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DXG Adds Next Generation 3D Camcorders

NEW YORK –

DXG USA made its traditional Spring
visit to the Big Apple this week with a renewed sense
of urgency in the wake of Cisco’s decision last week to
drop the Flip camcorder business.

Paul Goldberg, DXG sales and marketing VP, said
that like other camcorder manufacturers, his company
is looking to capitalize on the market void that will be left
after Flip inventory disappears from retail warehouses.

DXG, he said, is well positioned with extensive lines
of horizontally and vertically styled pocket-size HD models
at value pricing, and is looking to ramp up production
of additional models in the “candy bar” form factor
of the popular Flip line.

Goldberg said he was shocked to hear about Cisco’s
decision to fold the camcorder operation and felt badly
for the 500 employees who will suffer the greatest
hardship from the move, but he is also looking forward
to claiming much of the business for affordable video
products that is being left on the table.

Goldberg said he inquired at Cisco about the possibility
of acquiring the Flip brand and certain assets,
including the FlipShare online video sharing portal, but
Cisco seemed intent on holding onto the unit’s remaining
assets, even as the sales and marketing operations
are being shutdown.

Highlights of the company’s new camcorder line include
three second-generation 3D models.
The 5F9V (shipping in June at a $299 suggested retail price) is a 1080p 3D model with
rotating dual-lens system that twists
into “binocular mode” to shoot images
on a horizontal plane. It includes
a 3-inch full color glasses-free parallax
barrier 3D screen, and takes 5MP
shots. The camera will shoot both video
and stills in either 2D or 3D.

3D content recorded by the camera
can be played back on current 3DTV’s
using 3D glasses, or directly on the
camera’s built-in screen.

The company is also offering a candy
bar form factor for the 3D pocket
cam – model 5G2 (shipping in September
at $299). It also includes a
built-in 3-inch glasses-free 3D LCD
screen, records in Full 1080p HD and
takes 5MP stills.

Cutting the adoption price for 3D even
further, DXG will add a 3D still camera
($80 suggested retail) that records two
side-by-side, 1-by-1.5-inch, left-and-right
images that can be printed out on a strip
of printer paper and viewed through a special
viewer. The concept and approach is
reminiscent of the old ViewMaster stereoscopic
3D viewers kids have been using
for the past 50-plus years.

The camera will ship with three pairs
of the viewers. Additional viewers will
be sold separately in a five-pack, for
about $10.

“The advantage of this is you can
print these photos up, put them in an
envelope and send them to grandma,”
Goldberg said. “It’s really the poor
man’s 3D camera. We think kids are
really going to love it and it will get
them involved with 3D so that as the
technology progresses, they’re going
to want more and more of it.”

The company also just announced
that it has reached a technology licensing
agreement with ISee3D to
develop next-generation 3D camera
devices that use a single lens and
single CCD.

“That will allow a very cost-effective,
optical solution for 3D camcorders,”
he said.
Goldberg said last year’s premiere
3D product, which was bundled with
a glasses-free 3D viewing screen at
a $599 retail price, successfully sold
more than 5,000 units through retail
partner Hammacher Schlemmer.

The company also unveiled several
higher-end horizontally configured 2D
products including the new flagship
DXG-5K1 ($350 suggested retail)
featuring a 20x optical zoom, optical
image stabilization, advanced manual
focus features, 3-inch touch-screen
LCD control and 1080p video capture.

The DXG-B01 ($299) has a 12x optical
zoom, electronic image stabilization
with gyroscopic assist and 1080p
HD video.

The DXG-5F0 ($179) offers a 5x optical
zoom, and 720p/60fps mode.

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