Japanese Nikon has announced that it will stop manufacturing most of its film products to focus on digital cameras. The measure includes discontinuing production of all large format Nikkor lenses and enlarging lenses, several camera bodies, manual focus Nikkor interchangeable lenses and related accessories. Sales of these products, according to the company, will cease as supplies come to an end. Nikon will keep only two film cameras in its lineup: the F6 and the FM10. Film bodies represented only 3% of the US$ 1.5 billion sold by its camera and imaging division in the fiscal year ended in March 2005.
SanDisk unveiled last week a new series of Sansa MP3 players that replicate Apple’s iPod nano stylish design. The e200 devices, available in 2 GB, 4 GB and 6 GB capacities, measure 1.7x3.5x0.5 inches (4.4x8.9x.1.3 cm) and sport a 1.8-inch TFT color screen. In comparison to the nano, it adds video playback capability, FM tuner and a microSD expansion slot, for additional memory. Battery life was not informed. The players will be available in March with suggested retail prices of USD 200, USD 250 and USD 300.
Ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), in Las Vegas, Kodak today introduced what it calls the world’s first dual-lens digital still camera. The pocket-sized Easyshare V570 wraps both a wide-angle (23 mm) and a 5x optical zoom (39-117 mm) lens into a black and silver frame less than an inch thick. The camera, equipped with a 2.5-inch LCD screen, also captures video at 30 frames per second using MPEG-4 compression. Suggested retail price is USD 400.
Six companies have formed an alliance to propose design guidelines for high-definition audio and video networks. The High Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) initially comprises Charter Communications, JVC, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, NBC Universal, Samsung and Sun Microsystems. ARM, Freescale Semiconductor and Pulse-Link have joined as contributing members. HANA members plan to create guidelines that would enable TVs, digital recorders and storage devices to connect via a single IEEE 1394 cable capable of transmitting multiple high-definition data streams. The alliance will also develop the idea of a single remote control for all devices. Technologies, however, are not expected to be implemented before 2007.
Creative this week launched the Zen Vision:M, its answer to Apple’s video iPod. The player is very similar to its rival in size, but has almost double the thickness. Initially available only in 30 GB capacity, it features a 2.5-inch, 262,144 color LCD screen and offers four hours of continuous video playback, against iPod’s two hours. The Vision:M, priced at USD 330, also includes an FM tuner/recorder and a built-in microphone.
Sony said that worldwide shipments of PlayStation 2 surpassed 100 million units this week. Launched in March 2000, the console needed five years and nine months to reach the mark, while the original PlayStation took almost ten years to do so. The company plans to unveil the PlayStation 3 sometime next year. It will battle Microsoft’s recently unveiled Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s upcoming Revolution.
After months of expectation, Microsoft today launched its Xbox 360 console, hoping to guarantee a comfortable head start over rival Sony’s PlayStation 3. As anticipated, the videogame is available in two versions, a basic Core System (USD 300) and a premium edition (USD 400), which includes a wireless controller, a 20 GB HD, an Ethernet cable, a headset, chrome finish and a limited free media remote. There are more than 50 titles available at launch. The Xbox 360 is based on a Power-like CPU featuring three separate cores running at 3.2 GHz. It uses a custom ATI GPU clocked at 500 MHz and sports 512 MB of RAM.
Nikon has issued a recall of 710,000 of its EN-EL3 rechargeable battery pack after four reported incidents envolving short circuit and consequent overheat. Owner of affected products should contact the company for a free replacement. The lithium ion battery was distributed worldwide with SLR D100, D70 and D50 digital cameras and also sold separately under model number 26265.
Creative has updated its music player lineup with a Photo version of the Zen Sleek. The 20 GB device has a 1.7-inch color OLED display and is said to run for 19 hours on a single battery charge. At 4x2.2x0.6 inches, it is almost the size of the now defunct iPod mini, though heavier, with the benefit of adding an FM tuner and a voice recorder. The buttons have blue backlight and users are allowed to choose among eight color themes for its interface. Suggested price is USD 300.
As anticipated, Apple has unveiled new iPods capable of screening videos on its 2.5-inch TFT display. The players will be available next week in 30 GB (USD 300) and 60 GB (USD 400) capacities. Apple said the new iPods, to be sold with black or white cases, will have superior battery life of 20 hours. The company also cut deals to offer video content, including primetime TV shows, through its iTunes store.
Apple this week stirred speculations that it might soon introduce an iPod with video capabilities. The company distributed invitations to analysts and reporters to a special event next week in San Jose saying simply “One more thing…”, the same tactics used before last month’s introduction of the iPod nano. Though observers see great potential in an iPod that goes beyond audio and photos, Apple’s chief Steve Jobs recently downplayed consumer interest in such a product.
Ex-rivals Palm and Microsoft have announced a partnership that will result in a Treo smartphone running on Windows Mobile 5.0. Detailed specifications were not disclosed, but the new device will feature Intel processor, color touch screen, QWERTY keyboard, internal camera and SD expansion slot. An early prototype presented at the press conference looked similar to current Treos. Verizon Wireless said that the phone will be commercially available in early 2006.
Dell has officially introduced the DJ Ditty, its first flash-based audio player, weighing only 1.29 ounce and measuring 3.6x1.1x0.5 inches. With 512 MB of storage capacity, the device has a 1x0.4 inch LCD screen and integrates FM tuner. The rechargeable lithium polymer battery promises up to 14 hours of continuous play. The pack includes earbuds, lanyard and black-and-blue USB cap. Suggested price is USD 99.
Panasonic has announced what it calls the world’s first 3-CCD digital video cameras capable of recording MPEG2 onto SD memory cards. The S100, which will be the first to hit Japanese stores in October, measures only 1.96x3.8x3.16 inches and weighs 5.3 pounds. The S300 is nearly identical, but has carbon reinforced polymer on the grip and LCD exterior. The cameras record in widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and feature proprietary MEGA O.I.S. (optical image stabilizer). A 2 GB SD card is included.
Nintendo presented the last unknown piece of its next-generation Revolution console – and it is a quite revolutionary one. President Satoru Iwata introduced during this week's Tokyo Game Show a new one-handed controller equipped with motion detection sensors that can act as a virtual sword or baseball bat. It looks like a small TV remote and includes a traditional directional pad and several other buttons. An expansion port allows users to plug traditional two-handed controllers or joysticks. The Revolution is expected to launch in 2006.
