular, and those who pick up the Sony NEX-F3 for the first time could be forgiven for pressing the screen icons in an attempt to adjust the camera settings. However, the screen is not touch-sensitive, and settings are adjusted using the controls on the back of the camera.
Early verdict
The Sony NEX-F3 is priced at £530 in the UK and $599 in the US, the same as the Sony Alpha 37.
We weren't able to examine any of the images that we shot with the Sony NEX-F3 pre-production sample on a computer, so we will have to reserve judgment about its image quality until we get a full production sample in for testing.
However, we know that it uses Sony's third generation Bionz engine, and this has been tried and tested - not least in the excellent Sony Alpha 77.
In addition, Sony hasn't been tempted to push the pixel count beyond the NEX-C3's (in fact it is 0.1 million lower) and this should bode well for noise control.
Naturally we want to use the Sony NEX-F3 in a range of conditions before we reach a verdict, but its AF system proved very capable, latching onto subjects quickly, and the auto white balance setting delivered results that look decent on the camera screen. So on balance, the Sony NEX-F3 looks like a promising camera for those looking for a step-up from a compact model.
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Hands-on review: Sony Alpha 37
Introduction
Sony's Alpha 37 is the latest camera to sit in the company's entry-level DSLT lineup.DSLT (or Single Lens Translucent) cameras incorporate Translucent Mirror Technology, a semi-transparent mirror that enables light to be split between the CMOS sensor and the separate AF sensor.
The benefits of this are speedy, full-time phase-detection autofocus and fast continuous shooting rates.
Having been around for a little while, Sony's concept is quite well bedded-in now and is beginning to have an impact on consumers looking to purchase their first interchangeable lens camera.
A number of improvements have been made to the Sony a37, when comparing with its Sony Alpha 35 predecessor.
First up is the newly designed 16.1 million pixel sensor, which now combines with the latest Bionz processor to deliver ISO 100-16,000 sensitivity capability and Full HD video recording.
A 15-point AF system includes three cross sensors, with enhanced object tracking and Quick AF modes.
A tiltable screen is now available on the Sony Alpha 37, alongside the 100 per cent field of view optical viewfinder.
Auto portrait framing, a feature first debuted in the Sony a57, is now included in the entry-level range. This works by cropping an image in post-production to give what the camera considers to be a better composition. The original image is also saved, should you wish to make your own crop.
Clear Zoom technology is also included. This is a form of digital zoom, but Sony promises that By Pixel Resolution technology keeps image quality at a premium and maintains image size.
In terms of aesthetic changes, there is little to talk about - although minor ergonomic changes see a slightly redesigned handgrip and repositioning of some key buttons.
In live view mode Sony's DSLT cameras use phase-detection autofocus, as opposed to contrast detection, which Sony says gives Alpha cameras more accurate and precise continuous autofocusing.
Coupled with this, the Sony a37 is also able to offer up to 7fps shooting in high speed shooting mode.
Build quality and handling
There's little aesthetically different about the Sony a37 when it is compared to its predecessor, aside from the fact that it is slightly lighter.It features a plastic outer shell with a rubberised coating, which feels as if it can withstand some knocks and scrapes.
A large handgrip is provided for comfortable purchase and on the whole the camera feels well-balanced. This is something that Sony says has been slightly altered, but the change is so minimal that we were unable to really notice much of a difference.
The controls and layout of the menus and buttons remain largely the same, again with some very slight changes. Anybody familiar with any of the cameras in Sony's other ranges will feel comfortable working with this.
Since this is a DSLT, it uses an electronic, rather than optical, viewfinder. There is a button to switch between the LCD and viewfinder, although there's also an automatic detector for sensing when the camera has been lifted to the eye. This switches off the rear LCD screen and switches to the EVF so it's ready for action when you need it.
The EVF itself offers a handy 100 per cent field of view, and is clear and bright. It won't be favoured by sticklers for optical viewfinders, but it does a pretty good job.
As on the Sony Alpha 33, the Sony Alpha 37's top panel is home to a mode dial, which is stacked with an array of automatic and scene modes. This includes Sony's proprietary Sweep Panorama mode and 3D options.
On the back of the camera, a Fn button can be pushed to bring up a list of commonly used settings and features. Here you can access autofocus options, such as changing from automatic Multi-Zone selection to a single point.
Unfortunately, should you want to change the focus point, there's no quick way to do this - you'll have to dive into this Fn menu every time, a little bugbear that more advanced users may find niggling.
The Sony a35 features a fixed LCD screen, whereas the Sony a33 had a vari-angle version. Perhaps Sony received feedback that indicated that this was missed, because a tilting version can be found on the Sony a37.
Although not quite as versatile as a fully articulating screen, it does offer some benefit when shooting from high or low angles. The screen seemed bright and not prone to reflections, but this needs further testing in bright sunlight.
Early verdict
It is of course difficult to give any full verdicts on a camera when image quality isn't yet available for review.However, initial impressions of the Sony Alpha 37, like its predecessor, are very good.
Our time with the camera indicated that its autofocus performance was fast and accurate, something we'll be keen to fully put through its paces when we get a full production DSLT in for review.
There's a number of interesting features that we'll be keen to analyse further, such as how the camera performs at high sensitivities and the accuracy of the Auto Portrait framing mode.
For beginners, there's an awful lot of choice out there at the moment. Sony's approach to capturing this very lucrative market is unique, and one of the most interesting options for novices.
There's a lot to tempt those users, and as the number of lenses and accessories for Alpha cameras increases, we can see the system continuing to grow its market share - something that Nikon and Canon must surely be keenly aware of.
In terms of competition, the Sony a37 goes head-to-head with the Canon EOS 1100D and recently launched Nikon D3200.
Although perhaps not quite as friendly to beginners as the Nikon D3200, other features - such as Full HD video recording, ISO sensitivity up to 16,000 and 7fps are features that are more commonly found in more premium models.
At its current price point of £530 in the UK and $599 in the US, the Sony Alpha 37 costs the same as the newly announced Sony NEX-F3 compact system camera. So it will be interesting to see how Sony markets both of these devices - especially since the potential audience is likely to be very similar for both.
Look out for a full review of the Sony A37 in due course.
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Sony reveals new lenses for NEX and A-mount cameras
Sony has announced the 18-135mm for its A-mount DSLT/R range and a new 18-200mm telephoto zoom lens for the NEX compact system camera range.
First up, the Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens for A mount cameras offers an 8x zoom capability.
Designed as a "go-anywhere" lens, Sony also promises that the optic has smooth, quick and quiet autofocus operation. Direct manual focus for fine-tuning is also available.
18-200mm reach
Sony has also announced a new 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 telephoto zoom lens to sit alongside its newly announced NEX-F3 compact system camera.The lens, which is a successor, but not a replacement, for the previous 18-200mm iteration, offers an 11x zoom range in a lighter and smaller unit.
Approximately 12 per cent lighter than its predecessor, the lens is fitted with Optical SteadyShot, which is designed to compensate for the effects of hand-shake. Manual focus is also available for precise control.
The new lens is aimed primarily at NEX photographers who like to travel with the camera, but Sony is continuing the previous version of the camera.
Sony says that the original version is more suited to video recording, whereas this one provides a lighter option for those primarily using the camera for stills photography.
Launched at the same time as the NEX-F3 compact system camera, the price of the lens has not yet been made official.
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Sony NEX-F3 officially announced
After weeks of speculation and leaks, the Sony NEX-F3 has finally been made official.
The entry-level compact system camera (CSC) features a 16.1 million pixel APS HD CMOS sensor - the exact same sensor as found in the also newly announced Sony Alpha 37 DSLT camera.
The Sony NEX-F3 comes as a replacement for the Sony NEX-C3, which also had a 16.1 megapixel sensor - albeit a different design.
Bionz processor
The third generation Bionz processor, which was first debuted on the Sony a77 camera, Sony's flagship DSLT, powers the Sony NEX-F3. This makes it capable of delivering a sensitivity range between ISO 200 and 16,000, and Full HD video recording.
There are several other improvements to the Sony NEX-F3, including the addition of a pop-up flash and increased battery life.
A new 180 degree tiltable screen has been included, to enable easier self-portrait shooting. When shooting in Auto mode, if the screen is tilted to 180 degrees, the camera automatically enters self-portrait mode and sets a self-timer delay of 3 seconds.
Auto portrait framing is also included, which works by cropping an image after the shot has been taken to provide a better composition. The original file is also kept if the user wants to produce their own crop.
Superior auto
Several new additions have been made to the fully automatic Superior Auto mode, including hand-held twilight and Auto HDR. In this mode the camera detects the type of scene it is photographing and automatically selects appropriate settings.Clear image zoom works in the same way as a digital zoom, but uses Sony's By Pixel Super Resolution interpolation technology to maintain image size and, according to the manufacturer, superior image quality. It provides up to double the magnification of the lens focal length.
The Sony NEX-F3 price is £530 in the UK and $599 in the US, and will be available from early June.
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Sony reveals new a37 entry-level DSLT
Sony has unveiled an upgrade to its entry-level DSLT offering, in the form of the a37 - also known as the Alpha 37 - which will replace the Sony a35 camera.
The Alpha a37 uses Sony's translucent mirror technology, which incorporates a fixed, translucent mirror, instead of the conventional device found on DSLR cameras.
This means that the camera can offer continuous autofocusing in live view and video modes and a high-speed continuous shooting rate.
Featuring a 16.1 million pixel Exmor APS-C HD CMOS sensor, the same as that found in the also newly announced Sony NEX-F3, the camera incorporates a 15-point autofocus system.
Accurate autofocus
Using phase detection, as opposed the traditional contrast detection systems found on conventional DSLRs, Sony claims that the camera can provide more accurate and reliable continuous autofocusing.The Sony a37 includes Sony's third generation Bionz processor, which was first seen in the a77 - Sony's flagship camera model. Consequently, the Sony Alpha 37 also boasts a sensitivity range of ISO 100-16,000 and Full HD video recording.
A tilting rear LCD screen is included, along with a "Tru-Finder" electronic viewfinder, which offers a 100 per cent field of view.
Small exterior changes
The aesthetics of the camera remains largely similar to the Sony a33, but ergonomics have been very slightly reworked, with a small change to the grip and button layouts.The Sony a37 price is expected to be around £530 in the UK and $599 in the US, and will be available from the end of May.
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Review: Plantronics BackBeat Go
Shopping for a stereo Bluetooth headset can be hit or miss. When looking for the best solution, do you choose a product made by a company known for their commitment and mastery of audio technology or one that is known for their Bluetooth technology?
And herein lies the dilemma with the Plantronics BackBeat Go Bluetooth headset: it's a good stereo headset that's great for phone calls. That said, hardcore audiophiles will no doubt be disappointed by the bluetooth headset's overall music performance.
We first saw the Plantronics BackBeat Go Bluetooth headset at CTIA 2012 and couldn't wait to get some serious hands on time with the device. Sporting a rubberized, "tangle-free" design, the BackBeat Go rocks 6mm drivers that are more than adequate.
We tested the Plantronics BackBeat Go Bluetooth headset with two smart phones: the HTC Radar 4G Windows phone and the iPhone 4S. While the Bluetooth headset was great for phone calls on both devices, music playback left something to be desired. Bass response was extremely disappointing on both handsets and while this particular Bluetooth headset was plenty loud with our HTC Radar 4G Windows phone, we found ourselves wishing we could make it louder on our iPhone 4S.
The Plantronics BackBeat Go charges via a micro-USB port on the right earbud in a remarkably fast two and a half hours. Speaking of the right earbud, this is where most of the action happens with this Bluetooth headset.
When pairing the device, you hold down a button on the in-line control module that's near the right earbud. Pairing was simple enough and in our tests the headset worked up to 20 feet away from the test device.
An issue with this Bluetooth headset is that because of the relatively short size of the cord connecting the left and right earbuds, you can't really see the in-line control module while you're wearing and using the headset. During our tests we had to remove the right earbud and look at the in-line control module in order to accurately use it. Of course, over time, we were able to remember how to use it without having to look at it.
As an in-ear type of Bluetooth headset comfort is incredibly important. In our tests we found the Plantronics BackBeat Go Bluetooth headset to be somewhat quirky. It ships with three different sizes of earbuds and we never really found one that worked perfectly for us. Even the optional stabilizers weren't able to better the experience. Of course, everyone's ears are different. So your experience may differ than ours.
At $99.99 the Plantronics BackBeat Go is a fantastic Bluetooth headset: for talking on the phone. It handles basic functions like phone calls and pairing amazingly. And the fact that it charges via micro-USB in around two and a half hours and boasts a talk time of about four and a half hours is great. That said, music aficionados will find this particular Bluetooth headset lacking.
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AMD Trinity processor hopes to take on Ultrabook market
AMD officially unveiled Trinity, the second generation of its A-series APU that is looking to rival Intel's Ivy Bridge for high-performance chips with low power consumption at an even lower cost.
The Trinity line will launch in five models - three aimed at mainstream notebooks and two targeting the coveted "ultrathin" market, with designs for desktops and all-in-one PCs to follow later on.
The two ultrathin notebook chips, the quad-core A10-4655M and dual-core A6-4455M, use a sparing 25W and 17W respectively.
Additionally, AMD claims battery life lasts up to 12 hours in a "resting" state.
That's an impressive figure - especially coming from a chip manufactured on the larger 32nm process compared to the 22nm chips Intel adopted for its Ivy Bridge processors.
Piledriving power
AMD is squeezing power efficiency out of a 32nm chip thanks to its new Piledriver architecture.While built on the less than impressive Bulldozer architecture as a base, Piledriver makes notable improvements in dynamic power management between the onboard CPU and GPU for a 29 percent performance increase over Bulldozer.
This translates to faster startup times - 2 seconds to resume from sleep and 10 seconds for the initial boot to desktop - but also clock speed enhancements.
The quad-core 25W chip has a default CPU speed of 2GHz that can jump up to 2.8GHz in a pinch, while the dual-core 17W chip can bump from 2.1GHz to 2.6GHz.
Speaking of the Trinity's onboard GPU, AMD will equip Trinity processors with its Radeon HD 7000 line to give it a significant graphical boost.
AMD claims a performance edge against comparable Ivy Bridge processors of up to 150 percent in mainstream games like Starcraft 2 and Dirt 3, though that statistic should be taken with a grain of salt since it hasn't been substantiated by any third-party benchmarks.
Even so, given AMD and Intel's respective histories, it's fair to expect Trinity processors to have an edge.
The final factor for AMD's Trinity processor is price, which is where the chip shines brightest.
Late to the party?
HP already set the trend for more super-thin notebooks when they announced a series of new Ultrabooks.And, the Trinity processor may face an uphill battle, with 80 percent of PCs using Intel processors.
What's more, Intel smartly coined the term "Ultrabooks" for slim notebooks using its low-power processors, providing an easily marketable term for retailers to display.
AMD doesn't have that yet, with HP adopting the non-standard term Sleekbook for its new Trinity notebook and AMD opting to simply call them "ultrathin notebooks."
There's also stiff competition from Apple with rumors of a lower-cost Macbook Air and thinner Macbook Pro slated for later this year.
Where AMD can carve a position in the ultrathin market will be through its graphics capabilities, since slim notebooks aren't typically known for their gaming capabilities.
And if the price is right, AMD shouldn't be counted out yet.
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AMD Trinity proccessr hopes to take on Ultrabook market
AMD officially unveiled Trinity, the second generation of its A-series APU that is looking to rival Intel's Ivy Bridge for high-performance chips with low power consumption at an even lower cost.
The Trinity line will launch in five models - three aimed at mainstream notebooks and two targeting the coveted "ultrathin" market, with designs for desktops and all-in-one PCs to follow later on.
The two ultrathin notebook chips, the quad-core A10-4655M and dual-core A6-4455M, use a sparing 25W and 17W respectively.
Additionally, AMD claims battery life lasts up to 12 hours in a "resting" state.
That's an impressive figure - especially coming from a chip manufactured on the larger 32nm process compared to the 22nm chips Intel adopted for its Ivy Bridge processors.
Piledriving power
AMD is squeezing power efficiency out of a 32nm chip thanks to its new Piledriver architecture.While built on the less than impressive Bulldozer architecture as a base, Piledriver makes notable improvements in dynamic power management between the onboard CPU and GPU for a 29 percent performance increase over Bulldozer.
This translates to faster startup times - 2 seconds to resume from sleep and 10 seconds for the initial boot to desktop - but also clock speed enhancements.
The quad-core 25W chip has a default CPU speed of 2GHz that can jump up to 2.8GHz in a pinch, while the dual-core 17W chip can bump from 2.1GHz to 2.6GHz.
Speaking of the Trinity's onboard GPU, AMD will equip Trinity processors with its Radeon HD 7000 line to give it a significant graphical boost.
AMD claims a performance edge against comparable Ivy Bridge processors of up to 150 percent in mainstream games like Starcraft 2 and Dirt 3, though that statistic should be taken with a grain of salt since it hasn't been substantiated by any third-party benchmarks.
Even so, given AMD and Intel's respective histories, it's fair to expect Trinity processors to have an edge.
The final factor for AMD's Trinity processor is price, which is where the chip shines brightest.
Late to the party?
HP already set the trend for more super-thin notebooks when they announced a series of new Ultrabooks.And, the Trinity processor may face an uphill battle, with 80 percent of PCs using Intel processors.
What's more, Intel smartly coined the term "Ultrabooks" for slim notebooks using its low-power processors, providing an easily marketable term for retailers to display.
AMD doesn't have that yet, with HP adopting the non-standard term Sleekbook for its new Trinity notebook and AMD opting to simply call them "ultrathin notebooks."
There's also stiff competition from Apple with rumors of a lower-cost Macbook Air and thinner Macbook Pro slated for later this year.
Where AMD can carve a position in the ultrathin market will be through its graphics capabilities, since slim notebooks aren't typically known for their gaming capabilities.
And if the price is right, AMD shouldn't be counted out yet.
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Did Steve Jobs's own words damn Apple in anti-trust suit?
Apple's attempts to have the anti-trust suit brought against them by the US Department of Justice thrown out of court were denied on Tuesday.
Federal Judge Denise Cote cited previous statements from Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs as justification for the dispute over e-book pricing to continue.
Jobs's comment was included in the DOJ's case against Apple. "We'll go to [an] agency mode, where you set the price, and we get our 30 percent, and yes, the cusomter pays a little more, but that's what you want anyway," Jobs reportedly said.
He added that prices would "be the same" at Apple and Amazon, which the DOJ contested in the suit.
The DOJ's suit alleges that Apple colluded with book publishers including Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin to standardize e-book prices when the publishers should have been competing with one another.
"...The cusomter pays a little more, but that's what you want anyway," Jobs reportedly said.
Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster were quick to settle, but Apple insisted that the company has done nothing wrong, going so far as to say that they're eager to begin litigation.Eliminating the competition
Jobs's statements were previously known, but it was unclear what importance they would play in the case until now."It has everything to do with coordinating a horizontal agreement among publishers to raise prices, and eliminating horizontal price competition among Apple's competitors at the retail level," Judge Cote said.
The suit alleges that Apple contacted major publishers in 2009, just before the launch of the iPad, and hatched a plan to force Amazon's then-low e-book prices up to make Apple's iBooks store more attractive to consumers.
At the time it was widely assumed that Amazon was selling e-books at a loss in order to stimulate sales of its Kindle devices.
"With the fortuitous entry of Apple into the market for e-books, and the decision by Apple to join the price-fixing conspiracy, that horizontal conspiracy became a potent weapon for engineering a fundamental shift in an entire industry," Judge Cote said.
If the court rules against Apple and Macmillan and Penguin, the two publishers who have yet to settle, the companies could be forced to implement anti-trust compliance programs and pay hefty fines.
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HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE blocked by US Customs
Despite HTC's insistence that legal battles with Apple wouldn't affect consumers, the Taiwanese company's two newest Android smartphones, the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE, have been blocked from entering the country by US Customs.
Apple won a patent suit against HTC back in December, when the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a limited exclusion order against HTC and two of its subsidiaries.
The ITC determined that a function allowing users to make calls or send emails simply by tapping a phone number or email address within text was in violation of Apple's patents.
HTC was ordered to alter the functionality by April 19 of this year.
"Many lawsuits nowadays are results of being successful; it's part of the business," HTC CEO Peter Chou said at the time. "We will not bring the company to a dangerous position."
An easy solution
HTC reported that they successfully removed the infringing technology from the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE, so it's unknown exactly why these specific phones were blocked at Customs.But an HTC spokesperson issued a statement to TechRadar assuring that the delay comes as no surprise.
"The U.S. availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order," the company said.
"We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible."
The HTC One X went on sale through AT&T earlier this month, and Sprint was slated to release the EVO 4G LTE on May 18.
But the phones could be sent back to the manufacturer if Customs determines that they're in violation of the ITC's December decision.
A chilling effect
If these shipments of the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE are denied entry to the U.S. it could spell big trouble for Android.For years companies like Apple, Samsung, HTC, and Google have thrown legal disputes at one another as if just to see what sticks. But the suits are usually settled and have rarely affected consumers so far in a tangible way.
HTC is already paying licensing fees to Microsoft due to a previous suit regarding a different part of Android's functionality.
But now that two of HTC's flagship Android devices have been delayed in getting to market, consumers will begin to feel the chilling effects of these companies' legal battles.
And if Android continues to lose face in the tech industry, manufacturers could decide to jump ship to another OS.
Hopefully, HTC's confidence is well-founded and the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE make their way to store shelves soon.
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iPad mini could be attractive to gamers, schools
Apple hasn't announced an iPad mini yet, but that hasn't stopped analysts from imagining what it could be like - and how it might contribute to the company's bottom line, particularly with gamers and the educational market.
A new report examines the prospects for an iPad mini, which Apple is widely believed to be working on for release later this year.
But instead of cannibalizing sales of the existing - and wildly popular - New iPad, a new 7.85-inch model could help Cupertino dig its heels further into two key markets.
According to Barclays Equity Research analyst Ben A. Reitzes, the iPad mini would not be a threat to Apple's current domination with the New iPad and its cheaper previous model, the iPad 2.
"We do not feel that a smaller, lower priced tablet will dilute the quality of the iPad brand and iOS ecosystem either, despite prior comments by the company," the analyst revealed to investors on Tuesday.
Fending off Amazon
A smaller iPad would ideally match the resolution of the first two larger models, with a 1024x768, 7-85-inch display.Given the cheaper components, a smaller iPad is likely to be a favorite among gamers as well as educational institutes, particularly with the electronic textbooks introduced earlier this year.
Dropping last year's iPad 2 to $399 has already shown Apple the way to fend off new threats such as Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire, whose shipments fell precipitously from a 16.8 market share in Q4 2011 to a mere four percent in Q1 2012.
Reitzes also sees a smaller iPad helping to expand the overall tablet market, which could reach a peak of 350 million sales by 2015.
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Samsung sees 'huge' orders for flexible OLED screens
Flexible OLED displays could be making their way to our gadgets sooner rather than later as Samsung has seen "huge" orders for the bendy screens.
Samsung Electronics' vice chairman Kwon Oh-hyun told Korea Times that demand is high for the futuristic OLEDs, with mass production beginning in late 2012:
"We will be mass producing flexible OLED displays from the latter half of this year as the demand from our clients is significant," he said.
"OLEDs will replace LCDs as the main mobile displays from around 2015 as the screens are thinner and brighter. Samsung has massively invested in OLED-related technologies and will continue to do so."
Flex that screen
The flexi-tech, which Samsung showed off in December, lends itself to smaller mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, rather than TVs (although we are looking forward to the day we can afford Samsung's delicious 55-inch OLED TV which is getting a release in the second half of the year).Some analysts have taken the attention-grabbing stance that Samsung's faith in the flexible OLED displays must surely come from some interest from Apple, mooting that we could see bendable, posable iPhones and iPads in the years to come.
But, to be fair, you don't really need Apple to put a vote of confidence behind the idea of a foldable, near-indestructible mobile display. That sounds cool enough on its own.
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News In Brief: One More Thing: Rio Ferdinand for England, according to EA Sports
His name is Rio - The England team has been announced and while it may well be the most uninspiring line-up of humans since the reforming of Steps, the one bit of interest is a lack of Rio Ferdinand. If Hodgson had done his homework – and by homework, we mean contacting EA Sports and stealing its Player Performance Index (PPI) – then he would have kept Ferdinand in the squad and also called up the likes of Ryan Shawcross and Michael Carrick.
Unfortunately for us, he's a PES fan so all our players are from the likes of Man Blue, Man Red, Northluck City and Merseyside Red. [Mirror]
Max power - We have some good news if your name is Max or Maxine and like a bit of Payne. Videogame comparison site Playr2.com is offering you a chance to win Max Payne 3 – all you have to do is go to its Facebook page this Friday and write 'I am Max Payne' on their wall. You could probably try this on the high-street too but there's a massive chance you will get carted away to the funny farm. [Facebook]
Troll with it - A Brighton woman has decided to get her own back on internet trolls by going to the High Court to force Facebook to unmask the blighters that are sullying her name online. We are guessing this isn't going to be done in a Blind Date style scenario – which is a shame as we would pay good money to see a troll unmasked in this way, maybe under a bridge or something. [BBC]
Wee Jobby - A book on Steve Jobs has arrived which is meant to teach kids all about the history of Apple and explain just who the computing CEO was. We're not sure many will get past the front cover, though, as one look at that forehead and you are forever transfixed. But if you do, it's ready to buy on Amazon. [9to5Mac]
Toon town - If cartoon Jobs hasn't scared your children off tech forever, then they may want to take a look at MagicTown.com - a new destination for interactive picture books for kids that also doubles up as a virtual world.
The car's not the star - In what has got to be one of the most short-sighted moves ever in the history of online, General Motors has decided to pull its advertising on Facebook due to low sales. Now, advertising a car on Facebook may not offer a click to buy opportunity but just because you don't see immediate sales doesn't mean the idea of buying a GM car hasn't been baked into a user's conscience. Facebook will be hoping this isn't a trend, given its imminent IPO. [Telegraph]
Dino-sore - Dinosaurs, according to Stephen Spielberg, are a pesky bunch of beggars that will eat you up even when you are relaxing on the toilet. But the truth about these majestic animals is a little more sad: some dinos suffered from a form of arthritis – yes, the same as the condition your gran has and they didn't even have zimmerframes or copious amounts of tea to help them cope. [Telegraph]
3G gets a speed boost - We may not have 4G in the UK yet – and for your information Apple, we don't use the word cellular either – but O2 is hoping to combat this problem by introducing 3G plus wings, or DC-HSPA (dual-cell high speed packet access) to give it its hip-hop name. This does boost speed apparently and O2 reckons you may well be able to get 42Mbps out of the new service. But this could be akin to putting go-faster stripes on a Mini, depending on what your O2 coverage is like. [CNET UK]
Code to nowhere - The first-ever QR World Expo is set to take place at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London and will bring togm;M;M; #GE;RK – er, sorry, we fell asleep on our keyboard writing that. But if QR codes are your thing, then you may want to head over to www.qrworldexpo.com for more info. Yawn.
Tiger, Tiger, burning bright - Intel has posted the strangest video ever on its site. We are guessing it is there to promote the Ultrabook brand but we have no idea what a dancing tiger has to do with superslim laptops. Bizarre but worth a watch. [YouTube]
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Entrepreneurs think UK investors are scared of investing
Many UK entrepreneurs now believe that funding is more freely available in the US, from investors who are less risk-averse and more tuned-in to the industry.
Three out of five entrepreneurs believed that US investors are more ready and willing to embrace risk than their UK counterparts, and that negative attitudes to failure discourage entrepreneurship in the UK. In contrast, readiness to embrace failure was regarded as being especially strong in Silicon Valley.
However research by accountancy firm PwC into Venture Capitalist (VC) funding which examined the views of VC funds, entrepreneurs, banks and other industry players found this perception differs wildly from reality.
Jass Sarai, UK technology leader at PwC, said:
"The perception divide between entrepreneurs and VCs has only widened in recent years. Many VCs argue that little has changed, apart from greater competition for funding. The right combination of a compelling idea, sustainable and scalable business model and a strong management team will still win investment. The more savvy entrepreneurs who we spoke to, readily accept that what can look like risk aversion on the part of UK-based investors is actually just sensible risk assessment."
Examining the current funding environment for growing companies the report found that:
- The UK has yet to match the emergence in the US of a significant community of 'super-angels', often former tech entrepreneurs willing to quickly 'buy into a vision' and invest in start-ups.
- Only half of respondents agreed that being based in London improves the chances that a technology business will be successful. Many said what really mattered was being within a 'cluster' of companies, which can yield benefits around talent recruitment, growth and funding and such clusters are prevalent elsewhere in the UK.
- Despite frequent debate, respondents said R&D incentives in the UK are sufficient to encourage earlier stage UK technology businesses to undertake innovative development work.
- There was widespread acknowledgement that there are some attractive and beneficial tax breaks and incentives for early stage companies, albeit that some companies find the rules complex and difficult to apply in practice. The stakeholders we spoke to believe that the Government should focus on creating a supportive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, but should not intervene further.
"Despite the potentially negative attitudes towards failure, most entrepreneurs took the view that technological talent within the UK is as strong as anywhere in the world, but it is the UK's potential lack of ability to successfully commercialise its technological breakthroughs that results in the market lagging behind that in other territories such as the US."
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Website traffic from tablets will surpass smartphones
Tablets are transforming how consumers and brands interact on the web, offering an experience that's more engaging than smartphones and competitive to desktop computers.
Adobe's latest Digital Index Report has predicted a rosy future for the tablet market, as it predicts visits to websites by tablet owners will surpass smartphone visits by January 2013, and will account for 10% of website visits by early 2014.
The Digital Index report analysed around 23 billion visits to the websites of more than 325 brands in North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific from 2010-2012 and concluded that, "tablets are reshaping how consumers engage with brands online, competing with—but not yet replacing—PCs, while becoming a distinct and superior channel to smartphones."
During the period 2010-1012 the share of website visits from tablets grew approximately 10 times faster than the rate of smartphones.
Within one year of the iPad launch, (Q2 2010 through Q1 2011), tablet visits represented 1% of total website visits, reaching 4.3% of total visits just one year later, an increase of 330%. In contrast, within the first two years of the iPhone market entry, smartphones accounted for 0.4% of total website visits, taking nearly three years to reach 1% of total visits.
One tablet generates as many website visits as four smartphones
The report also reveals that tablet users are heavier web users than smartphone users, by as much as four to one. Although smartphone users generate more page visits than tablet users - 6.1% and 4.3% of total website visits, respectively by the end of Q1 2012 - the number of tablets shipped across North America and Western Europe is much smaller than the number of smartphones shipped, and when the numbers were crushed, Adobe found that for every brand website visit made with a smartphone, four visits are made using a tablet.
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Apple gleefully picks apart Siri class action suit
Apple is no stranger to the courthouse and it's seasoned lawyers are clearly taking quite a bit of joy in the latest class action suit against it, gleefully picking apart claims that Siri has caused such distress to iPhone 4S owners that the only course of action available to them is to call their lawyers.
A group of Californian consumers are hoping to wrest a few dollars from Apple because they reckon Siri is oversold in Apple's advertising, encouraging users to shell out more money on the iPhone 4S than it's worth.
But Apple argues that anyone with a genuine complaint against Siri would first have sought a refund and that would have been the end of it, something that none of the claimants tried before heading to court.
What's more, the lawyers say the claimants' complaints fall apart under close examination:
"They offer only general descriptions of Apple's advertisements, incomplete summaries of Apple's website materials, and vague descriptions of their alleged – and highly individualised – disappointment with Siri," reads Apple's motion to dismiss the claim.
Avail yourselves of this, suckers
"Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri's performance "soon after" purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple's 30-day return policy or one-year warranty - which remains in effect," it continues.Everyone knows you don't use the term "avail themselves" without intending it to be read in a biting, sarcastic tone.
"Instead, they seek to take an alleged personal grievance about the purported performance of a popular product and turn it into a nationwide class action under California's consumer protection statutes.
"The Complaint does not come close to meeting the heavy burden necessary to sustain such claims."
And all that's not to mention the fact that Siri is still in beta, something that Apple has never made a secret of.
Zing! Your move, Siri-haters.
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iPhone 5 display 'will be at least 4 inches' in size
Reports from Asia are suggesting Apple has placed orders for larger screens for the upcoming iPhone 5.
Since the iPhone first graced the world in 2007, Apple has stuck with the same 3.5-inch display for all five iterations of the popular smartphone.
Apple must be given kudos for sticking to its guns, but it's hard not to yearn for a bigger screen as the likes of the HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S3 and huge Samsung Galaxy Note parade around with their imposing visual aids.
Production starting next month
The Wall Street Journal reports that sources familiar with the situation revealed the production of the displays, measuring at least 4-inches, would begin next month.If production of the larger display is only set to start in June, it pretty much puts a nail in the coffin for a WWDC launch for the iPhone 5 in the same month, with the touted Septmeber/October release date looking ever more likely.
Details on Apple's sixth generation iPhone are still thin on the ground, but it could very well join the quad-core brigade and the 4G version may even make its way to the UK – a boy can dream.
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Britain's businesses are losing talent
A survey by Vodafone finds that UK businesses are gradually accepting that they need to plan for IT loss and failure, but are hopeless when it comes to losing staff.
The Vodafone sponsored report, 'What if …? Exploring attitudes towards risk', has highlighted that businesses are attracting the right talent, but aren't retaining the talent, and the business' experience those employees have.
Although one in five employees are reported to be actively considering a job move in the next twelve months, only 29 percent of UK managers say employee defection to another firm is a significant concern. This compares to 59 percent who cite IT systems failure and 36 per cent who list damage to facilities through fire or flood as key concerns.
While respondents accept that talent risks such as employee defection or illness are more probable than environmental risks, for example, only 10 percent of those surveyed say they have robust plans in place to respond to talent loss. In comparison, 37 percent say they that they have such plans in place for the loss of key facilities through fire, flood or similar events.
Peter Kelly, Enterprise Director at Vodafone UK, explains that businesses could improve their retention levels if only they were more flexible: "Businesses must implement new processes and technology to find better ways of working by enabling employees to mobile work securely. Not only does this help companies cut costs but it is also a proven way of attracting and retaining the best talent."
Adding "This research shows that businesses should place a greater emphasis on identifying and managing talent risk as part of a business continuity management strategy."
Vodafone in conjunction with the Chartered Management Institute has created a free Business Continuity Guide to download designed that will help get businesses started with a business continuity plan and help staunch the loss of talent.
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Updated: Best tripod head: 12 tested
Tripod heads explained
Even the sturdiest set of tripod legs can be turned into a rickety affair by a wobbly head, so it pays to invest in a good-quality one.Many photographers will buy a tripod as a complete kit, but the smart money is on buying the legs and head separately, so that you can get the best combination to suit your needs. And if you've bought an all-in-one kit, it can make sense to upgrade the head to a more versatile and stable model - a new head is generally easy to fit.
Unlike heads for video tripods, which only offer pan and tilt adjustments, photographic heads need to facilitate triple-axis movement, so that you can shoot in portrait orientation as well as in landscape. This setup is often referred to as pan, tilt and swivel, and is the reason why conventional photographic heads are called three-way heads.
The main alternative is a ball-and-socket head, usually just referred to as a ball head, but there's also the pistol or joystick variety, which is a variation on the ball head theme. We put 12 models from leading manufacturers through their paces.
The traditional photography tripod head is three-way. In almost every case, you get independent adjustments for pan, tilt and swivel. The latter two are usually clamped in place by locking arms that extend from the head, whereas the pan lock is often a space-saving thumbscrew.
Even so, you'll still generally need to remove at least one of the locking arms when you fold the tripod for compact carrying and stowage.
The main strength of the three-way design is that it enables precise adjustment in any of the three axes of movement, while keeping the other two firmly locked off.
This makes these heads ideal for situations where you need to make very small adjustments while keeping the camera level, for example in architectural and landscape scenarios. They're also useful for close-up and macro shooting, where very small and precise movements of the camera are often required.
Ball heads
Ball heads are growing in popularity, their design being based on a large ball that sits inside a socket locked by a single clamping screw. Ball heads are great when you need to set up a shot quickly, and for portraiture and general shooting when the ability to make precise adjustments isn't critical.
One issue, however, is that with heavier camera and lens combinations, releasing the single locking screw can make handling a bit unwieldy. For this reason, many ball heads feature a secondary adjustable friction damper, which you can adjust to suit the weight of your camera and lens.
Some ball heads go further, with a separate pan-only lock. Release this, and you can pan the camera while tilt and swivel movements remain locked off. It's particularly useful, as with three-way heads, when you want to take a series of shots at regular angular increments for stitching into a panoramic image. Indeed, a rotation scale is sometimes included on the head to help with precise adjustments between shots.
Pistol heads and joystick heads
A pistol or joystick head is based on the same ball-and-socket principle as standard ball heads but, instead of using a locking screw, you squeeze a trigger to release tension on the ball so that you can make adjustments.
This system is quick and easy to use in theory, but can be problematic in practice, as you'll see in our reviews of the Manfrotto 324RC2 and Vanguard GH-100 heads.
Whichever type of head you choose, extra features to look for include one or more bubble levels. These are typically positioned in the camera platform to help you level the camera itself, rather than just the tripod.
All the heads on test feature quick-release plates for fast fitting and removal of the camera. Finally, it's crucial to ensure that the head you choose has a maximum load rating that matches (and preferably exceeds) the weight of your camera plus your heaviest lens.
Compatibility and best fit
When you're checking for compatibility between head and tripod, one of the first things to do is measure the diameter of the platform on the top of your tripod's centre column. You can then choose a head on which the tripod mounting plate is approximately the same size; a big mismatch here can result in a lack of stability.
The primary connection between head and tripod is via an attachment screw on the tripod. There are two standard sizes, which have either a 1/4-inch thread or a larger 3/8-inch thread. Most heads have a 3/8-inch thread but often come with a 3/8 to 1/4-inch adaptor, so they can be mounted on tripods that use the smaller-sized screw.
If an adaptor isn't supplied, they're available for less than £5, so this isn't a deal-breaker. While there's no problem mounting a head with a 3/8-inch thread on a 1/4-inch tripod, you can't do things the other way around; if your tripod has a 3/8-inch mounting screw, you won't be able to fit a head with 1/4-inch thread. The Slik SH-705E is the only head in our test group with a 1/4-inch thread.
Fitting the head to your tripod
This can be done in three simple steps:1. Fit a thread adaptor: If necessary, start by fitting a 3/8-inch to 1/4-inch thread adaptor required for fitting the head on tripods that use the smaller screw size.
2. Attach the head: Loosen the centre-column locking screw on your tripod so that you don't scratch the column, then screw on the head until it's hand-tight.
3. Tighten the screws: Most good-quality tripods will have hex screws accessible from the underside of the mounting platform. Tighten these to lock the head in place.
Tripod heads compared: £30-60/$40-70
Velbon PH-157Q
£30/$40The crafty barrel-based design at the centre of this three-way head enables tilt and panning adjustments using just a single locking arm, leaving a thumbscrew to operate for swivel adjustments. Overall, it's quicker to set up than a conventional three-way head, but not quite as fast as a ball head. One downside is that you can't make panning adjustments while keeping the tilt axis locked, and vice-versa.
Like the quick-release plates fitted to the Slik and Vanguard GH-100 heads, the Velbon has a square mounting plate which can be used in any of four positions, without you having to swivel the camera around on the plate. There's practically no sag after you make adjustments, but the quick-release plate is a bit spongy.
Slik SH-705E
£35/$35For a small three-way head, the Slik has a respectable 4.5kg load rating, but it still feels rather flimsy compared with the Benro, Giottos and Manfrotto three-way heads. It's fairly basic feature-wise, lacking any calibrated scales for pan, tilt or swivel adjustments, and there are no bubble levels. You can, however, remove one of the locking arms and screw it into the other arm for compact carrying and stowage.
The quick-release plate has a square base, enabling it to be fitted in any of four orientations. However, there's no safety lock on the quick-release mechanism, and the plate's locking clamp doesn't give a really firm hold, reducing overall stability.
Giottos MH5001
£45/$68Despite having a modest 6kg maximum load rating, the Giottos three-way head feels every bit as sturdy as the Benro HD2, which has an 8kg rating. The locking arms are rather longer than on the Benro head, but you can remove one and screw it into the other for compact carrying.
Dual bubble levels are incorporated in the base of the head and the camera platform, making it easy to level the tripod legs as well as the camera itself. The scissor-action quick-release mechanism works well, and the surface coating of the plate enables a very firm connection to the camera.
Manfrotto 494RC2
£50/$57Most of the heads in this group have a tripod mounting plate that's about 60mm in diameter, which suits the majority of full-sized tripods. However, along with the Slik and Velbon heads on test, this Manfrotto has a smaller 38mm diameter plate, making it ideal for smaller tripods. Like its big brother, the Manfrotto 496RC2, it features a sturdy and excellent quick-release mechanism and plate, plus an adjustable friction damper, although both heads lack a bubble level.
Compared with other ball heads on test, the ball and socket are rather small. And while adjustments are quick and easy, there's noticeable sag after you've let go of the camera, especially with front-heavy camera/lens combinations.
Manfrotto 804RC2
£55/$68The official maximum load rating of 4kg is meagre compared with similarly priced heads in the group, but the 804RC2 feels as sturdy as the competing Benro and Giottos three-way heads. Like the Benro, there's no facility for screwing one locking arm into the other for streamlined carrying, and the Manfrotto actually features a third locking arm for panning, instead of a more basic thumbscrew.
Handy pan, tilt and swivel scales have five-degree increment markings, and there's a bubble level on the camera plate. Annoyingly, however, adjustments feel very jerky unless you slacken off the locking arms considerably.
Manfrotto 496RC2
£55/$72The predecessor to this head was the Manfrotto 486RC2, which was a firm favourite with many photographers. The newer 496RC2 adds an adjustable friction damper and a refined safety lock for the quick-release plate, which is spring-loaded so it can't remain in the unlocked position.
Frills like a pan-only locking knob and bubble level are lacking, but the overall stability of the head is simply superb. Unlike the 494RC2, there's practically no sagging post-adjustment, and a dual cut-out in the ball's socket enables quick and easy tilting of the camera in either direction. What it lacks in extras, this head more than makes up for in ease and speed of use, and rock-solid performance.
Read the full Manfrotto 496RC2 review
Tripod heads compared: £60-$95/$70-100
Benro BH2 (BRBH2)
£60/$72Benro's ball head is quite a basic affair, having just a single locking screw and no additional, adjustable friction damper nor a pan-only release. However, releasing the locking screw by about half a turn enables adjustment while maintaining fairly high friction, and undoing it a full turn facilitates free movement, which works well.
The scissor-action quick-release lock is easy to use while offering good security against accidental loosening, and a bubble level on the camera platform makes for easy levelling. Our only complaint is that the mounting surface that connects to the camera relies on two fairly narrow rubber strips, which make the connection feel quite spongy, especially with heavier camera/lens combinations.
Vanguard SBH-100
£70/$80Like the Giottos ball head, this Vanguard model features a pan-only lock that also comes with an adjustment scale, calibrated in five-degree increments; this enables precision panning while the tilt and swivel adjustments are locked off. A downside of this, however, is that you need to release the pan lock as well as the main locking knob when switching to portrait-orientation shooting.
Other features include two spirit levels on the camera plate and a quick-release plate with its own locking screw. There's no D-ring for fastening the camera to the quick-release plate, however - you have to use a screwdriver or a coin. There's no adjustable friction damper either, and post-adjustment sag can be noticeable.
Benro HD2 (BRHD2)
£75/$100With the same 8kg load rating as Benro's ball head, this three-way model is more than twice as heavy, at 840g. The extra weight is mostly due to the additional tilt and swivel locking arms, and the chunky thumbscrew for the panning lock. There's no facility for screwing one locking arm into the other for carriage.
Precise adjustments are aided by three calibrated scales with five-degree increments for each of the pan, tilt and swivel movements, and there's also a bubble level on the camera platform. The quick-release system and plate are the same as those used in the Benro ball head, which creates the same sponginess issue caused by the narrow camera-cushioning strips.
Giottos MH1311-652
£75 (about $120)A full-featured ball head, the Giottos has three operating knobs. In addition to the main locking screw, there's a separate, adjustable friction damper plus a pan-only lock. Panning also comes with an angular scale, marked in five-degree increments. Instead of a bubble level, the camera plate has two spirit levels, so you can check for precise front-to-back and side-to-side levelling independently.
The quick-release system features a scissor-action safety catch, and the surface coating offers a solid connection to the camera. Considering its hefty 10kg maximum load rating and wide-ranging features, the Giottos is still pleasantly light in weight, partly due to the ball being hollow.
Read the full Giottos MH1311-652 review
Manfrotto 324RC2
£85/$110With its quick-action joystick design, all that's needed to facilitate the 324RC2's full range of adjustments is a squeeze of the trigger. At least that's the theory; in practice, if you want to swivel the camera clockwise for portrait-orientation shots, to avoid the danger of it loosening on its connecting screw you have to remove the quick-release plate from the camera and reverse its orientation.
The adjustable friction damper works well but, despite a relatively low maximum load rating of 3.5kg, the head lacks stability. It's much more prone to slipping than three-way heads and regular ball heads, and there's noticeable sagging after you release the trigger grip to activate clamping.
Vanguard GH-100
£95/$100The maximum load rating of this pistol-grip head is nearly double that of the similar Manfrotto 324RC2, at 6kg. However, it's more prone to slipping than the Manfrotto, even when the locking tension is adjusted to its tightest setting. Unlike the Manfrotto, the Vanguard has a pan-only mechanism, with calibrated scale.
The quick-release plate can be used in four different positions, at 90-degree increments. The bad news is that you need to swap between these quite often, for example if you want to shoot at an upward angle or swivel the camera clockwise for portrait-orientation shooting. There's a bubble level, but it's positioned beneath the quick-release plate, so it can't be used when the camera's mounted.
Verdict: best tripod head
For general shooting, ball heads lead the way with the promise of supremely quick setup, and the fact that there are no locking arms sticking out all over the place is a bonus.A pan-only mechanism can be useful but, in practice, this adds another knob that has to be loosened and re-tightened when you want to switch from landscape-orientation to portrait-orientation shooting, so that you can get the socket's cut-out section in the right place.
We actually prefer the brilliantly simple Manfrotto 496RC2, which is unbeatably fast in use, and solid as a rock when locked off; besides, you can generally enable panning by loosening the centre column's locking clamp on the tripod itself.
By contrast, both joystick/pistol grip heads in the group are disappointing; they lack sturdiness and stability.
There's still a lot to be said for a traditional three-way head when you want ultimate control over adjustments.
The Giottos MH5001 is the top-performing three-way in the group, and a steal at the price.
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Review: Kodak ESP 1.2
Introduction
Being released in the UK only for a price of £69 (about $110), there's little to separate the Kodak ESP 1.2 all-in-one printer from its stablemate, the ESP 3.2, which costs £79 in the UK and $99.99 in the US.Both offer wireless printing, plus scanning and copying. Setting them up with Wi-Fi is fast with the new ESPs, and both come Google Cloud Print-ready.
Neither printer is Apple AirPrint enabled, but downloading Kodak's free Pic Flick App enables wireless printing from an iPhone, iPad, Android or BlackBerry device.
USB 2.0 connectivity is offered as standard, and each printer can read and write to SD, SDHC, MMC and Memory Stick.
Both the Kodak ESP 1.2 and Kodak ESP 3.2 feature a rear paper tray that can feed the printer with up to 100 sheets of A4 (similar to US letter size) or 20 sheets of photo paper.
Print resolution is pitched at 9600 optimised dpi for photos and 1200 x 1200 dpi for monochrome text.
Both include a 1200 dpi optical scanner, with the option to scan images and documents to computer or memory card, and both can make up to 99 copies of a document in one go.
In fact, the only distinguishing feature of the Kodak ESP 1.2 is actually quite a small one - the screen. It's approximately the size of an SD card, and inputting a wireless router's security code to access a wireless network using such a diminutive display and offset cursor keys requires painstaking precision.
The Kodak ESP 3.2's screen is around twice the size, and offers a touchscreen interface that's much more user-friendly. The Kodak ESP 1.2's is clear enough to navigate, it's it's just not as comfortable to use.
Build and handling
The Kodak ESP 1.2 is a comparatively compact all-in-one, measuring just 16.5 x 12.4 x 7 inches and weighing 5.1kg when full of ink and paper.A single-panel, angled rear paper feed folds out from the top, while the pull-out output tray is a small, three-stage design. Other than that, the Kodak ESP 1.2 is a typically black-boxy affair.
The Kodak ESP 1.2 follows others in the range by using Kodak 30 series inks: a single-ink pigment-based black for text printing and a colour cartridge which contains three pigmented colours (cyan, magenta and yellow).
As we've stressed in our Kodak ESP 3.2 and Kodak Hero 9.1 reviews, this single colour cartridge approach isn't ideal. Once one colour runs out, you have to replace the whole cartridge, even if the other two tanks have plenty of ink to spare.
Supply levels can be monitored in the printer driver or on the printer screen itself. During our testing period, we managed to print approximately 30 A4 (roughly US letter size) photo prints, plus numerous black and white documents and photocopies before the colour ink supply was depleted to 1/3 of its capacity.
Kodak's ISO Page Yield Test indicates that it's possible to print around 132 A6 (roughly 4 x 6-inch) photos before the colour ink cartridge needs replacing. Based on the recommended price of the standard 30 series ink tanks - £14.99 in the UK and $19.99 in the US - this puts the price per print at 11.5p, or 15 cents.
Yields for black text pages are measured at 335 pages. With a standard black Kodak series 30 cartridge costing £7.99 in the UK and $12.99 in the US, this prices it at 2.4p or 3.8 cents per page.
Naturally by buying online you can make considerable savings on the quoted ink prices, and opting for the larger XL 30 series tanks and Combo or Value Packs will shave even more off the total. This makes the running costs seem very reasonable.
Performance and print times
Like the Kodak ESP 3.2, photo prints from the all-in-one Kodak ESP 1.2 are good quality. Our test shots using the best 4 x 6 glossy photo paper had good levels of saturation, and contrast levels were better than our A4 prints made with Kodak Gloss Photo Paper.There's plenty of shadow detail visible in photos, but this can come at the expense of highlight texture. As with the Kodak ESP 3.2 test chart, the brightest values on a greyscale wedge we output on the Kodak ESP 1.2 were indistinguishable.
The rest of the test charts exhibited similar strengths and weaknesses as the Kodak ESP 3.2. They showed good, neutral colouration, slight banding and mottling in transitions and decent levels of detail.
Photo scans exhibit some noise in shadow areas and can lose highlight information, while colour document photocopies benefit from selecting the Best Quality option for finer detail reproduction and more accurate colours. Unsurprisingly, plain paper text prints also look cleaner using this option.
Printing and scanning times
When it comes to scanning, the Kodak ESP 1.2 is efficient. We noted a time of 17 seconds for a colour document scanned to a computer via USB 2.0. A colour photocopy of the same document, using the printer's best quality setting, was output in approximately one minute.
A standard six-page text document took 1min 18secs to print, and we clocked a single text page at 16 seconds from the paper being ingested to the finished page appearing in the output tray.
Kodak's quoted print speed of 38 seconds for a 4 x 6 borderless photo print proved accurate during our Kodak ESP 1.2 test, as with the Kodak ESP 3.2. We averaged between 38 and 40 seconds for fairly dense images on Kodak Ultra Premium Photo Paper.
Verdict
The Kodak ESP 1.2 is a tidy all-rounder that represents good value for money. Considering the price, and the all-in-one nature of the machine, photo prints are of impressive quality.We liked
Good photos, easy Wi-Fi set-up and printing, and an emphasis on keeping things simple for the new user.We disliked
The control interface isn't as slick as the one on its stablemate. It's also a little noisy when it gets going.Final verdict
While the Kodak ESP 1.2 is a good printer, the performance levels are so similar between the ESP 1.2 and ESP 3.2 that it's hard to see why Kodak felt the need to release both all-in-ones.At £10 (around $15), the price difference is so negligible to not be a concern, and because the 'premium' gets you a better screen and interface on the Kodak ESP 3.2, that's where the sensible money should go.
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Review: Kodak ESP 3.2
Introduction
With a suggested retail price of £79 in the UK and $99.99 in the US, the Kodak ESP 3.2 finds itself joining the entry-level multi-function printer fight.Taking on the likes of the ridiculously cheap HP Photosmart 5510 and the Canon Pixma MG3120, the Kodak ESP 3.2 offers a competitive set of features at an affordable initial cost.
The new all-in-one Kodak printer offers wireless printing, copying and scanning - via Wi-Fi, from a computer, smartphone or tablet. The Kodak ESP 3.2 is compatible with Google Cloud Print-enabled apps and Kodak's Pic Flick and Document Print apps.
There's no Ethernet connection to enable it to be hooked up to a wired network - just a USB 2.0 port. Unlike the Pixma MG3120, the Kodak ESP 3.2 features a 2.4-inch colour LCD touchscreen. And this, combined with its SD/SDHC/MMC and USB flashdrive-compatible memory card slot, means that printing can be set up without using a computer.
When it comes to printing, the emphasis is firmly on the photo side of things rather than documents - and photos from mobile devices in particular. Kodak tell us that this is an area it's focused on with the development of the ESP 3.2, and the printer can output prints up to A4 size, at a resolution of 9,600dpi, from iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices.
In terms of inks, the Kodak ESP 3.2 is compatible with the Kodak 30 series of pigment-based ink cartridges. It's the familiar setup - one cartridge for black ink, plus another larger cartridge that contains cyan, yellow and magenta.
This being an all-in-one, the Kodak ESP 3.2 offers scanning and copying in addition to printing. Scans from the Kodak ESP 3.2 are made at 1200dpi, with multiple photos able to be scanned at once and separate files generated automatically. These files can be transferred to computer, memory card, email, Google Docs or network folders.
Build quality and handling
Build quality is in line with what you'd expect at this price point. Superficially, the Kodak ESP 3.2 is similar to the Kodak ESP C110/C310 - a blend of gloss and matt black plastic finished with a yellow trim - and its light weight makes it easily transportable.It's certainly a good option if you don't have the necessary space in your home for a printer to become a permanent fixture.
The Kodak ESP 3.2 is simplicity itself to set up, too. Positioning the printer head, adding the two ink cartridges to the chassis and letting the printer run through its initial calibration and test print routine takes just five minutes.
The printer keeps you informed of proceedings through its excellent 2.4-inch touchscreen display. If you've struggled with setting up a regular desktop inkjet printer, let alone an all-in-one, then you're certain to find the steps the Kodak ESP 3.2 guides you through to be extremely clear and helpful.
It's the Kodak ESP 3.2's larger touchscreen that differentiates it from the Kodak ESP 1.2 all-in-one, released at the same time in the UK only for the slightly cheaper price of £69 (around $110).
The Kodak ESP 1.2's comparatively tiny 1.5-inch display only features a touch panel surround, and that makes things less intuitive. Otherwise, specifications, output quality and print times are shared across the two models.
Performance and print times
With colour management left to the Kodak ESP 3.2, print quality of everyday pictures proves surprisingly good. Colours are generally neutral and come close to those seen in the on-screen image.Our test charts show decent levels of saturation in the solid colours, although these exhibit a faint trace of mottling at times. Some coarseness and a touch of banding is also evident in the colour transitions.
The two brightest values on the greyscale wedge blend into one, and this means that brighter areas of a print will be indistinguishable from a plain white print border.
Text printing showed clear, clean edges without much in the way of bleed, although selecting the Best Quality setting produces a finer result. This is also the case when it comes to colour photocopying, where blocks of colours become cleaner and slightly more faithful to the original.
The cost of Kodak's inks certainly makes this all-in-one an attractive prospect, with a standard black series 30 cartridge costing £7.99 in the UK and $12.99 in the US.
However, having just one colour ink tank means that wastage is inevitable with the Kodak ESP 3.2. Print photos that contain a predominance of one colour - such as cyan in holiday pictures that feature lots of blue skies and seas - and that colour will drain faster than the others.
This isn't a problem with printers that contain separate tanks for each colour - such as the Epson Stylus NX430 or Canon Pixma Pro-1 - where you can simply replace the one that's running low. But when a single colour runs out on the Kodak ESP 3.2, you have to replace the entire cartridge, even if the other tanks still have ink in them.
It might be cheap enough to buy a replacement cartridge, and the prices per print are very reasonable - standard Kodak 30-series ink is rated at 11.5p or 15 cents per A6 (roughly 4 x 6-inch) colour photo and 2.4p or 3.8 cents for mono text (although picking up Value Pack combinations brings these prices down considerably). But this two-tank approach still feels wasteful.
Kodak has already admitted to TechRadar that its printers won't be suitable for everyone - and if you think you won't use the photo printing feature frequently enough to make the efficiency savings then you're likely to be better off looking elsewhere.
Printing and scanning times
Talking of print times, Kodak quotes a 4 x 6 photo print speed of 38 seconds (but points out that actual results may vary). This is accurate, and we were able to regularly achieve a final print in under 40 seconds using Kodak Ultra Premium Photo Paper.
Switching to Kodak Gloss Photo Paper, we consistently clocked print times of 1min 56secs for A4 (similar to US letter size) prints.
Selecting the Advanced Dot Placement Mode option in Print Settings provides the maximum colour printing resolution, but this extended printing time to around 3mins 20secs for a bordered A4 (around letter size) print.
In terms of copy speed, Kodak rates the ESP 3.2 at 28 seconds, with up to 99 copies possible at a time. Scaling ranges from 20-500 per cent or fit-to-page.
Verdict
Perhaps a better choice purely for the home rather than the home office, the Kodak ESP 3.2 is a breeze to set up and use, and a sound choice for a family who want to be able to print wirelessly from their computer or iOS/BlackBerry/Android device.We liked
The touchscreen controls and logical interface make it easy to print, copy and scan.We disliked
The scanner is the weak point of this all-in-one's function - highlights are easily blown in photos.Final verdict
Kodak has certainly delivered value and simplicity, and photo output is convincing when you use premium Kodak glossy photo paper. Running costs are good, and although the launch price of £79 in the UK or $99.99 in the US puts it slightly ahead of its rivals, it's not in a different ballpark.
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Kodak embraces Google Cloud with new printer line-up
Kodak has launched two new all-in-one printers to sit in its lineup, featuring Wi-Fi technology that enables printing on the go from mobile devices.
First up, the Kodak ESP 3.2 printer features wireless printing technology, along with a 2.4-inch colour touchscreen for navigating the different options and features of the printer.
Printing of personalised photo cards, collages and pictures is available with the Kodak Pic Flick HD app for iOS, BlackBerry and Android devices. The ability to print from Google Cloud Print is also available.
Kodak claims that the ESP 3.2 has the lowest total ink replacement cost and the lowest average cost per page, along with the fastest photo speed printing for highest quality prints.
Social networking
Compatible with Kodak Ink cartridges in the 30 series, other features include the ability to create, print and share a photo collage of you and your friends' Facebook pictures with a Facebook app - the first of its kind on the site.Kodacolour technology claims to bring quality, speed and photos that last a lifetime.
Second up, the ESP 1.2 printer is also launched with many of the same features but a smaller (1.5-inch) touchscreen.
The Kodak ESP 3.2 printer price is £79 (around $127), and the price of the ESP 1.2 is £69 (around $110).
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Apple prepares for iPhone 5 by slowing iPhone orders
Apple could be putting wheels into motion as it slowly starts to gear up towards the iPhone 5 launch later this year.
According to analyst Shaw Wu, the Cupertino-base firm has reduced the number of iPhone orders by 20%-25% for the next quarter.
Wu reckons that the decease is "due to the upcoming 6th generation iPhone refresh likely in the September-October timeframe".
iPhone 5 arriving September-October
We've heard reports that the iPhone 5 - or whatever it turns out to be called - may be revealed in June at Apple's annual WWDC event.The June prediction is unlikely if Wu is to be believed, as Apple is known for a fast turn around from announcement to stock in stores – ruling out a 4 month wait from a potential unveiling in just a few weeks time.
Wu also reports that iPad orders has risen from 14 to 15 million units, with the reason given that profitability for Apple's flagship tablet is improving.
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Google to split Android 5.0 love among manufacturers, cut out networks?
Google is reportedly planning on giving up to five mobile makers early access to Android 5.0 (otherwise known as Jelly Bean) rather than focusing on just one flagship Nexus device.
This new plan, which the Wall Street Journal has on good authority from people familiar with the matter, will see a portfolio of Nexus devices launch at once, including both smartphones and tablets.
At the moment, Google uses just one manufacturer (most recently Samsung) to create a flagship Nexus device with the new version of Android on board (currently Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich).
Googley eyes
The problem is that it then takes other manufacturers a good few months to bring out similar hardware that makes the most of the software.This change in strategy could see each iteration of Android have a bigger impact than the current method which trickles updates out as and when.
Google's other problem is that Android manufacturers are wary of its plans for Motorola, so giving them all early access to the software at once could calm their fears.
The search giant is also apparently planning on selling the handsets directly rather than relying on networks – so you'll only be able to buy an unlocked, SIM-free handset from Google and possibly some retailers in Europe, Asia and the US.
It's a plan that makes a fair amount of sense. But we think sticking with the Nexus name across all devices is less likely given that it's more of a stand-alone product name than a brand.
But hey, anything's possible – and we won't know for sure until Google breaks its silence, possibly at this year's Google I/O in June.
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Scientists show off the future of Wi-Fi - smash through 3Gbps barrier
Forget your plain-old fibre broadband connections – scientists in Japan have managed transfer rates of 3Gbps using T-ray technology.
Still in its infancy, T-rays use the terahertz frequency band that is tipped to be the future of data transfer because of the amount of space available for moving around large packets of data.
Due to the sheer volume of devices latching on to lower-frequency bands, scientists have been looking to higher frequencies – the T-ray band runs from 300GHz all the way up to 3THz – to accommodate future wireless data transmission.
Uncharted territory
At the moment, though, this area of bandwidth is completely unregulated and the technology needed to prod around at these frequencies is cumbersome and expensive.This hasn't stopped scientists from the Tokyo Institute of Technology testing the bandwidth and managing to demo a 3Gbps transmission at 542GHz.
Compared this to the last demo, which squeezed out 1.5Gbps back in November, big steps are being made in this area.
Interestingly, the bandwidth has the potential to support data rates of 100Gbps – considering average broadband speeds in the UK are 4.9Mbps, these speeds are almost beyond comprehension.
All of this was made possible due to a 1mm square device called a resonant tunnelling diode.
While we can only dream about these speeds in the home – the technology only works within a 10 metre range – the future of Wi-Fi is getting closer with the new standard (802.11ac) expected in 2013 and will be the first Wi-Fi standard to break the GB barrier.
Netgear has just announced a bevy of new routers for the US market that will take advantage of these speeds – namely the R6200 router, and the A6200 adapter.
No word on whether or not the devices will pipe out the 56k dial-up tone for nostalgia's sake.
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