Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung’s impressively small HMX-R10 HD camcorder has finally been set free to dance upon Korean retail shelves. The mini cam is just 12.5-cm long and 4-cm wide (4.9 x 1.5-inches) and records 9 megapixel stills or 1,920 x 1,080 pixel video (courtesy of its 1/2.33-inch CMOS sensor) to SDHC memory cards up to 32GB in capacity. The cam also brings a 5x optical, electronically stabilized zoom lens angled at a unique 25-degrees which, according to Samsung, makes for a more natural shooting angle. The 2.7-inch touch-screen LCD features Samsung’s Magic Touch UI that automatically focuses on any point that you touch. Sounds sweet but in practice this type of tech is a novelty requiring two handed operation that will just slow you down in the field. It’ll also shoot super-slow-motion at 60, 300, or 600 fps at decreasing resolutions most assuredly (Sammy doesn’t say). Fortunately, Amazon has this shooter listed at $500 for a May 15th release Stateside and beyond.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Samsung’s tiny HMX-R10 Full HD camcorder lands in Korea, US next month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinatown changed the game by inventing knock-off Burberry and Chanel bags. Now DXG, famous for inexpensive cameras, will bring Chinatown tactics to the tech world by introducing knock off Burberry and Chanel pocket high-def camcorders at Chinatown prices. These beauties will retail in August at $129, which is roughly the price of a Burberry or Chanel handkerchief. The camcorders capture HD video at 720p30.

DXG was extremely meticulous when ripping off these designs; the company nailed everything from embedding jewels on the Chanel model to adding a leather tag on the Burberry. The packaging will even match the design of the camcorders. The icing on the cake is that each HD camcorder will come will a matching case that looks like a mini purse!

DXG plans on selling the devices in its existing retail channels (Sears, RadioShack, and Wal-mart) but is also planning on breaking into upscale locations such as Bloomingdales. Call me crazy, but I expect these to A) sell like gangbusters, and B) get me out of any girl trouble. A $99 water-resistant model was also shown off. It was ruggedized and light, and offered 720p30 capture, MP3 player, voice recorder,offered in a few colors as well as a bad-ass “ice camouflage” design.

When we got wind of Cisco’s $590 million acquisition of Flip Video-maker Pure Digital, we immediately came to grips with the fit. After all, Cisco’s been dying to pull another Linksys for some time now, and what better to expand its consumer electronics presence than with a cheap-o camcorder that’s ripe for the addition of WiFi. Bigwig (and Pure Digital founder) Jonathan Kaplan recently sat down to talk about the product’s future, and unsurprisingly, he definitely mentions the integration of Cisco’s “strengths” into the handheld camcorder. Furthermore, he’s hoping that an entity as large as Cisco can get the Flip Video line overseas, and he’s also quite big on “building the brand.” The takeaway? Don’t be alarmed when a WiFi-equipped, streaming-capable successor hits the scene at CES 2010, complete with automatic upload-to-YouTube functionality.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Pure Digital founder talks of Flip Video’s future originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spring’s nearly here, and with it the promise of outdoors–biking, skateboarding, motorcycling, rollerdisco, or whatever your sport of choice. Consumers have turned in droves to portable, easy-to-use video cameras like the Flip, and they’ll no doubt like the forthcoming Kodak ZX1 and the Cobra DVC950. But if you like sports, you’re gonna love the VholdR.

Designed to by Twenty20 for hands-free recording of your favorite activity, the VholdR ($280 street) is a tiny black camcorder that mounts to your helmet, recording whatever you point your eyeballs at. A pair of laser beams help you target the camera correctly (they’re ideal for Predator impersonations, too), and one-button operation makes it easy to use with gloves on. Plus Twenty20 hosts a web community where you can post the day’s best clips and share tips with other users, all linked through Google Earth.

To test the VHoldR’s quality and ease of use, I set my friend Jesse up with the VHoldR for a week of intense motorcycling. After the jump, a full review, including a side-by-side comparison of video from the Pure Digital Flip.

Believe us people, popularity pays off. Just ask Pure Digital CEO Jonathan Kaplan, who is reportedly scrambling for ways to spend $80 million of the $500 million Cisco Systems is about to hand over in order to acquire the company. Granted, none of this has been confirmed just yet, but TechCrunch has it that the deal is all but done. Reportedly, Cisco’s interested in bringing the firm into its portfolio in order to further push high-bandwidth using services. Obviously, user generated HD video fits pretty perfectly into that agenda. We suspect we’ll be hearing more on the subject as the work week begins in earnest, but it sure sounds like Linksys is about to get a new cousin.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Cisco said to be buying Pure Digital for around $500 million originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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