HTC will be unveiling a new personal camera that the company hopes will give the very popular GoPro a run for its money.
Earlier this week, HTC sent out invitations to the technology press for an Oct. 8 event in New York City. The invitation has the words "Double Exposure" and an image of two women taking a selfie with their camera phone, from which one could assume that the event will be all about HTC's photography-related efforts to boost its revenue. Following the invitation, the Taiwanese smartphone maker released a 30-second teaser video that further cements the assumption that HTC will be introducing a new personal camera that will most likely be a competitor to the GoPro and the Sony Action Cam.
The teaser, which opens with the words, "Something remarkable is coming," comprises entirely of footage taken by users of the device HTC is getting ready to launch. The camera is dubbed the ReCamera, based on a Twitter account and a new website for the device.
Taking a picture has traditionally meant you’re busy behind the camera, framing the scene. But what have you been missing?
— RE Camera (@re_camera) Sept. 24, 2014
The teaser shows users swimming underwater, playing with a soccer ball, sometimes in slow-motion, taking a selfie, and going around New York City in a bike. This means, the ReCamera is likely going to be a handheld, rugged, waterproof device that can be used to take action videos in real time and in slow motion, and can be mounted on some sort of frame and still take shots.
The video actually shows the device at around the 0:03 mark, but it is easy to miss. One Reddit user with the nickname fodawim conducted his own research and was able to dig out clearer images of the ReCamera, which another Redditor said looked like a "PVC elbow with a camera on one end." The pages have already been taken down, but not before Portuguese news site 4G News was able to download the images.
Reports coming out of Taiwan say the ReCamera will sport a 16-megapixel sensor and a 170-degree Super Wide Angle Lens, which is comparable to GoPro's latest product, the Hero3, which has a 12-megapixel sensor and a 179-degree wide angle lens. The device will also reportedly be waterproof, a rumor that coincides with what we have already seen in HTC's latest teaser.
It has been an uphill struggle for HTC to convert its critically acclaimed products into revenue. The company's flagship smartphone, the HTC One M8, is known as one of the best Android smartphones on the market, but the company continues to battle with a dominant Samsung in spite of products that have consistently earned rave reviews from technology enthusiasts.
The unveiling of the ReCamera, as well as the rumored Android Wear smartwatch that HTC is working on and the Nexus 9 tablet it has partnered with Google to manufacture, marks HTC's move to expand into other sectors and diversify its income source.
