f-series

The 404 1,191: Where you had me at Hello Touch (podcast)

It's my birthday today and Jeff is still making me write the blog for today's episode, but I'm fine with that because today is an exceptional show. Not just because Richard "Gems" Peterson lived up to his nickname on two occasions, but also because the stories are exceptionally strange.

First we'll look at how cheaters in Japan are getting away with their infidelity with the help of an older Fujitsu phone, simply because of a layer of stealth security that gives users privacy that would make the Ethan Hunts and James Bonds of the world jealous.

Not that we're suggesting you take tomorrow off and cheat on your spouse, but at least the misstep that leads to you getting caught will be your fault, not technology's.… Read more

2013 GS sedan continues the evolution of Lexus

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.--After years of hearing that its cars are smooth and tech-rich while lacking the passion and fun that appeal to devoted drivers, Lexus might be getting it.

To prove it's headed in a new direction branded by "emotion" and "passion," Lexus gathered journalists at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel along the Pacific coastline between Los Angeles and San Diego to test-drive the 2013 Lexus GS on a route across the SoCal freeways, along the coast, and over mountain roads. The six-cylinder midrange luxury sedan will greet showrooms in three primary setups--the standard 350, the 450h hybrid version, and a tuned F Sport for the biggest performance fans. … Read more

Sony jumps into 3D laptops with the Vaio F series

Laptops that use active shutter 3D glasses have been few and far between, but the handful we've seen (from HP, Asus, and others) have all been at least as good as their desktop counterparts, which require a checklist of compatible video cards, cables, and monitors to function. Sony is now joining the fray with the new Vaio F series 3D laptop, a 16-inch system that makes use of both Nvidia's popular 3D Vision technology and Sony's own 3DTV system.

The display has a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, which is a nice upgrade from most 3D laptops, which trade down to lower 1,366x768-pixel panels. The native 1080p screen is suited for HD video, so we're pleased to see a Blu-ray drive included as well. Of the F series, Sony says, "This laptop is a multimedia powerhouse melding cutting-edge technologies such as Blu-ray Disc and 3D functionality into one portable device."

The F series also includes the 2D-to-3D conversion feature found on many 3D flat-screen TVs, which creates a faux 3D effect in 2D content. It's a gimmick at best, but can occasionally be useful, perhaps in video games, but your mileage may vary. There's also simulated surround sound, thanks to the S-Force Front Surround 3D system. … Read more

Sony's multimedia powerhouse: The 16-inch Vaio F Series

Fighting the urge to go bigger with 17- and 18-inch laptops, Sony's latest Blu-ray multimedia machine is a 16-inch system, called the Vaio F.

It features a 16.4-inch 1080p display, and is one of the only laptops to offer an optional Blu-ray recordable drive, as opposed to the usual play-only drives. Graphics come from Nvidia's GeForce GT300M chip, and the CPU on the three preconfigured builds we saw was the very high-end Intel Core i7 720QM.

Sony always trumpets its custom media creation and playback software as an alternative to similar apps such as Windows Media Player … Read more

Samsung refreshes standard-definition F-series camcorders

If you need a flash-memory-based standard-def camcorder with a long lens and a small body, Samsung has you covered. The company announced refreshes of its F34 camcorder: the SMX-F40, SMX-F43, and SMX-F44.

Specs include: 1/6-inch 680K CCD 720x480 resolution (60i) 52x optical zoom H.264 file format Time-lapse recording Auto scene recognition and face detection 1,600x1,200-resolution photos

The only differences are in storage capacities. The F40 is SDHC card only, while the F43 and F44 have 8GB and 16GB of internal flash memory, respectively, and take SDHC cards.

No prices, but I would expect them to be … Read more

SEMA News names the 2010 Most Accessory-Friendly Vehicles

Well, the 2010 SEMA Show is long over, but the members of the Specialty Equipment Market Association are still at work doing whatever else they do when they're not putting together banging car shows.

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro leads the charge as the most accessory-friendly car, earning its position with its reasonable sticker price, which should leave plenty of cash in your pocket for the many styling accessories for the retro futuristic body and performance accessories for its mod-friendly LS-series V-8 engine.

Representing for the trucks category is the Ford F-Series Super Duty, which isn't surprising considering the … Read more

Pioneer's in-car AVIC F-Series unveiled

Pioneer's AVIC Z-Series has set the standard for in-dash navigation devices over the past couple of years, and so the release of a new line of a new family of products in the AVIC series is big news for car tech fans. The line-up starts with the entry-level AVIC-F700BT, which features a single CD/CD-R/RW playback mechanism, followed by the AVIC-F900BT and the AVIC-F90BT, which are both capable of reading MP3, WMA, iTunes AAC, and WAV audio formats as well as DVD, DivX, and MPEG4 video files.

Unveiled this week, all of the F-Series include flash-memory-based navigation and … Read more

Fujifilm F100fd: longer lens, higher sensitivity, Face Detection 3.0

One of the hidden gems in Fujifilm's compact camera line has always been its F series cameras, which offer high sensitivity, manual exposure controls, and a conveniently small form factor. New to the line this year is the F100fd, which carries on the long tradition boasting a sensitivity of ISO 3,200 at its full resolution of 12 megapixels, as well as ISO 6,400 with resolution limited to 6MP, and ISO 12,800 if you don't mind being limited to 3MP. Fuji has also extended the zoom range, with a 5X optical, 28-140mm f/3.3-5.1 … Read more