Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Ultra-slim 15.6″ MSI X600 Notebook Now Available

MSI Computer has launched the new ultra-slim MSI X600 Notebook, which is just .98 inches thick at its widest point, and weighs 5.5 pounds. Priced at $899.99, the MSI X600 features a 15.6″HD LCD with 16:9 aspect ratio and 1366×768 resolution, an ATI HD 4330 Graphics card, 320GB HDD, 4GB of DDR 2 memory, 6-cell battery, Bluetooth, two USB ports, HDMI out, a memory card reader, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. MSI X600 Notebook boasts an Intel ULV CPU, which is said to use 1/6th the power of a regular mobile CPU. The company is also shipping an MSI external optical DVD drive with this notebook, which is a nice little extra for customers.

The Budget-friendly Nokia 5230 Touch Phone

Nokia has announced it's new affordable 5230 full touchscreen, a Nokia 5800 look-alike that features a 3.2-inch 360×640 display, 2 megapixel camera, A-GPS navigation with Nokia's Ovi Maps and access to Nokia's Ovi and Music Store. The Nokia 5230 will be available in a variety of colors including red, pink, blue, yellow, silver and dark silver when it ships in Q4 2009 for €149 or about $213.

The Nokia 5230 Touch Phone supports dual-band 3.6Mbps UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900, 850/2100 and 900/2100) and it has 70MB of internal memory. The device also offers easy access to social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace. The following video shows-off more features of the Nokia 5230.

Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard Goes on Sale August 28

Apple's long awaited Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard is set to go on sale Friday, August 28, but you can head over to Apple’s online store and pre-order yours now. What about pricing you ask? Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard for $29, while the Snow Leopard Family Pack, a single household, five-user license, will be available for $49.

Tiger users with an Intel-based Mac can get a Mac Box Set that includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 for $169, or the Family Pack for of $229.

Sony Reader Daily Edition Wireless 3G Digital Reading Device

Putting ever-more pressure on Amazon's Kindle digital book reader, Sony has announced the new Reader Daily Edition wireless digital book reader with 3G connectivity. The Reader Daily Edition rounds out Sony's line of Reader products, which also includes the recently announced Sony Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition.

Priced at $399, the Reader Daily Edition features a 7-inch touch screen which is displayable in portrait or landscape. Apparently there are no monthly fees or transaction charges for the basic wireless access via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband network to Sony's eBook store where you can browse, purchase and download books, newspapers and magazines. The device also has a USB for side loading personal documents or content from other compatible sites. New releases and New York Times bestseller titles are available for $9.99, and there are also more than one million free public domain books available from Google.

Nokia Announces New Netbook Mini Laptop PC - The Booklet 3G

Nokia has obviously noticed the surge in Netbook popularity in the past year, and the company has developed its own model called the Nokia Booklet 3G. The Windows based Booklet 3G mini laptop PC has a 10-inch glass HD ready display, and it weighs 1.25 kilograms and measures about two centimeters thin. It's powered by an Intel Atom processor, and Nokia says that the Booklet 3G offers up to an impressive 12 hours of battery life.

As you would expect, connectivity options on the Booklet 3G include 3G/ HSPA, and Wi-Fi. This netbook also has an HDMI port for HD video out, a front facing camera for video calling, integrated Bluetooth and an SD card reader. Users can easily access the Nokia Music Store and other Ovi services on the device, as well as Nokia's Ovi Maps with integrated A-GPS.

Nokia will release more detailed specifications, market availability and pricing for the Booklet 3G at Nokia World on September 2.

Watch Nokia's Booklet 3G presentation video below:

Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Earpiece

The sleek new Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth earpiece goes on sale this month for $129.99, and it features advanced AudioIQ2 and WindSmart technologies which helps to deliver natural sounding voice in harsh noise environments. The light-weight bluetooth earpiece is only 8 grams, with soft gel ear tips provided for comfort. 

The Discovery 975 comes with a nice looking rechargeable carrying case that Plantronics claims will triple talk time from 5 hours to up to 15 hours while protecting and storing the earpiece. The new case also includes an LCD screen that displays the battery and earpiece charge levels, as well as Bluetooth connectivity.

Canon's New VIXIA HF S11 Dual Flash Memory HD Camcorder

Canon brings the new VIXIA HF S11 Dual Flash Memory camcorder to its 2009 VIXIA high-definition camcorder line. The VIXIA HF S11 records up to 24 hours of HD video to a 64GB internal flash drive, and you can also record video directly to removable SDHC memory cards. This video camera also features professional-level manual controls, Genuine Canon HD Video Lens, Face Detection, Dynamic SuperRange OIS system, Advanced Video Snapshot Mode, Instant AutoFocus, an 8.59-megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor and Canon DIGIC DV III Image Processor. It can record in 24p Cinema Mode or 30p Progressive Mode.

The VIXIA HF S11 Dual Flash Memory HD Camcorder is scheduled to be available in mid-September for $1,499.

Ricoh CX2 - 10.7x Optical Zoom Compact Digital Camera

Priced at £299.99 (about $500) the new Ricoh CX2 digital camera sports a high magnification 10.7x (28-300 mm) optical wide-angle zoom lens, a 3-inch LCD, and it features a 9.29 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 5 frame/second high-speed continuous shooting, 80 to 1,600 ISO range, “high contrast B&W mode” and “miniaturize mode”, Pre-AF and Continuous Auto Focus. The Ricoh CX2 includes 88MB of internal memory and an SDHC/SD card slot.

The Rico CX2 is expected to be first released in the UK and Japan this September.

Samsung TL225 and TL220 DualView Cameras and Samsung CL65 Connected Digital Camera

Samsung Electronics recently announced its new Samsung TL225 and TL220 DualView Cameras, a couple of unique compact digital cameras which feature Dual LCD screens, one 1.5″ LCD on the front of the camera, and a large LCD on the back. These 12.2 mega-pixel compact digital cameras were designed to help you capture the perfect self-portrait.

Samsung also announced the new connected CL65 12.2 megapixel digital camera featuring built-in geo-tagging, Bluetooth 2.0, DLNA compatibility, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Check-out the presentation video for the Samsung TL225 and TL220 DualView Cameras and Samsung CL65 below.

 

Microsoft LifeCam Cinema Webcam Captures 720p HD Widescreen Video

Microsoft Hardware is set to launch the new LifeCam Cinema webcam which offers 720p HD widescreen video capture at 16:9,  Auto Focus, Microsoft's ClearFrame Technology that delivers smooth video at any resolution, and improved noise reduction technology that reduces image graininess. The LifeCam Cinema webcam boasts the widest angle of capture ever for a Microsoft webcam, at 74 degrees.

Microsoft also announced the LifeChat LX-1000 headset with high-quality audio and a noise-canceling microphone. Both the LifeCam Cinema and LifeChat LX-1000 will be available in September for $79.95 and $24.95 respectively.