New Gadgets

Don’t you just hate it when you try to take a photograph of your child or one of your favorite nephew/niece and they look at everything except the camera? Normally you’d need to wave a brightly colored toy around while you’re taking the picture so the kid will look in the general direction of the camera? Sometimes this can cause your picture to be off focus or shaky. And other times, when you’re out, you might not have a toy handy with you.

Well, Samsung has devised a solution to the problem with their latest 2View camera. Back in 2009, Samsung introduced a new line of cameras that featured dual-LCD displays – one in the front and one in the back. Probably targeted at the younger generation, the cameras made taking self-portraits a snap. Well now, Samsung are back with an update to the 2View camera. Called the ST700, it works like a regular 2View camera with a new addition: cartoons.

By playing back interesting, cute animations on the camera’s front screen, asking a child to look towards the camera is going to be a no-brainer. Just hit play, and you can be sure that for your next photo album, the kids are all going to be looking at the camera – at least until the kids get bored of the cartoons (luckily the camera comes with eight different animations). Users can also record and playback 30-second clips on the front display, or run a slideshow of photos on the camera if the kids have lost interest in the cartoons.

The camera takes images in 16.1-megapixels resolution, has a 5x optical zoom and Smart Auto 2.0 presets to help you automatically optimize your shots in any lighting. The Samsung ST700 is on sale now for $279.99.

You know the drill: Panasonic introduces a perfectly capable camera, and a few months later Leica tweaks a few angles, paints it black, and slaps its iconic logo on its own version of it — admittedly, changes that make all the difference in terms of design. In this case it’s the Panasonic ZS10 that’s gotten revamped as Leica’s new V-LUX 30, a followup to its V-LUX 20 compact.

At $749, this is actually one of Leica’s more affordable offerings, but that will still only buy you the exact same guts as its $400 (or less) Panasonic counterpart: a 15.1 megapixel sensor, 16x optical zoom, 1080i video recording, a 3-inch LCD ’round back, and built-in GPS for geotagging. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and look for the camera to be available in June.

There are digital cameras that you simply must have! The pink Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP1 point and shoot digital camera has a flat and compact design but packed with features. It has 4x optical zoom and up to 7.8 extra optical zoom plus sonic speed auto focus to help you quickly take photos of moving objects or action shots. You can also shoot HD movies or videos using this camera. Most of all, this pink digital camera has extended battery life which is a feature that comes in handy when traveling or being on the go.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android Honeycomb tablet is now available for pre-order from J&R. The 16GB tablet is priced at $499.99 while the 32GB version will set you back an additional $100. Here’s a quick rundown of its specs: it offers a 10.1-inch display with a 1280 x 800 resolution, a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, full 1080p HD playback, a 3-megapixel camera capable of recording 720-p video, a 2-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chats, and more.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 also happens to be the thinnest tablet on the market right now. If you want a deeper dive, be sure to check out our full review of the limited edition version.  J&R doesn’t specify exactly when the tablet will ship, although we’ve heard the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available on June 8th.

Own a Nintendo 3DS and wish that you could do more with it? When we say more, we are talking about getting the most bang for your buck, so mark your calendars for this coming June 7th, as Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to get hold of downloadable extras from Best Buy from that date onwards. This collaboration would mean Nintendo 3DS owners can experience automatic wireless access at around 1,000 Best Buy stores throughout the US, although those will be select locations only.

When you enable this service, you can access bonus content including gaming extras and movie trailers courtesy of the handheld console’s integrated Wi-Fi connectivity in addition to its new SpotPass, instant share feature. Apart from that, Best Buy customers will also be in line to receive special offers via the in-store service.

A Best Buy statement reads, “We want our customers to fully tap into the potential of their Nintendo 3DS device, so we’re pleased to offer free access to special Wi-Fi and SpotPass content in-store.” Will this nugget of information nudge you to make a 3DS purchase anytime soon?

Verizon Wireless announced on Monday that it will activate its blazing fast 4G LTE service in Pensacola, Tallahassee, and Gainesville Florida; Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama; Fayetteville-Lumberton, North Carolina, and in and around Philadelphia on May 19th. Verizon currently offers two 4G LTE phones, the HTC ThunderBolt and the Samsung DROID Charge, two USB modems, and two 4G LTE mobile hotspots. Hit the jump for a release detailing Verizon’s LTE roll-out in Philadelphia, the largest market from today’s announcements.

4G Smartphones, Modems And Hot Spots Arrive On The Expanded Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 19

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Starting Thursday, May 19, more Verizon Wireless customers across the Philadelphia metro area will be able to surf the web, download files and share music and photos up to 10 times faster than before with Verizon Wireless’ 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The expansion will improve coverage in New Jersey to the northwestern sections of Gloucester, Camden and Burlington Counties including the towns of Woodbury Heights, Blackwood, Runnemede, Voorhees, Moorestown, Cinnaminson, Mount Laurel and Delran. In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 4G LTE coverage will be expanded to include the areas surrounding Newtown, Richboro and Buckingham.

Consumers and businesses in Philadelphia, including Philly International Airport, portions of South Jersey and Delaware, have had access to the nation’s fastest 4G mobile technology since last December. The company also launched 4G LTE service in the Lehigh Valley in April and has announced plans to activate its 4G LTE service in Harrisburg and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre by the end of 2011.

“We are proud to help lead more of the Philadelphia metro area into the 4G LTE wireless broadband world, helping residents, small businesses and local government connect faster and more fully with each other and those outside our community,” said Mario Turco, regional president of Verizon Wireless. Our 4G LTE network is revolutionizing the way people communicate, and we know this connectivity will be a key communications and technology enabler for many years to come.”

Smartphones, Hotspots and Laptop Modems

Residents in more locations across the Philadelphia metro area can choose from an array of devices that have already launched to access the blazingly fast speeds of the 4G LTE network, including:

* Just introduced on Saturday, the DROID Charge by Samsung features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED™ Plus display, a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for both stills and video chatting, Android 2.2 platform, 1 GHz application processor, HTML 5 Web browser and Mobile Hotspot capability that lets customers share the 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices or the 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Available for $299.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
* ThunderBolt™ by HTC smartphone is powered by Android™ 2.2 and has an 8-megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording, 1.3-megapixel front facing camera with video chatting capabilities, newest generation of the 1GHz Snapdragon processor and Mobile Hotspot capability that lets customers share the 4G LTE connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Available for $249.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
* Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4510L and the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-LC11 let customers share the 4G LTE internet connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices at the same time. Each available for $99.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
* Verizon Wireless 4G LTE USB Modem 551L comes equipped with a fold-out USB connector, a four color LED Service Status Indicator and an internal antenna. Available for $99.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
* The LG VL600 4G LTE modem comes equipped with a fixed USB connector, an LED Service Status Indicator and an internal antenna. Available for $99.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
* Pantech’s UML290 USB modem comes equipped with a fold-away, 180 degree rotating USB connector, an LED Service Status Indicator and a internal antenna. Available for $49.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.

Coverage

In real-world, fully-loaded network environments, 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink, so customers can enjoy the fast speeds of the world’s first large-scale 4G LTE network. Verizon Wireless began introducing the globe’s first large-scale LTE network on December 5, 2010, covering more than 110 million Americans, and is quickly expanding national coverage. In addition to expanding five new markets, the company is adding nine new markets this week, for a total of 55 metropolitan areas covered. The company is rapidly building out its 4G LTE network, and is on course to deliver 4G LTE to its entire 3G wireless footprint by the end of 2013. In addition, the company is working with rural communications companies to collaboratively build and operate a 4G network in those areas using the tower and backhaul assets of the rural company and Verizon Wireless’ core 4G LTE equipment and premium 700 MHz spectrum.

When customers travel outside of a 4G coverage area, the devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless’ 3G network is the most reliable high-speed wireless data network in the country, allowing customers with laptops and smartphones to download and use cool apps, from mobile social networking platforms to GPS-enabled maps, rapidly browse the web to keep up with news, sports, stock quotes, Hollywood gossip and more, work on-the-go with fast file sharing and stream must-see video and customized radio stations.

4G LTE Data Plans and Pricing

With the DROID Charge by Samsung and the ThunderBolt by HTC, customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a 4G LTE data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access and an Unlimited 4G LTE data plan is $29.99 monthly access.

4G LTE Mobile Broadband plans for the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4510, Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-LC11, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE USB Modem 551L, LG VL600 4G LTE modem and Pantech UML290 USB modem begin at $50 monthly access for 5 GB of data. Data usage can be tracked by logging on to My Verizon online at www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network.

Verizon’s second 4G LTE smartphone, the Samsung DROID Charge, is finally available. Here’s a quick refresher of the phone’s spec sheet: it offers a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, a 32GB microSD card, and an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video.

We recently reviewed the DROID Charge, and with data speeds that hovered regularly around 20Mbps in New York City, we called it the 4G LTE “phone to beat.” You can pick up the DROID Charge in Verizon Wireless stores and online for $299.99 with a new two-year contract.

An International Trade Commission (ITC) judge has ruled that Kodak did not infringe upon camera patents held by Apple. Reuters is reporting that an administrative law judge rejected the Cupertino-company’s claims, with a final decision by the ITC due on September 19th. Kodak, although not as prominent as it once was when film reigned supreme, still holds a treasure-trove of patents.

“Many investors see Kodak’s value in its lucrative portfolio of intellectual property,” reads the report. “It has more than 1,000 patents and it made an estimated $630 million in 2010 from its licenses. But analysts have said this revenue from licenses is unpredictable and the portfolio might eventually dwindle.” Kodak has a pending suit filed against both Apple and Research In Motion, again surrounding smartphone camera technology, that is set to be decided upon on May 23rd.

Sony has launched a new range of MP3 players, the Sony Walkman B Series, which are a range of wearable MP3 players designed to be used when your out running or playing sport.

The Sony Walkman B Series MP3 players come in a range of different colors, and you get a choice of either a 2GB model which is enough for around 470 songs or a 4GB model which is enough for about 980 songs.

According to Sony, the B Series Walkman features a battery life of about 18 hours, and it supports a range of formats including MP3 and WMA. These new MP3 players from Sony will go on sale in June 2011, there are no details on pricing as yet.

TRENDnet has just rolled out a spanking new 450 Mbps Dual Band Wireless N USB Adapter (also known by the model number TEW-684UB), where it is touted to be the first ultra-high performance 450 Mbps wireless USB adapter in the world. The 450 Mbps Dual Band Wireless N USB Adapter will be able to upgrade both your desktop and laptop to the highest wireless performance that is available today.

Currently, most computers purchased that come with integrated wireless are more often than not outfitted with either 150 Mbps Wireless N or even slower 54 Mbps Wireless G technology, where they are the bottleneck culprits when you’re connected to a 450 Mbps router. This is what TRENDnet intends to reverse with the TEW-684UB.

Boasting of advanced Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology alongside a trio of spatial streams per antenna are able to generate a maximum theoretical wireless throughput of 450 Mbps. You can quickly connect to a 450 Mbps 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz wireless network with but a touch of a button, apart from the convenience of one-touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS).

The inclusion of a 3-foot USB extension cable also makes it easier for you to strategically place the adapter in your home or office, while TRENDnet has also thrown in the WMM Quality of Service (QoS) technology that will do its bit to prioritize gaming, Internet calls, and video streams. LEDs are conveniently located on the front of the adapter to convey device status.

According to Pei Huang, President and CEO of TRENDnet, “In the highly competitive Networking market space, it is fairly difficult to be the first to market with new technology. Thanks to the dedication of all TRENDnet employees, we have brought to market, not only the first 450 Mbps USB adapter, but also the first 450 Mbps router, 450 Mbps Ethernet adapter, and 450 Mbps access point. Now for the first time, TRENDnet gives consumers the opportunity to network all of their devices to a high speed 450 Mbps network.”

If you want to up the ante for wireless performance in your home or office, then the 450 Mbps Dual Band Wireless N USB Adapter can be yours for a highly affordable $79.99.