Microsoft seems to have suddenly realized that people like to be able to back up their mobile devices, even if they aren’t part of a corporate managed environment.  To that end they’ve released Microsoft Phone Data Manager (Beta).  The tool allows for contacts, music, pictures and video to be backed up off the device into your Windows Live account in their cloud computing efforts.

The tool depends on linking the mobile device to a computer for connecting to the Cloud, so it isn’t all that great.  But at least they’ve come up with something that passes for a legitimate use of the “cloud computing” moniker that they’ve been touting recently.

They support a number of devices beyond just Windows Mobile-powered options, which is nice.  Ironically the WinMo devices are only supported via a USB cable, while non-WinMo devices also have BlueTooth support.  A full list of known supported (and some unsupported ones) are contained here.

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Arne Hess at the:unwired is a lucky guy; he has 3 of the best Windows Mobile smartphones in his possession, and isn’t afraid to use them.

In a totally non scientific test, he took photos with the HTC Diamond, the SonyEricsson Xperia X1 and the Samsung Omnia and compared their photo qualities.

His conclusion? None of them will be replacing your normal camera any time soon.

Source: The:unwired Windows Mobile camera comparison

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Sony Ericsson just upped the ante on mobile phone cameras. Their newest device is called the C905 Cyber-Shot, and features an 8.1 megapixel camera with a "real" flash.

The rest of the specifications are equally impressive:

• Included 2Gb Memory Stick
• Integrated Wi-Fi
• GPS enabled with Google Maps (and GPS photo geotagging)
• 3G HSDPA with US frequency support (only on the C905a)
• Mineral glass display
• Automatic screen rotation

Sadly, the C905 won’t be out till Q4 of this year.

Source: Sony Ericsson press release

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If you are looking for a quick way to resize your large photos and make them suitable for emailing to friends and family, then you’ll want to try VSO Image Resizer.

In the past I used the Microsoft Windows XP powertoy for resizing my stuff, but in their infinite wisdom, nobody at Microsoft made the powertoys compatible with Vista…

VSO Image Resizer is free for non-commercial use, and is available here.

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In a previous article, I reviewed the Eye-Fi wireless 2Gb SD card.

The review showed you how the card can transfer your photos wirelessly from your camera to your PC or a variety of photo sharing sites.

Today Eye-Fi announced a new lineup of products that take their current card, and spice things up a little.

• Eye-Fi Home - transfers from camera to home PC only.
• Eye-Fi Share - transfers from camera to photo sharing sites and home PC (the same features as the current Eye-Fi card).
• Eye-Fi Explore - same features as the Eye-Fi share, but adds 1 year of Wayport hotspot access and basic Wi-Fi geotagging.

The new cards will cost $79.99, $99.99 and $129.99.

Source: Eye-Fi blog

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If you regularly take photos (or videos), then you’ll know what a hassle it can be to get them online. While preparing an article on Shozu mobile, I came across their new desktop application and decided to share it with you.

It’s an absolute Swiss Army Knife of upload tools. You simply drag and drop a photo or video into the main window, select the destination (or multiple destinations) and they are instantly uploaded.

There is support for 30 different photo, blog and news sites and it’ll even let you upload directly to email or FTP. Integrated in the application is even an easy way to tag your shots.

There are some drawbacks that I hope they’ll fix; currently you can only drag/drop/upload one file at a time, and some major sites (like Smugmug) are missing from the list of supported services. But if you want to offload some of your content to reduce the risk of losing your treasured memories, then it’s certainly worth trying.

The Shozu desktop client currently supports the following sites:

BBC News, Blip.tx, Box.net, Buzznet, Cellfish, CNN News, Facebook, Flickr, Friendster, HotSMS.com, Hyves, Ipernity, Kodak Easyshare Gallery, life.dada.net, LiveJournal, Metaweblog, moblog.uk, Netlog, NowPublic, PhotoBucket, Picasa Web Albums, Pikeo, Qipit, Samsung Fun Club, Scoopt, Shozy Slideshow, Textamerica, Twitpic, ITV News, VOX, Webshots, Windows Live Spaces, Wordpress, Youtube

You’ll need a (free) Shozu account and the Adobe AIR runtime (which downloads on demand when you install the Shozu client).

Shozu Desktop Application

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Just a quick update to my Deal Of The Day from Monday.

The Canon SD850IS for $215 just became even sweeter. Not only do you get the camera for $215, you also get a Kensington 2Gb SD card AND an Epson R280 photo printer for free (after a rebate).

Add the following to your cart:

Canon SD850IS digital camera

Epson R280 printer

Then, once you get the items, simply send Epson this rebate form along with the required documentation. Don’t forget to use coupon code 72L3HMDB when you checkout, so your 2Gb card gets included!

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I hate this deal. Not because it’s not a good deal (it REALLY is), but because I paid $150 more for the same camera last year.

The highly rated Canon SD850IS is now on sale for just $215, plus Amazon will throw in free shipping and a free 2Gb Kingston SD card ( be sure to enter claim code 72L3HMDB) when you checkout!

You get an 8 megapixel camera, 4x optical zoom, image stabilization, face detection and a very crisp 2.5" LCD screen.

It’s still my camera of choice for when I need something I can put in my pocket, and it hasn’t let me down once.

Purchase link: Amazon.com

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This is the new Panasonic DMZ-TZ50; it’s a 10x optical zoom, 9.1 megapixel camera, not unlike almost every other ultra-zoom camera on the market today.

What makes the TZ50 special is the inclusion of WiFi and an automated upload feature (to Google Picasa). While WiFi in a camera is nothing new, it is the first time Panasonic has added it to their lineup. Panasonic have added some extra value by including a one year T-mobile hotspot account with the camera.

It’ll be out within a month with an MSRP of $450. Personally, I’d suggest getting a non-WiFi camera and adding an Eye-Fi card. This $99 WiFi enabled 2Gb SD card can upload to almost any photo service, and will work in any camera that takes SD cards.

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The downside of relatively inexpensive digital SLRs is that there’s an inclination to spend even more money on lenses to suit your purpose. From children’s sporting events to safaris, you can throw ungodly sums of money at lenses. But what’s the best for you?

Enter the realm of lens rentals. Photodoto does an excellent roundup of 8 online rental companies, so instead of rushing out to your local camera store to lust after the $2000 and up lenses, rent them and try them out. If you’re balking at the prices, another way to go about trying out expensive lenses is to buy them from Amazon, B&H or Adorama and then eBay them when done and recoup a majority of the lens cost.

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