If you thought that shooters like Olympus’ E-P1 or Leica’s M8 had old school aesthetics, think again. The real old school — we’re talking 1839 here — was all about wooden boxes and brass lens protrusions, as you can see above. The double box design of the Daguerreotype lets you achieve focus by moving the smaller inner box away from the front-mounted 15-inch lens. Exposure times can take up to half an hour, though, so you might wanna budget for a sturdy tripod as well. Speaking of budget, if you know the meaning of the word you’re not probably not the target audience here, as a May auction in Vienna is set to start at €200,000 ($280,000), with predictions placing the final sale price closer to €700,000 ($980,000). Giroux Daguerreotype is world’s first mass-produced camera, about to become the most expensive one too originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:37:00 EST.

While Kodak’s new Zx1 might be a tad more exciting, Kodak is also keeping at the EasyShare thing with its new Z980 zoomer . We’ve gotten to spend some time with the camera, and while we appreciate the price, the size and the endless zoom, we’re overall none too impressed. Check out our full impressions after the break. Continue reading Kodak EasyShare Z980 unboxing and impressions Filed under: Digital Cameras Kodak EasyShare Z980 unboxing and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

We Americans have Fusion-io’s ioDrive and OCZ’s Z Drive to look forward to when it comes to slamming down a PCIe-based SSD solution in our lightning fast rigs, but what about the savvy Japanese? Enter PhotoFast, who has just revealed a luscious PCIe SSD of its own, ranging from 256GB to one whole terabyte in size. The unit includes a couple of SSDs hooked together in a RAID0 setup in order to provide up to 750MB/sec read rates and 700MB/sec write rates. As with most SSDs, this unit also boasts a 1.5 million hour MTBF and should work perfectly within Windows XP and Vista machines. Those in and around Osaka can expect these to land around mid-October for about the cost of a new TV — seriously. [Via Engadget Japanese ] Filed under: Storage PhotoFast intros 256GB to 1TB G-Monster PCIe SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:43:00 EST.

Sony’s mylo 2 — wait, you do remember what this thing is , right? — could be headed for the grave… as if it wasn’t already there in the minds of most. After Sony hacked a hundred bucks from the asking price during the run-up to Holiday Season 2008, we heard absolutely nothing further until now. Today, the very same order page shows that no new models are available to purchase, leaving prospective buyers with two clear-cut options: 1) walk away or 2) snag a refurb model in black or white for $149.99. So, is this the end for Sony’s own Internet Device

Look out, world — a relative no-name has just showed up with a new ultraportable , and it’s darn tough to not pay attention with a specs sheet like this. The Maingear mX-L arrives with a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display (1,280 x 800), a Core 2 Duo CPU, GMA X4500HD graphics, 8GB of DDR2 RAM, 160GB Intel X25-M SSD (or a 500GB HDD for those without the cheddar), a dual-layer Blu-ray reader, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, VGA output, three USB 2.0 sockets and a custom etched top that’s totally take-it-or-leave-it. The unit weighs in at 4.4 pounds and gets going at $1,099.99, but don’t expect that measly four-cell Li-ion to last you through a whole transcontinental flight. Gallery: Maingear unloads BD / SSD-equipped mX-L 13.3-inch laptop Filed under: Laptops Maingear unloads BD / SSD-equipped mX-L 13.3-inch laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:48:00 EST.

Kevin Rose has some Tesla Model S imagery up on his Flickr account, including the first unshrouded pictures of the car, along with a rather wild interior shot. The all-electric sedan is styled beautifully — if rather predictably — but things start to get weird on the inside. In what looks to be a concept car mockup of the interior, there appears to be a large touchscreen taking the place of the entire center console, wrapped irregularly by dashboard padding. The instruments panel also appears to be a screen, though it could just be a mockup at this stage. Concept cars typically have rather strange and unlikely interiors compared to their tame street-legal counterparts, but even so, if this indeed isn’t some sort of cruel Photoshop trickery, we’d say Tesla really outdid itself here.

Mark your calendars, BlackBerry fans: BusinessWeek says RIM’s going to launch the BlackBerry App World April 1 at CTIA. What’s more, the company is apparently planning on going after Apple by courting developers with higher profit margins and the relative sophistication of the average corporate BlackBerry user, which explains that minimum $2.99 paid app price we saw a few weeks ago. An interesting move to position the new service, but we’ll see if it takes hold with users — anyone ready to blow their budget on ‘berry software? [Via Boy Genius Report ] Filed under: Cellphones BlackBerry App World to launch April 1, says BusinessWeek originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

While videophiles might shudder to think it, Pure Digital’s crappy Flip, the little YouTubecam that could, has changed a lot about how a lot of folks approach video capture — $590 million worth of change, according to Cisco . Kodak jumped into the market last year with one of the earliest HD models, the $179 Zi6 . Now they’ve followed up with the Zx1 , a $149 “rugged” camera for, um, ruggedness. They’re aiming the camera at outdoor types, but with a smaller form factor, better build, lower price, HDMI output, and 60fps 720p recording (the original maxes out at 30fps 720p), about the only thing you’ll be missing from the Zi6 is a macro mode. So, specs aside, how does the Zx1 perform? Find out after the break.

Yeah, we’d seen those fine mechanical workings from the back , but Ulysse Nardin has just taken the wraps of its entire Chairman handset, which they bill as a “hybrid smart phone” — and actually seem to mean it. Ulysse Nardin surprisingly hasn’t skimped on specs here, with a 2.8-inch multitouch screen, finger print reader for phone unlock, 5 megapixel camera, WiFi and the inclusion of an email app and a browser. There’s also that fancy kinetic rotor system for passive charging of the phone, but no word on how much battery life that will actually get you. Ulysse Nardin is currently showing off the phone in Rose Gold, Rose Gold & Blue, Rose Gold & Steel, Stealth Black and Steel & Blue trims, so there should be plenty of options to set you apart from your other billionaire friends. The device is currently on display at BASELWORLD; no word on price, but if you have to ask… [Thanks, Stefan I.] Gallery: Ulysse Nardin Chairman “hybrid smart phone” unveiled Filed under: Cellphones Ulysse Nardin Chairman “hybrid smart phone” unveiled originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:42:00 EST

It’s okay to be honest with yourself — if you’ve been struggling to keep your personal goods on your person, and hiring a personal bodyguard is simply out of the question, you might need nio. What’s nio, you ask? Why, it’s a Bluetooth security tag that links up your mobile phone and practically anything else you’d like: a briefcase, a set of keys, a pack of Doritos, etc. Essentially, it gives you the ability to be buzzed if your tracked belongings hover too far out of range with your cellie, though the inability to remotely taser the thief is a definite shortcoming. Seems that you’ll have to be real serious about this to even inquire about a price, but a totally explanatory video is waiting just past the break