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Casio Says Tryx Cam Is For Young Adults

LAS VEGAS —

As camera growth slows in the U.S.
and Japan, Casio is leaning heavily on introducing new
concept cameras that deliver exciting features and attractive
for today’s social lifestyles.

For that reason, the company chose International
CES 2011 to unveil its Tryx Concept Camera ($250
suggested retail).

The Tryx features a 180-degree pivoting 3-inch LCD
screen inset in a surrounding frame that carries the
camera’s optical lens elements. The screen can adapt
to fit the user’s preferred shooting style and to capture
images from virtually any angle or lighting environment.

A second hinge point enables the frame to twist
away from the screen to act as a hoop that can be positioned
as a camera support stand for tabletop placement.
Alternatively, the frame can serve as a hook so
the camera can be hung from wall or a doorknob to
shoot hands-free video of a party or other event.

The frame can also be adjusted so that the body can
act as a stand, allowing the Tryx to stand on its own, or
it can be rotated 180 degrees so that users can take
self portraits and see themselves in the frame.

The Tryx has a 12-megapixel Back Side Illuminated
high-speed CMOS sensor with strong low-light shooting
capability, a 3-inch 460,000-dot touchscreen display,
720p HD video capture and an ultra-wide-angle
lens.

Also included is high-dynamic range (HDR) processing
to further improve exposures in difficult lighting
conditions, slow-motion video and panorama shot.
To simplify photo sharing, onboard software enables
fast uploading to popular social-networking
platforms.

Toshi Iguchi, Casio U.S. digital imaging products
general manager, told TWICE that Casio felt Tryx had
to look different, offer unique features and be useful to
young adults with an active, social lifestyle.

The digital camera market is getting more commoditized,
Iguchi said, due to the combination of the high
penetration rate of digital cameras in U.S. homes,
relatively little feature differentiation between camera
brands and the lack of standout products to revive
consumer excitement.

In developing the Tryx camera, Casio targeted
young, socially networked adults in their college years
to mid-30s.

“Photography is a large part of how young people
express themselves today, and they want the ability
to share their photographs with friends over socialnetworking
sites,” Iguchi said. “They have the ability to
immediately identify the benefits of our new camera,
and that’s why we’ve targeted them in this launch.”

The Tryx was created around two key themes: the
ability to take pictures from virtually any angle, and the
ability to take images shot in difficult lighting conditions
and have them look exceptional.

The camera can be placed on a wall and with the
rotating LCD screen, positioned to take party shots,
or the camera can be held high overhead while framing
the shot on the titled LCD.

In addition, the camera’s HDR feature adjusts images
to bring out details lost in overly bright or dark
settings.

Casio will make Tryx the centerpiece in its brand
awareness marketing for 2011, Iguchi said.

“We decided to heavily invest in the Tryx marketing
campaign for 2011 because we believe the market is
looking for new innovative ideas,” he added.

Starting at CES, Casio has arranged to wrap the
Las Vegas monorail station in Tryx posters.

The national campaign will target “effective marketing
vehicles,” including television spots, Iguchi said,
adding that the current plan is to make one of its highest
marketing investments in a product to date.

Despite the successful launch of the company’s innovative
GPS camera in 2010, Casio’s brand positioning
remains lower than desired, he said. The goal
is to hit double-digit growth in 2011.

The current Casio brand position is low, although
the current digital camera category using an LCD
screen was initiated by the company with the QV10,
more than a decade ago.

“I believe the Tryx product will give us the opportunity
to revive the business again,” he said.

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