NIKO PARTNERS ESTIMATES CHINA’S ONLINE GAME MARKET TO REACH $9.2 BILLION IN 2014

Games via Social Networking Sites and Expanding Infrastructure Extend Growth Through 2014

SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 31, 2010 – Niko Partners, the leading market intelligence firm on China’s video game industry, today announced preliminary results from its upcoming Annual Review & Five-Year Forecast on China’s video game industry, citing $3.57 billion in revenue from online games in 2009. The annual review and forecast on online gaming and Chinese gamers shows strong growth by Chinese online game operators, despite a harsh regulatory environment particularly for foreign games, and a gamer base that has become increasingly discerning about game quality. Niko had forecasted 2009 revenue to reach $3.65 billion. For 2010, the firm predicts that the online game market will reach $4.5 billion and enjoy a healthy CAGR of 20.9% over the next five years with revenue reaching $9.2 billion in 2014.

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Sony DPF-X1000 Digital Picture Frame

LetsGoMobile have published their review of the Sony DPF-X1000 Digital Photo Frame [QuickPrice Check] and finds that “it certainly is one of the best photo frames in the current market.” However, it “is somewhat noisy when in use” — and I can attest to the buzz from a Sony digital alarm clock I have at home. It is not bad when there’s ambient noise, but when it’s all quiet, the buzz is kind of disconcerting at first, though we don’t hear it anymore now. [I guess people who lives besides train tracks don't hear the trains anymore, too. Not!]

You can read the Sony DPF-X1000 Review at: LetsGoMobile.

Canon EOS T2i / 550D

“The Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i [is] a convincing, well-put-together product that easily earns a Highly Recommended rating.”

We’ve added a new Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D [Specs] Review to our Reviews Matrix.

PhotographyBLOG has published their review of the Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D digital SLR camera with 18MP resolution on a large APS-C CMOS image sensor, a large 3.0-in. high resolution (1.04 million dots) LCD display screen, ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to 12,800), and Full HD Movie 1920×1080 at 30fps. It is targeted to Families, as well as beginner and serious amateur photographers.

You can read the full Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D Review at: PhotographyBLOG.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

“If you’re looking for a fun long zoom and never plan to print over 8×10, you’ll have no problem with the image quality at all.”

We’ve added a new Canon PowerShot SX20 IS [Specs] Review to our Reviews Matrix.

Imaging Resource has posted their review of the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, a compact ultra zoom digital camera with 12.1MP resolution (1/2.3-in. CCD), 20x wide-angle optical zoom (28-560mm equiv.), optical image stabilization, 2.5-in. LCD (230K dots), PASM modes, Smart AUTO, Scene Modes, and HD movie (1280×720) @ 30fps.

You can read the full Canon SX20 IS Review at: Imaging Resource.

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Nik Software Announces Spring 2010 Online Webinar Schedule

Free webinars offer education, insights and tips on using all Nik Software products

San Diego, CA (March 30, 2010) — Nik Software announces today its Spring 2010 Webinar schedule. These six hour-long educational webinars, which continue through mid-June, cover a range of photography topics including portrait, scenic and landscape, flora and fauna, architecture, and wildlife, while offering basic information, insights and tips on using Nik Software’s entire line of award-winning image enhancing plug-in products. Additionally, the webinars enable attendees to pose questions to the live educators.

“We’ve been offering these free online webinars for nearly a year and it has revolutionized the way photographers expect to be trained on software,” said Tony Corbell, Nik Software’s senior manager for product education and planning. “These seasonal webinars, along with our daily webinar series and the Nik Summit planned for May 2010, show how dedicated we are at Nik Software to educating today’s busy digital photographer on how our solutions can be used to enhance all types of photography while dramatically reducing editing time and complexity.”

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V

“The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5 [...] is a technological tour-de-force loaded with more features than anything else on the market.”

We’ve added a new Sony DSC-HX5V [QuickPrice Check] Review to our Reviews Matrix.

TrustedReviews has published their review of the Sony DSC-HX5V, a 10.2MP resolution (1/2.4-in. “Exmor R” CMOS Sensor) ultra zoom digital camera with 10x ultra wide-angle optical zoom (25-250mm equiv.), GPS + Compass and Optical SteadyShot™ with Active Mode technologies, 3.0-in. LCD (230k-dot), iAuto, P, M, Easy Shooting, iSCN, in-camera High Dynamic Range (HDR), Intelligent Sweep Panorama, Dynamic Range Optimizer, Continuous Shooting 10fps (10.2MP full resolution), Handheld Twilight Mode, Smile Shutter Technology, Anti-Motion Blur Mode, Self-Portrait Timer, Anti-blink Function, and Full HD Movie 1920 x 1080 AVCHD at 60i in 17Mbps.

You can read the full Sony HX5V Review at: TrustedReviews.

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Canon PowerShot SX210 IS

“One of the best compact cameras of the year so far. Score: 4/5”

We’ve added another Canon PowerShot SX210 IS [Specs] review to our Reviews Matrix.

TechRadar has posted their review of the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS, with 14.1MP resolution (1/2.3-in. CCD), 14x wide-angle optical zoom (28-392mm equiv.), optical image stabilization, 3.0-in. LCD (230k-dot), HD movie (1280×720) @ 30fps, PASM modes, Smart AUTO, Intelligent Contrast Correction, Face-Detection, Face-Detection Self-Timer, Wink Self-Timer and Smile Self-Timer.

You can read the full Canon SX210 IS Review at: TechRadar.

This photo competition by the British Journal of Photography and Format 2011 is for those who love Street Photography. Submit 30 images and if you’re the winner, your pictures will be printed and displayed in an exhibition at Format 2011. The winning photographer also gets to take home a Think Tank Photo Retrospective Lens Changer 2 bag.

We usually don’t promote photo competition that asks you to pay to participate [it's like paying for your own prize] but this one is genuine and may be worth it for the exposure you might receive. Entry costs: GBP £20, EUR €22 or US $30. For more information and for details on how to enter the competition, visit www.bjp-online.com/street.

Read it up at: British Journal of Photography.

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Nikon Coolpix P100

“I haven’t found much to gripe about with the P100. Good thing, too, since the camera and I aren’t parting company just yet. We’re off to China for 11 days in April – and if the P100 keeps impressing me maybe my next Nikon won’t be a D400 after all.”

We’ve added another Nikon Coolpix P100 [Specs] Review to our Reviews Matrix.

DigitalCameraReview has published their review of the Nikon Coolpix P100, an ultra zoom digital camera with 10.3MP resolution (1/2.3-in. CCD), 26x ultra wide-angle optical zoom (26-678mm equiv.), 3.0-in. Vari-angle LCD (460k-dot), Sensor-shift Image Stabilization, PASM, Scene Auto Selector, high speed 10fps shooting at full resolution, Sports Continuous shooting with pre-shooting cache, Backlit Scene HDR, Advanced Night Landscape mode, Active D-Lighting, Smart Portrait System, Smile Timer, Blink Warning, Face-Priority AF with Red-Eye Fix, and Full HD 1080p video 1920×1080 @ 30fps with stereo sound.

You can read the full Nikon Coolpix P100 Review at: DigitalCameraReview.