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Tag: carl-zeiss

  • Logitech's HDTV Webcam Enables Home Theater Skype Connection

    Logitech has long led the industry in wireless technology, with a mouse and keyboard sure to be found in most offices and homes in America. Now they’re launching pushing into new wireless territory with the TV Cam HD, a webcam that can be mounted on your home theater system.

    The TV Cam HD is a fully standalone device that comes stock with Skype built in. You place it on top of your current HDTV and log on to your Skype account wirelessly through your home network. And with the remote control, you can take care of the whole process from the comfort of your couch.

    Logitech didn’t rush this latest device, and the details prove that out. The wide-angle lens is a Carl Zeiss, and you’ll find four internal microphones to allow for group conversations. The inclusion of Skype on the TV Cam HD sets this release apart from prior Logitech releases such as the standard TV Cam., which required an HDTV set that was compatible with the camera and already installed with Skype. That became a problem, as many of the biggest HDTV brands, such as Samsung, Panasonic and LG, offer sets that do not support webcams on their own.

    Other popular integrated video conferencing units include the Biscotti and the Tely Labs TelyHD. The former works with Google Talk, and the latter with Skype. But Logitech’s version integrates so seamlessly with HDTV units that it may give those competitors some serious fits moving forward.

    Consumers can grab the TV Cam HD starting this month for $199, making it middle-of-the-pack as far as pricing. But if you spend a great deal of time on Skype and want to experience it in full HDTV quality, the purchase will be more than worth it.

  • Nokia Prepares New PureView Smartphones

    Nokia 808 PureView is just the beginning: the Finnish manufacturer making plans for an entire range of PureView smartphones with various forms of design and prices, all recommended by the camera’s excellent performances.

    As always, future models of Nokia PureView will have high-resolution image sensors, optical ensemble of high performance with Carl Zeiss and hardware and software adaptations for processing photos at the highest quality standards. The difference is that the new smartphones will incorporate these features into a more flexible housing, thus entering in line with the competition, which currently promotes slim phones – highly appreciated by customers, despite the poorer performance in terms of autonomy.

    Unfortunately, as regards the new Nokia PureView smartphones, for a more flexible housing we will have to accept not only reduced battery autonomy, but also the use of image sensors inferior to the 41-megapixel currently installed on the 808 PureView model. Even so, the new technologies developed by Nokia will help maintain pictures at a high enough level of quality that the PureView series to not lose its main advantage over the competition.

    Given the incorporation of technologies under development for several years, Nokia 808 PureView comes equipped with Symbian Belle OS. The WP version has been excluded so far, because the PureView technologies need to be adapted to the new software platform – time and resource consuming operation. However, it is possible that at least one part of the future Nokia PureView models to be delivered with the operating system developed by Microsoft – Windows Phone.

  • Nokia Unveils N900 – The New Company’s Flagship Handset

    Nokia has finally launched the N900 – running on the new Maemo 5 latest company’s smartphone, which has evolved from Nokia’s previous generation of internet tablets.

    “The open source, Linux-based Maemo software delivers a PC-like experience on a handset-sized device” says the company’s announcement.

    Nokia N900 packs an ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz processor, up to 1GB of application memory and 3D graphics accelerator with OpenGL ES 2.0 support. The result is, as the company promises, “PC-like multitasking, allowing many applications to run simultaneously.”

    New Nokia comes with a 3.5-inch 800×480 pixel touchscreen, the full physical slide-out QWERTY, internet connectivity with 10/2 HSPA and WLAN, Wi-Fi 54Mbps data transfer, Mozilla-based browser and full Adobe Flash 9.4 support.

    To get the most out of the 5MP camera, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash and 800 × 480 resolution video recording, Maemo software and the N900 come with a new tag cloud user interface.

    The device also features GPS with pre-installed Ovi Maps, Bluetooth 2.1, FM transmitter, TV-out and 1320mAh battery.

    The panoramic homescreen can be fully personalized with shortcuts, widgets and applications. Maemo software updates happen automatically over the internet.

    N900 has 32GB of storage, which is expandable up to 48GB via a microSD card.

    "The Nokia N900 shows where we are going with Maemo and we’ll continue to work with the community to push the software forward. What we have with Maemo is something that is fusing the power of the computer, the internet and the mobile phone, and it is great to see that it is evolving in exciting ways," said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President of Nokia.

    Nokia N900 will be available in select markets from October 2009 with an estimated retail price of EUR 500 and will be displayed at Nokia World, Stuttgart, on September 2.