JVC have stuffed their latest camcorder with Bluetooth, but while you might automatically assume the short-range wireless functionality was to be used for media transfers, you’d be wrong. In actual fact, the JVC Everio GZ-HM550 uses its Bluetooth for remote control, GPS geotagging and even for sound monitoring using a hands-free headset.
If you’ve ever wanted to remotely control your camcorder from your smartphone, JVC have your back. An include app – no word on what platforms are supported – allows users to control recording, zoom and playback; alternatively you can pair up a Bluetooth GPS puck and use it to geotag movies and images. Footage will automatically sync with Google Earth once you transfer it back over to your computer. Finally, you can pair up a Bluetooth headset, allowing you to either monitor audio being recorded through the GZ-HM550’s microphone, or to overlay a director’s track yourself.
As for the photography specs, the GZ-HM550 has a 10.6-megapixel CMOS which can record in Full HD and grab 9-megapixel stills, saving files to its 32GB of internal storage or to an SD/SDHC card. There’s a 16x Konica Minolta zoom, face detection and time-lapse recording, and you can set the camcorder to automatically trigger when movement is detected.
All of that comes at a price, however; the JVC Everio GZ-HM550 is on sale now, with an MRSP of $799.95.
Press Release:
BLUETOOTH-ENABLED JVC HD EVERIO CAMERA NOW AVAILABLE
New GZ-HM550 features a 10.6 megapixel CMOS sensor; shoots 9 megapixel stills.
WAYNE, NJ, March 19, 2010 – JVC today announced the availability of a new high definition Everio camera with built-in Bluetooth® wireless technology, allowing the camera to work with a variety of other wireless devices. In addition, the new Everio GZ-HM550 features a 10.6 megapixel CMOS sensor for recording high quality Full HD video and nine megapixel digital stills to its internal 32GB flash memory. An SD/SDHC card slot provides the camera with additional storage.
Among the capabilities the camera’s Bluetooth technology offers is control of the camera using a smartphone, geo-tagging of videos and stills and use with a compatible Bluetooth headset.
With the installation of a supplied application, a Bluetooth-equipped smartphone can be used to control the camera remotely, allowing record, zoom and play operations. Use the camera with a GPS device to record location data of where movie and still files were recorded. The data synchronizes with Google Earth™ when viewing the file on a PC using the bundled Everio MediaBrowser software. The camera can also be used with a Bluetooth-equipped headset to monitor the recorded sound or for voice recording.
Aside from offering built-in Bluetooth wireless technology, the GZ-HM550 provides all the quality and convenience features to appeal to consumers who are looking for a high-performance camera in a compact package. Its 10.62 megapixel Back-illuminated CMOS sensor enables shooting of 1920 x 1080 Full HD videos and real nine megapixel digital stills. The KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS is currently one of the world’s smallest and slimmest HD lenses, and offers 16x dynamic zoom without any degradation of picture quality. All this is further supported by new technologies that ramp-up basic image quality, including Super LoLux and Advanced Image Stabilizer. Super LoLux improves low-light sensitivity to capture clear images with precise colors even in low-light environments. The GZ-HM500 is also equipped with both an LED light and a flash for shooting in dark situations. Advanced Image Stabilizer ensures steady images even while walking, and is especially effective when shooting bright scenes from full wide to 5x zoom.
Recorded content is stored on the internal 32GB flash memory, with an SD/SDHC card slot to provide additional storage. And like many other models in the new Everio lineup, the GZ-HM550 offers new advanced shooting functions like time lapse recording and Auto Recording. Time-lapse recording makes it easy to create a sophisticated effect — simply set the camera to record in intervals ranging from one to 80 seconds. When played back, hours-long segments will be reduced to mere seconds. With Auto Record, recording automatically begins when a person enters the picture — a convenient solution for home surveillance, recording wildlife, and more. Also Motor Drive Shooting (nine megapixel stills up to 15fps) and Ultra-Slow Motion Playback by high speed recording (up to 600fps) are available.
Digital files created can be easily shared in a variety of popular formats with the enhanced Everio MediaBrowser software for Windows®, which now provides automatic conversion of HD videos for immediate sharing on YouTube™ at HD or SD resolution. Files also can be directly exported to iTunes® and synced with an iPod® or iPhone®, or burned to DVD, all with just a few mouse clicks using the same Everio MediaBrowser application.
To make it easier for the user to find and play any desired scene, the GZ-HM550 offers Face Flow Thumbnail, a feature that displays thumbnails from a particular section of a video by automatically selecting and zooming into human faces. And to make shooting and carrying easier, the camera has a redesigned grip belt that works in two ways — as a conventional handle-style grip when both ends are snapped in place or as a strap when one end of the belt is released.
The JVC GZ-HM550 Bluetooth enabled camera is available now for $799.95.
JVC Everio GZ-HM550 Feature List
HD Memory Camera
32GB Internal Flash Memory and SD/SDHC card slot
1/2.3” 10.62 Megapixel Back-illuminated CMOS Sensor
9.3 Megapixel Stills with no interpolation
16x Dynamic Zoom† (KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS)
Bluetooth® Wireless Technology
Super LoLux
Advanced Image Stabilizer
Time-Lapse REC & Auto REC
One Touch Export*
One Touch Upload to YouTube™* (HD Compatible)
Direct DVD Creation with SHARE STATION®
Seamless Recording over two media
Face Detection & Face Flow Thumbnail
Auto Flash & Auto Illumi. Light
Laser Touch Operation
2-Way Grip Belt
Everio MediaBrowser
†15x when Advanced Image Stabilizer set to ON
About JVC U.S.A.
JVC U.S.A., headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, is a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Victor Company of Japan Ltd. JVC distributes a complete line of video and audio equipment for the consumer and professional markets. For further product information, visit JVC’s Web site at www.jvc.com or call 1-800-526-5308. Follow JVC on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JVC_USA.
While full-sized handsets for cellphones and VoIP aren’t new – we’ve seen several companies offering unusual or retro ways to pretend your smartphone is something else – it’s taken Native Union to attempt to make it all serious. Their Moshi Moshi line of wired and wireless handsets and speakerphones not only look pretty darn good, but they offer features like dual-pairing (with, say, your phone and your laptop), streaming audio and more.
There are five designs in the line-up initially, the wired MM01h, MM01 and MM02 and the Bluetooth-enabled MM03 and MM04i. The first four are shaped like traditional handsets, the latter is a standalone speakerphone, and all but the MM01h come with a base station (that also recharges the MM04).
Various adapters are available for different models of phone, including a regular 3.5mm jack and an iPhone adapter, plus there’s a USB connection for VoIP. The MM03 supports Bluetooth 2.1 with multipoint for dual simultaneous connections. Native Union reckon that 42-percent of cellphone calls happen at home and 30-percent in the office, so people should consider using a more comfortable handset during that time. Whether you agree will probably depend on how happy you are spending upward of $59.99 (for the wired sets) or $129.99 (for the Bluetooth models).
Having been spotted in little more than sketch form back in January, we now have some firmer information on Cowon’s upcoming J3 media player. Set to launch this month, apparently, the Cowon J3 has a 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen running at 480 x 272, complete with up to 16GB of storage and Bluetooth connectivity.
Three versions of the J3 will be available initially, with the PMP coming in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB SKUs. All will have an accelerometer for automatic screen-orientation flips, a TV output for displaying content on a bigger screen, and Cowon’s own JetEffects effects 3.0 technology for improving audio performance.
Previous rumors suggested that the J3 would also get integrated WiFi, though there’s no mention of that which we can find. However, given the company’s well-respected audio quality, this could be a popular PMP among audiophiles assuming Cowon price it reasonably.
[via OLED-Info and via PlayerBites; image via MovePlayer]
So, we already know the Sony PlayStation Move controller is coming Fall 2010 and should be priced – in “starter kit” form – at under $100, but we’re still seeing more tidbits about the motion-control system drip out GDC this week. There’s good news and bad, unfortunately, including a limitation on multiplayer support in part thanks to the PS3’s own Bluetooth connectivity capabilities. Turns out, while up to four-player gaming is possible, that’s not if everyone wants to use both the Move controller and a sub-controller.
Sony have confirmed to Gizmodo that the PS3 will either support four Move controllers on their own, or a pair of them with sub-controllers. That means that motion-only games will be suitable for up to four players, but anything requiring extra degrees of control that a sub-controller would bring will only be usable by two gamers at a time.
Four PlayStation Move controllers can connect to a PS3 at one time (or two PlayStation Move Controllers and 2 PlayStation Move sub-controllers).
It’s unclear to what extent this is a system limitation and what Sony themselves have coded in; apparently the PS3’s Bluetooth connectivity can only deal with up to seven connections at a time. Still, Sony have done good work slimming down the Move system elsewhere; according to Joystiq it’ll only demand 1-2MB of system memory.
Samsung's all about records: firsts, biggests, smallests, thinnests, you get the idea. Indeed, it was just a few weeks ago that the company managed to slip the very first Bluetooth 3.0 certified handset through -- but these guys never rest, and it looks like they're already prepping to follow up that feat by throwing Android into the mix. The Bluetooth SIG is showing certification for an SHW-M120S model that apparently features a 3.3-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 5 megapixel autofocus primary cam plus VGA secondary, WiFi, GPS, HSDPA, and -- yes, you guessed it -- a Bluetooth Core Version of 3.0, meaning you'll likely be able to fling files around to your house full of Bluetooth 3.0-capable devices with the greatest of ease. The presence of a T-DMB tuner means this sucker is targeted squarely at the South Korean market, but we've no doubt Sammy plans on taking 3.0 global so that it can... you know, have the world's most Bluetooth 3.0 devices. PuntoCellulare seems to have a pretty good shot of it, and it looks pretty much how you'd expect any self-respecting Samsung smartphone to look in 2010 -- in other words, there's nothing that screams "I can wirelessly transfer data short distances at heretofore-unknown speeds" just by looking at it, and that's totally fine by us. Rumor is we'll see this launch "in the next few weeks."
[Thanks, juanvaldez]
Update: Turns out PuntoCellulare just recycled a shot of the M100S, so we don't yet know what the M120S will look like; the screen's a bit smaller on this new model, for one thing, so we should be dealing with a more diminutive shell.
We were glad to see Bluetooth low energy actually added to the Bluetooth 4.0 spec, but of course the question remained: when are we going to get our hands on it? By Q4 this year, apparently -- at least according to the Bluetooth SIG. But don't expect any dramatic changes in battery life for most of your gadgets: while the low energy spec introduces connectivity to a host of lower-power devices that have in the past relied on proprietary technology (such as watches, pedometers, and cats), your traditional Bluetooth devices, such as phones and laptops, will consume roughly the same amount of power. Indeed, the low energy spec is merely throwing smaller devices (with smaller amounts of data to transfer) in to the mix: if you want Trans-Siberian Orchestra to sound as glorious as ever on your wireless headphones, you'll need to push as much data (and hence draw as much power) with version 4 as you would with version 3. If you've ever heard "A Mad Russian's Christmas," you'd know what we're talking about.
If you go out shopping for Bluetooth 3.0 devices today you’ll have trouble filling a cart, but according to the Bluetooth SIG as of Q4 2010 devices packing version 4.0 of the wireless technology should be on shelves. Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, says devices such as smartphones, headsets and computers will start to feature Bluetooth 4.0 by the end of the year, with the most notable improvement over 3.0 being a new low-energy specification that will make it more suitable for watches and other frugal gadgets.
However all the rest of the Bluetooth functionality will be present, including the ability to hybridize a WiFi connection initiated with a Bluetooth link for higher-speed transfers. Says Foley, users shouldn’t necessarily expect significant power savings over previous versions when moving to Bluetooth 4.0; beyond the low-energy mode the rest of the profiles will use around the same amount of battery.
Novero has several products that are for Bluetooth mobile phones. The last new product from the company was the Lexington headset unveiled in February. Novero is unveiling three new products this week called TheTalkyOne, TheTravelOne, and TheCarOne.
Strange product names aside, the gear is interesting. TheTalkyOne is a Bluetooth speakerphone designed to be used in the car or in the office. The device has text-to-speech feature and can read the names of callers aloud from caller ID and can read text messages to you while you drive. The device can pair with two phones at once and has DSP noise reduction and echo cancellation features. The battery is good for 180 hours on standby and 15 hours of talk time.
TheTravelOne is a charger that can be used all around the world with adapter plugs for the US, UK, EU, and NZ sockets. The device is offered in black or white colors and has a microUSB cable for charging from a computer. TheCarOne is a microUSB cable charger that plugs into the DC outlet in your car. All the gear is available on Amazon with TheTalkyOne at $139, TheTravelOne for $39.95, and TheCarOne for $29.95.
After Intel prematurely pulled the trigger on their Atom N470 announcement yesterday, we’ve now got official confirmation about one of the first netbooks to use the new, 1.86GHz processor. The Gigabyte TouchNote T1000 is, as the image suggests, another of the company’s convertible netbook-tablets, with a 10.1-inch 1,366 x 768 touchscreen and a choice of the N450 or N470 CPUs.
Two versions of the T1000 will be offered, the T1000X with a 4-cell, 4,500mAh battery and the T1000P with a 6-cell, 7,650mAh battery. Both netbooks will have 1GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD and Intel GMA 3150 graphics, along with WiFi b/g/n, 10/100 ethernet and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.
Ports include two USB 2.0, an eSATA/USB combo, audio in/out, VGA, ExpressCard and a multiformat memory card reader; there’s also a 1.3-megapixel webcam, microphone and 1.5W stereo speakers. No word on pricing, but we’re guessing this won’t be an especially cheap netbook – Gigabyte will probably tell us more at CeBIT 2010 this coming week.
We’ve a soft-spot for odd Twitter-enabled devices – anything that lets us follow the SlashGear tweets in unusual ways has to be a good thing – and so Macetech’s Twitter end-table, which also throws in some multi-color LED action, is proving particularly appealing. The project builds on their previous LED table, an IKEA coffee table wired up with 81 RGB lights in a 9×9 grid, adding in a Bluetooth Arduino shield for wireless connection to a nearby MacBook Pro.
The MBP has some custom code that uses the Twitter API to pull in anything tagged #ledtable, squirting those messages over to the table. The tweet then scrolls across the LED array, while the app waits 30 seconds before searching again.
Future developments include two-way feedback from the table itself, potentially adding sensors that could allow it to send its own messages to a Twitter account. Alternatively, you could hook up several different devices via Bluetooth and have them each display different kinds of status updates: server status in the office, say, and personal messages in the bedroom. The whole thing cost around $600 to make; more details here.
Having been spotted in little more than sketch form 
We were glad to see 
If you go out shopping for Bluetooth 3.0 devices today you’ll have trouble filling a cart, but 
