Japanese camera maker Exemode announced [JP] the Hello Kitty DV520KT today, a simple 5MP CMOS camcorder that only has one thing going for it: it features mega-popular cartoon cat Hello Kitty saying “Hi” on the hardware. That’s what it probably makes perfect for young girls though.

Technically, buyers get a camcorder that records video in either 640 × 320 or 480 × 240 resolution and at 30fps or 15fps (so don’t expect huge picture quality) on SD or SDHC cards (up to 8GB). There’s also a 2-inch TFT LCD screen, 32MB of built-in memory, LED light, and a USB 1.1 port. Users can upload pictures and videos from the camera directly to Flickr and YouTube.

The camera, which is powered by two AAA batteries, will come with a price tag of $90 when it comes out in Japan on June 25. Ask import/export specialist Geek Stuff 4 U if you live outside this country but want to make your little sister happy.

There’s a handy option in the DirecTV menu guide for “HDTV Channels.” On the rare occasion when I’m actually sitting in front of the TV looking to “channel surf” (more like “menu surf” nowadays), it’s only “HDTV channels” I’m concerned with. Nearly halfway through 2010, it has come to the point where, unless I absolutely have no other choice, I simply won’t watch a network unless the program is in HD. Has it come really come to that? That, unless a show is in HD, you’ll simply skip it?

Pretty sure I first heard of this last week on the radio, I think on Ron and Fez, that for the first time ever TV networks are starting to see their ratings decline specifically because they’re not in HD. That is, people now refuse to watch TV unless it’s in HD! How wild is that? I mean, assuming it’s true…

It probably means a few things. One, biggish networks that aren’t in HD yet should now be shaking in their boots. For whatever stupid reason, DirecTV hasn’t picked up the HD feed of Fox Soccer Channel. That doesn’t mean much to most people, but when given the choice between watching a Premier League game in SD on my HDTV or watching the same game with a tiny online stream (which is probably illegal but who cares?) on my computer, freeing me to play simultaneously play some Steam games in windowed mode, then I’m absolutely going to go with the stream. I will go out of my way to watch an HD feed of a game, subjecting myself to TV’s controls for 90 minutes, but in 2010 SD sports broadcasts really ought to be outlawed. I’d almost rather listen to an audio play-by-play than watch an SD image on my HDTV.

I should stress that Fox Soccer Channel does, in fact, have an HD feed, it’s just that DirecTV hasn’t picked it up yet. Boo!

This could also mean that smaller TV networks are doomed. If people are now skipping SD content altogether, how can Some Niche Channel survive? It’s not exactly cheap to record and air HD content, so the little guy may be squeezed out.

Or maybe this isn’t true at all? I’m pretty sure only something like 50 percent of TVs in America are HDTVs, so these people aren’t going to miss something (HD broadcasts) that they never would benefit from anyway.

I’ll throw it to you guys now: do you still watch SD content on your HDTVs? Again, I pretty much don’t, but I realize my opinion may not exactly line up with a “normal” person’s.

Just connect the box to your TV (via HDMI 1.3a), insert the memory card into one of the two slots built into the device and you are ready to view content in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (mts/m2ts/mov), MPEG-2 TS(tod), MPEG-2 PS (mod/mpg) formats. The box supports AVCHD, can display JPEGs and play music files, too (MP3 and WMA).

The CU-VS100 comes with a remote control and will go on sale in Japan next week (price: $220). JVC hasn’t said yet whether the player will be sold outside Japan as well.

The special Michael Jackson PS3 bundle (PS3 plus “This Is It”, a documentary–concert film, on Blu-ray ) unveiled today by Sony Japan wasn’t the only relevant product announcement for Japanese Jacko fans today. Nagoya-based Hagiwara-Sys Com is to release the film on two very unique media [JP], namely on a USB flash memory and an SD card.

The USB memory stick version (2GB) is dubbed “PC Edition”. Buyers will get “This Is It” in WMV format with 720×406 resolution and 1.5Mbps bit rate (the music bit rate is 128kbps). The PC Edition requires Windows XP/Vista/7 and Windows Media Player 9. Users will need to be online the first time they want to watch This Is It in order for Hagiwara to certify it’s an original file.

The so-called “Mobile Edition” of the movie is stored on a 1GB SD card. Hagiwara is selling this version for people who want to watch This Is It on their cell phones. It’s not the first time a Japanese company distributes digital content on SD cards.

Both versions will be sold in an LP jacket (315x315mm) starting January 27. Hagiwara throws in a 24-page booklet in vinyl record design and four Michael Jackson post cards. Prices: $50 for the SD version and $70 for the USB stick version.

Hagiwara is a global company, but I doubt these media will ever be available anywhere outside Japan. I’d suggest you contact Japanese movie specialist CDJapan in case you’re interested.

I think I speak for every camera nerd out there when I say, Hallelujah!!! It’s about damn time Eye-Fi released an Ad Hoc enabled SDHC card. Live blogging will now be 100x easier.

The 4GB Eye-Fi Pro now supports RAW files on top of pre-existing support for JPEG and video files. Geotagging and Hotspot access are available on the Pro model as well. The Eye-Fi Pro is available now on Amazon and Eye-Fi for $149.

But that’s not all. Eye-Fi also announced a new feature, Selective Transfer, that lets you pick and choose what gets uploaded.

Using the “protect” or “lock” feature in the camera’s menu, users can select which files to wirelessly upload. Any “protected” photo will automatically be uploaded, and all photos will remain on the memory card until the user manually deletes them. Selective Transfer is free, and available now for all Eye-Fi card users through the Eye-Fi Manager.

On the Eye-Fi Connected camera front, the following cameras are all Eye-Fi Connected: Nikon D5000, Nikon D90, Nikon D60, Casio EX-S12, Casio EX-S5, Casio EX-FS10, Casio EX-FC100 and Casio EX-Z29.

My favorite little at-home gadget is getting a shake up today. Eye-Fi’s Wi-Fi SD cards not only upload images, but now video to YouTube and Flickr. The Share Video and Explore Video cards are now 4GB standard and the existing line of 2GB Eye Fi cards received a price drop.

The Explore is $99 and geotags your images and videos automatically; also hooks you up with hotspots across the land. The Share is $79 and uploads photos and videos to the content sharing sites of your choice and your home computer. The 2GB Share card is now $59 and the Home card is $59.

And to top things off, Eye Fi also announced an iPhone app that allows you to upload your iPhone pics in the same manner as their SD cards.

[PSGallery=3ksml2mlg9]

Sanyo Japan [JP] has announced three IC recorders that can use SD and microSD cards as recording media and are to be released in Japan November 21.

The ICR-S003M is relatively light on features (omnidirectional stereo microphones, MP3 sound recording, three recording modes) but Sanyo claims it’s “the industry’s smallest and lightest IC recorder equipped with an SD memory card slot”. It’s sized at 36.6×96mmx13.3mm and weighs 52 grams. 11 hours of audio can be stored on a 1GB SD memory card. This model will also be sold outside Japan but Sanyo neglected to say when (price in Japan: $100).

The ICR-RS110MF comes with a radio tuner, a cradle with stereo speakers, a built-in clock and a timer recording function. A 2GB microSD card is enough for recording 22.5 hours of MP3 or three hours in linear PCM. Price in Japan: $300.

Sanyo’s most advanced IC recorder, ICR-PS603RM, features four microphones, highly-directional XY microphones, omnidirectional stereo microphones, 4GB of built-in memory and a special noise cancelation function. The device can record 5.5 hours of data in linear PCM and 6 hours in MP3 (at 320kbps) on its built-in memory but also supports microSD cards. Price in Japan: $350.

It’s unknown at this point if Sanyo will ever sell the ICR-RS110MF and ICR-PS603RM outside Japan.

The card is selling with an MSRP of $129.99 but Costco members can get it for $99 on Costco.com – not too bad for a 4GB SDHC card with a built-in wireless chip that automatically transfers photos to your computer and 25+ online photo sharing services. You can also add automatic geotagging and/or Wayport wireless hotspot access for $14.99 per year, per service.

Note: this Newegg deal is while supplies last so when it goes live at 11:00 EST or 8:00 PST, jump on it fast. An 8GB SD card for 10 bucks is a hell of a deal, especially with free shipping.

via GearDiary

So maybe the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, the G10, along with the SX10 IS just don’t scream your style. Canon understands that and has the obligatory, new Digital Elph upgrades just for you. The SD990 IS and SD880 IS both pack optical image stabilization and the DIGIC 4 image processor, but that’s where the similarity stops.

The higher-end SD990 receives Canon’s latest 14.7MP sensor, 2.5-inch LCD, along with the firm’s new Quick Shot Modes for even faster shutter speeds. This pocket cam is coming out in silver. oh-so-sexy black, and a limited edition red for $399 sometime in October ’08.

The SD880 is loaded with more commonplace specs, such as a 10MP sensor, 4x zoom and a 3-inch LCD. Available in two-tone black and silver, gold and silver, or gold and brown when it drops for $299 also in October ’08.

PR

Well, I guess someone finally asked the right person, because the SD Card Association is announcing embedded SD functionality, something which seems like it would have been a no-brainer back in 2000. For whatever reason, it’s happening now, so you can expect storage in low-end phones to jump. Am I missing something here? All it would take to embed SD would be a controller and an interface hard-wired to a decapitated SD card. I’m guessing the capabilities have been there for years but there were licensing agreements or some such.

ADTEC have lost their collective mind, releasing new SD card readers that can be customized — no, Bedazzled — by fingernail artists to make personalized works of electronic, tacky art.

They’re big in Japan, but you know this kind of crap is going to make it across the Pacific sooner rather than later.

Pimpable MicroSD Card Reader [Akihabara!]

These SD cards just get bigger and fatter all the time — and by bigger and fatter, I mean internally. After all, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

This one from Panasonic, available in April, is a 32-gigabyte card. Granted, it’s $700 but it does work rather speedily with a 20mb/sec transfer speed.

There’s a SanDisk 32-gigabyte card that’ll also be out in April. At $350, it’ll be half the price of this Panasonic card but it runs a tad slower at 15mb/sec. That might not sound like a big deal but it very well could be for the kinds of people who have $350 to $700 to drop on an SD card.

Other 32-gigabyte cards should be available soon from various other manufacturers in various other formats, which should help to drop prices over the coming months.

Panasonic offers big and fast SD card–for $700 [CNET]

Eye-Fi has announced that its Wi-Fi SD cards will get a “Smart Boost” update on February 12th. With Smart Boost, your card will be able to tell whether or not your computer is on and in range of your camera and, if it is, photos will be offloaded from your camera to your computer over your home network and then your computer will handle the heavy lifting of uploading the photos to your online photo-sharing site.

If your computer isn’t on, your camera will upload your photos directly to the web-based Eye-Fi service, which will then shoot the photos to your favorite photo-sharing site AND shoot them back down to your computer when it’s turned back on. Rad, no?

Also, Eye-Fi is now in cahoots with Ritz Camera.

Our new relationship with Ritz Camera for the first time brings the Eye-Fi Card to “brick and mortar” retail stores as well as allowing Eye-Fi Card users the ability to automatically upload photos to the RitzPix Online Imaging Service. Ritz, whose store brands include, Ritz Camera Centers, Wolf’s Camera, Kit’s Camera and others has over 1000 camera centers across the United States. This new online and retail combination enables customers the ability to automatically upload their photos, order prints online and pick them up in an hour from most Ritz locations.

The last sentence is very intriguing. Imagine setting your parents camera up for them and saying, “Okay, just take a bunch of photos and then go to Ritz in an hour.” Nice.

New Eye-Fi “Smart Boost” upgrade and Ritz Camera news at PMA 08 [EyeFi Blog]

Hey, now THAT’S a good idea. This $99 2GB SD memory card has built in wireless.

You pop it in your camera, take some photos, and it automatically uploads (via your Wi-Fi connection) those photos to one of 17 online photo websites including Shutterfly, Snapfish, Photobucket, Facebook, Picasa, and, of course, Flickr.

Best of all, it works in any digital camera that supports SD cards. I don’t know how they crammed all that into a tiny card but, hey, I’m just a guy with a keyboard.

It’s available now at a variety of stores. Hot damn, I’m getting one.

Eye-Fi [Company Website] via Wireless-Watch.com

Summer is currently in full effect. It’s hot as hell outside, the sky is beautiful, the water is warm – you need to get out there. So bring your family or some good buddies and hit the trails, slope, or beaches. Find something to do. Just remember to be equipped with the best video gear possible. Because between the 14-hour car ride to your destination and Bob falling into a patch of poison ivy, you’ll want the memories to last forever.

First things first. You’re embarking on a trip. I emphasize the word trip because you’ll be sitting in a seat of some sort for quite a while. On your way to your destination, no matter how you travel, you’ll want to pack lightly. Over-packing will surely cause extreme discomfort and video won’t even matter. So for the way there, I’d recommend brining an iPod. For $249, you can score a 30GB iPod that can hold music, photos, and video to keep you entertained. You can purchase your favorite TV shows off of the iTunes Music Store as well, so you can stay entertained with shows like Scrubs for your entire journey. We’d mention another i-related device, but we’re sick of it.

Dell’s XPS m1330

If the iPod’s screen is too small for your liking and you want more storage and video options, check out Dell’s XPS M1330 laptop. Just released, it only weighs 4 pounds and has a super-small design. It still has room for an optical drive so you can watch your DVDs easily on a really nice display. Plus, you can always pirate some movies to take with you on the go.

iRiver’s Clix 2 Plays Videos and Music

So now you get to your vacation spot. Wonderful, only it’s raining. How are you going to stay occupied in an airport for the next three hours? I’ll tell you how, the Clix 2 from iRiver. Found for as low as $170 online, this relatively unknown (in the US at least) video player packs some serious power. A beautiful, crisp 2.2-inch screen displays movies in multiple formats. You can also load up your music or photos to keep busy as well. With USB 2.0 and extended battery life, this will keep you busy for plenty of hours in any situation.

Canon’s TX1 combines a digital camera and HD camcorder into one device

Alright, so maybe it didn’t rain. You’ve made your way to the campsite or beach-house you rented and the party has already started. Pictures are great, but you want to actively capture the moment with video, right? You have to check out the Canon TX1. It’s a 7.1-megapixel digital camera that handles like a video camera. It also shoots HD video as well with sound, which is amazing for a camera that only costs $500 and takes great photos as well. This is one of the coolest gadgets I’ve seen in awhile and anyone serious about making a DVD out of their trip will want to give the TX1 a whirl.

Having all this gear is fantastic I’m sure, but digital cameras and video players need storage to function. Since you have the money for a trip, why not go all out when it comes to your memory cards? After all, you do need to overcompensate for the time that bully took your lunch money in elementary school. Your past aside, check out SanDisk for your SD card needs. The SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus series not only come with fast read/write speeds, they also include a built-in USB port right on the card so you can hook it up to your computer in dire times. Plus, it means one less thing to pack if your existing laptop doesn’t have a card reader. Sizes available for the Ultra II SD Plus series include 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB only.

With all your needs met, it’s finally time to let loose and have a fun time. Capture your favorite moments on ones and zeros forever, making sure to emphasize the prank you’re about to pull on your friends. This is your vacation so make sure to make the best of it. When you’re all done, you’ll have plenty of unpacking to do. Plus, your video journey isn’t over yet!

Hate to break it to you, but your wife is going to want a DVD to share with her friends. If you want to easily create a DVD of videos and photos from your trip, consider trying out an iMac. It’s an all-in-one computer with a DVD burner and easy-to-use editing software. With almost no experience on a computer, you can still edit a movie and burn it to a DVD to watch next year.

Speaking of next year, when you decide to drive instead of flying, you could watch that special DVD you made on the go. For only 100 clams, bucks, or whatever ya call ‘em, you can scoop up an Audiovox D17 Portable DVD player from Amazon. It’s cheap, lightweight, and will get the job done. It even comes with two sets of headphones so you and a friend can watch Predator while reciting all of Carl Weathers’ lines.

Predator would look dandy on this display

Vacations and trips are supposed to be about fun. So when you find yourself on a long flight or car ride, just remember that there are plenty of gadgets out there to help get you through the tough times. Go blow $20 on a season of Arrested Development and watch it on your laptop or iPod. By the time you finish a few episodes, you’ll be halfway to your destination, ready to enjoy the Summer.

If you’re interested in buying any of the items I mentioned above, check out these links I found: