Polaroid is abandoning instant film, but if you’re going to miss the feel of getting a small print in your hand a minute after snapping a picture, the company has a solution: A battery-powered printer that fits in your pocket. I got a chance to test out the new pocket printer and I am not disappointed.

Called the PoGo, the printer spits out 2-by-3-inch color photos that can be peeled apart to reveal a sticky back. It can receive photos wirelessly from some cell phones, or via a cable from a digital camera. However, I will warn you now: Do not expect great picture quality from the $149 PoGo. The colors are strange at times, which is especially noticeable in the skin tones. There are faint lines across the print; artifacts from the printing process.

That is besides the point. Sometimes you have to scrafice something to get something else better, right? So why not sacrifice a little picture quality to make it as portable as possible. And to be honest, none of the Polaroid portable printer I have tried have been up to pare. If you have seen the “instant” prints from the Polaroid portable printer family, then you know a little about the technology about the prints. However, the PoGo prints a little differently. The printer uses paper with billions of embedded dye crystals. It selectively heats them up to produce different colors. There is no ink, toner, or liquid chemical in the process. The prints come out dry. That explains the accuracy of colors.

With no ink to buy, the only cost of using the printer is the paper, which it eats in packs of 10. They have to make up the money somehow so these paper packs cost $3.99 each, or $9.99 for three. That’s a little steep compared to regular photo printers, but cheap compared to instant film, which costs around $15 for a 10-pack.

For a cell phone to connect to the PoGo, it needs, first of all, a Bluetooth chip. However, not all Bluetooth-equipped cell phones work with the PoGo. My iPhone didn’t work unfortunately, however, and old Blackberry that I had did the job perfectly. Compatibility is probably going to be an issue and if you are buying it to print strictly from your phone, I suggest you make sure it is compatible.

Another thing I did not like is the fact that the printer has no LCD screen or memory card slot. Most printers have these features, and I am sure again, they had to sacrifice portability for a LCD and a memory card slot, but that would have been oh-so-convenient. Both way, I enjoyed it and if you are looking to print on the fly for fun (not professionally of course) then I recommend this printer. If I were in high school or middle school, this would be the perfect gift. I think middle or high schoolers would love being able to pull out their cellphones (that most teens have these days), take a picture, peel off the back and put it on their lockers or something.

I got a chance to get a lot of information on the new Nikon Coolpix S52 and S52c, which were announced in April. I never was a big fan of the Nikon point-and-shoot cameras, but after a very detailed explanation and review of the Nikon S51c compared to the S52, I am happy to say my next point-and-shoot just may very well be a Nikon.

Nikon introduced the new COOLPIX S52 and S52c to its Style Series of digital cameras. These cameras combine Nikon’s interesting (still not sure if I like it) wave-surface camera body with advanced features designed to produce great pictures with ease. With 9.0 megapixels, a 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens, Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Image Stabilization and manual sensitivity settings (as high as ISO 3200), the COOLPIX S52 and S52c are not going to fail you in taking pictures at great quality in any setting.

Like most cameras these days, the COOLPIX S52 and S52c feature Optical VR Image Stabilization technology. These cameras also boast an AUTO ISO control, which automatically selects the optimal sensitivity across a range between ISO 100 and ISO 800, and up to ISO 2000 in High-Sensitivity mode. The S52 and S52c come with a 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens designed to capture brilliant detail (like the 51) and vivid colors in every photo. What I love about this camera is the huge 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD screen. I currently have a Canon and although great cameras, the screen is nothing compared to these.

Like all cameras in the COOLPIX line, the S52 and S52c include Nikon’s unique image innovations including enhanced Face-Priority AF, which automatically finds and focuses on up to five faces within the frame; In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, which can automatically detect and correct red eye in a photo; and D-Lighting, which compensates for excessive backlight or insufficient flash in images.

In my article, “The Next Big Thing of 08,” I mentioned WiFi being a common thing in devices this year. The Nikon S52c does not prove me wrong offering WiFi built right in. The Wi-Fi enabled S52c can send images directly via email through its Wi-Fi connection, as well as support for “My Picturetown”, Nikon’s photo sharing and storage service. Through “My Picturetown”, users can email pictures directly to friends and family, publish pictures to the photo community sharing Website Flickr, and link their photos to blogs and social networking sites. Pictures can also be sent to the email addresses of a BlackBerry® device for viewing. So, essentially, you could take pictures, upload them on the fly, and move on, all without the use of a computer. I’d recommend a computer however.

Another cool feature I like is the Pictmotion function which will allow users to combine their favorite movies and photos and create in-camera slide shows with music including songs uploaded from iTunes. What will the stylish, feature-packed camera cost? Not much actually. The S52 has a price of $249.95, and the S52c will cost a little more at $299.95. They will be available this month. For even more information and stunning pictures, take a look at http://www.nikonusa.com.

Yet another new Digital SLR hits the streets. But this one is a little different. For a start, it’s very affordable for a DSLR and 12.2 megapixels for less than $800 sounds like a good deal to me.

If you are a Canon fan and looking for a low priced Digital Single Lens Reflex camera, I suspect this is going to be for you.

Fully compatible with the full range of EF lenses, a specification sheet longer than my…. It’s typical Canon styling and although I haven’t got my hands on one yet, I think it will be as well built as we have come to expect from Canon.

One of the good things about the upcoming release at this price, is we will likely see similar efforts from all the other camera maker, so expect a sub $800 DSRL from Nikon, Olympus and all the other manufacturers.

Anything that brings the price of these cameras down is a good thing in my opinion. This one should last a long time too. Canon are famous for making solid, long-lasting equipment. There is an interesting, deeper look at the Canon XSi 450D here. Everyone I talk to is excited about this one.

The Nikon Coolpix P50 marries a resolution of 8.1 effective megapixels with a new digital image-processing engine for outstanding imaging performance, the COOLPIX P50 also features a 28mm wide-angle, 3.6x Zoom-NIKKOR lens.

According to Nikon, their Electronic VR (Vibration Reduction) image stabilization system will compensate for camera shake or movement by unsteady subjects to achieve sharper results. Sensitivity extended up to ISO 2000 further will also help to prevent blurred shots when shooting in lower light, or capturing fast-moving subjects.

It’s big and chunky, and I like that – a Nikon should have a little heft to it and this one does. The screen is a disappointing 2.4 inches, but I prefer an optical viewfinder, which this also has. There has been a lot of complaining about lack of features on this camera, but my own feeling is that most of those high end features go unused most of the time, so what’s the point.

This is a good middle-of-the road camera which does exactly what it is supposed to – take pictures, not make the tea. I like the fact that it’s not all about how sexy and slim it is. It’s a camera – it takes good quality, well defined, sharp images and that’s what a camera is for. It also says Nikon on the front which is not to be sneezed at. Amazon are knocking them out for around $150 – a good buy at that price I feel.

Got fingers the size of matchsticks? Is tiny your middle name?

If the answer is yes to either of these two questions, we have the phone for you. The Palm Trea 500v has a reasonable spec sheet for a phone of this type: Windows Mobile 6, 2-megapixel camera, 3G / UMTS data, microSD slot, Bluetooth 2.0, mini USB, and a 320×240 display, but good grief! If there is a smaller, more crushed together- impossible to use without pushing three buttons accidentally at the same time – key board out there, I have yet to find it.

The built-in camera is of a reasonable quality, the phone itself is easy to use and the quality of the audio is better than I have come to expect from a Treo. Butthis phone lacks a certain indefinable something that a phone in this price bracket needs. Style. A Like the man said, “I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it,” and I am not seeing it.

Apart from that, I don’t see one of the main features (the full querty key board) being usable on a day to day basis. Especially when you consider that the main purpose of this phone is to send emails. If I was given one of these by the company I worked for, it would have had an “accident” by the time I got out of the office. Big thumbs down, small thumbs up.

Check out these products from amazon.com:

• Powered 4in1 Multi Adapter Car / Auto Mount PDA Phone Holder for the Palmone Palm Treo 500v – Gomadic Brand
  
• palm Treo 750 Smartphone (AT&T)