Photo Club

Jobo has announced a new portable storage device designed for photographers. The Giga Vu Extreme comes in capacities up to 160GB and features a 640×480-pixel, 3.7-inch LCD for viewing stored images. The 14.8-ounce device has a built-in card slot for CompactFlash and MicroDrive media, and comes with an SD/MMC card adapter. Jobo claims it can download 1GB of files from a memory card in about 2 minutes. The device transfers files to a computer via USB 2.0. It runs on a removable lithium-ion battery, a useful feature for photographers who want to carry a spare in the field.

Other notable features include a verification function to ensure that image files have been transferred to the Giga Vu Extreme intact, RAW file decoding that supports more than 100 formats so that stored RAW files can be displayed on the device, PictBridge support for direct printing from the device, and a loupe function for magnifying image details on the LCD. The Extreme is also the first Giga Vu model to offer compatibility with Jobo’s photoGPS unit. It stores GPS data transferred from that device with the image files that carry the same time metadata, in order to make the geocoding process more efficient. The Giga Vu Extreme also has an AV-out connection for displaying images on a TV, and can play video and MP3 files.

The Giga Vu Extreme is available in 80GB, 120GB, and 160GB capacities, priced at $599, $749, and $899, respectively.