digital manila

Sign of a Macbook Pro refresh?

digitalmanila — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:43:42 +0000

It has been rumored that Macbook Pro SKUs (stock keeping units) from Best Buy have been deleted from its system. This means that no orders can be placed for the deleted item. Could it be that new Macbook Pros (maybe with Core i5 or Core i7 chips) are about to replace the Core 2 Duo models?

via TUAW

Canon Rebel T2i (550D) Now Official

digitalmanila — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:44:53 +0000

Canon has just announced the successor of the Canon Rebel T1i (500D). Dubbed the Canon Rebel T2i (550D in other parts of the world), the new DSLR camera has quite a few impressive features, including a sensor almost identical t the 7D’s, a new widescreen LCD, a 7D-style light metering and an ISO range of 100 to 6400. The Canon T2i is 18-megapixel shooter which can take 1080p video at 30 / 25 / 24 fps and 720p video at 50 / 60 fps. Canon boasts that the T2i has an advanced Live View and features like the brilliant Auto Lighting Optimizer and Highlight Tone which ensure brilliant photos and movies

Best Shirt Ever?

digitalmanila — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:19:37 +0000

Wouldn’t it be nice if girls wore this and let every guy try it out?

via FlopCulture

Canon 60D and Rebel T2i (550D or 600D) Rumors

digitalmanila — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:59:50 +0000

It has been mentioned in canonrumors.com that two new DSLR cameras will soon be announced by Canon. These possible models are the Canon 60D, the successor to the highly successful Canon 50D, and a new Rebel DSLR, which, according to an update on the same website, will be named Canon Rebel T2i, the successor to the current Rebel T1i, known as the Canon 500D in other parts of the world including the Philippines.

The rumored features of the upcoming Canon 60D are the following:

Articulating screen
Metal body, similar To50D
Upgraded 15.1mp APS-C Sensor
720p/1080p Video at 30fps
Electronic Level
New battery & battery grip

On the other hand, the somewhat confirmed features of the Canon Rebel T2i are the following:

New LCD (Even Higher Resolution)
Selectable FPS (Video)
New build quality and shape for a Rebel
No articulating screen
New battery LP-E8
New battery grip

As a Canon 50D user, I’m excited to know what the actual features of the Canon 60D will be.

Apple’s New iPad

digitalmanila — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:00:33 +0000

Apple’s unveiling of its newest product has been highly anticipated event. The rabid apple fanatic, the regular gadget aficionado and almost anyone that is wired via the world wide web or the television has his or her own imagined version of the new product. It’s hard not to get excited, or at least curious, about Apple’s events. The company has a solid reputation for churning out fantastic gizmos and ushering new technology, which always leaves us consumers in awe, if not of the new technology, at least of its products’ lovely designs. We marveled at the iPod and the iPhone, were made believers of the Macbook and iMac, and marveled at the OS X and the touch technology. And since Apple releases products or version updates only once or twice in a year, us mortals salivate at products, rumored or announced, that are lined up at the Apple tech factory. Hence, with high expectations, we awaited the unveiling of the Apples newest baby. We’ve heard rumors about the newest product for a long time, some outrageous, some believable, and were prepared to be mesmerized by what Steve Jobs was about to show us. Alas, I think we have expected too much from the Cupertino company.

The latest gadget from Apple, as many of us have surely heard, is the iPad. The what? I honestly think that Apple should have used another name, one that is not similarly sounding as the iPod. Steve Jobs doesn’t know it, but in the Philippines, the iPod and the iPad sound almost the same. Needless to say, we expected something fancy-sounding from Apple. We were prepared to adapt the name iTablet or iSlate, which were abundantly mentioned in as possible names, but Steve had another name in mind.

Apart from the name, what is there to hate about the iPad? Here are a few:

No Multitasking

For something that Apple presents as an alternative, nay, a competitor of the widely popular netbook platform, Apple might have made haters by leaving out multitasking from the iPad. Most people have raised their frustration this early about the absence of multitasking in the iPad. Imagine not being able to listen to music while browsing the web, or being able to play a game while you are downloading something. Just imagine the frustration of not being able to multi-task.

No Camera

It would have been forgivable for Apple to leave out a back-facing camera like the iPhone’s, which, for the size of the iPad, would make taking a photo rather laughable. However, leaving out a front-facing camera is just awful. The iPad would have been extremely useful for video chatting.

No Flash Support

Come on Steve, no flash? Why not? Everybody uses flash nowadays. I bet you also use flash yourself. Again, for something touted as a replacement of the netbook or as an internet device, absence of flash support is just horrible. Horrible. What should we do with websites running flash applications? What about streaming video? Steve, Steve, Steve…

No USB Ports

Now this is really getting frustrating Steve! Why leave out USB ports? That is as common as the power button nowadays. For an internet gadget that’s supposed to tempt me to leave my laptop or netbook for, I expect at least to have two USB ports. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I don’t want to spend more on adaptors.

These are not the only missing features of the iPhone. Some have listed as many as ten, but for me, the ones above are the biggest omissions. Steve claims the iPad is “the best way to experience the web, email, photos and video”. Really? The iPad won’t be available until around May but right now I have made my decision not to buy one when it hits the stores. Frankly, I don’t see anything an iPad will do that the iPod touch doesn’t already do. And I don’t see anything in the iPad that will give me reason to dump my trusty netbook. I might have to wait for iPad version 2.0.