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KoKo

Member since: Jun 16th, 2008

KoKo's Latest Comments

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Dyson DC25 Blueprint impressions: is the 'Ball' worth it? (Engadget)

Oct 27th 2009 2:20PM I don't have any Dyson, but Consumer Reports rates the DC24, this model's predecessor, 39th out of 50 models tested, giving it a score of 55 out of 100, behind several other Dyson models and behind the $72 Eureka Envirovac 3041 and the $60 Dirt Devil Featherlite Bagless M085845

FujiFilm FinePix digital cameras hands-on (Engadget)

Mar 3rd 2009 3:32PM Engadget's writer Darren "didn't notice anything particularly special about any of 'em" because he didn't read the press release.

This Fuji has a very innovative sensor that give you the choice of high resolution, high dynamic range, or high sensitivity with low noise. You can see examples of all modes here:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0902/09022304f200exrgallery.asp


Getting high sensitivity with low noise is basically impossible with nearly all compact digitals. That is why your night shots look grainy and nasty without the flash. If Fuji's trick works, it would mean that a compact camera might actually approach a digital SLR's performance.

The LX3 It tries to accomplish that last trick by using a slightly bigger sensor and a fast lens (the Fuji has the typical compact's pinhole lens). But that makes the camera itself bigger and more expensive. And the zoom range is a bit limited, because a bigger range would mean an even bigger lens. As it is the lens protrudes a little from the body even when closed (hence the lack of an automatic lens cover.)

Fuji is a leader in sensor innovation, which is the heart of a digital camera. Knowledgeable people, unlike our writers, pay close attention to Fuji's new products.

Lenovo drops IdeaPad S10 pricing across the board (Engadget)

Dec 9th 2008 5:29PM To be more specific, netbooks are very light, cheap laptops. They have enough computing power to let you do email, web surfing, word processing, spreadsheets, i.e., most light office work. They also let you skype, facebook, youtube and all the other crazy stuff you youngsters are into nowadays ;-)

They typically weigh less than three pounds and cost less than $500 or so. It is that specific combination of low weight and low cost that makes them distinctive, and that is why they are so hot nowadays.

They don't differ much, except in keyboard (where the Samsung NC10 probably wins) and in battery life (where the NC10 also wins.) To get equivalent battery life in other netbooks, you have to buy a higher-capacity battery, like the 6-cell that people are talking about here. And for some netbooks, six-cell batteries aren't available yet (and when they are, they will cost about $100.) The Samsung has a higher initial cost, but it includes the high-capacity battery, so actually it is a relative bargain.

T-Mobile G1 impressions: what we love, what we don't (Engadget)

Sep 25th 2008 2:10PM Hmmm.

From the perspective of a consumer, the G1 phone isn't amazing. It has a few missing features and it isn't thrilling looking. The user interface might be terrific, but consumers don't buy phones for the UI (and it is not easy to even find reviews of a user interface.)

The fact that it runs Android and you can add new apps, change them, whatever, is probably irrelevant to most consumers. After all, for most consumers a PC is Microsoft Office and a browser (and maybe some games). The fact that you can install umpteen million other apps on it is a non-benefit.

So I don't predict they will sell lots of these guys.

From the developer/industry perspective, Android is cool, but there are a few competitors, one or two perhaps further ahead than Google, but not as well marketed. Android isn't really revolutionary. Developers will sell a few apps, and the really popular ones will get bought out, and over the next few years, will become bloated, buggy, and insecure (i.e., Microsoft will happen to them.)

From Google's point of view, the entire thing makes sense. Android is not meant to take over the world. It is meant to pipe people to Google online services like Gmail. Anything which encourages that is good, including other OS projects, the Apple App store, etc.

Google's mission is to sell ad views. It does everything it can to increase that. It works from web pages up to the consumer. So you get slightly clunky stuff like the G1. Apple's mission is to sell stunning consumer devices. It works from the consumer downwards to the information. So you get the iPhone, and some stumbles in the online services.

Google's strategy would seem to me to have pretty thin margins, but apparently it makes sense to them.

Altec Lansing rolls out new look, speakers aplenty (Engadget)

Sep 11th 2008 2:34PM @ LarryLarryLarry,

Sarcastic, yet ignorant. Rear-facing tweeters is an old idea. The idea is they use wall reflections to improve stereo imaging. The benefit isn't clear, and it adds to the price, since you need double the tweeters. But many very well received, high quality loudspeakers have used the concept (and Bose uses it too!) There are nuances (bipole vs. dipole, delay, eq, etc.), and the subject is quite complex.

@WhyFi,

I agree. It cracks me up when people (not just Engadget writers) talk about 4" or even 6" "subwoofers." A subwoofer produces output below 80 Hz (and really, below 60 Hz.) That requires at least 8" drivers, plus hundreds of watts of amp power. The 4" drivers in the Expressionist units are just "woofers," or even "midranges." Even those boxes that sit on the floor in 2.1 multimedia systems aren't "subwoofers".

Ask Engadget: What's the best netbook out there? (Engadget)

Aug 19th 2008 4:00PM I'm fine with everything except the last requirement, that it cost at least $500. I personally would be fine with something that costs less than $500.

I would also require a horizontal resolution of at least 800 (sidescrolling sucks), and a keyboard that doesn't put the ctrl or shift keys in odd places.

Stonehenge robotic clock: telling time never looked so fun (Engadget)

Aug 5th 2008 1:54PM Or you could just set it next to an analog clock, and have it reach up and nudge the minute hand at the proper time. You could set up some kind of gearing connecting the hour hand to the minute hand, so the robot wouldn't have to move the hour hand separately.

Oh, wait...

Olympus and Panasonic launch Micro Four Thirds, compact "DSLRs" will be yours (Engadget)

Aug 5th 2008 1:24PM @ Razor,

Gotta agree with Razor. This is about creating a new class of cameras. Problem is, who wants those cameras?

I have looked long and hard for a pocketable camera that took good pictures and allowed full manual controls (to complement my two DSLRs and my terrible but pocketable digi.) I finally settled on a Canon S80 which had the field virtually to itself. (The G9 is sort of similar.) I love it, but I wish it had better low light performance, which would require a bigger sensor, and sometimes I wish I could swap out the lens.

So this Micro Four/Thirds thing would be great. It would allow interchangeable lens, a larger sensor (smaller than APS-H or C, and FF of course, but bigger than used in compact DCs), in a package smaller than DSLRs.

It won't replace DSLRs. It would be really hard to get over the lack of a viewfinder, which is faster, brighter, and has better coverage and resolution than live-view screens. A rangefinder could help, but they have issues too (like parallax; maybe not a big issue unless you do macro.) And alanh is right, there will be an issue with the focusing mechanism too. For me, live-view screens are only good for framing. They give you no sense of depth-of-field, subtle color shifts, etc. They basically give you no sense of the mood of the photograph.

OTOH, neither will it replace compact P&S cameras. They are already small enough, and their picture quality, focusing speed, etc. is apparently good enough for the people who buy them.

So this new thing is for something in between, akin to my S80. Small but high quality. Better low-light performance, interchangeable lens, small (relatively speaking) package.

Problem is, who will want such a camera? Prosumers and pros might want a walk-around camera that doesn't annoy them, but who else? As I said, my S80 had the field almost to itself, and Canon seems to have abandoned that style of camera (the current S series has only a bridge camera.)

Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell swoop (Engadget)

Aug 5th 2008 12:33PM @ giantenemycrab and others,

$299 was the price for a stripped model (no Bluetooth, etc.) which I imagine few Engadget readers will want to buy.

We will have to see what the options cost before we can say the E is cheaper than the equivalent Eee or Wind.

Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell swoop (Engadget)

Aug 5th 2008 12:31PM @ kidcanuck,

A few people will slam Dell, but I believe there actually is very little difference in the quality of the machines. They are essentially made by the same people, or the same type of people.

However, there might be a difference in customer support, if you care. Dell's customer support isn't great, but at least people have experience with them. MSI is more of an unknown that way. The Wind is (I believe) their first foray into a consumer-oriented product. Their previous retail products were motherboards and such (and by all accounts, they are fine products), which have far lower customer support demands, since the customers tend to be techies.

I might start checking out the MSI forums to see what kind of experience people are having.