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Fast and portable

Western Digital has expanded their line of portable storage devices with the new My Passport Studio portable drives.

The are designed specifically for Mac users and works with Apple’s Time Machine backup feature found in its Leopard (10.5) operating system but can also be formatted for Windows 2000/XP/Vista.

The new units weigh less then 5 ounces, have both FireWire® 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces, a capacity gauge and include a soft drawstring carrying bag for protection from scratches and dirt. They are available in capacities of 320 GB (MSRP $219.99) and 250 GB (MSRP $159.99).

Get em at www.shopwd.com.

-- Gregg Ellman

One year later

It's been about a year since the Apple marketing blitz hit the airwaves with the iPhone campaign......and its about to happen again. If the rumors are true, the new iPhone 2 should be out any day.

It should be bigger and better with features, smaller in size along with a bigger screen, but smaller dimensions and bigger prices,which should be lower. What did I just say?

Who knows, but for sure it will be cool. Take a look at this, at thestreet.com. It's their predictions on what will be in the device.

-- Gregg Ellman

Software now available

Professional and consumer-oriented desktop publishing Serif, now has their design and graphics software available for its four leading software products to the U.S. retail market.

The software includes: PagePlus X3, WebPlus X2, PhotoPlus X2 and DrawPlus X2 which off great programs but cost much less then many of its competitors for the professional market.

Where to get it: Serif software products can be purchased at Fry’s and Micro Center stores, as well as on Amazon.com, Buy.com and Dell.com. In July, PhotoPlus X2 will be available in Office Depot locations nationwide.

The software ranges in price from $79.99 to $99.99. More information can be found at www.serif.com.

-- Gregg Ellman

Gifts for dad

SanDisk sent out an email with some fathers day gift idea, and they are all good ones. So here they are below. I'm currently testing out the first one and it works great. Basically, its an iPod Nano, but you don't have to deal with iTunes, just standard MP3's PLUS it has an FM radio built in. Easy to use and I would recommend it for anyone.

SanDisk Sansa Fuze MP3 player: Packing a long list of features into a tiny package, the multi-faced Sansa® Fuze™ plays music, audio books and video clips; displays photos; has a built-in FM radio; and offers a voice recorder to capture thoughts on the fly. The bright 1.9” color screen makes it easy to navigate, or watch videos in landscape mode. There’s also a microSD™ card slot for quickly expanding capacity. With surprisingly big sound from a device smaller than a credit card, the Sansa Fuze is available now in five colors and three capacities: 2 gigabytes1 (GB) for a list price of $79.99; 4GB at $99.99 and 8GB at $129.99 (www.sandisk.com/SansaFuze).

SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Plus USB flash drive: SanDisk brings something new to USB flash drives – secure automatic online backup.2 Any file copied to the Cruzer® Titanium Plus is automatically backed up to a password-protected online account. If the drive is lost or stolen, or you simply forget to bring it with you, retrieving that important file requires nothing more than signing into your backup account from any computer connected to the Internet.3 Available now at 4GB capacity for a list price of $49.99 (www.sandisk.com/CruzerTitaniumPlus).

SanDisk Video HD cards: Take the mystery out of selecting the right card for the new generation of standard and high-definition camcorders that use flash memory instead of tape or disks with SanDisk Video HD™ cards, which conveniently displays the minutes of video recording time on its label, as well as offering fast transfer of recordings to computers for editing. The cards are available now in 60-minute4 (4GB) and 120-minute4 (8GB) times – on the HD Standard setting – in both the SDHC™ and Memory Stick PRO Duo™ formats. Suggested retail prices are $79.99 and $139.99, respectively, for the 4GB and 8GB SDHC cards, and $79.99 and $149.99, respectively, for the 4GB and 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo cards (www.sandisk.com/VideoHD).

SanDisk Mobile Ultra cards: Wake up your Dad’s or grad’s phone with SanDisk® Mobile Ultra™ – the industry’s first premium mobile phone memory card. Mobile Ultra offers fast side-loading speeds for quickly moving digital files to and from the card and your computer. There’s also a 10-year limited warranty, and the cards come with a MobileMate™ Micro Reader that plugs into any USB 2.0 port. Available in June in three formats: microSD™ at 2GB; microSDHC™ at 4GB and 8GB; and Memory Stick Micro M2 at 2G, 4GB and 8GB. Manufacturer’s suggested retail prices range from $34.99 to $129.99. An 8GB Mobile Ultra card can hold more than 1,000 digital songs, and more than 1,200 high-resolution photos, and up to 21 hours of high-quality MPEG 4 video5  (www.sandisk.com/SanDiskMobileUltra)

New to carry

Lowepro, a leader in portable storage for digital photography equipment (and my personal choice) has announced new bags to carry equipment for digital photographers; the Inverse line of belt packs and the re-invented line of the Nova series of shoulder bags.

The Inverse can be used in two ways; users can wear it around the waist by snapping on the contoured mesh lumbar belt or carried as a shoulder bag with the detachable 360˚ swivel padded shoulder harness.

A quick access lid opens 180 degrees to make loading and retrieving gear simple. The bags are padded and can be customized in the main compartment with ease. An all weather cover keeps the contents dry and its available in two sizes, the Inverse 100 AW and 200 AW. With it, users can carry a pro-style digital SLR with attached lens as well as extra lenses, flash units and accessories.

The next generation models of their popular Nova AW series will hold a digital SLR and accessories in a weather protected bag with the 360º All Weather Cover .

Prices for the bags range from $79.99 to $109.99

Want more information: www.lowepro.com

-- Gregg Ellman

Digital scrapbooking

I'm well aware (especially by some of the emails and calls I've gotten today) of how big digital scrapbooking is.

Today, the FWST ran my story on the subject and if you haven't seen the story yet, check it out here.

My wife is addicted to this hobby and supplied me with the art work on display.

-- Gregg Ellman

Kodak moments delivered

KODAK Gallery now lets you purchase KODAK Digital Picture Frames preloaded with up to 100 of your favorite Gallery photos. 

Users choose the frame wanted, select their digital images and of course pay for the frame. The gallery will then load up the frame and ship it to you or someone else as gift.

And just to give Kodak some time and space, here are some words from a recent Kodak press release;

“KODAK Digital Pictures Frames are very popular and we’re thrilled to build on that popularity by offering an easy way for people to share pictures with the people they love, and the best part is that we do the work for you,” said Madhav Mehra, General Manager of KODAK Gallery.  “These new preloaded frames make great gifts and with the preloaded KODAK Picture Card, you can continue to send new pictures anytime.”

Now that we got that over with, this is truly a really cool idea they have. Many people (70 million members worldwide) use the Kodak site and the Kodak frames are sold everywhere.

Why not send grandma the frame with the photos installed already, especially if she lives out of town without anyone to help set it up.

Details about Preloaded KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Picture frames are at www.kodak.com. They have many frames to choose from, all with different prices.

-- Gregg Ellman

Portable printers

Canon U.S.A. has two new additions to its line of compact photo printers: the radical SELPHY CP770 and the ultra-compact CP760 Photo Printers.

These portable photo printers will print almost anywhere –all without having to use a computer or camera to download images.

Canon calls the SELPHY CP770 compact photo printer a "cute carry-it-all solution" since it comes bundled in a basket-style storage bucket. This bucket can be used to carry the printer and  accessories including paper, ink and the power cord.

The printer has larger (and less) buttons arranged in a new layout, designed for simplicity and easier navigation through menus. Other features include: 2.5” High-Definition LCD monitor, available in a friendly apricot and crisp white color, automatically determine the position of the red-eye and change the pupils back to a natural color for printing, feature new overcoat technology to help reduce blurring, and fingerprint smudges along with being Bluetooth compatible (sold separately).

The Canon SELPHY CP760 Compact Photo Printer prints great 4x6 inch photographs and make the most out of a digital camera. Many of the same features of the CP770 are in this one along with card slots lets users plug in memory cards or print straight from the camera with a USB cord. 

Read more about these at www.usa.canon.com

-- Gregg Ellman

Tony on iTunes

They might be in re-runs, but people still want more Tony.

Today Apple has given HBO fans another way to catch one of the best shows ever made by purchasing the Sopranos and other HBO shows Sex and the City, Deadwood, Rome and others) on iTunes.

Shows will vary in prices from $1.99 per episode for shows like Sex and the City to $2.99 for shows like the Sopranos.

Read more about it here.

--Gregg Ellman

For the graduate

I put together a quick shopping guide for some tech gifts for graduates. 

It's really never ending with what you can buy, especially in the technology field, but just make sure your graduate is interested in what your buying them - many stores are charging restocking fee's when you return the unwanted gifts.

Don't get something you like and hope they will like - the odds are if your older then them, they have their mind set on something - just ask em'.

But here are some of my suggestions.

P.S. - A quick survey of my wife's high school students found that the guys liked the solar charger for cell phones and MP3 players.

-- Gregg Ellman