Sprint is taking convergence to the next level with the InstinctHD built by Samsung. Obviously, folks would expect CDMA device is more than any average phone at $250 after rebate and commitment — you’ll need an Everything Data plan for the InstinctHD. There’s Opera Mobile 9.7 for the web, Wi-Fi, and stereo Bluetooth support. But there’s a twist to the 5 megapixel camera sensor.

With it, you can capture pics and video in high definition. Couple that with the integrated TV-out connection and that user generated content can be viewed in high def on an HDTV, right from the phone. While you can’t view that content in high def on the phone — the 320 x 480 display clearly doesn’t support 720 lines of resolution needed for HD — the InstinctHD essentially doubles as a 720p handheld camcorder. I’d have to see the output to determine if it rivals that of my Kodak Zi6 or another high-def pocket shooter, but it’s appealing nonetheless.

Even if currently available, dedicated cameras are a shade better than the InstinctHD, it’s only a matter of time before we see more handsets with this feature. And as that happens, there’s less of a need for those single-purpose devices. If I were Kodak, Creative or Cisco — the folks who bought PureDigital, makers of the Flip — I’d be scrambling to add some killer features to my camera right about now. My instincts, not to mention Sprint’s, tell me that decent HD quality capabilities are about to explode onto the phone scene.

Sprint’s InstinctHD launches on September 27 at Best Buy Mobile and will be available in Sprint stores starting on October 11.

Creative just announced their second generation Vado HD camcorder but details are light on what “second generation” features might entail. The pocket camcorder still appears to record video in 720p format, looks simple to use and is available in some new color combos and memory capacities. There’s added support for direct movie transport into Mac OS X iMovie  as well as new Vado Central software for the Mac, too. But if you were holding out hope for any advanced features, this press release will still have you hoping.

The new Vado HD is available for pre-order in a 4GB white with green accent color combo or 8GB black with red accent. Pricing is $179 and $199 respectively. After using a similar Kodak Zi6 pocket camcorder with no internal memory — it uses standard SD cards — I highly recommend dropping the extra $20 if you’re interested in a Creative Vado HD. Snapping those high-def videos uses up storage very quickly and without any expansion slots, you’ll likely find the additional $20 well worth the extra 4GB on the more expensive model.

For our video reviews, I use one of two cameras. For quick and dirty vids on the road, I whip out my Kodak Zi6. But if I want a higher quality video, I opt for my Canon EOS T1i since I can change lenses and use better optics. Both cameras shoot 720p video in 30fps — the Zi6 can actually do 60fps — but both also present me with a huge challenge.  When I’m on camera, I can’t see what the camera can see. That causes various retakes unless I have an assistant stand behind the camera. It’s simply not good.

Now I don’t want to buy another camera, but if I were in the market, I’d be taking a close look at the new Samsung DualView TL220. This 12.2 megapixel point-and-shoot is also capable of recording high-definition video at 720p and 30fps. So why would I consider it if doesn’t add anything in terms of video quality? A dual LCD is the answer.

The entire backside of the camera is a touchscreen with haptic feedback, but it’s the LCD in the front that caught my eye. Alongside of the camera lens is a 1.5″ LCD that shows what the camera sees. That would help my particular situation immensely. Self-portraits for everyone else would be a bit easier, too.

Samsung’s DualView TL220 offers a 22.5mm f/4.9 lens with image stabilization and a 5x digital zoom. I personally look for cameras with some type of optical zoom over, or in addition to a digital zoom, but at $299.99 with that front LCD, I could possibly overlook that deficiency. The TL220 does offers a 4.6x optical zoom, making this an even better deal at $299.99.

So I took delivery of that new Canon EOS Rebel T1i this week. I bought the DSLR, because it supports high-definition video recording. Yet, you haven’t seen any sample videos just yet. Have you wondered why?

For some reason, the 16GB SD memory card I was using suddenly got hosed. I’m not blaming the new camera because I’ve had this same problem with the older XSi that the T1i replaced and I’ve even seen it happen with my Kodak Zi6. I can’t determine the exact cause, but at random times, the cameras simply can’t read the card. They know the card is there, but the files can’t be seen nor can I format the card using the camera. Essentially, the memory card becomes utterly useless…and so does the camera I’m trying use.

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Last year, I changed over from a solid point-and-shoot digital camera to a DSLR. I’m an amateur photographer at best, but I want to learn more about the art of photography, so the Canon EOS Rebel XSi was my choice last summer. The XSi has served me very well for both work and personal shooting, but recently I heard about the new T1i from Canon. On the outside, it looks nearly identical to the camera I use today, but there are a few key internal upgrades that got me to pull the trigger.

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A week from now at this time, my feet will be hitting the ground in Vegas again. We normally don’t cover the CTIA Wireless show since we’re still catching up from the CES rat-race. In fact, we’ve never gone to the show. James is going to man the site from Mobile Tech Manor while I make the trip this time around. Since I have yet to spend a honeymoon with my new wife, Barb is flying out to meet me on Friday, the day the show ends. We’ll spend the weekend there and fly home the following Monday, so I should be all rested up when I return here next Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday, depending on the Tuesday’s weather: a warm, sunny day could mean one last vacation day on the local golf course!

As usual, I’ll be traveling fairly light: a DLSR, the Kodak Zi6 for high-def video capture, my USB-727 EV-DO dongle and just one computer. Of course, the computer is what I’m debating the most in my head right now. Will it be a netbook or will it be the MacBook? The Mac’s horsepower is better suited for image and video editing, so I’m leaning in that direction at the moment. I’m getting around fairly well with the Nokia E63, so I may leave the iPhone at home as well. All in all, it should be a fun trip since I’ve never attended it in the past. And hey, look at that! There’s a shiny new “CTIA 2009″ category in the sidebar!

It was just in January that the folks who produce the Eye-Fi SD memory/ WiFi card announced a new product, but they aren’t sitting still.  The new Eye-Fi cards bump the memory up to 4 GB to help handle all of that HD video you might be shooting.

The Eye-Fi is a unique product that adds WiFi photo/ video upload capability to cameras that use SD storage. Now, when you throw in the (now) 4 GB of storage, the $79 or $99 is downright reasonable. The extra $20 for the Eye-Fi Explore Video adds geo-tagging to photos and videos automatically.

Eye-Fi will upload directly to Flickr and YouTube as well as allow you to shoot pics to your computer directly from a digital camera.  The new cards should be shipping by the end of the month.  I’m going to have to try one of these in the Kodak Zi6 I’m using for sure.  Eye-Fi is also releasing an iPhone app this week that will allow card owners to upload photos from their handset to their Eye-Fi accounts.

(via Engadget)

I am happy to be back home again from the traveling that I’ve done the past two weeks.  I’ve missed doing this column that chronicles my week at Mobile Tech Manor (MTM) but there is no need to do one when I’m not here.  That changed this week as I’ve been happily working in my office and had a very busy week playing catch up.  There has been a rash of gadgetry show up at MTM and I’ve discovered how emotional it can be to change tools that I’ve used for years.  Come on in for a visit, the coffee is free.

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You’ve no doubt heard (or seen) that Kevin recently purchased a Kodak zi6 HD Pocket Cam.  This little camera came with Kevin to the CES and I was so impressed with the video quality and small size of the zi6 I ordered one of my very own. It was hard to pass up as it was only $130 on Amazon.

The little jewel showed up today and I’ve been having a blast playing working with the zi6 doing test video.  It blows me away how something so small can shoot video so hi-res and the audio quality is really good.  This means that my video reviews will be much better quality going forward.  If you need proof just wait for my video review of the HP Mini 2140 netbook which will be appearing soon (as in later today). 

The Eye-Fi folks are at it again. Just when I was considering their most recent product for my DLSR, they go and announce a new product. This SD card connects to WiFi networks like their other products, but the difference here is that it can send video files to YouTube directly. While that sounds good in theory for something like my new Kodak Zi6, I have to wonder how much it will eat up the batteries on cameras. I just took a six-minute 720p video with my Kodak and the source output was 450MB in size. I wonder if my batteries would make it through the whole transfer!