PMA 2008 opens on January 31st: there’s already a host of new products, some of them unofficially introduced, a lot of web speculations and too much rumors.

Among the tech trends for 2008 we can spot for sure:

• CCDs are getting past 12/14 MP, 10 MP is now pretty commonplace, although lens quality still matters (and we mean the lenses which sometimes are part of bundle kits),

• Live View: being able to pre-view not only through the viewfinder will become common feature among DSLRs, at last,

• extended dynamic range: in a nutshell the range of luminosity the CCD is able to catch, a much better and technical explanation may be found here on CambridgeInColour.com. Many digital camera are introducing/will introduce algorithms to enhance dynamic range so we’ll have to sort out which just fits better our pictures.

Some of the new products we already know something about:

- Canon introduces EOS Rebel XSI (in Europe AKA 450D) that goes far beyond the best-seller Rebel XTi (AKA 400D) with a 12 Megapixel CCD, Live View mode, SD/SDHC card support, a 3″ display and much more: watch out for this, it’s gonna mean a lot of rock’n'roll again for Canon;
- Pentax introduces K200D and Pentax K20D: the first is an entry-level 10 MP DSLR sporting several smart features.
The Pentax K20D features Live View, raises up the ante to 14 MP (!) and extends the previous K10D with a tougher body, new lenses and (need to say?) extended dynamic range;

- Samsung presents GX-20: almost the same as Pentax’s K20D just ‘dressed’ by Samsung; aggressive pricing and kit bundling will give competitors some trouble from this prosumer DSLRs couple;
- Fujifilm announced many new compact cameras as well as the new S100fs: a high-level bridge camera (bridging compact and DSLR, that is) that takes the place for the (glorious, we still love it) Finepix S9100 (AKA S9600).
The 2/3″ CCD reaches now 11 Megapixel, focal length is now 28-400mm (previously the S9100/S9600 lens was 28-300 mm) with optical stabilizer.
Yet again the S100fs its own extended dynamic range system (more to investigate on this) and the brand new Film Simulation mode (hence the name FS) already used in the award-winning DSLR S5 Pro.
Brand new cameras are the S1000fd, self-dubbed “the smallest 12X zoom compact camera”, and the S8100fd, now with 10 MP sensor, that replaces the (still young) S8000fd.

Still many upcoming new products in the next days, both lenses, accessories and memory card.

Goin’ to Las Vegas? Check here for more info on PMA 2008.

PMA 2008: one of the first products from the upcoming PMA 2008 is the new Olympus SP-570UZ, an update to the SP-560UZ, goes even further than the rest of the crop of ultrazoom cameras.
Now sporting 10 MP CCD and a whopping 26-520mm (35mm equiv.) zoom: that is 20x!
Still supported RAW shooting and only XD-cards, 4 AA batteries and 22 scenes exposure modes to choose.
The feature list of the SP-570UZ includes: Face Detection tech, TruePic III, High ISO settings, a 2.7″ LCD display and much more…

Priced around US$ 499, the SP-570UZ is available for pre-order now, in stores by April 2008.

Partner site MacSwitching.com attended Apple’s presentation of new products like the MacBook Air and Time Capsule.

There’s a dedicated photo gallery about all new January 2008 Apple products available here.

First impressions?
MacBook Air is perfectly usable; keyboard layout is just like MacBook’s and the new LED display is much brighter and sports a wider viewing angle.

What really impresses is how fine the MacBook Air, as well all other Macs integrate with Time Capsule and get easier the usually tedious task of backing up data on a regular base using Leopard’s Time Machine feature.

Let’s admit it: from day one that Apple introduced Leopard’s Time Machine, finding an adequate hard disk to fit the tedious task of backing up our data has been quite a problem.
More problems for a multi-user home (more and more out there).

Meet Apple Time Capsule, right from the same MacWorld Expo where MacBook Air was born!

What’s inside Time Capsule?
- an Airport Extreme 802.11N base station, well known and quite proven,
- three Gigabit ethernet ports,
- one USB port for printer sharing,
- a 500GB or 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA server-grade hard disk drive
- same sleek form factor of Apple TV.

The hard disk is available to all connected Leopard users as the preferred Time Machine default storage device.

(By the way, Tiger and Windows users are allowed to access the disk too…)

Available for pre-order in 500 GB an 1 TB flavors, the Time Capsule retails US$299.99 and US$ 499.99 respectively.

The usual frenzy around SF MacWorld finally ended up with the announcement of the MacBook Air.

The thinnest Mac ever.
- a slimmer Core 2 Duo processor specially built by Intel for Apple and 60% of the original Core 2 Duo,
- standard 2 GB RAM,
- 80 GB HD or (optional) 64 GB SSD,
- 13,3″ eLed display.
- battery life: 5 hours…
- full wireless (over the Air) connectivity… of course!
- 802.11N + Bluetooth 2.0 EDR,
- weight: 3 pounds (almost 1.3 kg)

The MacBook Air has no built-in SuperDrive, an external unit, USB-powered, was announced too and will cost US$ 99.
Thanks to a new utility called RemoteDisk, running on both PCs and Macs, the DVD unit is almost useless, since you’re enabled to use some other PC/Mac DVD unit remotely.

Retail price of the MacBook Air is US$ 1,799 with more options to become available anytime soon.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (aka EOS 400D) is now available (body only) at the bargain price of US$ 529.65, that’s 56% off its list price!

One of Canon’s best selling DSLRs ever, right after the hit Rebel XT/EOS 350D.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi digital camera offers an unbeatable combination of performance, ease-of-use and value.
This Digital SLR Camera has a newly designed 10.1 MP Canon CMOS sensor plus a host of new features including a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, the exclusive EOS Integrated Cleaning System featuring a Self Cleaning Sensor and Canon’s Picture Style technology, all in a lightweight, ergonomic body.
The Digital Rebel XTi is a high performance digital SLR with 10.1 Mega Pixel Canon CMOS sensor and DIGIC II Image processor.

Large 2.5-inch LCD monitor with new user interface and wide viewing angle. Fast 3 frames-per-second shooting with 27-frame burst and a 0.2 second startup time. High precision, wide area 9-point autofocus system. Picture Style settings for a broad range of control over color, contrast and sharpening.
Print/Share button featuring advanced camera direct capabilities for greater user control while direct printing. EOS Integrated Cleaning System featuring a Self Cleaning Sensor Unit Fully compatible with over 60 EF and EF-S Lenses and a wide range of EOS System accessories.

The perfect complement? Canon BG-E3 Battery Grip for EOS Digital Rebel XT Camera! Now retails U$140.17 (36% saving!) and holds up to two Canon NB-2LHbattery packs or six AA batteries.

Please note: currently, this item can be shipped only within the U.S.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 is a digital SLR compatible with Olympus’ Four Thirds lens mount standard.
The L1 is an interesting SLR at that, with a traditional - perhaps retro - styling aesthetic.
It is based around the same 7.5 effective megapixel Live MOS image sensor that debuted in Olympus’ EVOLT E-330 digital SLR, along with the mirror box unit from that camera (which combines a quick-return mirror, viewfinder, and AE sensor). Panasonic’s proprietary Venus Engine III LSI handles the image processing, and Olympus’ Supersonic Wave Filter makes its first debut in a non-Olympus branded camera.

The Lumix DMC-L1 has a shutter speed dial on the top of the body, while a simultaneously announced Leica 14-50mm lens offers rings to control aperture, focus and lens zoom. As with the EVOLT E-330, the L1 offers a Live View function that allows images to be framed using the LCD display, regardless of whether you’re focusing automatically or manually. In addition, you can use the LCD display as a handy confirmation of focus via an enlarged view when focusing manually.

The L1 offers a 2.5″ LCD display with 207,000 pixels, at the high end of what’s available on digital SLRs at the current time. One other feature worthy of note is that the Panasonic DMC-L1 offers a Secure Digital card slot, and is compatible with the FAT32 file system - meaning that Secure Digital cards larger than 2GB are supported.

Amazon’s offer slashes by 35% the Lumix L1 its list price, from US$ 1.499 down to $968.96 with a gorgeus Leica 14-50mm Mega O.I.S. Lens!

Wanna save 75% off the list price for the SDI Technologies IH80B Speaker for iPod ?
It’s now or never!
Amazon has in stock these pretty cool speakers for iPod that feature remote control, iPod dock connector, battery or mains operated.

Live Life Outloud with this speaker system for your iPod. This contemporary cube design features Reson8 speaker technology for maximum performance that is perfect for both indoor and outdoor use.

MacNN reports that Apple’s MacBook took one of the top three sales spots during Amazon.com’s holiday season: Amazon.com announced the results of its 2007 holiday season, revealing Apple’s MacBook as one of the top sellers in the online retailer’s PC category, more exactly in the list of products most frequently purchased as gifts by Amazon.com customers in 2007.

Since its update, as we reported in May, the Apple MacBook surged as one of the best selling notebook Macs and you can see it almost everywhere (Starbucks, college, business room etc.).

Entering 2008? Think about making a backup of 2007-related data! Think about a Maxtor OneTouch 4 500 GB External Hard Drive.

This PC- and Mac-friendly drive spins at 7200rpm and features a 16MB buffer.

Backup your files with a push of a button or set up the software to perform convenient automatic backups.
With 7200 RPM and 16 MB cache buffer, you get fast drive performance, seamless data exchange, and instant access to your files.
Simple setup: just connect the USB 2.0 cable, and your Maxtor OneTouch 4 500 GB External Hard Drive automatically appears on your desktop.
For all those precious pictures, videos, music and data files, external hard drive is a must have.

Features:

The Creative SoundWorks Radio CD 745 is more than just a radio, it’s an incredible sounding and extremely versatile sound system with an award-winning speaker design. Its two stereo speakers, combined with a powerful, built-in subwoofer produces incredible clarity and excellent bass when listening to broadcasts from the high-quality AM/FM tuners.

As well as 24 radio station presets, this top-of-the-line system includes a slot-loading CD player which can play MP3/WMA tracks and display their details. Dual alarms allow users to wake up to their favourite radio station or a CD, or to specify different wake-up times during the week and weekend.

Convenient front panel controls, plus the included remote, give users easy access to all its features, and the Creative SoundWorks Radio CD 745 includes versatile connectivity which allows people to connect their MP3 players and enjoy music through the amazing speakers.

iPod owners can add the optional Made for iPod approved dock which adds a remote control for playback and charges the player as users listen.

Available in black and white!

Featuring Ambisound, the HTS8100 delivers full multi-channel surround sound in any sort of room. The 1-piece integrated system fits into the home with ease, providing a full home theater experience with excellent sound and picture quality.

Want dolby digital surround without the wires? Look no further than the Philips AmbiSound Home Theater Sound Bar with Integrated 1080p-Upscaling DVD/MP3 Player.
Philips engineers have tackled this problem. They’ve managed to take the output from 5 distinct channel amplifiers and placed them in a single speaker called a Soundbar. Within the soundbar, speakers are angled to provide a realistic audio environment that literally emulates sound as if it’s coming from all sides. It’s 5.1 surround without the mess! In addition to the latest audio technology, the Ambisound system is only five inches thick and can be easily mounted onto a wall underneath an existing Flat-TV. The simple, yet elegant design enhances the décor of any home theater space, regardless of the room layout or design.

Within the soundbar, speakers are angled to provide a realistic audio environment that literally emulates sound as if it’s coming from all sides. It’s 5.1 surround without the mess!
For maximum audio quality and clarity, the Ambisound SoundBar provides a stylish system with amplifier and a DVD player all in a single speaker called a Soundbar.

Let’s say this is wireless routing with style & coolness or your packets never looked so fine…

Belkin’s new N1 Vision Wireless Router wireless router features an advanced interactive network display that allows you to view the activity of your network.

Belkin N1 Vision Wireless Router offers a built-in display for broadband network speed, upload & download speed, individual computer bandwidth usage, connected devices, total data usage over a 24 hour period, devices accessing the network as guests, and a general clock / date.

Packaged in a new sleek and sophisticated design, Belkin N1 Vision Wireless Router offers the best in networking performance with its wireless 802.11n* 3×3 MIMO radio design and wired gigabit ports.

The Belkin N1 Vision Wireless Router also continues Belkin’s commitment in providing the best user experience through its plug-and-play CD-less installation and simple network security setup.

For more information visit belkin.com/n1vision/intro.

Amazon Kindle is an electronic book (e-book) service launched in the United States by Amazon.com in November 2007.
It uses an electronic paper display, reads the proprietary Kindle (AZW) format, and downloads content over Amazon Whispernet, which uses the Sprint EVDO network.
This means that unlike previously existing e-book readers, the Amazon Kindle can be used without the need for a computer.
Whispernet is accessible through Kindle without any fee.
On the release day, the Kindle Store had more than 88,000 digital titles available for download.

The Amazon Kindle isn’t the most elegant looking gadget ever created (in fact it looks like it came out of the 70’s), but it packs an impressive list of features and could finally bring ebooks mainstream.

Amazon isn’t supporting the industry’s open standard around eBooks. Instead they are using their own proprietary format from Mobipocket, a company they acquired in 2005.

As BBC News reports Amazon Kindle sells out on debut:

A notice on the Kindle pages on the Amazon web store said “heavy customer demand” for the device meant it would be out of stock until 3 December.

Partner site iPodPalace.com published three exclusive videos showing the new iPods best features:

- iPod nano: photos web browsing and much more!,

- iPod Classic Cover Flow music browsing,

- iPod nano playing games.