Canon just surprised the photo world with this fresh announcement, showing off its EOS Rebel T2i that will take its place atop the company’s Rebel line of lower-cost digital SLR cameras.

This 18-megapixel powerhouse is the beneficiary of a lot of trickle-down from Canon’s twice-as-expensive EOS 7D camera. That means you’ll be able to get a $799 camera (body only) with such advanced features as 9-point autofocus, a 63-zone dual-layering metering system just like the 7D, a 3-inch live-view smudge-resistant viewfinder, ISO of 100- 6400, and 1080p video shooting at 24, 25, or 30 frames per second with an external mic input.

Canon’s not saying yet when this relatively cheap camera ($899 with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 image-stabilized kit lens) will be available, but soon thereafter, the company’s going to need to raise the bar on its higher-end cameras just to keep up. And whoa, Nikon, you have a lot of catching up to do now.

The T2i (also known as the EOS 550D) shoots some really nice video, too

Hey there, what’s this little surprise? Sony’s colorful VAIO E Series laptops have arrived to cheer us up — and it looks like they’re going to do the trick, we have to tell you. These 15.5-inchers come in a wide range of colors, and you can mix and match lid and keyboard shades, if you dare. Inside, you get a 2.13GHz Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a DVD burner and a 500GB hard drive. A Core i5 version is also right around the corner. You can pre-order one of these bad boys now for shipping in March — but it’ll cost you about $800.

It’s all rumor for now, but Canon Rumors has word from a trusted source that a new Rebel is coming next week known as the T2i. According to its source, we can expect a new, higher resolution LCD, selectable FPS video, new LP-E8 battery and grip in the followup to the Rebel T1i. It also brings a new Rebel shape and build quality but lacks an articulating screen. And in case you’re wondering, the uptick in camera news is related to the runup to the big PMA 2010 photog show kicking off on February 19th — so get used to it.

Curse you, TwelveSouth! You keep coming up with ways to make me spend my hard-earned money.

This time, it’s a wonderfully unique sleeve for the MacBook line, the BookBook. This US$79.99 sleeve looks like an antique leather-bound book, but it wraps around your Apple-made pride and joy to give it a level of class it hasn’t had since it first shipped from the factory in China.

The attention to detail is, as usual for TwelveSouth, incredible. Not only does it have the distressed leather appearance of an old book, but the leather zipper pulls look like bookmarks. The BookBook comes in red (seen above) and black, and in both 13″ and 15″ sizes.

It’s practical as well as beautiful. The rigid spine provides crush protection to the MacBook, the hardback covers protect the exterior of your laptop, and the unique look provides a level of stealth that could keep your MacBook from being stolen. After all, who wants to pick up something that looks like an old book that you picked up at a library sale?

[TUAW}

At the dawn of a new year, many homeowners are optimistic that 2010 will be a much better year than its predecessor. With housing prices back on the rise, many people are thinking that the worst is over. But if you already own a home, what is the best way to capitalize on the resurgence of the housing market. The answer is simple. A streamline refinance is a refinance on your home that is called streamline for a few different reasons. It is hassle free and has no additional paper work; you can lower your monthly payments by being able to lock in a low interest rate. The best thing though, it is that it is fast, easy and inexpensive so it saves you time and money together. There are two major types of a streamline refinance, a FHA and a VA. Both are simple and easy, and most importantly quick. It usually only takes 1-2 months to have everything completed. A refinance, is a great way to save money on your mortgage, have some extra spending money for home improvement products and is just a great way to capitalize on the resurgent housing market in 2010. To answer any questions on why this is a great option visit http://www.streamlinerefinance.net

This is probably the last time we’ll post about the Boxee box, as it’s not really an Apple product, but given that it’s based on software that lots of Apple TV and Mac mini owners use, and that we’ve been following its release, I figure we can update you one more time. Over at CES, Boxee has officially announced the strangely shaped media center, and released specs for it: It’ll sell for “under $200″ by D-Link, play everything from DivX to H.264 MKV and even Flash 10.1, and let you log on to plenty of online services, including Pandora, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, along with the Boxee app itself, obviously.

Sounds like quite a device. Release date is set only for “the first half of 2010,” but it seems closer than ever to actually appearing on store shelves. Our only real concern is that shape — how exactly is that supposed to fit in our already crowded entertainment center?

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All you really need to do is ask yourself three things: Do I have a kid bed? Could my kid bed be so much cooler with an iPod touch duvet and pillowcase? Can I afford 349 Swedish kronor (about US $45)?

If you answered ‘Yes! Yes! Uh… yes!’ to this informal product survey, Swedish retailer Ellos has exactly what you need. Questions raised in the TUAW offices like “Is that a touch-based capacitive sleep-enabled UI?” and “I wonder if that surface is oleophobic?” may require firsthand testing.

The bedding set looks to be a pretty faithful iPod touch reproduction, with the exception of the misspelled legend for the Calendar icon. It’s so faithful, in fact, that I wouldn’t be surprised if the company heard from Apple’s Swedish legal representation in short order, with a suggestion that this product be sent to sleep with the fishes.

OK, I grant you, this is no Tauntaun sleeping bag — but if you’re raising a household full of Apple geeks, it might be worth a look.

[TUAW]