After seeing such Apple iPad and iPod Touch accessories like a jacket just for carrying an iPad or even putting an iPad into the front of a shirt, I figured it was going to be no time that it would be used as a wall-mount.

I didn’t have to wait long:

iPort®, the inventor of the world’s first in-wall system for the Apple iPod®, is once again poised to advance the integration of Apple products into the home. Since its inception, the iPort brand has helped consumers experience Apple’s products in new and exciting ways allowing them to listen to, and experience their music and video libraries throughout their home. As Apple’s products have evolved from entertainment sources to intuitive touchscreens with the iPhone® and iPad™, iPort has continued to innovate new ways to incorporate them into consumers’ lifestyles.

Continuing the tradition, iPort has introduced two new products in its Control Mount Series for the Apple iPad and iPod touch®. The CM2000 Control Mount for iPad and the iPort CM100 Control Mount for iPod touch both integrate the handheld Apple touchscreen products in an attractive in-wall frame, transforming them into in-wall touchscreens for display of weather, news, stocks and many other preferred Apps.

The CM100 also transforms the iPod touch into an in-wall Internet radio source, and easily connects to any stereo or audio/video receiver. Users can download their choice of any Internet radio apps available in the App Store and play the audio back through any connected stereo system.

The CM100 for the Apple iPod Touch mount kit costs $250 and the CM2000 mount kit for the Apple iPad costs $499.

[ Link: iPort ]

I come from the era of Polaroids, 35mm Canon cameras and those real cheap, plastic cameras that were given to kids that had plastic lenses that captured pretty much the world from a child’s perspective of the world (read: a lot of knee-caps and unintentional crotch shots) but were always more warm albeit less precise than our digital, megapixel endowed cameras. I miss those crotch shots days.

Just about anybody can open up Adobe Photoshop and change the color balance, apply a few plug-ins but sometimes you just want to quickly add some “warmth” but it’s not really the same. Well, Pentacom, a Japanese company, has created ToyCamera AnalogColor. An application that does just that via many presets and sliders that allow you to see what your image looks like in real time. It even adds a color border that emulates the Polaroid look if you so wish.

Not bad for a $10 app. There’s also an $1.99 Apple iPhone app too.

[ Links: Pentacom, ToyCamera AnalogColor ]

Not since Sony purchased Minolta’s DSLR’s and repackaged them as the Sony Alpha DSLR series have I been anticipated a Sony camera. Sure, their point and clicks are also cool, but for those of us that have invested in lenses for the Sony Alpha series – or just continued to use the Minolta AF lenses like I did – the Sony NEX-5 allows for continued usage of those aforesaid lenses and mates that with a lightweight, small body.

Unlike conventional DSLR models, the “mirrorless” construction of the new models reduces the thickness of both camera bodies to just about an inch at their slimmest point (excluding grip and mount portions). The NEX-5, constructed from magnesium alloy, and the NEX-3, with a polycarbonate casing, offer a newly developed 14.2 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor. About 60 percent larger than sensors in micro four-thirds cameras, and up to 15 times larger than in many point and shoot cameras, the sensor is key to the exceptional image quality, extremely low image noise and creative defocus effects that are familiar to DSLR users.

Alongside the NEX-5, the NEX-3 was also announced. The NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras, which come with the camera body and SEL16F28 lens will cost about $750 and $650 respectively.

[ Links: Sony, Sony NEX-5 ]

Just a day or so to go before Apple’s January 27th event, the speculation about the rumored Apple Tablet is reaching a fever pitch. The guys over at Unplggd have posted a couple of realistic photos that might be oft-rumored Apple Tablet.

[ Links: Unplggd ]

Panasonic introduced the new FH-Series to its 2010 line of LUMIX digital cameras, which includes the LUMIX DMC-FH20 (14.1-megapixels), LUMIX FH3 (14.1-megapixels) and LUMIX FH1 (12.1-megapixels). The LUMIX FH-Series are slim, pocketable models that pack a 28mm wide-angle lens with 8x optical zoom for the FH20 and 5x optical zoom for the FH3/FH1. All models can record High Definition video and thanks to iA (Intelligent Auto) are extremely easy to use.

The LUMIX FH-Series features High Definition (HD) 720p motion jpeg video recording capabilities. By recording 1280 x 720p at a smooth 30 fps, in addition to WVGA (848 x 480) and normal VGA (640 x 480), the LUMIX FH-Series makes it easy to view videos on a PC or upload it seamlessly to YouTube with the bundled PHOTOfunSTUDIO version 5.0 software. All models are compatible with Microsoft Windows 7 and can take HD-quality still photos that fill a 16:9 HDTV. Users with a Panasonic VIERA HDTV can enjoy a slideshow of photos simply by inserting an SD Memory Card into the HDTV’s SD Memory Card Image Viewer slot.

Panasonic’s popular iA mode, a suite of technologies that engage automatically – with no setting changes needed by the user – makes it easy for anyone to take beautiful photos. Panasonic iA includes the following: MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) to help reduce blurry photos due to hand-shake; Intelligent ISO Control to help reduce blur when the subject is moving; Face Detection to ensure registered faces are captured in focus with appropriate exposure and unwanted red eyes are digitally corrected; and Intelligent Scene Selector which selects the best option from: Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and newly-added Sunset. There is even a dedicated iA button, letting users engage easily with one click. The three models also have a 2.7-inch 230,000-dot Intelligent LCD, meaning the LCD detects the lighting conditions and controls the brightness level in 11 fine steps, to display with the most appropriate setting.

Link to the original article…

Although recently soft-announced, having the price finally announced – it’s going to sell for $199 – and seeing that they’ve expanded the Adobe Flash player to include the forthcoming 10.1 enhancements… I’m interested. The D-Link “Boxee Box”, model number D-Link DSM-380, is indeed becoming the little box that could do it all.

The Boxee Box by D-Link takes the same popular software and offers it up as a great device — the perfect companion to a high definition TV. The Boxee Box by D-Link provides access to more than just traditional TV content. It includes a huge library that spans the Internet, such as university courses, panel discussions, academic lectures, presentations, web-only videos and more from TED, Stanford, FORA.tv, Kid Mango, Next New Networks and more. Boxee also makes it easy for users to add their own favorite entertainment sources with simple RSS or XML feeds available for most online video.

In addition to video content, Boxee users can access great music from sites like Pandora, last.fm, shoutcast, and We are Hunted as well as fun photos from sites like flickr, Picasa and the Facebook.

HDMI, SDHC slot support/expandability, composite audio connectors and more all in a rather small case that allows you to take the experience of internet media to your television for a rather small price. Safe to say that I want one.

[ Links: Boxee Box by D-Link ]

Canon Consumer Imaging today rolls out EOS-1D Mark IV, a high-speed, professional DSLR camera in the Korea market, which is designed to empower photographers to capture split-second moments in high resolution, under the most challenging of conditions.

Ideal for shooting action, sports, news events and wildlife photography, the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV delivers speed, power and high-resolution images, creating the perfect camera for photographers who require reliability in fast-paced, high-pressure situations.

Developed incorporating feedback from professional photographers, the EOS-1D Mark IV features a new Canon 16.1MP APS-H CMOS sensor and a brand new 45-point Auto Focus (AF) system with 39 f/2.8 sensitive cross-type points, providing a wide selection of precise focus areas across the frame. Dual ‘DIGIC 4′ processors provide the power to shoot continuous, high-resolution images at up to 10 frames per second (fps), as well as delivering the widest ISO range ever to feature in a Canon camera.

Link to the original article…

People use the word “Photoshop” sometimes as a verb or an action when honestly Adobe Photoshop is the de facto standard for image manipulation for professionals. But what if you wanted to create a simple collage. You’d not expect your mother or grandmother to have access and know what you mean when you say things like Layer Effects, Gaussian Blur, layer application methods, and the other nice things that Photoshop can bring to the table in the hands of a pro.

Photovisi [ site here ] allows you to quickly create stylized collages from your very own photos via quick and easy to use templates for usage as a computer desktop or for print for sharing with others and does not require you to be a pro. Nor does it cost you anything either. Definitely worth a bookmark or sharing with your family members that don’t have access to Photoshop but ask you to do these type of images/collages.

Nikon Imaging has announced two new NIKKOR optics that deliver the pinnacle of image quality for professional photographers who demand super telephoto capabilities.

The new, fast aperture AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II super telephoto lens and AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III deliver images with stunning edge-to-edge sharpness and clarity throughout the frame. Continued refinements and new technologies such as Vibration Reduction (VR) II and optimized autofocus (AF) modes in the lens enhance functionality and improve performance for discerning FX and DX-format digital SLR photographers.

Link to the original article…

I’m notorious for being late for meetings and events. It’s not on purpose or that I’m unorganized. I’m just apparently not organized enough. In fact, for meetings, I almost always tend to say “-ish” after the time we will be meeting. They know that I’ll be late. So reviewing something like Bento 3 for the Mac and Apple iPhone comes across as either a blessing or a stop being so gosh darn late hint.

Bento 3 is made by the same people that make FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server. Heavy duty products that I’ve used in enterprise level deployments and projects in the past. Of course, that might mean this product for the average desktop user will be boring, staid and ultimately deemed too complex for daily usage. Wrong. The desktop application is a joy to use.

It’s quite refreshing that the desktop application isn’t impossibly hard to use at all. It really puts you in the mind of the other Apple provided apps like iCal, iTunes and iPhoto and just as easy to approach. Mentioning iPhoto and iCal, within moments Bento will synchronize with your iPhoto photos, Address Book contacts and iCal events.

Setting up a meeting in Bento is as easy as setting one up in iCal. For instance, I have a 5pm meeting with a company tomorrow… one I actually intend on being on time for as well.

Within moments, set up, synchronized with my iCal – which my Apple iPhone connects to as well, and I’m done. And Bento does support synchronization with an Apple iPhone via wifi as well as synchronization when connected to the computer via USB. And the Apple iPhone application is also as easy to use, I’ve created and added items to my existing libraries that quickly keep me organized in all details of my digital life.

And it’s not all about meetings either. You can set up: To-Do Items, Recipes, Projects (important for me), Inventory, Time Billing, Digital Media (for collections of CD’s, eBooks, et al), TV & Movie collections, among many other options. Seriously, you can set up and organize just about every aspect of your life.

Good part? You can also set up everything as it exists on the desktop also in the Apple iPhone application as well. Yes… you can organize yourself on the go if you have to or if you happen to be on a PC. But having both the Mac desktop and Apple iPhone applications – I sorta dislike typing on the iPhone for large amounts of text – it just works well.

And yes… in the last couple of weeks, I know what movies I have at home as well as my what projects I have going on, the level of completion for each project deliverable and even have set up a couple of meetings that I have been on time for.

Shocking… I know.

I can truly state that Bento by FileMaker is an application that you need to add to your must buy list. It retails for $4.99 for the Apple iPhone via the iTunes Music Store and $49.99 for the Apple Mac desktop.

The only con(s) I have for this application is that while it is deceptively simple, it can get very complex in the creation of a blank library to suit your needs that are not covered by the library templates is somewhat time consuming. There are downloadable, update-able templates that FileMaker and the users of Bento make available but it would almost be a patience killer to create a full functional template solely on the Apple iPhone. The desktop application makes somewhat short work of that.

It is Mac only, so there is a slight detractor for being limited to OS X. Buy it. If it can make a habitual late person as myself on-time and actually help organize the bits of my life that I sorely need to add more organization to and do that easily… you just need to buy this.

Rated: 4.5 out of 5 (Must Buy)

[ FileMaker ] [ Bento 3 ] [ Related: RTL Reviews ]

After so many leaked, rumored images of the possibly worse kept secret in Sony history, could it be that the Chinese game magazine GameWave that recently posted an unconfirmed report finally revealed the true PS3 Slim images. And that it is to be shown at the upcoming GamesCom next week; and PS3 Slim is set to launch in September, for $299?

Anyway, here are some more images of the PS3 Slim model.

These photos look like bad renders to me… but here’s one more.

[ The Magic Box ] Photo source [ Mhiblart ]

I was joking about online dating being on my iPhone just under a week ago with some friends and lo and behold, Match.com releases their Apple iPhone application.

The free Match.com application takes the most useful and popular features of the Match.com online experience and brings them to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Match.com members can edit their profile, upload photos and opt-in to a location based feature that allows them to see singles in their area.

I think I was also talking about a stalker app… but I like having matches instead. Click this link to open up your iTunes and download the app.

[ Match.com ] [ Apple iPhone ]