Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

New T-Mobile Shadow Phone Launched

T-Mobile USA is now offering the newly designed Shadow phone to its customers, now available in white mint, and black burgundy colors, and featuring a more rounded and compact design. The new Windows Mobile 6.1 powered T-mobile Shadow supports T-Mobile Unlimited HotSpot Calling, and it features a navigation wheel, a slide-out 20-key QWERTY keypad with predictive text, Wi-Fi, and a 2.0 megapixel camera. The new Shadow is also said to have more processing power than the original T-Mobile Shadow phone, which you'll need to surf the Web and watch movies on its QVGA display. The Shadow also has a larger battery for more talk time, and an improved photo album for viewing and sharing photos.

Price: $199.99 with contract, and after rebates.

Panasonic LUMIX ZS-Series ZS3 and ZS1 Succeed Lumix TZ-Series Digital Cameras

Panasonic's excellent LUMIX TZ-Series has been succeeded by the new LUMIX ZS-Series, ZS3 and ZS1 digital cameras. The LUMIX ZS3 features 10.1-megapixels, a 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens and 12x optical zoom. The ZS3 sports a 3-inch, high resolution 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD, a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens, and an HDMI output. High definition video (720p) recording, known as AVCHD Lite on the ZS3, can be captured while using the 12x optical zoom. The LUMIX DMC-ZS3 will be available April 2009 in silver, black, blue and red colors for $399.95.

iPhone 3G Unlocking Software Released

UK based iPhone unlocking Ltd. has launched its new 3G iPhone Unlocking software, which gives iPhone 3G owners the ability to use the smartphone with any network provider worldwide and also enables MMS, video recording, instant messaging, and the use of third party applications. The company promises full 24 hour customer support via email, live chat and by phone. This 3G iPhone Unlocking software costs about 16 pounds, or 23 bucks.

History of the Internet - The Video

This short video describes the history of the Internet, and communication networks of the past few decades. Posted by Gigaom, it's well worth the watch, and just 8 minutes long.

President Barack Obama Still Rolls with a BlackBerry, and a secure Sectera Edge PDA?

President Barack Obama does not have to give up his trusted Blackberry smartphone if he needs to connect with friends, but he will have to use a more secure device when dealing with government affairs. In this CNN video, it's suggested that the ultra-secure Sectera Edge PDA by General Dynamics could be the President's official gadget for communications. The new "BarackBerry" device is not available to the general public, and costs about $3,300.

Digital TV Transition Delayed? More time to get a DTV Converter Box Coupon?

Thanks to the Obama administration, more DTV Converter Box coupons could have been available between now and the new proposed June 12, 2009 DTV transition date, but unfortunately the Bill was defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives. Those who depend on old televisions with rabbit ear antennas may still have a few more months to get with the digital revolution. Originally scheduled to switch on February 17 2009, the transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting could still hopefully be pushed back to June 12, 2009, as the fight continues next week in Washington DC. You can apply for a DTV Converter Box coupon now at www.dtv2009.gov where you will be put on a very long waiting list.

Best Buy Electronics Recycling Program To Launch February 15

Best Buy, one of the last standing consumer electronics chains in the U.S., will be launching its electronics recycling program on Feb. 15, 2009 at all of its 1,006 stores nationwide, and in Puerto Rico sometime in 2010.  Consumers are encouraged to bring up to two units per day, per household, for recycling at any U.S. Best Buy store, including consumer electronics like TVs and monitors up to 32”, computer CPUs and notebooks, small electronics, VCRs, DVD players, cellphones, and accessories such as keyboards, mice, and remote controls.

A $10 recycling fee per unit will be charged for items with screens, including televisions, laptops, and monitors,  but you will instantly receive a $10 Best Buy gift card in exchange for the recycling fee.

Samsung HZ10W 10.2 Mega Pixel Digital Camera Features Ultra-wide Angle 24mm Lens

Samsung's impressive new compact HZ10W 10.2 mega pixel digital camera boasts an ultra-wide angle 24mm Schneider lens with 10x optical zoom. Available in black or silver for $299.99, the Samsung HZ10W has a 2.7 inch (230K pixels) LCD screen, and it can capture video in 720p high-definition at 30 frames-per-second using H.264 compression on SD or SDHC memory cards. You can also use the Optical Image Stabilization and 10x optical zoom while recording video. That's hot! Samsung’s "Successive Recording" mode allows you to pause and then resume filming without having to save the video clips as individual files. 

Six new 2009 Full-HD Camcorders from Panasonic

Panasonic's new 2009 High Definition camcorders include the advanced HDC-HS300 ($1,399.95,) HDC-TM300 ($1,299.95) and HDC-HS250 ($999.95) models which feature a newly developed 3MOS chip system. These new HD camcorders have a touch-screen, with icons and camera controls available directly on the LCD. The HS300 and HS250 models have an internal 120 GB Hard Disk Drive which can store up to 50 hours of video. Look for them to be available in April 2009.

SANYO Xacti Dual Camera HD Camcorders for 2009

SANYO has introduced its new line-up of Dual Camera Xacti high definition video cameras including the VPC-FH1 and VPC-HD2000 Full HD 60fps units, the VPC-WH1 and VPC-CA9 waterproof HD camcorders, and compact VPC-TH1 and  VPC-CG10 HD models.

These Dual Camera Xacti cameras record photos and videos to SD/SDHC media cards, and feature separate video and photo buttons to easily switch between capturing video and photos. Each model will be available in the US in March 2009.