Sponsored
Techradar |
- Review: Olympus LS-5
- Sony Ericsson's 4.3-inch Anzu handset tested out
- New PS3 movie service to be controlled by Move
- Twitter launches push notifications for @mentions
- MIT Prof invents camera that sees around corners
- Xbox 360 sales double following Kinect launch
- Review: Viewsonic ViewPad 10
- First picture of Virgin Media TiVo box emerges
- Microsoft: We'll sell 5 million Kinects in 2010
- Panasonic to make Android smartphones
- LG Optimus Star: Android's shining light?
- Exclusive: Google Product Search updates, but not for UK
- Review: Ricoh CX4
- Gary Marshall: Beatles on iTunes. So what?
- The Beatles land on iTunes - 99p a track
- ECB overhauls cricket apps ahead of Ashes
- T3 iPad edition #2 makes an appearance
- In Depth: 20 best Facebook apps
- CES 2011: Intel Sandy Bridge CPU to be unveiled in January
- CES 2011: Intel Sandy Bridge CPU to be unveiled in January
- Microsoft shifts 1 million Kinects in 10 days
- In pictures: Facebook Messages
- LG Optimus One hits 1 million sales landmark
- LinkedIn wants you to brand yourself
- Review: Cowon J3
| Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:30 AM PST  The Olympus LS-5 may look inpressive, but that's nothing to the way it feels – solid, professional and business-like in the hand. The case is all metal and it sits well in the hand. Olympus have a history making dictation recorders that are quite capable of recording half-decent music and so it wasn't such a leap to making a recorder that is designed for music duty as well. Like the Roland R-05, this is actually more a recorder than a player but we have faith in these devices for several reasons, not least their frequent very good sound quality when used as players. But a decent recorder is a handy device and one like this is perfectly capable of recording from line-level sources, making archive copies of old cassettes and LPs at up to 96kHz sampling rate. That's quite apart from the built-in microphones, suitable for anything from speech to quite serious recording of live music events. The sound from the built-in mics has good clarity, admirably low noise and a generally neutral tonal balance, though we found the bass a little uneven. The treble is good, though, lacking the slightly brittle quality that many budget microphones seem to have. Output to headphones is fairly healthy and sounds tonally neutral, but isn't quite as detailed as the Cowon players offer. The real glory is recording from line inputs, which is frankly excellent and a perfectly valid way of making recordings that can be copied to computer. Related Links
| ||
| Sony Ericsson's 4.3-inch Anzu handset tested out Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:30 AM PST  The forthcoming Sony Ericsson Anzu, most likely to be called the Xperia X12 when it launches, has been put through its paces by a Russian reviewer who has managed to get hold of a preview unit. Perhaps the most interesting news is that the preview device tested out was not running Android Gingerbread OS, instead running Android 2.1, with Sony Ericsson looking to launch the device with Android 2.2 early in 2011. The Anzu/Xperia X12 will get an Android Gingerbread (2.3) in a later update, post-launch. High-def video phone The Anzu features a large 4.3-inch LCD display with 854 x 480 resolution, an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor (the same that is found in the HTC Desire Z) and a 12 megapixel camera. The camera will also be capable of recording 720p video. Initial reports indicate that the Qualcomm chipset offers a nippy, lag-free Android experience, encoding 720p video in H264 smoothly and offering users increased playback times for audio and video. Stay tuned for lots more on the Anzu/Xperia X12 when we get the official word from Sony Ericsson. 
| ||
| New PS3 movie service to be controlled by Move Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:07 AM PST  Sony has announced yet another movie streaming service in the US this month, with additional news that motion-control Move support is set to follow soon. US PlayStation owners are to get the new movie streaming service, called VUDU, on November 23, to add to the current choice of Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Sony's own Movie Store. Move-controlled movies Sony plans to introduce a user-interface update for the PS3 version of VUDU later in December, which will allow users to control the service using the Move motion-sensing controller. VUDU was recently acquired by US retail giant Walmart. The service offers PS3 owners high quality HD movie streaming up to up to 1080p with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. "VUDU delivers a massive library of movies to PS3 in true 1080p HD format, providing another choice for PS3 users to experience cinema-quality entertainment in the comfort of their living rooms," reads the SCEA press announcement. "When the VUDU application launches on November 23, PS3 will be the first and only system with dedicated gaming functionality to offer this service. This partnership further establishes PlayStation Network as the complete home entertainment hub, which includes the latest in gaming, movies, television shows, sports, original programming, internet browsing and social networking. "Using the VUDU streaming movie service, PS3 owners will be able to conveniently and instantly access more than 4,000 HD movies for all major Hollywood studios on-demand, including new releases available the same day they are released to DVD or Blu-ray Disk. The VUDU streaming movie service also offers great value to PS3 households, with an enormous collection of titles available for only $2 for a two night rental." 
| ||
| Twitter launches push notifications for @mentions Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:04 AM PST  Twitter has announced that it is launching push notifications for @mentions, allowing you to keep in touch with the important Tweets when you can't constantly check your screen. The official Twitter apps will now allow you to receive a notification when any account that follows you mentions your Twitter handle. "When you're out and about, your phone probably isn't always in front of you," blogged Twitter's Leland Rechis "It might be in your pocket or purse or on a table – perhaps with the screen off. We want to make sure you see important Tweets even when you're not looking at Twitter at the moment. Puuuuush "To help with that, today we're launching push notifications for @mentions," he added."You'll know who is talking to or about you on Twitter, and you'll be able to continue the conversation in real-time," "Notifications for @mentions will initially be available on SMS and on the latest version of Twitter for iPhone, which you can download today from the App Store." Twitter has also added push notifications for Messages to Twitter for iPhone and the company is "working hard to introduce this feature to Twitter for Android and Twitter for Windows Phone soon". 
| ||
| MIT Prof invents camera that sees around corners Posted: 17 Nov 2010 12:47 AM PST  A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor has invented a new digital camera that can see around corners. The new camera will allow users to shoot pictures of people and scenes around the corner of a building. Laser-vision The tech magic is down to the use of an ultra-short high-intensity burst of laser light which illuminates the scene, by collecting tiny amounts of light that bounce around objects around corners hidden from the human eye. A femtosecond laser lets the camera shoot ultra-short bursts of laser light that last for one quadrillionth of a second. The MIT team hopes the new camera tech will have numerous useful military applications. "It's like having x-ray vision without the x-rays," said Prof. Ramesh Raskar, head of the Camera Culture group at the MIT Media Lab. "But we're going around the problem rather than going through it. "You could generate a map before you go into a dangerous place like a building fire, or a robotic car could use the system to compute the path it should take around a corner before it takes it," added Prof Raskar Professor Raskar and his team have been working on developing the new camera tech for the last three years 
| ||
| Xbox 360 sales double following Kinect launch Posted: 17 Nov 2010 12:16 AM PST  It looks like Kinect is successfully attracting new and casual gamers, if recent Xbox 360 console sales are anything to go by. Sales of the Xbox 360 console have doubled since the launch of Microsoft's new motion-control tech earlier this month. Microsoft has already sold well over a million Kinects and hopes to hit five million Kinect sales by the end of 2010. Xbox Black Ops UK Chart-Track figures, corroborated by trade mag MCV, show that Microsoft's console experienced a massive boost in sales over the last week, following the arrival of Kinect on 10 November. Xbox 360 sales have also, no doubt, been boosted by the arrival of Activision's latest blockbuster in the shape of Call of Duty: Black Ops The Xbox 360 version of Black Ops accounts for around 55 per cent of all copies sold to date. 
| ||
| Posted: 16 Nov 2010 09:03 AM PST  Viewsonic's first seriously sized tablet, the ViewPad 10, gives a perfect demonstration of how little the right hardware really matters in this growing market. Tablet PCs have been around for aeons, but until Apple got in on the action by injecting it's iPhone with growth hormones, they were poorly functioning badges of geekdom, not the highly desirable, consumer products they are (or can be) today. As well designed and as well made as it indeed is, the iPad still represents a very locked-down look at the mobile world. What we've been waiting for is a device to rival it with the freedom of creation and expression that the more open platforms offer. And every time we see a new tablet from outside the Jobsian world there's a little something in all of us that's hoping this time the designers and manufacturers have got it right.
To be honest though, we hardly needed to lay eyes on the ViewPad to know it didn't stand a chance. The first surprise is in the name. Viewsonic is not normally a name we'd associate with producing a tablet device; it's more well known for its monitors and projectors. But thankfully, at least this is no Next tablet. The Android OS is the only similarity the Viewpad boasts compared to that poor excuse for a paper-weight. And Viewsonic has also seen fit to cram another operating system on there too in order to distract you away from any comparison. Yep, this is a dual-booting effort, packing both Windows 7 Home Premium and Android 1.6.
The dual-booting nature of the ViewPad 10 is one of the few standout features of this new tablet, the other is the use of the Intel Atom N455 processor at its heart. That Atom CPU is the saving grace for the Windows 7 Home Premium OS that represents the ViewPad's other boot option.
Having a relatively speedy processor humming away in there means the Microsoft OS has a fighting chance of actually being usable, and at 1.66GHz the Atom N455 actually punches pretty well for its weight. The rest of the specs include a 16GB SSD, a ropey looking 1.3M webcam and 1GB of memory; all housed beneath a 10-inch, capacitive multi-touch panel with a thoroughly widescreen 1,024x600 resolution.
There's also a micro-SD slot too, capable of coping with up to 32GB of teeny-tiny storage.
That though is not the neat extra you might think it is. Nope, the micro-SD slot is completely essential, as a large quantity of the apps you might wish to install in the increasingly geriatric-feeling Android 1.6 OS will do precisely nothing until you add in an SD card.
The operating system cannot even distinguish between a USB storage drive and an SD card - it sees them as the same if you plug anything into the two USB 2.0 ports on the one side of the ViewPad 10.
As well as these two confused USB sockets there's also a mini-VGA output if you can find such a lead capable of firing the images into an external panel, with a standard size headphone jack beside it too. In terms of wireless connectivity you seem to be limited to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth only. There is a SIM slot above the webcam but it wouldn't accept a normal-sized SIM, so it looks like 3G isn't available in this model.
The hardware performance of the ViewPad 10 isn't really the issue with this tablet. The real problem, as ever, is the performance of the operating system. It seems an almost cowardly move opting for a dual-boot solution, giving the user the optimal experience in neither. Viewsonic hasn't had faith enough in its product, or more likely simply wasn't able, to optimise it for either OS. That was something Apple got, and continues to get, right. The iPad isn't incredible hardware, the OS is just tailor-made for the best end-user experience. The ViewPad 10 however delivers a flaky, semi-functional and often frustrating experience. That might have been good enough for the geeks of old, but we expect to be better treated by our devices these days. The fact the Atom is still tied to Android 1.6, and the restrictions on the Android Market for devices that aren't smartphones, makes that OS an incredibly off-putting experience. There are likely to be few times you'll deliberately boot into Android once you've used it a couple of times. Of course you may accidentally start it up having failed to hit the correct bizarre combination of button presses necessary to coax the Linux Grub loader into doing your bidding. Seriously, my ageing HTC Magic, forever tethered to Android 1.6, has more functionality than the weighty tea-tray the ViewPad 10 becomes in its open source OS. I can count on the elbows of one arm how many times I've had to reset my phone because the OS froze, though that kept happening for the days I was fortunate enough to spend in the company of the ViewPad. The AndAppStore, the faux Market catering for the ViewPad 10, has a number of programs on there to choose from, though it's a nightmare searching through when many lack any form of description whatsoever. And somewhat disappointingly, the seeming wealth of porn-related apps failed to work on the ViewSonic either... Though I doubt that's because of any clever filtering as half the apps I tried to install failed to respond or scale to the non-phoney screen anyway. Aspects of Loathing When the iPad was first announced there was a certain amount of consternation and criticism about the size, but more importantly the aspect ration of it's screen.
With the world going Cuckoo's Nest crazy over 16:9 widescreen the fact it went for a more squared-off ratio turned some heads. Viewsonic (or whoever actually designed and manufactured the ViewPad) obviously thought shrinking the screen was the way to solve such a supposed issue. In Windows 7 the 1,024x600 resolution is simply too-tight when used in landscape mode and far too narrow in portrait. And when the otherwise responsive on-screen keyboard comes up there's little screen left when the device is held horizontally.
I don't care that there's no black bars on the widescreen movies you're playing back, the chugging playback from the Intel graphics kinda precludes me from even wanting to hit the play button, let alone measure the movie-framing of the iPad. A real killer for the ViewPad though is the battery-life. At five and a gnat's hair hours on Window's battery-saving profile, and with minimal brightness, it's far from ideal. That combination of 3-cell battery, Windows OS and the Intel Atom CPU which robs it of any long-term performance also mean that it chugs through power even when it's in standby mode. So a fresh boot is called for unless you're into haemorrhaging power. This is not a device you're going to leave under the sofa and be able to flick it on in an instant. Unless you've got a powered dock under there anyways.
So all in all the ViewPad 10 is a very confused li'l device. Neither of the operating systems really do the responsive hardware justice. Windows 7 Home Premium simply isn't an OS designed to work well on these machines. I'm happily running it on my flip-screen Acer because that laptop will effortlessly switch between tablet and notebook modes in a trice, not because it's the best system to marry with a touchscreen. Likewise the rapidly ageing Android 1.6 OS is at best an abortive attempt to be relevant and at worst a horrifically frustrating experience that's likely to be responsible for turning more people away from Android than the iPad. And that is the problem right there. Every tablet is now going to be compared, rightly or wrongly, to the iPad. That machine is a perfect example of computing designed for the optimal end-user experience. The ViewPad may as well come with an irreplaceable desktop wallpaper with the words "screw you" standing out in high contrast for all the effort ViewSonic seems to have made ensuring the usability of its device. Given the ViewPad 10 costs the same as a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad, the comparisons are going to continue to be made, and never made favourably. It's a shame because, battery-life aside, the hardware propping up the two failing operating systems actually works pretty well. I'm not sold on the too-widescreen aspect ratio, and the viewing angle is fairly poor, but the Atom and 1GB RAM are as responsive as the touchscreen is. The build quality too is generally good; there's no creaking and no flexing of the frame when you pick it up one-handed. It's a little on the heavy side, but nothing too serious. The ViewPad 10 then is an ideal example of why the likes of Asus and MSI are steering clear of the tablet game for now, or putting their prototypes out there for OEMs to pick up and furnish themselves. The long-awaited EeePad and WindPad from the Taiwanese twosome are unlikely to come before there is a functional OS ready and waiting to look after the capable componentry that's already on offer. So, in terms of the iPad-beater, we are still waiting. We liked: Surprisingly the hardware powering the ViewPad 10 is rather responsive. The capacitive screen works well and despite the low memory capacity the Atom CPU helps make sure the Windows OS is rarely sluggish. We disliked: Well, pretty much everything else. Neither of the dual-boot operating systems are relevant for this type of device and only the Windows 7 OS is actually usable; the Android 1.6 option continually fell over. The AndAppStore too is shockingly poor. Without the Android Market to give it life the 1.6 OS is doomed forever to lie unbooted in the hardware. Despite the responsiveness of the capacitive screen, the viewing angle is poor, the dotpitch chunky and the aspect ratio positively obstructive to anything but movie-viewing. And the five and a bit hours of battery-life is just not good enough for a tablet. And the fact it uses up so much power just in standby is unforgiveable given that state is the one tablets invariably find themselves sat in. Especially if they're lumbered with the long load times associated with a Windows OS. Related Links
| ||
| First picture of Virgin Media TiVo box emerges Posted: 16 Nov 2010 08:50 AM PST  Virgin Media has released a teaser photo of its forthcoming TiVo-powered set-top box – including a glimpse at the remote control that the next-generation offering will be coming with. The company has already outlined certain details of its new box – including the fact that it will have a modem built in – and has now shown off a picture of the box, albeit masked by a sheet. The new TiVo Virgin Media boxes are due to arrive in 2010, so it is not long to see if the colaboration with the US PVR masters is a good one.
TiVo has established a reputation for a top quality user interface, and the company has enjoyed mainstream acclaim from the States. The brand did have a brief launch in the UK but found itself shoved out by early-ally Sky – a company which has enjoyed huge success with its Sky+ offering. Other details on the new box include a 1TB hard drive and the aforementioned modem – which will mean that streaming television will not affect your broadband connection. 
| ||
| Microsoft: We'll sell 5 million Kinects in 2010 Posted: 16 Nov 2010 08:33 AM PST  Microsoft's Steve Ballmer has announced that Microsoft expects to have sold 5 million Xbox Kinects by the end of 2010, in line with the company's early predictions The Kinect for Xbox 360 is a key product for Microsoft, expanding its popular Xbox 360 console into a more family-friendly offering by bringing motion and voice control. Speaking at the 2010 annual shareholders meeting, Microsoft CEO Ballmer explained that the 1 million landmark announced recently was just the tip of the iceberg. Revolutionary "Yesterday we announced that we have sold 1 million Kinects in the first 10 days," said Ballmer."We expect to sell five million units by the end of 2010." Ballmer had previously explained that the Xbox's success has been a massive boon for Microsoft and that Kinect was a 'revolutionary' arrival. "The Xbox has been at number one in the console sales market for the last five months in the US, said Ballmer. "Kinect is a revolutionary way to play games with your body and your voice; no controllers, no headsets or wands or wires." 
| ||
| Panasonic to make Android smartphones Posted: 16 Nov 2010 08:26 AM PST  Panasonic has announced its intention to re-enter the smartphone market this week, with the first launch of Android-based handsets due in Japan in early 2011. Panasonic isn't exactly known for its phone output outside of Japan, having left the oversees smartphone market in 2006. Panasonic admits that it is "late to the party" but the tech company believes it can make an impact. Playing catch-up In a news conference, Osamu Waki, head of the company's mobile communications unit, said: "We misjudged the speed at which smartphones would be taken up in the Japanese market. "With the rapid shift to Android, we want to catch up quickly." Although the launch is initially in Japan for 2011, Panasonic is set to bring Android handsets oversees (including the UK) in 2012. Panasonic currently sells around 5 million phones in Japan. It is aiming to triple its phone sales by 2015. 
| ||
| LG Optimus Star: Android's shining light? Posted: 16 Nov 2010 07:58 AM PST  Another new Android-toting handset has appeared online, going by the name of the LG Optimus Star. In the same week that the LG Optimus One sold a million handsets, making it LG's fast-ever selling phone, the LG Optimus Star appears – and comes with some interesting specs. These include: a dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor powering the device, a 4-inch display and an 8MP camera with full HD 1080p video recording. This makes it the first dual-core Tegra 2 powered smartphone on the market. Star turn It's unclear what OS the LG Optimus Star has but it does seem to be a With Google device. We hope that it will have Android 2.3 inside, and the fact the handset has a front-facing camera - meaning that you will be able to video call on the device - does point to this. Also on board is a microSD slot and a micro USB port. The UK release date is still to be announced, but the LG Optimus Star is shaping up to be a decent device. 
| ||
| Exclusive: Google Product Search updates, but not for UK Posted: 16 Nov 2010 07:56 AM PST  Google has upgraded its US Product Search, but a UK overhaul is not imminent according to the search giant. The US Product Search has been given a fresh coat of paint for the busy 'Holiday' period, with retail partners brought in to bolster the offering. But the UK will have to wait for a similar upgrade, with Google telling TechRadar that there are no fresh deals in place. No partnerships "We don't currently have any partnerships with retailers in the UK," said Google's Clara Armand-Delille. "But we're always interested in making our products and services more relevant to our users locally." The US update includes "several new features", with Sameer Samat, Director of Product Management discussing a 1.3 version of the Google Shopper mobile app and the arrival of 'popular products' and aisles, as well as the partnerships. "We've partnered with more than 70 retail brands - including national retailers like Best Buy and Williams-Sonoma, as well as software manufacturers like JDA, Epicor and Oracle - to connect shoppers searching online with local stores that have the items they're are looking for in-stock," blogged Samat. We'll have to wait and see if Google is going to expand its UK offering. 
| ||
| Posted: 16 Nov 2010 07:30 AM PST  The Ricoh CX4 was released only a few months after its predecessor, the CX3. With many serious competitors in the high-end compact market, have Ricoh updated the camera enough to warrant shelling out more money for the latest version? The CX4 certainly has plenty in common with the CX4 (albeit with slightly more rounded edges for better grip) including the same 10.7x optical zoom (4.9-52.5mm - 28-300mm equivalent), 3 inch 920,000 dot transparent LCD and a 1/2.3 inch, 0 megapixel CMOS sensor. The CX4 is not equipped with a viewfinder, so you'll need to use the rear LCD to compose your shots. You can still pick up the CX3 at a cheaper price, so what are you paying extra for in the newer model? Image stabilisation has been improved, along with redesigned AF tracking and "night landscape multi shot mode" for low noise, low light images and a range of new creative filters including soft focus and toy camera effects. At first glance, the Ricoh CX4 looks like it should belong in the same class as premium compacts like the Panasonic Lumix LX5 and the Canon Powershot S95. Indeed it has the same sleek black styling found on these cameras, and appears to be a high quality product.
It's also reassuringly weighty and sits well in the hand, the finger naturally resting on the shutter button ready for action. The body feels robust, if a little plasticky, but those new curved edges lend it in air of class. DSLR photographers will welcome the scroll wheel at the top of the camera, along with the joystick on the rear, giving the appearance of seriousness for what is essentially a point and shoot model. The mode dial itself is a little awkward to use when shooting one-handed, but this is something you could get used to over time. The joystick, which unfortunately feels a little flimsy, also proved annoying when used with the menu. Head to a menu option and find the setting you want to change, press down on the joystick to activate this change? Wrong, frustratingly this takes you out of the menu – you need to remember to press right if you want to activate something. Again, this is a nuance that you get used to with time. It could also be said that using the tiny joystick may prove awkward to bigger hands that might prefer dedicated arrow buttons instead. Unlike premium compacts such as the S95 et al, shooting in manual exposure mode is not an option with the CX4. The closest thing you'll get to this is by using the "MY settings mode" on the top dial, where you can preset a number of different options such as ISO, aperture, image size and white balance. This might prove handy if you want to always make sure you shot in a low ISO, or at a particular white balance and don't want to rely on the auto settings. You can't adjust aperture or shutter speed though, as you would be able to on the (admittedly more expensive) premium compacts on the market. Another frustrating feature of the CX4's My Settings mode is its inability to remember the settings you were just using, in any mode. So, for instance, if you change the ISO to 100, switch off the camera and pick it up again, it will have reverted to whichever preset you have saved. If you want it to remember what you have been using before you switch it off, you will need to dive into the Setup menu and select Reg. My Settings – hardly a quick operation. A large zoom range (10x) is one of the most impressive and saleable features of the CX4, and a great bonus for travel photographers. Those who like to have the greatest level of control may find it frustrating that you can only zoom in steps (i.e. 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and so on), but at least zooming is a fairly quick operation. The zoom ring around the shutter release is a little plasticky and doesn't feel particularly well built. The noise emitted from the camera as the lens is fully extended sounds rather worrying, until you hear the noise it makes while attempting to focus, not the most discreet of sounds. The rear 3 inch 920,000 dot LCD screen is one of the best features of the CX4. It's bright, can be seen well in bright sunlight and is sharp. A handy electronic spirit level appears when shooting with the camera in both vertical and horizontal orientations, helping you to capture straight horizons, but it's worth noting that it won't work when pointing the camera straight down towards the ground. As with many compact cameras, a key concern is start-up time. Shooting in Auto mode, it takes around 3 seconds to boot up and another second or two to focus and take, most of the time. Although shutter lag is thankfully virtually non-existent, in certain situations, it struggles to find a focus point and will hunt around for a few seconds before locking on. This isn't a super quick camera, but it will do for most situations.
Despite several shortcomings in the usability of the camera, the Ricoh CX4 actually delivers pretty good results. The colours are bright, punchy and sharp although the auto white balance can provide some odd results at times, so you might need to watch that, especially as you can't shoot RAW files and correct later. You have the option to shoot in 4 different formats, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 and 1:1 which is good for creative photographers, and the filters (miniaturisation, dynamic range, high contrast black and white, soft focus, cross process and toy camera) are quite fun and work reasonably well. Miniature mode does a decent job of recreating a tilt-shift lens effect, while cross process will gives the lomo look that is trendy right now. Sensitivity can be altered on "My Settings" mode in one-stop increments ranging from ISO 100-3200. Noise is minimal up to ISO 400, but as with most compact cameras after this the images become increasingly noisy from 800. In fact they are virtually unusable at the highest end of 3200, unless prints are to be kept very small. Overall, it's a solid performance from a compact of this price range. Ricoh CX4 ISO Comparison test
Ricoh CX4 - ISO 100 (Click to view full size image)
Ricoh CX4 - ISO 100 - 100% crop (Click to view full size image)
Ricoh CX4 - ISO 200 - 100% crop (Click to view full size image)
Ricoh CX4 - ISO 400 - 100% crop (Click to view full size image)
Ricoh CX4 - ISO 800 - 100% crop (Click to view full size image)
Ricoh CX4 - ISO 1600 - 100% crop (Click to view full size image)
Ricoh CX4 - ISO 3200 - 100% crop (Click to view full size image)
Miniature mode, ISO 100, f/3.5 - the Ricoh CX4 does a decent job of recreating an expensive tilt-shift lens. (Click to view full size image)
Cross process mode, ISO 100, f/7.0 - the trendy Lomo style can be acheived with the cross-process filter. (Click to view full size image)
Soft focus mode, ISO 100, f/7.0 - acheive a dreamy look with the soft focus filter. (Click to view full size image)
Toy camera mode, ISO 100, f/7.0 - the CX4 applies a vignette to recreate the toy camera effect. (Click to view full size image)
High contrast B&W, ISO 100, f/3.5 (Click to view full size image)
Auto mode, ISO 100, f/4.1 - Use the electronic level to make sure horizons always appear straight. (Click to view full size image)
Macro auto mode, ISO 100, f/3.5 - The CX4 can get close to subjects, providing sharp results, but sometimes it hunts around for a focus point for a few seconds. (Click to view full size image)
Auto mode, ISO 100, f/3.4 - the Ricoh CX4 features an impressive 10x zoom, compare this wide-angle shot with the next at fully zoomed. (Click to view full size image)
Auto mode, ISO 100, f/5.7 - At full 10.7x zoom, the results are pretty sharp - but watch out for camera-shake when shooting. (Click to view full size image)
The Ricoh CX4 is basically a high-end point and shoot camera, and for both ordinary everyday shooting and fun photography, it performs well. Travel photographers on a budget looking for a neat package that will fit in a pocket will be impressed by its sleek looks and large zoom range, but serious photographers could be left disappointed by a lack of manual control. It's worth considering however that the RRP for the CX4 is around £100 less than the premium compacts (such as the Canon S95) that it so closely resembles, so it is perhaps unfair to expect it to deliver the same results. Related Links
| ||
| Gary Marshall: Beatles on iTunes. So what? Posted: 16 Nov 2010 07:02 AM PST  Do you remember where you were when Apple made its world changing, unforgettable Beatles announcement? I was right here, on this chair, in front of this computer, making this face: meh. I suspect you were doing something similar. To most of us, the arrival of The Beatles on iTunes is as exciting as the news that Andrex has switched its bog roll colour from white to Winter White. It's something that simply doesn't matter. *That* was the announcement US Apple fans got up early for? No streaming iTunes, TV rentals or mind-brain interface? Old guys' music is now available in a shop? Part of it is The Beatles themselves. I'd agree that they were the most important band of all time, but the kids don't care: it's old people's music, as much a part of young people's lives as whittling, spats or the Black Death. Even Britpop, which briefly made The Fab Four cool again, was a very, very long time ago. Already owned The trouble with old people's music is that old people already have it. If you're a fan you'll already have the albums on vinyl, or CD, or reissued CD, or remastered CD, or reissued remastered reissued best of compilation box set volume three. There hasn't exactly been a shortage of Beatles products over the last few decades - and almost all of it is available more cheaply on CD than it is on iTunes today. And then, of course, there are the torrents. If I had a penny for every person currently seeding the Beatles' entire discography or one of their best-ofs, I could afford to graft a badger to my head just like Paul McCartney appears to have done. I find it hard to believe that anyone has spent the last decade desperately waiting for the Beatles to hit iTunes, and I shudder to think how much money has been lost to the torrents and P2P nets while Apple (Corp) and Apple (computer) have bickered. Despite all of that, I can't stop thinking that Apple's iTunes announcement was still pretty brilliant. The hyperbolic teaser demonstrated genuine excitement, and its placement on Apple.com shows that to at least one person, The Beatles on iTunes is a really big deal. That person, of course, is Steve Jobs. In a business where shareholder returns matter more than songs, it's nice to know that the CEO of the world's biggest music retailer actually cares about - and still gets excited about - music. 
| ||
| The Beatles land on iTunes - 99p a track Posted: 16 Nov 2010 06:37 AM PST  It's official: The Beatles are coming to iTunes for the very first time, with their entire back catalogue being made available to users of the music store. The albums have popped on to iTunes, with tracks available for 99p a pop and double albums (like The White Album) priced at a whopping £18. Currently if you want to purchase The White Album (CD) on Amazon, you will be paying just £12.99. Single albums are priced at £10.99 and there is a boxset which will cost you £125. The boxset contains the 13 remastered studio albums with iTunes LPs and mini doc Past Masters and the Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964 concert film. The Live at the Washington Coliseum, will also be streamed on iTunes for free for the remainder of the year. This announcement was meant to happen at 3pm UK time, but somebody from Apple decided to put up the back catalogue early on to iTunes. Come Together It's taken years for EMI and Apple to see eye to eye over selling The Beatles' albums over iTunes but - after an extremely short teaser this week - an agreement has been reached and the Fab Four's music will be available digitally to all, via iTunes, just in time for the Christmas charts. It was originally thought the The Beatles would come to iTunes after the Apple, Inc (Jobs and co) and Apple Corps (The Beatles' record label) dispute ended in 2007. It wasn't until 2008, however, that both parties were close to making a deal. Paul McCartney said at the time that talks 'had stalled'. He did explain, though: "I really hope it will happen because I think it should." It's taken two more years for talks to resume and the albums to hit iTunes. During this time, MTV and EA stole some of Apple's thunder by releasing The Beatles: Rock Band – a game supported by the remaining members of the band and included a number of The Beatles' songs. Regardless, having The Beatles on iTunes is a major coup for Apple, and puts to rest many years of rumour and speculation. 
| ||
| ECB overhauls cricket apps ahead of Ashes Posted: 16 Nov 2010 05:33 AM PST  With the Ashes just over a week away, the English Cricket Board has announced a major overhaul of its online offerings, including a new version of its popular iPhone cricket app and an Android version on the way. The ECB is keen to keep up with technology and has updated its website so that it works better on mobiles. But if the new website is a cover drive for four, it's the Apps that provide a couple of Sixes – with the popular iPhone app getting an overhaul and the promise of an Android app as well. Fantastic response "We had a fantastic response from the public to the launch of our dedicated iPhone application last year and the challenge now is to target yet more cricket followers with the most up-to-date and comprehensive service available," said ECB Director of Marketing and Communications Steve Elworthy. "There are an estimated nine million cricket fans in the country and with around 800,000 children under the age of 18 playing the game, it's more important than ever that we use new technology to present the sport in an engaging and compelling fashion. "With London-based digital agency the OTHER media we have developed a suite of products keeping fans up-to-date with the latest scores, video and news whenever they want them and wherever they are in the world. "And all this comes just in time for The Ashes, one of the most important events in the cricketing calendar." So, if you know your googly from your silly mid-offs then this is certainly good news. 
| ||
| T3 iPad edition #2 makes an appearance Posted: 16 Nov 2010 04:03 AM PST  T3's first iPad edition was a roaring success for the gadget magazine, and the second issue is now out boasting a special Christmas issue price of £2.99. T3, by TechRadar's publishers Future, showed off the power of the iPad as a magazine reader with their first attempt – and the price has been dropped for those keen check out what gadgets should be on their Christmas list. "After just a few days of release, the T3 iPad edition made it to the top of the iTunes iPad app charts," said T3 editor Luke Peters. Feedback "The feedback we've had since has been fantastic, with some stating it's the best digital magazine currently available on the iPad," he added. "Obviously we're far too modest to brag, but we are incredibly proud of what we've created and are pleased to announce the launch of issue two in November. "Packed with gorgeous gadgets, stunning photography and the kind of immersive interaction that the iPad was made for, you can now see the biggest issue of the year in digital form." The T3 iPad edition is available now from iTunes. 
| ||
| In Depth: 20 best Facebook apps Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:47 AM PST  There's a whole lot more to Facebook than poking people, sharing your status and commenting on photos. Applications make Facebook into a wider social site where you can play games, enjoy common interests, and share gifts. Most applications are provided by third parties who have developed them according to Facebook's guidelines. As with applications that you run on your computer, you need to ensure that they're trustworthy before giving them access to your information. You can find new apps to install in the Application Directory. You'll find Facebook recommendations, plus information on which of your friends use each application. Use the search bar to look for apps by name, or browse through the categories in the left-hand column. You may also receive invitations from friends to start using particular applications, but check them out before accepting by visiting the app's profile page. Applications have profile pages similar to your own, which give information about the application and show other users' reviews. Select the app from the Directory to see its profile, and go to the Info tab to read the information provided by the developer. If you also want to find out what other users think about this application, click the Reviews tab. If you're happy with what you see, return to the application's wall and click "Go to Application". Click Allow, to permit the application to access your data, and it will now appear in your list of applications on your profile. Select the application to go to it. Bookmark your favourites You can add as many apps as you like, although not all will appear on your profile page. If you want to ensure an application appears in the left-hand column simply bookmark it – in the top right-hand corner of the page, click Account > Application Settings. Pick the app to bookmark in the list and choose Edit Settings. Click the bookmark tab and select bookmark. If you subsequently decide you don't want to continue using an application, you can remove it. Go to the Account drop-down menu in the top-right of the page and choose Application Settings. Find the application that you want to remove and click the X to its right, then click OK to confirm it. You can also make a dedicated tab for a particular application if you like it, by clicking the + icon to the right of your existing tabs on your profile. Select the application you want to add from the list, or search for more options. 1. Lexulous
Lexulous is a fun word game that follows very similar rules to Scrabble. You can play against friends or challenge random strangers to beat your word power. You're given seven random letters and you need to create words that fit into the growing grid. Click and drag the letters from your hand onto the board, and you'll score more for double and triple letter or word scores. It's currently one of the best-loved applications on Facebook and can be a huge time-sink because it's so addictive. 2. Picnik
Given Facebook's aptitude for sharing photos with friends, it makes sense to also have a photo-editing tool available on hand for quick image fixes. Picnik provides you with access to its online photo-editing directly within Facebook. You can crop, rotate, resize and colour-balance your photos, or remove red-eye. It's ideal to use on pictures that you've emailed in or sent from a mobile, where you wouldn't normally have editing features. Picnik also enables you to browse and edit any photo you're tagged in. 3. Flixster
Flixster is designed for movie-lovers to discuss films they've seen with Facebook friends and fellow cinema-goers. The application helps you keep up with the latest releases in cinemas and on DVD, and you can rate the movies you've already seen. Plus you can flag films you want to see, so you can arrange to watch them with other friends using the application. Flixster also includes thousands of movie trivia quizzes that you can complete, and challenge friends to beat your score. 4. Trip Advisor: Cities I've visited
Share your travel experiences with your friends and help them decide where to go and what to do when they venture out in the world with TripAdvisor. There's an element of travel-boasting involved, where you mark which cities on a map of the world that you've visited, but you can also note those that you know well enough to advise others on. More importantly, you can fl ag places that you'd like to visit, and benefit from the wisdom and experience of your other friends who've already been there. 5. Where I've Been
Similar to Trip Advisor's application, Where I've Been extends beyond the list of your frequently visited cities and enables you to note down everywhere you've been in the world. You can post reviews of places for the benefit of the whole community, or become an expert on a particular place if you'd like to advise others. Where I've Been comes well-tipped by members of the travel industry, and so it goes beyond simply flaunting your travel experience to become a research tool in itself. 6. Twitter
Link your Twitter account to your Facebook profile and get two social networks for the price of one. You can use the Twitter app to find and follow those of your Facebook friends that also use Twitter. You can also set the application to automatically post your tweets to update your Facebook status. It will ignore @replies and direct messages, however, to prevent your status getting clogged up with Twitter conversations. Use the application to encourage Facebook friends to find and follow you on Twitter. 7. PuzzleBee
PuzzleBee suits jigsaw lovers everywhere. Use it to create new jigsaws from your own Facebook photos, or compete against other users to finish the "jigsaw of the day" puzzle in the shortest time. Unlike other online puzzles, you can rotate pieces as well as move them around, and you can change the number of pieces in each puzzle to alter the level of difficulty. As you complete different puzzles you move up the hierarchy, in a quest to progress from Baby Bee to Queen PuzzleBee. 8. DivShare
The DivShare application links your Facebook account to its online storage service, so you can use it to share documents, photos, music and videos with your friends. It enables you to link your files with your profile, or post them on friends' walls. You can even share them in your news feed. Files can be up to 200MB in size and you can have unlimited storage space on the DivShare servers. You can host anything that meets the terms of service for free, as long as your account lasts, and you don't have to register. 9. Web Sudoku
Web Sudoku provides you with a new Sudoku puzzle to play within Facebook every day. Enter numbers one to nine in the blank squares, without repeating any in a row, column or block. The puzzles come from Web Sudoku, which is the most popular Sudoku site on the internet. You can change the level of difficulty as you improve – puzzles come in easy, medium, hard or evil levels. When you complete a puzzle you can compare your time with your friends, or see how you rank against all Web Sudoku players. 10. Market Place
Why sell your second-hand items to strangers using eBay? Instead you can advertise them to people who you know and trust within your group of Facebook friends, using Market Place. You can use it to advertise stuff you want to give away for free, or set up a classified-style listing for items that are worth money. You can also use it to find articles for sale within a specified distance of your location, and sift through listings to find tickets to events, housing, cars and even jobs advertised. 11. My Flickr
My Flickr enables you to display your Flickr photos and photo sets to your Facebook friends without them leaving Facebook. It's a third-party application, not officially supported by Flickr, and you need to authorise the app in your Flickr account settings. The application respects your Flickr privacy settings, so only photos you've marked as public will be shown on Facebook. You can also pick shots to showcase your photography on your profi le. You can select these from a simple search. 12. Birthday Calendar
Facebook can remind you about friends' upcoming birthdays if they've shared their dates of birth with you, but the Birthday Calendar app is designed to help you plan ahead; it shows you all the upcoming birthdays in your Friends network, displayed in calendar format. Handily, you can also add friends and family who don't use Facebook, to make it your main point of reference for all your birthdays. You can then set up email alerts or SMS text messages, to remind you of those in the coming weeks. 13. Weekly Schedule
Weekly Schedule enables you to view your calendar and share it with friends, making it simple to work out free and busy times and arrange suitable times to meet up. You can set up side-byside schedules for easy comparison, or search through your friends' calendars to find times when they're free. This works best when you and your friends all use the app. To maintain privacy you can block specified friends from seeing your information. It's also easy to set up recurring events. 14. Task Master
Having sorted out your appointments and compared them with friends, it would really help to have a tasks list to manage all the items you need to get done. Enter Task Master, which enables you to manage your to-do list within Facebook. You can set up different tasks under a variety of categories, and also set different priorities for each one. Extra functions can set due dates for time-sensitive tasks, and send timely reminders when you have deadlines for tasks. 15. Zoho
Zoho provides a complete online office suite that you can use alongside Facebook. You can sign in via Facebook and link your Zoho account to your Facebook one. The free version provides you with 1GB storage, which you can extend if you subscribe. You'll get online document management, spreadsheet, word processor and presentation applications, plus mail, calendar and the ability to set up collaborative projects with others. You can store your documents in folders and share them with other users. 16. Networked Blogs
Networked Blogs enables you to monitor your favourite blogs using Facebook and see new posts appearing in your news stream. You can also use it to promote your own blog to other interested Facebook users, and discover new blogs that your friends enjoy or those that other people with similar interests to yours recommend. When you start using the application you need to subscribe to at least five blogs, then you can start finding new ones or promoting your own. 17. Docs
Docs comes from Microsoft's Future Social Experiences labs and enables you to view, create and share Microsoft Offi ce documents within Facebook. It's powered by Microsoft Web Apps and provides a simple search utility to help you fi nd templates and documents that might be of use. You can also use your Facebook information to create documents such as CVs based on a collaborative template. A very handy feature also enables you to produce an automatic presentation from your Facebook photos. 18. Bejeweled Blitz
Bejeweled Blitz is a Facebook version of the very popular PopCap game Bejeweled, where you need to swap pairs of jewels to match three or more of the same colour, creating cascades and scoring points. This version enables you to challenge your friends or even work alongside them to earn prizes. There are a few surprises in this version of the game, including bonuses for completing levels at speed and multiplier gems to add new challenges. You can try some practice games before getting launched into the competition. 19. Files
Facebook Files provides you with a virtual thumb drive where you can store handy files online. It uses a Box.net account and retrieve them wherever you're able to sign in. As with other online storage services, you can set sharing permissions on your files to make them available to friends and family. A basic Box.net account provides you with 1GB online storage space for free, but if you want more you can subscribe to the service. Subscribing also then enables you to collaborate on files in specified folders. 20. Visual Bookshelf
Where Flixster enables you to share with your friends the movies you've seen and what you'd like to see, Visual Bookshelf does much the same with your reading tastes. You can catalogue the books you own and those you've read, and then contribute reviews and ratings. These in turn help you to find others in your circle of friends who like similar books and help generate discussion about the literature. You can then share recommendations or even arrange to lend and borrow books from each other. 
| ||
| CES 2011: Intel Sandy Bridge CPU to be unveiled in January Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:44 AM PST  Intel has confirmed it is to launch its latest generation of chips, the Sandy Bridge processor, at CES 2011. According to Electronista, invites have been sent out which confirm that Sandy Bridge will be shown off at the consumer electronics show in January 2011. The chip, which is a showcase for Intel's new CPU architecture, is set to be (at the high end) a six-core model, which is made from 32nm silicon and has 15MB of cache memory. The chip is a major overhaul of Nehalem and while it uses Intel's existing integrated graphics technology, it is said to be pretty special when it comes to graphics performance. Sand storm It will also come with support for Intel's new 256-bit AVX extensions, a quad-channel memory controller and PCI Express 3.0. It has been confirmed that there will be an eight-core version available in due course. At the lower end of the spectrum, there will be Sandy Bridge dual- and quad-core variations available. Intel will be hoping that the few months it has got before AMD showcases its Bulldozer chips will give it a bit of an edge. 
| ||
| CES 2011: Intel Sandy Bridge CPU to be unveiled in January Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:44 AM PST Intel has confirmed it is to launch its latest generation of chips, the Sandy Bridge processor, at CES 2011. According to Electronista, invites have been sent out which confirm that Sandy Bridge will be shown off at the consumer electronics show in January 2011. The chip, which is a showcase for Intel's new CPU architecture, is set to be (at the high end) a six-core model, which is made from 32nm silicon and has 15MB of cache memory. The chip is a major overhaul of Nehalem and while it uses Intel's existing integrated graphics technology, it is said to be pretty special when it comes to graphics performance. Sand storm It will also come with support for Intel's new 256-bit AVX extensions, a quad-channel memory controller and PCI Express 3.0. It has been confirmed that there will be an eight-core version available in due course. At the lower end of the spectrum, there will be Sandy Bridge dual- and quad-core variations available. Intel will be hoping that the few months it has got before AMD showcases its Bulldozer chips will give it a bit of an edge. 
| ||
| Microsoft shifts 1 million Kinects in 10 days Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:15 AM PST Microsoft has sold a million Kinect motion control kits for the Xbox 360 after only ten days on sale. The game console and computing giant announced the milestone on its own website this week. Target of 5 million The plan is to sell a whopping 5 million units by the end of 2010, with Kinect looking set to be the 'must-have' toy for both hardcore and casual gamers this coming Christmas. Microsoft recently announced that the next Star Wars and Forza games due for release later in 2011 will both be fully Kinect-compatible, giving hope to the legions of hardcore gamers who have to date been unimpressed with the launch line-up of games for the new motion-control tech. Microsoft's head of interactive entertainment, Don Mattrick, has this to say about the Kinect sales to date: "We are appreciative of the response we have seen from consumers that has culminated in sales of more than 1m units in the first 10 days on the market for Kinect for Xbox 360. "This is a great start to the holiday season, and we will continue to work with our retailer partners to keep pace with high demand and deliver against our plan to sell more than 5m Kinect sensors worldwide by the end of this year." Kinect is available now at a standalone price of £130. 
| ||
| In pictures: Facebook Messages Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:57 AM PST  The "future of modern messaging" - that's what Facebook is calling its new Facebook Messages service. The revamped feature brings your email, IMs, Facebook messages and texts into one seamless inbox. In theory, Facebook Messages enables various forms of communication to take place on Facebook - even texts. We're interested to see how that works in practice but, for now, Facebook has given us these images to give us a feel for the new offering. When the new Messages service is available for you, you'll see the below message.
Alternatively, you might see this new Messages splash screen if you click on the Messages sidebar link.
Here's the email setup screen.
You'll see new messages appear much as before - all of your messages are integrated into a single, continuous thread. Messages from friends are prioritised and that everything else goes into a separate 'other' folder - rather like Gmail's new Priority Inbox. There are also other enhancements such as adding or removing people from threads, sending attachments or forwarding messages.
You can also choose to receive texts into Facebook - choose your country, then your carrier.
Facebook says Messages will also have the following features:
| ||
| LG Optimus One hits 1 million sales landmark Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:54 AM PST  LG has announced that it has already hit the million mark in sales for the LG Optimus One smartphone. The Android smartphone is aiming to be a competitively priced handset, and the early sales have already made it the company's fastest selling smartphone. When sales across Europe Asia and the US are combined, the Optimus One is now a million seller – just 40 days after its launch. Easy transition "The versatile, powerful LG Optimus One was designed to provide an easy transition into the world of smartphones and as these numbers demonstrate, there is obviously a strong demand for this type of device," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "Optimus One seems to be what many customers were waiting for, proving that smartphones aren't just for early adopters anymore." The phone was praised in the TechRadar LG Optimus One review for its battery life and 'uncluttered' Android 2.2 OS along with some clever custom LG widgets. However, the design was considered bland and the screen resolution criticised as it picked up 3.5 stars out of a possible five. 
| ||
| LinkedIn wants you to brand yourself Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:45 AM PST  LinkedIn launches a new campaign this week helping its members to understand how to 'brand' themselves better. This is in the sense of making up a perceived persona for yourself and not, of course, burning your own personal logo onto your forehead. Which would be both painful and stupid. Brand yourself better LinkedIn wants us all to understand how "own personal brand" works and also how we might "make it stronger. As such, LinkedIn has employed the branding expertise of Andrzej Moyseowicz (Saatchi & Saatchi), Katie Ledger (former BBC Click journalist), John Woodward (Publicis Worldwide) and David Midgely (INSEAD). "Your personal brand has never been so important. In a competitive job market it can sometimes be difficult to stand out from the competition," reads the PR blurb. "People spend a lot of time perfecting CVs and interview techniques but often miss a very obvious trick. Recruiters and HR professionals will often check a person's online profile before putting them forward for a job, or even before returning a phone call, this means that employers have potentially formed a first impression long before you are called in for interview." For more this latest development in aggressive, hyper-competitive personal online branding you might want to check out LinkedIn's 'fun' online BrandYou Survey to "test the strength of [your] personal brand," alongside the company's BrandYou Group with discussions, tips and advice from the aforementioned BrandYou Board members. Maintain your credentials LinkedIn claims to be "the world's largest professional network with more than 80 million members worldwide." Kevin Eyres, Managing Director at LinkedIn Europe, says of the new initiative: "BrandYou is about establishing, building and maintaining your credentials, profile and professional experience throughout all stages of your career. As a complement to your offline reputation, managing your online reputation has never been more important in Europe than it is today. "This is due to two factors: the increased mobility of the workforce – Europeans are changing jobs at an unprecedented rate – and with the increased proportion of Generation Y employees within the workforce completely at ease with social media and its mix of professional and non-professional interaction." 
| ||
| Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:00 AM PST  The Cowon J3 is a considerably more fancy player than the Cowon i9 and offers much greater capacity (an 8GB model costs £165). What's more, it includes a micro-SDHC slot so you can add up to a further 32GB of removable storage, a highly appealing prospect from many points of view. The basic feature set is similar to the i9, in fact, including FM radio and voice recording (at selectable bitrates, in this case), but adds line input recording – though this requires an optional extra cable. Size strikes us as very well-judged for such a device, with a display large enough to show pictures that can be viewed without a microscope, but overall dimensions that will fit easily in a pocket. The display is touch-sensitive (though not multi-touch) and operation is particularly pleasant and largely intuitive. Again, computer connection (via a special USB cable to Cowon's multipurpose docking connector) requires reboot to set up, but is subsequently easy and fuss-free. The J3 is admirably quick to wake up on switch-on. The main difference from the i9 in sonic terms seems to be that the J3 has rather less output, enough to drive most low-impedance headphones to potentially unsafe levels but not quite enough for satisfying sound from high-impedance cans. However, it does seem to have a little more subtlety and finesse to it, with greater precision particularly in the bass. Indeed, with good-quality headphones (again, the supplied ones will get you going but aren't marvellous) the combination of drive, extension and detail in the lower octaves is really very fine. Only in the highest treble is the sound occasionally a little dry. Related Links
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from techradar To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment