Helmet cameras have now achieved the pinnacle of HD recording: 1080p. If you have the cash, a head, and a pastime worth filming you have a few choices for full HD extreme POV recording. So what's a little lid-mounted recorder to do for its next trick? If you're Contour it's to add a positional sensor and the letters G, P, and S to your product and create the ContourGPS. It lets you not only record your extreme antics but also how fast you were going when you were partaking in them, plus a lot of other information. And, more promisingly, there's a suite of hardware updates here, some paving the way to letting you use your smartphone as a viewfinder. But how does this $350 piece of helmet jewelry perform on the ice? Keep on reading for some video evidence.


Updated hardware
The biggest update here is the included GPS receiver, naturally. Using it the camera adds positional information to the footage that it captures (at your choice of resolutions up to 1080p), which lets you later view the path covered and speed achieved while recording. Also new is a Bluetooth module, a nugget of silicon that's not doing anything right now but, in the near future, will enable mobile devices to receive video in real-time and to modify camera settings, a feature Contour calls Live Viewfinder.

Beyond that Contour has a habit of subtly tweaking and improving its camera designs with each revision, with the ContourHD 1080p model getting a more progressive slider compared to its 720p predecessor, along with a few other subtle tweaks. The new ContourGPS still shares the same look as those two that came before, but it offers still more modifications. The slider up top, which is used to start and stop recording, is now raised with little rubber nubbies sticking out. This makes it even easier to start and stop this camera without having to take off your super-comfy, fleece-lined mittens.

Around back the door that covers the battery case is now hard plastic and spring-loaded, much more secure than the previous one that always felt a bit flimsy. To keep it from flipping open at the wrong time a little lock has been added, but the push power button on the back remains unchanged. It's still awful hard to find with gloves on and sometimes hard to activate even bare handed.

Flip the door open and the layout inside is much the same, with a miniUSB port on the left (still no micro), battery on the right, and a microSD slot in the middle. The battery is now held in place by a spring-loaded clasp instead of the finicky rotating lock that always gave us problems before, and there's a tiny switch that lets you toggle between one of two modes. Which two modes? We're glad you asked.


Updated software
We've never exactly been a fan of the software suite that's been provided with Contour's cameras, so we weren't too disappointed to see a wholly new software suite introduced here. It's called Storyteller unfortunately it's basically the same as before. Through this app you can download footage from your camera, view it, and upload it to Contour's site. You can also do simple editing -- as long as you only want to trim the front and the back off of the video. You can't do anything more advanced and, while you're free to do what you will using an external video tool (footage is encoded in a .mov container), if you do so you'll lose the GPS data. So much for that idea.

The software also lets you configure the camera, creating two configurations with different resolutions, exposure and sound settings, and also selecting whether GPS is enabled. Many of these tweaks will mess with your battery life, which the app will warn you about -- though it stops short of giving you any estimated figures.

Upload a video from the app and it'll show up on the Contour website, which attempts to offer a bit more social interaction than your YouTubes and the like. More important is that it has room for a map over on the right, providing a real-time Google Maps overlay of where the wearer was during this frame of footage and how fast they were going. At least, it will do that assuming the camera scored a GPS lock before the footage started recording.


Testing


Our first impressions with the camera out of the box were good, improved hardware feeling nice but still sharing the same sophisticated design as before. Sadly, our first impressions trying to use the thing were not so good. There's a little light on the front of the camera that blinks green when it's looking for GPS, turning solid when locked on. We tried and we wished as hard as we could but we just couldn't get it to go solid.

Once, when leaving the thing outside and on for 30 minutes it finally scored a lock, but we'd later find that it didn't connect to enough satellites to actually track our position. It was only after many, many failed attempts that we finally got a solid satellite lock -- while standing in the middle of a frozen lake, where we captured the above ice racing clip. Any trees overhead would block the signal, even particularly cloudy weather seemed to affect it. Once the camera had a lock it seemed okay even with some foliage overhead, but if we didn't start in a wide, wide open area all was lost. Well, all the GPS data, anyway. The footage would still record as normal.

You can see the results in the embed above for when we did finally get a lock, which charts our progress around the plowed out track, chasing down an opponent in a white Mitsubishi EVO. The pass was ultimately made but the position later given back, clipping a snow bank on the last lap of the race. Unfortunately we can't show you that part because the driver of the camera car took that opportunity to hurl a few choice bits of profanity. Since the Storyteller app doesn't allow you to cut out sections or do anything with the audio we simply had to cut the clip short.

Overall video and audio performance of the camera seems unchanged from our earlier review of the Contour 1080p, so you'll want to read that. Wind noise at high speeds is perhaps a bit better managed here but still very noticeable, as you can see in this other clip that we captured with the camera mounted on the roof. Curiously, the GPS didn't work for that one.

Battery life seems comparable to the 1080p model as well -- at least it is with the GPS module disabled. Recording at the highest quality 1080p mode with GPS enabled we eked out a minute short of two hours before our camera went kaput. Without GPS that time went up to 2.5 hours. Moving down to a 720p encoding at a lower bitrate battery life jumped another 30 minutes to three hours of continuous recording. If that's not enough you can plug the camera in to a charger while it's in use, assuming you have access to a charger while doing whatever extreme thing you're doing.


GPS accuracy, meanwhile, is good, but a low refresh rate in the camera can make for some occasionally chunky interpretation when you're moving at speed, as evidenced in the hairpin turn. You can see the difference of the camera's trace above on the left, compared to an external 5Hz Bluetooth GPS unit connected through TrackMaster on Android, shown on the right. However, since we captured this footage Contour has released an update enabling 4Hz refresh rates in GPS, which should go a long way to making things much more smooth.

 
Wrap-up 


The ContourGPS offers a subtly improved design that we think is definitely a step forward, and the inclusion of Bluetooth to enable the use of a smartphone as a viewfinder will be a huge coup when that releases. But that's not out now, and the poor performance of the GPS module itself makes the extra cost here -- $350 vs. $280 for the 1080p model -- something of a hard sell. At this point we'd go for the 1080p, get an extra battery for $30 and spend the rest on a nice dinner. But, that opinion may change once we get a chance to test out that upcoming live viewfinder mode, a feature that could truly set this camera apart.

Update: We got a note from Dmitriy letting us know there's a hidden tweak you can manually make to the camera's configuration that allows you to run the GPS unit at a higher refresh rate. This should result in a cleaner resulting map if you're doing high-speed stuff, like we were here.

 The Consumer Electronics Show is like a giant ice cream sundae – it’s big, wildly colourful, takes some real effort to get through and is a delicious mix of different ingredients. All covered in a glitzy Las Vegas sauce.
So what’s hot at this year’s show?
The technology trends at CES 2010 included: 3DTV, ultra-skinny HDTVs, motion-controlled gaming (Kinect and Sony’s PlayStation Move had yet to launch), not to mention early tablet prototypes, digital cameras, camcorders and iPhone-controlled Wi-Fi helicopters.
Many of the same key themes apply to CES 2011 and what you’ll see here tends to dominate the technology year ahead. So here are our hand-picked highlights of this year’s electronic expo…

Mobile phones 


CES 2011 isn’t traditionally a venue for big mobile announcements, but several tech titans chose to unveil new kit and new technologies. Before the show started, LG had revealed its Optimus 2X handset, featuring a dual-core Tegra 2 processor. The forthcoming Motorola Atrix 4G phone also boasts a 1GHz dual-core CPU.
Speed is just one mobile battleground for 2011; screen technology is another. The iPhone 4′s 3.5-inch Retina display has set an impressive benchmark and Apple’s rivals have been surprisingly slow to catch up.
That should change in 2011. The new Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc features a stunning 4.2-inch ‘Reality Display’; while the LG Optimus Black incorporates a four-inch ‘NOVA’ screen that promises unparalleled energy efficiency and brightness.
And just when we’d got used to the idea of Super AMOLED, Samsung has rolled out a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen for its new Infuse 4G phone. Nice.

Beyond dual-core processors and improved screen technology, there are several other new features we can expect in new phones. The Google Nexus S has already reignited interest in Near Field Communications (NFC), while LG has been demoing the Bluetooth-rivalling Wi-Fi Direct. 4G connectivity will also become more of a standard feature, using either HSPA+ or new LTE networks.

Tablets & Slates

Last year, the tablet PC market was embryonic – we still had our fingers crossed that the Courier prototype was real. It wasn’t. In fact, the tablet market didn’t really kick off until Apple launched the iPad in April.
Since then we’ve seen Dell, Archos and Toshiba dip their toes into tablet waters, while Samsung has turned tech heads with its 7-inch, Android-powered Galaxy Tab.
This was only the start. If tablet PC announcements at CES 2011 are anything to go by, 2011 will be the year of the tablet/slate/pad. Motorola, for example, has unveiled its smart-looking Motorola Xoom, a 10.1-incher running an early build of Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb). Not to be outdone, LG is offering sneaky peeks at its G-Slate, which also runs the new Android OS.
Other manufacturers keen to jump into the tablet market include Asus, which has launched four Eee Pad and Eee Slate tablets at CES, and RIM, which is readying its iPad-esque PlayBook. Lenovo, meanwhile, has a 10-inch ‘LePad’ device.

There’s also been a lot of buzz around the Adam tablet from Indian start-up Notion Ink, while Acer is again showing off its Iconia tablet. It’s not the dual-screener that we saw last year. Instead, the A500 model features a single 10.1-inch display, Android 2.2 and Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 engine inside.
As for the iPad, we’ve seen a variety of accessories and mods. The Fling iPad Joystick, for example, attaches to the iPad using gentle suction cups; while the iCade turns your Apple gadget into a mini coin-op arcade cabinet. Thinking about buying an iPad? Don’t. The technological leaps we’ve seen at CES suggest that the iPad 2 can’t be far off…

Android 3.0
While Android mobile phones wait for the latest OS upgrade to version 2.3 (Gingerbread), Google has been showing off its tablet-friendly Gingerbread OS (Android 3.0). If you buy an Android tablet in 2011, make sure it runs this…

3D

The 3D love-in at CES shows no sign of cooling. Like it or not, want it or not, 3D technology continues to be shoehorned into new TVs. Panasonic has predicted that 3D is an ‘unstoppable force’ and that a third of all new TV purchases will be of 3D models by 2014. Its new 3D plasma TVs look stunning.
But what sort of 3D will we be watching? Sony is betting big on Active technology and its HX929 telly certainly offers impressive pictures thanks to the built-in X Reality engine and edge-lit LED.
The HX929 is just one of 27 Bravia sets launching this year. Sony also has a new BDP-S780 3D Blu-ray player and is readying a 3D consumer camcorder for a spring release.
In contrast, LG is taking a different tack and has its corporate eye on ‘passive’ 3D. Its latest Infinia range of 3D televisions are using the technology, which uses polarised glasses rather than the more expensive Active Shutter system. LG also has the world’s biggest single panel OLED TV, a stunning 31-incher.
Then there’s Toshiba, which is showing a range of glasses-free, autostereoscopic 3D TVs at CES. Don’t scoff. The technology is getting better. Sophisticated view point overlay technology means you’ll even be able to move your head while watching the 3D content.
Of course, 3D isn’t just restricted to HDTVs. Both Sony and LG have unveiled 3D-capable laptops, while LG is demoing a 4.3-inch mobile touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution that can be used for watching 3D videos or playing 3D games sans specs, much like Nintendo’s 3DS.
Finally, how about 3D surround sound? LG’s HX996TS home cinema set-up delivers an audio experience worthy of your local multiplex. And for the ultimate 3D experience, Sony’s 3D headset prototype drips Tron-style design and in-your-face mini OLED displays.

OLED
Speaking of OLED… Every year we ask the same question: “what’s happened to OLED?” The answer? It’s still coming. To whet our appetites, Mitsubishi has been showing off a 155-inch OLED display at CES, while LG has vowed to expand its own small line of organic LED sets beyond the current 15- and 31-inch models.

Computing
If you were expecting big things from Steve Ballmer this year, like us you’ll have been disappointed.
Microsoft’s keynote speech at CES was notable for what the company didn’t announce rather than what it did. The existence of Avatar Kinect, for example, was leaked before Ballmer took to the stage. Kinect itself will be coming to the PC this year. But Microsoft haven’t said exactly when.

ADDED FUNCTION: Cut and paste functionality is coming (finally) to Windows Phone 7

With one eye on the rapidly expanding tablet market, Ballmer did reveal that the upcoming version of Windows would be fully compatible with mobile ARM processors such as the Tegra 2 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragons. But seriously: how hard would it have been to do a tablet running the Windows Phone 7 OS right now?
And speaking about Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has sold over 1.5 million handsets since launch and plans to add copy/paste functionality into the next update. It’s a good start, although these numbers won’t have Apple or Google quaking in their boots.
Beyond Microsoft, Intel announced its new Sandy Bridge processor architecture in the shape of Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2600K desktop CPUs. AMD, meanwhile, tore the wraps off its new Fusion chips, which combine CPU and GPU processing on a single die. Ta-daa!
Elsewhere, Samsung’s Series 9 laptops caught our roving eye – they have a distinct and alluring MacBook Air about them. Similarly, the Razer Switchblade concept looks as if it’s been designed for playing World of Warcraft on the bus.

Everything else

As ever, CES is a melting pot of big-name products, ambitious peripherals and small-fry accessories like iPod docks, USB hubs and indestructible mobile phone cases. So you often need to look beyond the multi-million dollar displays into the carpeted back-alleys in order to unearth some of the show’s other gems.

• OCZ showcased a monstrous 4TB solid state drive (SSD)
• Nokia had a netbook running a build of the MeeGo OS, designed in cahoots with Intel
• Fulton Innovation demonstrated the magic of wireless electricity
• Nike+ and TomTom unveiled a new SportsWatch that keeps track of where you go

It’s been a good show. But perhaps not a great one. Dominated by tablet PCs/Android 3.0 and new mobile phones, previous themes like 3D have taken a back seat. Companies like LG have even dragged the whole ‘digital home’ concept back into the spotlight. Really? That’s so 2007…

What did you think was the most exciting announcement at CES 2011? Let us know by telling us what you think below…

Just when you thought it'd be a week devoid of notable announcements -- what, with CES less than a week away -- along comes Samsung with two new cameras. The first one is an upgrade to the mirrorless NX10, naturally called the NX11, that boasts a change in grip design and compatibility with i-Function lens found on the NX100. The other nitty-gritty details for the 14.6 megapixel shooter: a 3-inch AMOLED LCD screen, VGA viewfinder, 720p 30fps HD recording, an APS-C. Price and date? $649 with bundled 18-55mm zoom lens, February.

In smaller news -- volumetrically, at least -- the 16 megapixel Samsung WB700 sports a 24x zoom (that's 18x optical and 1.3x smart zoom), a 24mm ultra-wide Schneider Kreuznach lens, CCD sensor, and 1070p HD video. You're gonna have to wait a little bit longer for that one -- April, to be more specific -- for a penny under $300. Any Press releases after the break, and we'll get you the pictures as soon as Sammy sends 'em.

Update: We found the pictures!

At long last, the Lumix DMC-GF2. Hitting the scene just a few weeks after the GH2, this here Micro Four Thirds rig is Panasonic's smallest and lightest interchangeable lens system camera, and it's packin' quite the specs list. From the top, you're looking at a 12.1 megapixel Live MOS sensor, compatibility with the company's own 3D interchangeable lens (the LUMIX G 12.5mm / F12) and an enclosure that's seven percent lighter (not to mention 19 percent smaller) than the GF1. You'll also find a three-inch touchpanel on the rear, contrast AF system, a freshly designed Touch Q user interface, internal dust reduction system and the ability to record video at 1920 x 1080/60i or 1280 x 720/60p in AVCHD. Better still, lower resolution options are available with Motion JPEG recording, and the 23-area focusing system shouldn't have a difficult time nailing your subject. We should point out that the ISO only ranges from 100 to 6400, but the included hot shoe accessory definitely allows for a flash. Of course, there's no optical viewfinder here, but hey, you can't have it all when you're looking to save space. The GF2 will ship in January with three color choices (silver, red and black) and two bundle options: a 14mm F2.5 pancake kit and a 14-42mm zoom lens kit. Unfortunately for you, pricing won't be announced until mid-to-late December. Bah, humbug!

Can't afford anything that's been introduced at Photokina so far? Unfortunately for you, there's hardly a chance that Leica's newest limited edition product will be the one that slips under the budget. At the outfit's exclusive press preview this evening in Cologne, a gallery of executives from Leica and Volkswagen (who chipped in on the design) formally unveiled the M9 'Titanium.' For all intents and purposes, this is just a souped-up M9, but there's plenty to love for those who fancy high-fashion. You know, like a trim that uses leather "typically reserved for the interiors of Audi's premium automobiles."

According to Leica, "anything that looks like titanium, is titanium." It's also coated with a fingerprint-resistant overlay, and the bundle is slated to include the camera itself, a 35mm Summilux F/1.4 prime lens, lens hood, a new carrying concept (just a single hook for a carry strap), a newfangled electronic illumination system and a fanciful cardboard box made somewhere in the Black Forest. Just 500 of these kits are being produced and sold for an undisclosed amount starting in November, and chances are all but one or two have already been claimed. Good luck getting in line, and you might as well forget scoring the four millionth Leica camera to be produced since 1923 -- a specially-stamped M9 'Titanium' -- as that one's being given away to someone far more important than us tonight.

Hello, beautiful! The clock just struck midnight here in the wilds of Cologne, Germany, and it's safe to say that Photokina 2010 is underway. Fujifilm's press event isn't scheduled until Tuesday, but it looks as if it'll be teasing us all by releasing information on its drop-dead gorgeous new FinePix X100 tonight. This rangefinder-esque cam packs a 12.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, and it's obviously designed to go mano-a-mano with Micro Four Thirds and the slew of other mirrorless / interchangeable lens compacts that are hitting the market. Aside from supporting 720p movies, boasting an EXR processor and shipping with a 23mm F2 Fujinon lens, this new handheld includes a Hybrid Viewfinder that enables users to toggle between optical and electronic viewfinders and display intricate shooting information right into the OVF.

There's also a 2.8-inch rear LCD, a hot shoe on top and a magnesium alloy top / base plate that might be the sexiest we've ever seen on a camera in this sector. Low-light shooters will appreciate the ISO range of 200 to 6400, and there's also 5fps continuous shooting, a full-on manual mode, SD / SDHC / SDXC card support and dimensions of 127- x 75- x 54mm. Something tells us a lot of to-be DSLR buyers will be shifting to this far more portable alternative when it drops in early 2011... provided it doesn't cost a small fortune, of course. Needless to say, we'll be first in line come Tuesday to (prayerfully) get some hands-on time with this beaut. Video after the break.

If you don't want to hate your current camera, look away now. Nikon's 16 megapixel D7000 has landed into the world of officialdom with a bang, bringing with it an almighty 39-point autofocus system, 100 percent viewfinder coverage, 1080/24p and 720/30p video options, dual SD card slots, 6fps burst mode for up to 100 shots, and magnesium alloy top and back covers for that extra bit of metalized durability. The continuous video autofocus that debuted in the D3100 is here too, though bear in mind there's a 20 minute cap on uninterrupted recordings. Video nuts might not like that, but at least there's a stereo mic input and an added control dial for adjusting shooting modes. It's looking like a thorough upgrade from the D90, but remember that Canon's direct competitor -- the 60D -- costs a Benjamin less than the D7000's $1,200 body-only asking price (or $1,500 with an 18-105 kit lens) , so take the time until this becomes available in mid-October to weigh up your options well. Oh, and the outfit's also throwing out two new pieces of high-end glass alongside a new flash: an AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VR II for $5,999.95, an AF-S 35mm f/1.4G for $1,799.95, and an SB-700 Speedlight for $329.95.