Rochester, N.Y. — Kodak made good on its promise to broaden its assault on the home printer market last week with the introduction of a new EasyShare printer dock that works with third party digital cameras.
The introduction was accompanied by a refresh of three EasyShare digital cameras that target aggressive price points in an attempt to keep the company’s market share momentum rolling. Kodak climbed to the No. 2 spot in U.S. camera shipments in 2003, according to Framingham, Mass.-based research firm IDC.
The second-generation EasyShare printer dock features PictBridge compatibility, allowing it to print directly from other PictBridge-enabled digital cameras. The company will offer two optional external memory card readers that will enable the dock to print directly from flash memory cards. A 6-in-1 reader is now available for a suggested $26.99, and an 8-in-1 reader will ship in July, though suggested retail has not yet been set.
According to a Kodak spokesperson, the printer will not work with third-party flash-memory card readers.
The new printer dock includes a dedicated dock for Kodak’s own 600/6000 and 700/7000-series of EasyShare digital cameras. In addition to printing, Kodak camera owners can use the dock to recharge the camera’s battery and transfer photos to a PC.
The dock produces 4-inch by 6-inch thermal photo prints in about 90 seconds. Kodak offers a 40-count refill pack of printer media, paper and cartridges for a suggested $24.99. The new printer dock ships in June for a suggested retail price of $149.
On the camera side, the company announced one new model in its DX line of higher-end cameras and two models in its CX line of digital point-and-shoots.
The 4-megapixel DX7440 features a 4x optical Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon zoom lens; a 2.2-inch LCD screen; a 0.2-second click-to-capture speed; 16 pre-set scene modes; and automatic and manual controls for setting aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation and bracketing and ISO equivalents.
The camera can capture video at 24 frames per second (fps) at 320 by 240 resolution and at 13 fps at 640 by 480 resolution to the length of a memory card. The camera offers 32MB of internal memory with an SD/MMC card expansion slot.
The DX7440 will be available in June for a suggested retail price of $349.
The CX additions include the 7530 and 7330. The 5-megapixel CX7530 features a 3x optical zoom lens, nine pre-set scene modes, PictBridge compatibility, a 1.8-inch LCD screen, and an on-camera digital photo album for reviewing photos stored on the camera’s optional SD/MMC memory card.
The 7530 will ship in July for a suggested $299.
The 7330 is a 3-megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom lens shipping in June for a suggested $199. It offers 16MB of internal memory, a 1.6-inch LCD screen and a multi-zone auto focus.
