High-end specs usually come at a high-end price, but it looks like you can circumvent that problem by going with a less recognized brand. Case in point is the newly announced Xiaomi Phone 2, an Android Jelly Bean smartphone boasting a 4.3-inch 720p IPS display and Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core processor. The thing is that it sells for just $310 outright. That’s about half the price as a Galaxy S III or new iPhone.

Even though Xiaomi may not be a household name, the Xiaomi Phone 2 comes packed with some respectable names inside. As mentioned, the processor is courtesy of Qualcomm. And you know that IPS display? It’s a Sharp panel. You also get an impressive 2GB of RAM to go along with the fairly standard 16GB of storage capacity. The rear camera is a bright and wide 27mm F/2.0 8MP shooter, whereas the front-facing camera is a 28mm 2MP unit.

Android Jelly Bean has been overlaid with Xiaomi’s MIUI ROM, which adds such features as enhanced security, phone finder, a Chinese voice assistant (Siri’s Android-flavored Chinese cousin?), 5GB of cloud storage and interactive themes. It looks like one of these themes, based on the images provided, is “inspired” by Angry Birds.

The Xiaomi Phone 2 is set to launch with China Unicom and China Telecom in October for an outright price of about $310, though they’ll likely offer subsidized pricing on contract too. The interesting thing is that while this won’t be made officially available in North America, the Xiaomi Phone 2 does support WCDMA 850/1900/2100, so it should work with AT&T if you unlock it. If you’re willing to go through the import process and chance it with an unrecognized Chinese brand, this phone looks like it’s quite the beast for a pretty amazing price.

[Source]

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When camera phones came around, people still wanted to have their regular digital cameras to take better pictures. When those digital cameras gained the ability to take video, people still wanted to have standalone camcorders to take better video. While there are certainly cameras and cameraphones that shoot some pretty great video these days, there is still something to be said about having a true dedicated camcorder for your movie-making purposes.

Offering full 1920×1080 HD video in the palm of your hand is the Samsung HMX-QF20. The Samsung QF20 is a very compact camcorder, but it comes loaded with a number of impressive features, like integrated Wi-Fi and an assortment of art filters.

Features and Specs

Even though the QF20 is marketed as offering full HD video, that’s only partly true. It shoots 1080i at 60fps or 720p at 30fps, with no option to shoot at a true 1080p at all. This isn’t a huge deal breaker for the average consumer, but the discerning techie would have likely wanted to get that full 1080p HD treatment.

The high-quality Schneider Kreuznach lens has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 38.4mm to 768mm for a suitably equipped 20x optical zoom. There’s also the digital zoom factor in there if you want to bump that figure to 40x. The aperture range is F/1.8 to F/3.9, giving you plenty of light even at full telephoto. For stills, you are limited to just a 5.1-megapixel imaging sensor.

Unlike the Samsung HMX-H106 HD camcorder, which has a built-in solid state drive, the HMX-QF20 relies on its SD card slot for storage. Thankfully, it’s also considerably cheaper as a result. Rounding out the specs are optical image stabilization and a 2.7-inch touchscreen LCD.

The QF20 is more compact that I expected at about 12cm in length and a 5cm diameter, making it somewhat pocketable (depending on your pockets, of course).

User Interface

There is no power button or switch on this camcorder at all. Instead, it automatically turns on when you flip out the touchscreen panel and it turns off when you close it back up. That touchscreen can also rotate around as needed for a better viewing angle. If you close it up with the screen toward the outside, the QF20 will automatically enter playback mode.

As far as the touchscreen UI goes, it’s all pretty basic and standard. There is a physical “home” button next to it that brings up the main menu with the ability to switch between modes (like Smart Auto or Art Time Lapse), as well as access to the Social Sharing, Auto Backup, TV Link (AllShare), and Settings menus.

While shooting, there are a few icons available to you on the screen too, like switching between video and stills. You can optionally bring up virtual buttons for zoom, but the five way controls at the back of the camcorder are generally more comfortable to use. As with so many other similar products, the touchscreen on the QF20 isn’t the best; we’ve become far too accustomed to the responsiveness of capacitive smartphone displays, so going to this plastic-y resistive display is disappointing.

There is a built-in lens cover and this is opened and closed via a switch on the right side, just in front of the hand strap. The stereo microphones, which seem to be very sensitive, are located on top towards the front of the barrel.

Switch Grip and WiFi Functionality

Lefties of the world rejoice! The trouble with most camcorders that take on this form factor is that they are very rightie-centric. While that’s still mostly true here, you can simply “flip” the camcorder over and the UI on the touchscreen will also flip accordingly. This way, you can hold the camcorder in your left hand and everything will work just the same (without an upside down video).

Another selling feature is the inclusion of integrated Wi-Fi. You can use this to upload videos directly to Facebook and YouTube, for example. This sounds like it could be an interesting feature in concept, but entering your access point and social media account credentials via the touchscreen can be the expected exercise in frustration.

For my part, even though the Wi-Fi could be interesting, I can’t see myself ever using it. Even if I didn’t want to do some basic editing on my computer, I’d want to be able to write up a proper description and tag my videos before uploading. But that’s just me.

Still Photo Performance

So, how do those 5MP photos turn out?

Here is an example of an indoor shot taken on an overcast day with a fair bit of interior incandescent lighting. I left all the settings at full auto. You can see that there is noticeable noise, particularly visible on the black portions, and the details aren’t nearly as “crisp” as they could have been. It does the job, but it could be better. The lack of flash makes taking stills with the QF20 under darker conditions virtually impossible too.

There are a number of digital effects that you can apply to both videos and stills. Here is the “art” effect, for instance. There is also black and white, sepia, negative, ghost, noir, western, and dazzle.

Overall, the quality is probably best described as just decent. It may be a step above some cameraphones, but you’ll likely get better results from a suitable point-and-shoot digital camera.

Video Performance

Comparatively, the video performance on the QF20 is quite a bit better. The details come through quite well, but I did find that the “Smart Auto” mode goes too far in overcompensating for backlighting. This is understandable and it’s a common problem, but it goes even further in this regard than many other cameras.

Video quality is definitely better than what you’d get some of the pocket camcorders out there, like the Flip MinoHD, and having access to a true 20x optical zoom lens is a huge plus. The file sizes are typically smaller than what you would get from shooting 1080i or 720p with a conventional P&S too.

Here is a sample compilation video that I put together. It was shot at 1920×1080 at 60i, de-interlaced in Pinnacle Studio 14 Ultimate with the “blend” function, and then rendered out in 720p HD. Aside from that and the titling, the video was not otherwise edited or altered.

To see how slightly edited 720p video looks, you can watch this video that I shot at a Japanese restaurant. It also clearly demonstrates the issue with overcompensating for the backlighting, resulting in a complete loss of visibility for the faces of some people at the table.

Conclusion

The Samsung HMX-QF20, despite its shortcomings, is quite the nice little camcorder. I like the compact size, as well as the “switch grip” feature. You can even shoot vertical HD videos, if you ever decide that’s something you want to do. Having 20x optical zoom (and 40x digital zoom) is incredibly useful too.

The lack of onboard storage is certainly forgiveable and while I still find the touchscreen to be not as responsive as I would have liked, it’s still perfectly usable without too much trouble. While the quality of the stills aren’t up to snuff, they’re still decent and the video quality is really why you’d want this camcorder anyway.

With retail going anywhere between $300-$400 (toward the higher end of that in Canada), the QF20 is a moderately priced camcorder that–for the most part–gets the job done. You might want to use the available manual mode to avoid over-exposure, though.

The post Review: Samsung HMX-QF20 HD Camcorder appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Now, because the video was shot with the camera on the glasses themselves, we still have no real idea what the prototype looks like at this point. That said, we can see the video quality that the glasses can capture and I’d say that it’s comparable to something like the Flip MinoHD. The sample video is with the employee jumping and flipping on a trampoline, so those with motion sensitivities might want to skip this.

I did notice a couple of moments where the video pauses or hiccups briefly, but this is a prototype and this is the first video sample. That said, since the glasses do appear to stay fixed on the Google employee’s head as he does his flips, at least we can say that Project Glass offers a decent fit for active types.

[Source]

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The biggest name in this wearable action video camera niche has to be GoPro, or at least the ones with the most marketing bucks. But it’s starting to face some stiff competition from Swann, a company you may be more familiar with for its surveillance products. They now have a GoPro alternative and its called the Freestyle HD. Talking with one of the reps at CES, it has already had a soft launch with some strong and positive feedback. It brings a lot to the table (or the top of your snowboard helmet, as the case may be) that competing products might not. For instance, it has a detachable LCD screen. That’s handy.

There’s also a remote for starting and stopping the recording without having to physically handle the Freestyle HD itself. A built-in laser helps you line up shots. And since you can’t see that when the camera is mounted to the side of your head. it obviously make sense. While the MSRP is set at $280, the street price can drop close to the $200 mark.

The post Swann Freestyle HD Wearable Videocam Challenges GoPro Market appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

If you’ve been looking for a balanced photo and video camera, JVC promises the new GC-PX 10 — a true hybrid of both video and still — with an ability to capture 12 megapixel photos and full HD video recording at 36 Mbps will satiate your needs.

The camera features a tilting LCD monitor and has a 10x optical zoom, while the controls are set on the lens housing and not on the rear of the main body, usual for these types of cameras. While the PASM mode dial, the exposure/focus controls and power buttons are set on the side, the top of the lens housing has the external microphone, HDMI-out and USB port. On the right you can find the compartment for media cards and the built-in flash, along with the shutter release button on top of the body grip.

According to JVC, the camera can provide a maximum of 19x dynamic zoom on top of the 10x optical one, while keeping the image quality perfect. As usual, there’s an Intelligent Auto feature, face recognition software and a feature that permits 60 shots per second at 8.3 megapixels or 30 frames per second at full resolution.

At a price of $899.95, the GC-PX10 will be available this month along with a LoiLoScope FX software designed for Windows. Reminds me of the older Sony DSC-F717 from nearly a decade ago.

The post JVC Announces Hybrid Photo HD Video Camera Pegged at $900 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

With 15 lumens of LED light you would imagine that the image would be difficult to see in normally lit rooms, but the guys at Engadget say it’s “actually bright enough to make out.” That doesn’t sound too appealing, and barely acceptable for anything other than watching a home movie.

The microSD slot allows for 32GB of storage, you can capture up to 20 hours of 720p video with that much space. It also allows for 5MP still shots. With HDMI output, composite video/stereo input, and the 3M name, expect to pay about $300 for this first generation combination projector/camcorder.

The post 3M Shoot ‘N Share combines pico projector and 720p video camcorder appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The HTC Desire HD has been unveiled today, and it appears to be a slightly upgraded EVO 4G that will be for European and Asian markets.

The specs are nearly identical to the EVO 4G, with a 4.3-inch display, 8MP camera, dual flash, 720p HD video recording, and all the other bells and whistles but adding 50% more storage and memory. It will be available in Europe and Asia next month, but no North American release has been announced. For more exciting news, check the HTC Desire Z.

The post HTC Desire HD (EVO 4G upgraded) unveiled appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Apple iPhone 4 does not upload 720p video

It seems that the Apple iPhone 4 has another unexpected hiccup in its functionality. As you may already know, the iPhone 4 is capable of recording glorious 720p HD video. Unfortunately, it can’t upload them. Intomobile is reporting on their attempts during a video upload test, only to discover that the iPhone 4 will not upload 720p video. Instead, it will automatically downscale your HD video down to a less than eye-popping 568 x 320 pixel resolution.

That’s not to say that the original video isn’t in 720p. In fact, if you go through the trouble of physically connecting your iPhone 4 to your computer, off-loading the video, and uploading it via YouTube that way, you’ll find that the 720p-ness is completely intact. They just don’t want you uploading such a huge file through the iPhone directly. This makes sense considering that it will “save you” from the massive 3G wireless data transfer fees, but I have a burning suspicion that the same restriction is in place even if you try uploading via Wi-Fi. A 720p video file is going to be massive and could very well take you hours to upload. We don’t think Apple (and AT&T, for that matter) will lift this HD upload restriction anytime soon, it could create a huge bottle neck if everyone started uploading 720p videos and slow AT&T’s network down to a crawl.

[IntoMobile]

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