Canon's 60D impresses reviewers, but a challenger approaches (video)

Canon's prosumer line just got a little better, with the 18 megapixel, 1080p recording 60D hitting stores and, now, getting recommended reviews. Photo Blog and Camera Labs have weighed in so far, and both have positive conclusions, most notably regarding that movie mode. The camera will kindly record in 1080p24 in addition to 1080p30, but the autofocus while filming is panned, called "fairly useless" thanks to only happening when you half-press the shutter button, and then taking a few seconds to figure things out -- but that's just like the EOS 7D and T2i. Overall the 60D scores highly and easily bests the 50D it replaces, but the real competition is Nikon's D7000, which interestingly is busting out at retail already, offering a similar price point, similar capabilities, and a magnesium alloy chassis, versus the plastic one on the Canon. How will they compare? We'll just have to wait for the next round of reviews to find out.

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Canon's 60D impresses reviewers, but a challenger approaches (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin's $23 Chirp wireless beacon brings geocaching thrills to Oregon, Dakota GPS units

Looking for an avenue to join millions of others in geocaching, eh? We know, there's hardly a better way to spend a weekend than by playing a sophisticated game of hide-and-seek, and Garmin's right there with us. If you, like it, are stuck in Kansas with nary a Jayhawk game in sight, this here pebble is the answer to all of your boredom woes. The Chirp is a wireless beacon that's designed to work with any compatible wireless-enabled Garmin handheld (the Oregon, Dakota and the recently announced GPSMAP handhelds are mentioned by name), and once you've set it up to cooperate with your device, it'll automatically transmit program coordinates so other cachers can find each stage of your multicache -- it's touch-and-go in its simplest form. The whole thing measures just 1.3- x 0.9-inches, weighs under an ounce and can be had for just $22.99. So yeah, good luck sticking to Segway polo with an offer like that.

Update: Video after the break!

Continue reading Garmin's $23 Chirp wireless beacon brings geocaching thrills to Oregon, Dakota GPS units

Garmin's $23 Chirp wireless beacon brings geocaching thrills to Oregon, Dakota GPS units originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iomega serves up adorable 1.8-inch External USB 3.0 SSD pocket drives

Some might say that you have somewhat of a problem when calling a solid state drive "cute," but what do they know, anyway? Iomega's newest batch of external SSDs are easily the most adorable we've seen, as these 1.8-inchers can just about slip into any oversized Fifth Pocket that you may have. Available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB sizes, the diminutive drives support USB 3.0 and are built to be lugged around and occasionally dropped, stepped on or used as a stress-relief tool. Specifically, the metal enclosure is engineered to handle drops from up to ten feet, and the 256-bit hardware encryption ensures that only you and your cronies will see what's inside. The company's also tossing in its Protection Suite (loaded with anti-virus, cloning and backup applications), and it'll be hawking these in early November for $229, $399 and $749 from least capacious to most. Oh, and that noise you hear? A hundred million USB 3.0 flash drives getting all sorts of perturbed.

Gallery: Iomega External USB 3.0 SSD drive

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Iomega serves up adorable 1.8-inch External USB 3.0 SSD pocket drives originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Transform review

With Epic 4G styling, a front-facing camera and a $150 post-rebate price, it's easy to mistake the Samsung Transform for a high-end phone. Don't. The reality is that it's a evolution of Samsung's mid-range Moment and Intercept more than anything else -- you're paying an additional $50 here to get a front-facing camera, an LED flash and a few welcome tweaks, but the same ho-hum performance plus a few new annoyances to boot. Where does it improve and where does it fail? Find out in our full review.

Gallery: Samsung Transform unboxing and hands-on

Gallery: Samsung Transform and Epic 4G, sized up

Continue reading Samsung Transform review

Samsung Transform review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppleInsider: New MacBook Air 'certain' to be 11.6-inches, may have flash-based instant-wake ability

Rumors of an 11.6-inch MacBook Air refresh are nothing new at this point, but AppleInsider says it's confirmed a smaller version of Apple's ultraportable is coming at next week's "Back to the Mac" event, and that units are rolling off factory lines right now in preparation for near-immediate delivery. AI also says it's been told that the revised machine will feature a novel new storage system called "SSD Card" that looks like a stick of RAM -- a smaller form factor that would obviously allow the new Air to be even smaller, and possibly sport instant-on wake times, something that's been rumored from other sources this week as well. We'll be at the event live next week so we'll see what happens -- keep it locked right here.

Update: CNET's chiming in with rumors of a "significantly lower" price than the current model's $1,499 starting point, which is always fun to hear -- the catch is that it might still use an older Intel Core 2 Duo chip and NVIDIA chipset, which is far less fun. We'll see!

AppleInsider: New MacBook Air 'certain' to be 11.6-inches, may have flash-based instant-wake ability originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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