Filed under: Displays

Kodak has already managed to impress with its use of existing OLED technology, but it looks like the company isn’t about to rest on its laurels, and it’s now promising that a new OLED material it has developed will make future products even better and more OLED-y. The key to that material, dubbed EK-GD403, is its used of so-called “green dopant” technology which, when used in combination with Kodak’s equally mysterious EK-BH109 OLED material, apparently allows for luminous efficiencies greater than 31 cd/A and lifetimes “in excess of 65,000 hours,” among other OLED-improving measures. Of course, there’s no indication just yet as to when that material may show up in some actual products but, from the sound of things, it doesn’t seem like something that’s years away.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Comically (and accurately, might we add) described as being “about the size of a late 90’s mobile phone,” Kodak’s Zi6 was widely hailed as the first true competitor to the mighty Flip Video. As we completely expected, this bugger was found to be remarkably easy to use by critics at Gadling, though the portable nature and simplistic operations were overshadowed by lackluster image quality. The cam struggled to adjust when whizzed around and when going from dark to light areas, and we were told to just put the thing away rather than attempt to use it in low-light scenarios. Of course, this shooter is only $179, so it still may be perfect for a select group of daylight-lovin’ users. Hit the read link for the full review and a quick sample video to help you make up your mind.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

We noticed that the writeup for Leica’s newly unveiled S2 made mention of a new Kodak sensor, but we’ll leave it to Kodak to do the boasting. Sure enough, the outfit responsible for this atrocity has rolled out a few new image sensors at Photokina 2008, one of which — the KAF-37500 — proudly resides in the aforementioned S2. The company is showcasing sensors for medium format rigs such as the Sinar HY6-65 (KAF-31600) and Hasselblad H3DII-50 (KAF-50100), though quite honestly, it spends more time gloating about what manufacturers it’s partnering with than describing the technology. Oh well, so long as it keeps Kodak from focusing on its pathetic point-and-shoot lineup, we’ll keep smiling.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Kodak’s hitting us up with one of the less momentous Photokina moments today by getting official with its EasyShare Z1485 IS. Traces of the cam were spotted a few weeks back, but the outfit chose today to formally introduce it to the world. The point-and-shoot boasts an absurd 14-megapixel sensor, face detection technology, 5x optical zoom with optical image stabilization, ISO up to 6,400 and a 720p movie mode at 30fps. Truthfully, the specs don’t look so bad on paper, but are you seriously considering spending three bills on a camera that reeks of 2001 in the design department? Nah, we thought not.

[Via LetsGoDigital]

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Filed under: Displays

We figured it was coming, now sure enough, Kodak just let loose a new picture frame based on CMEL’s new mass-produced, 7.6-inch OLED panels. Ultra-thin as you’d expect and wireless as you’d hope, the new 800 x 480 pixel Wireless Frame should be ready for the holidays sporting 2GB of internal storage, integrated audio, a 30,000:1 contrast, 180-degree viewing angle, and photo service compatibility with Flickr and others. Unfortunately, it’s got a price you’d expect from this nascent display tech: $999. Sparky, had better be worth it.

[Via OLED-Display]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

We can all agree that touchscreens are pretty much the best thing ever, right? Good. Can we also agree that fingerprints on said screens are patently awful? Marvelous. Apparently Kodak is right in tune with us, as its 5-inch P520 digital photo frame enables owners to flick through photos without actually greasing up the LCD. The secret is the “Quick Touch Border,” a sensitive side panel that lets viewers slide their finger to move to the next photo. From what we can garner, that’s about all this thing really has going for it, but if that’s plenty for you, look for it next month at around $79.95.

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Filed under: Displays

Sometime shortly after Philips introduced it first digital photo frame — let’s call it CES, January 2006 — something happened to the industry: it went to crap. Instead of focusing on quality displays vendors started tossing in gimmicks to sell their goods. This might change now that 7.6-inch OLEDs are going mass production.

Already, Kodak is rumored to have placed an order for the medium-sized panels set to roll off the lines in September at CMO’s Chi Mei EL (CMEL) factory. That should mean incredibly vibrant, thin, high-contrast frames with 16.7 million colors spread across 800 x 480 pixels just in time for the holidays. While dropping these pricey displays into low-cost netbooks would be a stretch, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a few of those 7-inch UMPCs make the move to OLED as well.

[Via OLED-info]

Read — Kodak rumor
Read — CMEL 7.6-inch specs

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Handhelds, HDTV, Portable Video

There’s still a great chance that this thing will completely underwhelm, but those willing to give it a shot without reading so much as a single review can now secure their place in line. For $179.95, to-be owners can pre-order Kodak’s Zi6 HD pocket video camera in either pink or black, but there’s no mention of how soon it’ll ship. Anyone taking the plunge (and willing to admit it)?

[Via Gadling]

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Filed under: Wireless

As the saying goes, the great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from. Enter TransferJet, as much as we’d like to ignore it, it won’t go away. In fact, today the nascent close (real close, as in 3-cm or less) proximity wireless technology just snowballed itself into a proper consortium which lists a who’s who of consumer electronics and camera manufacturers including Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Nikon, Samsung, Kodak, and interestingly enough, Sony Ericsson. Sony will lead the effort to develop the specs, guidelines, and licensing schemes required to interconnect TransferJet-compliant products offering a 375Mbps data transfer rate (560Mbps theoretical) without requiring any complex setup (just touch the devices together). Right, they’re looking directly at your NFC and Wibree shortcomings Bluetooth SIG. Full list of TransferJet members after the break.

Continue reading TransferJet forms a consortium to confuse consumers

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

We’re not certain why Kodak is trickling out these middle-of-the-road digicams instead of announcing them all at once, but here we are. Joining the M1093 IS are the new M1073 IS (pictured) and M1063, while the C813 get a new friend in the C913. As you’d expect, almost nothing about these is all that spectacular: the $179 M1063 and M1073 IS are both 10 megapixel units with ISO1000 sensitivity and face detection, while the $120 C913 is a 9.2 megapixel unit with a 2.4-inch display and digital image stabilization. Expect to see these all in October, and check out the C913 after the break.

Read - M1073 IS
Read - M1063
Read - C913

Continue reading Kodak intros the C913, M1073 IS and M1063 cheapcams

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV, Home Entertainment

We got a nice look at Kodak’s newest gear from this morning, and while it’s an uneven showing at best, there are certainly some gems. The real standout of the bunch is the Kodak Theatre HD Player, a teensy box with all the right ins and outs, a purtiful interface, and a glorious motion-sensing remote. We really haven’t had this much fun with a peripheral since the Wiimote came along, and Kodak has somehow managed to best that in the role of couch-based cursor positioning. Kodak was a bit coy about what exactly goes on inside the thing, and we’re even more curious as to whether somebody can produce a dongle to let it operate a PC, but it’s a marvel all the same. Next up — in importance, anyways — is Kodak’s new Zi6 HD pocket video camera, a transparent bid to cut in on those Pure Digital dollars. It’s a bit of a bulky beast, and the image quality is hardly an improvement over the competition, but it certainly works as advertised: it really couldn’t be simpler to turn it on, shoot a video, and upload that video to the internet. Perhaps our biggest gripe is that it looks like it was built by some second-tier consumer electronics company, and shares zero design language with Kodak’s other products — many of which have really matured in the looks department of late. The Z1015 IS we didn’t spend as much time with, but it seemed nice, light but not too light, and has a gorgeous screen. Finally, the new W820 and W1020 wireless photo frames were on display, with some prototype software showing off some add-ridden FrameChannel content (seriously Kodak, what were you thinking?) but loved just about everything else on the frames.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

We’re not sure why Kodak saw fit to announce the EasyShare M1093 IS camera separately from the slew of new gear it dropped early this morning, but here it is, all $199 and 10 megapixels of it. Nothing too spectacular here apart from Smart Capture, which intelligently adjusts settings based on the scene, but you’re getting an image stabilizer, ISO 3200 sensitivity, and an optional HDTV dock for two bills, so it’s not a bad deal — just don’t expect your socks to be rocked. Available in September.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

Kodak’s new W820 (8-inch) and W1020 (10-inch) are the latest in the company’s charming line of Quick Touch Border digital photo frames. Quite similar to their M820 and M1020 (pictured) counterparts in most respects, the new frames add WiFi, which brings with it services like Flickr, FrameChannel and Kodak Gallery. Unfortunately, the only way to add generic RSS feeds is FrameChannel, and all FrameChannel subscriptions include a monstrous banner ad across the bottom of each frame — at least Kodak’s partnership with Flickr is separate, so those subs are clean. Each frame includes 512MB of storage in addition to memory card slots, and they should be out next month for $250 and $280, respectively.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Many have tried to be that other box that sits under your TV. You know, the DVD player, the cable box, the TiVo, the consoles are all well and good, but somebody somehow needs to solve they mystery of getting web and PC content onto your TV, and Kodak might be on the cusp of cracking it. Kodak’s new Kodak Theatre HD Player is a simple, slick little box with multiple flash card slots, a USB port, and all the requisite home theater outputs like HDMI, component and all that. The unit can naturally shuffle through photos like there’s no tomorrow, and includes wireless access to pull stuff off of Flickr feeds or your PC’s hard drive, but there’s also 720p video playback, online radio and what have you. The real clincher is that you won’t be interacting with all this via a clunky d-pad remote, but instead there’s an amazingly great gyroscopic mouse that makes the whole thing a joy to use. The $300 price tag might turn some people off when this lands in September, especially with no built-in storage, but we still think Kodak might have a winner on its hands.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Kodak’s got a new one for the semi-casual point-and-shoot crowd, the EasyShare Z1015 IS. The 10 megapixel Z-series camera manages a 15x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD, HD footage at 720p and 30 fps, and Kodak’s Perfect Touch processing. Naturally the IS implies optical image stabilization, but the 6400 ISO should help out in the shaking department as well if grain is not an issue, and full manual controls should help out all the in-betweens. It’ll go for $350 come September.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV, Portable Video

Sure, it might shoot 720p video, but you aren’t gonna catch indie filmmakers capturing the next low-budget masterpiece on Kodak’s new Zi6 HD pocket video camera. The camera is Kodak’s response to Pure Digital’s Flip and Creative’s Vado, complete with upright form factor, YouTube friendliness, simple as could be interface, a flip-out USB plug (with some surprising spring action), and, of course, totally shoddy video quality. The camera is powered by a pair of AA batteries, sports a 2.4-inch LCD, and can switch between VGA video, 30fps HD and 60fps HD. It’ll sell for $180 in September, in black or pink, but there’s only 128MB of memory on board — you’ll have to spring for an SD card if you want to do any substantial shooting.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Hints of Motorola’s new MOTOZINE series of devices have gone back as far as last year, but today marks the first time that Moto’s officially spilled any beans on the goods. The headlining feature on the first model, the ZN5 candybar, lies on the backside: a 5-megapixel sensor courtesy of a partnership with Kodak, featuring autofocus, a xenon flash, image stitching, and on-device integration with Kodak Gallery. Otherwise, you get WiFi (score), Motorola’s so-called “ModeShift” technology for morphing the keypad depending on device mode (a la the E8), and a run-of-the-mill quadband GSM radio with EDGE. China’s the first country to get the hookup starting next month, but Moto expects to take the ZN5 on a world tour over the course of the remainder of the year.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

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Filed under: Displays

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Filed under: Cellphones

It’s been a rough couple months for Motorola’s handset division — rumors of a sale, two high-profile executive departures, layoffs, and that pathetic showing at Mobile World Congress — but today it looks like the company might have some tricks left up its sleeve for CTIA. We’re not sure where it came from, but this supposed marketing video popped up on YouTube with shots of several new handsets, all of which jive with rumors we’ve heard about Moto’s upcoming devices, like the Linux-based Ming 2 and the 5 megapixel cameraphone developed with Kodak (pictured above). Other notables are a Q variant running Windows Mobile 6.1 and an odd new music slider that could be the ROKR E10. Of course, none of this is official (and Moto did release a hype-laden video just before MWC only to fall totally flat), but we’d be lying if we said we weren’t hoping to see Moto try and come back around at CTIA — we’ll see what happens. Video after the break.

[Via Unwired View]

Continue reading Motorola to unveil a slew of new handsets at CTIA?

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