Eclectic Electronics

Fujifilm 3D point-and-shoot camera, innovative but expensive
Palm Pre users yearn for on-screen keyboard
BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone now available from Verizon and Sprint

Fujifilm 3D point-and-shoot camera, innovative but expensive

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 12:00 PM PDT

Companies come up with innovative products every now and then and this is one of them.

Fujifilm has developed a point-and-shoot digital camera which can take 3D photos using dual lenses.

Being priced higher than usual compared to other digital cameras isn’t necessarily a bad thing for this type of camera since it’s something unique, but bear in mind that you need special Fuji prints which have a clear plastic overlay if you want a 3D photo or an exclusively developed 8-inch 3D capable digital picture frame. Both of which are expected to be pricey.

The device can also function as a normal 10 megapixel camera if you choose to forego the 3D effects. Fujifilm plans to put up an online service which will allow you to purchase 3D prints, but no pricing schemes have been mentioned yet.

The picture frame will cost several hundred dollars, too; Fuji isn’t sure yet how much to charge for 3-D prints. “We know that if it’s over 500 yen [$5] per photo, it probably won’t sell,” says Takeshi Higuchi, general manager of Fujifilm’s Electronic Imaging Division.

The Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D is coming to American shores on September 2009 for an estimate retail price of $600.

[via Time]

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Palm Pre users yearn for on-screen keyboard

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 09:30 AM PDT

Although the Palm Pre has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, those who bought the device are complaining due to Palm’s choice of not including a software or on-screen keyboard. This was reported by Paul Brown, Senior Analyst for Strategy Analytics.

I can understand their woes since you wouldn’t want to slide the keyboard out all the time, especially when you can live with using a software-based keyboard to type short messages to send via SMS or e-mail. Hopefully, Palm will listen to their user base, and possibly address this complaint accordingly on the next update of their webOS.

Boston, MA – July 7, 2009 – The recent Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab benchmark report, "Mobile Device User Evaluation: Palm Pre," evaluates the recently launched Palm Pre across a number of core and new features, including contact management, messaging, imaging, music and web browsing.

The Palm Pre performed well for most tasks, while users were impressed by the 'activity card' style user interface. Palm Synergy, which allows users to integrate multiple calendar and contact accounts, was seen to be useful, as long as users could choose which accounts they add.

"The lack of an on-screen virtual keyboard was a concern for many participants," according to Paul Brown, Senior Analyst in the Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice. "Although users liked having a physical QWERTY keyboard, they did not want to have to slide it out every time they wanted to type something".

Kevin Nolan, Vice President at Strategy Analytics, added, "Participants considered the multi-tasking capabilities of the Pre to provide a very positive experience, similar to that of multi-tasking on a PC."

[via Strategy Analytics]

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BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone now available from Verizon and Sprint

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 07:45 AM PDT

BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphones highlights include a 3.2-MP auto-focus camera with geo-tagging functionality, to easily identify where you took your pics; microSD™ card slot supports up to 16 GB, so images, MP3s and apps are always at hand.

Other key features include, but are not limited to: 3G speeds where available, music player, GPS navigation, web browsing, e-mail, Bluetooth, voice activated dialing, and of course, the SMS and e-mail friendly QWERTY input that BlackBerry smartphones are very well known for.

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone is available from both Sprint and Verizon for $199.99.

Sprint requires processing of a $100 rebate before price drops down to $199.99 while Verizon doesn’t seem to specify any form of rebate in order to get it for the same price of $199.99. Both require a new line with two-year contract.

[via Sprint and Verizon]