New Products From Jobo

I have a job brewing with a rather large NGO. They want to send me to Sumatra, Indonesia to photograph the area and people they are doing relief and development among. They need me to be very careful to note where the images are taken. So, I have been looking into GPS modules for my camera. One of the few I have found is made by my own sponsor, Jobo. Jobo is a great company. These folks make the best image viewer around, the GigaVu Pro Evolution. I would put this unit up against any of the Epson units any day of the week. But that is not what I am writing about, is it? They are soon to have in their arsenal of toys a little guy called simply, the Jobo PhotoGPS. Here is a quote from their product page:

“The photoGPS includes a PC and MAC compatible DVD that contains both the software and the database needed to post-process the information captured by the unit. Post-processing is highly automated: Users simply download the captured GPS data via the built-in USB interface and enter the directory name of the folder where the corresponding pictures are stored. The user’s computer can then compare the EXIF time recorded by the camera and the GPS time recorded by the photoGPS. When a match is found the program updates the Longitude and Latitude EXIF fields. In a second step, utilizing advanced break-through technology, the photoGPS retrieves: Country name, Region and District, City, Postal code, Street name and the Point Of Interest.”

I have looked at many other options on the net but all require an external GPS unit for around $150 to $500 and additional software and I am not sure how well they work and what data you get when it is all done. I am not sure if the PhotoGPS unit works as smoothly as it is reported to do so by Jobo. I can only wait and see. Even more of a worry for me is there seems to be some delay in its release. So, will it get into production and be released in time for a trip in Feb ’08? We shall see.

The PhotoGPS by Jobo retails for around $145, pretty good value if it works. Stay tuned…

Speaking of Jobo. I got my hands of a pre-release of their new digital photo frame. This little guy came with an amazing 1GB of space. My wife has always thought digital frames look tacky, but before we even took this out of the box she wanted to give it to her sister as a gift for Christmas. Yet, once she saw it out of the box and in action, she quickly decided to keep it on our end table forever. It is a hit.

The unit sports a 7″ 800 x 480 resolution LCD display, memory expansion slots for CF, SD, MMC, Memory Stick, and XD formats, and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The JOBO PDJ701 the one I have will retail for approximately $179, The PDJ701 is a 128MB version that will sell for for $159. Hmm, which one will sell better?

With 1GB, around 10,000 images, it will take a long time to fill this frame up and to rotate through it. There is one minor thing I wish these frame manufactures would do, and it is very simple. Why don’t they give the option for a fade transition. They only seem to like to offer crazy wipes or straight cut. Like I said, a minor issue.

JOBO PDJ701 Specifications:

• – 7in / 17.78 cm diagonal with 262,000 colors
• – Resolution: 800 x 480 Pixel (display range 720 x 480)
• – Contrast ratio: 400:1; brightness: 230 cd/m_
• – Internal memory: 1 GB, up to 10,000 images in optimum screen resolution
• – Integrated Li-Ion battery (1500 mAh)
• – Supported formats: JPG, BMP
• – Interfaces: card-slots for CF, SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, xD; USB 2.0 High Speed
• – Functions: Picture-Showing-Mode (Picture Browsing, Thumbnail View, Slideshow), Editing (Copy, Delete, Rotate, Picture Effects), calendar, time, alarm, timer
• – Languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese
• – Stand: high-quality metal
• – Dimensions (W x H x D): 8.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches (without stand)
• – Weight: 18.3 ounces (with stand)

JOBO PDJ700 Specifications:

• – 7in / 17.78 cm diagonal with 262,000 colors
• – Resolution: 800 x 480 Pixel (display range 720 x 480)
• – Contrast ratio: 400:1; brightness: 230 cd/m_
• – Internal memory: 128 MB, up to 1,000 images in optimum screen resolution
• – Supported formats: JPG, BMP
• – Interfaces: card-slots for CF, SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, xD; USB 2.0 High Speed
• – Functions: Picture-Showing-Mode (Picture Browsing, Thumbnail View, Slideshow), Editing (Copy, Delete, Rotate, Picture Effects), calendar, time, alarm, timer
• – Languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese
• – Stand: black plastic
• – Dimensions (W x H x D): 8.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches (without stand)
• – Weight: 14.7 ounces (with stand)