The white Samsung NX300. Photo: Alvin Chong

Dressed in what Samsung Product Planner Nam Nyun-Woo dubbed a new “retro modern style”, the NX300 features a leather-esque texture that covers most of the camera body – an improvement over the NX210. While I do wish it was real leather, the brushed metal and faux-leather look does a good enough job of making it feel classier.
Samsung calls the new NX300 sensor the “best in class”, justifying that it cannot be compared to other more expensive cameras with larger sensors such as  Sony’s NEX-7.
But the true revolution in Samsung’s new optical releases lies in the 45mm f1.8 lens, that looks like any normal lens – except it has a 2D to 3D switch on the side.

The 2D to 3D switch on a black Samsung NX300. Photo: Alvin Chong

When 3D is triggered – while the camera is on – a pair of liquid crystal module filters that are differently polarised move within the lens to move over the sensor (see photos below).  That worked pretty effortlessly, and it’ll be nice to see it introduced in other lenses – Mr Nam did say that there are plans for other lenses, but could not offer any details.

Before and after:

Another flick of the switch will stow the filters.

Samsung’s confident that the NX300 will appeal to serious photographers and enthusiasts, and a copy of photo management and editing software Adobe Lightroom will be given with each purchase of the NX300.

The NX300 and the 45mm lens will launch by end March, and the prices for both products have not been revealed. The camera and lens is said to cost US$749 (S$919) and US$499 respectively in the United States, however Samsung has not confirmed this.

The Samsung S9, a 85" UHD TV.

Sony's new 55" and 65" UHD TVs.

Sony took the opportunity to launch its latest smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z, both at CES and here in Singapore.

Mr Phil Molyneux, President and COO, Sony Electronics shows off the Sony Xperia Z.

The new Sony Xperia Z compared with the iPhone 5.

At CES, Sony also introduced a prototype television that is the largest in the world: A 56-inch 4K (ultra HD) OLED TV.

“We’ve succeeded in bringing together the best technologies that only Sony can offer in the areas of both 4K and OLED to deliver an exciting new breakthrough,” said Sony President and CEO Kazuo Hirai. “It combines the world’s largest OLED display and 4k resolution, unprecendented levels of brightness and contrast and response times that only 4K and OLED tech can bring.”

The onstage demonstration unit failed to work during the press conference, but will be available on the show floor during the convention.

Sony President and CEO Kazuo Hirai introduces the world's largest 4K OLED screen at 56 inches.

Stay tuned for more updates!

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 but were just holding out for some blazing fast LTE speeds, your wait is over: Samsung has announced at the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE will be released tomorrow.

The tablet will be available at S$998 without contract, and will come with everything the non-LTE version of the tablet came with, such as the 10.1 inch WXGA TFT screen, a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, 5mp auto-focus camera and runs on Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean). For a closer look at the tablet, check out our video review below:

Sony’s Xperia Tablet S will go on sale in Singapore tomorrow, the Japanese tech giant has announced.

The 16GB device comes with a 9.4-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel screen, and will be powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor and Android’s 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. It will also have an 8-megapixel camera at the back one a 1-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Tablet S also has the same folded-book design as previous Sony tablets, making it stand out easily from the hordes of identical Android tablets already in the market.

It will also feature a downloadable Socialife application to help users manage social networking services and news feeds and DLNA capabilities which allow content on the tablet to be “thrown” onto compatible television sets.

The Xperia Tablet S will be available from tomorrow at all Sony stores and authorised outlets at S$749.

The Spuul Facebook app

What the Spuul Facebook app looks like while a movie is playing

Spuul users can also watch switch between devices while watching movies, allowing them to have as little interruption to their content consumption as possible as they move from their mobile to online.

“Facebook is a world in itself with users watching and sharing a great deal of video content. Over 70 per cent of our current users are keen Facebook users. This makes it a natural fit for us,” said Spuul co-founder S Mohan. “We wanted the viewing experience to be native to this environment. Thus, users can watch movies while continuing to connect with friends and sharing content.”

Do you use Spuul? What do you think?