Just a year ago, Digital Foci’s Photo Book would have been tempting. It’s a combination memory card reader and display, with – essential for any serious photographer – RAW support.
But when we look at the specs we see that it is outdone at every turn by a netbook. The 8" display is smaller, the paltry 4GB of internal memory is clearly not enough — my cameras all have at least a 4GB card inside. Worse, the battery life can’t even beat a full fledged netbook. It lasts just 2.5 hours.
In fact, the only advantages are portability and price. The Photo Book will be $190 when it hits stores in May this year. A netbook is around twice that, but can do so much more besides. And as Joel at Boing Boing Gadgets points out, RAW support is an ever-shifting target. That’s why Adobe and Apple are forever updating their photo software just to keep up with new cameras.
Verdict: don’t bother.
Product page [Digital Foci via BBG via Crunchgear]
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