I'm still buried in e-mail after some recent travel, so we're going to have to dig into the gadget news bag to highlight some recent device announcements:

Apple's 17-inch MacBook 5x faster than PowerBook G4

Macheads, get your drool on. Apple last week unveiled its 17-inch MacBook Pro notebook, which includes a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor and a new system architecture that Apple says will deliver as much as five times the performance of its PowerBook G4 notebook. The 1-inch-thick unit weighs only 6.8 pounds and includes a built-in iSight videocamera and Front Row media software. The notebook is expected to be available this week at Apple's Web site, retail stores and other resellers.

Click to see: 17-inch MacBook Pro

The following configuration will cost about $2,800, Apple says: a 17-inch widescreen 1,680-by-1,050-pixel display with 300 nits of brightness, the 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM (upgradeable to 2GB), a 120GB hard drive, slot-loaded 8x SuperDrive (DVD+R Dual Layer /DVD+/-RW/CD-RW), ATI Mobility Radio X1600 graphics card with 256MB of memory, Digital Video Interactive (DVI) out port, built-in Dual Link support for Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD display, Gigabit Ethernet port, built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0, three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port, among other features. The notebook comes with Apple's new MagSafe Power Adapter, which magnetically couples the power cord to the MacBook Pro. The adapter safely disconnects from the notebook whenever strain is detected.

As part of celebrating the fifth anniversary of its EasyShare consumer digital cameras and printer docks, Kodak last week announced a dual-lens, Bluetooth-enabled, 6-megapixel digital camera with 10x optical zoom features.

Kodak says the EasyShare V610 is less than 1 inch thick, has a 2.8-inch LCD screen and sends photos wirelessly to any Bluetooth-enabled device as far away as 30 feet. The $449 camera will be available worldwide this month, Kodak says.

The company also announced the next generation of its EasyShareOne camera, which was the world's first Wi-Fi consumer digital camera. This 6-megapixel version includes a new Wireless Internet Service Provider recommendation feature that lets users increase the number of hot spot locations they can connect to wirelessly, Kodak says. The EasyShareOne 6 MP camera is scheduled to be available this summer for $299, with a $99 optional Wi-Fi card accessory.