A few tech blogs got the scoop on the new Kodak products that will be debuting at CES this week.

"The new Zx1 camcorder and Z980 Megazoom point-and-shoot keep to Kodak's short tradition of low prices, but look like they might be solid performers too." - Gizmodo

Engadget and ZDNet covered the new pocket sized HD digital video camera, the Zx1. The Zx1 has 720p HD video capture at 60 fps plus a weather-resistant construction. Oh, and it comes in five different colors!

Engadget also wrote about the new Kodak Z980 Digital Camera with it's 26 mm wide angle, professional quality, 24X image stabilized optical zoom lens and a vertical shutter release with detachable vertical grip.

If you are going to be at CES this year, you can see these on display at Kodak's booth 31400 South Hall.

In a recent GadgetLab.com video, an online blog from WIRED magazine, the KODAK Zi6 was compared to Flip's Mino HD. The Zi6 received an eight out of ten, while to Flip received a six out of ten.

The Kodak Zi6 also made it onto WIRED magazine's list of Top Gadgets of 2008.

"Infused with Kodak imaging pedigree, this pleasantly plump handheld shoots with sharper detail and richer color than any other cam of its ilk."

Check out WIRED magazine's list, The Top Gadgets of 2008.

How can it be this late in December already? The holidays are fast approaching, you have a hundred things to do (like send out your holiday cards and plan your dinner party), and you are trying to watch your budget. Well have no fear, KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 is to the rescue!

The new Creative Projects tab in KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 gives you access  to hundreds of templates for printing quarter-fold greeting cards at home, using ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS. In this selection, there are a variety of holiday templates. With the spectacular quality of the KODAK All-in-One Printers, creating holiday cards at home is the perfect solution that will save you time and money. The screenshot below shows a sample of the many different templates you can choose from in ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS. Depending on how you originally downloaded EASYSHARE Software, you may not have received all of these templates. You can download a package of additional free templates at www.kodak.com/go/downloads. If you prefer to make half-fold cards, you can use the 15-day trial or purchase the full license of the module through ARCSOFT.



For my Christmas card this year, I decided to send postcards to save money on envelopes and postage. I designed my own, but if you don't have the time here's a neat little trick. Select a template in ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS, insert your picture, and then click share so that you can save the card as a picture.



Bring the image into KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 using the add pictures workflow, and use the 4x6 crop option in the editor to trim down the image to postcard size.


 
Now use the Add Text tool to create your own personalized message on the card.



Use the Print at Home tab and your KODAK All-in-One Printer to create borderless photos that dry instantly and last a lifetime.

Now that your holiday cards are done, what about invitations and name place cards for your dinner party?

Take a picture of your holiday decorations to use as a background for your invitations. Be creative and test out the different modes of your KODAK Digital Camera. Take pictures of your tree using the night setting, candles using the candlelight setting, and ornaments using macro mode.

Once you've chosen your favorite, use the Add Text tool to write the details of your dinner party for the invitation. You can only use a single font, size, and color within each text box, so if you want to have different sizes, you'll need to make multiple text boxes by finishing the first, clicking accept, and selecting Add Text again.



Once you save the file, you can just attach the jpeg to an email and send to your guest list!

Finally, when it comes time for the table seating chart and place cards, it's a great time to have some fun with your guests. Find pictures of them in your collection. If you don't have any on you computer, try looking on a social networking site. You'll be sure to find some pretty interesting and funny pictures of your guests. Use the Add Text tool to print their name at the bottom of the image. It's fun way to spice up what could be some pretty boring name place cards and might even spark some interesting stories and conversation.

Since you'll want the cards to be smaller than a normal print, choose from one of the variety of sizing options that you'll find in the Print at Home tab. I used 2.5 x 3.25 inches which is a wallet-sized photo.
 


You asked for it, you got it! KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 now with more editing tools and creative options that will save you time and money this holiday season! And don't forget that ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS offers templates for a variety of holidays and occasions including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Happy Holidays!
 

Recently  KODAK Gallery released the first version of its Gallery iPhone application. We're very excited about it for a variety of reasons. For our customers, it's an example of how we're trying to enable the Gallery to be where they are; for us, it's the opportunity to leverage one of the most exciting electronic products ever released. The iPhone has dramatically changed what people can do with a mobile phone. In many ways, it's becoming a truly mobile computer, enabling the types of online social interactions and capabilities previously only possible with full-on laptop or desktop computers. Extending the core Gallery experience to such an exciting device was a no-brainer,
 
Perhaps unsurprisingly as a result of all its capabilities, the iPhone is already the top mobile phone for uploading photos to the gallery, at least on a daily basis. Last week, the Apple team also decided to give us priority placement in the App Store home page, and we're currently one of the top 10 downloaded apps in the Photography category.


 
For our first release, we focused on three core capabilities: browsing, uploading, and sharing.
 
Browsing means the ability to view all your Gallery albums, over either Wi-Fi or AT&T's Edge/3G networks (for pure speed, however, if you can use Wi-Fi, do; it's much faster). Select an album and you can browse thumbnails of all its photos. Select a thumbnail and you see a larger image. Tap on the image and you trigger an automated slideshow that steps through all your images. For slideshow, we've even implemented the ability to use the accelerometer to have either portrait or landscape images rotate to fill your screen (and yes, we know we need to make it available throughout the app).
 
Uploading gives you the ability to select any photo from the iPhone Photos app and deposit it into the Gallery album of your choice. We've already had some great suggestions through reviews of the app on iTunes to also enable images from Gallery to be downloaded and copied into the Photos app as well.
 
Sharing gives you the ability to use the venerable Gallery sharing functionality using the contacts stored in your iPhone. Simply select the person you want to share with, then select the album you want to share, and you're done. Your contact will b sent an email from the Gallery pointing them to your album just as if you'd done it from the website directly.
 
For the intrepid, feel free to jump into the Settings app and do stuff like: configure the account you want to access, change the tagline for the files you upload, and enable our little shake feature: from a browse album view, shaking the iPhone will make a sound and pull up a random photo from that album. Fun!
 
Anyway, we won't pretend we're done yet. There have already been a host of great suggestions for what we should do next from customers who have downloaded the app. We also have some of our own ideas. I can't encourage you enough to add your own to the list. You can send us questions directly to iphonesupport@kodakgallery.com or offer up your observations directly on the iTunes App Store.

PC Magazine featured the KODAK Zi6 Pocket Video Camera in its Daily Gift Idea series.  The write-up said, "The video quality of the Zi6 blows the competition out of the water. Plus, unlike the other models, it shoots still images."

See the full mention here.  Maybe you'll find one under your tree this year!