Our sister blog, Engadget, has just posted about a new, yet unannounced line of General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) branded digital cameras to be introduced in a month.

According to the press kit (can be found here), "GE and corporate newcomer General Imaging Co. announced today that the two companies have reached an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement by which General Imaging will design, manufacture and distribute an all-new line of GE-branded digital cameras." Hiroshi "Hugh" Komiya, who was president of Olympus is the president of General Imaging.

The GE digital cameras will make their debut at the annual Photo Marketing Association trade show, March 8-11, in Las Vegas and will be available from mid-April in North America.

The cameras will range from 7 megapixel to 12 and have 2.5-3 inches LCD screens. All cameras will also feature image stabilization, high ISO and panoramic stitching. Rene Buhay, lead of sales in N.America said, "Our aim is to be Number 1 in all aspects – quality, technology, performance and value – and these cameras will do that."

Kodak's had a hard time over the past ten years. With the advent of the digital camera, Kodak's tried and true business model of cheap cameras and expensive film didn't translate too well. With lackluster digital offerings, especially when compared to its European and Japanese competitors, some worried Eastman-Kodak's (NYSE: EK) financial future wasn't exactly a "Kodak Moment." Now, it looks like Eastman-Kodak is kicking off a new digital push. Their new "fully featured" cams feature facial recognition, intelligent color metering, and integrated GPS.

Taking a page from "viral marketing 101," the company produced a pretty funny internal video, then posted it on YouTube.

It's definitely a refreshing video. Nice to see someone else hated the Advantix system... plus a resurgence of the "Kodak Moment" wouldn't be so bad. Although, I'm not sure the schmaltz really goes to 11 just yet; we'll have to see at next week's Consumer Electronics show.

[Via Engadget]

The Wall Street Journal had a story [subscription required] a month or so ago in which readers complained about the ubiquity of digital cameras, reporting that at weddings, so many of the guests were snapping photos that there were no pictures of people enjoying themselves -- only meta-photos of other cameras. I'm certainly the worst kind of offender; my mom's been known to tell me that it still happened even if I didn't get a picture of it! (My answer: no it didn't!)

Is there a technology backlash? Are consumers deciding to forego the digitalization of every minute of their lives and just frickin' enjoy them for a minute? Ummm, nope. If the leaked sales for Black Friday are any indication, come New Year's Eve, there will be ever more amateurs making high-resolution memories of that New Year's kiss.

I remember it used to be $100 per megapixel, but now you can get massive resolution for a miniature price. But how many megapixels do you (and your gift-ees) need? And can you really get a good 6MP camera for $99? Here are some of the sales we've found for this Friday:

Sears
Polaroid i630 6MP Digital Camera $99
Kodak EasyShare 6.1MP Digital Camera and Printer Dock $329.99
Kodak EasyShare 7.1MP Digital Camera with Printer Dock $244.00 Doorbuster Sale

Wal-Mart
Casio Elixim EX-Z60 Digital Camera $199.88
Kodak Z612 Digital Camera $329.76
Kodak EasyShare C633 Digital Camera and Printer Dock $189.74 Doorbuster Sale

Best Buy
Canon PowerShot 6MP Digital ELPH Camera $219.99
Kodak 5MP Digital Camera $79.99 Doorbuster Sale
Nikon Coolpix 5.1MP Digital Camera $119.99