HV20 HD : Canon released new HD CAMCORDER

• Canon is going to release HV20 HD Camcorder a feature rich, high-quality, High Definition (HD) camcorder.
• HV20 includes 10x HD video zoom lens.
• Super Range Optical Image Stabilization to protect your video from shaking.
  
• Most noticable feature is True HD 1920 x 1080 CMOS Image Sensor, the HV20 HD Camcorder records true 1080 high definition video, making it an ideal companion to today's HD televisions.
• Both aspiring filmmakers and home movie shooters can give their video a truly cinematic look and feel with the addition of a 24p Cinema Mode.
• This HV20 HD Camcorder dramatically raises the bar for consumer camcorder capabilities, and will no doubt be the model of choice for discerning video enthusiasts who accept nothing less than premium quality equipment to capture and preserve their memories.
• Among the new features within the Canon HV20 HD Camcorder is an Advanced Accessory Shoe capable of accommodating such additional components as select external video lights or directional microphones.
• The HV20 HD Camcorder also features microphone and headphone input terminals with manual level control for professional quality audio recording and a 24p Cinema Mode - found previously only on professional video equipment.
• The HV20 HD Camcorder also features an HDMI terminal for quick and easy one-cable transport of the High Definition video signal to a HDTV.

FE-250 : ISO 10000 camera from Olympus

Introduction : Olympus going to introduce in the market a new 8 Mega pixel camera with ISO 10,000. That means this is going to be very efficient to shoot picture in low light condition. This is going to be available in market by February 2007.

• Sensor: 1/1.8" Type CCD

8.3 million pixels total
8.0 million effective pixels

• Image sizes: 3264 x 2448
  2048 x 1536
  640 x 480
• Movie clips: 640 x 480 30 fps
  320 x 240 30fps
• File formats : Still: JPEG (EXIF 2.21)
  Movie: AVI motion JPEG
  Sound: Wave format
• Lens : 3x optical zoom
• Digital zoom: Up to 4x
• Image stabilization: Not Available
• Focus : TTL iESP auto focus with contrast detection
• ISO sensitivity: Auto ISO (64-3200)
  ISO 50-3200 (full res)
  ISO 6400, 10,000 (3MP)
• Exposure compensation: +/- 2 EV
  1/3 EV steps
• Shutter speed: 1/2-1/2000 sec

• Self timer : Yes

• Viewfinder : No

• LCD monitor: 2.5" TFT LCD, 230,000 pixels

• Connectivity : USB and AV output

• Storage : xD Picture Card (optional)

20 MB internal memory

• Power : LI-42B Lithium-Ion cell

• Dimensions: 94 x 56.5 x 22.3 mm (3.6 x 2.2 x 0.6 in)

Playing MP3 with Motorola ROKR E6

ROKR E6 provides a very good balance of entertainment and business needs. This phone is very good for music. I guess after getting this mobile in your hand, you never feel to carry one extra device only to listen music.

• This phone supports all popular format of sound file such as AAC, AAC+, DRM, MIDI, MP3, RA, WAV, WMA etc. You can also set any of these sound files as ringtones.
• This is available with built-in FM- radio. You can save your favorite stations, but radio programs cannot be recorded.
• The MOTOROKR E6 has an internal memory of 8MB and supports SD cards up to 2GB. This mobile also support the most inexpensive flash media, after CompactFlash. Keep in mind that all your microSD and miniSD cards will still work on the E6 with an adaptor. So, You can save fairly large collection of musics.
• The E6 houses a larger than average 1000mAh battery.
• You can enjoy the music through any headset - even wireless Bluetooth stereo headphones.
• You have option to connect to www.motomusic.com.cn, where you can discover, buy, download, enjoy, and share the very latest in music.

Toshiba to Launch 56-Nm, 16-GB NAND Flash Memory

• Toshiba Corporation announced the introduction of 16Gb (2 gigabyte) and 8Gb (1 gigabyte) NAND flash memory, fabricated with cutting-edge 56-nanometer process technology co-developed with SanDisk Corporation.
• The 16Gb is the highest density single-chip NAND flash memory yet achieved.
• Toshiba is now increasing shipments of commercial samples of new 8Gb (1 gigabyte) single-chip, multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memories
• Toshiba intends to start shipping commercial samples of 16Gb (2 gigabyte) NAND flash memories in the late first quarter of this year.
• The adoption of MLC technology and improved programming efficiency allows the new chips to offer high density and write performance. Application of 56nm process technology realizes 16Gb, twice the memory density per chip achieved with 8Gb 70nm technology, achieving the largest single-chip density in NAND flash memory.
• A write performance of 10-megabytes a second, twice that of Toshiba's present MLC products, reflects the efficiency obtained with advanced process technology and doubling page size, the amount of data that can be written at one time, from 2,112 bytes to 4,314 bytes.

45nm Chip High-K Gate Process from IBM, AMD

• Alongside Intel’s news of 45nm process technology, IBM today announced its own 45nm technological advancements that apply to products manufactured in its East Fishkill, NY plant starting in 2008.
• Working with AMD and its other development partners including Sony and Toshiba, IBM has found a way to construct a critical part of the transistor with high-k metal gates, that substitutes a new material into a critical portion of the transistor that controls its primary on/off switching function.
• The material provides superior electrical properties compared to its predecessor, silicon dioxide, enhancing the transistor's function while also reducing leakage.

Source : http://www.dailytech.com

World's Densest Memory Chip

• In a breakthrough that suggests the continuing validity of Moore's Law, researchers have developed a memory chip as small as a human blood cell that sets a record for integration density in a man-made object. The memory circuit is a "milestone in manufacturing," the scientists
• Researchers say they've created the world's densest memory circuit, about 100 times denser than today's standard memory unit and as small as a human white blood cell.
• Although mass production could still be a decade away and the chip contains only a modest capacity of 160,000 bits of information, the achievement points to the possible exponential growth of computing power.
• The memory circuit is a "milestone in manufacturing," said the team led by chemistry professor James Heath of the California Institute of Technology and J. Fraser Stoddart, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, in announcing their achievement in the journal Nature.
• "It's the sort of device that Intel would contemplate making in the year 2020," said Heath, who is the Gilloon Professor at Caltech. "But at the moment it furthers our goal of learning how to manufacture functional electronic circuitry at molecular dimensions."

Source : http://www.technewsworld.com

Sumsung released 1.8-inch Drives with 60 GB capacity

• Samsung announced its first 1.8-inch drive with a 60GB capacity on Thursday as a part of the company's new line of N-series of HDDs.
• Measuring 5-millimeters tall and with a super-slim form factor, Samsung's N-series will come in 20-, 30-, 40-, and 60 GB capacities and are available in both internal and external HDD types.
• According to Samsung the new N-series drives will be ideal for use in small portable media centers and mobile devices.

Source : http://www.extremetech.com

56nm flash memory chips from Sandisk, Toshiba

• SanDisk Corp. said today that it expects to launch 56nm multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory chips this month with Toshiba Corp.
• After qualifying limited engineering samples, SanDisk said itplans to introduce the new 8Gbit (1GByte) single-chip, MLC NAND flash memory on 56nm process technology in the coming weeks, with commercial shipments slated for later in Q1.
• In Q2, the company said it expects to introduce monolithic 16Gbit (2GB) NAND, which, it said, will be the highest density single-chip MLC NAND flash memory in the industry.

Source : http://www.edn.com

Quickoffice v4: Download for your mobile

• Quickoffice, the world leader in providing office document software for mobile devices, today launched Quickoffice v4 for S60, a major upgrade to its award-winning solution.
• This latest version delivers many features that redefine the standard in mobile office software, and is available immediately at www.quickoffice.com.
• Quickoffice v4 builds on highly successful previous releases and was chosen by Nokia as the exclusive mobile office suite deployed on S60 3rd Edition smartphones.
• Quickoffice software provides smartphone users with mobile access to Microsoft Office documents, allowing them to open, edit and save files in their native format. This latest release offers new, unique and powerful features for mobile phones, greatly enhancing both user-experience and productivity . The software provides comprehensive editing capabilities in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel with complete integrity of a document's original formatting.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com

Video calling is on the way, are you ready for it?

Video calling is on the way in USA. Cingular is planning to launch video calling service this year. I am sure other providers will not be far behind. But are you well equipped for that? Is your mobile phone has all minimum requirement what video calling need?

First of all let us take a quick look at what video calling is? In short it can be describe as “ a service that allows wireless phone users to see each other in the mobile phone screen while talking ”. The service allows users to send a live video stream to a recipient during a standard voice call. Beginning with a normal phone call, customers can hit one button to add a live video stream, allowing the called party to see caller while they're talking. The service also allows customers to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call.

Currently mobile service providers in USA mostly using 2G network. The 2G (second-generation) networks of the 1990s handle voice, caller ID, and text messaging, but the data transfer rate is not capable of transmitting video. The more recent 2.5G networks are faster, but their speeds of 30 to 90Kbps aren’t quick enough to support full-motion, real-time video. For video calling 3G network is the solution, with transmission speeds ranging from 144Kbps to 2.4Mbps, 3G is nearly as fast as high-speed cable modems.

While service provider going to use 3G network to transfer data, your mobile also should be compatible with 3G. You should have 3G mobile phone which is HSDPA(High-speed Downlink packet access) enabled.

Also your phone should have a front and back camera. The back camera shoots photos and videos, and the front camera focuses on the user to transmit the user’s image to the recipient.

Pretty interesting huh!!!! But if you don’t have 3G mobile now, don’t worry, your current mobile is good enough until video calling is supported by service provider. But if you are planning to change your current mobile phone, may be you should think about buying a 3G one.

Toshiba to bring HD DVD-R laptop

• Toshiba will put on sale in Japan in late February the first laptop PC in the world with support for the write-once HD DVD-R optical disc format.
• The G30/97A will be an upgrade of existing models of Toshiba's hefty Qosmio G30 entertainment laptop.
• The computer is based on an Intel 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor and has a 17-inch widescreen display with 1,920 pixel by 1,280 pixel resolution, which means it can show high-definition images from HD DVD movie discs.
• Toshiba hasn't announced a price for the computer, which will run the Windows Vista Home Premium operating system.

Source : http://www.arnnet.com.au

iPhone features

Apple iPhone is the most talked device now-a-days. This is going to be availble in the market in 2007 June. So far Apple released very little about features of iPhone. I was going through one news in Apples website. It has given an overview of the features :



iPhone Features

Apple introduced iPhone, combining three products—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod® with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps—into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting users control iPhone with just their fingers. iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

“iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We are all born with the ultimate pointing device—our fingers—and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse.”

iPhone is a Revolutionary Mobile Phone
iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows users to make calls by simply pointing at a name or number. iPhone syncs all of your contacts from your PC, Mac® or Internet service such as Yahoo!, so that you always have your full list of up-to-date contacts with you. In addition, you can easily construct a favorites list for your most frequently made calls, and easily merge calls together to create conference calls.

iPhone’s pioneering Visual Voicemail, an industry first, lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages. Just like email, iPhone’s Visual Voicemail enables users to immediately randomly access those messages that interest them most.

iPhone includes an SMS application with a full QWERTY soft keyboard to easily send and receive SMS messages in multiple sessions. When users need to type, iPhone presents them with an elegant touch keyboard which is predictive to prevent and correct mistakes, making it much easier and more efficient to use than the small plastic keyboards on many smartphones. iPhone also includes a calendar application that allows calendars to be automatically synced with your PC or Mac.

iPhone features a 2 megapixel camera and a photo management application that is far beyond anything on a phone today. Users can browse their photo library, which can be easily synced from their PC or Mac, with just a flick of a finger and easily choose a photo for their wallpaper or to include in an email.

iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone which also features EDGE and Wi-Fi wireless technologies for data networking. Apple has chosen Cingular, the best and most popular carrier in the US with over 58 million subscribers, to be Apple’s exclusive carrier partner for iPhone in the US.

iPhone is a Widescreen iPod
iPhone is a widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets music lovers “touch” their music by easily scrolling through entire lists of songs, artists, albums and playlists with just a flick of a finger. Album artwork is stunningly presented on iPhone’s large and vibrant display.

iPhone also features Cover Flow, Apple’s amazing way to browse your music library by album cover artwork, for the first time on an iPod. When navigating your music library on iPhone, you are automatically switched into Cover Flow by simply rotating iPhone into its landscape position.

iPhone’s stunning 3.5-inch widescreen display offers the ultimate way to watch TV shows and movies on a pocketable device, with touch controls for play-pause, chapter forward-backward and volume. iPhone plays the same videos purchased from the online iTunes® Store that users enjoy watching on their computers and iPods, and will soon enjoy watching on their widescreen televisions using the new Apple TV™. The iTunes Store now offers over 350 television shows, over 250 feature films and over 5,000 music videos.

iPhone lets users enjoy all their iPod content, including music, audiobooks, audio podcasts, video podcasts, music videos, television shows and movies. iPhone syncs content from a user’s iTunes library on their PC or Mac, and can play any music or video content they have purchased from the online iTunes store.

iPhone is a Breakthrough Internet Communications Device
iPhone features a rich HTML email client which fetches your email in the background from most POP3 or IMAP mail services and displays photos and graphics right along with the text. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can be reading a web page while downloading your email in the background.

Yahoo! Mail, the world’s largest email service with over 250 million users, is offering a new free “push” IMAP email service to all iPhone users that automatically pushes new email to a user’s iPhone, and can be set up by simply entering your Yahoo! name and password. iPhone will also work with most industry standard IMAP and POP based email services, such as Microsoft Exchange, Apple .Mac Mail, AOL Mail, Google Gmail and most ISP mail services.

iPhone also features the most advanced and fun-to-use web browser on a portable device with a version of its award-winning Safari™ web browser for iPhone. Users can see any web page the way it was designed to be seen, and then easily zoom in to expand any section by simply tapping on iPhone’s multi-touch display with their finger. Users can surf the web from just about anywhere over Wi-Fi or EDGE, and can automatically sync their bookmarks from their PC or Mac. iPhone’s Safari web browser also includes built-in Google Search and Yahoo! Search so users can instantly search for information on their iPhone just like they do on their computer.

iPhone also includes Google Maps, featuring Google’s groundbreaking maps service and iPhone’s amazing maps application, offering the best maps experience by far on any pocket device. Users can view maps, satellite images, traffic information and get directions, all from iPhone’s remarkable and easy-to-use touch interface.

iPhone’s Advanced Sensors
iPhone employs advanced built-in sensors—an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor—that automatically enhance the user experience and extend battery life. iPhone’s built-in accelerometer detects when the user has rotated the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display accordingly, with users immediately seeing the entire width of a web page, or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio.

iPhone’s built-in proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away. iPhone’s built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone will be available in the US in June 2007, Europe in late 2007, and Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US), and will work with either a PC or Mac. iPhone will be sold in the US through Apple’s retail and online stores, and through Cingular’s retail and online stores. Several iPhone accessories will also be available in June, including Apple’s new remarkably compact Bluetooth headset.

iPhone includes support for quad-band GSM, EDGE, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR wireless technologies.

iPhone requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS® X v10.4.8 or later and iTunes 7; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2). Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended. Apple and Cingular will announce service plans for iPhone before it begins shipping in June.

True wireless media player from Haier

• China's largest appliance maker, Haier Group, is teaming up with a subsidiary of AOL to make a wireless media player that can stream or download content without hooking it up to a PC..
• The product, which has yet to be named, was unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show and is set to be sold in the United States by the end of the second quarter.
• It looks like a regular iPod but does what even the new iPhone doesn't — access online music and video stores over Wi-Fi networks to stream, download and play content without having to sync up with a computer.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com

Wireless Solutions from Gefen

• Gefen Inc. announced on Wednesday that it will be debuting a series of new wireless solutions at this year's CES.
• They are coming with four different wireless extenders—one for USB devices, one for component audio, one for HDMI, and one for VGA devices—that will allow for cable-free connectivity between computers, cameras, televisions, displays and other peripheral.
• While each model will have different features and applications, all of the wireless extensions will use a sender device that connects to the signal's source and a receiver that connects to the signal's extended destination.
• The Wireless USB extender model will allow any four USB devices to operate with a computer at up to 100 feet in distance. The sender in this case will be a small, plug-in dongle that users connect to their computer's USB port.

Source : http://www.pcmag.com

Premium Sound System from delphi

• Delphi Corp. announced today theintroduction of a premium sound system designed to work with multiplesatellite radio receivers.
• With the Premium Sound System, consumers can enjoy crystal clear XM(R)
  Satellite Radio sound transmitted seamlessly through the Delphi SKYFi3(R),
  Roady XT(R), MyFi(TM) and Audiovox(R) Xpress(TM) XM receivers. The Delphi
  Premium Sound System is the easiest, most elegant way to listen to XM
  Satellite Radio at home, at the office, or even outdoors with its battery
  feature.
• In addition to its multi-receiver functionality, the Delphi Premium
  Sound System features an advanced acoustic and integrated systems design
  where every element is designed to work in harmony with the others,
  efficiently and simply.

Source : http://www.prnewswire.com

SDHC cards from Lexar

• Lexar announced today that new Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC™) flash memory cards will be available as part of the company’s Platinum II and Standard lines of products.
• Lexar SDHC cards satisfy market demand for reliable SDHC cards that are ideal for storing and sharing digital images, video, and music and are offered at varying price and performance levels. SDHC cards from both Lexar product lines will be available next month in 4GB capacity, and later this year in 8GB capacity.

Source : http://www.dpreview.com

108-inch LCD TV from Sharp

• At the International Consumer Electronics Show, a major attraction was the world's largest LCD TV by Sharp Electronics Corp., a behemoth 108-inch liquid-crystal display .
• Sharp's monster TV, which will be available in the summer, has not yet been priced.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

Dual-Format High-Definition Disc Player from LG

• LG Electronics (LG), a leader in consumer electronics and mobile communications, today launched the groundbreaking "Super Multi Blue" Player at the 2007 International CES(R).
• This advanced dual-format high-definition disc player, LG model BH100, will be the first player on the market with the capability to play both next-generation disc formats Blu-ray Discs and HD DVD.
• The new player is ideally suited to LG's expanded lineup of Full HD 1080p plasma and LCD HDTVs.
• LG Electronics also offers flexibility to consumers in next generation optical disc drives for personal computers.
• The GGW-H10N, also available in the first quarter of 2007, is compatible with both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats.
• The Super Multi Blue 50GB drive is compatible with Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD read/write and HD-DVD-ROM (read), offering the most universal unit available.

You may want to visit : http://www.prnewswire.com

Basics of HD DVD Format

• HD DVD, High Density DVD, or High-Definition DVD is a high-density optical disc format designed for the storage of data and high definition video.
• The HD DVD disc is designed to be the successor to the DVD format and can store roughly 3-4 times the amount of data as its predecessor.
• Although it uses the same blue-violet 405 nm laser as Blu-ray Disc uses, technical differences make the two formats incompatible.
• In comparison to its main competitor, Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD has less information capacity per layer (15 gigabytes instead of Blu-ray Disc's 25).
• HD DVD has a single-layer capacity of 15 GB and a dual-layer capacity of 30 GB. There is also a double-sided hybrid format which contains standard DVD-Video format video on one side, playable in regular DVD players, and HD DVD video on the other side for playback in high definition on HD DVD players.
• Like previous optical disc formats, HD DVD supports several file systems, like ISO 9660 and Universal Disk Format (UDF). Currently, all HD DVD titles use UDF version 2.5 as the file system, the same one used for Blu-ray releases.
• HD DVD can be mastered with up to 7.1 channel surround sound using linear(uncompressed) PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS and DTS ES formats also used on DVDs. In addition, it also supports Dolby Digital Plus and the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD.
• The HD DVD format supports a wide variety of resolutions, from low-resolution CIF and SDTV, all video resolutions supported by the DVD-Video standard, and up to HDTV formats such as 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

You may want to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD for more information about HD DVD formt.

Deskstar 7K1000 - 1 Terabyte Hard Drive from Hitachi.

• Hitachi Global Storage Technologies going to release 1-tera byte hard disk Deskstar 7K1000.
• Expected to release in the first quarter of 2007.
• Market price of Deskstar 7K1000 is going to be $399. That works out to $0.40 per GB. A competitive per-gigabyte cost for a hard drive today.
• The company also plans to offer a CinemaStar version of the drive, for use in DVR and set-top boxes
• In 2007 first quarter Seagate also going to release 1-TB hard drive.
• 7K1000 is Hitachi's first 3.5-inch hard drive to use PMR technology; last year, the company released 2.5-inch PMR-based hard drives.
• The Deskstar 7K1000 will be a five-platter drive, each platter capable of storing 200GB apiece.
• In addition to the 1TB model, Hitachi is introducing and shipping a 750GB version of the drive as well. But the company focused its energies on achieving 1TB before its competitors.

For more information you can visit : http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128400-page,1/article.html#

Truly Double sided LCD from Sumsung

• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd announced that it has created the first LCD panel that can produce independent images on each side of a mobile LCD display.
• Samsung's new double-sided LCD can show two entirely different pictures or sets of visual data simultaneously on the front and back of the same screen unlike other conventional double-sided LCDs those can only show a reverse image of the same video data.
• This new development will replace two display panels with one, thereby reducing overall thickness of mobile products by at least 1mm.
• The new Samsung mobile display requires only one backlight, while competitive double-screen LCDs require two.
• One side of the panel operates in a transmissive mode, while the other operates in a reflective mode.
• The double-sided, dual image LCD's efficient use of light to display images in both transmissive and reflective modes promotes slimmer, more cost-effective products.
• The new double-sided LCD is 2.6mm thick and 2.22" wide, with QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) resolution, and has brightness values of 250 nits for the front and 100 nits for the rear display.

Basic comparison: AnalogTV, SDTV. EDTV and HDTV

There was a time when we had only one choices while buying a TV i.e conventional Analog TV or CRT TV. But today we have so many choices. First of all we have our conventional CRT(cathode ray tube) TV. Along with this we have new choices like HDTV, EDTV and SDTV. But what is right for you? What are the main differences in them? Let’s try to understand the very basic about each of them.

Conventional Analog TV:
First of all let’s talk about our conventional CRT TV. Video screen of CRT TV contains 525 lines of resolution, although only 480 lines are displayed. These lines getting painted with “interlacing” technique. In this technique first it paints all the odd numbered lines from 1 to 479. Immediately after that it paints all even numbered lines from 2 to 480. This standard analog TV format represents as 525 interlaced or 525i, this also represent with term “480i”. The aspect ratio of the screen is 4:3. This TV has inbuilt NTSC tuner, so by default they can’t tune Digital TV broadcast.

Analog TV:
with NTSC broadcasting was dominating since last 50 years. But it is time when DTV (Digital TV) gradually replacing the Analog one. Digital television is a new type of broadcasting technology that offers television with movie-quality pictures and Dolby digital surround sound, along with a variety of other enhancements. This Digital TV works with ATSC broadcasting instead of NTSC. Currently there are three types of digital broadcast signal: SDTV, EDTV and HDTV. Aspect ratio for DTV is 16:9.

SDTV:
Like Analog TV, SDTV also 480i. Here the advantage compare to Analog one is SDTV can receive digital broadcast signal.

EDTV:
So far 480i resolution TVs worked fine. That is because TVs sizes are limited to 19 inch or 20 inch. But limitation of 480i resolution surfaced when same technology applies in large screen. Interlacing techniques does not work for larger screen. The visible scan lines and jaggies are annoying. The best solution is to avoid interlacing. Initially Interlacing was invented to save transmission bandwidth. But in current technology transmission in much higher rate is possible. So, there is no need of interlacing. It is possible to paint the lines sequentially from 1,2,3….up to 480, this is called “"progressive scanning". With this technology using same 480 resolution lines we can get better video quality, jaggies can be totally eliminated. This 480 lines progressive scan technique is commonly known as 480p. This concept in the consumer market known as Enhanced Definition Television, or EDTV.

Both SDTV and EDTV also receive the 16-by-9 broadcasts along with the 4-by-3 aspect ratio.

HDTV:

Even though we have digital broadcasting system SDTV and EDTV, maximum attention attracted towards HDTV. Main advantage here is increased number of scan lines on the screen. HDTV comes with three flavors 720p, 1080i and most recent one 1080p. As the name says first resolution displays 720 lines progressively and in the second one displays 1,080 lines interlaced. If we compare this two, we can say both of them are good. In general 720p is more appropriate for fast action as it uses progressive frames; alternatively 1080i is very good for slow moving picture (probably this is the reason in most of the HDTV show room you can see slow moving movies) . 1080p on the other hand providing an image resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. This one provides best display compare to other ones. This is because 1080p contains maximum number of pixels compare to other varieties, plus 1080 lines progressively scanned line which considers better then interlaced one.

Basic technology of satellite phone.

• A satellite phone or satphone is a mobile phone that sends and receives calls using satellites rather than landlines or cellular broadcasting towers.
• A satellite phone only requires a clear line of sight to the sky.
• The advantage of a satellite phone is that it can be communicated from from anywhere.
• A disadvantage of a satellite phone is a noticeable delay in conversations.
• The signal must first travel to the satellite, then to an earthbound gateway before being routed to the receiver. The receiver's response will follow the same path in reverse, taking equally long to reach the caller.
• The three main satellite networks at present are Iridium, Glodstar and Thuraya.
• Some satellite networks have partnered with cellular GSM networks to provide Internet service and email through satellite phones in addition to offering GSM roaming.
• Some satellite phones use satellites in geostationary orbit. These systems can maintain near-continuous global coverage with only three or four satellites, reducing the launch costs. The disadvantage of geostationary satellite systems is that because the satellite is so far away (approx. 22,000 miles), a comparatively large antenna system is required for signal transmission and reception.

You may want to visit the following link to know more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_phone

Fujifilm FinePix S5200 : A quick look

Main feature I like:

• 10x optical and 5.7x digital zoom and optional wide and telephoto lens adapters.
• The Fujifilm S5200 is fast. Startup is about 1 sec. and there is no practical shutter lag.
• The S5200 lets you shoot video as motion JPEG and save it as AVI files at 640-by-480 and 30 frames per second. Color, sound, and image quality of the clips are good, and they can be any length up to the capacity of the memory card.
• When shooting video, the S5200 adjusts well to varying light conditions, such as when you move from indoors to outdoors.
• Low-light images at sensitivities up to ISO 1,600. ISO speeds: Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600.
• The camera stores pictures on xD-Picture memory cards (16 MB xD card is supplied) and features fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to PC and Mac computers.
• The camera stores pictures on xD-Picture memory cards (16 MB xD card is supplied) and features fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to PC and Mac computers.
• Single or Continuous AF and Manual focus.
• Electronic color viewfinder w/115K pixels.
• 15 - 1/2000 sec Shutter Speeds.
• Manual Mode provides full control over both aperture and shutter speed.

Drawbacks:

• It lacks optical image stabilization.
• 1.8 inch LCD is not impressive. It could have been bigger.