Hasta La Gadget!

They aren’t officially announced yet, but HP sneaked two printers onto its Web site today–the HP LaserJet Pro P1102w and HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn–in a stealth introduction. Both fall into the only monochrome laser printer category that (to me at least) is still intrinsically interesting: personal monochrome laser printers, AKA the sort of beasties you can find room for on your desk without too much trouble.

I’ve already had both printers in hand for a couple of weeks, run them through their paces, and written the reviews. We’re in the final throes of getting them ready to post. In the meantime, just to whet your appetite, I’ll mention that if you’re at all interested in getting a personal mono laser, these are very much worth taking a look at. If you remember when a personal mono laser printer meant a 4ppm speed…well, that was a long time ago. The category keeps getting faster and better, and these are a case (or would that be cases) in point.

PMA is just kicking off in earnest down in Anaheim, and it looks like Sony has arrived in a big way. Looking to make a splash in a DSLR world dominated by Canon and Nikon, the outfit has brought a few of its best and brightest concepts to SoCal. Up first is an ultra-compact “interchangeable lens” concept, which is no doubt Sony’s attempt to get in on the fledgling Micro Four Thirds game before it blows up big. Few details on the device are available, but we’ll be doing our best to pry whatever specifications we can from the booth representatives in short order. Moving on, there’s a conceptual model of the Alpha A700 replacement, complete with an Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor that promises full AVCHD video capabilities. There’s also a prototype of a Super Telephoto Lens (500mm F4 G) as well as a prototype Distagon T 24mm F2 ZA SSM, which ought to make wide angle junkies drool profusely. The company’s also dishing out a raft of accessories, including underwater housing devices, HD lenses and output cables, tripods / accessory packs and a Compact PictureStation photo printing kiosk. Stay tuned for some hands-on action from the show floor.

Sony intros Alpha DSLR concepts, ‘ultra-compact’ interchangeable lens model included originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epson calls its PictureMate Show a 2-in-1 product combining a digital picture frame and a compact photo printer (in that order). Our reviewer, David Stone, and most of the 10 or so people he showed the Show to, saw it as more of a compact photo printer with a large preview screen, as the printer is large enough that few people would be likely to use it as a picture frame as well.

Either way, having a 7-inch LCD with which to display or edit your shots is pretty cool. And the PictureMate Show produces prints of a quality more typical of a professional photo lab or a higher-end, non-dedicated photo printer than a portable photo printer. Better, it does so at a cost per page (25.3 cents) equal to the recent Editors’ Choice PictureMate Charm and lower than any other compact photo printer we’ve looked at. At 41 seconds for a 4-by-6, it’s very fast for its ilk (and once again equal to the Charm). The only real catch is the price. At $299 (direct), it costs twice as much as the Charm. For the Show’s jumbo LCD screen, that may (or may not) be worth it.

Don’t let HP’s involvement confuse you, there’s a very good chance John Q. Consumer won’t be able to afford a 3D printer anytime soon. But the company is dipping its toes into the industry thanks to a deal with Stratasys. The latter will produce an “exclusive line of 3D printers based on Stratasys’ patented Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology.” Those will be sold under HP branding targeted at the Mechanical Design (MCAD) market. The specific product details are still shrouded in mystery (that’s just a quick Photoshop, left), but for perspective, Stratasys’ cheapest printer is the uPrint, which can mold 8 x 6 x 6-inch models for a smidgen under $15,000. Still interested, despite price deterrent? Don’t forget there’s some DIY options for you out there for less than a grand.

HP molds itself an entry into the 3D printer market originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just in case you had any doubts, CES is in full swing. Kodak just blurted out a galleria of new goods, starting with the all-new Slice touchscreen camera (shown above). As you likely expected, this is the outfit’s first touchscreen P&S, boasting a 3.5-inch rear display, a search function to sift through “up to 5,000” photos on the internal memory, a direct tag feature, 14 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, built-in optical image stabilization and 720p (30fps) video capture. It’ll ship this April in black, nickel and radish (yeah kids, radish) for $349.95. Next up is the April-bound Pulse digital photo frame, which boasts a 7-inch display (800 x 600 resolution), integrated WiFi, 512MB of storage and a $129.99 price tag. Rounding out the bunch is a load of new EasyShare cameras (all detailed in the press release below), as well as a Playsport camcorder, which offers up waterproof 1080p action with electronic image stabilization, a 2-inch LCD, 5 megapixel still shots, smart face tracking technology and an SD / SDHC card slot. There’s also an HDMI output and USB connectivity, and you’ll find black, blue and purple editions shipping this April for $149.95. You’re stoked, aren’t you?

Continue reading Kodak deals Slice touchscreen camera, Pulse digiframe and Playsport camcorder

Kodak deals Slice touchscreen camera, Pulse digiframe and Playsport camcorder originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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