Europeans will soon be seeing the first mobile phone that boasts of a 5-megapixel camera. With such high resolution camera, the LG KG920 appears to be more of a digital camera with phone functionalities, rather than a phone with a built-in camera. Either way, it works for us.

While we are in awe of the 5-megapixel camera, we're quite surprised by the lack of phone functionality based on the list of specs. The MP3 player and the MP3 ringtones may be exciting treats, if you don't already own an iPod. Other than that, everything else looks pretty standard - 8MB onboard memory, miniSD memory card expansion, and USB connectivity. Now we understand why initial impressions of the phone weren't really something to write home about.

On the upside, the phone has a QVGA high resolution display so you can zero-in on that target with ease. What's more, the phone is bundled with a 256MB memory card to supplement the 8MB onboard memory.

The LG KG920 is expected to hit Europe in August 2006. No word yet on pricing.

Ever since George de Mestral invented Velcro in 1948, the hook-and-loop fastening system has been in constant use. It's easy to use, it doesn't pose any danger to the user, it's relatively maintenance free, and best of all, it has a long lifespan. (I have some clothes and what-not that have Velcro patches which date back from the early 90s and they still have a lot of hooking power; I'm sure many of you folks do, too.) But such a very useful invention is easy to take for granted. Perhaps looking at Velcro in different light would make you appreciate it even more.

Trazy Anderson's amazing photo (taken with a Nikon SMZ1500 Stereomicroscope) of a Velcro patch at 94x magnification might just do the trick. If you remember in 'Men In Black', Velcro was supposedly alien technology confiscated by the MIB and adapted for use on Earth. Now I know where that idea came from.

Just so you know, this awesome photo placed in the top 30 at the Nikon Small World 2005.

Sydney Harbour is renowned not only for the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, but also for its panoramic night view. No wonder tons of photos and images of that particular area keep popping up on the net. Let's face it, though - not everyone is good at taking pictures. It's difficult to cram something so grand and majestic in one single shot. This is why Scott Howard put together 170 images taken with a Canon 10D and a Canon 100-400L lens. The result? An awesome 715 megapixel (40,000 x 18,000) photo of Sydney Harbor at night.

Most of the photos were taken using 400mm, with some "fill" shots (e.g. sky in the top left corner) taken at around 200mm. All photos are at ISO 200, 6 seconds, f/6.7 in manual mode. All the office buildings are taken at least 1200 meters (about 1300 yards) away from the camera. The Harbour Bridge shot was taken about half of that distance. When zoomed in, the image is made up of 14,729 .jpg files, each about 5 to 15kb in size. The original image is a 1.3GB Photoshop file.

Check out Scott Howard's photography site and play around with the picture. You can zoom in, zoom out, move it left, right, up, and down. It's fun and it's breathtaking.

Combine a visualist and a digital camera and you'd probably get loads of stop-motion videos. Jaymis from Create Digital Motion has come up with a functioning cable release that will sure come in handy for those who want to foray into the world of stop-motion video using their digital SLRs.

He admits that it's an "inelegant" setup, but nonetheless functional and produces reasonable results. All he needed was something that would allow variable-interval time lapse shooting, but not as costly as professional timer switch, or intervalometer. His prayer has been answered when he purchased a Countdown Timer project from Jaycar Electronics.

Check out the video and see how your DSLR cable release circuit will help with making your own stop-motion videos.

While some taxi drivers go for a smoke or grab a bite when business is slow, Phil Flash stays on the driver's seat. He's always on the lookout for interesting people, places and situations and wouldn't think twice of capturing them on his camera. He's been doing this for quite some time now and he has recently taken quite a lot of really nice pictures of the San Francisco scene. He even cornered Francis Ford Coppola reading a book outside his cafe in North Beach.

Here are some of the scenes as captured from the taxi driver's seat:

For more images captured from the driver's seat, just click 'Read' below.

When Sony installed Sony Access machines inside malls, I knew I'd be skeptical about it, probably because of my unpleasant experiences with vending machines. So my hat is off to Brian Crecente for having the guts to try one of these robotic stores that's stocked with all kinds of expensive Sony products - digital cameras, MP3 players, headphones, PSP core packs and a selection of PSP movies and games. Better keep those dimes and quarters.

The state-of-the-art machine has a flat screen television where you can watch Sony commercials and examine product details. Placing orders is a breeze with the touch screen feature. Paying for the product is just as easy with just one quick card swipe. Call me crazy, but that robot retrieval system is just amazing.

Okay, enough of the talk and watch Sony Access in action.



The Sony Access robotic store is quite impressive, but it doesn't come with Sony bags where you can plop your purchase in. So, until Sony adds that feature, you better keep your receipts. You'll never know when you'd need to show security your proof of purchase.

OmniVision Technologies is sure to get into the world-record books for creating the smallest camera chip. The OV6920 chip is the only 1/18-inch sensor available to date. The cost-efficient 2.1mm x 2.3 mm Lilliputian chip offers low-power operation for use in disposable cameras for medical applications, such as intubation and diagnostic systems. This makes medical procedures less invasive for patients.

The OV6920 only needs clock and power to get the NTSC composite signal out for direct interface with a VCR, TV, or monitor. It only requires a single 3.3-volt DC supply. Cameras equipped with this chip will play a vital role in the medical field. But with the chip's potentials, its application could go beyond the medical field. Really tiny spy cameras, anyone?

Acer is looking to gain momentum in the digital still camera market with the new 8-megapixel CP-8660. As Acer's flagship digital camera, the CP-8660 sports a 2.8" LCD screen and comes with a long-range precision lens with 6x optical and 8.5x digital zoom capability. It has 25MB of internal memory, which can be expanded to 1GB with an SD card. It also features video recording with voice to enable users to make their "voice-captions".

The CP-8660 has the distinction of being the first Acer camera to be equipped with Anti-shake DSP (Digital Signal Processor) technology, which helps get rid of image blur. Its electronic image stabilization feature helps achieve the sharpest image possible.

NASA has featured a breath-taking image of the Aleutian Islands and the Alaskan Peninsula taken by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite.

The Aleutian Islands are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 sq km) and extending about 1,200 mi (1,900 km) westward from the Alaska Peninsula toward the Kamchatka Peninsula. As nearly all the archipelago is part of Alaska, it's being considered as the "Alaskan Bush". At the extreme western end lies Komandorski Islands, a Russian territory.

MODIS captures data in 36 spectral bands ranging in wavelength from 0.4 µm to 14.4 µm and at varying spatial resolutions. The instrument is designed to provide measurements in large-scale global dynamics changes in Earth's cloud cover, radiation budget and processes occurring in the oceans, on land, and in the lower atmosphere.

If you're gearing up for your summer roadtrip, don't leave home without the Olympus μ720sw waterproof and shockproof digital camera. The 7-megapixel camera is only 0.78-inch thick but can withstand any form of abuse when you go frolicking in the water. You can drop it from 1.5m (5ft.) and it wouldn't budge. Submerge it in water from 3m (10ft.) and it will still work.

The 720sw features a bright wide-view 2.5-inch color LCD, making it easier to see your images clearly both when shooting and sharing photos with friends, without the need to download to a computer. It also features the Olympus-exclusive Bright Capture Technology, which provides improved shooting in low-light conditions - indoor, sunset, night time, and underwater. Aside from capturing crisp and high quality image, it comes with 28 shooting modes that offer maximum versatility for shooting in any situation. And with its QuickTime Movie Mode, recording VGA-quality videos with sound is a cinch. It's only limited by the size of the internal memory or xD-Picture Card in the camera.

The Olympus μ720sw comes in aqua blue, shiny silver and rose pink and is available for $449.