Hi - this is probably a dumb question, but here goes. Is there a device, without going to a full laptop, that you can download pictures to, edit and type basic notes?
We travel a lot and I may go to the laptop route, but wondered if there is something simpler and cheaper for just these purposes.
Thanks!
sue

Actually yours is a very good question.

I think what you might be referring to is a (memory) card reader that you use with digital cameras. They sell for about $10 at places like Office Depot, Office Max, Staples and Radio Shack. You remove the memory card from your digital camera, pop it in, plug the other end into the computer's USB port and download the photos to the desktop. In this way, you can e-mail them to friends & family or upload them to a photo sharing website.

Having said this, there is no built in editing software, however, the photo sharing web site may have some of this. Also, the card reader requires the use of somebody else's computer such as the one found in a internet cafe or at a hotel.

OP likely doesn't need a card reader. Digital cameras have a USB port and you can just attach it directly to a computer. It shows up like another hard drive.

But I think the question is about some portable device, not a laptop. A handheld thing.

Although this doesn't answer sueoz's question, I highly recommend a card reader. For $10 (or $5 when I've found deals) they are essential. They plug right into a USB port and don't require the camera to be plugged in (hence no battery drain, no worry about dragging both the camera and the computer around, etc.). Today, for example, I have my laptop here and my card reader and the memory card from photos I shot last night and I don't need my bulky camera to download them.

Not all cameras (Canon for example) show up as an extra hard drive when you plug them in, either. Canon requires installation of drivers to be able to download pics from their cameras - at least, that's been my experience. Perhaps some Canon cameras are different.

sueoz, there are devices you can carry that allow you to dump your memory card and even burn CDs and DVDs from them - but they don't have any editing or viewing capabilities. They are pretty dumb storage devices, basically, that save you from your memory card filling up if you don't have enough room left for new pictures.

(I can't recall what they call these portable storage things - can't find one on NewEgg.com, but memory cards are getting so cheap that I probably wouldn't bother anymore myself and just buy more memory cards.)

I always take my laptop on a trip, but then again, I'm a photographer and for me viewing/editing my photos same day is essential.

Sounds like I just need to save up for a laptop! Thanks for the replies.
sue

There are a bunch of portable digital storage devices that you can download and view your photos on, but none (that I'm aware of) that allow you to edit photos. And really, with the small size of the viewing screen on these devices (maybe 2.5 inches at most), editing would be a pretty bad idea anyway.

Epson makes several (P-3000 and 5000), there's the Apple iPod (various storage capacities), Wolverine MVP 9000, SmartDisk Flashtrax XT, etc. Problem is, they all cost a good bit of money (they range in price from $250 for a 30GB iPod up to $700 for a 80GB Epson P-5000). It'd probably make more sense to get a small used laptop with some editing capability rather than a storage device.

some Canon cameras are different
This is the case.

Might be the case that a card reader is essential if your camera is bulky, but not in the case of my compact Canon. There's no chance of mis-handling the card and the battery drain is insignificant, imo. YMMV.

I went to cnet.com and took a look at the PDAs. At least one of them has a USB port. Some of them, like the Palm TX, accept memory cards. But it seems that they use the card for RAM expansion, not storage (I must be missing something here). The article does say that the thing has 16M of RAM on board of which 12M can be used as storage.

The PalmOne LifeDrive has a 4G hard drive. Ok, I see that the article says "of the 4GB of available memory, 3.85GB is user accessible". So, 0.15G of the HD is used as virtual memory and the rest is storage. ?

With the Palm TX I guess you could make an index of the images and write notes. Probably could then transfer the document to the memory (storage) card, but unloading the images onto the device would not work. Might work on the LifeDrive, tho.

Some cameras have a difficult time talking to the computer without the camera software, but if you're willing to keep trying, you can usually find a way around it - I've done it several times.

The closest device for the OP would be a PSD (Portable Storage Device). They vary in price, speed, and abilities. None will allow you to attach notes to the photos or edit the photos. They are basically a way to store your photos until you can get to your computer. Some will allow you to review the jpg photos, but not all read RAW.

The items to consider if you go the PSD route are:

1. to view or not to view - a viewing screen will increase the cost of the device. I found for me, that I don't miss not being able to review my photos every night and with no screen, I don't find myself "wasting" time looking at yesterday's photos instead of going out today and getting more.

2. speed - some of these devices are EXTREMELY slow to download from the camera and/or upload to the computer. If you take enough photos where you will need to empty a memory card while you're out and about, the speed can matter. If you use several memory cards throughout the day and will download them each night, you could be staying up pretty late switching out cards. If you use one card and it gets you through the day fine, then speed probably isn't an issue.

3. Battery - some devices use a proprietary internal rechargeable battery (i.e., iPod). Some use AA rechargeable batteries. Usually regular AA batteries will only power the device long enough to get 512mb - 1gb of photos transferred. You need to figure out your usage requirements.

They are now making smaller laptops that could be a good option for you. They have a smaller screen, but give you all the other advantages of a laptop.

Ricoh 500SE-W is a wireless camera that has data memory fields for describing the item you photograph.

In the US, you can stop at a Wal-Mart or pharmacy and download the images from your memory card to a CD/storage DVD in the photo department to clear off your memory card. That's not necessarily cheap though, especially if you do several.

You've got to be very careful relying on a 3rd party burning a CD or DVD of your pictures because 1, they could mess up the CD and how would you ever know? It's quite easy to mess up a CD even if you are doing it yourself, which is why I always verify every CD I burn (and have had to re-burn the ones that didn't work). And 2, CDs and DVDs themselves aren't the most reliable storage media for long-term storage of digital pictures. They can die over time and you could lose your pictures if you have no other copy of them.

If I were to trust, say, Wal-Mart to burn a CD of my memory card, I'd immediately pop that CD into one of their photo kiosks and make sure it could read all the photos I expect to be there. Never blindly trust a 3rd party to burn a CD for you without verifying it.

I am in CE and have not seen what you request.

If you are traveling on a long trip and do not want a laptop, I own a photo hard drive. It is a small device that I download and store my pictures to on trips where I am gone for a lengthy time.

If you are looking for a laptop, you can now find one for around $500. Prices have dropped significantly.

8-)