NEXT, A CAMCORDER WILL KNOW IF YOUR HAIR ISN’T COMBED
The Sony HDR-CX12 believes you should never have to say “cheese” again. This small and light camcorder automatically takes still photos whenever anyone in the frame smiles, ensuring that every shot is at least partly a keeper.
The camera records video at 1920 x 1080 pixels — 1080i quality — and records video and stills to an included 4-gigabyte Memory Stick. The camera supports memory cards up to 16 gigabytes.
The videocamera is available now and costs about US$900. It can shoot photos at 10-megapixel resolution and records audio in 7.1-surround sound, adding a bit of realism to your next birthday party. It also has a 2.7-inch screen and optical stabilizers that reduce jitter while recording.
Interestingly, the camera can distinguish between adult and child smiles, ensuring that you shoot only the group you intended. The camera takes the photos automatically, even while recording video. And for those subjects who won’t smile? Just wait: Sony’s working on a newer model that dispenses free lollipops and hugs.
A CASE FOR FILLING THE IPHONE 3G’S POWER VACUUM
The iPhone 3G boasts its share of worthy features, but a durable battery life isn’t one of them, at least not if you consider yourself a power user. For an alternative to the midday charge, Incase has created the Power Slider Case for iPhone 3G.
The 71g case simultaneously protects and charges your iPhone 3G. Housed in a protective shell, the power slider has an integrated lithium-ion polymer battery that provides up to five hours of extended talk time, up to seven hours of added video playback life and up to 26 hours of additional audio playback time. The slider also gives users an additional five hours of Web access (six hours on Wi-Fi).
Your iPhone’s battery will start to drain only after the power slider’s battery has been fully depleted. Incase has also added a five-light LED battery status indicator on the back of its case to help you keep track of your juice. The slider also comes with an integrated sync mode that allows the iPhone to sync with Apple’s iTunes program. Heavy users won’t have to wait long to get one.
QUICK SNAPS, AND THEN INSTANT PRINTS
While Polaroids might be fading away as the film used to make the instant photos is phased out, Fujifilm is introducing a new instant film camera, the Instax 200.
Aimed at real estate agents, law enforcement officers or just the impatient, the new Instax format allows photo prints to be produced on the spot. The US$70 Instax 200 features an automatic-adjusting flash, a large viewfinder and two range options for shooting (0.9m to 3m and 3m to infinity).
In the meantime, Fujifilm has introduced a smaller companion instant camera, the Instax Mini 7. The Mini 7 prints instant color photos the size of credit cards in minutes. The Instax Mini costs US$130 from UrbanOutfitters.com (tinyurl.com/5qnmcj).
A TABLET PC THAT LETS THE USER DECIDE WHETHER TO TYPE OR TOUCH
The TX2Z from Hewlett-Packard is the first multitouch convertible tablet PC, which means you can turn the screen to hide the keyboard and use only your fingers on the laptop’s 12-inch display.
The computer can hold up to 8 gigabytes of memory and comes with a DVD burner and up to 500GB of hard drive space.
Multitouch, which first reached the mainstream with the iPhone, allows the computer to register two individual points of contact on the laptop screen and allows you to pinch, spread and drag items, virtually. HP’s special Touchsmart software improves the overall experience by adding multitouch to the laptop’s media and photo functions.
The 2.3kg laptop is 30.5cm wide and 23cm long and about 2.5cm thick. It starts at US$1,150 in its base configuration. It runs Windows Vista and tops out at a 2.4 gigahertz AMD. Turion dual-core processor. It also includes a stylus, in case you don’t feel like smudging your screen.
YES, IT’S A PORTABLE PROJECTOR, AND NO, YOU AREN’T HEARING THINGS
Ever wonder what your gadgets would say if they could talk? Toshiba’s TLP-X200U mobile projector answers that question for you via a built-in voice technology system.
The 2kg projector orally guides you through its operating instructions and also speaks up when it needs a tune-up. The X200U’s female voice says “check the air filter for dirt” when it is time for you to clean its air filter.
When the lamp needs to be replaced, the projector will state (cheerfully), “The lamp life is ending. Please change the lamp.” If the cooling fan needs attention, you’ll be the first to know with the following prompt: “A problem has occurred to the cooling fan. Please look at the owner’s manual.”
Should you grow impatient, the projector will kindly admonish you by saying, “The lamp will turn on shortly. Please wait a moment.” The X200U comes with closed-caption capabilities, 3,000 ANSI lumens of brightness, a 600:1 contrast ratio and a projection distance of up to 11m.
The TLP-X200U is available for US$1,740. It seems all that talk doesn’t come cheap.
June 9 to June 15 A photo of two men riding trendy high-wheel Penny-Farthing bicycles past a Qing Dynasty gate aptly captures the essence of Taipei in 1897 — a newly colonized city on the cusp of great change. The Japanese began making significant modifications to the cityscape in 1899, tearing down Qing-era structures, widening boulevards and installing Western-style infrastructure and buildings. The photographer, Minosuke Imamura, only spent a year in Taiwan as a cartographer for the governor-general’s office, but he left behind a treasure trove of 130 images showing life at the onset of Japanese rule, spanning July 1897 to
In an interview posted online by United Daily News (UDN) on May 26, current Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was asked about Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) replacing him as party chair. Though not yet officially running, by the customs of Taiwan politics, Lu has been signalling she is both running for party chair and to be the party’s 2028 presidential candidate. She told an international media outlet that she was considering a run. She also gave a speech in Keelung on national priorities and foreign affairs. For details, see the May 23 edition of this column,
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on May 18 held a rally in Taichung to mark the anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20. The title of the rally could be loosely translated to “May 18 recall fraudulent goods” (518退貨ㄌㄨㄚˋ！). Unlike in English, where the terms are the same, “recall” (退貨) in this context refers to product recalls due to damaged, defective or fraudulent merchandise, not the political recalls (罷免) currently dominating the headlines. I attended the rally to determine if the impression was correct that the TPP under party Chairman Huang Kuo-Chang (黃國昌) had little of a
At Computex 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) urged the government to subsidize AI. “All schools in Taiwan must integrate AI into their curricula,” he declared. A few months earlier, he said, “If I were a student today, I’d immediately start using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini Pro and Grok to learn, write and accelerate my thinking.” Huang sees the AI-bullet train leaving the station. And as one of its drivers, he’s worried about youth not getting on board — bad for their careers, and bad for his workforce. As a semiconductor supply-chain powerhouse and AI hub wannabe, Taiwan is seeing
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