Wayne, N.J. – JVC said Tuesday it is entering the pocket flash
memory camera/camcorder market currently dominated by the Flip Mino and Kodak
Zi8 with the introduction of the under-$200 Picsio GC-FM1.
The GC-FM1 ships today at a $199 estimated retail price and is
said to be designed for audiences looking for the smallest, lightest and
easiest to use video camera possible.
Allan Holland, JVC Consumer Video Division national product specialist
senior manager, said that while the Picsio should appeal to a wide audience, it
should have particular appeal with the youth market.
“The pocket flash memory camera market is growing by leaps and
bound,” Holland said. “It’s a little different than what a traditional
camcorder would be, in that it’s really meant for sharing. Among the younger
demographic these cameras are all about recording friends, parties and sports.”
The primary use for the captured images and video clips is to
quickly be shared with family and friends online and through social networking
pages, he said.
JVC said it will continue to offer more sophisticated camcorders
for users looking for higher quality video and still images they intend to
archive and exhibit more formally.
The Picsio stores images directly to 128MB of internal flash
memory or to SD/SDHC flash memory cards through an included memory card slot.
Video images are captured in FullHD 1080p resolution while stills
are captures in true 8-megapixel resolution.
Key features include a 2-inch color LCD view screen, digital
image stabilization, and a 4x digital zoom lens using JVC optics. The camera
also offers macro focusing for shooting subjects as close as a foot away.
The Picso GC-FM1 includes connections for mini HDMI out, composite
A/V out, and USB 2.0. The camera charges via USB connection to a PC.
A USB cable, AV
cable,
hand strap and PC software – loaded into the camera’s internal memory – are
included with the camera.
The GC-FM1 is said to be slightly thinner and shorter than some
competitive products using the same bar-style format. It is about the same size
as a small cellphone.
JVC will offer the Picsio in a choice of three colors – black ice,
blue steel and purple passion.
The case includes tone-on-tone geometric patterns and chrome
accents offering “a jewel-like appearance,” JVC said.
Images are captured using an 8MP CMOS image sensor that does not
use image-degrading interpolation, the company said.
Videos are recorded in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format and stored as MOV
files for easy sharing without the need for image conversion.
The camera includes four video (1080p, 720p, VGA, and QVGA) and
four still (8MP, 5MP, 2MP and VGA) recording modes.
Holland said
JVC will ship the Picsio GC-FM1 through its full range of retail distribution
including national chains Best Buy and Walmart.
