Coming Soon: the Laptop You Power by Typing

Solar powered laptops are barely here, and — if the hype is to be believed — already headed for obsolescence.
Why so?  Because a team of researchers at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have successfully demonstrated a new, “nano-scaled” piezoelectric film’s capacity for turning mechanical pressure into electricity — bringing the (admittedly geeky) dream of perpetually-charged laptop batteries one giant leap closer to reality.
“Piezoelectricity“, as a phenomenon, was discovered in the 19th century and is currently employed in things like electric cigarette lighters.  Piezoelectric materials (like crystals or ceramics) have been studied thoroughly over the last century, but research on thin films is relatively new, according to the team’s research lead, Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran.  ”Our study focused on thin film coatings, because we believe they hold the only practical possibility of integrating piezoelectrics into existing electronic technology,” she explains.  Dr. Bhaskaran hopes to implement her research findings into consumer electronic form factors on a wide scale — but doesn’t stop there.  ”The power of piezoelectrics could be integrated into running shoes to charge mobile phones, enable laptops to be powered through typing or even used to convert blood pressure into a power source for pacemakers — essentially creating an everlasting Dell inspiron 1525 battery.”
Now that the experimental films have proven to produce quantifiable electricity, the only road-blocks to industry acceptance will likely come from the material’s initial cost and resistance from the manufacturers of conventional “rare-Earth” HP pavilion zt1185 ac adapter battery packs.
Source:  Advanced Functional Materials (journal), via Gizmag.

Source: Clean Technica

• John 7 hours ago

  Multiplying a couple of estimates together is hardly a deep dive into mathematics, it’s just basic numeracy. Energy harvesting is a topic where too often wishful thinking overrides realism. I have shut down projects where regrettably that realism was absent.
  
  My figure was for the oldish laptop I’m currently using - it’s what the power gauge is reading. I could imagine the power consumption being reduced to a tenth or less, say to that of a PDA-type device, smart phone or MP3 player. This would make energy harvesting easier: now we are only three orders of magnitude away, i.e. we need to type at an average of 1,000 keystrokes per second. It helps.
  
  However, reducing the power requirement now makes it easier to achieve satisfactory operating life using a dell inspiron 1545 battery: in our example, it increases battery life by a factor of ten, from 4 hours to 40 hours. A further factor of ten reduction in consumption gives a Dell inspiron 1545 ac adapter battery life of 400 hours; somewhere near this point power stops being a major issue!
  
  Kindle-type devices with passive E Ink screens already have a hp pavilion dv6000 ac adapter battery life in weeks if not months, with no need to type continually on some Keyboard of Death.
  
  Anyway, eReaders and iPads don’t have keyboards.
  
  The difficulty with the laptop application is that there is not enough power going into the keyboard by typing, however it is harvested. Our fingers simply don’t deliver enough power, just a millijoule or so per keystroke. And the lower the power consumption of the computer, the more attractive (i.e. smaller, cheaper, longer lifed) Acer aspire one d250-1026 battery become.
  
  This is the bind in which energy harvesting technology so often finds itself. On one side, the energy available in the environment tends to be rather too scarce to be useful, that is, it is too widely dispersed and therefore has to be gathered over too large an area or volume to be convenient and cost effective.
  
  On the other hand, if the power requirement is lower, then HP pavilion zd7000 battery start to look more attractive. Usually they can deliver more power at less cost in a smaller package. But they do need to be recharged or changed periodically.
  
  There are definitely niches where energy harvesting works very well, though they are quite rare. Wireless sensors are an example, as there is no wire to power the device. But the power consumption of modern chipsets can be so low that the sensor may have served its purpose or become obsolete before its Acer aspire one 10.1 battery is flat.
  
  Anyway, the abstract refers to ‘integrated microscale energy scavenging systems’; ‘micro’ i.e. millionths, very little. I’d guess that early applications for the thin piezoelectric films that RMIT University is developing are more likely to be as integrated sensors for motion detection and other sensing, and maybe for generating a few microwatts for very low-powered circuits.

  Flag
• John 15 hours ago

  No. No, no, no, no, NO!
  
  First, Dr Bhaskaran has not invented a product for charging laptops or anything else. What she has done is develop a nanoindentation technique to assist in the characterisation of thin piezoelectric films. No doubt this is very useful research, but it is nowhere near being a product.
  
  Next, a typical keyboard key force is 45g and key travel is about 3.5mm. The energy from a single key press is therefore F x s = 1.5mJ. My laptop is currently consuming about 15W. Therefore, assuming all the energy from each keystroke is converted into useful power, which it can’t, I would need to average 10,000 key strokes per second. I can’t type that fast.
  
  Even with reduced power consumption and stiffer keys with greater travel, it is clear from this simple sum that this is several orders of magnitude away from a feasible invention.
  
  For example, if the keys had 35mm of travel and required a key force of 450g (i.e. about one pound-force), and the laptop used only 1.5W, it would require ‘only’ 10 keystrokes per second, still assuming no losses. But at 1.5W, my existing COMPAQ presario 1200 ac adapter batteries would last 40 hours instead of 4.
  
  The energy harvested from the environment (after all the losses) must exceed the power consumption of the device.
  
  Many energy harvesting ideas fail as soon as this basic arithmetic is done. Too often there is simply not enough energy in the environment available to be harvested. If there were, the world would be unbearably noisy, shaky, lossy, windy, hot, bright or whatever.
  
  Reducing the device power consumption of course reduces the energy that needs to be harvested. However, this then makes it easier to achieve acceptable life from HP pavilion n3370 ac adapter batteries. Thus there is a rather narrow window of opportunity for energy harvesting where it is not more cost effective, compact and reliable to use batteries instead.
  
  I am not against energy harvesting in principle. Sometimes there are reasons why energy cannot be stored (e.g. plants that are subject to explosive atmosphere regulations) and Acer aspire 3000 battery changing or charging is difficult, that create an overwhelming case for energy harvesting.
  
  There are some good products where energy harvesting works well: PV powered calculators, torches with solar battery chargers, bike lights with dynamos, where the power requirements and duty cycle match the available energy. But in practice, good opportunities are scarce and most do not stand up even to basic engineering scrutiny. Like this one.

  Flag
• ZShahan3 15 hours ago in reply to John

  Wow, that looks like a pretty powerful debunking of its usefulness & promise
  (unless i am missing something). Thank you for that.

  Flag

  Jo Borras liked this
• Jo Borras 11 hours ago in reply to ZShahan3

  I think what you're missing is that power consumption of laptops is dropping with new display technology, and that "laptop" doesn't necessarily equate to "2GHz processor w/ 2GB RAM ..." etc., Acer travelmate 321x battery and could well mean E-Ink display running a simplified Linux/Chrome OS with drastically reduced power consumption compared to current "overkill" devices.

  Flag
• Jo Borras 11 hours ago in reply to John

  VERY well-said and a thorough deep-dive into some of the maths involved, but I think you're overstating the power requirements of a usable device. toshiba pa3383u-1brs batteryThe latest E-ink devices, for example, are certainly proving their use in a number of Android and e-reader systems, and measure power usage in millivolts, which would certainly change the equation, I would think (though, I could be wrong).
  
  I'm thinking this would be less a conventional laptop and more of an e-ink device that could also save word processing documents, spreadsheets, etc., and serve primarily as an e-reader/commuter tool that's a little more type-friendly than the current generation of eReaders and iPads.
  
  What do you think?

  Flag
• Kerem ERSOY 1 day ago

  Coming Soon: the Laptop You Power by Typing: ... demonstrated a new, “nano-scaled” piezoelectric film's capacity... http://bit.ly/itSQBk
  
  Source: Clean Technica
• Flag

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next blog: 'Stretching' Technology Could Improve Battery Performance
small step

'Stretching' Technology Could Improve Battery Performance

Stretching could improve efficiency of material used in camera batteries, fuel cells and water purification

Designing new materials depends upon understanding the properties of today's materials. One such material, Nafion, is a polymer that efficiently conducts ions (a polymer electrolyte) and water through its nanostructure, making it important for many energy-related industrial applications, including in fuel cells, organic TOSHIBA TECRA 9000 AC Adapter batteries, and reverse-osmosis water purification. But since Nafion was invented 50 years ago, scientists have only been able to speculate about how to build new materials because they have not been able to see details on how the molecules come together and work within Nafion.

Now, two Virginia Tech research groups have combined forces to devise a way to measure Nafion's internal structure and, in the process, have discovered how to manipulate this structure to enhance the material's applications.(Toshiba pa3420u-1brs Battery)
The research is published in the June 19 issue of Nature Materials in the Letters article, "Linear coupling of alignment with transport in a polymer electrolyte membrane," by Jing Li, Jong Keun Park, Robert B. Moore, and Louis A. Madsen, all with the chemistry department in the College of Science and the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute at Virginia Tech.
Nafion is made up of molecules that combine the non-stick and tough nature of Teflon with the conductive properties of an acid, such as Sony Np-bg1 Battery acid. A network of tiny channels, nanometers in size, carries water or ions quickly through the polymer. "But, due to the irregular structure of Nafion, scientists have not been able to get reliable information about its properties using most standard analysis tools, such as transmission electron microscopy," said Madsen, assistant professor of physical, polymer, and materials chemistry.
Madsen and Moore, professor of physical and polymer chemistry; Madsen's post-doctoral associate Jing Li; and Moore's Ph.D. student Jong Keun Park, of Korea, were able to use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)to measure molecular motion, and a combination of NMR and X-ray scattering to measure molecular alignment within Nafion. "We were looking at water molecules inside Nafion as internal reporters of structure and efficiency of conduction," said Madsen. "The new feature we discovered is the locally aligned aggregates of polymer molecules in the material. (Hp Photosmart r717 Battery) The molecules align like strands of dry spaghetti lined up in a box. We can measure the speed (diffusion) of the water molecules and the direction they travel within those structures, which relates strongly to the alignment of the polymer molecule strands."
The researchers observed that the alignment of the channels influenced the speed and preferential direction of water motion. And a startlingly clear picture presented itself when the scientists stretched the Nafion and measured its structure and water motion.
"Stretching drastically influences the degree of alignment," said Madsen. "So the molecules move faster along the direction of the stretch, and in a very predictable way.(SAMSUNG PL65 Charger) These materials actually share some properties with liquid crystals—molecules that line up with each other and are used in every LCD television, projector, and screen."
These relationships have not been previously recognized in a polymer electrolyte, Madsen said.
The ability to observe motion and direction, and understand what is happening within Nafion, has implications for using the material in new ways, and for designing new materials, the researchers write in the Nature Materials article. Ion-based applications could include actuator devices such as artificial muscles, organic Jvc Gr-Dvx Battery, and more energy efficient fuel cells. A water-based application would be improved reverse osmosis membranes for water purification.
Madsen and Moore started this collaborative project shortly after they arrived at Virginia Tech (Madsen in 2006, Moore in 2007), and they are furthering their work together by investigating new polymeric materials using their unique combination of analysis techniques.
"Alignment provides for a better flow of the molecules through the polymer," Madsen said.
---
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next blog: G. Chambers Williams III: Volt price dips as it goes national

G. Chambers Williams III: Volt price dips as it goes national

Chevrolet is now taking orders nationwide for the 2012 Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid, which has a new, lower starting price: $39,995.

Initially introduced in just seven states and the District of Columbia, including a limited rollout in Texas in January, the 2011 Volt has been hard to find even in the launch states because of General Motors' slow ramp-up of production at the Detroit-area plant where all of the cars are assembled. (Canon NB-4L battery)Fewer than 10,000 of the 2011 model were expected to come out of the plant.

For 2012, though, production is being boosted significantly, with a projection of about 45,000 units for the entire year. (Canon BP-511 battery)Still, even with potential customers having the ability to order the Volt from any participating Chevrolet dealer, the nationwide rollout will come in phases, GM says. Which areas will get the 2012 models first has not been announced.

The $39,995 starting price for the 2012 model includes $850 freight. That's before an available federal tax credit of $7,500 and any applicable state and local incentives. (Samsung BP70A Battery )The price is $32,495 after the federal credit.

That compares with a base price of $41,000 for the 2011 model - but the 2012 entry-level Volt will lack some of the standard amenities of this year's car, including the in-dash navigation system.

A variety of options will be available, however, and a fully loaded Volt with leather interior, back-up camera (Canon MV700 battery), navigation, and premium paint and wheels will top out at $46,265 ($38,765 after the federal credit).

Once an order is placed for the 2012 model, the customer will be assigned a "Volt adviser" who will keep the consumer informed about when the ordered vehicle will be ready for delivery, GM said.

"We are giving consumers greater choice of content as the Volt becomes available nationwide by the end of this year," said Cristi Landy, the Volt's marketing director. (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W110 Charger)"This gives us the opportunity to be more flexible in our pricing and still provide additional high-tech content to customers who want to purchase it."

For 2012, standard features will include keyless entry with automatic locking, OnStar turn-by-turn navigation free for three years, the Chevrolet MyLink system with Bluetooth streaming audio, and an AM/FM/CD system with MP3 playback and 7-inch color touch-screen display.(Canon POWERSHOT G6 battery)

Optional will be 17-inch sport alloy wheels with black inserts. Two new exterior colors will be available for 2012, summit white and blue topaz metallic. New interiors will include white and spiced red.

The Volt, which can go about 35 miles between charges on electric power alone, has a small gasoline engine that runs a generator to provide backup power when the lithium-ion Sony NP-FM55H Charger runs down.

That extends the range by up to 344 miles, GM says. The gasoline backup is the key difference between the Volt and the all-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf, which runs on a Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP Charger battery pack only. The Leaf, which is made in Japan now but soon will be assembled in Tennessee, can go up to 100 miles between charges. But when the Canon LP-E10 battery runs down, it must be recharged from an external power source.

Volt is also the first electric car to receive a five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, based on the results of the federal agency's crash testing.

It also has been named a Top Safety Pick for 2011 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a privately funded crash-testing organization with standards that are higher than those of the federal government.

A lease still will be the least expensive way to get into one of the vehicles. (Sony NP-F550 Battery)For 2011, a three-year Volt lease costs $350 a month and requires only a $2,500 down payment.

GM decided on the shorter range for the Volt, compared with the Leaf, because studies have shown that the average driver goes less than 35 miles in a typical day. The shorter range allowed GM to use a smaller, lighter-weight Samsung BP-70A Battery pack than Nissan uses in the Leaf.

An onboard 110-volt charger allows the Volt to be recharged externally from standard household power in about 12 to 14 hours. With an available 240-volt home charger, the  Canon Digital IXUS 40 Charger battery can be recharged in four hours.

The hatchback Volt is about the size of a Chevy Malibu and drives about the same. Controls are the same - an automatic transmission shifter in the center console, an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. Top speed is 100 mph.

GM said the 2012 Volt will continue to have the same battery warranty as the 2011 model - eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.(Sanyo DSC-R1 Battery)

One problem that consumers have found, though, is that some Chevrolet dealers have been marking up the price of the Volt significantly to take advantage of its scarcity and the fact that some early buyers apparently will pay whatever dealers ask just so they can be among the first to get the car.

Nissan has avoided that with the Leaf by selling the vehicles online for the published manufacturer's list price, then sending customers to their local Nissan dealers to take delivery. The Leaf begins at about $33,000, before the $7,500 federal tax credit and any state or local incentives.

Contact Express-News automotive columnist G. Chambers Williams III at 210-250-3236 or

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next blog: Cocaine in the truck’s battery… must give a real jolt … news from the ports of entry

Cocaine in the truck’s battery… must give a real jolt … news from the ports of entry

TUCSON, Ariz. — The following is a snapshot of certain Department of Homeland Security activities along the Southwest border. This rundown provides a thumbnail of each incident.
Joint Field Command Statistics – Over the last 48-hours in Arizona
(Narcotics weights are measured in pounds)(Sony DCR-TRV460E charger)
Marijuana seized 4,255
Cocaine seized 60
Methamphetamines seized 3
Individuals presented in federal court for prosecution* 214
Individuals prosecuted under Operation Streamline* 140
Individuals prosecuted on federal drug charges* 20
*These numbers only represent those apprehended by Border Patrol and presented for prosecution.
• On June 16, Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Ajo Station apprehended a 30-year-old illegal alien from Mexico near Why, Ariz., who admitted to being an active gang member of the Sureño 13 street gang. The individual is being prosecuted for Re-entry of an Aggravated Felon. (SAMSUNG DIGIMAX 360 battery)
• On June 15, an 18-year-old Mexican female attempted to enter the United States through a Dennis DeConcini Port vehicle lane and was referred for a secondary inspection after a CBP officer observed a possible concealed item. (KODAK KLIC-7001 battery) Subsequently, CBP officers discovered two packages of methamphetamines concealed on her body. The narcotics weighed almost three pounds with an estimated value of $41,850. The subject was taken into custody and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further investigation.
• On June 16, a 46-year-old Mexican male attempted to enter the United States through a San Luis vehicle lane and was referred for a secondary inspection. (Nikon Coolpix 5200 charger)Subsequently, a narcotics detection canine alerted to the vehicle’s firewall. Further inspection led to the removal of 15 packages of cocaine from the vehicle. The narcotics weighed more than 38 pounds with an estimated value of $351,260. The subject was taken into custody and turned over to ICE HSI for further investigation.(SONY CCD-CR1 Battery)
• On June 16, a 22-year-old Mexican male attempted to enter the United States through a San Luis Port vehicle lane and was referred for secondary inspection. Subsequently, a narcotics detection canine alerted to the vehicle. Further inspection led to the removal of four packages of cocaine from a non-factory compartment in the vehicle’s dashboard. (CANON EOS-300D battery)The narcotics weighed more than 10 pounds with an estimated value of $98,280. The driver was taken into custody and turned over to ICE HSI for further investigation.
• On June 16, a 55-year-old Mexican male driving a tractor trailer loaded with mixed vegetables attempted to enter the United States through a Mariposa Port commercial vehicle lane and was referred for a secondary inspection. Subsequently, during an X-ray inspection, CBP officers observed an anomaly inside the SONY DCR-PC3 Battery compartment. Further inspection led to the removal of several packages of cocaine. The narcotics weighed almost nine pounds with an estimated value of $80,171. The tractor trailer and its cargo were seized by CBP. The subject was taken into custody and turned over to ICE HSI.
In February, CBP announced the Arizona Joint Field Command (JFC)—an organizational realignment that brings together Border Patrol, Air and Marine, and Field Operations under a unified command structure to integrate CBP’s border security, commercial enforcement, and trade facilitation missions to more effectively meet the unique challenges faced in the Arizona area of operations.(FUJIFILM NP-40 battery)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) promotes homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration. ICE and CBP collaborate in investigations regarding criminal organizations with a nexus to the border.
Since launching the Southwest (PANASONIC NV-GS17 battery)Border Initiative in March 2009, the Obama administration has engaged in an unprecedented effort to bring focus and intensity to Southwest border security, coupled with a reinvigorated, smart and effective approach to enforcing immigration laws in the interior of our country.
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next blog: Lithium Ion Battery Baby Steps: A 3-Year-Warranty Laptop Battery

Lithium Ion Battery Baby Steps: A 3-Year-Warranty Laptop Battery

 The next-generation of lithium-ion Acer Aspire 5530g Battery aren’t just here to power the first wave of electric cars and remake the power grid; they’ll be providing better energy storage for our gadgets and computers, too. On Monday, venture capital-backed lithium-ion Acer Aspire 5739g-6959 Battery player Leyden Energy (formerly called Mobius Power) is launching a replacement lithium-ion NOKIA 3120 battery for laptops that won’t degrade (start losing its full charge) for at least three years, and will come with a three-year warranty.Most standard laptop batteries start losing their ability to fully charge (providing fewer and fewer hours of  acer laptop ac adapter battery life) after about a year and a half. Anyone who’s a laptop user knows how annoying it is to have a ACER Aspire 5720 AC Adapter that suddenly won’t hold a charge for very long, even though it’s still early in the life of the laptop itself. Leyden Energy says its Sony DCR-HC14E Charger battery has one of the highest energy densities and run times for a lithium-ion laptop battery on the market, with 440 watt hours per liter and over 1,000 cycles, and the Samsung bp70a Battery can operate at higher temperatures than traditional NEC LaVie LL950/6D ac Adapter batteries.
Leyden Energy’s three-year warranty Sony Np-bg1 Battery will cost a premium over a standard one-year battery, and while Leyden Energy hasn’t yet determined the exact price it will sell the HP COMPAQ BUSINESS NOTEBOOK DH913U Adapter battery for, Leyden Energy CEO and President Aakar Patel told me in an interview that a three-year HP Laptop AC Adapter battery will be less than double the cost of a one-year battery. Leyden Energy will also announce a deal Monday to sell its Sony DCR-DVD605 Charger through the Canadian battery retailer Dr. Battery, and interested customers will be able to buy the battery online in a couple of weeks through the retailer.
Leyden Energy was founded in 2007 with a patent acquired from chemical giant Dupont, and a $4.5 million investment from investors at Walden International, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sigma Partners. Leyden’s secret sauce is an innovation for the electrolyte part of the COMPAQ Presario CQ50 AC Adapter battery. A battery has a positive and a negative plate and then an electrolyte in between, which is the substance through which electrons transfer back and forth while the NOKIA 6110 battery charges and discharges.
While standard lithium-ion Sony DCR-HC22E Charger batteries use a salt-based solvent within the electrolyte that starts degrading at a temperature of between 70 to 80 degrees Celsius, Leyden uses a salt-solvent in its electrolyte that doesn’t degrade up to temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius. Leyden Energy holds a patent for this innovation. As Patel explained it to me, when a Sony Np-fp50 Battery charges and discharges, think of the electrons as rods that move across the electrolyte (between the anode and the cathode) and fill holes on the other side. After a certain point in time, standard electrolytes, particularly at high temperatures, let the rods start to break down and the holes start to fill up, but Leyden’s Sony Np-bg1 Battery can maintain the integrity of those rods and holes at higher temperatures for a longer period of time.
In the grand scheme of innovations, and with startups trying to change the game with designs for TOSHIBA Laptop AC Adapter battery-powered cars with hundreds of miles of range, Leyden’s innovation is kind of like baby steps. But if Leyden can manage to get a deal with a major laptop manufacturer to embed the battery directly in a laptop, or market the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 AC Adapter battery with a popular laptop, then the company could do well. In 2008, Boston Power launched its three-year-lasting lithium-ion Acer Aspire 6930 Battery with laptop maker HP, and is backed by Oak Investment Partners, Venrock, GGV Capital and Gabriel Venture Partners.
Like Boston Power, Leyden Energy has been eying the electric vehicle Sony DCR-DVD405E Charger battery market, too, and is working with Brammo to supply the Panasonic Nv-gs27 Battery for its electric motorcycle the Empulse, a more powerful version of Brammo’s original e-scooter the Enertia (which I test drove here). Leyden and a vehicle maker partner were also awarded a $2.96 million grant from the California Energy Commission to produce ten electric vehicle Rechargeable O2 PDA Battery per month. Leyden seems like it’s focusing more on Dell Inspiron 2500 AC Adapter batteries for the laptop and consumer electronics markets, instead of electric vehicles, as it seems like the market for electric vehicles is moving slower than some have expected (see A123 Systems , and Ener1 ).
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next blog: How to Buy a Digital Camera

How to Buy a Digital Camera

 Choosing the Right Digital Camera    (digital camea battery)

If you're having a hard time figuring out which camera to buy, you may be tempted to make a decision based solely on megapixel count. However, outside of making huge prints or blowing up small portions of an image, megapixels can be meaningless. In fact, a high megapixel count can lead to noisier, less-sharp images unless you're using a camera (camera battery) with a larger image sensor (such as a DSLR or a compact interchangeable-lens camera).
Other features are often more important, and they depend on what you'll be using the camera for. For example, a lethargic camera that takes too much time between shots is a lemon for sports or action photographers, and a big, heavy DSLR that takes amazing photos may spend more time on the shelf than in your carry-on bag. A camera (CANON NB-4L battery) with no manual controls may take fabulous shots in bright sunlight, but lousy ones in more challenging situations.
Starting at the top of the photographic food chain, here are the pros and cons of each type of camera.

Digital SLR (DSLR) Camera

Strengths: Superb photos, videos, and low-light shooting; no shutter lag; versatile interchangeable lenses; manual controls for exposure and focus; through-the-lens optical viewfinder (CANON LP-E6 battery)
Weaknesses: Expensive; lack of portability; not all DSLRs shoot video; can be complex and intimidating
If money's no object and performance is your top priority, a digital SLR yields the best photo quality and imaging controls of any type of digital camera (CANON camera battery). The combination of a large sensor, high-quality lenses that you can swap out to achieve a wide range of effects, great high-ISO performance in low light, and lightning-quick shutter response times make it the go-to camera for hobbyists and pro shooters. (CASIO NP-40 battery)A DSLR is also the only type of camera that lets you frame shots using a through-the-lens optical viewfinder, meaning that what you'll see through the eyepiece is a true-to-life representation of your shot.
Though the prospect of using a DSLR can be intimidating for novice users, most modern models are outfitted with point-and-shoot-like features and LCD-based viewfinders to make the migration easier. (CASIO EXILIM EX-S100 battery)Beyond user-friendly auto-exposure and scene modes, you also get room to grow as a photographer due to a DSLR's full range of manual controls.
The only major drawback to a DSLR is its size, which makes it a tough camera to bring anywhere you go. Price is also a major consideration, even after you spend an initial $700 to several-thousand dollars on the camera body alone. Additional lenses are a must when it comes to unleashing the full power of your DSLR, and they usually cost several hundred dollars a pop (at least). (FUJIFILM NP-95 battery)If you're interested in shooting video, make sure your DSLR supports it; these cameras capture stunning HD video, but only the newest DSLRs are video-capable.

Compact Interchangeable-Lens Camera (Panasonic G-Series, Olympus PEN, Sony NEX, Samsung NX)

Strengths: More-compact than a DSLR; excellent photo and video quality; no shutter lag; versatile interchangeable lenses; manual controls for exposure and focus (FUJIFILM FinePix F470 battery
Weaknesses: No through-the-lens optical viewfinder; can be expensive; fewer lenses available than for DSLRs; still a bit bulky for everyday use
If you can live without an optical viewfinder, these interchangeable-lens cameras offer most of what a DSLR offers in a more-compact body: (SONY NP-BG1 Battery )a large sensor, fast mechanical shutter, swappable lenses, noticeably better image and video quality that your average point-and-shoot, and manual controls.
The lack of an optical viewfinder is a byproduct of these cameras' smaller size: by eliminating the somewhat large mirror box that lets you frame your shot through the lens, manufacturers were able to make these interchangeable-lens cameras more compact. (SONY NP-FW50 Battery)
One of the main problems is deciding which of the emerging compact interchangeable-lens formats to buy into, because like DSLR lens mounts, they're incompatible with one other: Panasonic and Olympus both use the Micro Four-Thirds System lens mount, but not all Micro Four-Thirds lenses are compatible with both companies' cameras; SONY camera battery Samsung's NX10 uses its own NX lens mount; Sony's NEX series uses the E-Mount system; and other companies are bound to release their own interchangeable-lens compacts.
Because this is a newer type of camera, there aren't as many lens options to choose from, either. Adapters are available that let you use full-size DSLR lenses with these cameras, but they often cost a hundred dollars or more. (OLYMPUS LI-12B battery)

Megazoom (Fixed-Lens High-Zoom) Camera (OLYMPUS LI-10B Battery)

Strengths: Very high optical zoom range; manual controls; normally has excellent image stabilization; better lenses than standard point-and-shoot cameras
Weaknesses: Bulkier than a point-and-shoot camera; expensive for a fixed-lens camera; not much smaller than an interchangeable-lens camera (NIKON EN-EL14 battery)
Megazooms don't give you the same lens-swapping versatility of a DSLR or compact interchangeable-lens camera, but they are the most-versatile fixed-lens cameras available. (NIKON EN-EL5 battery)They're called "megazooms" because their lenses serve up a whopping amount of optical zoom (20x to 36x), offering impressive wide-angle coverage and telephoto reach.
Most megazooms also offer DSLR-like manual controls for aperture and shutter, as well as excellent image stabilization to help steady full-zoom shots.(NIKON COOLPIX S3 battery) Because of the versatility of their lenses, they're good cameras for landscape photography (they can capture both wide-angle vistas and faraway details), sports photography (you can sit in the crowd and still get tight shots of in-game action), and animal photography (because you really shouldn't get too close to that bear).
Although a megazoom camera (KODAK KLIC-7002 battery) is smaller than a DSLR, it's about the same size as some interchangeable-lens compact cameras, and it won't slip into a pocket or purse. You'll probably need a backpack or camera bag to tote it along with you.

Pocket Megazoom (Compact High-Zoom) Camera

Strengths: Very high optical zoom range for a pocketable camera; portable but versatile; normally has excellent image stabilization; many have manual controls (KODAK Easyshare V1003 battery )
Weaknesses: Some are a bit bulky; more expensive than basic point-and-shoot cameras; some lack manual controls; normally has narrower aperture than an advanced point-and-shoot
If you're attracted by the versatile fixed lens of a megazoom camera (CANON BP-617 battery) but want something a bit more portable, a pocket megazoom is your best option. These compact cameras offer optical zoom ranges up to about 18x, and although they're definitely more compact than a full-size megazoom or DSLR, some of them aren't quite small enough to slip into a pants pocket. A jacket pocket or purse should be big enough, however. (CANON BP-808 battery)
These are great cameras for vacationers or for everyday use, due to their versatile combination of zoom range and portability.(CANON NP-E3 battery) They're small enough to bring anywhere, and they offer enough optical zoom to cover anything from wide-angle scenery to faraway shots of sporting events or wildlife.
Although many pocket megazoom cameras have manual controls such as aperture and shutter priority, not all of them do, so be sure to check the specs if you'd like those features. These cameras normally have very good optical image stabilization to bolster their high-zoom lenses. (CANON E-100 battery)

Advanced Point-and-Shoot (Compact Camera With Manual Controls)

Strengths: Better image quality than most fixed-lens cameras; manual controls over shutter speed and aperture settings;(SONY NP-FA50 battery) usually has a wide aperture at wide-angle end of the zoom; good secondary camera for DSLR owners; good learning tool for novice shooters
Weaknesses: More expensive than a basic point-and-shoot; can be more complicated to use than a basic point-and-shoot; smaller optical zoom range
Not all point-and-shoot digital cameras can live up to the scrutiny of a DSLR-toting pro, but an advanced point-and-shoot often gets the nod as a pro shooter's secondary, more-portable camera. (SONY NP-FP70 battery)These cameras have manual controls for setting the aperture, shutter, and ISO, letting you fine-tune your shot more granularly than you can with a basic point-and-shoot.
Their lenses also tend to have wider maximum apertures than most fixed-lens cameras, meaning that you can shoot at faster shutter speeds, get good shots in low light, and achieve shallow depth-of-field effects to give macro shots and portraits a more artistic look.(SONY CCD-TR413 battery) Although you don't get the zoom range of a pocket megazoom, image quality is often better; you don't end up with the distortion you sometimes see with a high-zoom lens.

Ruggedized Point-and-Shoot Camera

Strengths: Immune to drops, water, freezing, and sand
Weaknesses: Usually has fewer features than a standard point-and-shoot camera (JVC BN-V114 battery); sometimes has subpar image quality
These are the ultimate cameras for extreme-sports enthusiasts, mountaineers, snorkelers, and the just-plain-clumsy. (JVC BN-V712 battery)Quite a few waterproof, freezeproof, drop-proof, and dustproof cameras are available, and they're great for taking underwater shots of fish, lugging to the beach, or taking on a snowboarding trip.
Due to their unique looks and sometimes-barren feature sets, these rugged cameras aren't the first choice for everyday on-the-go use. Image quality can be a mixed bag, as well: they're rugged, but they usually don't have the best optics or biggest sensors. (JVC GR-AX37 battery)But they're durable, and that's sometimes a more important trait to have.

Basic Point-and-Shoot Camera

Strengths: Very easy to use; inexpensive; small enough to fit in a pants pocket; usually has a large number of scene modes that select the right in-camera SHARP BT-H21 battery settings for your shot
Weaknesses: Usually doesn't have any manual controls; image quality is typically mediocre, especially in low light; inflated megapixel counts
A basic point-and-shoot camera is a no-brainer pick for anyone who just wants an affordable camera to have on hand at all times; most of them even shoot 720p HD video now. In-camera automation is getting better and better, meaning that these cameras (SHARP VL-A10E battery)basically drive themselves; you don't get manual controls that help you fine-tune your photos, but these cameras normally have very good Auto modes and scene selections that choose the appropriate in-camera settings for your shot. (SAMSUNG SB-L110 battery)
These cameras usually have small sensors, so don't fall into the trap of buying an inexpensive camera with a very high megapixel count. Packing more megapixels into a small sensor usually leads to image noise, especially when you're shooting at higher ISO settings.
Although they won't offer the same optical zoom reach as a more-expensive camera, a good thing to look for in a basic point-and-shoot camera (SAMSUNG SB-LSM80 battery) is wide-angle coverage (ideally around 28mm on the wide-angle end). That extra wide-angle coverage comes in very handy for group shots, arm's length self portraits, and landscape shots.
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next blog: Sony Adds Battery Life with a35 and NEX-C3 Cameras

Sony Adds Battery Life with a35 and NEX-C3 Cameras

Sony announced two new interchangeable lens cameras with long Canon EOS 5D Charger battery life, the Alpha a35 and the NEX-C3.

The a35 is a lightweight DSLR with quick speed and a 16.2 megapixel resolution and 1.4x zoom. Amateur photographers can use the on-screen Help Guide to learn functions, while advanced photographers can customize the camera to take advantage of its many features. It also takes full HD video. The camera increases  Canon EOS 350D Charger battery life by 30% over the previous model.
The NEX-C3 also has a 16.2 megapixel sensor and takes video in 720p. The NEX-C3 adds 20% Sony NP-FH70 Battery life over the previous NEX-3.
A new Picture Effect function is available on both cameras that will allow creative effects to be added on the camera screen. A firmware update will bring it to several other Sony cameras on June 20.

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next blog: From laptop to tablet, Toshiba segues with new Thrive

From laptop to tablet, Toshiba segues with new Thrive

Japanese computer maker Toshiba has joined the tablet craze engulfing the industry, announcing on Thursday last week the entry of Thrive into the exploding new tech toy that gradually edges out the popular laptop.

Toshiba's Website
There will be Android quick key buttons for Home, Menu, Back and Search right up front in the tablet. Camera in the rear will be 5MP and front end camera, 2Mp

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In a statement accompanying the product launch, Toshiba said that its new gadget will hit the stores by July 10 and will be powered by Android's Honeycomb 3.1 and designed with maximum regard on portability with its 10.1 inch screen and dell inspiron 1545 battery that juice up some eight hours of on-the-go use.

The Thrive comes with dual high-resolution cameras (5MP back-facing and 2MP front-facing) that users will find handy during teleconferencing functions, with image and video renditions in HD fashion that will more than please the general mode of usage, and all packed in a casing that emits crispness and weighs only 1.6 pounds.

While the new Thrive is not the thinnest tablet around, its added heft paved the way for more connectivity with a host of ports such HDMI, USB, dell inspiron 1545 ac adapter mini USB and SD card slot, which mean that file sharing and pleasurable viewing would be a breeze on the new Toshiba product.

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Toshiba vice-president and general manager for digital products division Jeff Barney told CNET that the new Thrive is geared towards users who were planning to migrate from notebook to the now popular smart gadgets.

A review published by CNET on June 2 differentiated the device from the iPad, inwhich the Thrive allows connectivity to a personal computer, which is a feature absent on the bestselling Apple product, via its Log Me In app.

Toshiba also anticipated customer's propensity to personalize their gadget by issuing the Thrive to come with a removable back plate, allowing users to inter-change the dell inspiron 1525 battery cover with available colors such as green, orange, purple, blue, pink, silver and black.

And yes the sony vgp-bps9 battery can be changed, which Toshiba said would be one of the things that set the product apart from other tablets, which the company said can be had staring at $429 at 8GB capacity, $479 at 16GB and $579 at 32GB.

Toshiba's bet on its new product lies on name recall as Barney told CNET that people tend to jump from one gadget into another but not necessarily ditching the brand that served them well, in the same manner that "people want brands they're used to with computing."

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next blog: ContourGPS+ Connect View video camera review | £370

ContourGPS+ Connect View video camera review | £370

The ContourGPS video camera certainly looks to have a lot going for it: embedded GPS hardware pairs your video file with real-time location information, it's stoutly built and easy to operate even with gloved hands, the rotating head quickly accommodates a wide variety of mounting orientations, （Jvc GR-DVF11U Battery）and twin laser sights help line up your field of view. If that doesn't work, a new Bluetooth card add-on and associated iPhone app now offers a live view of exactly what the sensor sees. 

Unfortunately, out on the trail or road, certain limitations become immediately apparent. The video output can be annoyingly shaky, the friction-fit interface is disappointingly crude, and many of the mounting options clearly aren't optimized for bike use.(Canon IXUS 750 battery)
A little too much coffee?
The biggest issue with the ContourGPS is its apparent lack of image stabilization. It's not a total deal breaker as the video stability is acceptable in most instances when the camera is hard-mounted to a secure foundation (and when shooting in 1280x720 pixels/60fps as per Contour's recommendations for bike use instead of the maximum 1920x1080p/30fps resolution). (Nikon D90 Battery)However, most users these days – especially trail riders – more often opt for helmet mounts and that's where things can get ugly. 
Contour's 'Vented Helmet Mount' uses a pair of cam-locked straps to secure itself to a helmet much like many others but the integrated tilt feature built into its base is rife with play. Stuffing in some high-density foam or other similar materials to restrict the rotation helps but even then, there's still some slop in between the camera and mount itself, and that issue is much tougher to resolve. (Canon EOS 550D battery)In addition, the bulk of the camera's weight is cantilevered off-center from the mounting point and thus inherently less stable than it could be.
Despite the apparently advanced guts of the ContourGPS, the slide-on, friction-fit 'TRail' interface seems inadequate for a product of this level. In theory, the camera slides smoothly on to the mount's rails and locks on tight once the raised nubs snap into the corresponding recesses. (Hitachi DZ-GX20E Battery)However, the fit is frustratingly inconsistent – in some cases it was easy to get everything joined together, in others the 'lock' position was a bit loose, and in yet others the fit was so tight that we needed tools. Either way, the fit also changes over time as the bits wear in.
Bike-specific mounting options are somewhat limited, and none of them is included with the base package. In addition to the vented helmet mount, there are also options for adhesive fixed-position and rotating mounts plus two bar mounts depending on diameter. (DIGITAL VIDEO DV7000 camera)But the stick-on mounts aren't terribly practical unless you've got a decent amount of reasonably flat surface on your helmet (like on a full-face lid, for example) and the bar mounts are awkwardly bulky and can't easily be adapted to other frame tubes. We had limited success with Contour's Roll Bar mount but even then, it was less than ideal.
Still good potential if you're willing to put in the time to unlock it – and get a little lucky
That all being said, the ContourGPS can produce some solid footage with very good color saturation, detail, white balance and contrast – all of which are custom tunable, too. (Sony Cybershot DSC-W300 Charger)Bear in mind that you also have to be okay with the somewhat narrow 135° viewing angle (which steps down even further to 110° in 1080p mode) and significant barreling from the tiny lens, though. 
Contour offer five different video formats to suit the application at hand: Full HD (1920x1080p, 30fps); Tall HD (1280x960p, 30fps); Action HD (1280x720p, 60fps); Original HD (1280x720p, 30fps); and a 5MP still image setting that can be set to automatically shoot frames at 3, 5, 10, 30 or 60-second intervals.  As previously mentioned, though, only the Action HD video setting is really usable on the bike due to its faster frame rate.
Operation is straightforward and simple, and the on-off slider is particularly well suited to action sports use with its raised, grippy surface and nicely tactile action.(Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 Charger) The power and "hidden" button located just ahead of the slider aren't nearly as nice to use though, as both are lacking in feedback. 
One of the biggest draws of the camera is its neat integrated GPS functionality. The camera locks on to orbiting satellites with impressive speed – generally well under a minute – and Contour's bundled software package overlays your position onto Google Maps during playback. The two screens can be uploaded in tandem to Contour's own dedicated website (but the GPS information is lost when posting to YouTube). This can be nice to have if you're trying to remember the exact location of a particular clip but aside from that, it mostly strikes us as a novelty. Thankfully, you can switch the GPS off to save Sony NP-FM50 Charger battery life if you don’t plan on using it.
The recent release of Contour's optional Connect View Bluetooth card pairs with a free iOS or Android app, effectively turning your phone into a wireless viewfinder – an especially useful feature since there's otherwise no way to sight the frame aside from the twin lasers that are virtually impossible to see in daylight. That 135° field of view makes this feature amust-have and thankfully, the card is pretty inexpensive at US$29.99. In addition to providing a live view of the action, you can also tweak the video settings without having to pair the camera to your computer.
As for the luck bit – unfortunately we experienced a total Spy pen video camera lock-up several times during testing when simply nothing worked. Most of the time the camera wouldn't record anything but in one memorable experience, the sighting lasers were stuck in the on position. Our only recourse was to remove and reinstall the Sony Cybershot DSC-W300 Charger battery – not entirely confidence inspiring.
Other details
Canon NB-4L battery life is in line with Contour's claims, which is to say a somewhat skimpy 2½ hours or so. Additional Li-ion rechargeable Canon NB-2L Charger  batteries are US$29.99 and if you anticipate doing anything remotely extensive, you'll definitely want to make sure you've got one or two extra packs on hand. Contour include a 2GB MicroSD card with the camera – enough for up to two hours of footage depending on settings. The ContourGPS will accept up to a 32GB card, but most users will do fine with the included chip.
Contour's Storyteller software is reasonably useful, offering an intuitive interface and easy access to camera settings. (Sony NP-F960 Charger)However, editing options are very limited so a third-party software package is highly recommended. Riders who regularly head out in wet or especially muddy conditions will want to make note that the ContourGPS case is definitely not weatherproof in stock condition. Contour do offer a waterproof case, though.
Overall, the ContourGPS has a fair bit to offer on paper but we can't help but feel like there's a lot of room for improvement and definitely a few bugs to work out, (Fujifilm FinePix J30 Charger)which hopefully will be worked out in the recently announced Contour+ model.

Contour's vented helmet mount secures firmly with twin nylon straps but the tilting base has far too much play

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next blog: BlackBerry Apollo videoed, pictured packing new battery