MacRumors: Or white iPhone 4G. A user Seraphan from an Italian site iSpazio created a beautiful rendering of what a white iPhone HD might look like. I certainly hope the real iPhone HD looks like this rendering. As I have mentioned in previous posts I really dislike the cover glass that is used on iPhones (and iPad, MacBook/Pro, iPod touch) mostly because dust gets trapped between the cover glass and the LCD and there is nothing you can do about it (read Gorilla Makes Us Lazy). Maybe I can also hope for a fingerprint-resistant matte LCD. This render is beautiful.
fonearena. Chinese site Apple.pro has a shot of what it claims is the next-generation iPhone in white. I’m not absolutely sure but it looks like the cover glass is there. But I’m digging the white.
A DVT (Design Verification Test) iPod touch scooped by Tinhte sports a two megapixel camera. Too bad it doesn’t have a forward-facing one.
DPReview has a nice preview of Sony’s new APS-C sensor-based NEX-5. I had high expectations for the new NEX platform by Sony and was inching toward a possible purchase decision. Unfortunately, after reading through the preview it seems the NEX in its current form is not what I desire in a premium compact DSLR. My biggest gripe is that the NEX system does not allow the intricate bonding between photographer and camera. The NEX is not a photographer’s precision tool; instead it seems much more like a toy. The dearth of buttons may look like the result of minimalist design principles but it is not; it is the result of overly complex menu and help systems embedded into the one-axis articulating display. At every point the NEX holds your hand and offers guides to make use of all available tools such as “Bkground Defocus”. Although helpful at first this type of system almost always hinders the photographer who wants to move on and take control. I hope there is a way to shut off all the hand-holding. The NEX has all the hardware for serious photography but the software is geared for eternal beginners. Give me control to raw digital photographic power in a compact size with an APS-C or larger image sensor and I’ll give you my wallet.
Bit-Tech: The Bamboo Collection notebook PC series from ASUS wants to excite the green in us. Bamboo is lighter than metals such as aluminum and is warmer to the touch. Even after a lot of use the bamboo should look just as new. With bamboo panels that are thicker than previous versions the U-series notebooks just might be the green notebook we’ve been waiting for. Unfortunately underneath the bamboo panels are run-of-the-mill plastics protecting energy-hungry Core i5 CPUs, NVIDIA’s GeForce 310M with 1GB and NVIDIA’s Optimus technology that automatically switches GPU power. Battery life is estimated at 11 hours. The Bamboo Collection will go for NT$40,000 (about US$1,300) in Taiwan. The U-series will come in three sizes: 13- (U33Jc), 14- (U43Jc), and 15.6-inch (U53Jc).
I am fairly certain that an entire notebook PC chassis can be made of bamboo composites that offer enough reliability and durability comparable to regular plastics. I can imagine the keys on the keyboard made of bamboo composites too. With a name like Bamboo Collection do you really need all that power of an i5-450M? May I suggest something a bit greener with an i3 or a Celeron. ASUS claims 100% recyclability, but I don’t think it is, thanks to the plastics, the LCD, the battery, etc. The LCD is probably LED backlit but I would have recommended Pixel Qi’s 3qi display technology (read Pixel Qi 3qi Display: Full Color and ePaper in One) to maximize power savings/minimize power consumption. The 500GB hard drive is also disappointing as a SSD would have been a greener alternative.
There is a big difference between furniture made of solid wood and of wood veneer: one is desired, the other is purchased for the low price. The Bamboo Collection from ASUS is bamboo only in name, except for the little portion of the notebook, and is far from green as non-recyclable plastics can be. And it isn’t even low-priced. I am certain there is a place for greener notebooks using not only greener technology but actual green materials like bamboo but the Bamboo Collection by ASUS is far from green in so many ways.
