Panasonic

A more secure SD for HD content

Panasonic, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony, and Toshiba today announced an agreement to develop new content-protection technology for SD cards and embedded flash.

Dubbed "Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative," the press release claims the as-yet undeveloped technology will be based around public key encryption. Based on the release's limited information, it sounds like it will create unique IDs that will tie a variety of fixed and mobile CE devices to you, making content producers less nervous about allowing you to download--rather than just stream--DRM'd content to devices they currently can't control, like phones and tablets. … Read more

Panasonic smartphones go global, starting with Europe

Panasonic will expand its smartphone business beyond its home country of Japan, starting with Europe in March 2012, the electronics giant said today.

The company is powerful in consumer electronics, manufacturing not only products but also many of the components within, but it's absent from much of the world's stage in the pivotal and fast-growing smartphone market. No more, the company pledged, after a reorganization.

The European launch marks the beginning of an ambition to reach sales outside Japan of 9 million smartphones in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016.

Leading the charge will be a phone … Read more

Best digital cameras for under $150 (roundup)

With cameras, as with many things in life, you get what you pay for. In the world of point-and-shoots, that generally means you get few features, poorer-quality lenses, slower performance, and more than likely mediocre photo quality. However, there are a few exceptions.

These models were selected because they offer more than you'd typically get for the money. In some cases that means extra shooting options or an optical viewfinder, in others it's a longer lens or good low-light photos. So, whether you're just looking for an inexpensive camera for the occasional snapshot, something with the optical zoom that your smartphone camera doesn't have, or want an ultracompact with a little wow factor, these are worth checking out.… Read more

Greenpeace puts HP in top spot in greener-electronics guide

HP is now the top-ranked tech company, according to Greenpeace's latest guide to greener electronics.

The guide's criteria has been updated to take into greater account energy use, conflict minerals, green products, and supply chain energy use.

Greenpeace released its latest rankings today, showing HP moving ahead three to the top spot. It's a big leap considering that just six years ago HP was targeted by Greenpeace as one of the worst tech companies for using fire retardant materials suspected of being hazardous. At the time, Greenpeace members stood outside of HP's headquarters and handed out … Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 72: The Power of Kal-El (Podcast)

The power of Kal-El, Kindle Fire gets wet, and Flash is dead!? We discuss the rise of Android Watches and Republic Wireless is releasing an Android phone with a $19 a month service plan. All of that and more on this week's episode of Android Atlas Weekly.

NEWS

Nvidia’s Tegra 3 CPU increases performance while saving power

Asus Transformer Prime is dressed to impress

Leaked HTC Edge could be world’s first quad-core phone

Nook Tablet: Hands … Read more

Google+ builds 'hangout' for businesses

Panasonic is building rugged Android tablets, Nokia is looking for an app evangelist, and Google+ now allows brand and business pages.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Panasonic reveals industrial-strength Android tablets

Panasonic has some good news for the kinds of people who worry about using their tablets in the rain, dropping them on a concrete floor, or using them outdoors in the desert.

The company announced yesterday that it plans to sell two models of rugged Android tablets under the Toughpad brand name starting in 2012. The 10-inch, $1,299 Toughpad A1 will arrive first, in the spring, and the 7-inch Toughpad B1 later in the year.

Panasonic isn't aiming the Toughpads at the average consumer, but rather to various business users such as utility crews on the road, military … Read more

Panasonic's pricey Lumix 3D1 3D point-and-shoot on its way

Back in September at the IFA electronics show, Panasonic showed off a prototype of a dual-lens, dual-sensor 3D compact camera. Apparently that wasn't so much a prototype as it was a preproduction model because as of today the Lumix DMC-3D1 is coming to market.

The full details and specs are available on Panasonic's global site, but the gist is that it has two, 25mm ultrawide-angle lenses (that seem way too close together) each with 4x zoom paired with two high-speed 12-megapixel MOS sensors that can capture 8-megapixel 3D images or 9-megapixel 2D images as well as 1080/60i … Read more

Panasonic Lumix GX1 channels the spirit of the GF1

I happen to like the Pansonic Lumix DMC-GF3 for what it is: a model that delivers the photo quality and speed that point-and-shoot upgraders are looking for in a size substantially smaller than a dSLR and with an interface that's familiar to them.

But when it came out, I heard quite a few grumblings from people who wanted the real successor in the GF series. They didn't mind the slightly bigger size in exchange for a physical mode dial and hot shoe. Well, it looks like Panasonic heard those grumblings, too. Or perhaps it was always in the master plan. In any case, the Micro Four Thirds-based Lumix DMC-GX1 looks like what the successor to the GF1 should have been. And I have to say, on paper--and in photos--it looks like a very promising offering.… Read more

Full-size megazoom cameras compared

Call them bridge cameras, longzooms, superzooms, or megazooms (as we do), they're all pretty much the same thing: a large lens slapped on the front of a point-and-shoot camera.

While that's a bit of an oversimplification, the fact remains that though these are full-featured models with digital SLR-style bodies, they still have the shooting performance and photo quality of a compact camera. That said, if you're after a long lens, point-and-shoot simplicity, and an affordable price (at least more so than for a dSLR that has comparable lenses), you've come to right roundup.

Editors' note: This post was originally published October 26, 2011, but is updated frequently. It was updated May 8, 2013, to include the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300.