Gadgets: For photos and games
Pandigital has introduced an incredibly thin product, the PanTouch Clear, a 10.4-inch digital photo to their line of digital frames.
It measures only 1/3-inch thin, making it the thinnest digital photo frame available today. To make the frame so thin, the rear housing has been eliminated but users can still hang it on a wall or use in any location seen fit.
It features Pandigital's high definition LCD, which appears to be "floating" in the surrounding glass along while also being a full function touch screen. Fingerprints are not an issue when touching the glass since it's made with a fingerprint-resistant, clear glass. Images are displayed in a 1024-by-768 resolution with a 4:3 true photo aspect ratio. This all translates to photos looking great while on display.
The LCD is surrounded by a dark espresso wood frame and also includes interchangeable mats in white and charcoal.
To use the touchscreen, users touch the easy-to-understand icons on the glass surface to access features including advancing to the next or previous photo, slide shows or even playing video's and MP3 music files.
The frame has 2GB of internal storage, allowing users to store up to 4,000 digital JPEG images (exact number can vary depending on each individual images size). The frame is also Wi-Fi compatible and has a 6-in-1 digital media card reader (Compact Flash, SD, XD, MS/MSPro, MMC) allowing it to be loaded computer free.
Pandigital expects to start shipping the frame in May with a MSRP of $229.99.
Details: www.pandigital.com
Vertus, Inc., has new software for kids called Play With Pictures. The software allows users to take digital images and alter them for just about anything including scrapbooks, posting online or even school projects.
Digital photos are brought into the program in a drag and drop manner and works for people without any photo editing knowledge. Users can cut or add people or objects to any amount of images in a simple manner using a paint-by-numbers process. They are then layered on a background with ease using the software's tools.
Working with layers is often difficult for beginners and can turn out poor results but Play With Pictures users an automatic blend tool to help users avoid this. It smoothes the layers together and corrects hard edges to provide a perfect fit from for the foreground and background layers.
Cutouts can always be a challenge, but the simple slider tool makes the necessary adjustments for a smooth transition and to blend the colors. If a cutout is needed more than once, a quick copy button duplicates them as often as needed.
Users can also add text, titles and captions to personalize the images in addition to making a speed bubble. Additional features will be added in time, which will be available through software updates include tools to adjust the look of the images with contrast and brightness.
The software works on both Windows and Mac operating systems and is available for a free trial on the company website. Users can activate the software two computers per copy.
Details: www.playwithpictures.com, $39.95
The Logitech G13 advanced game board is a hybrid gaming keyboard for gamers to play in comfort on both Mac and Windows systems.
Designed like their Comfort Wave keyboards (which I use), they give users the comfort and control over their games with the ergonomically designed device.
With this design, it works the natural shape of a hand and fingers to make locating the proper keys and buttons with ease. It has 25 programmable keys, an analog stick to be programmed and three game modes. This gives gamers up to 87 ways to control a game, while also creating macros while playing a game and not pausing.
The keys are backlit and are ideal for playing in lowlight situations and can be customized to a unique look after choosing from hundreds of available backlight colors.
A 160-by-43-pixel GamePanel LCD gives users system information; messages from other players along with actual game stats. Built-in memory allows up to five ready-to-play profiles to be stored along with pre-configured setting for many of today's popular games.
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