Canon unveils new 10 MP Digital Ixus 85 IS, 90 IS and 970 IS digital cameras

Canon is expanding its Digital Ixus range of compact cameras with three new 10Mp models. The 10Mp Canon Digital Ixus 85 IS replaces the 70 IS - the best selling digital camera of last year. The Digital Ixus 970 IS sits at the top of the range and is described by Canon as its "most optically advanced" digital camera. It is priced at £299. The 10Mp camera has a 5x optical zoom, 2.5in LCD screen and a multi-control dial for scrolling through menus, changing settings and reviewing images. It comes in a two-tone metallic finish.The Canon Digital Ixus 85 IS is a direct replacement for the popular (Canon says it sold 2.8 million of them last year) Digital Ixus 70 IS.

The new model costs £239 and has a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.5in LCD screen and 19 shooting modes. The Ixus 85 IS sports the same silver casing as its predecessor but Canon has tweaked its looks to give the Ixus line-up "softer curves". There's also a bold lens ring and edging details in piano black or silver.

The Digital Ixus 970 IS sits at the top of the range and is described by Canon as its "most optically advanced" digital camera. It is priced at £299. The 10Mp camera has a 5x optical zoom, 2.5in LCD screen and a multi-control dial for scrolling through menus, changing settings and reviewing images. It comes in a two-tone metallic finish.

The Canon Digital Ixus 85 IS is a direct replacement for the popular (Canon says it sold 2.8 million of them last year) Digital Ixus 70 IS.The new model costs £239 and has a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.5in LCD screen and 19 shooting modes. The Ixus 85 IS sports the same silver casing as its predecessor but Canon has tweaked its looks to give the Ixus line-up "softer curves". There's also a bold lens ring and edging details in piano black or silver.

The Canon PowerShot SD790 IS comes with a 35- to 106mm-equivalent, f/2.8 -4.9, 3x optical zoom lens. This model sacrifices the optical viewfinder for a nice, large 3-inch LCD and features a sleek design with flat-button controls. It ships at the end of March for $349.99.

The Canon PowerShot SD890IS sports a 37- to 185mm-equivalent, f/3.2-5.7, 5x optical zoom lens with an improved image stabilization system, which can correct up to four stops (vs. three in the other two offerings), according to Canon. The 2.5-inch LCD leaves room for an optical viewfinder (though I’d rather have a larger LCD). Suggested retail price will be $399.99 when it ships in early April.
The Canon PowerShot SD790 IS comes with a 35- to 106mm-equivalent, f/2.8 -4.9, 3x optical zoom lens. This model sacrifices the optical viewfinder for a nice, large 3-inch LCD and features a sleek design with flat-button controls. It ships at the end of March for $349.99.

Polaroid PDM-0821 Ultra portable DVD player with LCD Screen

Everyone gets a crystal-clear view of the Polaroid 8in Portable DVD Player because it has a 180 degree rotating screen! Watch or listen to DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, or view your latest vacation pictures on JPEG discs. The sound is great too, with a built-in Dolby Digital Decoder and stereo speakers. And don't worry if your adventures are filled with bumpy roads; a built-in ESP function gives you an uninterrupted picture even while you're in motion.

Product Features:

8in widescreen 16:9 color LCD screen
Screen swivels 180
Plays DVD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, music CDs, CD-R/RW
JPEG image compatible
Built-in Dolby Digital decoder
Built-in stereo speakers
ESP Electronic Skip Protection delivers uninterrupting pictures while in motion
/switchable audio and video input/output
Compatible with most gaming systems optional adapter required
Compatible with Polaroid- TV Docking Station
Includes rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Behind-the-neck headphones
Car Power Adapter and AC adapter/charger
Slim credit card remote,

Sony Intoduces Rolling Music Player

Sony Corp.‘s new dancing, egg-shaped music player rolled into a dimly lit Tokyo hotel Monday, blinking its flaps and flashing its lights in time to each tune it played.The $354, 11-ounce Rolly, set to go on sale in Japan Sept. 29, is small enough to fit in your palm and comes with stereo speakers, 1 gigabyte of internal flash memory and a battery good for about five hours of music.

The smooth, white Rolly also can spin in place so fast it turns into a blur, and its sensors enable a user to control volume by turning the player clockwise or counterclockwise or switch tunes by pushing or pulling the gadget.The Rolly doesn’t have an American counterpart, but it will go up against Japanese robot maker ZMP Inc.‘s Miuro at home. Miuro, which looks like a white ball caught inside an egg, wheels about in time to music when an iPod is locked onto it.

Sony plans to sell packages of moves and tunes online for Rolly. And users will be able to program the Bluetooth-capable product on a PC using software that analyzes music and produces choreography to match and then sends the programs to the Rolly, Sony said.

Not quite a pet, the Rolly won’t take over from the Aibo robot dog, which Sony discontinued last year as part of its restructuring effort, disappointing avid owners. It can be set as an alarm clock, though.

Elonex launches £99 Linux laptop

UK manufacturer Elonex is to unveil a £99 laptop aimed at school children.The Linux-based 'One' laptop weighs less than 1kg and offers a claimed three-hour battery life, Wi-Fi, a Flash-based hard drive, a hard-wearing case and a wireless music server.

Sceptical industry watchers will wonder how many corners have been cut when the product is launched at the Education Show in Birmingham on 28 February. Elonex has declined to release hardware specifications for the device.As the 'One' name suggests, Elonex is hoping to draw parallels with the much-hyped One Laptop Per Child project.

"The One laptop fits with the goal of the [Department for Children, Schools and Families] to close the gap between those from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers," the firm said in a statement.Elonex is pledging to donate a One laptop to underprivileged children for every 100 sold.

"One removes the cost barrier that has prevented the one-laptop-per-person, large-scale uptake of computers in the education system that has for so long been just a pipe dream," said Elonex marketing manager Sam Goult."Investment in digital technology is paramount to help the next generation achieve their full potential."

Kingston Launches DataTraveler Mini with Migo

Kingston Technology has launched a new generation of USB flash drives.

The latest edition is DataTraveler Mini with Migo, which uses Migo Software, OTCBB:MIGO technology. The drive is designed to Hi-Speed USB 2.0 specifications.

The tiny DataTraveler Mini with Migo allows any PC to be transformed into a personal workspace.

It measures just 17.85mm x 36mm x 10.24mm and can be attached to a key ring or cord. It is idea for swapping and storing photos, songs and e-mail messages.

The DataTraveler Mini with Migo drive automatically synchronises data, ensuring that versions are current. It ensures that no data is left behind, making it easy for users to work safely on several PCs. When it is re-connected to a PC it automatically updates data where necessary.
The 512 MB edition comes in red, the 1GB version in blue while the 2GB version comes in light purple.

The device comes preloaded with Migo software for Windows-based systems and includes a five-year warranty.

Pretec unveils first miCard USB flash drive

Flash drive manufacturer Pretec unveiled the S-Diamond - the first card in the new miCard formet - at the Computex 2007 trade show in Taipei.

miCard is a new flash memory card standard from the Multi Media Card Association which can support both USB and SD/MMC specifications.

The card is 40 percent smaller than a miniSD card, and can be converted to an SD/MMC card via an adapter. It measures just 21mm X 12mm X 1.95mm, making it the smallest USB flash drive in the world.

It comes in a range of capacities from 128MB to 8GB, with a theoretical maximum capacity of 2048GB.

S-Diamond is the 2nd generation of Pretec’s i-Disk Diamond series.

Production of the new card is scheduled by Q3 of 2007, with a version implementing MU-Bus, a low-power or digital USB technology, expected by Q4.

4G Systems launches world’s smallest HSDPA/HSUPA USB

4G Systems, Germany’s only manufacturer of HSDPA/HSUPA mobile end devices, has launched the new XSPlug P5 USB Modem, which it claims is the smallest in the world at 41×78x12mm.

XSPlug P5 features ultra-fast 7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA technology, providing download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbit/s. It is also equipped with GPRS/EDGE technology for worldwide use in all mobile networks.The modem also has category 4 HSUPA technology and provides up to 2.0 Mbit/s in uplink, compared with 128 Kbit/s with DSL.In addition to the integrated antennas, both the XSPlug P5 and the P3 version, can be installed onto desktops and notebooks with an external antenna.

The modem features integrated plug and play software for Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Apple Mac OS X, and is prepared for the next Apple operating system, Leopard.

The modem is designed to be user friendly, with automatic driver and software installation allowing users immediate internet access.

Kingmax announces World’s Smallest USB Drive

Kingmax’s USB 2.0 ‘Super Stick’ flash drive measures a mere 24 x 12.4 x 2.2mm and weighs just one gram - making it very portable, but also very easy to lose!The drive is Vista / OS X compatible and costs from $19 to $55.The Super Stick features Kingmax’s proprietary semiconductor PIP packaging technology, enabling the drive to provide up to 4GB storage capacity. It is available in four sizes - 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB.

All Kingmax Super Stick USB flash drives support Vista ReadyBoost. When the drive is used together with PCs and notebooks that run on Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system, it can effectively improve performance up to 30-40%.

Kingmax Digital Inc, which has its headquarters in Taiwan, offers flash storage products for use in a wide range of portable electronic devices such as digital cameras and PDA’s.

G-Tech announces world’s first 1TB portable drive

California-based G-Technology Inc has announced the G-Raid mini with Raid 0, the world’s first 1TB portable external storage drive.The drive features a triple FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interface for universal connectivity to Mac and PC workstations and laptops. FireWire 800 is currently the fastest firewire interface on the market.The device makes it easy to travel with large amounts of data, and is ideal for content creation applications, or for audio and video editing while on the move.The unit supports simultaneous playback of multiple layers of video in Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere and Avid Xpress Pro.
The aluminium encased drive features an Oxford 924 bridge chipset and a quiet fan and heat sink. It will be available from March 2008.