Verizon on Monday unveiled faster pricing tiers for its FiOS Internet service and announced a promotion that will provide new residential customers with the choice of a free netbook or Flip camcorder.
The company will bump its entry-level, fiber-optic FiOS service from 10 Mbits/s download and 2 Mbits/s upload speeds to 15-Mbits/5 Mbits. Mid-tier speeds will also jump from 20-Mbits/5-Mbits to 25-Mbits/15-Mbits, Verizon said.
For unbundled FiOS Internet service, an annual plan for the 15-Mbits/5 Mbits service will cost $44.99 per month, and a month-to-month plan will cost $54.99. For 25-Mbits/15-Mbits, an annual plan will be $64.99 per month and a month-to-month option will cost $72.99 per month.
In Long Island and the New York City suburbs, entry-level service will be available for 25-Mbits/15-Mbits and mid-tier will have speeds up to 35-Mbits/20-Mbits. To receive 35-Mbits/20-Mbits, however, cutomers must subscribe to a $109.99 per month bundle that also includes FiOS TV Extreme HD plus Showtime, and Freedom Essentials voice service.
To pull customers away from cable to FiOS, Verizon will be offering a free Compaq Mini netbook or Flip Ultra camcorder to customers who subscribe to certain pricing tiers and bundles.
I think I love this camera. I mean, I haven't actually tried the thing out--in fact, I just heard about it a few minutes ago, but I'm fairly certain this is love at first sight. Olympus's new E-P1 is a little bit point-and-shoot, a little bit DSLR, and just generally a rad-looking little camera.
The E-P1 utilizes Olympus and Panasonic's joint Four Thirds technology, which lets manufacturers cram the image quality and speed of a DSLR into a standard point-and-shoot-size body. Like its more expensive siblings, the E-P1 also features an interchangeable lens. Panasonic has already released the Panasonic Lumix G1 and Lumix GH1, both of which utilize the technology. The E-P1 is the first Olympus to use it.
The snazzy, retro-looking camera measures 4.74 by 2.75 by 1.37 inches. It offers 12.3-megapixel shots, a 3-inch LCD, and can capture 720p30 into AVI video. Users can also control the aperture, focus, white balance, and ISO on the device.
The camera ships in July in both silver and white body types. It comes in a number of configurations, with and without lenses. The base price (body-only) is $749.99.
Casio recently announced the newest edition to its Exilim line, the compact EX-H10. This camera is a great traveling accessory, featuring 12.1 megapixels and an ultra-wide-angle 24mm, 10X optical zoom lens. Other features of the EX-H10 include a large 3-inch display, an advanced dynamic photo function, and HD movie function.
What makes this camera stand out from the rest is that it can take up to 1,000 shots on a single full charge. The Exilim Engine 4.0 technology makes this possible by delivering higher image quality and lower power consumption. Missing a great photo opportunity will no longer be an issue with this camera. For all you vacationers out there, the EX-H10 might be just what you've been waiting for.
The Casio Exilim EX-H10 will be available in black with a retail price of $299.99; it's shipping in mid July.
This little Wall-E / Johnny 5 lookalike claims to be "the world's first consumer 3D webcam." Available now, the Novo Minoru works with a number of popular chat programs, such as AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Skype, and OoVoo. The device can record 3D videos, which can be viewed with one of the five pairs of cardboard glasses that ship with each camera (for yourself and friends watching you on the other end).
3D videos captured with the Minoru can be uploaded to YouTube, and the camera can also take 3D snapshots. The Minoru clamps to the top of your monitor or can sit flat on your desk. It works with Windows XP and Vista.
Verizon Wireless and Casio today finally officially announced the EXILIM phone, a waterproof, 5.1-megapixel camera phone with a swiveling screen and 3x optical zoom.
The EXILIM will be Verizon's best camera phone, and it might be the best phone to take to the beach this year. But I will always remember it as the phone that was pre-announced by a pair of soft porn style videos on YouTube, which were pulled down as soon as horrified Verizon and Casio execs discovered what their rogue PR agency had done.
The EXILIM is the follow-up to Verizon's waterproof Gz'One phones, and it's apparently just as rugged as those blockier devices. But it's a lot less noticeable - it looks like a normal flip phone. Other features, along with the high-end camera, include the usual GPS, visual voice mail, Rhapsody music, memory card slot and Bluetooth.
The EXILIM is also the first phone with optical zoom to be released by a US carrier since the Samsung SCH-A970 back in 2005.
The EXILIM is available today for $279.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year contract. Prices go up to $449.99 for month-to-month contracts.
Eye-Fi today announced a new addition to its lineup of wireless memory cards: the Eye-Fi Pro. Priced at $149.99 for a 4GB card, the Pro is a souped-up version of the Eye-Fi Explore Video; it keeps the Wi-Fi hotspot uploading, geotagging, and JPEG and video support of the Explore but adds RAW image support and "ad hoc" transfers.
The Eye-Fi Pro has the ability to create a peer-to-peer connection between the camera and a computer--no Internet connectivity necessary. Since this ad hoc connection eliminates the need to transfer through Wi-Fi, it's entirely possible that speeds from card to computer will be much faster. We'll, of course, have to wait to test it out to know for sure.
Somewhat lost in the many WWDC announcements made Monday was an interesting point: at Apple, at least, the SD card format has won.
Most of the new MacBooks have replaced an ExpessCard slot with an SD card slot, which was designed as a slot to bring in photos from digital cameras. (Given that the iPhone lacks a memory card slot, I think it's fair to say that the SD slot serves way to bring content in to the MacBook, rather than send it out.)
Why do the new MacBooks have an SD card slot, instread of a five-in-one card reader, like other notebooks and desktops? Because "SD is really ubiquitous," Todd Benjamin, director of portables for Apple, said during an interview on Monday at Apple's developer conference in San Francisco.
Consider all of the various small-form-factor card formats there are, or were: CompactFlash, the various Memory Stick flavors, SmartMedia, miniSD, microSD, xD.
It's not clear whether the new MacBook card slot supports the SDHC format, as well as SD. If it doesn't, it surely will in the next revision, with a roadmap toward the terabyte SDXC standard. As you can see, there certainly are quite enough different dorm factors within the SD format alone. It's also unlikely that the smaller SD form factors will go away as the external storage formats for cell phones.
Still, Apple essentially killled off the floppy; it's probably time that it helped consolidate the industry on a single flash card format for desktops, as well.
Light devices are always nice--especially when you have to carry them around for long periods of time. So budding moviemakers are sure to appreciate Panasonic's announcement today that it's releasing two of the world's lightest high-definition camcorders: the HDC-SD10 and the HDC-TM100. Each weighs only half a pound, but has a powerful 16x optical zoom and the ability to record in full, 1,920-by-1,080 (1080p) HD.
The HDC SD10 records on an SDHC/SD memory card and the HDC-TM10 records onto both 8GB of integrated memory and an SDHC/SD card. Both cameras include the new Advanced Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) function, which detects and corrects for hand-shake about 4,000 times per second, helping ensure clear, stable shots even you're zoomed in tight on a subject. The camcorders also have Intelligent Auto (iA), which automatically chooses the most suitable Scene mode for the conditions in which you're shooting; and Auto Focus/Auto Exposure Tracking, for maintaining focus and exposure even while a subject is moving. Both camcorders are compatible with Panasonic's VIERA Link and with VIERA Image Viewer for quick and easy playback on a compatible HDTV.
Both camcorders will be available in September 2009, with the HDC-SD10 priced at $549.95 and the HDC-TM10 priced at $599.95.
The Olympus press team dropped a big hint this week that they might be ready to finally announce launch details on the long-awaited Micro Four Thirds camera.
In March of this year, Olympus said it's on track to launch the camera this summer. Flash-forward to Tuesday: Olympus sent out the following video, which contain little info but just asked, "Will it Blend?" The ingredients--an Olympus DSLR and a compact point-and-shoot. After putting both products in a blender, the video ends with "To be continued...."
In theory, Micro Four Thirds cameras can offer DSLR quality images and shoot speed in camera bodies that are closer in size to compact point-and-shoots. Only Panasonic has yet actually deliver any Micro Four Thirds cameras, to market and neither was radically smaller than a traditional D-SLR. (See the Panasonic Lumix G1 and its more impressive successor, the GH1).
Way back in September of 2008, Olympus announced it was working on its first Micro Four Thirds camera. In the interim, the company has been showing off the nonworking prototype (above). If Olympus's working model stays true to the compact size of the prototype, it could very well be a game changer.
If you've been in the market for an advanced camera that's both rugged and weatherproof, Pentax might have what you're looking for. Today, the company announced the release of its K-7 D-SLR, the first high-end camera that is both splashproof and capable of recording HD video.
The magnesium-alloy body has been constructed with 77 seals for aid in resisting weather, dust, and cold--the camera is rated for operating at temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. But measuring only 3.8 by 5.1 by 2.9 inches (HWD), the camera is still compact, up to 25 percent smaller than other cameras in its class.
The K7's 14.6-megapixel CMOS sensor has been rebuilt from scratch to minimize noise and has four-channel output for speedy image capture. In high-speed continuous shooting mode, the camera can take as many as 40 JPEG pictures at a maximum speed of about 5.2 images per second. Among the cameras new features are mechanisms allow for reducing shake by approximately 2.5 to 4 shutter stops and minimizing dust spots.
For shooting video, the K-7 defaults to 1,280-by-720-pixel resolution at a 16:9 aspect ratio--720p. (You can also shoot in 1,536-by-1,024 or 640-by-416 resolution, both at 3:2 aspect ratios, if you really want.) All video is shot at a rate of 30 frames per second (fps). An HDMI port with selectable output resolution makes it easy to display photos and play back video on widescreen HDTVs.
The K-7 will ship in July for $1,299.95 (body only). New weather-resistant lenses will also be available at that time, for prices ranging from $199.95 (for 18mm-55mm) or to $249.95 (for 50mm-200mm).
Offering real value and excellent features, the Nikon D5000 (http://tinyurl.com/p394dz) is awesome in almost every way--even though it's not our Editors' Choice.
There is no right and wrong in photography. Seriously. Any advice I give is just that--advice. My goal is to get you to think a little differently before you snap the shutter. For instance, you've probably been told (more than once) to get off your butt. Not me. I'm telling you to get on your butt. It's often where the best shots lie.
In the two examples attached to this entry I'm shooting my subjects at eye level. For the single dog and master I sat on the sidewalk. For the little girl and dog I was on my belly! Eye level is the operative concept and the shots definitely benefit. In both cases being low allows the background to unfold and fill the top of the frame.
By the way, what works for children and dogs also works in landscape where being low allows you to include a little foreground color and texture. Try it, but not with your good pants on.
Insulting as it may be to our film-splicing predecessors, the task of manually uploading a video from a camera to a card reader to a computer to YouTube has become an unbearably burdensome process for some folks.
Eye-Fi has taken that excuse right out of their hands with its automatic-upload wireless memory cards. Today Eye-Fi announced that users can now directly upload their videos to Picasa Web Albums, Photobucket, and SmugMug (in addition to YouTube and Flickr). With a choice of five video-sharing sites and more than 20 photo sites, winging over a Mother's Day video greeting to Mom come Sunday is easier than sending flowers, and only a hair more complicated than a phone call.
The 4GB Eye-Fi Share Video card ($79 list) and the 4GB Eye-Fi Explore Video card ($99 list) can both bypass your home computer entirely to upload videos. Whereas the Share works through trusted wireless networks, the Explore can also upload through hotspot access (over 10,000 Wayport locations in the U.S.). The Explore also automatically geotags your videos with location/time information. Both are on sale nationwide.
The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-G3 ($499 direct) is the first camera with built-in
Wi-Fi and a Web browser.It can connect
to virtually any b/g Wi-Fi network to directly upload pictures/video to
YouTube, Picasa, Shutterfly,and a few others.It also has tight integration
with the Sony PS3 viaa networking
protocol called DLNA.
Check out the video
for a close look at all of these features, and stay tuned to PC Mag.com for a full review.
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