Three new XF Fujinon lenses were also unveiled at CES, to go with the new X Mount on the X-Pro1. This new mount is really thin, which should reduce shutter lag, and the lenses have some outstanding apertures: The lenses include an f/2.0 pancake, a 90mm f/2.4 macro lens and a 53mm f/1.4mm lens.

The X-Pro1 is expected to appear in March and the price has yet to be announced.

The Nikon N4, meanwhile, has an intriguing wireless network feature. Connect the D4 to a network using either Wi-Fi or Ethernet and you can use your browser to operate the camera – take photos, change your settings, focus shoot video. You can also see a live feed, although of course how well this works depends on the quality of your connection. One of the most useful features is that you can take photos on your camera and view them on your computer immediately, without having to connect it via USB or place the card in a card reader.

The Nikon D4 is a professional DSLR featuring a 16.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, allowing the shooting of Full HD 1080p and 720p video. Pictures can be saved onto Compact Flash or the new XQD memory card format.

The D4 will be available in February and comes at the professional price of £4799.99

Other cameras that focus heavily on connectivity are Samsung’s range, including the 21X-opticazoom WB850F, the 10X optical zoom ST200F and the 18X optical zoom WB150F, which all offer direct uploads and the ability to sync with Android smartphones for sharing and offloading pictures.

Kodak’s EasyShare M750 also allows for direct uploading to sharing sites and can be paired with BlackBerry, Android and iOS handsets.

Camcorders that also offer Wi-Fi include Canon’s Vixia range and Samsung’s QF20 HD camcorder.

Getting rave reviews at CES was the Canon Powershot G1 X, which is a compact camera but still has a 1.5in, 14.3 megapixel sensor  – that’s up there with many DSLRs. So it should give great picture quality (even in low light conditions) without you having to carry around a large camera. It also offers full manual control, 1080p video, and a 14-bit RAW mode

Available in February for around £700.

Lens giant Sigma also announced its new 180mm f/2.8 macro lens for digital SLRS, which features Sigma’s own Optical Stabilizer technology and a wide aperture to offer narrow depth of field and faster shutter speeds.

Sigma also debuted a new range of Micro Four thirds (for Panasonic and Olympus cameras) and E-Mount lenses (for Sony NEX-series cameras) for mirrorless interchangeable lens compact snappers at CES. There are two new lenses – the 30mm f/2.8 EX DN and the 19mm f/2.8 EX DN. Prices and availability to be announced.

[Source: The best cameras at CES]

The ‘Dot’ from Kogeto

The ‘Dot’, from New York based Kogeto, is billed as ‘the World’s smallest panoramic video thingy for the iPhone 4 and 4S’. As you can see from the picture above, the Dot is certainly an eye catching ‘thingy’ and instantly made us curious when we stumbled across it at this year’s ShowStoppers event.

In a nutshell, it clips on to the back of your iPhone and the Dot’s 360 lens sits over your camera. The company’s free ‘Looker’ app then enables you to use the Dot to take a 360 degree video (yes, video!) of your current surroundings.

While the immediate question might be ‘what for?’, it was undeniably something we wanted play with! The initial result was far from convincing with a blurry picture and incomplete 360 video. When we raised this with Kogeto, they said the most likely cause was a protective film on the lens. They also conceded that the current instructions aren’t very clear (no pun intended!) and that we weren’t the only ones who had the issue.

On our 2nd attempt, without the lens protection film and with better lighting, we were able to secure a perfect (albeit still slightly blurry) 360 video capture of the room. In conclusion the ‘Dot’ looks like it will be a fun and quirky gadget to take with you to a party or on holiday. We’ll update you when we get details on UK pricing and availability. For more info visit http://kogeto.com/

Update on Jan 25: Kogeto’s PR people tell us the Dot will be in Apple stores in March retailing at around $79 or 60 euros.

iBallz iPad protective ‘case’

Having been out for a while, the iBallz isn’t exactly a ‘latest’ gadget, but we’re suckers for quirky looking gadgets and we’d not seen this one before. The iBallz is incredibly simple in concept – it’s an elastic cord with four shock-absorbing balls attached to it. You simply slip it around the frame of your iPad and position a ball (which has a small slit) over each corner. The selling points of the iBallz system is that it doesn’t obstruct your view of the screen and it can be dropped from any angle without your iPad touching the floor (check out our video of iBallz).

Initially we were a bit sceptical of the demand for such a strange looking case, but when they mentioned that schools loved the product – it suddenly became clear that co-founders Lee and Derek might be on to a winner. The iBallz is already available for US$20 via www.iballz.info or £19.99 on iwantoneofthose.com

spnKiX motorised skates

CES 2012 was the official launch event for spnKiX – a pair of battery powered, motorised (up to 10mph), skates that you strap over your shoes. Invented and developed by LA-based designers Peter Treadway and partner Janelle, the spnKiX is something they’ve been working on in their spare time over the last 5-8 years (depending on who you asked!). After two or three hours of charging, the spnKiX will give you a range of 2-3 miles and their speed can be controlled via a hand-held remote. According to Peter, the spnKiX can be viewed both as something to play and do tricks with, as well as acting as a short distance vehicle. They are due to start shipping in March 2012 with a retail price of $649. More info is at www.spnKiX.com

‘Flash Dock’ an SLR iPhone/Smartphone dock

The ‘Flash Dock’ enables you to mount a smartphone on top of your SLR camera, using your camera’s HotShoe socket. For those thinking “the what shoe?” – the HotShoe is the socket on the very top of your camera more traditionally used to attach an things like a flash-gun.

However, by marrying your smartphone and SLR, the Flash Dock enables you to use your HotShoe for all sorts of purposes. For example, you could download a spirit-level app from your phone’s app store and use this to ensure your SLR is completely level. Or maybe use the light app to help illuminate a low-light scene. Or even push the dock forwards and use a microphone app to record audio while filming. The only limit is whether someone has developed an app for it!

The Flash-Dock itself is very basic, it’s just a mount and clip, but nevertheless it’s one of those “that’s a clever idea” products that might just prove to be a hit. The French-based company behind the dock are working on distribution, but the expected retail price is $34.95* and they hope it will be available within a month. To find out more information you can visit www.flash-dock.com

*Update on Jan 25: Retail price now $29.99.

Toffee cases and sleeves

While not strictly a gadget-manufacturer, the Sydney-based ‘Toffee’ caught our attention thanks to a combination of their beautiful leather iPad cases and having the charismatic Dan llic helping on their stand. We’ve since discovered (thanks Wikipedia!) that Dan is in fact a comedian, writer and performer back in Australia – which might explain how he had the stamina to remain upbeat and friendly even at the end of another long CES day! We’ll be giving away a Toffee Macbook Air/Pro case in our post-CES competition, but in the meantime you can find out more at http://www.toffee.com.au

Rounding up a round-up

So, that wraps up another year of CES coverage. We hope that you’ve enjoyed our three part round-up and stay tuned for coverage of IFA 2012 and of course CES 2013!

[Source: What caught our eye at CES 2012 – Part 3]

ION Audio’s Water Rocker and iPad Guitar Apprentice

This year saw the guys at ION Audio showcasing a number of brand new and forthcoming products. In addition to the Docs2Go scanner for the iPad (see our video here), we also liked the look of their Water Rocker and Guitar Apprentice products.

The Water Rocker is a football-sized waterproof (and submersible) floating speaker system for the iPhone, iPod or anything else that can accommodate a 1/8-inch jack. After putting your source device in the specially designed cover dock, it will then transmit your music (within an advertised 150-foot range) to the Water Rocker. A nice feature is that you can have up to 10 speakers working from a single transmitter – which could be useful if you have a particularly huge pool (lottery winners take note!). The Water Rocker also features a built-in FM radio and it’s due out in the UK in April with an expected retail price of around £89.

Guitar Apprentice is a full-scale, electric controller that turns your iPad in to a guitar. Combined with the app, you’ll be able to follow the lights on the instrument’s neck to learn guitar skills and chords. You strum the guitar by using the touch screen of the iPad which you can simply dock and undock from the main body of the guitar. A nice design touch is the ability to fold the neck of the guitar in half for easy storage. Guitar Apprentice is expected to be launched in the UK in Q4 with an anticipated price of around £99.99.

Belkin WeMo Home Control Switch

The pitch the lady from Belkin gave was simple: imagine you’ve just got to work and can’t remember if you unplugged your iron. With WeMo, you can simply boot up the free app on your iPhone and instantly see whether the switch is on or off. If you did leave it on, then you can turn it off remotely via the app – wonderful! This was just one example of how Belkin’s new line of home automation products could come in handy.

This particular product (the Home Control Switch) works with your existing electrical system (i.e. by sitting between your device’s normal plug and the wall socket) and then uses your home’s Wi-Fi network. The programmable switch can also work in tandem with the WeMo sensor product that was also announced at this year’s show.

The RRP for the Home Control Switch in the States is $49.99 and it will be available from March. We’ll update you if and when we get details of UK availability and pricing. Belkin’s WeMo section of their web site is at http://www.belkin.com/wemo/

Celluon’s Prodigy iPhone projection keyboard & battery case

The idea of a projection keyboard (i.e. one that beams the keyboard on to a surface) is not new, but this year the people from Celluon were showcasing a prototype iPhone case which not only incorporated the projected keyboard, but also an additional battery and stand. The company is currently evaluating market demand but seemed confident that the Prodigy would go in to mass production and it could be available by late summer. We were told the expected price would be around $179. Having given the keyboard a quick test, it seemed to work well and didn’t miss any of the keys we pressed.

When asked about future products, the company rep mentioned the concept of a universal dock with projection keyboard which would accept all sorts of devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Samsung phones, Galaxy tablet etc. As it’s only a conceptual product, there were no details on release date or pricing – but perhaps we’ll see it at next year’s CES. Visit http://celluon.com/index.htm for further information.

Tamaggo 360-imager

The unusual design of the Tamaggo was the first thing that caught our eye as we turned the corner of another aisle of CES exhibitors. The Tamaggo is billed as the first consumer picture-taking device with ‘fully integrated, built in panomorph technology’ that lets users take high-res 360 degree images with just a single click. In a nutshell, you hold this ball-sized device in the air and hit the big silver button on the side to take a 360 photo of your current surroundings. It can detect the way you are holding the device and will automatically adjust its orientation accordingly for horiztonal or vertical panoramic images.

The Tamaggo’s vital stats are: 14MP sensor, 2″ LCD touch screen, Mini USB and wireless (WiFi/Bluetooth), weighs 190g and is 92mm long, 55.8mm high and 61.1mm wide. It also features a rechargeable Li-Polymer battery and integrated stand allowing for remote image capture.

The Tamaggo will be available in the US in Q2 for under $200. We will update this if and when we have further details on UK pricing and availability. For further product information, check out the company’s site at http://www.tamaggo.com

[Source: What caught our eye at CES 2012 – Part 2]

StreamS HiFi Radio

Download the StreamS HiFi Radio app and you will have access to Internet radio in the car. High quality digital audio is guaranteed with this app and, in using pioneering buffer controls, a strong quality signal will be maintained even in areas where signal strength is not always consistent. Favourite internet radio stations can also be selected and stored via the user-preference dedicated AppRadio interface.

Dash Command

Sounds exciting! The Dash Command app enables users to see all key performance specifications in real time. The live data that is displayed on the screen of the AppRadio head-unit includes fuel consumption, fuel level, engine speed, engine temperature, diagnostics, braking and acceleration, all the things that are displayed on a dash board anyway only a lot more accurately, meaning you’ll never have to guess how much fuel’s left in the tank and be on tenterhooks to whether you’ll make it home or not! Although be warned, this app does require the use of an optical cable that is sold separately.

AUPEO!

Again based on personal tastes, the AUPEO! App enables drivers to customise their music playlists constructed on personal preferences. Based on a list of attributes, such as favourite artists, favourite genre of music, and AUPEO! will provide you with a playlist centred around such preferences.

[Source: Pioneer AppRadio’s new apps: Now there’s no excuse to run out of petrol!]

It features a 2.1 channel sound system with 20 watts output per channel and also supports a powered subwoofer with an automatic active crossover at 80 Hz. The ‘Twenty’ also sports a volume dial which will enable you to fine-tune the level of output, which is particularly useful for those with speakers who perhaps have steeply stepped (e.g., 1-6, etc.) volume controls.

The AirPort Express (which you still have to buy separately) simply docks on to the top of the unit for power and then connects via an optical out cable to the back of the amp. When we asked if it would be supplied with a remote (useful for turning it off if it’s hidden behind your speakers), the company said there were not plans to ship the current version with one. Hopefully they’ll reconsider for any future revision of the ‘Twenty’.

Unfortunately Griffin haven’t released details on pricing yet, but we’d image it would be competitively priced given that you can already buy speakers with built in amps and AirPlay compatibility relatively cheaply. We’ll update this article with pricing when it’s made available.

Additional pictures follow:

[Source: Griffin ‘Twenty’ Airport Express amp at CES 2012 Unveiled]

Samsung has been quick off the blocks with the announcement of the HMX-Q10 camcorder, an SDHC/SD card HD video camera that promises to make filming easier and more affordable than ever before. Let’s face it, the last thing we want when we’re out and about is to have to fiddle around with exposure settings, we just want to grab that moment in the best possible way. Thankfully, Samsung who has been known for a tidy camera or two has produced a model that offers intuitive 1920×1080/60i HD quality no nonsense recording straight out of the box, with many features more normally associated with higher end cameras.

The HMX-Q10’s range of features are all easily accessed via the 2.7’’ LCD touch screen for a start, so there’s no searching for those little switches often hidden away in places you can never find, whilst the list itself is impressive. It has the world’s fist ‘Switch Grip’ for example, a G-magnetic sensor that recognises the angle you are holding the camera and adjusts the LCD display accordingly. So whether you are left or right handed or shooting in unusual positions, you’ll be able to see the screen easily. You’ll also be able to pause recording too, a very handy addition which will cut down on all those clips that need merging later. A very welcome addition.There’s an improved stability system to compensate for a shaky hand (particularly useful in cold weather or when you’re on the move) and the new CMOS audio sensor dramatically reduces distortion and ambient noise.

Samsung has been a pioneer in scene recognition technology, where key elements of your footage such as motion, colour and brightness are all adjusted automatically and the HMX –Q10 features a new improved version which promises to make full use the HD quality available. For those of you looking for photos too, the 5MP Schneider-Kreuznach lens will provide decent enough stills, although lovers of an SLR may choose to scoff at the very thought.

The Samsung HMX-Q10 Camcorder will be available from March 2010.

By Andy Mossack

[Source: Samsung gets to grips with the latest camcorder technology.]

Xperia ‘arc’ by Sony Ericsson

First up is the ‘visually brilliant’ Xperia arc. This is the firm’s first phone to feature a mobile version of the Bravia engine and comes with the latest version of Android. The phone comes complete with an HDMI output to view your videos and photos on your TV as well as ‘Sony Exmor R’ for mobile which helps with low-light photography. Being in a brightly lit exhibition hall didn’t give us much opportunity to test this particular feature, but we did have a quick play with the rest of the phone.  Unfortunately our first impression wasn’t overly positive, we found the interface to be rather slow and the design of the phone (as seen in our candid snapshots above – click to enlarge) wasn’t anything to write home about.

‘Nexus S’ by Samsung/Google

Next up is the latest phone from Google, featuring Android 2.3, full integration (as you’d expect) with Google Mobiles Services and a Super AMOLED display. The phone’s design was perfectly acceptable and comfortable to hold. The feedback vibration when using the screen was reassuring rather than annoying. In terms of usability and speed – we initially found the phone to be extremely laggy and attempting to view a sample video resulted in a black screen. However, all of this was rectified by a Samsung employee who performed the classic ‘turn it off and on again’ routine. Having done this, we found the Nexus to be much quicker and more responsive than the ‘arc’. The Nexus S will also come with support for Flash 10.1 and HTML 5 to enable ‘full use’ of web sites.

Motorola ‘Atrix’

Motorola, ever so modestly, introduced their new Atrix phone as the “World’s most powerful smartphone”. The Atrix comes with a dual core processor which promises faster, smoother graphics and web browsing. It also comes with the World’s first qHD display and a web browser that supports Flash – something which, unsurprisingly, all manufacturers are shouting from the roof tops in order to try and get one over on Steve Jobs and Co.

The unusual and somewhat intriguing (in our opinion at least!) part of the Atrix offering is what the firm calls a ‘revolutionary webtop application’. This is basically a latop-cum-docking station for your Atrix which gives you a bigger screen and full-size QWERTY keyboard. The idea is that you have one of these “I can’t believe it’s not a laptop” devices at home and work and then carry all your files on your phone. Unfortunately the design of the laptop appeared to be very basic and it had a distinctly plasticky feel to it. Motorola aren’t known for their laptops (as far as we know!) and we’re not sure that venturing in to this field is the way to go. However, stranger things have happened – so we’re prepared to eat our hat if this turns out to be the future of mobile computing!

‘Revolution’ by LG

Like most firms, LG announced a whole range of new smart phones at this year’s CES, but again we’ve just focused on the one that caught our eye. In this case it was the ‘Revolution’ which will initially be available on the Verizon network in the US. However we imagine that we’ll see it at some point in the future in the UK but perhaps under a different guise or product name.

The main headline offering from the Revolution is its support for full HD streaming, playback and recording. This means you can wirelessly stream content from your phone to any compatible TV – and we were told this doesn’t just include LG sets. In addition to HD support, the Revolution comes with all the features you’ve come to expect, such as dual cameras for video calling, a 5M AF camera with LED flash, WIFI, Bluetooth, etc. A nice additional touch is that the Revolution comes with a wireless charger which we didn’t see in action but imagine will become more common place in the year to come.

CES 2011 Coverage

Stay tuned for what else caught our eye at this year’s CES. Related links will appear below as they are published:

• CES 2011 Press Events: CES Unveiled, Sony & Panasonic
• CES 2011: Panasonic Tablet, Crayola for iPad & Breffo’s tablet Spiderpodium
  

[Source: CES 2011: Xperia ‘arc’, Nexus S, Motorola Atrix & LG Revolution]

1. Project Natal – Microsoft’s answer to the obscenely popular gyration gaming offered by the Nintendo Wii will be coming to the Xbox 360 in 2010. This isn’t simply a belated response however and Microsoft promises the Natal will be a radical reinvention of Wii’s motion controls that will revolutionise the way we play games.

2. The world’s largest 3D HDTV – Okay so we’re not likely to be able to afford one any time soon, even if we could fit a 152-inch screen into our living rooms; but you’ve got to applaud Panasonic for bringing the world’s largest high definition 3D TV to sin city. The show stopper of a screen was just one of a number of sets on display as 3D TV proved a hot topic.

3. Parrot AR.Drone for the iPhone – The Parrot Ar.Drone is a quadricopter piloted with an iPhone or iPod Touch. The gadget which launches later this year carries two cameras to deliver live video feed directly to your phone and is being positioned as a form of real life gaming where the user has to pilot the device whilst reacting to real life obstacles such as trees, wind and presumably confused looking pigeons.

4. Samsung transparent OLED laptop – It’s amazing how the stuff of sci-fi dreams is starting to make its way into stores and this Samsung laptop with a 14-inch 70% transparent OLED screen is just another example of the type of futuristic looking tech that was showcased in Vegas.

5. LBO LightTouch – Traditional keyboards could be facing their twilight if the trend for e-readers, slates and tablets continues to take hold. But it’s not only the cornucopia of new touch-screen gizmos that are making your traditional QWERTY number look outdated, as this interactive projector that turns any surface into a 10-inch touch screen shows. The LightTouch which uses frankly baffling holographic laser projection technology, can project a screen onto any flat surface; an infra-red sensing system then enables you to interact with the projected display just like a touch screen.

6. ASUS’ bendy screens – The company that kick-started the netbook revolution with its Eee PC’s was also wowing delegates with it’s concept range of bendy laptops and phones with flexible screens.

7. Motorola backfilp – Motorola is renowned for it’s quirkier approach to mobile phone mechanics and its new Backflip handset is a similarly odd proposition, but much better for it. The handset has a reverse flip-out QWERTY keyboard, a unique design that the manufacturer suggests will allow users to stand the phone up on a table and frees up the back of the screen to be used as a trackpad. This means that instead of your fingers getting in the way, you can see the whole of the display while you’re navigating using the handset. It’s a great idea and shows the type of imagination that’s putting Motorola firmly back on the mobile map.

8. Boxee – Is a piece of software that can be installed on your computer so that you can ‘beam’ video content such as YouTube and BBC iPlayer to your television. But the developers have simplified the process even further by releasing a set-top box that plugs directly into your television and streams web content through your home broadband connection.

9. Lenovo IdeaPad – This ‘hybrid’ gadget is a great idea, especially in these frugal times. It’s actually two gadgets in one working as a conventional laptop one moment, or by detaching the screen, as a tablet-style device.

10. Airnester – If you’re bored of plugs, and if even the new PowerMat technology I too much clutter for your tastes then Airnester’s for you. Described by its manufacturers as a “Wi-Fi hotspot power harvester” the device claims to harness small amounts of the signals broadcast by wireless access points. By its very nature this isn’t going to power your home but with the prevalence of free hotspots in almost every café and bar in the country this could turn out to be a useful and free energy source for small devices like mobile phones and music players.



[Source: Top 10 highlights of CES 2010]