Barnes & Noble Nook HD and HD+

Register Hardware has published a review of Barnes & Noble's latest tablets.

Excerpts follow:

"The specs tell part of the story: the 7in Nook HD sports a screen resolution of 1440 x 900 - the same as my 15in MacBook Pro, for example. That, says B&N, is the highest resolution yet found on a 7in tablet."

"It's certainly knocks the socks off my Nexus 7's 1280 x 800 display. Text is crisper, obscuring the pixellation I can see on the Nexus, especially on italics. It's also brighter and colours are much more vivid. It's a gorgeous display – the best I've seen on a seven-incher."

"The 9in Nook HD+ has a more standard 1920 x 1080 pixel array, close enough B&N claimed, to the iPad's 2048 x 1536 to make no odds. I'm not sure I agree, but I have to say the HD+ display is a worthy alternative to it."

"The HD will come with a choice of 8GB or 16GB of on-board storage. The HD+ will have 16GB or 32GB. Users wanting more space can slot in a Micro SD card. The 8GB and 16GB HDs will retail for £159 and £189, respectively, both very competitive prices, matching the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7, both of which present lesser screens."

"The HD+ will come in a £229 for the 16GB model and £269 for the 32GB version. That's £170 and £210 less than the equivalent iPad 3 for a tablet with a retina-level display that's only eight per cent smaller in the diagonal. As a comic buff, reading digital comics on the Nook was no less a joy than it is on the iPad's slightly larger screen. It's the first large-format tablet other than Apple's I'd consider buying."
------------

Box - 10GB free online storage

TUAW reports: [edited]

The Box app has just been updated for compatibility with the iPhone 5 and to celebrate, Box is offering some excellent cloud storage deals for new users. When you download and sign in to the free app, you will get the 10 GB + Sync Box service for free. If you are a new user, that's yours for free, and if you're an existing user with a 5 GB account, you'll get another 5 GB for free as well.

Box not only allows you to save you files on its cloud service, but also lets you make use of the Box API, with lots of different services for various document types and apps. And Box Sync allows you to connect all your documents up together to your desktop computers, so you can access and use them from anywhere.

This offer is available until 31 October 2012.
------------

5 ways to source copyright-free images

Creative Bloq reports: [edited]

The images used can often make or break a design, but they usually cost money. Here's how to get hold of the perfect picture for free...

In the world of print even the most stuck-up high-brow journalist knows that the picture will sell the story. Sourcing good copyright-free images online can be a pain and if you want to play nicely it's always worth checking that the picture you're using is legit. Knowing a few tricks will make the process a lot easier.
------------

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

The GH3 is the company's largest Micro Four Thirds camera yet, with dimensions that match those of the APS-C Sony SLT-A65.

The GH3 gains a weather sealed (dust/splash proof) magnesium alloy body. Additional highlights include 6 fps shooting (or 4fps with live view) and five customizable function buttons. While the camera's still image resolution remains at 16MP, the GH3 has a new Live MOS sensor, three-core Venus 7 FHD processing engine and a new low pass filter. Panasonic claims improvements in high ISO shadow detail, color reproduction and white balance over its predecessor.

The GH3 also offers in-camera HDR and multiple exposure image modes, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity that Panasonic hopes to leverage with its own (as yet unreleased) remote triggering and image transfer apps for iOS and Android phones.

The GH3's new EVF is a 1.7 million dot OLED panel with a 16:9 ratio of 873 x 500 pixels. Panasonic lists a robust 1.34x magnification (equivalent to 0.67x on a full frame SLR) ,and says that because information is transmitted to the panel 8x faster than the GH2

The rear display panel is a 3" 614k dot resolution OLED unit that, like that of its predecessor, is touch-sensitive. For both stills and video shooters looking to extend the camera's abilities, the GH3 offers a 3.5mm mic input (GH2 users had to resort to a 2.5 - 3.5mm adapter), headphone jack, PC sync socket and a new optional battery grip that attaches to base plate providing the option for additional power.
------------

iPhone 5 Reviews

For a good summary of the first reviews, visit MacRumors.

If you're interested in the look, feel and design philosophy behind the iPhone, give John Gruber's opinion piece a read.
------------

Fujifilm XF1

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

The enthusiast compact sector has undergone a distinct revival in recent years, with every major manufacturer now producing a model or two that offers full manual control and RAW format recording, aimed as a second camera for enthusiasts who usually carry an SLR.

The XF1 is the latest model in Fujifilm's premium X-series, that originated with the FinePix X100 and has since expanded upwards to the interchangeable lens XF system (including the recently-announced X-E1), and downwards to the X-S1 superzoom and fast-lensed X10 compact. The XF1 shares much of its innards with these last two models, including the larger-than-average 2/3" EXR-CMOS sensor and EXR processor. To these it adds an optically-stabilized 25-100mm equivalent lens with an impressively fast F1.8 maximum aperture at wideangle, but a more pedestrian F4.9 at telephoto.

The Canon S100 and Sony RX100 are both functionally-styled black-bodied cameras for photographers who wish to stay discreet; the XF1, in contrast, is designed to be noticed. With its two-tone body it's a very attractive camera. There's a choice of three colours - the deep red shown, alongside light tan and a relatively-sober black - each of which gets a matching slide-in leather case as an optional accessory for fashionistas.

The second stand-out feature of the XF1 is its lens mechanism - the zoom ring is mechanical, and like on the X10 doubles as the power switch. But there's a a further twist - it also collapses into the body in a fashion somewhat reminiscent of the iconic Rollei 35 film compact. This gives the XF1 the distinction of being the smallest camera to offer a mechanical zoom ring around the lens.
------------

New iPhone, iPod touch & iPod nano

iPhone 5: bigger screen, slimmer, lighter, faster, better headphones

iPod touch: ditto

iPod nano: touch screen, credit card size, better headphones

for everything you need to know, click here
------------

Free Font - Citizen Slab

Joel Felix reports:

​Citizen Slab is a typeface that pays homage to a vintage aesthetic without losing its modern sensibility.
------------

Brand Colours

Galen Gidman is curating a helpful list of a wide range of company brand colours.

Thanks to Brook for the link.
------------

ZnikomitNo25

Available here
------------

Free Font - Sreda

Available from Font Fabric
------------

Free Font - Vezus Light

Typedia reports: [edited]

Serbian foundry Tour de Force has released a tidy, semi-flared serif by Slobodan Jelesijević. The four weight Vezus features sharp, angular joinery and a number of interlocking discretionary ligatures.

Feel like giving it a test drive? You can download the light weight for free.
------------