Review: Iomega Mac Companion 2TB

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br /> <img alt="Review: Iomega Mac Companion 2TB" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2cf73d3e53470-75.jpg.jpg" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2cf73d3e53470-75.jpg.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /><br /> The Iomega Mac Companion 2TB is no ordinary desktop hard drive. Along with the brushed aluminium and smoky black casing, designed to sit comfortably (and look great) on the foot of an iMac or Apple Display, Iomega Mac Companion also has a useful charging feature.<br /> Mac Companion is, of course, Mac formatted out of the box. Connect it to your computer through USB and you also benefit from its two-port hub. If you use FireWire 800 for its faster data transfer speeds, there's a second port for daisy chaining.<br /> But far more interesting is the high-powered USB port on the side of the drive. It's there for charging iOS devices, and is optimised as a fast-charging port if you're using FireWire, or have the drive powered via the mains but not connected to a computer.<br /> With the drive connected to your Mac through USB, the charging port delivers 500mA of power and can also sync your iOS device. In our tests, it took just over 13 and a half hours to fully charge a flat iPad 2.<br /> Connect using FireWire and it can no longer be used for syncing, but it delivers 1000mA of power and charges in under seven and a half hours. You can't connect using both at the same time. We think FireWire makes most sense as it gives you faster data transfer and charging, and you can sync using your Mac's own USB ports.<br /> Available in 2TB or 3TB versions, Mac Companion uses a fast 7200rpm drive. In testing, it achieved random read/write speeds of 14.5/14.7 MB/s under USB and 21.8/21.2 MB/s using FireWire.<br /> Given the feature set that's included as standard, it's good value for money too.<br /> </div>

Review: Iomega Mac Companion 2TB

The Iomega Mac Companion 2TB is no ordinary desktop hard drive. Along with the brushed aluminium and smoky black casing, designed to sit ...

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich Confirmed by NI for October

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="243" mce_src="http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7180/halloweenicecreamsandwi.png" src="http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7180/halloweenicecreamsandwi.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="halloween_icecreamsandwich" width="324" />It’s difficult to take the folks at Notion Ink seriously after all we’ve heard from them, confirmations that turned out flat, a device whose insides certainly did not end up pretty, and stories of them leaving their customers in the dark the moment their device was shipped and the money was in the bank. Oh the other hand, they haven’t disappeared completely quite yet, and Rohan Shravan, their face, has a bit to say about Ice Cream Sandwich that may end up being dipped in truth sauce when it comes down to it. The key sentence: “Official (“update button”) Ice Cream Sandwich update in November after Google’s launch in late Oct”. Did Shravan just leak the launch date of the next Android treat?</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Shravan may have done one of two things here. First, he could have some sort of insider knowledge of the future and he could be speaking with Google reps on the phone daily. This is a whole heck of a lot less likely than the second possibility: Shravan is able to use the internet and frequents sites like Android Community where he read the headline Ice Cream Sandwich coming October of November says Eric Schmidt. He’s also probably following news on the Nexus Prime like every other Android fan on the planet and happened across the story that noted in addition to its possible 1.5 Ghz dual-core processor, it’d have an October release alongside Ice Cream Sandwich.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Shravan does have a few more ideas though perhaps based in well-read near-reality. The first of these is that, as he says, “if you go by the industry signals, OMAP is the preferred platform for the next wave of devices.” He adds that OMAP will also “see ICS” before Tegra. This is certainly not the first time we’ve heard that Google would team with Texas Instruments for OMAP4, and since NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual-core processor was the hero for Google’s Honeycomb release (see: Motorola XOOM), we can assume that Google will be giving another group a chance at glory this time around. Fair is fair!</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> What do you think – should Notion Ink’s people be trusted? They DID give us the heads up on Gingerbread basically before anyone else in the world, after all. Perhaps we’re good to go for late October! Now the question is – or remains – will you wait for the Nexus Prime, or will you hit up either the DROID BIONIC or the Samsung Galaxy S II?</div> </div> </div>

Android Ice Cream Sandwich Confirmed by NI for October

It’s difficult to take the folks at Notion Ink seriously after all we’ve heard from them, confirmations that turned out flat, a device w...

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Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I buy a Windows laptop?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img align="right" alt="" border="0" height="179" hspace="8" mce_src="http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/3742/auntietuawmed1299609372.jpg" src="http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/3742/auntietuawmed1299609372.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" vspace="8" width="135" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Dear Aunt TUAW,</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> I am considering selling my beloved MacBook Pro (15" unibody") and replacing it with, gasp!, a Windows laptop. Please try to convince me otherwise. Or else list me a number of laptops that I may find suitable and not too dissimilar from the 'MacBook look". My budget is</div> </div> </div>

Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I buy a Windows laptop?

Dear Aunt TUAW, I am considering selling my beloved MacBook Pro (15" unibody") and replacing it with, gasp!, a Windows lap...

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Hex Code Wallet for iPhone 4 raises the stakes in battle of the leather wallet cases

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="134" mce_src="http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/5275/codewalletallthreeofem.jpg" mce_style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/5275/codewalletallthreeofem.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 8px; max-width: 640px;" width="264" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> A few weeks ago, my love for natural leather products was piqued when design shop Twelve South shipped the BookBook for iPhone 4. While the BookBook wallet case is beautiful with its distressed leather and embossed book cover appearance, I had some issues with the wallet part of the case -- basically, it ripped when I inadvertently stuffed in a few too many credit cards. Now the new Hex Code Wallet for iPhone 4 (US$49.95) has caught my attention as an attractive leather case.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Design</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Unlike the antique appearance of the BookBook for iPhone 4, the Hex Code Wallet uses neatly tanned leather for a more modern and clean look. The leather is available in three finishes: black, white, and "British tan." Hex sent one of the latter cases, and I have to say that it is extremely attractive.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" border="1" class="aligncenter" height="175" hspace="4" mce_src="http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2261/hexcodewallettuaw1.jpg" mce_style="margin-top: 4px; margin-bottom: 4px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2261/hexcodewallettuaw1.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: black; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: black; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: black; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 4px; max-width: 640px;" vspace="4" width="264" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The case is smaller in profile than the BookBook, primarily because it doesn't use leather to hold the iPhone 4 in place. Instead, there's a handy plastic frame that the iPhone 4 snaps into. Want to take the iPhone out of the case to take a quick photo? It pops out quickly when you need the device sans case.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> To hold the phone and your credit cards and/or ID in place, there's a Moleskine-like elastic band around the outside. This resolves one of the concerns I had about the BookBook -- when I placed cards into the slots on the left side of that case, it bulged open. The elastic keeps everything neatly in place inside the Hex Code Wallet.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Unlike the BookBook, Hex doesn't try to market the Hex Code Wallet as a wallet replacement. They suggest using it to carry a few business cards, or a driver's license and a couple of credit cards. Also unlike the BookBook, the Hex Code Wallet doesn't have a liner on the side of the card slots -- instead, it has nothing but leather and should hold up better to holding cards or ID.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Functionality</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Everyone has different tastes, but for my money, I actually like the looks of the Hex Code Wallet more than the BookBook for iPhone. It just seems more "upscale" than the distressed leather look of the BookBook.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As touted by Hex, the iPhone 4 really does snap in and out of the plastic frame on the right side of the case very easily. The frame is designed to hold the phone securely into the case, but it's a cinch to pop it out when necessary.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" border="1" class="aligncenter" height="158" hspace="4" mce_src="http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5456/hexcodewallettuaw2.jpg" mce_style="margin-top: 4px; margin-bottom: 4px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5456/hexcodewallettuaw2.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: black; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: black; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: black; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 4px; max-width: 640px;" vspace="4" width="240" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> One thing about cases like the Code Wallet and the BookBook is that they're a bit odd to hold when you're making a phone call. I found that the easiest way to handle both was not to hold the phone up to my ear in the traditional manner, but use the speaker phone feature instead.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Conclusion</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you're in the market for a leather wallet-type case for your iPhone 4, definitely consider the Hex Code Wallet. It's attractive, useful, has that nice leather feel and smell, and is ten bucks cheaper than the TwelveSouth BookBook for iPhone.</div> </div> </div>

Hex Code Wallet for iPhone 4 raises the stakes in battle of the leather wallet cases

A few weeks ago, my love for natural leather products was piqued when design shop Twelve South shipped the BookBook for iPhone 4. Whil...

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Review: Toshiba 37RL853B

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_front_ref_2-200-200.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_front_ref_2-200-200.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="200" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Toshiba 37RL853B offers a little bit of everything - it's a contemporary looking LCD TV with an LED edge-lit Full HD panel, decent connectivity, Freeview HD, plenty of user-adjustable tweaks and smattering of multi-media features including access to iPlayer and YouTube. Not bad really for what is after all, a budget TV.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 37RL853 sits slap bang in the middle of Toshiba's RL series, with the 32-inch 32RL853 and 42-inch 42RL853 offering the same specification for around £50 less and £100 more respectively.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The RL series itself is more or less in the middle of Toshiba's 2011 range of flatscreens, adding a terrestrial HD tuner to the basic standard definition Freeview tuner found on the HL series (which only comes in 32-inch and 42-inch sizes).</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Above the RL series is the step-up SL series, comprising the 32SL853, 37SL853 and 42SL853. These add Toshiba's ActiveVision image processing engine and an eco-friendly panel to the mix, plus Toshiba Places, which is a platform designed for people who like to conduct social relationships through online means.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Want more? Looking for USB recording? Head for the UL series. 3D you say? That will be the VL and WL designer models (but neither of the latter two come in 37-inch size. At this end of the scale were talking big bucks of course.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As for rivals, consider Panasonic's TX-L37E30B with excellent networking or the Samsung UE37D5000, which lacks a Freeview HD tuner but if you're a Sky HD or Virgin Media customer could be considered an irrelevance.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Toshiba 37rl853b" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_front_ref_1-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_front_ref_1-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As previously mentioned the Toshiba 37RL853B has a Full HD panel with a Freeview HD tuner. It also has a generous four HDMI inputs (including one with an audio return channel), which should satisfy most users' HD habits (say for a games console, PVR and Blu-ray deck or home cinema system) and Resolution+, which upscales standard definition sources to 1920 x 1080 resolution.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There are also a broad set of tools that give you every chance possible of optimising the picture. You get the regular picture modes – Standard, Autoview, Dynamic, Game, PC and a brace of movie modes, which are called Hollywood 1 and Hollywood 2. It's quite likely that none of these will suit your tastes, even Autoview, which automatically adjusts the picture depending on ambient light conditions.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Naturally, it's a simple process to tinker with the contrast, brightness, colour, sharpness and backlight for each mode and any changes you make are saved for each mode. Further than that though is a surprisingly diverse range of adjustments.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> But delving in to the Advanced Picture Settings menu to find such options as Colour Master, Base Colour, Colour Temperature, Backlight Adjustment Pro, White Balance, Black/White Level and Static Gamma, to name but seven, can all seem rather daunting.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> And when you get down to the nitty gritty of tweaking the hue, saturation and brightness of red, green, blue, yellow, magenta and cyan you start to wonder if it's ever possible to find the right combination of settings that are just right for your preference. Even more so, when you consider that different sources need different settings, as do different times of day when the ambient light changes.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> And just to complicate matters even further there's an 'Expert' sub-menu that has an RGB filter for adjusting each colour in isolation, plus a white balance tool and a test pattern to aid image adjustment. There's also a Control Visualisation graph which puts a brightness histogram and control curve up on screen and makes you feel as if you're wearing a white lab coat doing GCSE physics experiments.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> And with no way of saving settings to different presets it makes you wonder how often any of these parameters will be used by the vast majority of owners. It's not as if Toshiba offers a cheaper model of the same size that includes a Freeview HD tuner and some multimedia capability but excludes the calibration toolset.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Talking of multimedia, Toshiba has not exactly blazed the trail when it comes to internet-based TV entertainment and the 37RL853 doesn't do a lot to change that perception. Other brands, such as Sony and Samsung, are offering a much broader selection of IPTV portals on their budget TVs than just YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Flickr, which you get here once you've hooked up to a router using Ethernet (or an optional extra wi-fi dongle). On the plus side though, at least iPlayer allows access to HD shows (and is a cinch to use).</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you're not using the USB socket for a Wi-Fi dongle you can enjoy multi-media playback from a flash drive. The ethernet socket can also be used for hooking up to a Windows 7 computer for the purposes of DLNA networking.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Other socketry includes a Scart, component video and composite video for any legacy analogue kit, plus a 15-pin PC input and a digital optical audio output. Finally, a CI slot will accept a CAM module if you want access to ESPN using TopUp TV's subscription service.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 37RL853 can also act as a giant photo frame. Choose one of your favourite snaps from a USB drive or networked computer and copy it to the TV's own flash memory. It can be displayed with or without the date and time.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Toshiba 37rl853b" class="aligncenter" height="315" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_right_ref_1-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_right_ref_1-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Some of last year's Toshiba screens suffered badly from excessive MPEG noise but the 37RL853B is significantly better in this respect.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Hitchcock's <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">To Catch A Thief</span> stored on our Sky+ HD box in standard definition features a scene where Cary Grant chases a thief across some rooftops at night. The pitch black skies are a great test of a how solid a picture a panel can muster. The results are not perfect, as part of the picture can clearly be seen to break up, but it's not the overwhelmingly disastrous distraction we've seen before. And the same scene in HD is completely solid.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The same HD recording also shows the 37RL853's talent for serving up finely detailed static images. A shot of the watching crowd in their fancy dress features some interesting characters and you can clearly see every detail and nuance of their sun-withered faces. Their costumes also show how well the screen renders a diverse colour palette with accurate well-contained hues.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> When watching a movie it pays to experiment with the various modes. In a bright room it's better to stick with the Standard mode than either of the Hollywood modes, which reduce the backlight and contrast such that the picture seems limp and dull.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Autoview mode is worth trying but can't be relied upon, for example when watching cricket the green grass is far too bright.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Blu-rays serve to reiterate the panel's strengths and weaknesses.<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">No Country For Old Men</span> has some vast desert skies that are served up with a high level of noise and DNR seems to have little effect. There are also plenty of dark scenes that show that shadow detail is not the best but at least the detail in well-lit scenes is very good.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Avatar</span> looks superb: the level of detail in Sully's face at the first Pandora briefing is astonishing. Overall there's very little motion judder and colours remain true.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Freeview picture is generally very good, especially the three HD channels. The standard definition picture is about par for the course and engaging Resolution+ certainly sharpens things up. Finally, viewing angles are very good.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Toshiba 37rl853b" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_front_ref_2-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_front_ref_2-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Don't expect to get calls from angry neighbours complaining about the sound coming from the 37RL853's speakers. They're ok for regular daytime telly but are seriously underpowered for watching more involving material such as TV dramas and movies.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The presence of Surround settings in the menu should be taken with a rock of salt; according to the manual "Stereo Extension and Voice Enhancement help to create an enhanced surround sound experience. Your TV's audio will sound fuller, richer, and wider." Voice Enhancement does give dialogue a small lift but it's bordering on egregious to claim the 37RL853 can generate a surround soundfield.</div> <h4 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Value</h4> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Priced at only £50 more than its 32-inch 32RL853 stablemate the 37-inch 37RL853 looks like something of a bargain.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It may lack a few niceties such as USB recording, 100Hz processing and a broader Smart TV selection but it gives other 37-inch screens a good run for their money. Samsung's UE37D5000 for example doesn't have a Freeview HD tuner.</div> <h4 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Ease of use</h4> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Setting up the screen is no more taxing than making tea and toast. The operating system is substance over style, the latter of which it really doesn't have a lot of. But it is easy and uncomplicated to navigate the menus and the remote control has the right number of important command buttons on it.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Quick button is especially useful for accessing features such as Picture mode, Picture size, connected TV and channel options (adding to favourites, locking, etc). Some of the buttons on the remote are fiddly, which seems odd when there's a fair bit of unused real estate that would have allowed for a more user-friendly layout. But overall it's a decent effort.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It's annoying that the full instruction manual is only available as a PDF that you have to download, and a bit cheeky of Toshiba to shift the printing cost to its customers. And surprising as it may seem, not everyone has access to a computer.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Freeview EPG is one of the best around in that it displays 13 channels over 2.5 or 1.25 hours and uses black text on a white background. It also has a handy genre guide and search facility but it can be slow to load sometimes.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The networking and online features are mercifully simple to set-up but the file handling is clunky and laboured. Loading photos and videos on a Toshiba netbook took ages and the folders are displayed in a boring grid structure with no visual information. Unsurprisingly, file compatibility is far from comprehensive and certainly not consistent.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Toshiba 37rl853b" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_right_ref_2-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Toshiba%2037RL853/RL833_right_ref_2-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 37RL853 is a solid middle-of-the-range Freeview HD screen with few frills and not many thrills either. What it lacks in built-in picture enhancements it makes up for with a surprising degree of user adjustment features. It dabbles its toes in the Smart TV waters with a trio of online services and is prepared to have a go at home networking, albeit with mixed results.</div> <h4 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> We liked</h4> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Greater than average panel noise can't hide the fact that the 37RL853's pictures are generally very good, especially with HD sources.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The pre-set picture modes are easily tweakable to find the optimum setting and Resolution+ is one of the finest built-in upscalers around. Access to iPlayer is certainly welcome as is the ability to show multimedia files from a flash drive or computer.</div> <h4 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> We disliked</h4> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 37RL853's sound is just about acceptable for daytime TV watching but is seriously underpowered for more involving soundtracks.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The graphics and font used for the onscreen menus are rather uninspiring, the Smart TV offering is teasingly small and the networking is rather hit and miss.</div> <h4 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Final verdict</h4> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The remote control, user interface, networking features and even the ability to make so many picture adjustments give you the feeling that the 37RL853 feels more like an engineering sample rather than the polished article.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Overall though, such versatility should be welcomed in a TV that is capable of delivering good-quality pictures, and for the money looks like a fairly solid proposition.</div> </div> </div>

Review: Toshiba 37RL853B

The Toshiba 37RL853B offers a little bit of everything - it's a contemporary looking LCD TV with an LED edge-lit Full HD panel, de...

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Tecmo Koei Champion Jockey looks ridiculous

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Champion Jockey" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-83637" height="344" mce_src="http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4857/30championjockey.jpg" src="http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4857/30championjockey.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Champion Jockey" width="615" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Are you a fan of horse riding, but don’t have enough space in your house to keep or horse, or you don’t have the money to buy one? Well, like almost every hobby, there’s a digital version of it available and this one is coming soon to a PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 near you. Called Champion Jockey, this video game will bring horse racing to the comfort of your living room – just as long as you don’t mind looking ridiculous while riding an invisible horse.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:yIl2AUoC8zA" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:yIl2AUoC8zA" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/235/53318972.gif" src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/235/53318972.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:qj6IDK7rITs" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:qj6IDK7rITs" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7792/77538316.gif" src="http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7792/77538316.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/5788/21248633.gif" src="http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/5788/21248633.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:-BTjWOF_DHI" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=QPWOptBYZAU:zntiBjqp4PU:-BTjWOF_DHI" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/5933/93146258.gif" src="http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/5933/93146258.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a></div> </div> </div>

Tecmo Koei Champion Jockey looks ridiculous

Are you a fan of horse riding, but don’t have enough space in your house to keep or horse, or you don’t have the money to buy one? Wel...

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Samsung Conquer 4G offers WiMAX for under $100

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="324" mce_src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/835/sprintsphd600right228x5.jpg" src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/835/sprintsphd600right228x5.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" title="Sprint SPH-d600_right" width="137" />Samsung has outed its latest 4G smartphone, the CDMA/WiMAX Samsung Conquer 4G, and the first to land at under $100 from the get-go. Built around Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 touchscreen and a 1GHz MSM8655 Snapdragon processor, the Conquer 4G will be $99.99 with a new, two-year agreement.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As the display might suggest, the rest of the Conquer 4G’s specs don’t exactly live up to flagship WiMAX smartphones we’ve seen before. There’s a 3.2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls, WiFi b/g/n and GPS, along with a microSD card slot with a 2GB card pre-loaded. Mobile Hotspot functionality is supported, for up to five simultaneous clients, and the whole thing measures in at 4.57 x 2.38 x 0.46 inches and weighs 4.1 oz.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Samsung reckons the Conquer 4G will run for up to six hours of talktime on a single charge of the standard 1,500 mAh battery, which is decent enough. We’re not entirely impressed by the screen resolution, but otherwise you’re getting a fair amount for your money when the Conquer 4G arrives on August 21.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sprint SPH-d600_right" class="attachment-thumbnail aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/1434/sprintsphd600right150x1.jpg" src="http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/1434/sprintsphd600right150x1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" title="Sprint SPH-d600_right" width="150" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><img alt="Sprint SPH-d600_front" class="attachment-thumbnail aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/516/sprintsphd600front150x1.jpg" src="http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/516/sprintsphd600front150x1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" title="Sprint SPH-d600_front" width="150" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><img alt="Sprint SPH-d600_side1" class="attachment-thumbnail aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8735/sprintsphd600side1150x1.jpg" src="http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8735/sprintsphd600side1150x1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" title="Sprint SPH-d600_side1" width="150" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> )</div> </div> </span></div>

Samsung Conquer 4G offers WiMAX for under $100

Samsung has outed its latest 4G smartphone, the CDMA/WiMAX Samsung Conquer 4G, and the first to land at under $100 from the get-go. Built...

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Buying Guide: Best compact camera 2011: 25 reviewed and rated

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="90" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Fuji%20X100/Fuji%20X100%20review%20-%20lens-200-200.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Fuji%20X100/Fuji%20X100%20review%20-%20lens-200-200.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="120" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Finding the best compact camera for your needs is never going to be easy because the compact camera market is a very crowded place.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There are literally hundreds - if not thousands - of digital compact cameras out there, waiting for you to ogle them, to scratch your heads over them, and eventually hand over your hard-earned cash for them.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Once the transaction is complete and you're unboxing your newest purchase, a nagging doubt enters your mind: did I make the right choice?</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The right choice, of course, depends on what you want from your digital camera. Maybe you're looking for a high-end compact camera to use on your DSLR's day off, or perhaps you want something more basic to help someone else get started in photography.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Whichever compact digital camera you might be looking for, we've pulled together a selection of what we believe are the 25 best compact digital cameras on the market now.</div> <ul style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 24px 1.5em;"> <li style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Best DSLRs for video: under £500</li> <li style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Best DSLR: top cameras by price and brand</li> </ul> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Best compact cameras 2011: High-end</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Fujifilm Finepix X100<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £999 Specs: 12.3MP, 23mm fixed-focus lens, hybrid viewfinder</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Fuji turned plenty of heads with this retro-tastic beauty, which makes use of a revolutionary hybrid viewfinder that combines an optical and an electronic viewfinder in one screen.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Looking to captivate hardened DSLR users, it offers plenty of control with an aperture ring, shutter-speed dial and raw mode.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Fuji X100 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Canon PowerShot G12<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £539 Specs: 10MP, 5x optical zoom lens, 720p HD video</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> When it comes to the high-spec compact camera market, Canon has set the standard with the G-series, and raised the bar again with the PowerShot G12.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Canon G12 offers full manual control and raw shooting mode as well as smart auto, which lets the camera take charge.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Add to this image stabilization, HDR capability and multi-aspect shooting, and you can see why this compact camera gives interchangeable lens cameras a run for their money.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Canon G12 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Nikon Coolpix P7000<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £489.99 Specs: 10.1MP, 7.1x zoom lens, 720p HD video</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="P7000" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Nikon%20Coolpix%20P7000/nikon_p7000_7-420-100.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Nikon%20Coolpix%20P7000/nikon_p7000_7-420-100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The P7000 offers the full manual control that you'd expect from a pro-level camera, but comes with the automatic functions of a compact camera.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Nikon P7000 has 18 different scene modes to help you capture everything from fireworks to museum visits, automatically corrects red-eye, and it even has a smile timer.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This could be the best compact camera for you if you don't want a DSLR in your bag.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Nikon P7000 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £458.99 Specs: 10MP, 3.8x optical zoom Leica lens with 24mm wideangle</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="DMC-LX5" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6251/panasoniclumixlx5top142.jpg" src="http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6251/panasoniclumixlx5top142.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> With its f/2.0 Leica lens and high ISO capabilities, the Panasonic LX-5 is a great low-light companion.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Its video mode allows you to record in HD, adjust the aperture or shutter speed when you're in creative mode, or have the camera take control in iA mode.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> You can even hook up this compact camera to an HD-enabled TV directly via the HDMI port, making this the best compact camera for any budding filmmakers out there.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Panasonic LX5 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Olympus XZ-1<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £399.99 Specs: 10MP, 4x optical zoom lens, maximum aperture f/1.8</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This might be the most stylish of the pro-level compact cameras, but the Olympus XZ-1 has substance to back it up.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's full manual control with a range of nifty features, such as a histogram, but it also has a full range of automatic settings and fun 'art modes'.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Add to this its bright Zuiko lens and HD video mode, and the Olympus XZ-1 is worth a long look.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Olympus XZ-1 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Best compact cameras 2011: Ultra-compact, high-end</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Canon PowerShot S95<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £399 Specs: 10MP, 3.8x optical zoom lens, weighs 193g</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Since its launch in summer 2010, scarcely a bad word has been uttered about the Canon S95. You've got full manual control via the lens ring, or you can let the camera decide with smart auto.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The lens boasts a maximum aperture of f/2.0, you can make HD videos or shoot in raw. All of this - along with outstanding image quality, even in low-light - and the Canon S95 still fits in your pocket.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/canon-powershot-s95-905262/review" mce_href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/canon-powershot-s95-905262/review" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Canon S95 review</a></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Nikon Coolpix P300<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £299 Specs: 12MP, 4.2x optical zoom, 1080p HD video</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Nikon P300 might give the Canon PowerShot S95 a run for its money with an f/1.8 lens and slightly higher resolution, but do bear in mind that it doesn't have raw capability and its sensor is slightly smaller.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you can live with that, though, Nikon might be on to a winner of the pocket-sized camera wars with a compact camera that records excellent still images and video for less than £300.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/nikon-coolpix-p300-927281/review" mce_href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/nikon-coolpix-p300-927281/review" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Nikon P300 review</a></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Samsung EX1<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £399.99 Specs: 10MP, 3x optical zoom, Schneider-Kreuznach lens, rotating screen</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Samsung ex1" class="aligncenter" height="190" mce_src="http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9158/samsungtl500420100.jpg" src="http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9158/samsungtl500420100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Samsung's EX1 led the way for pocket-sized, low-light prowess: f/1.8 lens, a large sensor and a maximum ISO 3200.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It comes with full manual mode, records 720p HD videos, records raw files for extra editing flexibility and comes with HDR capability, and it even has a range of filters to let you get creative.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> What's that? You'd rather that the camera did the hard work? It's got a fully automated setting, too!</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our hands on Samsung EX1 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Best compact cameras 2011: Travel compacts</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Nikon Coolpix S9100<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £299.99 Specs: 12MP, 18x optical zoom, 1080p HD video with stereo sound</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The potential for blur with an 18x optical zoom is high, but the Coolpix S9100 does have sensor shift and electronic vibration reduction in place.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's an ISO 3200 setting for low light situations and an easy-to-use panorama mode that lets you pan vertically or horizontally, as well as a heap of automatic settings to make life easier and a bundle of special effects to let you get creative.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Canon PowerShot SX230 HS<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £270, 12MP, 14x optical zoom, full manual option</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="SX230" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Canon%20PowerShot%20models/Canon_PowerShot_SX230_IS/Press_Images/image_PowerShot%20SX230%20HS%20FSL%20PINK_tcm14-813005-420-100.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Canon%20PowerShot%20models/Canon_PowerShot_SX230_IS/Press_Images/image_PowerShot%20SX230%20HS%20FSL%20PINK_tcm14-813005-420-100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Canon SX230 is a great little compact camera for still images, but it seems to have been taken to heart extra warmly by the video crowd.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The PowerShot SX230 HS lets you record 1080p HD videos with stereo sound, in high-speed bursts or super slow motion.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As for stills, the Canon SX230 enables you to take full control of your pictures or implement the smart auto mode with 32 different scene options. There's even a GPS function so you can track exactly where you took your pictures.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Canon SX230 HS review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £339 Specs: 16MP, 16x optical zoom, 3D and sweep panorama technology</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you fancy venturing into 3D territory, the Sony HX9V lets you go there with both stills and video. Video is 1050p full HD, too.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's also a GPS function to record your location, and if you're new to taking pictures there are in-camera instructions.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This compact camera does miss out on Aperture and Shutter Priority modes, but it does allow you to shoot fully manual. I reckon this could be the best compact camera to have if you're about to go off on safari!</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Sony HX9V hands-on review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Casio Exilim ZR-100<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £299.99 Specs: 12.1MP, 12.5x optical zoom, panorama function</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If its 12.5x zoom isn't enough, the Casio ZR-100 can virtually double this with its multi-frame SR zoom, which combines multiple shots to create one super-close, but sharp, image. Or you can get great landscapes with a 24mm wideangle shot.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This Casio camera also boasts an HDR function, high-speed continuous shooting at 40 frames per second, and you can fiddle all you like with your photos in manual - or stick to automatic modes.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £369.99 Specs: 14.1MP, 16x optical zoom, touch screen</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> With GPS, HD video and 3D technology, the Panasonic TZ20 really does seem feature-packed.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This Panasonic camera offers full manual capability as well as auto features that can be accessed via the rear touch screen.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> 'Intelligent zoom' means that the 16x optical zoom can be boosted to 21x with surprisingly good results, compared to what we're used to from digital zoom.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Panasonic TZ20 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Fujifilm FinePix F550 EXR<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £329.99 Specs: 16MP, 15x optical zoom lens, raw or raw + JPEG option</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="FinePix f550" class="aligncenter" height="190" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Camera%20Announcements/2300_F550EXR%20Black%20Front%20-420-100.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Camera%20Announcements/2300_F550EXR%20Black%20Front%20-420-100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Fuji F550 EXR gives you close-up and wideangle options, can geo-tag your images with its GPS function, has a ludicrously high maximum ISO of 12,800, makes HD video and even offers a panorama mode.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Combine all of that with its SuperCCD EXR technology (better sensitivity, dynamic range and resolution) and you should be well on your way to taking brilliant images.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Fuji F550 EXR review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Best Compact Cameras 2011: Super-zooms</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Canon PowerShot SX30 IS<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £429 Specs: 14.1MP, 35x optical zoom, zoom framing assist</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Canon SX30 has an impressive 24-800mm focal range, which it backs up with zoom framing assist to help keep distant objects in the shot.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Smart Auto mode offers 28 different scenes, but full manual lets you take control. The Canon SX30 also lets you record 720p HD videos, get creative with a miniature effect, and snap away in low-light with confidence.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Canon SX30 IS review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Nikon Coolpix L120<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £249.99 Specs: 14MP, 21x optical zoom, 720p HD video with stereo sound</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Nikon L120 features a staggering 35mm equivalent focal range of 25-525mm, giving you wideangle and great zoom capability. You can get as close as 1cm in macro mode, too, making the Coolpix L120 the ultimate long-distance and super-up-close weapon.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The vibration reduction feature is great at reducing camera blur as well. You can push the ISO to 6400, and of course there's video: 720p HD.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you know someone who wants to try a bit of everything with their camera, this could be the best compact camera for them.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Nikon L120 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Olympus SZ-30MR<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £299.99 Specs: 16MP, 24x optical zoom, multi-recording allows simultaneous still and video capture</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Does the Olympus SZ-30MR do it all? Olympus thinks so, and we're inclined to agree.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This compact camera offers an amazing 26-600mm (35mm equivalent) super zoom lens that should take care of most shooting situations.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> To that, you can add dual image stabilization, SLR-rivaling 9 frames per second continuous shooting, a fun (if slightly pointless) 3D stills mode, and - of course - 1080p HD video.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> And you can even capture stills at the time as shooting a video. Nifty!</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX100V<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £429 Specs: 16.2MP, 30x optical zoom, sweep panorama mode</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="HX100V" mce_src="http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/3451/sonyhx1003420100.jpg" src="http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/3451/sonyhx1003420100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This is one of the newest super-zooms out there, and Sony has packed in the features so it can compete in a busy market, from GPS to 3D stills, along with 1050p full HD video.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Sony HX100V can shoot 10 frames per second, its sweep panorama makes capturing vistas easy and there's even in-camera editing.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Sony HX100V hands-on review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £399.99 Specs: 16MP, 30x optical zoom, manual mode</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Whether you want full control or prefer the camera to make the decisions, the Fuji HS20 gives you the options.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Its EXR technology helps to get the best out of every picture, and you can choose JPEG or raw formats.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's also a sweep panorama mode that's great fun to use. Simply find a panoramic view and wave your camera through the air to create a great-looking panorama.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/digital-slrs-hybrids/fujifilm-finepix-hs20-955473/review" mce_href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/digital-slrs-hybrids/fujifilm-finepix-hs20-955473/review" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Fuji HS20 EXR review</a></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Best compact cameras 2011: All-rounders</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Fujifilm FinePix Z90<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: 149.99 Specs: 14MP, 5x optical zoom, touch screen</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Coming in six different colours and with its quirky sliding cover, the Fuji Z90 is a stylish-looking camera.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Its touch screen makes for easy image and video capture, and there's an easy upload facility to put pictures directly on to FaceBook or YouTube.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Digital image stabilisation helps to prevent blur, and there are some in-camera editing functions, too. This is the best compact camera for the fashion-conscious, Facebook-conscious teen.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Fuji Z90 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Pentax Optio S1<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £129.99 Specs: 14MP, 5x optical zoom, in-body recharging system</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> With a maximum ISO of 6400, autofocus tracking, some cool effects that you can apply to images, in-camera editing, and 720p HD video, this compact camera offers a whole heap of nifty features for your money.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The pictures aren't bad, either. With a great price-point and a solid level of tech built-in, the Pentax S1 is the best compact camera for someone just getting to grips with how to use a camera.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Canon IXUS 220 HS<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £199 Specs: 12.1MP, 5x optical zoom lens, HS system for low-light shooting</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="IXUS 220 hs" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Canon%20IXUS%20models/IXUS%20220%20HS%20FSL%20HOR%20RED%202-420-100.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Canon%20IXUS%20models/IXUS%20220%20HS%20FSL%20HOR%20RED%202-420-100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> A stylish stainless steel body conceals a camera capable of decent low-light shots, a Smart Auto mode with 32 different scenes, the ability to shoot without flash, HD video with super slow motion and high-speed burst options, along with a host of creative options, from fish-eye to toy camera effect.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you only want to own one camera and don't want to spend the Earth, the Canon IXUS 220 HS is the best compact camera for you and should be at the top of your list.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Canon IXUS 220 HS review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Samsung PL120<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £149.99 Specs: 14.2MP, 5x optical zoom, dual image display</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Samsung PL120's front screen allows you to preview self-portraits to make sure you get them just right and it shows animations to keep little ones' attention when you switch on the children mode.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Add to that its range of effects, video mode, and in-camera editing function, and what you're looking at is a great heap of fun packaged into a quality camera that is the best compact camera for anyone with a young family.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Best compact cameras 2011: Waterproof cameras</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £369.99 Specs: 12.1MP, waterproof to 12m, freeze-proof to -10° Celsius, shockproof to 2m, dust-proof</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Panasonic's go-anywhere camera has a 4.6x optical zoom Leica lens, 3D photo capability and an optical image stabiliser.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's a built in GPS function, as well as an altimeter, a compass and a barometer. Whether your hazard of choice is sky- or scuba diving, you could do a lot worse than this little gem!</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read our Panasonic FT3 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Olympus TG-810<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £269.99 Specs: 14MP, waterproof to 10m, shockproof 2m, crushproof to 100kg</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="TG-810" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Camera%20Announcements/Olympus%20TOUGH%20TG-810%20price-420-100.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Camera%20Announcements/Olympus%20TOUGH%20TG-810%20price-420-100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Not only can the Olympus TG-810 be dropped in the sea, trodden on and withstand temperatures of -10° Celsius, but its GPS can record where you took your pictures, some of which you might have shot in 3D, and then you can upload them to your PC wirelessly using Eye-Fi connectivity.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> And don't forget its 5x optical zoom and HD video mode, either. I'm not sure how much wi-fi you get in the jungle, but if that's where you're head this should be the best compact camera for your journey!</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX10<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Price: £319 Specs: 16.2MP, waterproof to 5m, shockproof to 1.5m, withstands -10° Celsius</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="DSC-TX10" mce_src="http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9904/dsctx1042090.jpg" src="http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9904/dsctx1042090.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This camera won't look out of place beside the pool, and if you drop it in, it's no big deal.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Sony TX10 also happens to have a 4x optical zoom lens, takes panoramas and 3D images, and records HD videos.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It's a great combination of stylish and practical and will suit anyone who wants their camera to look as good as they do, and take pictures to match.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Related Links</span></div> <ul style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 24px 1.5em;"> <li style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Canon vs Nikon: which DSLR should you buy?</li> <li style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Best DSLR: top cameras by price and brand</li> </ul> </div> </span></div>

Buying Guide: Best compact camera 2011: 25 reviewed and rated

Finding the best compact camera for your needs is never going to be easy because the compact camera market is a very crowded place. T...

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