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When I first saw this camera a few weeks ago, I knew I had to get some hands-on time with it. The Nikon Coolpix P6000 ($499, September) has integrated GPS for geotagging, a ridiculously large sensor (13.5 megapixels), and manual features plucked from the company’s DSLR line. One of the most interesting things about this—to me, at least—is that Nikon is usually a photography purist and flaunts more manual features than it does new-fangled ones. (It hasn’t jumped on the 720p bandwagon, for instance, and only just released its first touchscreen and intelligent Auto models.) I’m excited about the camera, obviously, but it’s also exciting to see Nikon doing something trendy.

Nikon, already an Eye-Fi partner, embeds photo files with their altitude, longitude, and latitude, which makes it possible to geotag them using a third-party program. Interestingly, the P6000 has a LAN port, with which you can quickly transfer photos to Nikon partner myPicturetown (or your desktop, too, I suppose).

As said, the P6000 also has plenty of specs and features that remind us of a DSLR. Here’s what you get:

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It’s a busy day in camera news! Today, Sony unveiled two point-and-shoots, the Cybershot DSC-T700 and the Cybershot DSC-T77. The T77 is fairly basic, but the T700 is interesting in that it has 4GB of internal storage. That’s enough space to store 1,000 full-resolution shots (10.1 MP) or 40,000 VGA ones. In-camera organization seems to be a growing trend among camera-makers, and this is a great place to start: for people who love to show off photos on the go, and don’t feel like carrying a camera for capture and a PMP for storage, this is a good idea.

And now, some specs:

T700

• $399, available in September
• 10.1 megapixels
• 4X optical zoom
• Optical image stabilization
• 3.5-inch touch screen
• 4GB internal storage
• Comes with software to sync the photos on your PC and camera, and to make organization easier. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, HP announced the Compaq 2230s, a 12.1-inch business notebook running on Intel’s new Centrino 2 platform. HP hasn’t announced a starting price yet, but given that it’s part of HP’s entry-level “s” line, we expect it to be pretty affordable. Thanks to the built-in DVD burner, it starts at 4.1 pounds, which is heavy for an ultraportable. Here’s what you get, spec-wise:

• Intel Core 2 Duo CPU up to 2.8 GHz
• 120/16/250/320GB SATA hard drive/5,400 rpm
• Up to 4GB RAM
• 4-cell battery
• 12.1 inch display/1280 x 800 native resolution
• Intel GMA 4500MHD, up to 384MB shared memory
• Intel 802.11 draft n, Bluetooth 2.0
• ExpressCard/34 slot, SD card reader
• 3 USB ports, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, modem, headphone, mic, optional Kensington lock slot
• 3D accelerometer
• Drive encryption
• HP SpareKey
• HP File Sanitizer
• Fingerprint reader
• 11.6 x 8.9 x 1.1 inches
• Starts at 4.1 pounds

This morning Aircell, providers of GoGo in-flight Wi-Fi, announced that its services would be available on Delta’s entire domestic fleet by next summer. Delta is the third airline to offer Aircell’s product, joining American Airlines and Virgin America. However, it is the first major airline to offer it on every aircraft.

American Airlines currently offers Wi-Fi on its flights from New York to LA, Miami, and San Francisco and is only available on 15 of American Airlines’ Boeing 767-200 aircraft. Virgin America plans to offer the service on its entire flight, thirty planes, by the end of the year.

Gogo will cost $9.95 for fliers to have access to 3 hours or less of in-flight Wi-Fi and $12.95 on longer flights, and will initially be available on 133 of Delta’s McDonnel Douglas 88/90 aircraft.

Aircell’s president and CEO, Jack Blumenstein, told us during an interview for our August issue that Aircell promises to deliver 3.1Mbps of throughput to the airline’s cabin, and the entire aircraft will need to share this bandwidth. However, Aircell also has plans to offer 1-terabyte of onboard services for quick and speedy access to bonus content, like the Wall Street Journal and Frommer’s, video, audio, and television, as well as Web cached Web sites for quicker loading times. You can access the Wi-Fi network from either your phone, PDA, or laptop.

Each aircraft is equipped with three antennas that communicate with CDMA/EVDO Rev. A data networks.

Qualcomm announced today that it had achieved a data transfer rate of more than 20Mbps using its MDM8200 chipset in the 5GHz frequency channel during the “world’s first” HSPA+ data call. That’s fast folks. Like Lamborghini-with-the-top-down-on-a-desert-highway fast.

To put all of this in perspective, AT&T’s HSDPA network today achieves between 700Kbps to 1.7Mbps downlink speeds and anywhere from 500Kbps to 1.2Mbps on the uplink. That’s like riding a bicycle with square wheels compared to Qualcomm’s announcement.

Today’s 1.7Mbps downlink speed means you could download a:

• 5MB mp3 in: 23 seconds
• 1GB video in: 10 minutes

A 20Mbps data downlink rate would mean you could download a:

• 5MB mp3 in: 2 seconds
• 1GB video in: 51.2 seconds

The good news is that back in May AT&T’s CEO Ralph de la Vega told a bunch of suits that AT&T plans to take advantage of highspeed packet access evolved technology (HSPA+)  and that the company would offer data speeds between 7Mbps and 20Mbps on its handsets within the next two years.

3G America’s president Chris Pearson told me during a phone call about a month ago that HSPA+ offers real-world speeds between 3-5Mbps on the downlink and 1-3Mbps on the uplink, which is still a far cry from Qualcomm’s 20Mbps claim.

Mobile WiMAX, meanwhile, is available in select markets like Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Portland offering 2-6Mbps on the downlink and 1-3Mbps.

Like other models in Fujifilm’s Z series, the FinePix Z200fd ($299) appeals to teens with its emphasis on colorful style, sharing, and a bevy of cutesy features. First, the basics: the 10-megapixel camera, available in four colors, has 5X optical zoom, dual image stabilization, 16 scene modes, face detection for up to 10 faces, automatic red eye removal, ISO up to 1600, a rechargeable battery, and a 2.7-inch LCD. This camera will replace the Z100fd.

Now, here’s what makes the camera special:

Couple and Group Timer Modes

They are what they sound like. Couple Timer Mode detects two faces in a frame and automatically releases the shutter when the two faces come together. The Mode has three settings so you can adjust the threshold for how close you need to be. Group Timer Mode automatically takes the shot when four faces are in the picture.

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Last year, T-Mobile launched two new Sidekicks: the Slide and the LX. This time around, it’s keeping the name simple: “Sidekick.” The big news is the customizable external shells that you can purchase from the dedicated Sidekick Web site.

The site lets you either upload your own images, or choose from a library of clip art that you can apply to your own shell. Each costs $9.99 but you can get two for $14.99. I have to admit that I had a good time grabbing a picture of a surfer in a breaking wave and applying it to my imaginary shell. Then I took an ink-blot logo and splotched it around the camera hole. I’ll have it in the office soon enough to give you a look, but I think teens will like this feature a lot.

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Don’t feel like shelling out extra for a version of Office with Outlook? Yahoo’s Zimbra Desktop, announced today, is a free desktop program that syncs with a variety of Web-based e-mail clients. Compatible services include Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, and other POP/IMAP accounts. I used Zimbra to connect to my AOL and Yahoo accounts and took it for a brief spin. Here are my first impressions:

It’s Not the Smallest Download on the Block

At 38MB for Windows (and 34MB for Apple), it’s huge compared to the 6.4MB Mozilla Thunderbird (also free). That’s not deal-breakingly large, but Mozilla’s program is clearly more space-efficient.

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Everyone knows Polaroid, but it’s not a brand most people associate with digital photography. Now the company is making a splash in digital imaging with its new PoGo Instant Mobile Printer, which prints via Bluetooth or PictBridge.

What makes this printer special, though, isn’t its connectivity options, but the fact that it prints without ink. It’s the first commercial product to utilize ZINK technology (short for zero ink), whose proprietary paper contains heat-activated crystals that turn different colors when exposed to heat. Because it doesn’t use any ink, it’s smaller than any other mobile printers we’ve seen; it’s about the size of a digital camera, only longer.

Now that I’ve got the “how it works” bit out of the way, check out the video to see the PoGo in action, and stay tuned for our full review. Read the rest of this entry »

Not content to add more Thinkpads to its stable of powerful portables, Lenovo today announced the introduction of new IdeaPad consumer notebooks based on Centrino 2. Building on the success of its Y510 budget notebook and U110 ultraportable, the company promises additional Y and U series notebooks in time for the holiday buying season.

Another U

The U330, like its U110 sibling, promises performance and style in a compact package. The 0.9-inch thin, sub 4-pound chassis will be available in “glossy Indigo” or “Bold black” colors and feature facial recognition technology and touch-sensitive multimedia buttons.

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