Tag: Reviews

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iOS 4 Feature: Faces

iOS 4 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPod touch (excluding 1st gen) will be made available to all at no charge on June 21st, 2010.

In this installment, we’re going to take a look at a little feature called “Faces.”

“Faces” is also a feature in iPhoto ’09 and Apple is adding the integration into iOS 4. When you sync photos that have been tagged by Faces in iPhoto ’09, the Photo App in iOS9 will automatically organize those photos based on the names of the faces.

Of course you can also sync selected “Faces” into your iPhone through iTunes, but that means every single picture of the person tagged with Faces will be synced to your iPhone or iPod touch.

Learn more about Faces and iOS 4.

iPhoto ’09 is available for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

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Apple Haters already called WWDC 2010 Keynote “a boring non-event” an hour before it even started.

Surprise, surprise!

Apple Haters Worldwide have already called the WWDC 2010 Keynote as “a boring non-event” an hour before it even started. Based on a telepathically stollen notes from Paul “Microsoft Defender” Thurrott, the only good thing about the Keynote was the announcement of inclusion of Bing into Apple’s closed ecosystem. Thurrott still insists that Microsoft Windows 7 Mobile Phone 7 number Seven already crushed the iPhone. “You still can’t get Microsoft Office and Silverlight and Zune and Steve Ballmer’s hair on the iPhone” says Thurrott. He even added that iPhone OS 4 is an evolutionary upgrade from iPhone OS 3; unlike Microsoft’s Seven Windows 7 Phone Seven Series Seven Ultra The Seventh.

Rob Enderle of The Enderle Me-Myself-and-I group is busy writing his fifth column of the day berating the upcoming WWDC 2010 Keynote. Enderle compares Apple with The Legionaire of Doomsday; similar to Legion of Doom™ but not as trademarked. Enderle believes that WWDC 2010 Keynote is a front for Apple to open a portal to free Ktulu.

Some Android hardcore fan proclaimed that the watever next iPhone be called is lame. That’s because the iPhone 4gettable doesn’t have 10-inch touchscreen and access to free market. The Android hardcore fan points out that no one can get a dedicated porn apps on the iPhone. “What’s the point having something you can touch with porn in it?”

Meanwhile, Jason Chen is sitting at home reading WWDC 2010 Keynote live coverage on other sites. Jason said: “I disassembled the next iPhone prototype, who wants to touch me?”
Eric Cartman calls Jason Chen “lame.”

There a re a lot more rants against Apple and WWDC 2010, unfortunately our telepath is taking a mandatory union break.

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Upcoming Review: Sony DSC-HX5V Digital Camera.

Sony has been airing the ad with Taylor Swift using DSC-HX5V for the past few weeks (months?). I finally got my hands on one. On loan, of course. I can’t spend my money on it, not in this economy. P.S. Simon, where’s my paycheck?

Anyway, this camera is the next generation of point and shoot digital camera. It records AVCHD video, and it has GPS built-in. The “iSweep Panorama” is the killer feature of this camera. No more the awkward picture stitching to make that panoramic one. It is really easy to do on this camera.

Anyway, I’ll be taking this camera on Saturday to a wedding; Carlos Alazraqui’s.

Expect a full review really soon!

In the meantime here’s a picture taken using Sony DSC-HX5V iSweep Panorama feature, re-compressed using Adobe Photoshop.

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JVC Everio GZ-HM400 AVCHD Camcorder Raw Sample.

The latest video sample I obtained is from JVC Everio GZ-HM400 AVCHD Camcorder.

  • 32GB Internal Memory.
  • SD/SDHC Memory Card Slot.
  • 1/2.33″ CMOS Sensor.
  • 10x Optical Zoom.
  • 24MBPS (VBR).

The video quality is above average thanks to the larger CMOS sensor (at 0.429 inch). The video was taken in a low light condition thus the grainy pictures. You can view the h.264 video here or download the Raw file in ISO format (150.5MB).

The video is imported using iMovie ’09; iPhone and iPod touch compatible.

JVC-Everio-GZ-HM400

JVC Everio GZ-HM400 info page

JVC Everio GZ-HM400 @ Amazon.com

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First Impressions: 27-inch iMac and Magic Mouse.

I went to the Apple Store earlier today to help a friend buying a MacBook Pro earlier today. While waiting, I had a chance to play around with the new 27-inch iMac and the Magic Mouse.

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The new 27-inch iMac looks really nice with its 16:9 screen ratio. The black borders now extends to the edges of the body. The screen itself looks spectacular. One of the best large computer screens I have ever seen. The iMac lines now sport SD/SDHC card slot positioned below the Optical Drive slot.

The new iMac initially ships with Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.1 build 10A2155 that includes the Magic Mouse support.

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The Magic Mouse itself is surprisingly small and low-profiled. It feels a little bit heavy for its size and yet light enough to move around. Using the two-finger swipe takes a bit to get used to. I found out for me it is easier to use the thumb and index finger to swipe instead of using the index and middle finger.

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I will be buying this Magic Mouse for review purpose. Unfortunately it was not available in stock at the local Apple Store today.

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Canon Vixia HFS100 Camcorder Raw AVCHD Sample

Canon Vixia HFS100 – Retail Price $1099.99
Canon Vixia HFS100 is priced as low as $969.00 at Amazon.com (July 15th, 2009).
Canon Vixia HFS100 is priced as low as $869.00 at Buy.com (July 15th, 2009).

Check out the sample video from Canon Vixia HFS100 below.

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ISO of the raw AVCHD files is also available here.

Canon Vixia HFS100 features:

  • 1920×1080 HD video recording
  • 24p and 30p recording mode
  • 10x Optical Zoom with O.I.S.
  • 1/2.6″ 8.59 Megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor
  • 24Mbps Recording

Canon Vixia HFS100 is pretty much the same camcorder with Canon Vixia HFS10. Canon Vixia HFS10 records to SDHC card and the bbuilt-in 32GB Flash Memory Canon Vixia HFS100 records only to SDHC card. If you’re looking to buy Canon Vixia HFS100 and want to check out the recording quality, download the raw AVCHD files from Canon Vixia HFS100. The 1/2.6″ CMOS Image sensor makes both Canon Vixia HFS10 and Canon Vixia HFS100 stand out among their competitions. Sony HDR-XR520V has a 1/2.88″ CMOS sensor.

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Disclaimer:

If you bought anything through Amazon link above, and I get some kickbacks.

“If you buy Canon Vixia HFS100, I can buy this Canon Vixia HV40 HDV Camcorder or  the Canon Vixia HFS100” to paraphrase the great Robert Schimmel.

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Panasonic HDC-HS20 Camcorder Raw AVCHD Sample

Panasonic HDC-HS20 – Retail Price $749.95
Panasonic HDC-HS20 is priced as low as $609.95 at Amazon.com (July 15th, 2009).
Panasonic HDC-HS20 is priced as low as $618.06 at Buy.com (July 14th, 2009).

Check out the sample video from Panasonic HDC-HS20 below.

panasonic_hdc_hs20

ISO of the raw AVCHD files is also available here.

Panasonic HDC-HS20 features:

  • 1920×1080 HD video recording
  • 80GB HDD & SD Card Hybrid
  • 16x Optical Zoom with O.I.S.
  • LEICA DICOMAR Lens
  • iA Mode with AF Tracking & Touch Screen

I do not like Hard Drive based camcorders for personal reasons. The Hard Drive capacity is getting bigger and bigger; I am having hard time archiving the raw AVCHD files. Panasonic HDC-HS20 also uses SDHC card as recording media. I’d get Panasonic HDC-SD20 instead of Panasonic HDC-HS20, but that’s just me. Having to own and use numbers of Panasonic and Canon AVCHD Camcorders, I’d now go with Canon Vixia HV40 HDV and Canon Vixia HFS100. The 1/6-inch MOS image sensor is a bit small to produce crisp and vibrant video. Compared to Canon Vixia HFS100 and Sony HDR-XR520V, Panasonic HDC-HS20 is way outclassed. But considering the price, it is a much better choice for those who are looking for an HD camcorder at a lower price.

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panasonic_hdc-hs20_3

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Disclaimer:

If you bought anything through Amazon link above, and I get some kickbacks.

“If you buy Panasonic HDC-HS20, I can buy this Canon Vixia HV40 HDV Camcorder” to paraphrase the great Robert Schimmel.