| Sony Alpha NEX-7 mirrorless camera review Feb 6th 2012, 19:00 Remember the NEX-7? Ever since a days-long shooting session back in September, Sony's prized mirrorless cam has eluded us -- and the rest of the world. As you may recall, the flagship Alpha ILC was hit by the Thailand floods, resulting in delay after delay, eventually missing the holiday shopping season entirely before resurfacing late last month. Another week later and our beloved Sony Alpha NEX-7 has finally arrived, ready to take on the streets of New York City. So what exactly is the NEX-7, and why does it cost as much as a mid-range DSLR? First off, the-24.3 megapixel APS-C ILC captures, well, 24.3-megapixel images, offering the highest resolution of any mirrorless model on the market. Its APS-C sensor is identical to the one found in Sony's A77 DSLR, measuring larger than Micro Four Thirds and on par with most full-size digital SLRs. If having the ability to capture mural-size images ranks fairly low on your digicam wish list, you may take comfort in some of the NEX-7's other features, such as its gorgeous and durable magnesium alloy body, built-in XGA OLED electronic viewfinder, 3-inch, 921k-dot articulating LCD and unique tri-navi control interface that enables direct access to key settings adjustments, including both aperture and shutter speed in manual mode. There's also 1080/60p HD movie capture with full manual control and microphone input support, a 10 frames-per-second continuous shooting mode (with exposure and focus locked) and a BIONZ image processor that's capable of delivering low-noise images all the way through ISO 16,000. These features combine to make the NEX-7 one of the most powerful mirrorless cameras to date, but are they enough to justify the $1,200 body-only price tag? Join us past the break to find out. Continue reading Sony Alpha NEX-7 mirrorless camera review Sony Alpha NEX-7 mirrorless camera review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Russian carrier gives $5,000 vacation to its most data hungry customer Feb 6th 2012, 18:37  Use more data, win more prizes. It may sound counterintuitive, but that's exactly what Russian operator MegaFon is offering to its subscribers, as part of a curious 3G promotion. It all began back in November, when the provider announced a rather straightforward contest: customers who downloaded the most data with their 3G modems would be awarded prizes worth up to one million rubles (about $33,000), including a $5,000 vacation. According to Russian news site C News, MegaFon launched the campaign in order to showcase the expanse of its data network, which apparently covers more than 80 percent of northwestern Russia and offers speeds of up to 21Mbps. The promotion came to an official close on January 31st, with the coronation of a lucky winner who, over the course of a single week, managed to scarf down 419GB of data on the company's 3G network. MegaFon didn't offer usage statistics on the second and third place winners, nor did it say what they won for their efforts, if you wanna call them that. Russian carrier gives $5,000 vacation to its most data hungry customer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  The Next Web |  C News (Translated) | Email this | Comments | | Adafruit's Circuit Playground app deciphers resistor codes, helps you remember Ohm's Law Feb 6th 2012, 18:16 If the names Phillip Torrone, Limor Fried and Collin Cunningham don't ring a bell then you probably need to hand over your geek badge. If, on the other hand, those names immediately make you sit up and pay attention, you maybe excited to hear the trio have just released the first Adafruit-branded app for iOS. Circuit Playground is a reference app for makers, hackers and tinkerers that helps you decipher resistor and capacitor values; calculate resistance, current or voltage; convert decimal, hexadecimal and binary values; and store PDF data sheets for ICs. The app is $2.99, but it comes with a $3 credit at the Adafruit shop, so it's kinda-sorta free. It's available for iPad and iPhone only, but an Android version is in the works. If you're an impatient Google fan, they suggest you check out ElectroDroid which performs many of the same functions and we can confirm is awesome. Check out the video after the break and hit up the source link to get Circuit Playground now. Continue reading Adafruit's Circuit Playground app deciphers resistor codes, helps you remember Ohm's Law Adafruit's Circuit Playground app deciphers resistor codes, helps you remember Ohm's Law originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Circuit Playground, Adafruit | Email this | Comments | | Motorola wants 2.25 percent of Apple sales, in exchange for patent license Feb 6th 2012, 17:33  New details have emerged about the ongoing Apple-Motorola drama in Germany, courtesy of a court document uncovered by FOSS Patents. The two companies have been engaged in a patent battle of swelling proportion these past few months, with the most recent wrinkle unfolding on Friday, when Apple promptly removed (and returned) its 3G / UMTS-enabled iPads and iPhone 4s from its online German store, in response to a court ruling. At issue in this particular case is a Motorola patent that Apple wants to use under FRAND obligations, but Moto apparently isn't willing to license its technology for free. According to a court filing, the handset maker is asking for 2.25 percent of Apple sales in return for the license, though it remains unclear whether this pertains to sales of all products or, more likely, the 3G-enabled devices under consideration in court. Either way, though, Motorola would stand to see quite a bit of extra revenue, especially considering that Apple's iPhone sales have totaled about $93 billion since 2007. Under Motorola's request, the company would have made about $2.1 billion from these sales alone -- not to mention the payments it'd see from iPad sales, as well. Apple, meanwhile, has filed motions to access Motorola's licensing agreements with Nokia, HTC and other manufacturers, in the hopes of exposing a double standard. Motorola wants 2.25 percent of Apple sales, in exchange for patent license originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink TUAW | FOSS Patents | Email this | Comments | | NPD: iPhones recover market share in Q4 2011, but Android draws the first-timer crowds Feb 6th 2012, 17:09 According to the latest research from the NPD group, Apple has got its second wind in smartphone sales. In the same quarter that saw the iPhone 4S reinvent the wheel obey our every vocal whim, the trio of available models soaked up a total of 43 percent of the US smartphone market in Q4 2012, apparently knawing away at Android's market share of 53 percent held during the rest of 2011. However, Google's mobile OS appears to be the debutante smartphone of choice, cornering 57 percent of new purchases, with 34 percent going for Apple. The remaining 9 percent is distributed between the smartphone also-rans, with the likes of Windows Phone and BlackBerry languishing in that anonymous grey bar at the top. The top five handsets from NPD's Mobile Phone Track service is an Apple and Samsung love-in, with iOS devices claiming the three top spots, followed by the Samsung Galaxy S II (we assume collectively) and the Galaxy S 4G. NPD's blow-by-blow commentary on this increasingly two-horse race awaits below. Continue reading NPD: iPhones recover market share in Q4 2011, but Android draws the first-timer crowds NPD: iPhones recover market share in Q4 2011, but Android draws the first-timer crowds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | NPD | Email this | Comments | |
