Hardware Roundup &#151 What’s New?

New Fujifilm Cameras
Fujifilm USA has made three additions to its FinePix line of digital cameras, offering its advanced Super
CCD sensor in two value-priced models plus a compact camera built to excel in low-light environments.

The FinePix F40fd ($299) combines 8-megapixel (3,296 by 2,472) resolution with a Picture Stabilization mode that reduces blur effects from unsteady hands or subject movement and automatically picks the right light sensitivity &#151 up to ISO 2000 &#151 and shutter speed for optimum image quality. An Intelligent Flash system avoids wash-out by varying flash intensity depending on lighting differences within a scene compensates, while Dual Shot Mode rapidly takes two shots with and without flash for comparison and selection.

The F40fd also includes Face Detection Technology that can detect up to 10 human faces in a scene in as little as 1/20 of a second, automatically setting focus and exposure regardless of where subjects are located within the frame &#151 even in dim or backlit settings. A special playback function lets you zoom in on each detected face to see if everyone’s eyes were open.

New models in Fujifilm’s affordable A-Series include the 8-megapixel A800, which shoots at higher light sensitivities (up to ISO 800) with less noise than comparable competitors, and the 6-megapixel A610. Priced at $179 and $129, respectively, the duo joins the F40fd in featuring a flash-memory-card slot that accepts either xD or SD media. All three will ship in March 2007.

Dell Goes Outdoors With Ruggedized Notebook

Need an industrial-strength notebook? Now you can turn to Dell for a semi-rugged laptop. The 6.3-pound Latitude ATG raises the company’s Latitude D620 to military standards for vibration, humidity and altitude. Its shock-mounted hard drive, spill-resistant keyboard and port covers stand up to the bumps and bruises of construction sites, police and emergency vehicles and other hostile environments.

The ATG (All-Terrain Grade) D620 features a 14.1-inch, 1,200 by 800-resolution display with an ambient light sensor, glass overlay, anti-reflective coating and 500 nits of brightness for easy viewing even in full sunlight. Prices start at $2,499 with Intel’s Core 2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz, 2MB Level 2 cache) processor, 512MB of memory, an 80GB hard disk, and DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive.

Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics and 802.11g wireless networking are standard, with options including Verizon or Sprint mobile broadband, a biometric fingerprint reader, and Core 2 Duo T7600 (2.33GHz, 4MB L2 cache) power.

Pentax Portable Scanner Weighs 12 Ounces, Draws 2 Watts
Pentax Imaging Co. has introduced a compact, lightweight 600-dpi scanner designed for easy management of documents and photos on the road. Measuring 11 inches long by 1.5 inches high and weighing 12 ounces, the DSmobile 600 can scan media ranging from business cards to 8.5- by 14-inch sheets, using just two watts of power while scanning. A Windows PC’s USB 2.0 port supplies both power and data interfaces. (A downloadable TWAIN driver will be available for Mac OS X.)

In addition to a USB cable, carrying case, two photo sleeves and two calibration sheets, the sheet-fed scanner comes with DSmobileScan and PageManager 7 Windows software. The former allows scanned documents to be automatically saved as Adobe Acrobat PDF files, while the latter lets you organize, view, edit, send and save digitized files. The DSmobile 600 will ship later this month for $135.

Adapted from hardwarecentral.com.