Archive for March, 2009
Don’t Believe the hype.
BusinessInsider is reporting on a Deutsche Bank research report which predicts a doomsday scenario for NYC home value. New York (and West Palm Beach/Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) should be preparing for a drop of up to 47% in its property value.
In fact, we think the opposite, that real estate value in the U.S. is near the bottom, and while New York City will be delayed more than others due to the wiping out of Wall Street, flowers will grow in the cracks of concrete. While we are troubled by David Paterson’s inadequate performance as Governor, Mayor Bloomberg, one of the few to get richer during the financial crisis, is as smart of a leader for NYC as we can have. What we need is a game changer, in the form of a strong Governor – Cuomo or Guilliani come to mind. Albany is a ruly place, just like New York City was before Guilliani. Of the forecast, we think that’s a severe outlook, and one we hope doesn’t come to pass before new leadership can be found in the state’s capital. Read @ BusinessInsider.com
File this under gadget rumors, but it does make perfect sense and merges nicely with our own secret fantasies of a DSLR-based camcorder. Now that the Canon 5D Mark II and even the new Rebel T1i can shoot 1080P video, buddying filmmakers have been clamoring for Canon to pump out the specs (24 fps is missing on both Canons). Using the DSLR’s sensors and time tested lenses, filmmakers are able to get depth of field and of all that extra mojo that makes an image “film-like”.
According to CanonRumors.com, this new HD camcorder will take the shape of Canon’s flagship XL H1 (pictured) and is reportedly spec’d to the gills, with 1080/24/30/60 as well as 720p/30/60 and 56Mbit/s to MPEG-4. There’s also auto-focus and creative manual focus alongside the usual prosumer camcorder goodies. This is looking good, and if Canon can keep the price near Sony’s XDCAM EX-1 or bigger brother EX-3’s territory, they’ll have the sweetest new HD Camcorder short of a non-vaporized Red Scarlet.
If you love both sexy sports cars and being green, there were only a few reasonably affordable choices – the Tesla Roadster and the Fisker Karma, but with prices north of $80K, most of us can only drool. Now Tesla is slowly revealing its most affordable model to date, the Tesla Model S. Imagine an all electric sports car for $50k, that’s what the Model S promises with its $57,400 price tag and the $7.5K Uncle Sam will kick in for being green.
That’s half the price of the original Tesla Roadster, $40K less than the more affordable Fisker Karma and only $10K more than the far more consumer-friendly but less exciting Chevy Volt. If this model is as good as it looks here, Tesla will be well-positioned to compete with your average mid-range petrol sipping luxe sedan. Tomorrow, Tesla will reveal the new Model S but one Kevin Rose has already posted pics on his Flickr account – two of which we’re sharing here. If this is what it ends up looking like, color us impressed, and saving our pennies.
Of the imminent release of the world’s cheapest new car, the Tato Nano, the Times suggest negative environmental implications of the gas-powered people’s car. Yet for millions, this represents a chance to climb to the status Westerners have long enjoyed for a mere $2,000 (which came in lower than the $2,500 anticipated pre-launch).
Like a certain commenter number 4, we think suggeseting that the Indians not build a gas-powered Nano is a bit elitist, it is after as fuel efficient as a large motorscooter and many will replace smelly second cars currently clogging the streets.
#4. “I find all the talk of higher greenhouse gas emissions from Nano a bit elitist. Nano will mainly replace two-wheelers on Indian roads, and will drastically reduce the accidents and fatalities that occur so very regularly due to families of two, three or more people riding in dense traffic, on sub-optimal roads, and in slick monsoon conditions. Broken lives, families and bodies too have “costs” associated with them…”
photo: Bloomberg News
Available April 2nd, Dell is already taking orders for the update to the popular Mini 9. HDMI, 16:9 aspect ratio, generous 10.1″ display (largest ‘netbook’ size), fun colors, American company. At dell.com
Six years after a pipe dream, the $2,500 Tata Nano, otherwise known as the people’s car, goes on sale tomorrow (Monday). While the IHT has a good story on the company’s financial woes, we think the Tata Nano will prove an undeniable hit. For only twice the price of a typical motor scooter, prevalent in fast developing emerging nations, the Tata Nano allows a family to upgrade to the much-coveted car owner status. If this isn’t a Toyota Camry, it still gets the same job done of covering its occupants from the rain.
Yes, loads of other so-called ‘micro’ cars and car concepts have hit the internet lately, including green-focused micros and minis. Yet where Tato Nano still differentiates from Smart or Think is the sheer affordability – and that makes all the difference in the world. To those who hate anything that encourages more cars on the streets, we sympathize, however, we’d much prefer a city filled with Nanos then either dangerous scooters or gas guzzling SUVs.
We’ve been waiting not-so-patiently as our website designer completes our site’s re-design. We’re happy to announce that our site’s new look will be unveiled April 1st. Thanks for your patience as we work out a few kinks..
Rejoice camera geeks – the days of a DSLR for your still photos and a camcorder for your video, are nearly over. Introducing three superb cameras ready to handle both tasks with equal aplomb.
Price Range: $500 MSRP
Model: Sony DSC-HX1
Highlights: 1080 30 fps, 1-button panoramic mode, excellent reviews on the blogosphere of both picture and video quality. Missing mic input, not Full HD, no 24 fps, but sweet $500 pricepoint seems like quite a bargain to our video loving eyes.
Arriving: April, 2009
Sony DSC-HX1
Price Range: $1,500 MSRP
Model: Lumix DMG-GH1
Highlights: 1080 24p or 720P at 30, mic input, interchangeable lenses, Canon 5D Mark II-like features at half the price.
Arriving: June, 2009
Lumix DMG-GH1: 1080/24p, interchangeable lenses.
Price Range: $3,500 MSRP
Model: Canon 5D Mark II
Highlights: The real deal, game changer, with full-frame 21 megapixel still camera and innovative video recording at 1080 30 fps, mic input and best-of-class footage.
Arriving: Already Available
Honorable Mentions:
Nikon D90 DSLR – the first DSLR to offer 720/ 24P HD video recording, which is quite beautiful paired with Nikon lenses.
Canon SD970 – the $350 point and shoot features 720 HD video recording and 12 megapixels of Canon goodness.
