Panasonic Lumix FX90 gets Wi-Fi connectivity

Staying connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi is more or less certain these days, and with many more devices hitting the market that come with built-in Wi-Fi, it goes without saying that to see a compact digital camera carry such functionality is not such a huge surprise any more these days. Of course, there is always another method to retrofit Wi-Fi connectivity into your camera, and that is by using an Eye-Fi SD memory card – but you require not do so with Panasonic’s latest Lumix FX90, of course.

We are talking about 802.11 b/g/n connectivity being frightened into the latest FX90 model, where it will carry a 24mm ultra-wide LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMARIT lens with F2.5 brightness. Why Wi-Fi support? Well, everyone’s so social these days, and want to be up-to-date with the latest happenings, so to upload instantly shot photos on the spot to your social network page makes perfect sense, and I’m sure reporters who want to be discreet with their subjects would do improved with a smaller camera such as this.

Apart from that, Panasonic has also introduced the Lumix Club, which is a cloud-based service that can be accessed over a smartphone and a computer browser. Lumix Club enables one to upload photos which were shot with the LUMIX FX90 to Facebook, Flickr, Picasa or YouTube – in chorus, of course. With each Lumix Club account comes a free, dedicated application known as Lumix Link, where it will play nice with iPhone and Android-powered smartphones, letting them share photos by connecting the Lumix FX90 to their compatible smartphone, relying on the carrier network to send those photos online.

What else is there to say about the Lumix FX90? How about a 12.1-megapixel Hi-Speed CCD sensor that also delivers Full HD video recording capability in AVCHD format? Not only that, you will get additional goodies such as habitual shooting modes, Active Mode in MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization), Motion Deblur, Face Recognition, Face Detection, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Scene Selector and Intelligent revelation.

No idea on when the Lumix FX90 will arrive, but the worth will keep the press release company when that happens sometime later this year.

SAMSUNG MV800 Flipscreen Camera

One of the problems with reporting on cameras is that they are all very much alike. Once I testimony on the Megapixels and memory, I then list off a cluster of the usual features.

Samsung’s MV800 Point and Shoot (P&S) camera has one incredibly interesting feature that I have never seen before. It has a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen display that can be flipped 180 degrees. This comes in handy for self-shots and low-angles shots, and for when you want to prop it up.

I suppose that you can also flip the screen over and view the contents of the microSD/SDHC card. That’s right, it takes the microSD instead of the usual SD. That’s another distinctive feature that will probably become more common, if it isn’t already on P & S cameras.

Well, we might as well describe the usual features. It has a 5X optical zoom and 16.1 Megapixels. It also has some interesting software inside for filters, panoramas, photo touch-ups, effects, plus in-camera cropping.

SONY Reader Wi-Fi

SONY has just announced their latest entrance into the world of e-book readers, what with the Sony Reader Wi-Fi – and if you are a innate fan of model numbers, you can always call it the PRS-T1. This is touted to be the lightest touch screen 6″ eReader device in the market and to date, where it claims to deliver the most natural and immersive reading occurrence yet for book lovers in a digital format, of course.

The new Reader Wi-Fi will continue where last year’s line left off, where it is smaller and lighter now without sacrificing on recital as new and enhanced features have been incorporated. Tipping the scales at less than 6 ounces, this particular Sony Reader Wi-Fi will come with a 6″ E-Ink Pearl V220 touch screen demonstrate, where it is far smaller than your typical paperback book so that it can fit into a bag or pocket in a jiffy. To conform to Sony’s signature device releases, this one too, will come in more than one color – black, red or white.

Sony’s Reader Wi-Fi also achieves another first by being the first model that delivers wireless connectivity to the public library system in both the US and Canada over a dedicated icon on the device that enables easy and convenient borrowing of free e-books courtesy of a valid library card. Apart from that, you are able to open up your mind to more than 2.5 million titles via a Wi-Fi connection from the Reader Store, where those who want to build up their digital book anthology can do so by purchasing additional copies from a wide range of bookstores and other websites.

The Reader Wi-Fi will also sport a glare-free Clear Dual Touch screen display with E-Ink Pearl electronic paper technology, delivering a high contrast image which would be easy on the eyes, even when you are reading under direct sunlight for hours on end. Want to flip the page? That’s easily done by swiping your finger, and you can zoom in on the text through the now standard pinching gesture.