Quick Review of Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

For those looking for a greater zoom range in their cameras, the PowerShot SX30 IS should be just the thing - this camera features a whopping 35x optical zoom range equivalent to a 24–840mm lens.

PowerShot SX30

Other notable features include a 14.1-megapixel sensor, ISO settings from 80 to 1,600, 720p HD movie recording with stereo sound and full manual control as well as a Smart Auto Mode.

Canon has also put in a so-called "Zoom Framing Assist" function into the camera, which allows the user to track subjects that move out of the frame by quickly zooming out to a wider view and then to quickly zoom back in once the subject is located.

The PowerShot SX30 IS has a recommended retail price of USD 595 ++

Quick Review of Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

For those looking for a greater zoom range in their cameras, the PowerShot SX30 IS should be just the thing - this camera features a whopping 35x optical zoom range equivalent to a 24–840mm lens.

PowerShot SX30

Other notable features include a 14.1-megapixel sensor, ISO settings from 80 to 1,600, 720p HD movie recording with stereo sound and full manual control as well as a Smart Auto Mode.

Canon has also put in a so-called "Zoom Framing Assist" function into the camera, which allows the user to track subjects that move out of the frame by quickly zooming out to a wider view and then to quickly zoom back in once the subject is located.

The PowerShot SX30 IS has a recommended retail price of USD 595 ++

Quick Review of Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

For those looking for a greater zoom range in their cameras, the PowerShot SX30 IS should be just the thing - this camera features a whopping 35x optical zoom range equivalent to a 24–840mm lens.

PowerShot SX30

Other notable features include a 14.1-megapixel sensor, ISO settings from 80 to 1,600, 720p HD movie recording with stereo sound and full manual control as well as a Smart Auto Mode.

Canon has also put in a so-called "Zoom Framing Assist" function into the camera, which allows the user to track subjects that move out of the frame by quickly zooming out to a wider view and then to quickly zoom back in once the subject is located.

The PowerShot SX30 IS has a recommended retail price of USD 595 ++

Nowadays, businesses must stay vigilent against cyberattacks

Companies must be ever watchful because cyberattacks could exploit their strategic information, in the perspective of markets security and compliance solutions. Nowadays, people are known as cybercriminals can use a wide range of methods - from wired to wireless - to launch their attacks against a company's IT infrastructure.

Businesses need to look at correlate ways to protect the various points of their IT infrastructure. Gone are the days when only perimeters such as a basic firewall and intrusion detection system could be deployed.

Companies could adopt any threat and risk management solution available in the market or engage with any security consultant. The expert judgment provides visibility into activities across a network; from external threats (malware and hackers) to internal threats (data breaches and fraud). This exercise will expose the types of risks associated with application flaws and configuration changes.

Security prevention exercise also helps companies to store and manage the massive volumes of data logs, to enable faster trouble-shooting or forensic analysis.

Nowadays, businesses must stay vigilent against cyberattacks

Companies must be ever watchful because cyberattacks could exploit their strategic information, in the perspective of markets security and compliance solutions. Nowadays, people are known as cybercriminals can use a wide range of methods - from wired to wireless - to launch their attacks against a company's IT infrastructure.

Businesses need to look at correlate ways to protect the various points of their IT infrastructure. Gone are the days when only perimeters such as a basic firewall and intrusion detection system could be deployed.

Companies could adopt any threat and risk management solution available in the market or engage with any security consultant. The expert judgment provides visibility into activities across a network; from external threats (malware and hackers) to internal threats (data breaches and fraud). This exercise will expose the types of risks associated with application flaws and configuration changes.

Security prevention exercise also helps companies to store and manage the massive volumes of data logs, to enable faster trouble-shooting or forensic analysis.

Nowadays, businesses must stay vigilent against cyberattacks

Companies must be ever watchful because cyberattacks could exploit their strategic information, in the perspective of markets security and compliance solutions. Nowadays, people are known as cybercriminals can use a wide range of methods - from wired to wireless - to launch their attacks against a company's IT infrastructure.

Businesses need to look at correlate ways to protect the various points of their IT infrastructure. Gone are the days when only perimeters such as a basic firewall and intrusion detection system could be deployed.

Companies could adopt any threat and risk management solution available in the market or engage with any security consultant. The expert judgment provides visibility into activities across a network; from external threats (malware and hackers) to internal threats (data breaches and fraud). This exercise will expose the types of risks associated with application flaws and configuration changes.

Security prevention exercise also helps companies to store and manage the massive volumes of data logs, to enable faster trouble-shooting or forensic analysis.

Airline planned for "fibre to the screen"

LIGHTER AND GREENER: Seatback entertainment could soon be powered by fibre optics.

A NEW in-flight entertainment system due to be rolled out by Flydubai this month could make watching movies in the sky easier and greener, if it proves successful.

The Dubai budget carrier is the launch customer for a new type of in-flight entertainment system from US company Lumexis, dubbed "fibre to the screen."

The premise of the system is that it uses fiber optics to take information to the seatback displays instead of copper wires, in much the same way that many home cable connections have superseded traditional copper telephone lines.

While using fibre optics in planes also offers faster connection speeds just like on the ground, it's another selling point that could make it big in aviation - it's much, much lighter.

Lumexis says that its system can weigh up to 50% less than traditional systems, thanks to lighter cabling and the removal of bulky switching and zone boxes under seats that can also get in the way of passengers.

This not only reduces the cost of an installation but also means less fuel burned, which helps carriers reduce emissions and keep ticket prices down.

As the system can carry more information, it could also mean more choice for customers, with Flydubai saying that its new in-flight entertainment will be an optional extra and that it plans "to offer functionality on our IFE system that other airlines traditionally don't have."

With the ever-more advanced market currently dominated by in-flight entertainment systems from companies such as Thales and Panasonic, other airlines are watching closely

Airline planned for "fibre to the screen"

LIGHTER AND GREENER: Seatback entertainment could soon be powered by fibre optics.

A NEW in-flight entertainment system due to be rolled out by Flydubai this month could make watching movies in the sky easier and greener, if it proves successful.

The Dubai budget carrier is the launch customer for a new type of in-flight entertainment system from US company Lumexis, dubbed "fibre to the screen."

The premise of the system is that it uses fiber optics to take information to the seatback displays instead of copper wires, in much the same way that many home cable connections have superseded traditional copper telephone lines.

While using fibre optics in planes also offers faster connection speeds just like on the ground, it's another selling point that could make it big in aviation - it's much, much lighter.

Lumexis says that its system can weigh up to 50% less than traditional systems, thanks to lighter cabling and the removal of bulky switching and zone boxes under seats that can also get in the way of passengers.

This not only reduces the cost of an installation but also means less fuel burned, which helps carriers reduce emissions and keep ticket prices down.

As the system can carry more information, it could also mean more choice for customers, with Flydubai saying that its new in-flight entertainment will be an optional extra and that it plans "to offer functionality on our IFE system that other airlines traditionally don't have."

With the ever-more advanced market currently dominated by in-flight entertainment systems from companies such as Thales and Panasonic, other airlines are watching closely

Airline planned for "fibre to the screen"

LIGHTER AND GREENER: Seatback entertainment could soon be powered by fibre optics.

A NEW in-flight entertainment system due to be rolled out by Flydubai this month could make watching movies in the sky easier and greener, if it proves successful.

The Dubai budget carrier is the launch customer for a new type of in-flight entertainment system from US company Lumexis, dubbed "fibre to the screen."

The premise of the system is that it uses fiber optics to take information to the seatback displays instead of copper wires, in much the same way that many home cable connections have superseded traditional copper telephone lines.

While using fibre optics in planes also offers faster connection speeds just like on the ground, it's another selling point that could make it big in aviation - it's much, much lighter.

Lumexis says that its system can weigh up to 50% less than traditional systems, thanks to lighter cabling and the removal of bulky switching and zone boxes under seats that can also get in the way of passengers.

This not only reduces the cost of an installation but also means less fuel burned, which helps carriers reduce emissions and keep ticket prices down.

As the system can carry more information, it could also mean more choice for customers, with Flydubai saying that its new in-flight entertainment will be an optional extra and that it plans "to offer functionality on our IFE system that other airlines traditionally don't have."

With the ever-more advanced market currently dominated by in-flight entertainment systems from companies such as Thales and Panasonic, other airlines are watching closely

Microsoft hypes smartphone, browser

ENTHUSIASTIC: Ballmer addressing a sold-out crowd of developers at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC10) in Redmond, Washington. - Microsoft

REDMOND (Washington): Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer pumped up unique features in the company's new web browser and smartphone software at a software developer conference.

The event was the company's annual pep rally for people who will build programs for the Web, Windows computers and phones.

Ballmer is known for his onstage enthusiasm. This year, he joked with the crowd that he wouldn't repeat the memorable "developer prance" of years past, when he loped around hollering, "Developers! Developers!"

Dean Hachamovitch, a top executive in Microsoft's Internet Explorer division, showed off how developers can program websites to take advantage of new features.

Internet Explorer 9, which is in beta test form, uses more of a PC's hardware to make pages load and run faster. A new version of the underlying code has been released for developers.

IE9, which is only available for computers running Windows Vista and Windows 7, lets computer users "pin" websites to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, creating a permanent shortcut that makes the site feel more like a desktop program.

Microsoft also unveiled some new apps - add-on programs that can be downloaded - for Windows Phone 7, its new smartphone software.

One was a version of Amazon.com Inc's Kindle e-book reader software. Microsoft's app marketplace now has 1,000 approved programs and games; the first Windows Phone 7 devices go on sale in the United States in early November.

Most of the keynote presentations centered on what software programmers can build with Microsoft's tools.

Microsoft is far behind Apple Inc with its iPhone and Google Inc with its Android smartphone software; tens of thousands of apps are already available for those phones and have been critical to their success.

But one of Microsoft's greatest strengths is its relationship with developers. The company's tools, which it is updating, will be familiar for developers who already make programs for Windows PCs, and Microsoft is hoping that will encourage them to build apps even though the popularity of the phone is unproven.

"We need your best work," Ballmer said to developers. "Make no mistake about it, when it comes to Windows Phone, we're all in."

Ballmer said Microsoft will give all developers who attend the conference at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters a Windows Phone 7 smartphone - more than a week before it goes on sale.

Microsoft also updated developers on its Azure system, which it describes as an operating system for "the cloud" - in other words, technology that allows programs to run not on a single computer or server, but across thousands of machines in datacentres scattered around the world.

Walt Disney Co's Pixar Animation Studios demonstrated a real-world example of how Azure works. The maker of the Toy Story movies is also responsible for the visual-effects rendering software used by many other movie studios.

Rendering effects is computing-power intensive, and in the past it required studios to invest in massive datacentres to crunch files.

Pixar built a version of the rendering software so it runs on Azure. It lets movie studios upload their raw files to the cloud.

The studio can decide how fast it wants the computing done, and the service ramps up the right number of machines to complete the work. The studio pays based on how much computing resources it uses, but doesn't have to buy a huge server farm. - AP

Microsoft hypes smartphone, browser

ENTHUSIASTIC: Ballmer addressing a sold-out crowd of developers at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC10) in Redmond, Washington. - Microsoft

REDMOND (Washington): Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer pumped up unique features in the company's new web browser and smartphone software at a software developer conference.

The event was the company's annual pep rally for people who will build programs for the Web, Windows computers and phones.

Ballmer is known for his onstage enthusiasm. This year, he joked with the crowd that he wouldn't repeat the memorable "developer prance" of years past, when he loped around hollering, "Developers! Developers!"

Dean Hachamovitch, a top executive in Microsoft's Internet Explorer division, showed off how developers can program websites to take advantage of new features.

Internet Explorer 9, which is in beta test form, uses more of a PC's hardware to make pages load and run faster. A new version of the underlying code has been released for developers.

IE9, which is only available for computers running Windows Vista and Windows 7, lets computer users "pin" websites to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, creating a permanent shortcut that makes the site feel more like a desktop program.

Microsoft also unveiled some new apps - add-on programs that can be downloaded - for Windows Phone 7, its new smartphone software.

One was a version of Amazon.com Inc's Kindle e-book reader software. Microsoft's app marketplace now has 1,000 approved programs and games; the first Windows Phone 7 devices go on sale in the United States in early November.

Most of the keynote presentations centered on what software programmers can build with Microsoft's tools.

Microsoft is far behind Apple Inc with its iPhone and Google Inc with its Android smartphone software; tens of thousands of apps are already available for those phones and have been critical to their success.

But one of Microsoft's greatest strengths is its relationship with developers. The company's tools, which it is updating, will be familiar for developers who already make programs for Windows PCs, and Microsoft is hoping that will encourage them to build apps even though the popularity of the phone is unproven.

"We need your best work," Ballmer said to developers. "Make no mistake about it, when it comes to Windows Phone, we're all in."

Ballmer said Microsoft will give all developers who attend the conference at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters a Windows Phone 7 smartphone - more than a week before it goes on sale.

Microsoft also updated developers on its Azure system, which it describes as an operating system for "the cloud" - in other words, technology that allows programs to run not on a single computer or server, but across thousands of machines in datacentres scattered around the world.

Walt Disney Co's Pixar Animation Studios demonstrated a real-world example of how Azure works. The maker of the Toy Story movies is also responsible for the visual-effects rendering software used by many other movie studios.

Rendering effects is computing-power intensive, and in the past it required studios to invest in massive datacentres to crunch files.

Pixar built a version of the rendering software so it runs on Azure. It lets movie studios upload their raw files to the cloud.

The studio can decide how fast it wants the computing done, and the service ramps up the right number of machines to complete the work. The studio pays based on how much computing resources it uses, but doesn't have to buy a huge server farm. - AP

Microsoft hypes smartphone, browser

ENTHUSIASTIC: Ballmer addressing a sold-out crowd of developers at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC10) in Redmond, Washington. - Microsoft

REDMOND (Washington): Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer pumped up unique features in the company's new web browser and smartphone software at a software developer conference.

The event was the company's annual pep rally for people who will build programs for the Web, Windows computers and phones.

Ballmer is known for his onstage enthusiasm. This year, he joked with the crowd that he wouldn't repeat the memorable "developer prance" of years past, when he loped around hollering, "Developers! Developers!"

Dean Hachamovitch, a top executive in Microsoft's Internet Explorer division, showed off how developers can program websites to take advantage of new features.

Internet Explorer 9, which is in beta test form, uses more of a PC's hardware to make pages load and run faster. A new version of the underlying code has been released for developers.

IE9, which is only available for computers running Windows Vista and Windows 7, lets computer users "pin" websites to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, creating a permanent shortcut that makes the site feel more like a desktop program.

Microsoft also unveiled some new apps - add-on programs that can be downloaded - for Windows Phone 7, its new smartphone software.

One was a version of Amazon.com Inc's Kindle e-book reader software. Microsoft's app marketplace now has 1,000 approved programs and games; the first Windows Phone 7 devices go on sale in the United States in early November.

Most of the keynote presentations centered on what software programmers can build with Microsoft's tools.

Microsoft is far behind Apple Inc with its iPhone and Google Inc with its Android smartphone software; tens of thousands of apps are already available for those phones and have been critical to their success.

But one of Microsoft's greatest strengths is its relationship with developers. The company's tools, which it is updating, will be familiar for developers who already make programs for Windows PCs, and Microsoft is hoping that will encourage them to build apps even though the popularity of the phone is unproven.

"We need your best work," Ballmer said to developers. "Make no mistake about it, when it comes to Windows Phone, we're all in."

Ballmer said Microsoft will give all developers who attend the conference at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters a Windows Phone 7 smartphone - more than a week before it goes on sale.

Microsoft also updated developers on its Azure system, which it describes as an operating system for "the cloud" - in other words, technology that allows programs to run not on a single computer or server, but across thousands of machines in datacentres scattered around the world.

Walt Disney Co's Pixar Animation Studios demonstrated a real-world example of how Azure works. The maker of the Toy Story movies is also responsible for the visual-effects rendering software used by many other movie studios.

Rendering effects is computing-power intensive, and in the past it required studios to invest in massive datacentres to crunch files.

Pixar built a version of the rendering software so it runs on Azure. It lets movie studios upload their raw files to the cloud.

The studio can decide how fast it wants the computing done, and the service ramps up the right number of machines to complete the work. The studio pays based on how much computing resources it uses, but doesn't have to buy a huge server farm. - AP

Mac Trojan Horse Boonana/Koobface - Reviewed

A trojan horse has been discovered that affects Mac OS X users, dubbed “trojan.osx.boonana.a” or ‘Koobface.’ An infected machine will hijack users social network accounts and attempt to spread the trojan further by sending out spam messages from your username.

Thus far the trojan has been spread through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and eMail. Here is the method of operation:

The trojan behaves like a worm, by trying to bait users on various social networks to click a link. The link asks “Is this you in this video?” and, if clicked, will send a user to another website which attempts to load a Java applet, giving the user a standard Mac OS X Java Security Alert and certificate request.

If the Java applet is allowed to load, it will download files to your local machine and then start a background process which attempts to propagate the trojan. You can simply click on “Deny” to prevent any further trouble, which prevents the malicious code from loading.

Intego explains the trojan as follows:

This threat is a Mac OS X version of the Koobface worm, which is served as part of a multi-platform attack via a malicious Java applet. The malware itself is made up of a number of elements, though in order to simplify, we will use the term “Trojan horse” to describe it. (Technically, it propagates as a worm, is installed via a Trojan Horse, and installs a rootkit, backdoor, command and control, and other elements.)

The trojan also effects Windows users. The easiest way for Mac and Windows users to protect themselves from the trojan is to avoid clicking dubious links from untrusted sources and to deny sketchy Java applets. Another option is to disable Java in your web browser.

If you are concerned that you have been affected by the Koobface trojan, you can get a free removal tool through SecureMac, who rates the risk as “Critical.” Currently the download link sends you to MacScan, but this is expected to change when the removal tool is released.

Mac Trojan Horse Boonana/Koobface - Reviewed

A trojan horse has been discovered that affects Mac OS X users, dubbed “trojan.osx.boonana.a” or ‘Koobface.’ An infected machine will hijack users social network accounts and attempt to spread the trojan further by sending out spam messages from your username.

Thus far the trojan has been spread through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and eMail. Here is the method of operation:

The trojan behaves like a worm, by trying to bait users on various social networks to click a link. The link asks “Is this you in this video?” and, if clicked, will send a user to another website which attempts to load a Java applet, giving the user a standard Mac OS X Java Security Alert and certificate request.

If the Java applet is allowed to load, it will download files to your local machine and then start a background process which attempts to propagate the trojan. You can simply click on “Deny” to prevent any further trouble, which prevents the malicious code from loading.

Intego explains the trojan as follows:

This threat is a Mac OS X version of the Koobface worm, which is served as part of a multi-platform attack via a malicious Java applet. The malware itself is made up of a number of elements, though in order to simplify, we will use the term “Trojan horse” to describe it. (Technically, it propagates as a worm, is installed via a Trojan Horse, and installs a rootkit, backdoor, command and control, and other elements.)

The trojan also effects Windows users. The easiest way for Mac and Windows users to protect themselves from the trojan is to avoid clicking dubious links from untrusted sources and to deny sketchy Java applets. Another option is to disable Java in your web browser.

If you are concerned that you have been affected by the Koobface trojan, you can get a free removal tool through SecureMac, who rates the risk as “Critical.” Currently the download link sends you to MacScan, but this is expected to change when the removal tool is released.

Mac Trojan Horse Boonana/Koobface - Reviewed

A trojan horse has been discovered that affects Mac OS X users, dubbed “trojan.osx.boonana.a” or ‘Koobface.’ An infected machine will hijack users social network accounts and attempt to spread the trojan further by sending out spam messages from your username.

Thus far the trojan has been spread through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and eMail. Here is the method of operation:

The trojan behaves like a worm, by trying to bait users on various social networks to click a link. The link asks “Is this you in this video?” and, if clicked, will send a user to another website which attempts to load a Java applet, giving the user a standard Mac OS X Java Security Alert and certificate request.

If the Java applet is allowed to load, it will download files to your local machine and then start a background process which attempts to propagate the trojan. You can simply click on “Deny” to prevent any further trouble, which prevents the malicious code from loading.

Intego explains the trojan as follows:

This threat is a Mac OS X version of the Koobface worm, which is served as part of a multi-platform attack via a malicious Java applet. The malware itself is made up of a number of elements, though in order to simplify, we will use the term “Trojan horse” to describe it. (Technically, it propagates as a worm, is installed via a Trojan Horse, and installs a rootkit, backdoor, command and control, and other elements.)

The trojan also effects Windows users. The easiest way for Mac and Windows users to protect themselves from the trojan is to avoid clicking dubious links from untrusted sources and to deny sketchy Java applets. Another option is to disable Java in your web browser.

If you are concerned that you have been affected by the Koobface trojan, you can get a free removal tool through SecureMac, who rates the risk as “Critical.” Currently the download link sends you to MacScan, but this is expected to change when the removal tool is released.

Quick review of Samsung SP-H03 LED Pico Projector

For mobile warriors, this pocket projector should warrant a serious look.

BOXY: The Samsung SP-H03 LED Pico Projector looks just like a luxury watch case.

PICO projectors are getting better all the time and they have come to a point where it's really feasible to carry one around for small presentations.

Case in point is the Samsung SP-H03 LED pico projector - this diminutive little number turned in a surprisingly good performance for such a small device.

Specs

With a native resolution of 854 x 480-pixels, the SP-H03 is not the highest resolution pico projector out there but it's certainly more than adequate for PowerPoint slides, viewing documents and, of course, watching the odd movie or two.

In terms of size, it's pretty small - I'd say that it looks like a small music box or a luxury watch case.

The whole device is finished in black, with the removable battery unit taking up the whole of the bottom of the device.

BIG: The LED Pico Projector's battery is a clip-on unit that takes up the entire bottom part of the unit.

On the back you get the usual connections - a special mini VGA input, mini USB port, audio output and a mini 3.5mm connector port that accepts a special RCA cable for video and stereo audio input.

One nifty little touch is that the control system is driven by touch sensitive controls on the top of the projector, with the soft touch buttons having their own LED backlighting.

In use

Turn it on and it's immediately clear that the SP-H03 is actually more powerful than its size would suggest. The display is very bright for a pico projector - at 30 lumens, it's actually about twice as bright as the 3M MPro 150 pico projector we tested. While this doesn't mean that it's comfortable to use with the lights on, you can actually still clearly see the display in a brightly-lit room.

BRIGHT: With its 30lumens brightness, the Samsung LED Pico Projector projects a very bright image.

The focus slider is on the side of the device, and although it works, I would have preferred the slider to have less "give" when adjusting focus - as it is, it took a bit of fiddling before I got the focus just right.

Also, there is no keystone correction so you'll have to keep it as level as possible when in use.

Since the buttons are touch-sensitive, it's actually quite easy to accidentally activate a button when you're trying to adjust the focus slider on the side as your palm or other finger is very likely to accidentally touch the top of the projector when you're doing this.

At about 5ft away the device projects an image size between 32in and 35in in 16:9 aspect ratio which is not too bad.

If you step back further the image gets larger but at the expense of brightness. Nevertheless we found that with the lights dimmed, you really can comfortably project pretty large images of 50in or more.

One thing we were really surprised with was the speaker. While lacking in bass, the 1-watt (again, about twice more powerful than the last pico projector we tested) speaker on the SP-H03 produced audio loud enough for an audience in a small room to hear clearly.

This really means that this tiny projector is often all you have to carry if you want to give a presentation to a small group of people.

The one downside is that battery life is obviously not going to be really great because it lasts about two hours on a single charge.

However, the charger for the pico projector is pretty small, so it's not a big deal to carry it around as well and keep the projector plugged in while you're using it.

The SP-H03 supports a number of formats, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, JPG images, MP3 songs and various video formats.

SOFT-TOUCH: The buttons on the Samsung LED Pico Projector are backlit and touch-sensitive.

The machine itself has 1GB of internal memory but you also get a microSD slot and the option to add more storage if you want to.

However, we did find the SP-H03 to be rather fussy when it comes to file formats. The projector just won't display some JPEG images and the only reason we can think of was that the photos may have been too large for the SP-H03 to handle.

There are quite a number of video formats out there so playback on the SP-H03 is even more spotty.

We generally had no problems playing DivX files in standard resolution though HD files are of course beyond the capability of this tiny projector.

Of course, native playback on the device itself is merely a bonus. The most common usage model is to connect it to a notebook via the VGA port and use the SP-H03 as a pure projector.

In this respect I really have no complaints at all because the SP-H03 can handle whatever your notebook can play or display.

I even connected it to my Nintendo Wii via the RCA adaptor, and I had a real blast playing with a screen as large as an expensive 50in HDTV. The only drawback is that you really do have to turn off all the lights in the room if your game has a lot of dark levels.

Conclusion

If you thought that all pico projectors were made the same, think again - Samsung proves that it can make it brighter and louder than most of the competition.

MINI-PORTS: (clockwise from top left) the Samsung LED Pico Projector has all the usual inputs -- a VGA input, audio/video input, headphone output, USB port and power adapter socket.

There's not much to say except that if you are looking for a pico projector, the Samsung SP-H03 should be near the top of your list.

Pros: Bright for a pico projector; speaker loud enough for a small room.

Cons: Limited native photo and video format support; touch sensitive buttons easily activated by accident.

SP-H03 LED Pico Projector
(Samsung)
Pocket projector
MEMORY: 1GB internal, microSD card slot
BRIGHTNESS: 30 lumens
PC COMPATIBILITY: 1080i, 720p
FILE FORMAT SUPPORT: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, BMP, JPEG, MP4, MP3
SPEAKERS: 1 built-in (1-watt)
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 7.11 x 7.11x 3.81cm
WEIGHT: 182g
PRICE: RM1,399
RATING: 4