Hitachi CM643ET

Hitachi pioneered the idea of consumer cameras capable of recording video direct to DVD. The early models were large and relatively expensive but high quality. It has taken a while for the idea to take off but it is certainly gaining momentum with a number of competitors now coming into the market. Hitachi has responded by progressively making its cameras more compact and adding extra features such as a SD memory card for storing still images or compressed video clips.

This Hitachi monitor features IPS TFT, a pre-cursor to the latest Super-IPS technology used in the superb Eizo unit.

Hitachi VM-D965LE Video

HITACHI DZ-MV208E

Hitachi DZ-MV100E

One of the most barren models feature-wise that we looked at (and only dubiously beating the Sony VPL-ES1 and the Sanyo PLC-SW30 which took the bottom honours), the Hitachi CPS210 certainly made up for it when it came time to undergo our strenuous testing regime.

DVD is said to be to movies what CD was to music. Well-filmed DVD movies are better in all respects than those recorded on VHS, so the idea of a digital video camera recording direct to DVD disc would appear sound.

HITACHI PD32-A2100

Hitachi CM771

Hitachi PCX-DT3141

There is not a huge difference between this and the MV550E. In fact, if you put them side by side you have to look closely to see the difference in looks, which is model number in small print on one side.

At almost double the capacity of the other products in our roundup, this 400GB disk is big and fast, but unfortunately comes with an equally sized price tag.

Despite the $600 price gap there are only a few small but important differences between the 238E and the 270E. For example, the 238E has a smaller LCD display; a black and white viewfinder; and no S-connector input. Apart from that, the technology is essentially identical: both have the same 1.16-megapixel CCD as well as 12x optical zoom. As a result, the quality of the images is similar.

Nanotech breakthrough sees quadrupling of capacities.

If your PC is lacking storage space then give it some extra room with these four internal hard disks.

The ubiquitous micro-hard drive has found its way into a PDA. palmOne yesterday announced the LifeDrive, a PDA with basic features, a large 320x480 colour screen and a 4GB Hitachi hard drive.

Although boasting the lowest average access time in the roundup at 12.2ms, looking at this drive's graphs, we notice a few more hiccups along the way than its big brother the 400GB Deskstar 7K400.

It's a sign of the times when Compaq's Aero 8000 runs Windows CE in a box bigger than a Sharp PC-A250 (reviewed issue 23, p86) running Windows 98. So what's the big idea? Windows CE uses no moving parts, while software in ROM means immediate start-up times, high reliability, and long battery life all highly desirable qualities in a portable.

The evocatively named NF1500MAE from Hitachi is a surprisingly good screen for its low price.