LiteOn IT, a well-know maker of optical storage solutions for PCs, announced the release of their first consumer electronics product Skyla's Memoir Scanning Digital Photo Frame. The Memoir is a 8-inch frame/scanner that scans prints of up to 4 by 6 inches in size and store the digitized images in its 1 gigabyte of internal memory. Images are scanned at resolutions of up to 600 dpi for playback on the frame’s 800×600 pixel screen. This device isn’t just for photos, it also play back digital video as well as MP3 audio files, Motion JPEG, MPEG1, and MPEG4 files. The Memoir is geared with a 5-in-1 memory card reader for digital camera cards and two USB ports that enable you to back up scanned photos to a PC or other USB-based device. (I always prefer to review my digital photos from a PC.) It also features a calendar, and a alarm clock with picture slideshows. Overall, you can operate this Memoir with ease. This device will be available for $220 in late December, just in time to display all of those holiday photos.

Last month Motorola announced the release of Aura as their latest luxury mobile phone on the 4th of Dec. The design of the Aura is based on the Motorola class v70 and v80 handset and a Rolex-like manufacturing process. Aura has a 16 million color, fully-circular LCD display, a 62 Carat lens crafted out of sapphire for scratch resistance, a stainless steel exterior with etched designs, a Swiss-manufactured bearing for the swivel, 700+ individual components, PVD coating (similar to high-end watches), and an all aluminum keypad. In terms of tech specifics, the Aura has the same ole stuff- Quad-band GSM/EDGE (No 3G), 2-megapixel camera, MPEG-4 video playback, MP3 and WMA decoding, Stereo Bluetooth, 2GB of internal storage, and an 810mAh battery. The total price for this stuff is at $1999. This watch looks slick, sexy and expensive. If you have upper-end taste and a top tier salary, the Aura might be your choice for X-mas.

It has been eight years since an upgrade to the Unified Serial Bus (USB) specification -- but was it worth the wait? This new update of the USB will deliver greater power efficiency and the ability to recharge a wider variety of gadgets. Here's what you can expect: * Data transfers ten times faster than USB 2.0 and six times faster than FireWire 800 * A new interrupt driven protocol that optimizes power management * Power output bumps up to 900 milliamps from 100 milliamps -- meaning it allows more devices to be charged faster * Works with devices running the older USB 2.0 This superspeed rate of USB 3.0 makes data transfer more pervasive across devices than ever before. As a consumer, you should expect everything from keyboards, mouse, PDAs, printers, digital cameras, personal media players -- pretty much the entire spectrum of consumer electronics that can be connected to a host PC to be upgraded to this new standard. Don't expect USB 3.0 devices to show up until the end of 2009 or early 2010. However, you can get a glimpse into future devices sporting SuperSpeed USB as early as the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January 2009 -- and don't forget MEVIO will be covering ...

If a web newbie needs a webcam that is specifically designed for their notebook, check out the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks. It has a spring-loaded clip that clamps to most laptop screens. I found the integrated microphone to be quite good. The microphone performed well in terms of not picking up every sounds. Like the Quickcam Pro 9000, it includes an autofocus Carl Zeiss glass lens for very good image quality and a 2-megapixel image sensor that's capable of capturing video at resolutions of up to 960 x 720. The Webcam has a face-tracking feature that keeps your face in the center of the image. This QuickCam Pro did an adequate job in picking up lights. The installation was quite simple. I had a minor problem of securing Webcam to a laptop. I built my own camera clamp that worked better than theirs. Just like QuickCam Pro 9000, it is not optimized for use with Macs. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Now that Google Voice and Video chat is out. To the newbie, it is important to get a good Web Cam for their desktop PC. Based on my research and experience, the Logitech’s QuickCam Pro 9000 produces the best image quality of any webcam. It has the Carl Zeiss glass Tessar optical system that produces clearer images than other webcams. This Webcam is capable of capturing video at up to 1600 x 1200 and 30 frames per second for crisp, smooth transmissions. The bundled software package includes a variety of filters and video effects. The QuickCam Pro 9000 is Windows only; like most Vista-compatible Logitech webcams. Have not tested it with some late-model Mac computers. Rumors has it that none of the advanced features will work. I have seen the price of this unit range between $75- $100. The price sounds slightly steep. Overall, this unit produces the best video quality and more than justifies its higher price. I give it 4.0 out of 5 Stars

Google announced that it has added voice and video to its Gmail chat service. Google webmail differs from Yahoo's and Microsoft's product with its integrated instant messaging services. With video and audio chat built-in into Gmail together with regular text chat, it transforms Google's webmail platform into a central point of communications where users don't have to open various windows and applications simulataneously. Gmail video chat is almost universal, working with most browsers on both PCs and Macs. Gmail's new video and audio calling feature definitely sets Google's webmail service apart from the competition. Now a one-stop communications hub, Gmail will certainly become ever more popular among both email and avid chat users. While other upcoming (or delayed) features such as SMS Chat in Gmail will again raise the bar against competition, Google's Android-based mobile phones could also help increase Gmail's popularity.

If you are looking for a gift for the techie in your list, Best Buy has a pretty good one. They have a gift card that doubles as a speaker. If a Best Buy customer wants to pick up a gift card that is $50 or higher, he or she has the option of having one that serves as a miniature speaker. It comes with a 3.5mm jack that can connect to an iPod or other audio gadget, and will produce some excellent external sound. The cards -- available starting this week in $50, $100, or $200 values. It cost the same as any other regular gift card. You pay only the dollar value. One more thing, the cards do not expire or lose value over time. Is that cool? Not to be outdone, Target's also has a new digital camera gift card that anyone might like. The camera card offers 1.2 megapixel functionality with 8MB of on-board memory, It also includes its own USB cord and driver disk for computer connections. You even get a coupon for 40 free prints with it. The card operates on two replaceable AAA batteries. Totally Excellent!

Right now, I am looking for a laptop. Still debating between a regular laptop and a netbook. As a road warrior, I have a tendency of banging my laptop and I need a unit that was tough and durable. I checked out the Panasonic Toughbook F8. The Toughbook F8 is a 14.1-inch system that Panasonic calls the world's lightest 3G-ready notebook. It has a built-in carry handle and weighs 3.7 pounds. That is great. Hardwarewise, it includes a standard Intel Core 2 Duo CPU (2.26 GHz (6MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB), 1GB DDR2 SDRAM standard (expandable to 4GB) and a 160GB shock-mounted hard drive. Since the unit includes a Genuine Windows Vista Business, I prefer to get the XP downgrade option. The F8 has a good wireless option, including an Intel’s 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Gobi 3G technology. This should allow the system to stay connected on different mobile broadband carriers around the world. Overall, I love the magnesium alloy chassis, spill-resistant keyboard, and flexible internal connectors that come with it. Panasonic's Toughbooks have a reputation of surviving drops of 12 inches, and 30 inches for the shock-mounted hard drive, as well as 6-ounce spills and up to 220 pounds ...

My associate who commutes everyday from the East Bay to Silicon Valley, was feed-up w. the traffic tie-ups and jams and late traffic information that he needed a solution. So he decided to purchase a Tom Tom GO 930. The TomTom GO 930 is a portable navigation system that allows the address entry via voice as well as lane assistance and 3D renderings of complex intersections. It also has the following: optimized route calculation based on historical traffic data; a text-to-speech functionality; integrated Bluetooth; and a wide screen. He called me up to check out his new toy. When I arrived at his place, he has just installed it to his car. After 10 minutes of playing around with it, I began to test the Tom Tom unit, stage by stage, step by step. ... The maps were quite impressive. However, I found the voice command feature on the GO 930 to be average at best. It did not received our audio commands very well. Being a keyboard guy, I found it to be easier to enter addresses using the onscreen keyboard. Also learned that the lane guidance feature was only available for major highways and not ...

The problem of man-in-the-middle attacks when performing banking transactions online has been the bane of banking security. These attacks work because the user has no means of knowing their connection to the bank through their browser has been compromised. When the attacker provides the web banking customer the correct information even though the real transaction was fraudulent, the customer would not know if something is wrong until they receive a bank statement and realize the transaction record doesn’t match with what they authorized. IBM's recently introduced a simple and effective security solution that prevents this fraud with a memory-stick sized device that plugs into a USB port on a PC. It establishes a direct, secured connection with a Web site's server is called the Zone Trusted Information Channel (ZTIC, pronounced like "stick"). The ZTIC works by plugging into the user’s PC that directly takes the user to the already programmed bank’s website in a secured environment. Whenever the user transacts with the bank, the ZTIC equipped with a small display shows the transaction to be approved or disapproved. This can be achieved with the two buttons on the device. Transactions displayed on ZTIC are identical to what the server ...