Brand: MacNews

Imation today introduced its 20GB FireWire Travan tape drive at PC Expo. The FireWire interface allows the US$499.99 Travan to write at purported speeds of up to 120 MB/sec (compressed). Individual 20GB cartridges sell for $33.99. The drive wil be available in July.

NEC has debuted the Versa DayLite, one of the first laptops to feature a daylight-viewable LCD screen. Laptop computer screens are generally impossible to view under direct sunlight, but the Versa DayLite features a special 10.4″ illuminated reflective display that makes viewing the screen under such conditions possible. The DayLite packs a 600 MHz Crusoe processor and sells for US$2,499. Other companies will likely follow NEC in offering such daylight-viewable portables.

TEAC today introduced a new, battery-operated, portable CD-RW drive. The drive features a rechargeable battery, includes Adaptec Toast, and comes in USB (4x4x6x) and PCMCIA (4x4x24x) flavors. It’s available for US$329.

In a bid to fend off Microsoft’s robust messenger that will ship as part of Windows XP, Yahoo! today announced that it will be adding video support to its Yahoo! Messenger. Yahoo! announced that it has partnered with Logitech on the initiative, which will bundle Yahoo! Messenger with its Webcams. Last year, Logitech sold four million of the devices. While the video will be delivered at just one frame per second, the prospects of face to face communication are desirable to users, Yahoo! says.

EarthLink today announced that it will be raising its monthly subscription fee from US$19.95 to $21.95, marking the first increase ever. The $2 price hike comes in the wake of America Online’s recent increase to $23.90. The new rate goes into effect on July 2 for new subscribers, and on August 1 for the company’s 3.1 million existing customers. Customers who sign up for service between June 1 and June 30, however, can get the $19.95 monthly rate for 90 days.