The LaCie LaCinema Rugged multimedia hard disk provides high quality movie viewing in a unique scratch-resistant aluminum shell. Optimized viewing through HDMI 1080i upscaling will allow you to play back videos on your HDTV or enjoy photos in clear HD resolution. “The LaCinema Rugged is the long-needed solution to the challenge of entertainment on the go,” said Christelle Dexet, LaCie Multimedia Product Manager. “The Rugged’s triple protection design and larger capacity options mean users can be confident transporting their digital entertainment collections to any location for enjoyment.” The LaCie LaCinema Rugged is available now for $199.

Clickfree automatic backup drives have updated with 250, 320 and 500 GB storage capacities. The three new Clickfree drives - HD525, HD325 and HD225 - automatically backup important digital content such as photos, music, data and video. Clickfree backup solutions that work right out of the box and do not require software installation or configuration. The Clickfree Portable Backup HD325 retails for £124.99 and the HD225 retails for £114.99.

US retailer Dale Photo & Digital is holding an online webinar with Justin Stailey, technical product specialist for Leica. Justin will present in-depth information on all the new Leica products, including the 37 megapixel Leica S2 (pictured). The New Leica Products Webinar takes place on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST.

Website: Dale Photo & Digital - New Leica Products Webinar

The new LaCie Internet Space is a network hard disk that is accessible through the Internet anywhere, anytime. Users can interface with the LaCie Internet Space, powered by HipServ, through any internet connection. This exclusive web portal allows authorised users to access stored content, download it or even upload new files from anywhere. The Internet Space’s 500 gigabytes or 1 terabyte of storage capacity allows users to centralise their entire multimedia library. “Whether you are looking for a quick and painless way to access your photo collection securely from your friend’s house or to share your last vacation photos with family, friends or colleagues, this device is a perfect NAS solution for remote use.” said Christa Dabilly, LaCie Product Manager. The LaCie Internet Space will have a starting suggested retail price of £129.

The BenQ M2400HD is a new 24 inch, High Definition widescreen LCD monitor. The new M2400 HD features 1080p, 2ms response time, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 2.0M webcam, integrated speakers, and a built-in microphone. Price and availability of the BenQ M2400HD to be announced.

The Leaf AFi II, Aptus II and Broncolor Scoro will be launched in the UK this month. Taking place at Peartree’s brand new showroom in London on the 12th November, you will be able to gain first hand experience with the new Leaf AFi II 10 and Aptus II 10 camera systems and Broncolor Scoro power pack. Places will be limited, so it will be entry via invitation only.

The new WD TV Media Player allows you to view photos stored on a portable hard drive on a HDTV in Full-HD 1080p resolution. Simply leave the WD TV HD Media Player connected to your TV and plug in up to two My Passport USB drives or other USB mass storage devices. Using the included remote control, you can navigate and play your content with the WD TV’s high-definition on-screen menu. The WD TV HD Media Player is available now for $129.99.

WD has added a high-speed FireWire 800 interface to its popular My Passport Studio portable drive. With FireWire 800/400 and USB interfaces, the new My Passport Studio portable drives offer up to 500 GB of storage capacity, are formatted for Mac computers and weigh less than 7 ounces. “Photographers and videographers, be they creative pros or Mac computer enthusiasts, have a genuine need for large amounts of fast, portable storage for their high-definition files,” said Jim Welsh, senior vice president and general manager of WD’s Branded Products and Consumer Electronics Groups. “With a new FireWire 800 interface, My Passport Studio speeds up editing and transferring of big media files making it perfect for performance-minded Mac computer users on the go.” My Passport Studio with FireWire 800/400 interfaces and 500 GB capacity is $249.99, and for 400 GB capacity is $229.99.

According to a report by InfoTrends, the number of snapshot photographers has increased, while the number of hobbyists has decreased. Kodak is the leading brand among “family memory keepers”, maintaining its lead since 2004, while Canon leads the way in the hobbyist sector. According to InfoTrends’ Director Mette Eriksen, “This is important for Canon because it will have helped secure sales of entry-level digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras to brand loyal hobbyists.”

The Pocket Album Deluxe OLED 2.8 is a new pocketable photo viewer from Digital Foci. Pocket Album Deluxe OLED 2.8 holds over 4,000 photos and features a 2.8-inch OLED screen with a contrast ratio of 10,000:1.  It allows photos to be viewed by scrolling manually or randomly with an automatic photo slideshow with adjustable intervals. Available in Red, Sky Blue and Charcoal, the Pocket Album Deluxe OLED 2.8 is priced at $99.

Buy a LaCie external storage device and get unlimited online backup for one year after installation, worth $49.95. The online backup service is powered by well-known provider Carbonite. “LaCie Online Backup provides one year of free unlimited online storage to showcase the importance of backup strategies that keep data safe, and our dedication to helping users get there.” said Philippe Spruch, LaCie Chief Executive Officer. Unlimited LaCie Online Backup will be available at no extra charge for one full year beginning November 2008 on LaCie consumer hard drives.

Transcend’s StoreJet 25C and StoreJet 25M portable hard drives are now available in 500GB capacities. Combining huge storage capacity, great looks and compact mobile convenience, Transcend’s high capacity 2.5” portable hard drives are an excellent way to effectively ensure ample storage space for backing up, transferring, and storing important data. In addition, Transcend’s 2.5” portable hard drives offer vastly-improved storage productivity with the bundled StoreJet elite software package.

The NEC MultiSync P221W is a new professional grade, wide-screen desktop LCD monitor. Featuring hardware color calibration using the optional NEC SpectraviewII kit, the NEC P221W delivers accurate color in a simple to use and affordable package. The NEC MultiSync P221W features a 3-year limited warranty and will be available for December 2008 for $636.90. The SpectraViewII color calibration kit will cost $374.99.

OWC has launched the Mercury Pro Blu-ray drives, the first Blu-ray external drives to offer a “Quad Interface” of FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. OWC Mercury Pro drives feature 4x write speeds, a data transfer rate up to 150MB per second, and compatibility with both Windows and Macintosh systems. Mercury Pro Blu-ray drives read and/or write virtually all optical media, including Blu-ray, HD-DVD, DVD-RAM, and CD-R/RW. Pricing starts from $499.

The PhotoScope 85 T* FL from Carl Zeiss is a combined telescope and digital camera that offers a focal length of 600 to 1800mm. Small objects as close as five meters to faraway objects can be captured digitally by the integrated 7 megapixel digital camera. To take a picture, open the 7.5 cm OLED screen on the side of the device, on which the live image can be seen and camera parameter settings can be entered. An IR remote control which can also be used to make all camera settings enables vibration-free release. The launch of the PhotoScope 85 T* FL is scheduled for spring/summer 2009.

Apple have updated their entire Macbook laptop range. The new MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro have all-metal enclosures, LED-backlit displays and pro-performance notebook graphics. “Apple has invented a whole new way of building notebooks from a single block of aluminium. And, just as important, they are the industry’s greenest notebooks”, said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The new MacBooks offer incredible features our users will love — like their stunning all-metal design, great 3D graphics and LED backlit displays — at prices up to £350 / $700 less than before”. Apple have also updated the MacBook Air and the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

The new Apple LED Cinema Display is a 24 inch LED-backlit widescreen monitor. It features a built-in iSight video camera, MagSafe charger, three USB 2.0 ports, new Mini DisplayPort, mic and speakers in a thin aluminium and glass enclosure. The new LED Cinema Display is the greenest Apple display ever, made with mercury-free LED technology, arsenic-free glass and highly recyclable materials. The Apple LED Cinema Display will be available in November for £649 / $899.

The Mamiya DL28 is a brand new, affordable medium-format camera system. The DL28 marries the professionally proven Mamiya camera system to the innovative 28 megapixel Aptus-II 6 Digital Back from Leaf. It features a 28 megapixel image sensor with a pixel size of 7.2 microns, 16-bit capture, 12 stop dynamic range and an ISO range of 50-800, and a large 3.5 inch LCD screen. The 28 MP back provides raw files of 53Mb, and 16 bit TIFF files in excess of 159 Mb. The Mamiya DL28 will be available in November for $14,999.

The Iomega StorCenter ix2 is a new network storage appliance aimed at small businesses and home users. Priced from £219 for the 1Tb version and £309 for the 2Tb version, the StorCenter ix2 provides centralized storage to share, secure and protect your photos, mp3 files, videos and financial records. “The ix2 puts even the most non-technical person at ease with its straightforward operation. But behind the scenes, the ix2 utilizes advanced data protection and data management programs that haven’t been available to consumers and small businesses before. With the ix2, users are literally four clicks away from storage technologies built on the heritage of those that protect data at the world’s largest organizations, all at a cost of a little over £200.” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC.

Calumet has unveiled a new range of new line of supersized digital photo frames. Available in three sizes, 8.4 inches, 10.4 inches and 15 inches, the Calumet digital photo frames are easy to set up, offer remote control operation, and can be placed on a flat surface or hung on a wall. The Calumet Digital Photo Frames retail for $109.99, $179.99 and $279.99. The line of optional interchangeable frames retails from $9.99 to $16.99.