FocuSoft Tech Blog

Brando’s Ultimate 3-Point Hand Strap will help you get attached to your DSLR
Plantronics Discovery 975 Review
Bethesda month(s) away from announcing new 2010 IP
Blizzard, Future to launch World of Warcraft: The Magazine
Last Original Polaroid Instant Film to Be Sold at (Ugh) Urban Outfitters [Polaroid]
Gadget-Loaded First Class Seats Make Me Want to be a Gooey Swiss Cheese [Inflight Entertainment]
Hooray!: Don’t expect crappy movie games from Marvel anymore
Archos To Unveil Android Tablet In Paris On September 15
Fujifilm Finepix Z33WP Waterproof Cam Review: Small and Smooth Like a Sea Stone [Cameras]
Worst. Idea. Ever.: Tattoo Mania for the iPhone

Brando’s Ultimate 3-Point Hand Strap will help you get attached to your DSLR

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 11:32 PM PDT

Sure, a regular wrist strap will probably stay attached to both your wrist and your camera most of the time, but why take chances when you can have something like this? Always on the cutting edge of inexpensive, occasionally useful contraptions, Brando is now offering this so-called Ultimate 3-Point Hand Strap, which attaches to your camera’s tripod socket, its wrist strap attach point and, of course, your wrist — all in the name of comfort and stability. Will it hold up to lugging your hefty DSLR around all day? Will your wrist hold up? It only costs $16 to find out.

[Via Red Ferret]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Brando’s Ultimate 3-Point Hand Strap will help you get attached to your DSLR originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plantronics Discovery 975 Review

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 10:41 PM PDT

You could talk for ages about where the Plantronics Discovery 975 fits into the company’s range, but the simplest explanation is that the Voyager PRO and Discovery 925 had a baby and it’s the new prodigal son. Combining the audio excellence of the Voyager PRO and the nifty charging-case of the Discovery 925, find out why we rate the Discovery 975 so highly after the cut.

Plantronics Discovery 975 slashgear 2 r3media 540x395

Visually the Discovery 975 resembles a slimmed down 925, and is far less bulky than the Voyager PRO. Side-on the small diamond-shaped, leather-clad core extends into a narrow boom arm that extends to around half the cheek; it’s not the thinnest headset we’ve seen, but it’s light and easily supported by the in-ear gel tips rather than requiring a hook.

Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Earpiece | Simplicity Redefined-1

In with the headset Plantronics supply small, medium and large ear tips together with a leather carrying case that doubles as a mobile charger. The Discovery 975’s own battery is rated for up to 5hrs talk time or 1 week standby from its 85mA Li-ion polymer cell, but Plantronics told us that they’ve purposefully “underpromised and over delivered”; indeed, we’re seeing more than 5hrs use from the headset, with it comfortably getting through a morning’s worth of use and well into the afternoon too. Meanwhile the case has its own rechargeable battery, just as the 925’s did, which will rejuice the Discovery 975 up to three times. We’re also pleased to see that, unlike rival headsets such as the Jawbone PRIME, which need to be turned off to recharge, the Discovery 975 can remain powered on and connected while it’s juicing. The case even lights up and flashes when a call comes in, just to make sure you notice it.

Plantronics Discovery 975 slashgear 6 r3media 540x339

There’s also an integrated display, which shows the separate battery status of both the headset and the case, together with the Bluetooth connection status. We far prefer this arrangement to one or more flashing lights on the headset itself, which generally either require decoding or only offer the vaguest indication of how much power is left.

As for that Bluetooth connection, the Discovery 975 uses v2.1+EDR and supports Secure Simple Pairing (SSP), the Hands-free and Headset profiles. It’ll also use Multipoint technology to simultaneously hold an active connection with two Bluetooth devices: we paired with both our test iPhone 3GS and a MacBook Pro, and were able to easily use both for cellular and VoIP calls in turn. Range is quoted at 33 feet, and we’ve been able to move around neighboring rooms to our test phones without a loss of signal. The headset has minimal controls – a multifunction button integrated into the boom arm, and a volume/mute control on the side – and supports voice-activated dialing and last number redial when used with a compatible handset. It’ll also give you a verbal alert when running low on power, when muted and if the Bluetooth link has been lost.

Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Earpiece | Simplicity Redefined-6

Of course, the most important element of a Bluetooth headset these days – especially when it has to justify a premium price tag – is its audio quality, and the Discovery 975 happily fails to disappoint. Like the Voyager PRO it couples Plantronics’ AudioIQ2 noise-cancelling technology and their WindSmart systems for avoiding wind noise, with the two adding up to incredibly natural sound. This is actually the first outing for dual microphones on a Plantronics headset, which the company tells us is tailored for everyday use rather than the more industrially inclined microphone setup of the PRO. We’re seriously impressed with the amount of DSP (digital signal processing), echo-cancellation, equalization (Plantronics say 20-bands) and filtering packed into this 8g headset; having tested it first in noisy rooms and cars, then escalating through even louder situations, those on the other end of the line failed to hear any background noise whatsoever. The icing on the cake is natural voice tones rather than the robotized results of some rivals’ heavy-handed processing.

voyager pro discovery 9251 r3media 540x205

To be blunt, it’s as though Plantronics took our criticisms of the Voyager PRO – its bulk, its glasses-unfriendly hook and its overly businesslike appearance – and immediately set to work on a new headset that addressed each one. There’s still a place for the PRO in pure business environments, and in truly loud and congested areas that earlier headset does top the Discovery 975’s audio performance, but for everyday wear the design, style and ability of the new headset make it an excellent all-round performer. It doesn’t come cheap – it’ll set you back $129.99 and is available at www.plantronics.com and for pre-order at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com today. The Discovery 975 will be available in Best Buy and Apple stores in late August, and AT&T stores beginning in mid September. Availability at Radio Shack and Sprint stores follows in early October. To sum it up, the Plantronics Discovery 975 justifies the premium price with incredible performance, flexibility and comfort. As offspring go, you can’t ask for much more than that.

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Plantronics Discovery 975 Review

Bethesda month(s) away from announcing new 2010 IP

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 10:30 PM PDT

Pete Hines, VP of Marketing and PR for Bethesda, quietly whispered that we should expect a little something “in the next month or so”, reports MTV. It’s something that hasn’t been announced! No, MTV, it’s not a “Where’s Waldo” title because Ubisoft is working on that right now.

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Bethesda month(s) away from announcing new 2010 IP

Blizzard, Future to launch World of Warcraft: The Magazine

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 10:00 PM PDT

e0d66ec29dwowmag.jpg Blizzard, Future to launch World of Warcraft: The Magazine

World of Warcraft players will soon have yet another way to keep up-to-date with the game’s many complexities. Yes, there will be a World of Warcraft magazine. (That’s what Blizzard just told us, but the Web site won’t be live till Friday.) It’s the result of a partnership between Blizzard and Future, the same company that publishes the likes of Edge, PC Gamer, and Nintendo Power.

The magazine makes its debut at Blizzcon in a few days, and it’ll be available in one- and two-year subscriptions. One year is $39.95 and two years is $69.95.

What to expect? The press release says that "each collectable issue will be packed with engaging, entertaining and comprehensive articles that cover all aspects of World of Warcraft through insider insights and player perspectives."

It’s being run by Julian Rignall and Dan Amrich, with contributions from a "panel of international journalists."

A brave, brave move by Future and Blizzard, launching a new, paper magazine in the year 2009. And yeah, I’ll at least buy issue one.

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Blizzard, Future to launch World of Warcraft: The Magazine

Last Original Polaroid Instant Film to Be Sold at (Ugh) Urban Outfitters [Polaroid]

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 10:00 PM PDT

Polaroid killed production of its iconic instant film, but it hasn’t gone quietly. The very last of the original film, along with Polaroid ONE600 cameras, will be sold in Urban Outfitters to diehards (and dudes with very tight pants).

Only 700 of these limited-edition camera-film sets will be sold at Urban Outfitters, and we’ve got to admit we really want one: Unless The Impossible Project can get production up and running again, these are the last in a proud lineage of instant developing. Keep in mind, those 700 sets are spread throughout the US and UK, so if you see one, make sure to grab it and hold it tight. [Crunchgear]

Last Original Polaroid Instant Film to Be Sold at (Ugh) Urban Outfitters [Polaroid]

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Last Original Polaroid Instant Film to Be Sold at (Ugh) Urban Outfitters [Polaroid]

Gadget-Loaded First Class Seats Make Me Want to be a Gooey Swiss Cheese [Inflight Entertainment]

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 09:40 PM PDT

Runway Girl Mary Kirby has tried the new Swiss International Airlines‘ first class on a JFK-Zurich flight. It’s so cool and has so much high-tech—like the touchscreen seat-bed control—that it’s almost painful to watch.

Yes, that’s right, painful because I don’t have a secret bank account in Zurich to justify the trip and play with all these toys.

Check the touchscreen controls of the seat at minute 1:30, as well as the size of those Panasonic screens. The business class is not too shabby either, but the first class reminds me of the golden times of aviation, when everything was glamour and comfort. [Runway Girl]

Gadget Loaded First Class Seats Make Me Want to be a Gooey Swiss Cheese [Inflight Entertainment]

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Gadget-Loaded First Class Seats Make Me Want to be a Gooey Swiss Cheese [Inflight Entertainment]

Hooray!: Don’t expect crappy movie games from Marvel anymore

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 09:37 PM PDT

Praise jeebus!

Marvel’s Executive Vice President of Global Digital Media Group, Ira Rubenstein, said Marvel is done making crap games based on movies.

We are not doing movie-based games anymore,” Rubenstein said following yesterday’s announcement of Digital Comics for PSN at Sony’s GamesCom press conference. “Actually, wait … we are not doing crappy movie-based games anymore. You can quote me on that.

Oh, and the Iron Man 2 game from Sega is going to kickass because Rubenstein is around unlike the first Iron Man game (I didn’t think it was that bad), which makes sense since they opened up their own movie studio to stop the string of horrible movies that other studios have been putting out. Rubenstein goes on to say that the Thor game is going to kickass (my words, not his), too. I really enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so I have no doubt that Iron Man 2andThor will follow suit.

via Joystiq

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Hooray!: Don't expect crappy movie games from Marvel anymore

Archos To Unveil Android Tablet In Paris On September 15

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 09:28 PM PDT

0546a2155015x143.jpg Archos To Unveil Android Tablet In Paris On September 15 Ooh la la. A real deal Android tablet this summer? Am I dreaming? No! I'm so in love with this OS it's disgusting. Put aside my sickening love for a freaking OS and consider taking a gander at AppsLib? It's the Application Store for Android launched by Archos, which states that registration will begin on September 15 "following the launch of this initiative". If that isn't enough to whet your appetite then how about some specs for the Archos Android tablet?

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Archos To Unveil Android Tablet In Paris On September 15

Fujifilm Finepix Z33WP Waterproof Cam Review: Small and Smooth Like a Sea Stone [Cameras]

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 09:20 PM PDT

The Fujifilm Z33WP has a small, beautiful case and for some reason, out of many cameras, I choose to bring it on several recent trips. Size does matter when trying to travel light, I suppose.

The Price: $180…which is astoundingly cheap for a quality (although not top line) waterproof camera.

The Waterproofness: Pretty decently rated to 3 meters. No accompanying shock or coldproofing, so this guy is strickly for pool and tropical snorkeling, not for snow or deeper activity.

The Image Quality: The sample shots I took simultaneously with other waterproof cams revealed a few things, but mainly, noise at anything but great lighting conditions. And taking underwater shots near twilight, the Fuji triggered its flash before other cameras did, implying a slowness in lens setup that even the 1600 iso couldn’t overcome. And like most periscope internal lens set ups the edges around photos were not razor sharp. Overall, color was undersaturated at times but photos were good in bright light as long as there wasn’t too much contrast to deal with. (See: Hawaii photos) There were an abnormal number of shots ruined by lens smudges, which other cameras seemed to shrug off. (User error? Well, it happened to four z33wp users who tested this camera for me, so you be the judge.) I love the variety of photo modes for different scenarios, but the UI to switch between these modes is buried two levels down in a menu. There’s face detection, and digital shake reduction, too.

Video Quality: Does a max of 640 by 480 pixel video.

Controls are WEIRD: The buttons on the back are laid out in a grid, and the control feel suffers because the buttons have dual purposes in many cases; the cross pad also coincides with functions like menu buttons, etc. And zoom buttons are labeled W and T, for wide and telephoto, which took me a moment to figure out and I continuously forgot about them. Maybe its me being dumb, but I found it slightly confusing compared to the button layouts on other cameras. But the good news is that the entire back, side from those buttons, is a 2.7 inch screen.

Shape: Man, no waterproof camera has ever slipped into my pocket so easily.

The Verdict: For Budget types and Fashionistas that splash around a little bit in the waves.

Small and pretty. Cheap, too.

Photo noise, awkward controls. With sunglasses on, maybe the photos won’t look that bad.

Fujifilm Finepix Z33WP Waterproof Cam Review: Small and Smooth Like a Sea Stone [Cameras]

Worst. Idea. Ever.: Tattoo Mania for the iPhone

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 09:12 PM PDT

I will personally kick each and everyone who purchases or downloads this app in the teeth. I’m serious, people. I dare you to say “tat” or “ink”. Of course, handy-games (makers of this crap) are a “Content Aggregation Partner” of Sony-Ericsson. I’m on the next flight to Germany to kick some teeth in.

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Worst. Idea. Ever.: Tattoo Mania for the iPhone

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