Top new tech products: Explorer Touch Mouse, Jawbone UP, Motorola Photon 4G

(All rights reserved)

High-tech product releases announced the week ending July 20 include Microsoft's latest touchsensitive mouse, wearable jewelry that helps you live a healthier life, a water-resistant Walkman that's barely there, the Motorola Proton 4G Android smartphone, and Sony’s first slim, portable DVD/CD rewritable drive.

A streamlined touchsensitive mouse with BlueTrack technology
The Explorer Touch Mouse from Microsoft is a sleek, touchsensitive and wireless product that lets users "Touch, Flick, Click and Go." It supports four-way touch scrolling, has 5 customizable buttons, BlueTrack Technology for more accurate tracking and has a battery life of up to 18 months. The mouse is compatible with Windows or Mac-based computers. The Explorer Touch Mouse is priced at $49.95 and will be available in September.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/explorer-touch-mouse/U5K-00001

Wearable 'jewelry' that monitors your life
Luxury Bluetooth headset maker Jawbone has developed a new product that aims to inspire people to live a healthier life. The Jawbone UP is a functional and wearable designer device that tracks your movements, sleep patterns and nutrition with sophisticated sensors. Technical details are scarce but the UP is expected to become available later this year. No price has been announced.
http://up.jawbone.com/

A one-piece water-resistant Walkman for sports enthusiasts
Sony has updated its W series Walkman making it two thirds smaller and 24 percent lighter than the previous models. The lightweight, all-in-one wearable device comes in a headphone-style design that can withstand sweat, rain and a rinse under water. The 2GB NWZ-W262 W series Walkman is priced at $59.99, the 4GB NWZ-W263 at $79.99. Both will be available in August.
http://www.sonystyle.com

An Android-based 4G smartphone set for the international stage
The Motorola Photon 4G is US carrier Sprint's first international 4G smartphone. The device ships with a 1GHz dual-core processor, a huge 4.3" qHD touchscreen display, an 8MP rear-facing camera and a front-facing VGA webcam, HD video recording, mobile hotspot for up to 8 devices,  international GSM capabilities, and version 2.3 Gingerbread of Google's Android mobile OS. The handset will be available from July 31 for $199.99 on a two-year contract.
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/MOTOROLA-PHOTON-4G-US-EN

Sony’s first dual USB powered slim portable DVD/CD rewritable drive
With the launch of a torrent of DVD and CD-free ultraportable laptops, Sony has tapped into the portable DVD/CD drive market with its first dual USB powered portable DVD/CD rewritable drive, the DRX-S90U. The lightweight drive supports up to 8X DVDR recording speeds and up to 6X speeds for Double/Dual layer DVDRs. The drive is compatible with both Microsoft and Mac OS. The DRX-S90U will be available later this month for less than $70.
http://www.sony-optiarc.us/drx-s90u