It is rare for a smartphone company to branch off into a completely new vertical. But HTC is doing just this with its new RE camera, what the company internally calls a “remarkable little camera”.
While everyone is tempted to start calling this simple, uncomplicated handheld camera a rival for the GoPro, which has almost acquired cult status across most of the globe, HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou doesn’t agree. “We are very different, we are mobile, we don’t need a PC and we are cloud based… we are for everybody,” Chou told IndianExpress.com during an interaction on the sidelines of the launch in New York.
And this is going to be the USP of the RE. The camera for the everyone. To start with, this camera has just two buttons — one to shoot and another to initiate slow motion. The camera does not have a power button as it switches on when you hold it in your hand.
HTC USA head Jaon Mackenzie says this shape is ideal to grip, but then you can attach it to a whole lot of places from your arm to the front of a bicycle. A single press on the main buttons gets you a 16MP still image, while a long press starts Full HD (1080p) video recording. Things couldn’t be more simpler.
But then this is a device for the mobile generation. It does not need to be tethered to a PC at any time and can be controlled by an app. HTC has launched the app for all Android devices with version 4.3 upwards and even iOS. A clear indication that it is taking this camera very seriously.
The camera does not come with internal storage, so the app lets you save images and videos to the cloud. You can also add an SD card of up to 128GB.
Perched on a bottle top, the HTC RE records a conversation with Chia-Lin Chang, HTC’s President of Global Sales and Chief Financial Officer
HTC RE has a distinct price advantage too, given that it is priced at $199 in the US. You also don’t need to spend much on accessories as it is already waterproof.
The RE will become available in India by November and we estimate it to be priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000. HTC might try and go a bit below this price point. Consider that with the starting price of around Rs 30,000 for an older GoPro model. HTC really has a chance to create a mark for itself in this category.
