What’s new from Nikon and Canon, Microsoft’s play for the tablet market in the Surface Go, and Nespresso’s new $399 coffee machine reviewed. This is The Wrap.
Transcript
For the middle of July 2018, you’re tuned into to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup, and as the World Cup wraps up for another year, you might be keen to take some time away from the TV.
We get it: you’ve spent so much time in front of the telly that it’s time to do something else, and if gadget makers have any say this week, the suggestion would be something photographic.
This week, two of the most prolific camera companies announced slightly different ways to get you into the photo taking spirit.
If you’re thinking of taking a trip and aren’t sure how close you need to be to the action, Nikon’s next camera could be more than ideal. It’s called the Coolpix P1000, and it comes with a very interesting feature, getting you closer than any other camera, with a 24 to 3000 millimetre lens.
That makes it a proper super zoom camera, using the power of optical zoom to get you super close to the subject from afar, grabbing stills at 16 megapixels or video at up to 4K Ultra HD. We’re not big fans of digital zoom because it just blows up pixels, but if you don’t mind that, you’ll find the Nikon P1000 can hit a ridonculous 12000mm focal range. Crazy.
That’s Nikon’s big news. Down in Melbourne, Canon has been talking about cameras differently, giving Melbournites the chance to play with all the cameras, lenses, and printers they can get their hands on.
In a move that will make you feel like Canon is taking a page out of Apple’s playbook, Canon has opened a shop in Melbourne, allowing people to come in and try its cameras, print a few photos, and maybe learn something while having a coffee or two.
It’s a first for the brand in Australia, with the Canon Experience Store sharing the space with SunStudios, which means folks using the studios likely have access to more cameras and lenses to tempt them, as well.
And it’s not the only thing sure to tempt you this week.
In the past year, we’ve seen a few models of Microsoft’s Surface computer, from the popular Surface Pro, the aptly named Surface Laptop, and the larger tablet hybrid in the Surface Book, but the new Surface Go is more like the standard Surface Pro model.
It’s a little smaller at 10 inches compared to the usual 12, and it’s not as equipped for high performance activities, with a Pentium chip inside instead of the usual Intel Core processors.
But it’s also less expensive, getting a $599 price when it lands in Australia in the coming months, without a keyboard, though that will cost $140 and will be optional, much like the Surface Pen, which will work with the Surface Go, too.
What we know about the Surface Go does grab us, such as the Windows Hello password-less login, the USB Type C charging, and the fact that this could be a Windows tablet built to take on the 9.7 inch iPad, which we like a lot and aims for a similar price point.
Price is a big deal, obviously, and that matters regardless of the product category. Computer, TV, smartphone, console, whatever… price is very important.
It’s important in appliances too, and this week, we’re reviewing Nespresso’s Lattissima One, a lower priced entry to the Nespresso encapsulated coffee pod system with an automatic milk system.
This is one of those machines that takes the Nespresso pods, so if you happen to be a coffee snob that doesn’t like the whole pod thing, this isn’t for you, though it might sway you just a little.
I don’t think there’s anyone arguing that a Nespresso machine is better than the local coffee shop, just more convenient. Pop in the pod, press the button, and drink up, and that’s what you get from pretty much every Nespresso machine out there. They’re all built the same, made to handle the pods the same way so that you always get the same cup of coffee with no fuss.
Where the Lattissima One changes the game is with the milk tank, which uses an optical sensor rather like an infrared port to work out how much milk to froth and add to your coffee. If you add a little milk, you’ll get enough for a cappuccino, while a mostly full tank will make a latte macchiato, and the whole thing is easy.
The catch is that the Lattissima One only has enough room in the milk tank to make one milk-based coffee drink at a time. If you fill it with enough for two cappuccinos, it’ll make the one latte macchiato. There are only three buttons on this machine: short, long, and milk-based, so the optical port makes the whole thing easy.
But if you want to make two cappuccinos, fill the milk tank to the cappuccino line for each coffee. And then clean it manually, and go have your coffee, because at $399, you’re getting a decent deal on a decent cup of convenient coffee.
You know that sounds kind of tempting right now. Coffee. We’re going to go have a coffee, and leave you with that.
For now, you’ve been listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup. The Wrap appears every Friday at PodcastOne and Apple Podcasts, and we’ll be back next week for more tech five minutes.
Until then, have a great weekend and a top week, too, and we’ll see you next time on The Wrap. Take care.
