Need Help? LIVE CHAT 10am-4pm, Mon-Fri

memory card news | Phone Memory | camera memory

€

United Kingdom

Change currency

Our websites

Shopping Basket

Subtotal: €0.00

Delivery: Free

0 item(s), €0.00

News

Rss - Subscribe to our RSS feed

eMatic eGlide Prism is a Dirt Cheap 3D Android 4.0 Tablet 4 May 2012 13:59:28

ChipChick did a short but sweet write up on the new

Hot on the wheels of Coby’s cheap Android 4.0 tablet releases, Ematic has announced the release of the eGlide Prism. The Prism is a 7? Android 4.0 powered tablet. But forget the fact that it’s running Ice Cream Sandwich, we’re mostly excited about its super cheap pricing. That is because the Ematic eGlide Prism is now available on sale for just $157.16, although it is regularly priced at $216.

Under the hood, specs are pretty good too. You get a 1GHz Processor, 8GB of onboard flash memory with 512MB of ram, HD video playback, a front-facing webcam, built-in speakers, and a MicroSD Memory Card reader, along with a built-in 3-axis gyroscope combined with an accelerometer. But what really makes the eGlide prism unique is the fact that it’s able to playback up to 2160p 3D HD Videos. A pair of 3D glasses are even bundled with the device, along with a protective sleeve and earphones.

The tablet itself is pretty svelte too and measures just 9mm thick and weighs only .6 pounds. That said, we would hardly compare this to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab series etc, but for the price of $157.16, the Ematic eGlide Prism is looking out to be a good value.

Source: www.chipchick.com

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds camera review 4 May 2012 11:31:43

Engadget recently received the wonderfully retro styled Olympus OM-D E-M5 and happily heaped on the praise...

Stepping across the great DSLR divide into the land of mirrorless cameras always requires some compromise. Focusing speed, image quality, lens compatibility and battery life are frequent casualties, but for everyone except professional shooters, the size and cost benefits of swapping a full-grown beast for a compact ILC surely help soften the blow. The latest Micro Four Thirds model from Olympus, the OM-D E-M5, adds functionality that expand that list of betterments even further, allowing more versatility than larger DSLRs have to offer. These perks include a water-resistant design, for starters, along with a nifty lens that offers macro shooting and both manual- and powered-zoom in one compact package.

One area where the 16-megapixel E-M5 does match the footprint of its full-size brethren is in price: you'll drop a cool grand for the body alone, while the 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens kit will bump that tag up another $300. Make no mistake, the E-M5 is a fantastic camera, but $1,300 is mighty steep for any mirrorless model, especially one with a Micro Four Thirds sensor. This, however, is no ordinary MFT camera. As the first model in Olympus's OM-D line -- taking design cues from the company's popular line of OM film cameras -- the E-M5 is in a class of its own, at least as far as Olympus's portfolio is concerned. Besides physical appearance, perhaps, the most notable selling point is its focus speed: press the shutter release, and your subject comes into clarity with rapid-fire precision, whether you're shooting in bright sunlight or a dark restaurant. But though the E-M5 has already received accolades for its powerful focusing, you might be wondering how the whole package performs. Meet us past the break to find out.

Hardware
Simply put, it's beautiful. If you've ever wistfully eyed a mid-twentieth century 35mm SLR, hoping that manufacturers would once again adopt the elegant designs of yesteryear, you can stop dreaming. The E-M5 invokes a crafted feel unique to that model, that's reminiscent of select über-pricey rangefinders. We're particularly fond of the silver-and-black flavor, though we sadly had to settle for all-black, or risk delaying this review. Of course, the black version performs equally and is a perfectly fine choice, but if you have an opportunity to pick up the two-tone version, chances are you won't regret it.

Simply put, it's beautiful. Serious photographers care more about design and durability than the unrelated matter of color scheme, and both the black and silver models alike offer solid specs in these key areas. First up is the camera's "splash-proof" build. What exactly does it mean for a camera to be immune to splash-related damage? For starters, you can shoot with the E-M5 in the rain without having to concern yourself with an umbrella or fussy hood. Seals throughout the body also keep out sand and dust, and there's a Supersonic Wave Filter on board to assist in the rare event that a speck or two manages to make it past the camera's measures. You'll of course be subject to droplet accumulation on the front element of the lens, which you'll need to wipe off regularly depending on the conditions, but you don't need to fret about damaging the camera or kit lens when water pours down from the sky. "Splash-proof" doesn't mean waterproof, however, so don't you dare take this thousand-dollar body into the sea.

With the body out of the way, let's circle back to those capture specs. There's a 16-megapixel Live MOS Micro Four Thirds (4/3) sensor on board, but with a twist -- 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization. What this means is that the camera can compensate for shaky hands on both the vertical and horizontal axis (just like many of its competitors) as well as on the rotational axis. What can we say? It really does make a difference. You'll still be subject to motion blur if your subjects move and you're shooting with a low shutter speed, of course, but Olympus's new stabilization technique does help to minimize the effect with still subjects. It will also come in handy while recording video, keeping the picture steady even as you walk down the street, change position or maintain a long focal length. Movement is not eliminated completely, but you may even consider leaving that tripod behind on your next video shoot.

Another feature that we're seeing more frequently in the mirrorless category is a built-in 1.44-megapixel electronic viewfinder, providing a 100 percent field of view and an x/y-axis level gauge, along with direct feedback for all key settings. Like the Sony NEX-7, we've noticed that the proximity sensor can be a bit too sensitive, triggering the EVF when you hold the camera too close to your body, for example. We'd like to see an option to tweak this, but in the meantime you may want to flip off the auto-switch mode and opt for the dedicated button to the right of the EVF instead.

You'll need to shift over to the main 3-inch 610,000-dot OLED tilting display to review images and tweak settings. In addition to adjusting downward up to 50 degrees and upward to 80, the display also includes touch support, letting you select the AF area, release the shutter and advance during playback by tapping the screen. Just like on the Sony NEX-5N, touch is there if you need it, but it won't get in the way if you don't. Naturally, the hardware controls duplicate this functionality, though toying with the five-position buttons is often less efficient than using than the touch-to-focus feature.

Completing the tour, on the top of the camera there's a full-size hot shoe (a tiny external flash ships in the box) with a proprietary accessory connector below. Lifting the OLED display reveals a recessed notch, which helps you open a side panel with HDMI and USB/AV connectors. The SD slot sits on the right edge, while the 1,220mAh battery lives in a slot on the bottom. Adjacent to that compartment, you'll find another proprietary connector hidden below a rubber door. This port is used to communicate with an optional accessory, which provides an extended camera grip with a second control dial and shutter release in one section and a battery compartment with vertical controls that can be added on below. We preferred shooting with just the grip portion, which enables the E-M5 to retain a slim profile while still allowing for some more comfortable handheld shooting.

User Interface
What good is having beautiful hardware if it's not easy to use? Fortunately, usability should be of little concern here. As always, you'll need to spend a few minutes flipping through the menu before you're able to declare that the camera is configured to your liking, but finding those key items isn't much of a chore. The main menu is divided into five tabs: playback, setup, custom settings and two shooting menus. That custom menu is by far the most complex, with sub-tabs for settings like autofocus and dial direction.

Speaking of those dials -- you'll find two up top, with one controlling aperture and the second adjusting shutter speed in manual mode, for example, similar to what you can do on the Sony's NEX-7 competing "Tri-Navi" interface. In the center of the forward dial is a shutter release button, with an adjustable control to the right (we set ours to change the ISO) and a video record button just below it, which isn't in the most convenient location, to be perfectly honest. We'd prefer to see the function and video record buttons reversed, but it's a bit too late for that at this point. There's a second function button, along with a playback control right below the rear dial. To the right of the OLED display, there are dedicated controls for launching the menu, info panel and a delete key, along with a four-position panel with an OK selector in the center. At the bottom of the rear control panel, you'll find an On/Off toggle, taking the guess work out of the camera's current power status.

Performance and battery life
We can't talk about performance without revisiting the camera's focusing system. The ILC is so capable in this regard that bringing a subject into focus almost becomes an afterthought -- most of the time, anyway. At its best, the E-M5 can adjust in a fraction of a second, and when it works, it does so with epic speed. It's not without flaws, however, and we've so far run into issues with several Olympus lenses. While the camera does a top-notch job with wide framing in good conditions, it has significant difficulty focusing in scenes with little contrast.

Take it to the ski slopes, for example, and the E-M5 will clam up, only occasionally capturing a sharp frame. We experienced the same during a rainy day beach shoot with that 12-50mm kit optic zoomed all the way in. When the camera works, it's peerless, but you won't have to wait long before stumbling on a scene it can't master. The same is true of video capture: you'll want to steer clear of continuous autofocus while shooting in snow, rain or any dark or flat scene, lest you end up with a blurry mess. (You can avoid the continuous focus hunting by using single- or manual-focus modes.) For this reason, we're not confident in the camera's abilities as a video shooter -- at least not until this focusing issue is addressed.

One area where the E-M5 offers consistent speed and accuracy is in high-speed consecutive shooting mode. Opting in nets you a cool nine frames per second, for 15 shots. After the buffer takes a few seconds to unload (depending on the speed of your SD card, of course), you can fire off another burst. A lower-speed sequential mode gives you the option of shooting at 3 fps for nearly two dozen consecutive frames. The camera can power on, focus and shoot its first image in as little as 1.2 seconds, while re-framing, adjusting focus and capturing a different scene takes just 0.3 seconds. Once a subject is already in focus, there's virtually zero lag between shots.

The E-M5's battery life is phenomenal for a mirrorless ILC; we were able to snap more than 600 stills and 22 minutes of 720p video on a day-long shoot around New York City. The camera's built-in power meter is seriously flawed, however, only providing an accurate reading when completely charged or fully depleted. For roughly 90 percent of a cycle, the camera displays a full power indicator, dropping to two out of three bars for the final 50 or so shots, then flashing fully depleted for the next 50. Power cycling early during the depleted state will result in a full battery indicator for the next few shots, though as we approached the end of the battery's life, the cam consistently displayed empty. Olympus reps were unaware of the issue, but said that the company will investigate, and may be able to correct the meter with a firmware update.

Image quality
The E-M5 delivers excellent image quality for a camera of its size, but at $1,300 with a kit lens, you'd be right to expect perfection. There's no 51,200+ high-ISO magic at play here, but we weren't disappointed with image quality -- whenever the camera was able to focus, at least. One side effect of that low-contrast focus hunting is a slew of blurry photos, assuming you follow through with a capture after an un-sharp preview. The camera can focus in snow and sand, but it's definitely hit or miss, especially at longer focal lengths (where flatter details fill the frame). Professionals who focus on sea and snow sports will definitely want to steer clear of crowning the E-M5 their star shooter, but it is a winner if complementing a pricey high-end DSLR. Amateurs spending much of their time on the slopes or the beach may also share that sentiment, which is a slight letdown considering that "splash-proof" build.

With a native ISO range of 200-25,600, there's quite a bit of flexibility in the sensitivity department, which will certainly come in handy for long-zoom captures with the f/3.5-6.3 kit lens. Images shot throughout that spectrum are usable at any size. ISO 25,600 looks quite fantastic, as you'll see in the 1:1 pixel views below. As with most mirrorless cameras with a MFT or larger sensor, you could quite comfortably leave the E-M5 set to ISO 3200 for casual shooting without any significant quality loss, but we'd even be willing to push that limit to 6400 or higher if shooting in low light. 16 megapixels won't prompt any sticker shock, but it's perfectly sufficient for most photographers, and well worth the tradeoff in order to achieve low-noise images at high ISOs.

The competition
Pricing a mirrorless ILC above $1,000 doesn't come without deliberation -- that figure is too high to make a significant dent in market share, but not low enough to cannibalize the Olympus PEN models, which is obviously a concern here. The camera's incredibly fast focusing, high-ISO quality, 5-axis image stabilization and built-in EVF make an obvious pick for potential PEN E-P3 owners with a bit more cash to spare, but if you're in need of a sub-$700 Olympus kit, it'd be tough to argue against the E-PL3.

If you're looking to stick with the Micro Four Thirds format, Panasonic's Lumix GX1 is a solid pick, with a $700 street price for the 14-42mm kit. More in line with the E-M5's $1,300 kit tag would be Sony's NEX-7, which can be had for a cool $1,350 with an included 18-55mm lens. Many photographers have gripes with Sony's lens selection, however, arguing that the kit optic simply doesn't offer performance to match the camera's 24.3-megapixel sensor. If you can invest in higher-end lenses, like the $1,300 24mm Carl Zeiss Sonnar T f/1.8, and need to capture larger images, you may still consider Sony's NEX flagship, but if you're simply comparing both kits, the E-M5 seems like the winner here as well. You may also be considering Fujifilm's X-Pro1 (pictured with the E-M5 above), but that mirrorless ILC's $1,700 body-only price tag, size and incredibly narrow lens selection limit its appeal.

Wrap-up
Simply put, we love the E-M5. It's a solid shooter -- literally, thanks to its "splash-proof body" -- with excellent image quality throughout the ISO range and a slick, versatile lens. That 5-axis stabilization is innovative as well, as is the incredibly fast focusing system. While powerful, that focusing system isn't perfect, often slipping with low-contrast sand and snow scenes. Still, that issue is arguably minor, considering that this camera isn't designed for sports-shooting pros, and, like the battery meter, it may be corrected with a firmware update. The $1,300 kit price will be a tad too much to swallow for some, but with a solid body and a diverse collection of lenses, there hasn't been a better time to hop aboard Micro Four Thirds.

Source: www.engadget.com

The Samsung Galaxy SIII is here! 4 May 2012 09:59:38

The Guardian have the full low-down...

Samsung has released a new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, including voice control, wireless beaming of content and exclusive apps, as it aims to consolidate its position at the top of the mobile sector.

The S3 has a super AMOLED 4.8in screen, larger than its predecessor the S2, with an 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.9MP front camera which offers "intelligent camera features" that the company says will adapt to what it sees you doing.

The phone runs on Google's Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) software, but has a number of Samsung additions – including voice recognition and eye tracking.

The phone will go on sale on 30 May in the UK, with Orange and Phones4U already lined up to sell it. No price has yet been given. It will go on sale in the US this summer. Samsung said it will go on sale with 296 carriers in 145 countries. It can connect at "4G" speeds in compatible countries.

"S Voice" can respond to spoken orders such as "wake up" when its screen is off, "snooze" for an alarm, or to play a particular song, change volume settings, and take pictures. It also responds to gestures, so that lifting the phone to the face while sending a text message will dial the recipient's number instead.

Samsung has also souped up Google's Android Beam (which can pass data such as business card details) so it is capable of sending a 1GB file between two S3 phones in three minutes, or a 10MB file in two seconds by touching them together.

It comes in a 15GB or 32GB version, though the company said a 64GB model would come soon. Buyers can get an optional wireless charging pad, similar to that offered with the now-defunct HP TouchPad last year.

At 4.8in, the screen size is only just below the minimum 5in that most analysts class as a tablet – indicating Samsung's confidence that top-end users will want larger screens. The first-generation Galaxy S in 2010 had a 4in screen; the S2, a 4.3in screen.

The company sold an estimated 44m smartphones across its entire portfolio in the first quarter of 2012, more than any other company. It dominates the Android sector too, selling around 50% of phones on a platform which itself makes up 50% of smartphone sales.

Jason Jenkins, editor of CNET UK, said: "The Samsung Galaxy S3 is a cracker of a smartphone that makes the iPhone look a little like yesterday's model. It cements Samsung's place as one of the leading phone manufacturers and really puts the pressure on Apple to come up with something different for its next iPhone later in the year.

"It's also starting to look like this will be a two-horse race – Samsung and Apple fighting it out for the number one spot with everyone else left to pick up the crumbs. HTC, Sony, BlackBerry and Nokia are the ones with the real work to do."

Ian Fogg, an analyst at IHS Suppli, said: "What's striking is that Samsung is focusing on software and the experiences, more than the hardware (although that is excellent too). Features like Pop over, social tag, and S Voice all aspire to differentiate from the opposition through the user experience that Samsung's software customisation delivers.

"Samsung have been leading up to this for a while, but this is the first time they've led their product positioning on user experience and software."

Francisco Jeronimo, IDC's smartphones analyst, was downbeat, saying: "It is not an eye-catching device that will overwhelm consumers."

He noted that analysts had not been given the chance to try out the voice control in pre-release demonstrations of the phone. Of a brief test, he said: "Overall, [it] seems very similar to Siri, but my first impression was that is not as well integrated with the phone as Siri is with the iPhone."

Carolina Milanesi, smartphones analyst at the research group Gartner, said that Samsung was looking for ways to remain ahead of rivals in the Android space, as well as Apple.

"They need to push the boundaries in order to remain ahead," she said. "It will be interesting to see how many of these new features [in the S3] will be open to developers so that they can take advantage of them in their apps."

However, if developers start to target Samsung APIs for apps, that could potentially split the Android platform still further beyond the individual versions produced by Google – and would also tend to increase Samsung's control of Android.

Such an "embrace and extend" manoeuvre would build its control of the platform, where it already presently has half of worldwide sales and is the biggest profit-maker.

Jeronimo observed: "Samsung definitely embraced Android, and is extending it. We shouldn't also forget that Samsung has a quite opportunistic approach to market trends.

"If Android is now the new kid on the block that can best contribute to its success, they will invest and nurture it to maximise the opportunity. But if the trend changes (and they are very good at anticipating that), they will also change the platform they embrace in the future."

But, he added: "It is clear that Samsung has no other strong options at the moment."

No price was announced, though Milanesi suggested that it would be priced similarly to the Google-branded (but Samsung-made) Galaxy Nexus, released last October, and that prices of the year-old Galaxy S2 would be cut to boost Samsung's already dominant share.

Milanesi was generally impressed with the device, though with some reservations. "The design is much improved, and despite the fact that it is still plastic it feels much less cheap than the Galaxy S2 and the Nexus," she said.

But she thought the S Voice control was less convincing: "It came across as a little gimmicky when I played with it. But to me the main issue is that these features are quite buried in the device, so might not be that obvious to consumers. S Voice is not as complex as Siri – more like voice activation for simple commands."

Overall, she suggested: "I think Samsung has similar challenges to Apple but with a less convincing overall package and a weaker brand."

But Fogg suggested that the real problem would be for other companies. "For Nokia, this must be deeply concerning," he said. "One of Nokia's stated reasons they opted for Windows Phone was because they believed that it would be impossible to differentiate using Android.

"Samsung is showing with the the Galaxy S3 that it's perfectly possible to innovate with Android software. In fact, Android is enabling faster innovation than any handset maker has managed with Windows Phone."

But the new Galaxy S3 could also pose problems for the smaller players in the Android space, Fogg suggested. "Samsung's marketing spend and brand awareness are second to none. This combination of marketing spend and channels will cause serious problems for smaller handset makers such as HTC, LG and Motorola."

Jeronimo warned that Samsung needs to consolidate its position: "Samsung needs to come up with unique features and not to catch-up once again with other vendors. What is there that's completely unique on the S3 that we haven't seen on other devices? Maybe slight differences on the features, but nothing disruptive.

"They entered a new era. The only way to succeed is to set the pace of innovation. I believe that's exactly what they want to do, but they still suffering from the 'follower-syndrome': to improve what others created. That's why consumers will compare the S Voice to Siri and not the other way around."

Source: www.guardian.co.uk