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Panasonic's Lumix DMC-TZ50 gets official in US: Picasa / T-Mobile HotSpot-friendly
Panny's Lumix DMC-TZ50 isn't brand new or anything -- after all, we first caught wind of this WiFi-equipped point-and-shoot late last month in Japan. Nevertheless, Panasonic is now announcing that said camera will be heading Stateside with 802.11b/g capabilities, access to T-Mobile HotSpot service and the ability to upload photos directly to Google's Picasa Web Albums -- exactly like we saw at CES. Specs wise, you'll find a 9.1-megapixel sensor, 10x optical zoom, 28mm wide-angle lens, 720p movie mode, SD expansion slot, video output, red-eye correction, optical image stabilization, the Venus Engine IV and a 3.0-inch LCD monitor to boot. Unfortunately, there's still no word on when (or if) this technology will filter out to more Panasonic models, but folks interested in this here camera can pick one up next month for $449.95.
Panasonic's DMC-TZ50: a TZ5 with WiFi and Picasa photo sharing, maybe
Take Panasonic's 9.1 megapixel TZ5 with 10x optical zoom and 3-inch LCD, slap in some 802.11b/g WiFi and what do you get? This, the Lumix DMC-TZ50. As with most WiFi cameras, the TZ50 can upload your pictures from any WiFi hotspot but is then locked into specific image sharing sites; in this case, Panny's own Lumix Club. There is hope for a more open model, however, when the TZ50 goes global. After all, the Panasonic / T-Mobile WiFi demo we saw at CES tied images to Google's Picasa. Ok, it's not Flickr but it's a start. Available May 16th in Japan for ¥49,800 or about $500. [Via Impress]
Hands-on with Panasonic / T-Mobile WiFi camera technology
Recall that elusive wireless Lumix that Panasonic was developing in conjunction with T-Mobile? Turns out, Panny's still mulling over what camera to put the WiFi technology into, but the demo camera seen at CES was a DMC-TZ3. If the on-site representative is to be believed, it'll first be seen in a point-and-shoot, but there's no definitive plans for it expand onto "a lot" of models. Hit up the gallery below if you're interested in seeing the technology in action -- from upload to Picasa viewing, it's all there. %Gallery-13141%
TiVo rolls out Picasa, Photobucket integration
TiVo owners with Picasa or Photobucket accounts just got another way to view their photos on their TVs -- everyone's favorite DVR company announced deals with both services today that will allow users to access their photos from any TiVo device. Photos will be pulled down at the highest resolution your TiVo supports, so Series3 and TiVo HD owners will get HD-res images displayed, and what's more, users can also access friends' photo albums. The feature should be rolling out starting today -- between this and that Rhapsody partnership, it seems like TiVo is starting to get serious about branching into the still-dormant media streamer / extender market.[Via TG Daily]
Google Picasa Web Albums Uploader updated for iPhoto '08
The Mac folks over at Google have announced the release of an update to their Web Albums Uploaders for their online photo sharing site Picasa. The single download actually contains two packages. One is a plugin for iPhoto that adds compatibility with iPhoto '08 and automatic conversion of iPhoto keywords to Picasa tags. The other is a standalone drag-and-drop uploader application. In both cases, under the hood there are more substantial changes involving automatic updating and a new Picasa API. In any case, if you're a Mac Picasa user you'll want to check this out.Update: Unfortunately, it looks like Google forgot to change the download link and it still points to version 1.0 instead of 1.1. The actual download can be found here.
Aperture to Picasa plugin
Having just gotten a decent camera I've recently discovered the joys of Aperture. As a long standing Flickr user, I immediately installed Frazier Speirs excellent Aperture to Flickr plugin. For those inclined towards Google's Picasa instead, however, there is now a new plugin that performs a similar function for that service. The Aperture to Picasa Web Albums plugin offers support for creating new albums, conversion of Aperture keywords to Picasa tags, and an Album selector with cover images.The Aperture to Picasa Web Albums plugin is in beta is a free download from Übermind.
MarsEdit 1.2 lands with Growl, Picasa and Vox support
Making good on his word after purchasing MarsEdit from Brent Simmons, Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software has quickly taken up development of the blogging client. Today Daniel released MarsEdit 1.2, a minor update that brings some great features like Growl support (when publishing, refreshing or uploading images and files) and Picasa upload support for Blogger.com images, as well as support for blogging to Vox, the community-focused blogging system from Six Aparts, makers of Live Journal and TypePad. For anyone who needs the power of Mac OS X while blogging, MarsEdit is a great great choice that offers a wealth of other features for a mere $24.95. A demo is of course also available from Red Sweater Software.
Google releases Mac photo uploader for Picasa Web Albums
No, Google hasn't brought Picasa to Mac OS X, but they did release two tools to let Mac users upload photos to their Picasa Web Albums service (think: 'Google does Flickr'). The first app (honesty a bit of a surprise) is a full-on plugin for iPhoto to let users upload their images right from within Apple's popular photo-management app. The second tool is a good ol' fashioned stand-alone uploader for those who want to fly solo.I've never used the service before myself, though I signed up when Google first opened it up (I like to make myself available, when possible). I just took the iPhoto plugin for a spin and it works well, though I don't think Picasa Web Albums is aimed at your typical Flickr user (its largest and most obvious potential competitor). Most of the social aspects of Flickr, such as tagging, groups, etc., don't exist in Picasa Web Albums - it seems much more geared to those who mainly want a place to upload their photos online, with a simple gallery that is easy to link family and friends to (it's also obviously geared towards Picasa users on Windows too). Users can chose whether to make uploaded albums public or private, which is where one of Picasa Web Albums' social features comes into play: users do have the ability to set other users as favorites in order to more easily view images and albums they upload (though, strangely, I can't seem to find any kind of public area where I can go hunting for other users). On the downside, however, Picasa Web Albums only offers a measly 250MB of storage space for free, with a $25 upgrade option for an extra 6GB of space.All in all this is a handy service and the new tools are a great gesture on Google's part towards the Mac community. However, due to Flickr's overwhelming popularity (especially among Mac users) and a seeming lack of integration with other Google tools (where are my GmailThis! and BlogThis! buttons?), I think Picasa Web Albums has a little ways to go before it gains any significant interest among Mac users.
