Juniper Foo | Oct 27, 2004

Never mind that dogs see the world in a limited range of colors, Japanese toy maker Tomy has made a camera for canines. Which means we finally get to find out where the heck Sparky the StarHub dog goes roaming next. The device clips on the front of the pooch's collar and can be be timed to snap candids from 1 to 60 minutes, or remotedly triggered. The 8MB onboard memory is rated as good for up to 90 images, although the lack of flash means night shots are out. Still, this ought to be loads of fun for dog owners. Say arrf, er, cheese.
Click to see
device and remote
Price: ¥9,240 (US$86.70)
Availability: Tomy
Device: Digicam device
Basic specs: 350,000-pixel CMOS sensor, 70cm to infinity, f2.8, built-in Lithium cell, USB 1.1, 55 x 52 x 12mm, 38g
Juniper Foo | Oct 04, 2004

Olympus wasn't kidding when it described its mysterious m:robe as minimalist in design. Showcased at the recent Photokina 2004, we're still wondering if this multipurpose digicam even comes with a shutter button, let alone an optical zoom lens. Since Olympus continues to keep coy about its "musical memory maker", it remains to be seen if a 3-in-1 digital camera, MP3 player and image viewer device will wow and woo the Asian crowd. Fujifilm's been there and done that with its
FinePix 50i. So has Casio with its now-discontinued
Exilim EX-M20 music-playing digicam.
Price: T.B.A.
Availability: Early 2005
Device: 3-in-1 digital camera
Basic specs: N.A.