Items tagged with Panasonic
More Android tablets? Yeah, we're thinking the same thing. But these truly are different, and in more ways than one. Panasonic's legendary Toughbook line is bleeding over to tablets this week, with the Toughpad A1 and B1 being labeled as the world's most reliable 10" and 7" tablets. The Toughpad A1 offers a stylus and active digitizer, enabling flexible data entry in the field, aswell as signature capture and handwriting recognition functionalities - ideal for sales, customers ervice and mobile point-of-service environments. Other features include integrated cameras, a serviceable battery, multiple options for peripheral connectivity and battery life that willaccommodate a full day of work. The...
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The holidays are just around the bend, and that means new camera systems. The mirrorless, interchangeable and Micro Four Thirds worlds have been blossoming recently, and as the market heats up, Panasonic's replacing one heralded body with another. Today, the LUMIX GX1 was revealed, joining the existing G Series with a 16.01-megapixel Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine. There's a maximum ISO of 12,800, and a built-in flash, fast AF and a hot shoe. The LUMIX GX1, like all the models in Panasonic's LUMIX G Series of CSC, adopts Contrast AF for its focus system, so focusing is controlled by the image sensor. When compared with the Phase difference system AF, Contrast AF achieves higher accuracy especially...
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United Continental Holdings, Inc. is about to take on Delta, Virgin America and JetBlue in a major way. Despite being later than some to the in-flight Wi-Fi game, the merged United and Continental partnership will soon sprout internet in the skies. Panasonic Avionics Corporation has been chosen to provide Wi-Fi connectivity on more than 300 United Airlines and Continental Airlines mainline aircraft beginning in mid-2012. Panasonic's Ku-band satellite technology offers faster speed than air-to-ground technology (ATG) and will provide connectivity on flights worldwide. The system will also enable wireless streaming of video content. United Continental Holdings expects to install the Panasonic system...
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Three of the top 3-D display manufacturers have announced plans to standardize on a type of 3-D glasses in order to facilitate cross display compatibility. Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung are pairing with XPAND 3-D to market what they call the "Full HD 3-D Glasses Initiative." At present, each company is chasing its own glasses, and there is currently no guarantee that a TV and monitor from the same company will use the same glasses. With XPAND, the manufacturers intend to bridge this gap. Xpand already sells what it calls "Universal 3-D" glasses for a cool $129, which the manufacturers are looking to incorporate. The standardization will also include multiple types of infrared (IR)...
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Well, there's an app store for just about every major mobile platform out there, so why not an app store for televisions? It's actually a segment of the market that has been lacking for some time; there are TV app stores, but who is developing for them? In a bold effort to get their name out there and potentially entice developers to share their skills, Panasonic has launched a developer portal for their VIERA Connect platform. It's a public web portal that's designed to invite IPTV application developers to write applications for its VIERA Connect cloud-based TV service. The new portal allows developers to take advantage of quick response and rich multimedia HD expression capabilities of its...
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Panasonic's Toughbook family has always been tough, but it's about to get even tougher. Or, at least more powerful. The Toughbook C1 has been a proven contender for the company, and it has certainly been around the block a time or two. And now it's coming around again, this time with increased RAM, more hard drive capacity, and improved battery life. And that's just for starters. There's also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, optional GPS and an optional Gobi2000 3G mobile broadband module from Qualcomm. All that, of course, is wrapped up a tight, rugged package that's meant for the field. It remains the world's lightest 12.1-inch convertible tablet PC, and this new model holds a 320GB HDD, up to 12 hours...
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It's funny how history repeats itself. Rugged tablets have been around for ages. They first hit around a decade or so ago, underpowered and with terrible battery life. they were chunky, rugged, and ready for the field. But no one bought into them, as their flaws superseded the pros. Panasonic has now announced that things are coming full circle, with the Toughbook entering the tablet space soon. The company recently announced that a future Toughbook Tablet would be shipping in order to address a current gap by delivering a product designed with security, functionality and real-world reliability in mind. By delivering this purpose-built business solution, the new Toughbook tablet will appeal to...
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It's hard to say if we're looking at a fad or the next great leap in photography, but the interchangeable lens / Micro Four Thirds landscape is really blooming. Panasonic has been a company responsible for spearheading a lot of the efforts here, and their keeping the good times rolling with the introduction of the GF3 this year. The newest Lumix weighs just 7.83oz., and it's capable of recording Full HD video and accepting commands via a rear touchscreen. The Lumx DMC-GF3 claims to match the image quality of DSLRs while maintaining a small frame, and yes, it'll shoot 3D stills with the right lens. There's a 12.1MP sensor, high ISO range, and a chassis that's nearly 17% smaller and lighter than...
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There's a saying that makes it pretty clear: it doesn't matter how you get from point A to point B, just as long as you do indeed get there. But with today's vehicles, that's not perfectly true any longer. The ideal vehicular travel involves high-end stereos, and anymore these days, connectivity. Companies have been trying to figure out ideal ways to make cars connect to the Internet, and it looks like Panasonic is going the route of linking up with a trusted telecom in order to make it happen. Panasonic Automotive Systems of America has teamed up with AT&T in order to explore a number of connected car concepts, with the working agreement meant to create customized products for global automotive...
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Now's not a fun time to be working at Panasonic, not when you're constantly looking over your shoulder wondering if the corporate axe will come crashing down. Over the next two years, Panasonic said it plans to hand out another 17,000 pink slips and turn out the lights at up to 70 factories in order to trim costs and remain competitive. This comes after Panasonic already slashed 18,000 jobs in the past year, which will bring the overall tally to 35,000 when the higher ups are finished showing workers the exit door, presumably (and hopefully) with severance pay in hand. "The figure is huge, but so is the company, and for an old-fashioned one like Panasonic, this is a big move," said Toru Hashizume,...
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Are Blu-ray Discs blossoming up in size? That's the latest word on the street! We have heard of BD discs getting theoretical boosts in laboratories, but it's still a 50GB maximum when it comes time to find one in the store. But now, a report from Japan stated that Panasonic is planning to release a 100GB rewritable Blu-ray Disc that's actually compatible with the existing BD-rewritable format that already exists. The trick is that the disc will be a single-sided three-lay disc, rather than dual-layer. Throwing a whole extra layer in definitely enables much more space to be addressed. Panasonic claims that this is the world's first BD-RW with a capacity of 100GB, with the new disc having a 2x...
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While 3D has obviously exploded in recent months, one thing that has been left in the dust is universal support and compatibility. With everyone taking 3D and running with it, we've been left with a lot of fragmentation in the market, with some sets supporting active, and others passive. And that's just the start. But regardless of the differences that are adding pain points today, Panasonic and XPAND 3D are hoping to help. Those two companies have today announced that they have formulated M-3DI, a new standard for 3D active-shutter eyewear products that will bring about compatibility among 3D TVs, computers, home projectors and cinema projection. Other leading 3D technology providers for televisions,...
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Skype is just blowing up. It's easily the most popular VoIP service on the market today, and it's trickling out to products that Skype founders probably never assumed it would from the get-go. Just a year after Skype came to HDTVs everywhere, Panasonic is now expanding their service by revealing that Skype will also come to Blu-ray players. The expanded VIERA Cast Blu-ray Disc player lineup includes the ability to make Skype video and voice calls supported by the FREETALK Conference Camera. Here's how it works: To access Skype through the Blu-ray Disc player, you simply click the devoted Skype button on your remote control. You can also take advantage of other Skype features including: Standby...
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The Micro Four Thirds world is saying 'hello' to a new member today: Carl Zeiss. MFT took the world by storm a few years ago, but even today, the main players remain Panasonic and Olympus. Some other camera companies have produced rivaling interchangeable lens cameras, but your lens options for Micro Four Thirds cameras has been somewhat limited. Now, there's going to be some options. Carl Zeiss is a famed lens maker, already partnering with numerous camera makers. And now, Olympus and Panasonic are welcoming Carl Zeiss into the MFT world, with plans for the company to release lenses that are compliant with the standard. In other words, Carl Zeiss will soon be making lenses that work for Panasonic...
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The Micro Four Thirds and interchangeable camera sector is just blowing up these days. DSLRs are still huge, but it's the prosumer/MFT category that really seems to be getting traction. Panasonic's LUMIX GF1 was a huge hit, and people have been looking forward to the GF2 for some time now. The DMC-GF2 has just now received a price, getting to-be buyers really, really exciting. The GF2 is scheduled to ship later this month in silver, red, black and white for $499.95, but that's for the body-only configuration. The GF2 is the company's lightest and smallest interchangeable lens camera, complete with a built-in flash. It's compatible with MFT lenses, and that includes Panasonic's new 3D lens, the...
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Another day, another new Panasonic camera. The company has been pumping out a healthy amount of compact cameras here lately, with the LUMIX FX78 featuring an f/2.5 24mm ultra-wide Leica lens, a 3.5" touch screen and a 1080p movie mode. That's not too shabby for simply a point-and-shoot camera, and there's also Touch AF, Touch Zoom, Touch Shutter, and Touch Playback. A 5x optical zoom is also featured, with the Smart Touch Screen allowing the Auto Focus to be set by simply touching the subject on the LCD. In other words, if you aren't cool with using a touch panel to access pretty much everything on this camera, you'll probably want to look for another model entirely. And with 3D being all the...
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Compact cameras just aren't the same as they used to be. And that's a good thing! They're becoming more and more advanced, and while rugged cameras used to be tremendously bulky, that's no longer the case. A slew of hardcore cameras have been announced recently, some of them packing GPS as well. Panasonic has a new rugged compact that looks great for those who prefer geotagged shots, the LUMIX TS3. It's a sleek, tough, waterproof camera that's also shockproof, freezeproof and dustproof. There's also Full HD video recording, a new 3D photo mode and easy Facebook/YouTube uploads. It's one of the first cameras overall that can capture 1920 x 1080 HD video footage in a size such as this, and the...
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The compact camera market is definitely exploding, and more sophisticated sensors and movie modes moving down to even cheaper devices, the race to the bottom is definitely in effect. Panasonic's newest compact lineup has just been announced, and the LUMIX range is specifically seeing two new releases in the FP series. The LUMIX DMC-FP7 (16.1 megapixel) and LUMIX DMC-FP5 (14.1 megapixel) are the company's newest, packing large sensors but slim bodies. The FP7 has a sleek mirror finish, while the FP5 has a matte finish. Both offer 720p movie modes, a large touch-panel LCD on the rear and an Intelligent Auto mode. These are also highly stylish devices, perfect for those who see compact cameras as...
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This is a pretty sizable camcorder, but not nearly as large as some of the camcorders from year's past. And considering what kind of technology is within this unit, it's pretty microscopic. Panasonic's AG-AF100 is a Micro Four Thirds video camera. It's one of the few MFT devices that is tailored for video rather than still photography, and while it has taken some time to come to fruition, Panasonic's shipping lines are finally rolling on it. It's listed at $4,995, and offers a 4/3" sensor with a professional-grade enclosure. The full HD 1080/720 production camera is designed to handle pro jobs, but it's small enough to be carried around by the aspiring videographer. It also handles native 1080/24p...
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We can't help but wonder if someone at Panasonic has some dirt on one of the higher ups working for Twentieth Century Fox. Either that, or Panasonic should really consider giving a raise to the sweet talking, silver tongued rep who managed to talk the film studio into giving it exclusive rights to distribute the 3D Blu-ray version of Avatar with 3D televisions and Blu-ray players until 2012. Isn't the world supposed to end in 2012 anyway? That information (about Panasonic's exclusivity rights, not the end of the world) comes courtesy of T3.com, which claims Panasonic confirmed the deal. If true, it would seem movie studios -- and in this case, Twentieth Century Fox -- are shooting themselves...
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Netflix may be the dominant provider of streaming content these days, with Hulu close behind in terms of mind share. But when it comes strictly to movie rentals (streaming ones, anyway), VUDU has been in the business as long as anyone. The company started out by providing their own hardware boxes, but quickly diverted from that market and instead provides software alone now for integration in Blu-ray players, televisions, etc. Now, VUDU's movie rental services will be coming to Panasonic's 2010 line of VIERA CAST-enabled Blu-ray players. After a firmware update on November 24, the players will be able to access VUDU's library of 4,000 HD movies (and growing), which can be streamed in 1080p. Most...
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These days, getting funding for a project is rather difficult. A lot more difficult than it once was, that's for sure. But it's pretty clear that Panasonic believes in what Tesla is going after, as they have just set aside $30 million to invest in Tesla. The two companies already have an existing relationship, and it definitely just became stronger. Panasonic purchased $30 million worth of common stick in a private placement at a price of $21.15 per share, and if you were wondering why Panasonic -- a company typically associated with televisions and cameras -- would invest in a car company, here's the deal. Panasonic just so happens to be the world's leading battery maker, and Tesla only makes...
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