Epson have developed an all-in-one LCD screen with an integrated cover and touch panel. The All-in-One Touch Screen LCD offers high visibility thanks to an all-in-one optical design that reduces brightness/contrast loss and prevents glare. Thanks to Photo Fine Vistarich wide viewing angle and anti-reflection technologies, it offers clear views from any angle. The new screen is intended for use in in-car systems, such as satellite navigation, and in digital cameras and advanced mobile phones with built-in digital TV receivers. 3.1-inch and 7-inch prototypes will be shown at FPD International 2007, which will be held from October 24 to 26 at Pacifico Yokohama, Japan.

The Wacom Cintiq 12WX is a 12.1” interactive pen display for direct pen-on-screen drawing, painting and sketching. Users can work with the pressure sensitive pen directly on the high quality screen, which provides a WXGA resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels with 24-bit colour depth and a wide viewing angle of 170°. The new Cintiq 12WX will be available from November 2007 in the UK and is priced at £829.99 including VAT.

The Xs-Drive Vision 2500 is a new portable storage device with built-in video and audio functions. Equipped with a 2.5"TFT colour screen and 2.5” hard disk drive (60GB up to 160 GB), the Xs-Drive Vision 2500 measures 128×84×26mm and weighs 350 grams. The Xs-Drive Vision 2500 is available now for €199.

The Sony HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album features an 80GB hard drive, connects to a high definition television via HDMI and can store up to 50,000 high resolution photos. Images can be imported via multiple flash memory card formats, CD, DVD, USB or Ethernet. The HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album uses Sony’s face detection technology to locate faces in photographs and adjusts the slideshow transitions around the location of faces. The Sony HDMS-S1D will be available in October for about $400.

Have you bought a digital camera because it offers face detection, but been disappointed by the slow performance? FotoNation have the answer with the catchily-named FastTrack IPC, hardware acceleration technology that improves Face-Tracking quality and performance by up to 400%. It won’t make any difference to your current camera, but will probably appear in future models, as FotoNation’s system is used by a significant number of manufacturers. “With FastTrack IPC, we are providing better image quality and a prolonged battery life, which are always important in the design of handheld electronic products, such as cameras and camera phones,” said Eran Steinberg, CEO of FotoNation Inc.

Datacolor Spyder3 is a new monitor calibration device aimed at photographers needing the most accurate colour for digital editing. The new Spyder3 colorimeter offers the only seven-detector colour engine on the market, with its 27mm aperture, the largest in its class, giving a greater screen sampling area and a 400 per cent increase in light sensitivity. New products in the range include Spyder3Elite and Spyder3Studio. Spyder3Elite enables users to calibrate multiple studio displays to a single target. Spyder3Studio combines the features of Spyder3Elite’s display calibration with a printer profiling tool.

The Jobo GIGA One Ultra is an affordable portable storage device featuring ultra quick download speeds. The GIGA One Ultra can transfer 1 GB of data in about three minutes, reaching speeds of up to up to 5.47 MB per second. Available in four hard disc capacities (40, 80, 120 and 200 GB), the new GIGA one ultra is USB 2.0 compatible, features a large 2” LCD screen, a sturdy aluminium casing, and covered media card slots for protection against dust and dirt. The Jobo GIGA One Ultra is available at the end of October 2007 for €149, €199, €229, and €329 respectively.

Gigapan allows you to to capture stunning panoramic images using technology that is affordable to the ordinary consumer - just $279 for a beta unit. A partnership between Charmed Labs, Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group, and Google, Gigapan can capture incredibly high-resolution panoramic images with a standard consumer digital camera. Charmed Labs are offering a limited number of beta units for an introductory price of $279. If you’re interested make sure to apply on or before October 19th 2007.

Website: Gigapan

At a press event held this week in Barcelona, Spain, Kodak outlined its future plans, admitting that it had no current intentions to enter the digital SLR market. Instead the company will focus its efforts on the general consumer and attempt to strengthen its position as the 3rd biggest manufacturer worldwide for digital still cameras. The new CMOS sensor that was launched back in July on the entry-level C513 camera was heralded as a “huge breakthrough” for Kodak by John O’Grady, the MD of Europe, strongly hinting that future models will employ the same technology.

Kodak also backed-up its claims of 50% cheaper inkjet printing with a new independent report from QualityLogic that verifies the cost savings. The report concluded that prints made on Kodak’s 5500 and 5300 all-in-one printers were up to 3 times less expensive than the industry average, across three different categories of printing. For black prints, Kodak’s prints costs 0.023 Euros per page, against 0.060 Euros average industry cost. For colour prints, Kodak cost 0.069 Euros versus 0.130 Euros. Finally, for a 10x15cm photo, a Kodak print cost 0.096 Euros, with the industry average much higher at 0.306 Euros.

The Transcend JetFlash 220 is a biometric USB flash drive which scans your fingerprint for the ultimate in security. The Transcend JetFlash 220 is currently available in 8GB (Ruby Red), 4GB (Royal Blue), and 2GB (Sunburst Orange) capacities. Prices are 36.80€ (2GB), 49.70€ (4GB) and 86.50€ (8GB).

The new Lacie Ethernet Disk mini Home Edition is a 500Gb personal media server. It combines remote access through the Internet, ability to stream multimedia files through DLNA-compatible UPnP media players and act as an iTunes music server. The DesktopMirror application can backup and restore computer files to the Lacie Ethernet Disk mini Home Edition for safekeeping, sharing and remote access. “This product offers a simple way to store digital photos, family videos and complete music libraries in one convenient location while making them accessible throughout the home or elsewhere around the world.  Sharing pictures with friends or backing up office files, while on the road, has never been so easy.”  said Marie Renouard, LaCie Product Manager. The LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition will be available late October for $199.

The NEC MultiSync LCD2470WVX is a new 24 inch LCD monitor featuring 1920 x 1200 resolution, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 5 ms response time and 400cd/m2 brightness rating. Italso incorporates a unique four-way ergonomic stand that allows users to quickly and easily adjust the display height, tilt, swivel and pivot orientation. “The MultiSync LCD2470WVX is a great enterprise display but it is also versatile enough for graphics and CAD users who need feature-rich performance,” said Lynn Gu, Product Manager for NEC Display Solutions. “In addition to delivering performance, the LCD2470WVX is priced as a great value.” There’s no price yet, so it remains to be seen how “great value” it will actually be.

Sony have introduced three new 300x high speed compact flash cards. With UDMA (ultra direct memory access) support, the new media achieve data transfer rates of 45MB/s during write operation. The Sony CompactFlash 300x cards are available in capacities of 2GB, 4GB and 8GB. The 300x cards come complete with a 5 year warranty. The new Sony CompactFlash 300x cards will be available from October 2007, pricing to be announced.

The Lacie 2big Triple two-disk RAID hard-drive is now available. Featuring three inerfaces - FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and Hi-Speed USB 2.0 - the 2big Triple is ideal for digital editing and graphic design. “Professional ergonomics, RAID flexibility, plug and play, and two hot-swappable drives are key components of the 2big family,” said Marie Renouard, LaCie Product Manager.  “Add in triple interface with USB cross-platform compatibility, and FireWire 800 for speed demanding applications, and you have a device that was not only designed well, but is an ideal solution for creative professionals.” Offered in 1, 1.5 and 2 terabyte versions, the 2big Triple features a new natural cooling heat sink metal design, The LaCie 2big Triple is available in October starting at $399.

USB 3.0 promises to deliver over 10 times the speed of today’s USB connection. USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.0 will be a backward-compatible standard and be optimized for low power. “The digital era requires high-speed performance and reliable connectivity to move the enormous amounts of digital content now present in everyday life. USB 3.0 will meet this challenge while maintaining the ease-of-use experience that users have come to love and expect from any USB technology.” said Jeff Ravencraft, technology strategist with Intel. A completed USB 3.0 specification is expected by the first half of 2008.

Lacie Little Disk is a new range of portable hard drives designed exclusively for LaCie by award-winning designer Sam Hecht. With storage potential from 30 to 250 gigabytes, the LaCie Little Disk is driver-free and pre-formatted for simple, one-step installation across all platforms. The new drives are available in either 1.8- or 2.5-inch formats and with USB or Firewire connectivity. “Designed for simplicity, the 1.8- and 2.5-inch drives are extremely portable and are bus powered, eliminating the need for A/C power. So whether you are on a bus, taking the train, or relaxing at the park, your data is always accessible.” said Nolwenn Rozen, LaCie product manager. Suggested retail prices start at $99.99 for the 1.8-inch, $89.99 for the 2.5- inch USB 2.0 and $119.99 for the 2.5-inch Combo.

The new Lacie Portable DVD±RW Drive with LightScribe has been designed exclusively for LaCie by award-winning designer Sam Hecht. The FireWire or USB 2.0 bus-powered LaCie Portable DVD±RW Drive is less than one inch tall, and one pound in weight. “Burning professional-looking CD/DVDs in any work environment is made easy through Sam Hecht’s simple and elegant design coupled with buspower, LightScribe labeling and a complete software suite.” said Anne Bordet, LaCie Product Manager. The Lacie Portable DVD±RW Drive costs $99.99 for USB 2.0 and $149.99 for FireWire.

Kodak engineer Steven Sasson, inventor of the digital camera, has been voted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. In 1975 Sasson built a camera using solid state electronics, solid state imagers and an electronic sensor known as a charged coupled device (CCD). In 1978, he and his supervisor, Gareth A. Lloyd, were issued a U.S. patent for the first digital camera. The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame was created in 2000 to recognize the pioneers of the CE industry and has honoured more then 110 industry leaders.

Universal Flash Storage is a new industry-wide specification for removable memory cards and embedded memory solutions, supported by Sony, Nokia, Micron, and Samsung amongst others. The aim is to provide owners of mobile handsets, digital cameras and other consumer electronics devices with a unified removable memory card that can be shared without the need for any adaptors. So no more swapping between Compact Flash, SD, xD and Memory Stick. Sounds like a good idea in theory, but the bad news is that the Universal Flash Storage standard won’t be finalized until 2009.

The Colour Confidence Profiler colour management package now includes step by step in-system help and full Windows Vista compatiblility. In addition the the award-winning Eye-One Match software is now supplied for use with the included Eye-One Pro measuring device. “A key aim when developing the product was to make high-end printer profiling both affordable and accessible, and part of that is making sure we take notice of what users want. Colour Confidence Profiler is a comprehensive solution, so it makes sense for it to be accompanied by a comprehensive user guide”. commented Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director of Colour Confidence. Colour Confidence Profiler costs 502/€749 ex. VAT, or £425/€635 to eligible academic institutions.