Hasselblad's 200 megapixel H4D-200MS camera now shipping, breaks your bank (Video)

Hasselblad’s H4D-200MS is yet another upgrade to its H4D camera line that we want badly, but wouldn’t have a need — or a budget — for. This latest piece of kit is nearly identical to the 50 megapixel H4D-50MS externally, but internally adds an astonishing 150 more megapixels to the mix — yes, that’s an astounding 200 megapixels! Don’t feel forgotten just yet if you have the older model, though, as Hasselblad can upgrade your sensor for €7,000 (roughly $10,000) — a great deal considering the full kit costs €32,000 (about $45,000). With that said, we should note that details are null on the medium-format sensor’s native resolution — similar to the multi-shot feature on the 50MS, the new 200MS combines six shots to create ridiculously detailed 200 megapixel still images, and it handles less intensive photos with a four-shot 50 megapixel still mode. Should you dare to venture outside the studio, there’s a 50 megapixel single-shot live mode for quick shots as well. Excuse us while we wrap our heads around the sheer number of pixels; you’ll find more info after the break in the meantime.

YouTube Celebrates Its 6th Birthday With Over 3 Billion Views A Day

This month YouTube celebrates its sixth birthday after being launched back in 2005 and will be celebrating even harder with the news that last weekend it passed the 3 billion views a day mark, a 50% increase over last year.

To put this in to some sort of perspective YouTube compares it to, “ the equivalent of nearly half the world’s population watching a YouTube video each day, or every U.S. resident watching at least nine videos a day.” Wow.. I wonder what the bandwidth bill is for that sort of traffic would be?

Google has also the infographic above which sheds some light on the quantity of media being consumed and uploaded to YouTube on a daily basis. Showing that 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every 60 seconds.

Google’s YouTube also asks the question  ”when will we reach 72 hours a minute, or 4 billion views a day?”. What are your thoughts, add your date below?

HTC Working On New Mango Windows Phone 7 Devices

HTC already has some Windows Phone 7 devices on the market, and it looks like they have a few more planned for later this year to coincide with the launch of the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile OS Windows Phone 7 Mango.

HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou recently told Reuters that the company is currently working on some new Windows Phone 7 devices for Windows Phone 7 Mango, although he didn’t give any details on the actual hardware specifications.

It will be interesting to see what HP comes up with for its new range of Windows Phone 7 devices powered by WP7 Mango, as soon as we get some more information we will let you guys know.

Nude Gaming Party: l’ultima tendenza ci fa giocare nudi ai videogiochi! (video)

Viene dagli Stati Uniti — precisamente da New York City — la nuova tendenza legata al mondo dei videogiochi. Sono i Nude Gaming Party che da qualche tempo stanno spopolando oltreoceano e si accingono a raggiungere anche le coste del Vecchio Continente.

Tre semplici regole:

• Niente video/fotocamere
• Niente telefonini
• Niente alcolici

Poi tutti nudi a giocare ai videogiochi più belli del momento in compagnia di amici o sconosciuti. L’obiettivo comune è solo uno: divertirsi!

Chi lo ha provato giura si tratti di un’esperienza unica da fare assolutamente; il fatto di essere senza vestiti permette a tutti di concentrarsi esclusivamente sui videogame e la compagnia di altri “simili” non fa che aumentare la piacevolezza della situazione!

Molto nota è l’abitudine degli americani a trovare modi alternativi per divertirsi ad ogni costo, ma tutto ciò sarà veramente così spassoso come dicono in molti? A voi le considerazioni; e intanto guardatevi questo video, ovviamente censurato!

Video promozionale Samsung Galaxy S2 presentazione Italiana

Ieri sera in molti avranno partecipato e visto la presentazione Italiana dei nuovi prodotti Samsung: Galaxy S2 e il nuovo Galaxy Tab 10.1 Slim. prodotti che vi abbiamo mostrato più volte e che, nel primo caso, hanno già visto la commercializzazione alla fine della scorsa settimana. Di seguito il video promozionale proiettato alla presentazione che mostra le novità che investono il Galaxy S2.

Leica announces $749 V-LUX 30 compact camera

You know the drill: Panasonic introduces a perfectly capable camera, and a few months later Leica tweaks a few angles, paints it black, and slaps its iconic logo on its own version of it — admittedly, changes that make all the difference in terms of design. In this case it’s the Panasonic ZS10 that’s gotten revamped as Lecia’s new V-LUX 30, a followup to its V-LUX 20 compact. At $749, this one’s actually one of Leica’s more affordable offerings, but that will still only buy you the exact same guts as its $400 (or less) Panasonic counterpart: a 15.1 megapixel sensor, 16x optical zoom, 1080i video recording, a 3-inch LCD ’round back, and built-in GPS for geotagging. Head on past the break fro the complete press release, and look for the camera to be available in June.

Verizon bonanza: Droid X2, Revolution, Trophy, and Xperia Play hit Big Red today

Verizon is seriously diversifying its portfolio today with the official in-store launch of four new smartphones. Three of them roll up in Android gear, though they all have major selling points beyond Google’s software. LG’s Revolution is the sole LTE-capable handset of the bunch, bringing with it a 4.3-inch screen and pre-installed Netflix for $250. The Droid X2 undercuts it on price, at $200, but doubles the core count with its Tegra 2 processor and ramps up resolution to qHD (960 x 540). Gaming aficionados can spend the same amount on the Xperia Play from Sony Ericsson, which offers a slideout gamepad and unique PlayStation Certified status. Bringing up the rear is HTC’s well-traveled Trophy, a 3.8-inch Windows Phone that accepts it’s a little late to the party and therefore slices $50 off its asking price, with a $150 levy before the obligatory two-year contract. What say you — buy, try, or keep waiting?

ASUS Matrix GTX 580 and MARS II desktop graphics cards revealed, devour PCI slots

With all the talk of ASUS’s tablets recently it’s easy to forget the company also dabbles in graphics cards, some large enough to blot out the sun. We’ve got some details on its latest contestants for your PC gaming dollar, the MARS II and Matrix GTX 580 (above), and you might have to buy a new case just squeeze these unwieldy pixel-pushers inside. The Matrix will come in two flavors — standard and Platinum — both with 1.5GB of RAM and an enormous dual-fan cooling solution that eats up a jaw-dropping three PCI slots. But, hey, it should afford you some serious overclocking headroom. Though we’ve yet to seen any pics of the MARS II, the 3GB, dual-GPU behemoth is bound to be even more massive — we wouldn’t be surprised if ASUS had to provide a breakout box for whatever cooler it strapped to those pair of GTX 580 cores. Prices and release dates are still up in the air, but we’re sure all will be revealed during the official announcement at Computex.

EVO 2 console promises to bring Android gaming to your TV this fall

Remember the Linux-based EVO game console? We can certainly forgive you if you don’t, but it did actually end up shipping, and “sold out” according to the company the behind it. Now that company, Envizions, is back for a second try with another big promise: an Android-based game console dubbed, naturally enough, the EVO 2. First announced earlier this year, the console is now supposedly set to hit the US sometime this fall and, to prove that it’s not completely vaporware, Envizions is making EVO 2 developer units available today — the unit is “free,” although developers will have to pay an annual $149 software support fee.

As for the console itself, it will apparently pack an unspecified 1.2GHz Samsung processor, a “modified” Android 2.2 OS, and both a TV remote and game controller. Leaving no stone unturned, Envisions says it’s also planning to add a motion sensor by the end of the year, and it even has its own points system in mind that will let you buy Android games with “EVO tokens.” As for a price, you can expect to pay $249 when/if the console actually ships, and those willing to take a chance can reserve one right now for $15 at the link below.

Envizions

Sony announces VAIO SA series ultraportable, puts VAIO F series up for pre-order

Having trouble keeping Sony’s slim VAIO S series laptops straight? It’s okay, we are, too, especially now that the company’s officially unveiled the SA series, a 13.3-inch ultraportable that’s poised to go toe to toe with the skinny Lenovo ThinkPad X1. Although it’s got almost the same magnesium-and-alloy chassis as the VAIO SB series we saw at CES, the SA is a hair thinner, at 0.95 inches, and comes standard with AMD Radeon HD 6630 graphics and 1GB of video memory, 1600 x 900 resolution, a 500GB hard drive, fingerprint reader, and a Blu-ray drive. You can also trick it out with a dual channel solid-state drive, which promises to help let you work up to 16 hours unplugged if you combine it with a $100 sheet battery. If you fork out a minimum of $1,650, you can snag one with an SSD.

If the SA’s $1,350 starting price is more than you’re willing to spend, there’s still the SB series, though the $999 base model naturally has less impressive specs, including 512MB of video memory, 1366 x 768 resolution, a DVD player, and a Core i5 — not Core i7 — processor. For what its worth, its color options now include pink and navy, if that floats your boat more than the high-end SA’s black, silver, and brown palette.

In other news, Sony’s also taking orders for the VAIO F Series, which comes in two flavors: one with a 16-inch 3D display with a 2D-to-3D conversion button, starting at $1,840, and a 16.4-inch 2D model with a more modest $1,100 base price. But if you want a 2D display with 1080p resolution and a Blu-ray drive, you can expect to pay at least $1,125. Both these and the SA series are up for pre-order today, with gussied-up photos below and full PR and past the break.

Sony VAIO SA series

Sony VAIO F Series

Sony announces 160GB PlayStation 3 bundle with Call of Duty: Black Ops

If you still haven’t given in to your hankering for a PlayStation 3, you might want to check out this promotion Sony is teasing. The company just announced a limited edition PS3 bundle pairing Call of Duty: Black Ops with a 160GB console. For $299, Sony’s also throwing in the First Strike content pack — not too shabby, considering that’s the standard price for a bare console. Depending on your proclivities, that may or may not trump a complimentary RC toy or Michael Jackson singalong, but if you’ve got a taste for first-person shooters, it should be right up your alley. First-time buyers can find it next week, starting on May 31.

Panasonic resurrects Sanyo's pistol-grip camcorders, trots out three new models

Worried that Panasonic would kill off Sanyo’s signature pistol-grip camcorders after it bought its rival last year? Fear not — Panny just went and resurrected Sanyo’s ergonomic design with three new models – slapping its own brand on ‘em, of course. And, in a move that would do Sanyo proud, Panasonic brought back the DMX-CA100 / VPC-CA100, a 1080p camcorder Sanyo released last year under the same name. It’s gotten a spec boost, though, with the ability to snap 16 megapixel still photos, up from 14.4. The other two — the HX-DC15 and the HX-DC1 — both shoot 1080p video as well, with the DC15 offering 16GB internal memory and a 16 megapixel sensor, and the DC1 able to take 14.4 megapixel stills. No word on availability outside Japan, but we’re sure those of you with a penchant for flip-out displays and candy-colored plastic will find a way to snag one.

Droid Incredible 2 review

It wasn’t that long ago that we were jonesing for a Nexus One on Verizon. What HTC gave us instead was the Droid Incredible, with the same 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED display — not to mention a better camera (8 megapixel vs. five), 8GB of built-in flash storage, an optical trackpad, HTC’s Sense UI on top of Eclair, and a dash of funky industrial design. The Incredible was an impressive phone with a lovely camera, marred only by questionable battery life and lack of supply, forcing HTC to build a Super LCD-equipped model to satisfy demand. Judging by the popularity of the Incredible, it came as no surprise that following HTC’s announcement at MWC, the Incredible S eventually became Verizon’s Droid Incredible 2. With a 4-inch Super LCD display, global CDMA / GSM radio, front-facing camera, updated internals (including 768 MB of RAM), trick capacitive buttons, and a Froyo-flavored serving of Sense, the Incredible 2 seems like a worthy successor to last year’s Incredible. Does it live up to our expectations or is it just another fish in the crowded sea of Android? Does it significantly improve upon the original formula or is it merely a refresh? Hit the break for our review.

Acer Iconia Tab A100 delayed due to Honeycomb compatibility issues?

Acer was already kind enough to give us a heads up that it would not be launching the Iconia Tab A100 in May, as planned. But the company wasn’t exactly champing at the bit to explain why its 7-inch, Tegra 2-powered tablet is taking such a tedious trip to market. According to a DigiTimes report, at least, the hangup comes down to compatibility issues with Honeycomb, an OS that so far hasn’t been seen on many 7-inch slates. Specifically, the site’s unnamed sources say Acer has encountered problems with certain applications and that Google, meanwhile, is “busy resolving other issues.” All in all, precisely the kind of complication that Ice Cream Sandwich promises to circumvent. Oh, and speaking of delays, DigiTimes adds that the Iconia Smart might go on sale in July due to earthquake-related supply shortages. We asked Acer for clarification, but the company declined to comment, so it looks like we’ll just have to wait and see what goodies late summer brings.

MeeGo Conference 2011 sights and sounds (video)

So the MeeGo Conference is winding down here in San Francisco and we have prowled the exhibitor area over the past couple of days to bring you a taste of what’s stimulated our eyes and ears at the event so far. We got to play with the Indamixx 2 music tablet — basically an iiView M1Touch Pine Trail tablet running an audio-optimized build of MeeGoo 1.2 Tablet UX, which features a customized kernel for more real-time control and better audio scheduling. It’s expected to ship for $700 in “June or July” complete with DAW and DJ apps.

Next we came across a MeeGo-based in-vehicle entertainment system that’s currently available in cars from Chinese manufacturer Hawtai Motor. The device is Atom-powered, includes 3G connectivity, and provides navigation, communication, audio / video playback (for both stored and streamed content), along with Internet access. We saw a MeeGo app that gathers contact information on a form, sends it to an NFC-equipped Nokia C7, and writes it to a blank RFID tag. The tag can then be read by any NFC-capable phone, such as Google’s Nexus S.

A fun conference isn’t complete without some games, and we were treated to a homebrew, QML-based Dance Dance Revolution clone running on MeeGo, written using just a few hundred lines of code. Speaking of QML, we got a demo of another in-vehicle entertainment system with built-in instrumentation. This MeeGo app was designed to interface with a MegaSquirt open source ECU and display engine and other car data on a set of virtual gauges — this in addition to performing the usual audio and navigation tasks. Check out our gallery below, then grab a snack and hit the break for our 15-minute hands-on video.