Sony is to release the first “Double Full HD” 3D consumer camcorder that will bring your memories not only in high definition, but in 3D high definition. Yes, it is pointless and very unnecessary, but since Sony is pushing this 3D World, they are going to milk this for all of its worth.

The camcorder features two lenses – where both will be used in recording 3D, and one will only be used in 2D recording, and features a 2.5-inch touchscreen display that can view 3D content without needing glasses (similar to what the Nintendo 3DS does). It has 64GB of included storage, and no word whether it will have any form of expandable memory.

And since this is Sony, expect to install a lot of proprietary software in order to watch your 3D content on your computer.

The camcorder will be out in April for a hefty price tag of $1,500. A lot to spend on a camcorder, but if you have already purchased a 3D television – you obviously have money to burn.

Sony's BRAVIA XBR-HX929 LCD Television (Credit: Sony)

Sony’s press conference was simply bringing the 3D experience to your house, and with its new BRAVIA LCD HDTV lineup for 2011, it plans to do so. The company will bring out this year 27 new televisions – 16 are capable of watching 3D content, and 22 have internet connectivity.

The 3D televisions will share common features, such as a 5:5 pull down for a more real cinematic experience, built in 3D emitters and deliver outstanding performance with its active shutter technology. For its internet connected devices, it plans to offer content via its Qriocity platform, as well as third party content from YouTube, Amazon, Blip.tv, Hulu Plus and Netflix. They will also have Skype inside the televisions.

Qriocity also got some big changes – with a new video on demand service now allowing movies from all major motion picture studios, and bringing its Music Unlimited service from the UK and Ireland to many other territories via the Qriocity platform. The Music Unlimited service is Sony’s streaming music service and will feature a catalogue of over six million global tracks from all the major labels.

New additions include an improved remote control and even the option to use the Media remote application available on iOS devices or the Android OS phones As well, some of the models will include Corning’s Gorilla Glass – allowing for the screen to be scratchproof, via Sony’s Monolithic Design.

Sony’s new 3D capable television, with included glasses, the XBR-HX929 will be out in April. Sony’s line-up of televisions is after the jump.

BRAVIA XBR-HX929 Series 3D Capable HDTV

Available in April, Sony’s new 3D capable (with the addition of Sony active shutter glasses, sold separately), XBR-HX929 series features brilliant full HD (1080p) picture quality with Sony’s Intelligent Peak LED backlight for outstanding contrast.

The model also features Sony’s MotionFlow XR 960 featuring a precise backlight control that is synchronized with the liquid crystal movement from frame to frame creating clearer, sharper moving images.

The beautifully designed model features Sony’s improved Monolithic Design Concept that draws viewers into the picture when the TV is turned on, and blends into the room decor when turned off. The 2011 Monolithic Design BRAVIA models incorporate Corning®’s Gorilla® Glass allowing for thinner, lighter, and stronger screen material.

With integrated Wi-Fi (802.11n), the XBR-HX929 models offer instant access to thousands of Internet movies, videos and music from BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity. Sony’s Media Remote app provides simple operation and search for internet content.

The XBR-HX929 models are also custom installation friendly with key features such as rear IR-input and a two-way RS232c connection for easier integration with third-party control systems.

Other XBR-HX929 Series features include:

• Brilliant Full HD (1080p) picture quality with full-array local dimming LED backlight
• Sleek Monolithic Design with OptiContrast Panel Technology
• Integrated Wi-Fi (802.11n)
• Skype™ ready in 720p high definition
• BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity
• X-Reality™ PRO Engine
• MotionFlow™ XR 960
• Rear two-way IR inputs and two-way RS232C control
• Screen sizes include 65-inch (XBR-65HX292, which is available in August 2011), 55-inch (XBR-55HX929), and 46-inch (XBR-46HX929)

Other new BRAVIA models include:

BRAVIA® HX820-Series LED LCD 3D Capable HDTV
Available in May

• Brilliant Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Dynamic Edge LED backlight
• Sleek Monolithic Design with OptiContrast Panel Technology
• Integrated Wi-Fi™ (802.11n)
• Skype™ ready in 720p high definition
• BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity™
• X-Reality™ PRO Engine
• MotionFlow™ XR 480
• Screen sizes include 55-inch (KDL-55HX820), and 46-inch (KDL-46HX820)

BRAVIA® NX720-Series LED LCD 3D Capable HDTV
Available in May

• Brilliant Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Dynamic Edge LED backlight
• Sleek Monolithic Design with OptiContrast Panel Technology
• Integrated Wi-Fi™ (802.11n)
• Skype™ ready in 720p high definition
• BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity™
• MotionFlow™ XR 240
• X-Reality™ Engine
• Screen sizes include 60-inch (KDL-60NX720), 55-inch (KDL-55NX720), and 46-inch (KDL-46NX720)

BRAVIA® HX729-Series LED LCD 3D Capable HDTV
Available in May

• Brilliant Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Dynamic Edge LED backlight
• X-Reality™ PRO Engine
• MotionFlow™ XR 480
• Integrated Wi-Fi™ (802.11n)
• Skype™ ready in 720p high definition
• BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity™
• Rear two-way IR inputs and two-way RS232C control
• Screen sizes include 65-inch (KDL-65HX729), 55-inch (KDL-55HX729), and 46-inch (KDL-46HX729)

BRAVIA® EX720-Series LED LCD 3D Capable HDTV
Available in February

• Brilliant Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Edge LED backlight
• X-Reality™ Engine
• MotionFlow™ XR 240
• Wi-Fi™ ready (USB wireless LAN adapter sold separately)
• Skype™ ready in 720p high definition
• BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity™
• Screen sizes include 60-inch (KDL-60EX720, which is available in April), 55-inch (KDL-55EX720), 46-inch (KDL-46EX720), 40-Inch (KDL-40EX720), and 32-inch (KDL-32EX720)

BRAVIA® EX620-Series LED LCD HDTV
Available in February

• Brilliant Full High Definition (1080p) picture quality with Edge LED backlight
• X-Reality™ Engine
• MotionFlow™ 120
• Wi-Fi™ ready (USB wireless LAN adapter sold separately)
• Skype™ ready in 720p high definition
• BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity™
• Screen sizes include 55-inch (KDL-55EX620), 46-inch (KDL-46EX620), and 40-Inch (KDL-40EX620)

BRAVIA® EX520-Series LED LCD HDTV
Available in February

• Brilliant Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Edge LED backlight
• X-Reality™ Engine
• Wi-Fi™ ready (USB wireless LAN adapter sold separately)
• Skype™ ready in 720p high definition
• BRAVIA Internet Video and Qriocity™
• Energy saving Presence Sensor minimize power consumption
• Screen sizes include 46-inch (KDL-46EX520), 40-inch (KDL-40EX520), 32-inch (KDL-32EX520)

BRAVIA® BX420-Series HDTV
Available in February

• Brilliant Full HD (1080p) picture quality with CCFL backlight
• Five HD Inputs to connect multiple HD devices
• USB input for photo, music and video playback
• Scene select customized picture and sound settings
• Ambient Light Sensor
• Screen sizes include 46-inch (KDL-46BX420), 40-inch (KDL-40BX420), and 32-inch (KDL-32BX420)

BRAVIA® BX320-Series HDTV
Available in February

• Amazing High Definition (720p) picture quality with CCFL backlight
• Five HD Inputs to connect multiple HD devices
• USB input for photo, music and video playback
• Scene select customized picture and sound settings
• Ambient Light Sensor
• Screen sizes include 32-inch (KDL-32BX320), and 22-inch (KDL-22BX320)

This device also has a built in PVR recording function which can be used when a hard drive is plugged in. It’s a cheap and easy solution to record digital television onto your hard drive which can be watched later on your TV or watched on your computer.

You can grab this tomorrow (10th of December) for $49 only at DSE. Remember it comes with a free HDMI cable! They are nearly worth $50 anyway! More information here: http://dicksmith.com.au/12deals

Looking for a new TV in the living room for christmas. Or do you need a new TV for your children to play their new Xbox 360 with? Well For one day only, Dick Smith Electronics (DSE) are selling a 40″ Full HD LCD TV for just $499 down from $729. That’s a whole $230 off. It has HDMI inputs, VGA input, 5ms response time and 1920 x 1080 resolution.

You can catch this deal only on the 1st of December (tomorrow) from DSE. You can catch this deal on this link: http://dicksmith.com.au/12deals.

This is Panasonic’s latest 3D television, an 103-inch plasma display that happens to have a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1 and can support 1080p full HD resolution – despite the fact the screen would make it a bit stretched because of the freaking size! Also bundled are some 3D glasses and a stand. Yep. That’s it. No Blu-Ray player, movies to test out the 3D content or anything else. Just some 3D glasses and a stand. Guessing most of the money comes from the damn plasma screen then.

It’s also big. Very big, with measurements of 241.2 x 141.9 x 14.1 cm (W x H x D). So pretty much it will take up a considerable amount of space in your room, especially when trying to find the ‘perfect’ spot to watch television. Good luck with that.

If you don’t really care, it goes on sale tomorrow. And it can be yours for only 8.5 million yen, or in Australian Dollars, around $104,000. So if you have money to burn, and happen to have a mortgage with little to no interest rates and away from the big four banks, then get your orders in now!

Source: Panasonic (Translation)

“VHA is excited to be the exclusive carrier for the HTC Desire HD, an outstanding and stylish Android device that brings further strength to our current Android range. We look forward to providing our customers on Vodafone and 3 such a highly anticipated, powerful device,” Ross Parker, General Manager of Devices and Pricing, said at a statement.

No word on who will be selling the HTC Desire Z.

Thought HTC couldn’t get better? Well, it just proven that wrong. The popular mobile maker has announced two new phones that will join its lineup of Android phones – the Desire HD and the Desire Z. The two phones will run on Android, and will be out in major European and Asian markets. Desire Z is to be released in North America later in the year.

The HTC Desire HD will have a large 4.3-inch LCD display, and will feature the new 1GHz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor, and will have Dolby Mobile and SRS virtual sound – making it sound superb. It will have 720p recording and an 8-megapixel camera with dual-flash.

The Desire Z, however, is will have a touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard, and is designed for those on the go. It will have a 800MHz processor, but will also have 720p HD recording on a 5-megapixel camera with automatic flash. It also will keep you updated with your social networks.

This announcement comes with a preview of the new HTC Sense UI for Android, with a new feature called HTC Locations – a GPS service that allows you to have on-demand mapping without the delays of downloading and roaming charges. It also includes an e-book store from Kobo, and a new e-reader that can highlight, annotate and quickly find what you are looking for.

It also offers its own MobileMe-esque service with HTCSense.com. This lets them manage their phone from their PC, like locating their phone, or even send messages to the phone if it is lost or stolen. It will also have remote wipe, and access to exclusive HTC content. No word if this will be free or a paid subscription service.

Full PR is below:

HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today unveiled a new HTC Sense experience with the new HTC Desire HD™ and HTC Desire Z™ Android-based smartphones.  The new HTC Sense experience continues HTC’s strong focus on the customer, placing people at the center by simply making its phones work in a more personal and natural way. HTC Sense introduces a number of key innovations including a series of connected services called HTCSense.com that enhance people’s mobile experience on HTC phones.

“We’re excited to be taking the HTC Sense experience beyond the phone to a whole new level with a series of connected HTC services we call HTCSense.com,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “Our customers will value the holistic approach we’re taking to enhance their mobile experience. This customer-first philosophy has resonated with people buying HTC phones and this drives us to continue introducing new innovative smartphones like the HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z.”

“As a key Android partner and smartphone brand, HTC continues to bring new innovation to the platform,” said Andy Rubin, VP engineering at Google.  ”Android is about choice and the new HTC smartphones continue to provide customers with powerful choices and flexibility.”

HTC Sense

The new HTC Sense experience offers a variety of enhancements that improve how people capture, create, share and access multimedia content. With a newly created camera experience, people can record HD videos or capture and edit images with a variety of fun camera effects. With HTC Locations, a new differentiated online mapping experience, people have instant, on-demand mapping without download delays or incurring mobile roaming charges.

HTC Sense also includes a new integrated online e-reading experience utilizing a new e-book store powered by Kobo™ and a new, mobile-optimized e-reader that includes the ability to highlight, annotate and quickly search for definitions or translate unfamiliar terms.

HTCSense.com

With the new HTCSense.com service, people can simply manage their mobile phone experience from their HTC phone or personal computer. For example, people can easily locate a missing phone by triggering the handset to ring loudly, even if it is set to silent, or to flag its location on a map. If the phone’s been lost or stolen, users can remotely lock the phone, forward calls and texts to another phone, send a message to the phone to arrange its return or even remotely wipe all personal data from it.  HTCSense.com makes it easy to setup a new HTC phone or access archived mobile content such as contacts, text messages and call history from a PC browser. People can also customize their phones with exclusive HTC content like wallpapers, HTC scenes, sounds or plug-ins.

HTC Desire HD

HTC Desire HD showcases outstanding multimedia content with its bright 4.3″ LCD display and Dolby Mobile and SRS virtual sound and is the first to be powered by the new 1GHz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor. The HTC Desire HD enables 720p HD video recording and includes an 8-megapixel camera with dual-flash.  Building on the unibody heritage of the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire HD is sculpted from a block of solid aluminum and exudes the air of quality and strength that HTC has come to be known for.  It also includes the new HTC Fast Boot that enables people to quickly make a call or check emails by shortening the time taken to complete the power-up sequence.

HTC Desire Z

For people constantly on the go, HTC Desire Z makes it quick and easy to stay connected with friends on Facebook and Twitter or with colleagues and customers at work. HTC Desire Z features a unique ‘pop hinge’ that opens to reveal a QWERTY keyboard for fast, convenient typing. HTC Desire Z’s keyboard also includes a variety of keyboard shortcuts and two customizable keys for providing instant access to common functions without the need to open menus.  HTC Desire Z also includes 720p HD video recording and a 5-megapixel camera with automatic flash. It is the first phone to utilize the new 800MHz Qualcomm 7230 processor for improved performance and battery life and also includes HTC Fast Boot.

Availability

The new HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z will be broadly available through mobile operators and retailers across major European and Asian markets from October 2010 with the HTC Desire Z shipping in North America later this year.

Here it is. The Western Digital TV Live. This little baby can play your movies, music, photos and even search and watch videos on YouTube.

Many of us have gigabytes if not terabytes worth of movies, music and photos on our computers, sometimes, watching them on the computer is a pain. Back in the old days, you would need to move your computer to the TV and plug the computer into your TV to watch your stuff but not anymore! Simply plug this baby into your router or plug your USB portable hard drive into it, hook the HDMI cable into your 1080p widescreen display and get watching!

The WD TV Live has been out for quite a while now and has already been succeeded by the WD TV Live Plus, the main difference is that the Plus has support for on-demand netflix and some other premium content, It also has added support for DVD Menu Navigation which means you can rip a DVD onto your media server or USB drive and be able to navigate the menus, something that the WD TV Live lacks.

The supported formats of the WD TV Live are lacking but however, for many users, it’s a perfect format list.

• Video – AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9
• Photo – JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
• Audio – MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
• Playlist – PLS, M3U, WPL
• Subtitle – SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI

A good format this supports is MKV which is high quality video, not many media players before the WD TV Live had this.

Connectivity

On the back you will find, A power plug, USB 2.0 port, HDMI, Optical audio, ethernet port, composite A/V and component. This is standard for many of the media players. You will also find another USB port on the side of the device. Both USB ports can be used simultaneously for hard drives, usb memory etc. You can also purchase a separate wireless adapter if you don’t like ethernet.

When connecting to your TV, the WD TV Live has a 3-to-1 connection system for the Component and Composite connections, so you most likely won’t have any of those cables lying around (they are provided).

Software

The interface was extremely easy to navigate, however, it was slow at responding which was a downfall for the device. Upon turning on the device, you where greeted with a line of icons which allowed you to access Videos, Pictures, Music and Settings. When accessing either of the 3 different types of media, you where greeted with more lines of icons and could select the location of the files you wish to view, either on USB, network or on the internet (such as youtube or live365.com). You can then browse the various menu’s to access your files.

Once watching a video, pressing any of the buttons on the controller will bring up a small bar down the bottom of the screen which allows you to forward, rewind, pause, stop etc the video and see the currently location of the playback. The bar goes away after around 5 seconds of no input.

Video quality was nice for viewing really anything, however, other review sites have found alot of things wrong with it. But really, the normal average user won’t notice these things. You can find some more pictures of the navigation and the different features below.

Initial Problems

There was a major problem with the WD TV Live when I received it… It wouldn’t find my Windows Server 2003 server. Which was puzzling because everything else in my house could. After around a week of trolling forums and trying everything, I finally got it to work with a guide for Windows XP. I ended up needing to enable two services on my server. This problem has degraded the niceness of the WD TV Live as it required alot of work to get it to work. It was however working flawlessly with my mac and windows 7.. just not server 03. Which is disappointing.

Conclusion

The WD TV Live is a great TV companion and compact unit for delivering clear HD videos to your lounge room. The WD TV Live offers a range of formats for playing your videos, music and photos. The interface is easy to use, doesn’t require a computer to be bundled with, or doesn’t need Windows Media Centre to operate. This is a fantastic entry level option and is definitely recommended by TECHGEEK.com.au. Thank you to Western Digital and Gap Marketing for providing us with this review unit.

[nggallery id=3]

[nggallery id=4]

Look at that sexy design. No, that’s no mockup. It’s a new tablet from Aigo (or Patriot) with beautiful slate-like design. According to new details from China, it will run on the Tegra 2 processor from NVIDIA alongside a 1GB ARM Cortex A9 processor with 512MB of DDR2 memory, a 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen display and HDMI output. It comes with a 4GB, 16GB and 32GB options and will have Wi-Fi and 3G. Also, this is running on Android 2.1 – bet you didn’t even know until I said it when you were looking at the picture, hmm?

Anyway, pricing and availability aren’t yet revealed. But look at it, doesn’t it make you drool in excitement?

A spokeswoman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Vietnam has “specific regulations against computer viruses, harmful software and for ensuring information security and secrecy.”

Google said on March 30 that it had found that Vietnamese computers around the world were infected by malware after downloading software that would allow Vietnamese characters to work with a standard keyboard. While the software was not sophisticated, it has been used, according to Neel Mehta from Google’s Security Team, for damaging purposes.

“These infected machines have been used both to spy on their owners as well as participate in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against blogs containing messages of political dissent,” Mehta wrote in a blog post.

“Specifically, these attacks have tried to squelch opposition to bauxite mining efforts in Vietnam, an important and emotionally charged issue in the country.”

McAfee also posted a blog post (also dated in March 30) that the people behind this latest attack “may have political motivations and may have some allegiance to the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” McAfee also said that they believe the attacks are a separate incident than the attacks by China that were revealed in January under the title of Operation Aurora.

In response, Google tried to convince the Chinese government to uncensor its results, before moving to Hong Kong in late March – making good on its announcement not to follow the culture of censorship in the country. Yahoo and Microsoft have decided to stay in mainland China.

David Mott, Ten’s Chief Programmer, confirmed the channel’s existence and that the channel will not feature repeats of Ten shows or spin-off content. He also confirmed that the channel will not be treated as as bastard child of Ten.

“It will have equal weighting with Ten. In the digital environment, why wouldn’t you?” he told the Australian.

Nine and Seven have also confirmed that they will offering a second digital multichannel, though the format and timing aren’t known. Nine has also said that it would launch after July, delayed from their previous announcement of after April because of “server system logistics”.

ONE has been constantly beaten by other digital channels from commercial and public broadcasters, and is struggling to find an audience. However, with Ten (and Foxtel) having the rights to show the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, a rise in viewership could happen.

Stations are currently limited on spectrum on what they can broadcast – and ABC2 has suffered in picture quality because of the ABC’s plans for expansion in the digital realm, mainly because it shares its spectrum with ABC1, ABC HD (soon to be ABC News Channel) and ABC3. As well, a review of the Anti-Siphoning List could see them playing more sport on the digital channels.

You would have thought the Eee PC line would have died when all those other manufacturers started to make their impact in the netbook market? Well, you’re wrong. ASUS has announced that it will make a new version of the EeeTop PC, called the ET2010 – which has some features that goes a bit beyond what you expect from the lineup.

The ET2010 is only 1-inch thick and features a 20-inch, 1600×900 pixel resolution (or “high definition plus”) display with HDMI compatibility; and will feature – depending on the models – an AMD Athlon II X2 250u CPU (AG and AGT models) or and Intel Atom D410 (P Model) or D510 (for the PN and PNT models). The AGT and PNT will also be a touchscreen – just make sure if you’re going to use it in the kitchen that you don’t use your dirty fingers on it.

The AG and AGT models will feature a ATI Radeon HD 5470 graphics card, with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, while the the 2010 PN and PNT will have the NVIDIA ION. The P model will have integrated graphics; and P, PN and PNT models will have 2GB of DDR2 RAM.

No word on its availability or pricing.

Edit: Yeah, we did mention that the screen was 1600×9000 – that is actually incorrect and bloody impossible. Thanks Tom.

LG has announced a brand new 3D television, the LX9500, which is built using LED technology – not like the LCD screens many other 3D screens are using. The television is also super thin – measuring 16mm thin – and is said to allow you to watch any movie from any direction because of its “Multi Picture Format”, unlike many others which are limited sitting directly at the screen. You still, however, need to wear those geeky and uncomfortable glasses. It also support 1080p and features the Skype TV function.

It also has a HDMI 1.4 port, a USB 2.0 port and is DLNA ready. Also present is a Wireless AV link and its NetCast Broadband TV service.

Consumers in Korea are going to get it first, then other markets will receive them in early May.

Who would have thought that a HD camera could be so small these days? First the Flip does it and now many other competitors are lining up trying to take a stake in that market; and Sony is no exception with its Bloggie camera line – the model we got is the MHS-PM5K, and we did a piece on it during our CES 2010 coverage.

Now it has landed in Australia, and TECHGEEK.com.au has a review (I think the first of the year – wow, has it been that long?)

While the name sounds ridiculous, it doesn’t have an over-the-top look – similar to many of Sony’s cameras – and features a lens head that can be rotated to 270-degrees, so you can record your friends, the sky or yourself, all in 1980×1080 resolution. In second thoughts, you might not want to record yourself in that resolution. It also features three lesser resolutions (1280×720 60p/30p and VGA), so if you feel that you look ugly in full HD, you can switch to a different resolution. The camera also has different modes, but again, that depends on the megapixels. The maximum is 5 megapixels, so it’s going to be either better or the same as your phone.

The interface is pretty simple, just a few buttons controlling the menus, playback and there is also two buttons on the side – one for shooting photos, another for recording video. There is also a five-wave controller that allows you to go through the menus. The 2.4-inch screen, despite being big, is not utilised to its full size when recording video or shooting photos, as most of that is taken up by the camera’s information and the time and date. Playback mode allows you to take advantage of the screen, especially in landscape mode. It is not a touch sensitive screen either, so you are pretty much stuck using buttons – if you happen to hate buttons.

Like the Flip, it does have a USB dongle, but can be a bit tedious when you are plugging it directly to your PC – and your USB ports are either in the back or at the very bottom of the case. But have no fear, there is a USB cord that comes with it. While the design is sturdy, the USB dongle is very flimsy and it feels so fragile, especially when you have to slide it out with a plastic slider, that I would recommend using the USB cable than the dongle – until you lose your cable.

While the photos are excellent quality, the video quality can differ from what you see on the small screen to the big screen, especially when zooming in (which is not, thankfully, available when you select the 1080p option). Despite having image stabilisation, it is a bit jittery, and the colours are a bit dimmer. Sharpness levels are not really good, and low-level lighting is alright – but again, not really good. The included 360-degree lens may be a bit of a gimmick, as you will record some image with a huge black spot in the middle, but it does record the 360 degree view of where you are – however looks can be decieving.

Sound is provided by a mono microphone, but it still is alright. Most likely you will not tell the difference, though I could be wrong. However, there is no way to improve this.

Included is a portable version of PMB (Picture Mostion Browser 5) – but that only just a way to upload images and videos to YouTube and Picasa; while the full version is included via a CD. With this, you can actually convert that photo or video using that 360-degree video into a really-wide panoramic video/photo. You are also given the option to edit videos.

Memory-wise, you can save your videos on the flash memory – which is 26MB, not much for a HD camera – but that is expandable by an SD card or Memory Stick PRO Duo card (a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo card is included).

Despite the fact that the USB dongle is flimsy, video quality is alright and the weird name, it’s a decent camera, and if you’re looking for a cheap way to record those family moments and use that big plasma/LCD television you have, you might go for this option – however, don’t zoom. Never zoom, because digital zoom on 1280×720 HD resolution is not good.

Bang & Olufsen has announced a brand new LED HD TV – the BeoVision 10. It’s basically a huge square, allowing to look like one of your pictures hanging on the walls. This features a 40-inch, 240Hz display with an integrated stereo speaker below the screen (where that big gap between the screen’s bottom and the frame). It also features 1 stereo headphone jack, a VGA and 3 HDMI ports, and 5 “Power Link” ports for adding your own loudspeakers to it.

It will reach American shores by the summer of this year, while Australian availability has not been announced – and if you think its a nice addition to your house, you will need to spend US$6248, or US$7675 if you want the wall bracket, remote and an anti-reflective screen.

Sony has brought out the new Cybershot TX5 digital camera, which it touts as a waterproof, shockproof, dust proof and freeze proof while sharing the style and design of the Cybershot brand. The camera features a 10.2 megapixel camera with a 3-inch touchscreen, and has a Exmor R CMOS sensor along with a Carl Zeiss Lens with a 25mm wide angle and 4x zoom.

The camera will also come with the iSweep Panorama mode – making it easy to take a panoramic picture from a 243-degree angle; while it also can record 720p HD video.

The camera will come in silver, black, pink and red and will cost $599. It will be out in April.

And we’re back with something new. Thanks to Stewart, we are getting back into the podcast game, though we are going to do this monthly. Yeah, I know, a monthly podcast. Basically that would mean that we would basically catch you up with an entire month’s worth of news in a 30 or so minute show, and thanks to Stewart’s wonderful (or infamous) editing skills, we did just that.

The episode basically covers CES and the first few day’s of news; and this was recorded a week before the Google incident – but we’ll cover it on the next episode, hopefully. See you in February!

Download – MP3

Warning: the following episode has a sample rate of 16Khz – blame Stewart or Audacity for the encoding, we hope to fix that in later episodes… hopefully. Show notes after the jump.

Episode 1 – We’re Back

Google Reveals the Nexus One
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/06/google-reveals-the-nexus-one/

Vodafone Aus. confirms Nexus One is coming (to them)
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/vodafone-australia-confirms-nexus-one-is-coming/

Seesmic acquires Ping.FM
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/05/seesmic-acquires-ping-fm-moves-beyond-the-twitter-client/

Microsoft dumps upgrades, trims retail editions of Office 2010
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/microsoft-to-dump-upgrades-trim-retail-editions-for-office-2010/

Tablet: Apple snubs Intel, may have huge learning curve
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/tablet-rumours-apple-snubs-intel-may-have-huge-learning-curve/

Japanese PM starts tweeting, opens blog
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/03/japanese-pm-starts-tweeting-opens-blog/

Palm releases Pre and Pixi for Verizon, adds Plus to its name
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/palm-releases-verizon-versions-of-pre-and-pixi-adds-plus-to-its-name/

Live: Microsoft Keynote
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/live-steve-ballmer-keynote/

Xbox 360 to go back in time with Game Room
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/xbox-360-to-go-back-in-time-with-game-room/

Alienware launches 11-inch gaming laptop
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/alienware-launches-11-inch-gaming-laptop/

Sony brings out SD memory cards… wait, what?
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/sony-brings-out-sd-memory-cards-wait-what/

Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid makes a kaptop into a detachable tablet
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/05/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-makes-a-laptop-into-a-detachable-tablet/

Plastic Logic brings out QUE
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/plastic-logic-brings-out-que-and-expensive/

Intel announce WiDi HD
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/intel-announce-widi-hd/

Skype Video Goes HD!
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/05/skype-video-goes-hd/

Sony completes with Flip with the “Bloggie”
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/sony-competes-with-flip-with-the-bloggie/

Confirmed: HP to make Windows Slate PC
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/confirmed-hp-to-make-windows-slate-pc/

Dell brings out tablet concept
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/dell-brings-out-tablet-concept/

Lady Gaga, Dr. Dre help Bono with new headphones
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/lady-gaga-dr-dre-help-bono-with-new-headphones/

Sean “Diddy” Combs, Dr. Dre to sell overpriced earphones
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/09/sean-diddy-combs-dr-dre-to-sell-overpriced-earphones/

Since Skype has announced that it will support HD video during conversations, we thought it would take a year until we see a camera that would allow you to use this feature. Turns out, it wasn’t that long. FaceVision has announced a brand new HD camera called the TouchCam N1 camera. Simply connect the camera with the USB cable and there you go, 720p HD resolution video. No more pixelation when we see your face, though for some of our readers, we suggest you don’t get this – unless you want people to see your face, or take the time to put makeup on to cover those blemishes on your face.

Still, I don’t even know why we need a HD camera or even HD video during Skype calls, but apparently it’s wanted by users of Skype.

After updating the Inspiron Mini line, Dell has brought out an update to the Inspiron 14, 15 and 17 laptops. The new laptops have been redesigned for “on-the-go media consumption” and have a new thin chassis, 16:9 HD displays and will have an Intel Core i5 processor that will start at US$849 and are available now. There will also be versions with a Core i3 processor that will start at US$569 later in the month.

The desktop lineup also gets an update with the Inspiron 580 and the Inspiron 580s. These will feature either a Core i3 or Core i5 processor and will have a 320GB hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 memory. You can buy them now, with the starting price tag of US$499. Gallery of the Inspiron 17 laptops and the 580 desktop are below.

Today Skype announced a remarkable step up in the world of video calling. The latest version of Skype is going to suport HD video calling which can be received at up to 720p, Skype has also announced plans to embed the software into televisions that are ‘internet-ready’. Surprisingly this significant upgrade doesn’t come with much of a cost to the end-user, the new FV TouchCam N1 HD webcamera being available in early Feburary 2010 at just $69 without a microphone and $99 with. Skype estimates that the software will run fine on a computer with atleast a 1.8GHz processor & Skype 4.2 BETA. All webcams will be available to purchase in the Skype Shop shortly after release.

With Skype embedding the software into HDTVs it will make the video calling experience much more comfortable and ‘at home’. Skype announced that users can expect the following from their new Skype HDTV.

• Free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls
• Calls to landline or mobile phones at Skype’s low rates
• The option to receive inbound calls via a user’s online Skype number
• Skype voicemail, if it is set up
• Being invited to participate in voice conference calls with up to 24 other parties
• Support for up to 720p HD video calls, depending on the availability of high-speed broadband and a HD webcam

At CES, Skype announced partnerships with LG and Panasonic for the new televisions. Skype will be installed on Panasonic’s 2010 VIERA CAST-enabled HDTVs & LG’s 26 new LCD and Plasma TVs with NetCast Entertainment Access. Both series are expected to be available in mid 2010, LG and Panasonic will be selling specialised webcams which can be plugged into the televisions and optimize the Skype experience. The webcams will record video in 720P HD and have microphones that can pickup audio in your living room or where ever your HDTV might be located. Skype recommends an internet connection of 1MBPS symmetrical bandwidth to achieve the best possible results.