Sony USA Press Release

SONY PHOTO VAULT™ MINI CD-R STATION NOW AVAILABLE

Product Features Standard USB Interface for Direct-from-Camera CD Burning

LAS VEGAS (CES Booth #N109), Jan. 5, 2004 - Sony Electronics has just made available the new Photo Vault™ Mini CD-R Station, a portable, “PC-free” device for burning photos directly from digital still cameras to mini CD-R media.

Weighing only eight ounces, Photo Vault Mini CD-R Station adds convenience and flexibility to digital photography storage. Users can burn images directly from their camera to 8 cm mini CD-R using a standard USB interface. The device also features a built-in photo album capability to display photos on a television using its standard AV input.

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Seagate Press Release

SEAGATE SET TO SHIP 5GB CF PHOTO HARD DRIVE FOR DIGITAL CAMERAS

Highest capacity and best value for photography and other CompactFlash applications

LAS VEGAS—05 January 2005— Seagate, the world’s number-one consumer electronics hard drive designer, announced today at CES that the Seagate CompactFlash Photo Hard Drive, with a massive 5GB capacity, begins shipping next month into retail stores across the country. The first 5GB CompactFlash media storage card ever introduced, the Seagate CompactFlash Photo Hard Drive offers unparalleled capacities at cost-effective price points for digital photography hobbyists and professional photographers that shoot and store large volumes of high-resolution digital photos. Available in 2.5GB and 5GB capacities, it’s ideal for high-resolution, point-and-shoot and professional digital cameras with a Compact Flash type II media slot. It’s also the most cost-effective solution for entertainment, gaming and PDA devices that use Compact Flash Type II media.

I/OMagic Press Release

I/OMagic Adds New Portable Storage Device, the GigaBank Elite 40, to its Product Line-Up

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 5, 2005—New GigaBank(TM) Elite 40 has up to 40GB of Storage Space and a Single-Touch Data Back-up Function

I/OMagic Corporation (OTCBB:IOMG), a provider of data storage and digital entertainment products, announced today the latest addition to its line of portable storage devices, the new GigaBank(TM) Elite 40. The GigaBank(TM) Elite 40 features up to 40 GB(a) of storage capacity within a 1.8” IDE hard disk drive (HDD). Highlights include its single-touch data back-up function, the fact that it requires no batteries, adapters or installation software, and that it is compact enough to fit in your pocket.

Kodak Press Release

KODAK Products Win Prestigious Awards at 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show

EASYSHARE Printer Dock Plus, EASYSHARE DX7590 Camera and KODAK Picture Maker Receive Innovations 2005 Design and Engineering Awards

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5—Eastman Kodak Company’s continued innovation in the digital imaging industry secured top honors during the opening of the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show, where the company won multiple high-profile awards for its consumer digital imaging products. The KODAK EASYSHARE Printer Dock Plus, KODAK EASYSHARE DX7590 zoom digital camera, and the KODAK Picture Maker G3 Digital Print Station all garnered Innovations 2005 Design and Engineering Awards.

The Innovations 2005 Design and Engineering Awards, sponsored by Consumer Electronics Association and endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society of America, honor superior design and engineering among the year’s most technologically advanced products. Chosen for the honor by a panel of independent industry designers, engineers and journalists, the EASYSHARE DX7590 camera, EASYSHARE Printer Dock Plus and KODAK Picture Maker will join other winners on display at the 2005 International CES Innovations Pavilion (LVCC, Central Plaza).

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Press Release

Hitachi’s Hard Drive Family is Expecting Two New Babies; Baby ‘‘Mikey’’ and Big Brother ‘‘Slim’’ Expand Biggest Small-Form-Factor Family  

LAS VEGAS—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 5, 2005—Hitachi Global Storage Technologies will christen a smaller one-inch Microdrive product and a slimmer 1.8-inch hard drive later this year. These two miniature drives are designed to meet the accelerating demand for ultra-portable handheld devices—such as mobile phones and digital music players—that don’t compromise on storage capacity.

Hitachi will deliver on these requirements by re-engineering its world-renowned one-inch Microdrive to create a 20-percent smaller version with the highest capacity at 8-10 gigabytes(1) (GB) of storage. The new smaller Microdrive is affectionately called baby “Mikey” for its diminutive size.

Applying a similar approach to a new 1.8-inch Travelstar product, Hitachi will trim 30 percent off the thickness of the drive to create a 5 mm version, nicknamed “Slim.” With a slighter profile equivalent to that of the Microdrive, “Slim” will be the world’s smallest and lightest 1.8-inch drive, beating the closest competitor by 10 percent in total volume.

Datacolor Press Release

Datacolor Debuts ColorVision ColorPlus Update; Puts Accurate Color on Consumer Monitors for Under $100
Produce Stunning Photos Using the Tools Professionals Rely on for Color Accuracy

LAS VEGAS, NV January 4th, 2005 - Datacolor, the internationally known name in color technology announced the latest updated V1.0.3 software for ColorVision® ColorPlus”, part of the PANTONE® COLORVISION® product line. Now available in 8 - languages - English, French, German, Spanish, Italian,Japanese and Chinese (Traditional and simplified) with an all new easy to use wizard and interface. ColorPlus is an affordable monitor calibration tool for consumers and photo hobbyists that calibrates a monitor to produce stunning photos in a few easy steps.

Datacolor has chosen to exhibit the ColorVision Digital Imaging product line at TechZones “Flash Forward 2.0: Bringing Digital Imaging into Focus” Central Plaza Booth # 24 &26. Previously driven by professionals alone, the demand for precision color in digital imaging still and moving has inspired the Colorvision Product line to expand distribution of digital color tools to consumer retail outlets.

Datacolor Press Release

Datacolor and Pantone Announce Spyder2 Plus, The New Standard in Consumer Color Electronics

Breakthrough ‘Darkroom in a Box’ Technology Provides Accurate and Affordable Color on Monitors and in Print

LAS VEGAS, Consumer Electronics Show International 2005 (CES) – January 4, 2005 – Datacolor, the internationally known name in color technology and global color authority Pantone, Inc., today announced ColorVision® Spyder2 Plus™, a virtual ”Darkroom in a Box™,” complete with digital imaging tools and software. The product debuted today at UNVEILED, the official press event of CES International.

The show runs January 6 - 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ColorVision booth is located at TechZones; “Flash Forward 2.0: Bringing Digital Imaging into Focus” Central Plaza Booth # 24 & 26. This special area devoted to digital imaging innovation supports the growing interest among consumers for this product category.

D-Link Unveils Industry’s First Wireless Media Player Supporting Microsoft Windows Connect Now at Consumer Electronics Show

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/—D-Link(R), a global leader in consumer network connectivity, today unveiled the industry’s first Digital Media Player supporting Microsoft Windows Connect Now to help ease network installation and network expansion for consumers in the digital home. The D-Link MediaLounge(TM) Wireless Media Player with DVD and Flash Card Reader (DSM-320RD) is based on the best-selling D-Link MediaLounge Player platform and will be demonstrated at both the D-Link Booth # 35832 in Upper South Hall 4 and at the Microsoft booth at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 6 - 9, 2005.

Newsline International Press Release

According to the recently completed 2003-2004 PMA U.S. Industry Trends Report: Retail Markets digital camera sales are estimated to have grown 30 percent in 2004 to 25.1 million units and accounted for 67 percent of all camera sales. Digital camera penetration is expected to be slightly above 40 percent of the U.S. household population compared to almost 30 percent in 2003. These positive trends are expected to continue through 2005 and 2006, and then unit sales are projected to peak in December 2006 when household penetration is anticipated to reach 63 percent. Sales will continue as consumers upgrade or buy additional cameras, but replacement cycles will lengthen as further improvement of features will have less of an impact on consumer satisfaction. For example, upgrading from a 2-megapixel camera to a 4-megapixel camera provides substantially more benefit to consumers than switching from a 6- to 8-megapixel model since the difference in quality is much less noticeable to most consumers.

New Aleratec CD Digital Photo Copy Station Copies from Memory Card to CD and is a CD Duplicator

Windows and Macintosh Support

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Jan. 3, 2005—Alera Technologies, developer and manufacturer of Aleratec Advanced DVD and CD Recording Solutions announced today its advanced new CD Digital Photo Copy Station(tm) that copies digital photos directly to CD from camera memory cards, without a computer, and does much more. The new CD Digital Photo Copy Station is also a stand alone 1:1 CD duplicator as well as a USB 2.0 external CD recorder that records CDs from Windows or Macintosh and an external memory card reader for use with your computer. This is an enhanced version of the Award Winning CD Copy Cruiser(tm) that has become the standard for performance, ease of use, and reliability in desktop CD duplicators.

Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. Press Release

Fujifilm Drives Consumer Capture, Store, Print and Share Solutions; Under the Banner of `Fujifilm Means Digital,’ Fujifilm Showcases a Spectrum of Consumer Digital Technologies at CES 2005

VALHALLA, N.Y.—(Business Wire)—Jan. 3, 2005 Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging and information solutions, is showcasing its full spectrum of consumer digital technologies at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) (booth #12606) - reinforcing its ongoing commitment to bringing digital technology solutions that help consumers quickly and easily capture, store, print and share pictures and data.
From digital cameras with advanced image sensor technology, to new environmentally friendly optical disc storage media, to photo printing solutions that offer consumers the flexibility of printing at home, from home or at retail, Fujifilm’s digital technology solutions let consumers conveniently capture, store, print and share.

Hagiwara Sys-Com Press Release

Hagiwara Sys-Com Announces Live Demonstration of UD-RW (USB 2.0 High-Speed Flash Drive With CD-RW Capability) at 2005 International CES, Las Vegas

UD-RW Combines the Flexibility of USB Flash Drive and the Benefit of CD-RW Into One Compact Package

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/—Hagiwara Sys-Com, the industry leader in semiconductor application products for cutting-edge consumer and industrial electronics—today announced their participation at 2005 International CES to demonstrate different applications of UD-RW, an USB Flash Drive with CD-RW Functionality. (Booth # 70533M, Innovation Plus USB TechZone)

The UD-RW’s innovative Dual Zone Technology combines the flexibility of a USB Flash Drive and the benefit of a CD-RW in one compact package. By inserting the UD-RW into a system’s USB port, two drive icons, a CD-ROM drive and a Removable drive, will appear under “My Computer.” This technology protects data in the Read Only Zone from accidental erase or deletion while still gives users the ability to modify the contents in the Flash Drive Zone.

30 Minute Photos Etc. Press Release

Kodak, Sony, Canon and all other Used Digital Camera Models Finding New Life and Bringing Military Families Closer Together

Irvine, CA (PRWEB) January 3, 2005—“Operation Photo” collecting all used digital cameras nationwide so military families can share family photos as a tool for boosting morale and staying close during the New Year.

Mitch Goldstone a well-known leader in the photo industry, is also recognized for his national grassroots campaigns, such as www.epiccusa.com , which brought thousands of people to New York City to support the airlines and commerce in the Big Apple after 9/11. Among other humanitarian campaigns was last summer’s www.supportthegames.org which was also organized with his partner, Carl Berman, to bring business leaders to Athens for the Olympic games.

This time, Goldstone is reaching out to picture-takers across the U.S. with “Operation Photo”—a program appealing for photographers to donate their older model digital cameras to families of service members distanced during the New Year.

Panasonic Press Release

Panasonic’s Pro High Speed Series SD Memory Cards Achieve World’s Fastest Data Transfer Speed

Panasonic has recently introduced the new Pro High Speed Series 1GB and 512MB SD memory cards. These Memory Cards boast Panasonic’s new LSI architecture and proprietary high speed technology to double the data transfer speed from 10MB/s to the world’s fastest* data transfer speed of up to 20MB/s**.

The increased data transfer speed is important for handling larger content files due to the functions and performance of digital equipment becoming more and more advanced. The Panasonic Pro High Speed SD Cards provide the speed necessary to easily record and replay high quality video images. In the future, it is expected that more and more users will enjoy recording TV programs on SD memory cards for playback on different SD-enabled products. Since video data entails an extremely large file size, it stands to reason that there will be an increased need for high speed data transfer.

If you’re a fan of all things Nikon, you will be extremely interested in Thom Hogan’s latest article about the Japanese photography giant, which is subtitled “What Nikon should have set as goals for 2005”.

“2005 is a very important year for Nikon. In the DSLR marketplace, Canon has stolen the professional thunder and re-established a dominant market share. Fortunately for Nikon, the D70 has held off the same thing from happening at the consumer end. In compact digital cameras, other than the 8800, Nikon seems to be falling behind and losing energy. 2005 is the last year of the huge DSLR unit volume growth, so keeping or adding to market share is important there. 2005 is the year in which compact camera unit growth stalls worldwide and becomes more like a normal market in terms of volume growth, so keeping or adding to market share there is even more important.”

Website: Thom Hogan’s Nikon New Year Resolutions

Imaging Resource are reporting that Sony USA are set to introduce a black version of their 1Gb Memory Stick PRO. In addition to being a different colour, the new version will also have an increased operating temperature (good news for cold weather photographers). Price is $150.

Website: Imaging Resource - Sony readies black 1GB Memory Stick PRO

Digital Outback Photo have published their review of the 22-megapixel Phase One P25 medium format digital back, used in conjunction with the Hasselblad H1 camera.

“You can learn the P25 interface in about 10-15 minutes if you understand digital cameras a bit. The user interface is really fun and easy to use. There are no cables and the P25 feels very well integrated with the H1 camera. After the initial setup we could concentrate on using the camera itself.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Hasselblad H1/Phase One P25 Review

DPReview have just reviewed the new Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer.

“Let’s get one thing out of the way from the start; the P-2000 is a very well-designed, very sophisticated and very desirable addition to any serious digital photographer’s gadget bag. It has a fantastic screen that makes browsing images a real pleasure, is easy to use, and can be used to watch movies or listen to music whilst on the move. We managed to rip AVI files from DVD and watch them on the P-2000 relatively easily (though you’ll need additional software - and to be prepared for a little experimentation with settings to do this yourself), and the MP3 playback is not bad at all for a photo viewer!”

Website: DPReview - Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer Review

The Taiwanese company Digimaster have just released the first SD memory card that also doubles up as a USB 2.0 flash drive, meaning that you can use it in your digital camera and then plug it directly into your PC to download your images (without having to buy or carry an SD card reader). Quite a cool technological solution that will make that ultra-compact digicam even more portable than before.

The 128MB version will retail for $880 (Taiwan New Dollars) and 256MB version for $1280.

Website: Engadget - The first USB-enabled SD card

NPD Press Release

Decline of Tech Product Prices Accelerates Moving into Holiday Buying Season; Latest Results from NPD CE Price Watch Released

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—(Business Wire)—Dec. 22, 2004—The average selling price of technology products was down during the month of October, according to the latest NPD Consumer Electronics Price Watch, a monthly pricing monitor from The NPD Group that provides a top-line look into the pricing of technology products being sold in the U.S.

While prices in October 2004 were down 18 percent when compared with October 2003, the average selling price of tech products was moderate when compared to September 2004, with the most expensive items in the basket - plasma and rear projection TVs - posting only slight declines. Overall, price declines accelerated in October as the total cost for the market basket of goods tracked by Price Watch fell. The overall basket of goods is now $11,280, nearly $5,400 less than it was in January 2003, and almost $2,500 less than it was in October 2003.

Digital cameras and memory cards saw sharp declines in prices from September 2004 to October 2004. Digital camera prices fell seven percent and dipped below the $200 level for the first time. Memory cards dropped 10 percent from September to $36.58, the first time a 128 MB card was under $40.