Light Start – Canon’s 250MP sensor, better Force for iPhones, Lenovo’s smartwatch, a 4K Blu-ray player and MK X
Brett Venter
How big is too big? Canon develops teeny little 250MP sensor
We’d think that they’re compensating for something but you don’t brag about how small you’ve managed to make your really, really huge thing – especially when you’re talking about camera sensors. But that’s what Canon have done, they’ve developed a 250MP sensor that fits into a space around 29.2 x 20mm in size. Which is quite the profile for something that can capture images with a 19,580 x 12,600 resolution. It’s capable of video capture of around 125 times that of HD, so screens that can view it don’t really exist yet. What would you need one for? You wouldn’t but Canon is looking at “specialized surveillance and crime prevention tools, ultra-high-resolution measuring instruments and other industrial equipment, and the field of visual expression” for their new toy.
It’s almost time for Apple to spoil our fun for the year. That means there’s time for a little more speculation, right? Doesn’t matter, we’re going to do it anyway. Apple is reportedly going to be including a more advanced version of Force Touch, which will be dubbed the “3D Touch Display”, in the iPhone 6S that everyone’s expecting to be announced this week. The difference? Apple’s Force Touch can detect two kinds of pressure, the 3D Touch Display will be able to detect a third sort. What does that mean? Improved navigation for one but we’re sure developers will manage to be quite creative with it.
Remember Lenovo’s Magic View smartwatch concept? That really, really odd device that requires you poke your eye against the side? That actually exists and people have started playing with it. And it also doesn’t really exist – it’s sort of a Schrodinger’s Watch in that it’s still a concept rather than a product. But based on initial impressions, it looks as though Lenovo’s concept could survive the process required to make it an in-store thing – even if it’s very experimental tech at the moment.
Will you buy one? Samsung reveals their first 4K Blu-ray player at IFA, coming 2016, costs around R7,000
Look, the guys and girls at Stuff wouldn’t buy a DVD or Blu-ray player. We probably wouldn’t even use on if it was given to us for free. But a 4K Blu-ray player, like the UBS-K8500 revealed by Samsung at IFA in Berlin last week… we’d have to think about that one. But that’s mostly because that’s one way to get 4K content onto a 4K TV without having to deal with upscaling or the need for the fattest internet pipe in Southern Africa. The player’s only arriving on the market in 2016 and it’ll cost about $500 (or R7,000) when it lands but that tells us something. Film studios are about to start releasing their movies in 4K. About bloody time, guys!
The folks at NetherRealm have been in the news lately. Mortal Kombat X, which was a solid outing for the venerable series (seriously, we need another ancient Shang Tsung guys), is no longer getting a last-gen console release but that does mean that there are resources on hand for something else. And that something will be at least four new playable characters that will kill or be killed. Oh, and new skins and a new arena, all of which will be appearing in the first half of 2016. What’s coming? Who knows, the teaser image isn’t very clear so we’re stuck with playing name that Pokemon. Er… fighter. Name that fighter. But an actual Pokemon would be fun too.
