Polaroid's kiddy attempts

It seems that long-time Instant Film maker Polaroid is making an attempt to target kids with their digital cameras. The Pixie CKA-00301S (we wonder who came up with the name) is a 3-megapixel shooter shaped like a handheld gaming device and, yes, it comes with 8 in-built games to entertain the little ones.

Kids can use either the 2.4-inch LCD to frame their shots or the two viewfinders located above the display. We think the camera looks like a mask when kids bring it up to look through the viewfinder.

The pixie digital camera comes with 2x digital zoom, 16MB of internal memory and SD flash memory expansion slot. It is powered by two readily available AAA-sized batteries.

Available in two color schemes: Yellow/pink for the girls and orange/blue for the boys, the pixie digital camera is available online for US$79.99.

HDMI output...on a printer?

Sony's latest crop of photo printers, the DPP-FP95 and DPP-FP75, have a 3.6- and 3.2-inch LCD display and a new icon-ridden graphic interface for PC-free image editing. They reportedly print a 4 x 6-inch photo at 300 x 300dpi resolution in 45 seconds using dye-sublimation.

Finally, if LCD just isn't doing it for you, you can also hook it up to your TV via its HDMI output.

Wait, what? Yes, this will appeal to the following consumer:

1.) Has an HD TV

2.) Doesn't have a camera with HDMI-out

3.) Would rather not buy a camera with HDMI-out

4.) Has a US$299.99 desperation to look at HD photo slideshows on a TV

I'm sure at least one person out there will pay to get this functionality, but I'm already scared. Wait, does this mean I'll have to start actually watching people's slideshows? My old excuse is about to be obsolete...

"I don't watch TV unless it's in HD."

Thanks, Sony.

Via Crave CNET

Bringing the old Polaroid snapshot back to life

If there's one gadget that's been egregiously over-produced, it's the digital photo frame. We've never understood the need for so many brands, versions, and sizes, except for the networked Ceiva (though we're not so sure about the whole refrigerator thing).

So if companies insist on making these already overdone products, we appreciate some originality--as in the idea for a retro-styled Polaroid snapshot lookalike conceived by photographer Dave Friedman. The people at Polaroid apparently agree, according to Stuff, because they're working to make the concept a reality.

As originally envisioned, the wireless frame would present photos from a memory card as a slideshow or as images slowly being developed, mimicking the process of the old-school instant camera. It even includes the familiar white space under the image where a dry marker can be used to write in captions. Brilliant.

Via Crave CNET

Just twist and snap away

Here's a digital camera that doesn't require any batteries to power up. All it takes, is your fingers to give it a few good twists to juice it up and snap away.

Conceptualized by product design students Bryn Seymour and Jon Rothapfel, this camera relies on kinetic energy via the winding of a cap and stores this energy for just several images. We're curious whether if we stay up all night winding the cap, would that let us take more shots? Or would we end up busting the gadget?

This concept camera doesn't have an LCD screen to frame your shots, but relies on a simple circular hole in the camera body itself. So…are we going to get rounded images?

There is also a built-in USB plug which is hidden underneath the cap and an LED near the hole (which the designers claim is for the user interface, but we're not sure how that'll help).

The students stated that with the current technology, their camera can support up to 5-megapixel resolution.

So forgive us while we strengthen our fingers and wrist. Eco-friendly cameras may be the next wave of gadgets to come.

Panasonic adds Wi-Fi to its Lumix TZ-series

Panasonic seems to be introducing incremental feature upgrades to its new cameras these days. Just less than 24 hours ago, we saw the Japanese camera maker showcase its new FX520, which is an upgraded model to the FX36, but with an added touchscreen interface.

Today, Panasonic Japan did it again with its new Lumix offering, the TZ50, which sports an almost identical feature set as the TZ15 annnounced at the annual photo tradeshow PMA earlier this year, except for one big difference: Wi-Fi. The TZ50 comes equipped with onboard 802.11b/g which will allow users in Japan to wirelessly upload pictures to Panasonic's Lumix Club Web site from the camera. The global launch of the TZ50 should, however, see the camera maker unlock this function for uploading to other popular image-hosting sites.
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