Rated Top Ten

AP reports here at Yahoo News: CHICAGO – Struggling cell-phone maker Motorola Inc. said Thursday it is considering separating the handset unit from its other businesses in an effort to snap a deep slump that has followed its meteoric success with the Razr.

New LUMIX TZ5 and TZ4 Digital Cameras Offer 10x Optical Zoom, 28mm Wide-Angle Lenses and Advanced Intelligent Auto Mode Technologies for Increased Ease-of-Use

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 29, 2008) – Panasonic today introduced two new additions to its award-winning TZ-family of LUMIX digital cameras, the DMC-TZ5 and DMC-TZ4 – both packing a 28mm wide-angle, 10X optical zoom Leica DC lens in a compact design, ideal for the active user needing a versatile camera.  By combining a 28mm wide-angle lens, which lets the user capture a wider-framed shot when compared to a traditional 35mm camera, with the TZ-Series 10x optical zoom – consumers are empowered to take expanded shots, both wide and far.  Adding to these feature-rich digital cameras, Panasonic also expands its Intelligent Auto technologies with new Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction. 

 “Panasonic is taking digital photography to a new level and recognizes that everyone, not just professionals, should be equipped with a digital camera powerful enough to take high-quality photos, but compact enough to carry with them everyday,” said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company.  “With the success of the TZ3, we’re confident that the enhancements we’ve made to the 2008 TZ-family will make them a must-have for consumers who appreciate advanced, intuitive and versatile digital cameras.”

CNN reports here: Complaints about potential mortgage fraud are up during the subprime mortgage crisis, and the FBI has opened criminal investigations of 14 companies related to sub-prime mortgage loans, the agency said Tuesday. Officials identified the states that are the “top 10 mortgage fraud hot spots” as California, New York, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Utah, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

The Top Ten Most Sold Home Theater Systems this week at Amazon, see The Top Ten Most Sold Home Theater Systems here for more info including some reader reviews in our online store (ranking as of writing of this article, might change over time) 
The Top Ten Home Theater Systems are:

• Onkyo HT-SR800 7.1 Home Theater Entertainment System (Black)
• Onkyo HT-SP908 7.1 Channel Home Theater System
• Sony DAV-HDX500/i BRAVIA Home Theater System
• Philips HTS3555 Home Theater System with iPod Connectivity (Black)
• Harman Kardon HKTS-18 5.1 Channel Speaker System
• Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System, Black Finish
• Infinity Total Solutions TSS-450 – Home theater speaker system – charcoal
• Samsung HT-X50 5.1-Channel 5-Disc DVD Home Theater System
• Sony BRAVIA DAV-HDX265 Home Theater System
• Sony HT-SS2000 Blu-ray Disc Matching Component Home Theater System

Call of Duty 4 has won many awards since its launch, BBC News reports here: First-person-shooter Call of Duty 4 was last year’s biggest selling game, according to sales figures.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the new action-thriller from the award-winning team at Infinity Ward, the creators of the Call of Duty series, delivers the most intense and cinematic action experience ever. Armed with an arsenal of advanced and powerful modern day firepower, players are transported to treacherous hotspots around the globe to take on a rogue enemy group threatening the world. As both a U.S Marine and British S.A.S. soldier fighting through an unfolding story full of twists and turns, players use sophisticated technology, superior firepower and coordinated land and air strikes on a battlefield where speed, accuracy and communication are essential to victory. The epic title also delivers an added depth of multiplayer action providing online fans an all-new community of persistence, addictive and customizable gameplay. ESRB Rated M for Mature.

AP reports here at CNN:  A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and propulsion and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said Saturday.

The Top Ten DVD’s this week from the Bestellers List at Amazon, see more details of all The Top Ten DVD’s here in our store (ranking as of writing of this article, might change over time)

The Top Ten DVD’s This Week are:

• Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series
• Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity
• Family Guy – Blue Harvest
• Jeff Dunham – Arguing With Myself
• Ratatouille
• Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• Battlestar Galactica – Season Three
• 3:10 to Yuma (Widescreen Edition)
• Lost – The Complete Third Season

My personal recommendation is this amazing top rated series from BBC: Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series  Description: As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you’ll ever experience from the comforts of home. The premiere episode, “From Pole to Pole,” serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming–a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact. With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea’s various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia’s nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild.And that’s just a hint of the marvels on display.

Spiegel Online reports here: Soaring sales in emerging markets and growth in high-end phones are bolstering Nokia’s already daunting lead — but iPhone is on its mind.

Coupling a New Image Sensor to Optimize Lens Performance with an Array of Features to Maximize the Fun and Excitement of Digital Picture-Taking

PENTAX Corporation is pleased to introduce the PENTAX K20D lens-interchangeable digital SLR camera. This medium-class model offers superb image quality, an array of advanced features and outstanding reliability and operability to meet the specialized and exacting demands of photo enthusiasts, including advanced amateurs. It incorporates a newly developed image sensor to bring out the optimum performance of PENTAX interchangeable lenses, while offering the features and functions needed to maximize the pleasure and excitement of digital photography.

The K20D’s development was based on the popular PENTAX K10D, which not only attracted great interest and high acclaim from users around the world, but also swept prestigious camera awards across the globe in 2007.

The new CMOS image sensor, exclusively developed for K20D, is designed to optimize the performance of PENTAX interchangeable lenses. Featuring approximately 14.6 effective megapixels and the latest noise-reduction technology, it assures superb image quality a step above its predecessors.

The K20D also offers an array of advanced features and user-friendly functions, including: a new Custom Image function that lets the user select or adjust the image’s finishing touches to their preference; an upgraded, more reliable SR (Shake Reduction) system; a comprehensive Dust Removal system; a multi-mode exposure system for faithful reproduction of the photographer’s creative intentions; and a dependable dust-proof, water-resistant body construction. As a result, the K20D easily meets the diversified, exacting demands of discerning photographers.