latest
Technics may not have the same name recognition as the Sonys and Boses of the earbud market, BUT it’s a name that’s adorned many an entertainment center or Hi-Fi rack since it launched in 1965. While it hasn’t stopped making the premium turntables that made it a Hi-Fi mainstay, Technics has also brought some of that premium quality and audiophile heritage to its flagship AZ80 earbuds. That pedigree doesn’t come cheaply at $300, but every bit of the quality you’d expect from an audiophile-first company is there to justify that price. Even if it doesn’t top our list, the AZ80s are a contender for the best earbuds money can buy.
Panasonic built a 7" Android tablet that's basically made for me
As someone who breaks a lot of tech, this Toughbook is an appealing (if hyperexpensive) tablet
When Panasonic offered us a review unit of the new Toughbook S1 Android tablet, I was immediately interested. Not because I'm working in the IT department of a company with a massive warehouse or in the military watching drone footage, but because the Toughbook line is known for being, well, very tough. From Windows laptops to Android products, Toughbooks are designed to last in the harshest environments with high military durability ratings. As someone who has a tendency to break a lot of things, this device was instantly appealing to me.
This new 7" modular Android tablet costs $2,500 (yes, you read that right)
You won't be seeing this tablet in your local Best Buy
While Panasonic hasn't been huge in the consumer space for a few years, it has been growing its presence in the enterprise space. One of the more popular lines in its enterprise brand is the Toughbook, a series of devices designed around being incredibly durable. These extend from Windows laptops to Android phones and tablets. Today, Panasonic announced the newest addition to this series, the Toughbook S1, a 7-inch Android tablet.
Read update
Smart home security cameras are great, but having a home full of surveillance gear starts looking creepy, fast. Panasonic has come up with a new idea to help hide cameras in plain sight, as it opens crowdfunding for the HomeHawk Floor: Camera and Ambient Light. This two-in-one camera and light debuted at CES 2019 and is now available for early adopters through Indiegogo until February 22.Panasonic's HomeHawk Floor aims to change the way you think of cameras in your home. Instead of a heavy, clunky piece of tech that has to be attached to a wall or surface, you get a sleek, free-standing lamp that does the job.
To get started with the HomeHawk Floor all you need to do is plug it in; no wires or account sign-ins are necessary. The lamp features a 90-minute battery backup in case your house loses power, full-color night mode, 1080p HD recording, and a 140-degree wide angle lens to capture everything going on in the room where the camera is set up. It even pairs with major voice assistants and lets you easily turn the camera on and off when you need some privacy.The Indiegogo campaign will run for a month, and then the first deliveries of this lamp are expected to begin arriving in mid-May. If you adopt early you can snag HomeHawk Floor for $185, and when it officially launches Panasonic is putting a $279 price tag on it.Source: Indiegogo
When it comes to true wireless earbuds, there's a bunch of brands and products to choose from. With the recent release of the Sony WF-1000XM3 and AirPods Pro, most high-end ones are starting to offer active noise cancellation, a technology that used to be exclusive to headphones. In this context, it makes sense for Panasonic to want to rival its compatriot, which it's trying to achieve with the announcement of three true wireless earbuds.
Last year's Consumer Electronics Show brought some of the first third-party devices with Google Assistant — Google's virtual helper had only been released a few months prior. This year, we saw a wide variety of devices running Assisant. Beyond the usual mix of smart lights and speakers, there are mirrors, electric car chargers, water systems, and even Insant Pots with Assistant.For your reading enjoyment, this is every product announced at CES 2019 with Google Assistant (or Google Assistant integration), in no particular order.
Just look at it. Do you see those artful lines? Those graceful curves? This, my friends, is what you get when you don't set out to create just another boring-old utilitarian enterprise tablet for soulless purchasing departments — this is what happens when you put design on a pedestal and refuse to settle for less. Meet the Panasonic Toughbook FZ-L1.
Panasonic's Toughbook line has been around for a while, offering rugged devices for those workers who need them. They're not cheap, and neither is its latest Toughbook product: the FZ-T1. Like most of these devices, this ~$1500 handheld has some downright mediocre specs for the price, but at least it has Android 8.1 Oreo.
Read update
- Sony has just announced its new LF-S50G, another wireless speaker with the Google Assistant.
When the Google Assitant SDK was announced back in April, we knew it would only be a matter of time before we saw third party speakers with the Assistant built in. Google has announced the first three of those speakers at IFA 2017 in Berlin, and we can expect to learn more about them over the next few days.
Panasonic is still at it making tablets, adding another entry into its Toughbook line. Simply named the Toughpad FZ-A2, this rugged Android tablet packs in a lot of stuff for indoor or outdoor working professionals. Starting MSRP is $2,189 and it also comes installed with Marshmallow and Android at Work — because devices launching in 2017 with Android 6.0 is still a thing.
Over the years, we've seen many companies release Android-based cameras or camera-like phones. Panasonic's Lumix CM1 was part of the latter category and the newly announced CM10 is its twin, except it doesn't place calls. That's almost all the difference there is between these two models.
Panasonic is one of the world's largest TV manufacturers. The company also makes other gadgets, including smartphones, though no one would blame you if you haven't heard of any of its handsets. I mean, how many people ran out to buy this cordless phone? And who had the money to spend on a LUMIX CM1?
The Panasonic LUMIX CM1 is a strange beast: it's an Android phone with a huge focus on photography, a la the Galaxy S4 Zoom. But unlike that rather mid-range device (both in terms of Android hardware and photography prowess), the CM1 features a massive 1-inch, 20-megapixel camera sensor with a Leica 28mm F/2.8 lens and... dramatic pause... a manual focus ring. When it was announced at the Photokina trade show last year, Panasonic made it very clear that the LUMIX Smart Camera DSC-CM1 was only for the European market.
Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Zoom phones haven't exactly been a runaway hit. Maybe it's because no one really wants a massive camera strapped to the back of their phone, or maybe it's because they're lumpy and expensive. Whatever the case might be, Panasonic is throwing its hat into the super powerful phone-camera with the LUMIX Smart Camera DSC-CM1, a gorgeous little point and shoot that hides a full Android phone (including calls and data) on its back end.
Panasonic's KX-PRX120, besides having a sexy name, is quite the handset. It runs Ice Cream Sandwich, has access to the Play Store, and sports a 3.5 inch touch-screen that would not look out on place on display next to any other budget smartphone. The thing is, buyers won't want to tote it around town. This digital cordless phone is too timid for that lifestyle and works best within the confines of its own home.
In case there was any doubt that 5 inches is the new standard for Android superphones, Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has removed all of it with a new hardware series. Right at the top of the list is a new device from Panasonic in their relatively young Eluga family, this one christened the ELUGA X P-O2E. The 5-inch LCD screen is naturally 1080p, and hides a 1.5Ghz quad-core Snapdragon Pro processor, and a 13.2 megapixel camera. Colors are a flat black and a more interesting teal, as seen below.
Taking a new approach to firmware upgrades, Panasonic has decided to update its Eluga handset to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich via a downloadable Play Store app appropriately named 'ELUGA ICS Update.'
When Panasonic announced the original ELUGA for the European smartphone market, we were a little underwhelmed. Today the ELUGA gets a new, awkwardly-capitalized older brother, the ELUGA power. True to its name, the device is considerably more powerful than its predecessor. Which is good, because this series needs all the help it can get.
Panasonic's new smartphone, the Eluga (like the whale, minus the B), is actually a pretty decent looking device. On paper, and in person. Its dual-core TI OMAP4430 processor is a proven piece of kit in phones like the DROID RAZR, and it's 4.3" qHD display isn't bad looking at all. With 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, it actually sounds like it might even be good. Yeah, the thing is, it's not. At all. Just watch the hands-on video, and you'll see why:
Panasonic Set To Enter European Smartphone Market With The Eluga, A qHD Phone Packing NFC
Panasonic Set To Enter European Smartphone Market With The Eluga
Until today, Panasonic had been keeping their high end Android phones to themselves in the Japanese market. That's about to change with the advent of the Eluga. Panasonic announced the new device today in Hamburg for release some time in March. We're promised that the phone will be waterproof and dustproof, which is great for all those times that you have your phone out in a dusty rain storm.