In an announcement that had us a little confused at first, HTC has revealed that they’ve just developed a camera to help make taking selfies easier. To be fair to them, the device is also waterproof, and intended to be mountable on various adventure-y accessories, so it’s more than just a dedicated selfie cam. The device, which looks like one of those old-school military flashlights, is meant to compete (somewhat) with the popular GoPro-style action cameras in the market right now.
It’s a dedicated camera with no viewfinder, screen or power button. It has a single shutter button to stop and start video capture. You can use an android camera as a viewfinder, which will help ease aiming a bit. If you aren’t going to be going on extreme adventures, it actually isn’t a bad little device. Check the specs out below:
Special Features:
Grip sensor instantly turns on the device when it is picked up.
One-hand operation design
One tap for photos; One press for videos
Time-lapse recording, settings control via your smartphone
Android (4.3 and above) and iOS compatible. Seamless integration with your existing photo gallery.
Camera
1080p, 30fps FHD video
720p, 4x slow motion video
146 degree super wide angle lens with f2.8 aperture for low light usability
Battery
820mAh rechargeable battery
Supports 1hr 50mins of continuous FHD video recording
Size
26.5 mm diameter
97.7 mm height
Sensors
16MP, 1/2.3″ Sony CMOS sensor
Connectivity
BLE (Bluetooth v4.0)
Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct
5-pin micro-USB
MicroSD Card Slot
Tripod Hole
Weight
66.5 grams
Memory
Expandable microSD storage
It has some interesting features, and should be made available for the slightly steep USD199. It also represents HTC’s diversification of their product portfolio, and should lead to a few interesting devices from them in the near future. Let’s hope this helps change the tides for the Taiwanese giant.