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Logitech digicam gives a clue to wireless device, PDA designers

There's an easy way to ensure your camera battery doesn't run down quickly; don't have a flash unit on it, and don't have a big LCD display either. And charge it up when it's connected to the PC!

Logitech has announced a Pocket Digital Camera half an inch thick - small enough to keep in a shirt pocket. "It means you never miss a moment," says Logitech, sadly omitting to add "unless it's getting dark" - because the new toy, out in May, doesn't have a flash gun.

But what it does have, is bad news for wireless fans. It's something which some future devices may adopt - and that's a way of re-charging the battery during an operation which normally runs it down - linking to a PC to save images to disk. It gets enough electric power down the Universal Serial Bus to increase the charge on the camera, where normal cameras drain the battery when doing file transfers.

The technique won't work for big-display, power-hungry devices like PocketPC personal digital assistants like the iPaq - they need more power than a USB link would provide, if they want to charge their batteries up. But for very small devices of the sort which Bluetooth was aimed at, it could be a wonderful way of eliminating the need for Bluetooth at all. Yes, it's a pain having to connect it by wire! - but it's more of a pain having to carry a charger everywhere. And if you have a PC with you, why not use that?

The press release in full:

April 17, 2002 -- A new camera that is only the size of a credit card could signal the end to missing special moments. The product, Logitech® Pocket Digitalâ„¢ has a unique slim design, so that it can easily be carried in a pocket, purse or briefcase. It can store up to 52 images at 1.3 Megapixel resolution.

The product's innovative features are matched by its striking design. With a sturdy brushed aluminum surface, this camera's appearance is as attractive as what it can do. It will be available in May.

The camera was created for people who want to capture spontaneous moments, but don't want to carry a bulky camera.

Pocket Digital has an innovative Autobrite image processing feature. This ensures that the camera can effectively capture images containing a mix of bright and dim areas. A built-in lithium polymer battery automatically recharges while pictures are being downloaded to the PC (through the USB cable). This offers less hassle and less clutter during battery recharge. Pocket Digital also features a protective sliding cover for the lens and viewfinder.

This camera will be sold with Logitech's Pocket Digital 5.0 software, which includes:

MGI® Photosuite® 4 SE, offering image editing and easy emailing of pictures

Autobriteâ„¢ image processing technology for wide dynamic range

single click download for easy and instant image transfer