CAMERA FOR AMATEURS BORROWS FROM THE PROS' GEAR
When Nikon first made changes to its unexpectedly popular D70 digital single-lens reflex camera, they were so minor that the result was simply named the D70s. Its successor, which will be available next month, has enough new features to get its own model number: D80.
Like the D70s, the D80 is mostly intended for sophisticated amateur users. But although it is smaller than the camera it replaces, the D80 picks up technologies from its professional siblings. It has a higher resolution, 10.2 megapixels, and uses the same processor as the top-of-the-line D2x. From the D200 it gains a high-magnification viewfinder. Critics of the D70 viewfinder often compared it to peering down a dark hallway.
The D80 has a few tricks of its own. It is frugal with power: Nikon estimates its battery can last for 2,700 pictures. And its built-in software allows some image editing without a computer.
The D80 will cost US$1,000 on its own or US$1,300 with a new zoom lens.
IT'S THE LATEST IN MOBILE PHONE CHIC, AND SO MYSTERIOUS
Not unlike a comic book supervillain, little is known about the Motokrzr K1, Motorola's latest ultraslim fashion phone, except that it's wanted around the world.
This 113g phone features the same metal cladding as Motorola's previous phones, as well as a metallic keypad and a 2-inch color display. The phone supports a fast cellular networking system called Enhanced Data for Global Evolution (EDGE) and includes a 2-megapixel camera and micro-SD card slot for memory expansion.
The phone is a 1.27cm thick and slightly smaller than the Razr. One charge gives about three hours of talk time and about 10 days of standby.
The mysterious Motokrzr K1 should be available within the next month, although the exact introduction, carrier and even price are still closely guarded secrets. The phone is a quad-band GSM phone.
Expect to see it pressed to the ears of the fashionable in the next few months.
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