Hewlett-Packard. In a surprise move, HP announced just two days ago that it will cease all operations related to its webOS products, including the TouchPad tablet and Pre 3 phone, and will likely also sell its PC manufacturing business (see story). Large stocks of unsold TouchPads have been discounted to $99 (16GB model) and $149 (32GB model). While this seems an extremely aggressive move, it’s not unlike the approach IBM took a few years ago to concentrate on enterprise services.
Micro Four Thirds. There’s a lot of action in the m4/3 realm with Sony about to announce an upgraded NEX-7, Nikon to enter the mirrorless category for the first time, Zeiss to showcase their 24mm f/2.8 Sonnar for Sony E-mount, and Panasonic about to bring out a pro lens series called “Lumix X.”
Big Hard Drives. Are you running out of space on a 2TB or smaller HDD? Units with 3TB of capacity have been available for some time in both internal and external configurations. While these are certainly attractive, one needs to be aware they may not work properly with older systems. Peter Krogh has some good information on his blog that lays out the options pretty well. Get smart before taking the plunge to avoid headaches.
Digital Binoculars. Here’s something different…electronic binoculars from Sony that provide video recording, zoom, autofocus, and image stabilization. They’re going to be big, heavy, and expensive, but will open up some new possibilities.