Idruna Software has announced the launch of Pocket Phojo 2.5, a major update to the Pocket PC solution specifically designed to allow photojournalists to get photos back to base as rapidly and conveniently as possible. Major enhancements include an all new image processing engine, lower memory usage, extra features for Nikon D2H users, support for images from the Canon 1DS, Kodak 14N and the Kodak DCS 520. Pocket Phojo 2.5 is a free upgrade for existing customers or new customers can purchase for the software for $489 ($389 for freelancers until Jan 1st), or a preconfigured HP iPAQ Pocket PC from $897.

Press release:

Idruna Software Releases Pocket Phojo 2.5

Murrieta, CA - December 3rd, 2003 - Idruna Software Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of Pocket Phojo 2.5, a major update to the highly acclaimed Pocket PC solution specifically designed to allow photojournalists to get photos back to base as rapidly and conveniently as possible.

"At Idruna we do our utmost to meet our customer's needs, and value all feedback we receive, and I think it shows in this update." said Paul Nolan, CEO of Idruna. "Not only is our software becoming even more powerful, with each update implementing new features directly requested by customers, but in the last year Pocket PCs have become 50% faster and 50% cheaper, and the new Nikon D2H with WiFi attachment is now capable of uploading images directly from camera to Pocket PC. These are exciting times, and we are proud to be of service to our growing number of customers".

Running on the latest state of the art Pocket PCs, Pocket Phojo offers many benefits versus a laptop, including size, weight, instant-on functionality, security, battery life, sunlight readability, and the pure convenience of being able to fit in a pocket. Since it's launch in January of 2002, Pocket Phojo has proven itself as the essential tool for photojournalists wishing to lighten their load and caption, crop, scale, tone, and transmit their images, with customers such as The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Newsday, The San Antonio Express News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philadelphia Enquirer, Miami Herald, Time Magazine, LA Times, The Sun, The Daily Mail, Verdens Gang, Aften Posten, Greenpeace, and countless independent photojournalists.

"I was assigned to cover the final takeoff of the British Airways Concorde at New York's JFK International Airport.. After the plane's early morning departure, I immediately Phojo'd the images of the controller from the tower via FTP to the AP via my Sprint 3G card. Everyone was impressed to see them come back on the Yahoo-News-Photos site on the tower's computer before we left." - Richard Drew, Staff Photographer AP-New York

"Covering the California Recall for my employer, Dagbladet Daily Newspaper in Norway, I had to come up with a solution to combat 9 hours difference.. I brought my laptop as a backup, but it never left the bag. Thanks to Pocket Phojo I was able to file images in time for deadline back to Oslo - from my pocket - as I continued shooting Arnold on the stage and alleged victims for his groping offstage." - Orjan F. Ellingvag - US Photo Correspondent Dagbladet Daily Newspaper.

New Features in Pocket Phojo 2.5

• The Pocket Phojo image processing engine has been completely redesigned to allow operations such as rotation, cropping and resizing to complete instantly. Levels, Adjust All, and Unsharp Mask are now fast enough to give real time feedback as options are changed.
• Pocket Phojo now uses advanced techniques to require as little as a third of the memory as before, so can now handle images from even the Canon 1DS, Kodak 14N, and beyond with ease.
• In conjunction with readily available Pocket PC FTP server utilities, Pocket Phojo now supports editing images from the Nikon D2H with WiFi add-on without needing to exchange CompactFlash cards.
• The Transfer Files feature now supports folder watching, for automatically moving images from the Nikon D2H to a network share, or for using the Pocket PC to quickly move the entire contents of a card over a network in situations such as sports events.
• Transfer Files can now also format the card when done, chime when done, rename and renumber files, create a new folder for each transfer, and has the option to only transfer tagged files.
• JPEG images now load 50% faster than before.
• Pocket Phojo now fully supports Windows Mobile (Pocket PC) 2003, including the new iPAQ 2200 and 5000 series that are up to 50% faster and 50% cheaper than the previous generation.
• The file browser and caption editor can now play wave files associated with images to help with image identification.
• Send Via Email now supports sending via Idruna's SMTP server for customers using Verizon or similar providers that do not have their own server.
• The Email To: field has now been improved to support multiple recipients.
• Installation and upgrades can now be performed "over the air" direct from the Idruna web site without the need for a PC or Mac.
• Unlimited Undo is now available, up from only one undo level.
• Sending multiple files to the same server is now much faster.
• The FTP portion of Phojo is now compatible with even the most diverse FTP servers.
• FTP and Email progress bars now displays speed in KB/s.
• Now supports Kodak DCS 520 images.
• The JPEG saver now correctly saves the specified DPI settings.

Pricing and Availability

Pocket Phojo 2.5 is a free upgrade for existing customers, who will receive an email with a link to the download. New customers can purchase Pocket Phojo for only $489 ($389 for freelancers until Jan 1st), or for convenience, complete solutions including a preconfigured and tested HP iPAQ Pocket PC and all necessary accessories start at only $897 plus shipping. For further information, please email info@idruna.com, we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Click here for more information from Idruna