‘Hybrid’ is the buzzword in cameras this month and JVC’s Everio GZ-𕭄 falls into this category, combining a Full HD camcorder with a 9MP camera. The party trick for the new camera is the ability to shoot Full HD video (1920 x 1080 pixels) and take 5MP photos at the same time. Photos can be shot at shutter speeds up to 1/4000 second without interrupting video recording. In terms of size, it’s small and light - like a chunky smartphone - weighing 0.66lbs (including battery and a memory card) and measuring 2.6 x 4.88 x 1.46in. JVC contends that unlike other cameras that do video badly and camcorders that do average photos, the GZ-𕭄 can do both very well. Well, it would now, wouldn′t it?Up to six 9MP stills can be shot at 15 images per second, which JVC claims is faster than what digital SLRs can achieve [we're sure there may be some comments about this]. The camera can shoot in various high-speed video recording modes [120 frames per second (fps), 300fps and 600fps ] allowing for different levels of slow-motion playback. Storage is via SDHC cards and the camera will cost $1,000 (£708) when it launches in June. Your guess is as good as mine as to what it will cost here by the time they convert it to Sterling and add on a dollop extra for good measure. Think £800+ to be safe.-Martin Lynch camera video HD

UK consumers may be taking their time jumping on the Blu-ray bandwagon so maybe Sony’s latest Blu-ray players, sporting Wi-Fi and sensible price tags will help them make the leap. The company has just announced its new BDP-S360 and the BDP-S560 [above], the latter coming with integrated 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity to make updating firmware and accessing Web content a snip. They both offer full 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema Output and support for the latest HD audio formats like 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio. They are Profile 2.0 players with support for Internet-based BD Live content, like trailers, extra content and games.The BDP-S560 uses Wi-Fi Protected setup, which promises simple connection to your wireless router and it also supports DLNA, for easy communication and file swapping with other DLNA-certified products. However, despite the inclusion of Wi-Fi the player does not support content streaming from your PC, for instance, which new players from Samsung and others do. Still, there’s always the price to look forward to as the BDP-S360 and the BDP-S560 are priced at $300 and $350 [US first], respectively, so will be in the £215-250 ballpark when they arrive this summer. Oh, what a difference a year makes.-Martin Lynch blu-ray movies sony

Eye-Fi has extended its range of wireless SD Cards by announcing some 4GB cards that will also let you automatically uploading videos to YouTube and Flickr. The two new cards double the capacity of existing cards and the addition of video uploading support will no doubt interest you avid video sharers. The cards, Eye-Fi Share Video and Eye-Fi Explore Video, work like Eye-Fi’s regular Wi-Fi SD storage cards by sending photos to your online site of choice and now video to sites like YouTube and Flickr. “The magic of Eye-Fi’s new cards is that they work with the camera you already own to capture photos - and now videos - and send them directly to the Web for sharing,” said Jef Holove, CEO for Eye-Fi. “Whether you’re spending time with your kids or chatting with a friend, your memories will upload in the background for instant sharing - all by simply turning on your camera.” The cards can upload photos and videos directly to one of more than 20 online photo sharing and social networking sites. The Eye-Fi Explore Video card also throws in some geotagging for your snaps and vids. “According to our research, nearly half of consumers reach for their digital camera to take video, instead of their other video capture devices, like phones or camcorders,” said Alan Bullock, research analyst with InfoTrends. “Solutions like Eye-Fi make it easy for consumers to use the digital camera they already own to shoot and share videos.” Available for pre-order here, the 4GB Eye-Fi Share Video costs $79 and the 4GB Eye-Fi Explore Video, $99. The company is also launching a new iPhone application that allows Eye-Fi users to store and share all their photos, from both an iPhone and a digital camera, into the same organised computer folder and to one of 25 online photo sharing Web sites.-Martin Lynch gadgets digital camera youtube video

Amazon is hoping to spread its Kindle software beyond its own Kindle ebook reader by announcing a version for the iPhone and iPod touch. The free application from the Apple App Store lets you “enjoy over 240,000 books, including 104 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers, on the iPhone and iPod touch using Apple’s Multi-Touch user interface”. Of course, it’s just the application that’s free as you will have to buy all those bestsellers and hope that reading them on a small screen won’t make you go blind. Most books are priced at around $10.For Kindle owners, including the new Kindle 2, who also happen to own an iPhone or touch there’s the added benefit of the WhisperSync technology, which saves and synchronises your bookmark across all the devices so you′ll always pick up where you left off. Slushy marketing quote coming up. “We are excited to bring the new Kindle application to Apple’s App Store and think customers are going to love how easy and fun it is to read their Kindle books on the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Ian Freed, vice president, Amazon Kindle. “Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch is a great way for customers to catch up on their current book wherever they are, like in line at the grocery store or between meetings.” We’re not convinced about the relaxing value of being able to read in supermarket queues but having access to such a large collection of e-books via Amazon online on your iPhone/touch could be a winner for consumers and Amazon. Still we haven’t been able to find it on the App Store this morning which leads us to think that Amazon might be making this a US-only app, just like its reader. And there’s no date on when Kindle will ever be released in Europe.-Martin Lynch gadgets books ebooks amazon

Apple has refreshed its desktop offerings with a new, bigger 24in iMac all-in-one computer and a smaller and greener Mac mini. The 24in iMac joins the original 20in model, but at the same price tag £1,499. Still not very wallet-friendly though. It does, however, boast twice the memory and storage at 4GB and 640GB, respectively. Under the hood are Intel chips ranging from 2.66GHz to 3.06GHz and a variety of integrated or dedicated nVidia graphics solutions. The 20in iMac has a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory, a 320GB Serial ATA hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics. The 20in costs £1,199 and there are two 24in models costing £1,499 and £1,799.Each iMac sports the iSight video camera, mic and speakers, alongside a Mini DisplayPort connector with adapters for DisplayPort, VGA, DVI and Dual-Link DVI displays. The new Mac mini measures in at 6.5 x 6.5 x 2in and is powered by a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and a HDD up to 320GB. Apple’s claiming a 5-fold boost in performance with the GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and says it’s the greenest Mac mini to date, using less than 13W of power when idle. Apple claims that’s 10 times less than a ‘typical desktop′, which can also be translated as ‘will be crap for games’ but, you will be saving the planet 1W at a time. There are two versions priced at £499 and £649. [Apple] apple pc

It’s ‘Stats-Time’ people so get some salt ready, just in case. According to the latest sales figures collated by online site reevoo.com, UK shoppers largely ignored Blu-ray machines over the Christmas period in favour of DVD players and HD downloads. Despite falling Blu-ray player prices [some as low as £100], demand for DVD players outstripped Blu-ray demand by more than 10:1. The company added that consumers were also more keen on traditional hard disk drive recorders/PVRs and downloading HD content off the Net, from the likes of Apple iTunes. That said, HD download services are hardly that common in the UK yet. “We think this could be partly a convenience choice,” said Samuel Bostock, Home Entertainment Manager at Reevoo.com. “The death of the VCR and the cassette saw the end of the chore of rewinding tapes. The convenience of downloads and wider availability of flexible digital content, suggests impatience with the eject button which may be partly why Blu-Ray isn’t capturing the imagination.” “When DVD came in, you could almost see the video shelving shrink before your eyes in Blockbuster and HMV. The same hasn’t happened with Blu-Ray.”According to Reevoo, its figure indicated three barriers to Blu-ray uptake, starting with cheaper DVD players that can upscale DVDs to near-HD quality. This is followed by higher Blu-ray player and movie pricing. The average cost of a Blu-ray player was found to be £239 versus £53 for DVD players while Blu-ray discs came in at £16-18 versus £10-12 for a DVD. Lastly, Reevoo thinks HD downloads are stopping consumers opting for Blu-ray, saying that over Christmas twice as many HDD recorders/PVRs sold than Blu-ray players. What’s your take?-Martin Lynch [Reevoo] blu-ray movies

Telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today announced that it will remove regulatory barriers to speed up BT’s rollout of superfast broadband across the UK. The regulator said that it will not present any ‘regulatory barriers’ that might slow down the numerous projects designed to boost current broadband speeds by up to 10 times. This clears the way for BT’s planned £1.5bn investment in upgrading street cabinets with fibre optic cable that will enable surfing speeds of 40-60Mbps to around 20 million homes. Virgin Media already offers 50Mbps Net access to those using its cable service. In a statement, BT chief executive, Ian Livingston said: “Today’s announcement gives us the green light to push ahead with our £1.5 billion superfast broadband investment plans to reach at least 40% of UK households by 2012.” Speaking for Ofcom, chief executive Ed Richards explained: ‘Super-fast broadband represents one of the most important developments in modern communications for many decades. ‘It will deliver significant benefits to consumers and businesses with the prospect of new digital services delivered over the internet at high speed. ‘Our message today is clear: there are no regulatory barriers in the way of investment in super-fast broadband; we want to promote investment but also ensure that there is fair and effective competition for the future.’ Ofcom’s decision to be more hands-off, means that BT will be able to price its leasing of the new high-speed networks to other ISPs at ‘fair market prices’. Until now, this was a concern that stopped BT from committing to the expensive fibre upgrade. Let’s hope that ‘fair market prices’ doesn’t make superfast broadband too expensive for the rest of us.-Martin Lynch broadband internet

We′re not sure what your night-time fantasies run to but, if it’s getting laughed at in the street, then you just have to get yourself one of these: the Batman Full Image Zip Up Hoodie. This is certainly the Most-Batman hoodie of all Batman hoodies and comes complete with drawn-on muscles so you can cut down on all that essential training, and a utility belt so you can pretend that you have some smoke bombs and grapple devices on you. But, you say, what good is a hoodie that when zipped all the way up you can’t even see the chavs you′re chasing? Good point but….TA-DA! The hood has a pair of cleverly disguised mesh eyeholes so that you can retain you vigilante identity and, not trip over things. Should go well with your new Bat-Cuffs. Ridiculous, but if you have to have one go here. They cost around £55. And no, people will not believe they are your real muscles.-Martin Lynch [Craziest Gadgets] fashion batman movies

As PMA 2009 cranks up, Sony has rolled out its DSC-HX1 20x Superzoom digital camera, which it claims is the first “digital still camera to feature sweep panorama technology.” What that means is that avid landscape snappers can make use of the camera’s ability to shoot ultra-wide shots up to 224-degree horizontal or 154-degree vertical. This is made possible by the use of 9.1MP CMOS sensor [like those on digital SLR cameras] and a faster mechanical shutter which allows the HX1 burst speeds of 10 frames per second at full 9.1MP resolution. Just set the camera to ultra wide, press the button and sweep it across your desired subject and the BIONZ imaging processor will automatically stitch the pictures together to create one panoramic photo. Neat trick. The maximum resolution is 7152 x 1080 (ultra wide horizontal).Other notable features on the HX1 are its 20x optical zoom while the new CMOS sensor promises to take clearer images with about “50% less noise” than traditional sensors when in handheld twilight or anti-blur modes. The HX1 is first Cyber-shot camera to include a Sony G lens and 1080p HD movie recording. Movies are captured at 30 frames per second (1440 x 1080) in the MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format. There is a supplied HDMI accessory [but not HDMI cable] for watching video on your HDTV. The HX1 is coming out next month and UK prices have yet to be released but, it will cost around £355 in the US.-Martin Lynch camera photos

It’s taken longer than a Keith Moon drum solo but UK pricing and release dates for Rock Band 2 on the Wii, PS3 and PS2 have finally been confirmed. Developer, Harmonix, has announced that the much-delayed sequel to Rock Band will arrive for the PS3 and PS2 on March 23rd, while prospective Wii rock gods will have to twiddle their thumbs and air guitar for that bit longer until April 20. The game will be priced at £50 for the Playstation 3, £30 for the PS2 and £40 for the Nintendo Wii. Xbox 360 gamers have been rocking out with the game for some time.For Rock Band virgins, Harmonix has also announced some new pricing for the tools you’ll need to rock out in your living room. • Stand alone guitars will retail at £39.99 • Stand alone drums will retail for £49.99 • An “Instrument Edition” including drums, guitar and microphone will retail for £89.99. In addition to the new price points, consumers will now also be able to purchase the Rock Band Instrument Edition and Rock Band software together for £119.99 for the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 and for £109.99 for the PlayStation 2 and Wii. Rock Band 2 will allow gamers to export ‘most of the songs from the original Rock Band disc’ as well as add-on editions, export your avatar onto the Internet and waste your parents’ hard-earned cash by being able to buy lots of other tunes from the Rock Band online music store [which has flogged over 36 million already].-Martin Lynch rock band games consoles