HTC RE: the $199 GoPro alternative for casual consumers who love capturing life’s special moments

Phandroid

HTC RE: the $199 GoPro alternative for casual consumers who love capturing life’s special moments

People want ways to passively capture special moments in their life without having to miss the moment while staring at a screen. GoPro is living proof, recently growing from a niche product for extreme athletes to a public company valued at more than $10 billion dollars. Google Glass accomplishes passive photography too, albeit for more casual purposes, but also comes with a much higher price tag and geek stigma. HTC is making a case to be the next big player in the space with the HTC RE, a camera that blends passive photography with stylish looks at an affordable price.

The RE looks like a little periscope – a well thought out form factor that serves many purposes – most notably the ability to set it on a flat surface and begin taking extended video for set-it-and-forget-it activities or time lapses that would otherwise require a accessories or Mother Teresa-like patience.

The shape also makes holding it extremely comfortable, especially when your shot requires an extended arm to raise above a crowd or other obstacle. A perfectly placed button on the top rear will snap a picture when pressed or begin recording video when long-pressed.

But what are the specs? I can already hear you asking… so let’s talk about what firepower that $199 price tag brings.

HTC RE Specs

Here is what comes packed in the HTC RE. (We’ve done a separate comparison of the HTC RE vs GoPro Hero3 White, both priced at $199 so something you’ll definitely want to check out.)

• 16MP Camera


• 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor


• Ultra-wide angle lens (146 degrees) f/2.8


• 8GB storage via MicroSD (included in box)


• 820 mAh battery


• Dimensions: 96.7 x 26.5 mm


• Weight: 65.5 grams


• Bluetooth, WiFi, WiFi Direct


• MicroUSB


• IP57 certification

That’s the nitty gritty, but there some important takeaways worth noting. First, taking 16MP pictures at 146 degrees means you’ll often capture way more image than you need to, enabling you to simply point, shoot, and crop to meet your needs later. This is essential due to the purposeful lack of a viewfinder and particularly helpful when taking group selfies.

The RE will work as a standalone device, able to transfer files via MicroUSB, but the real magic comes with the companion RE application for Android and iOS. A few of the things it can do:

• Sync photos, videos, and time lapse over WiFi


• Backs up all your photos to your phone or the cloud


• Real-time video streaming to YouTube


• See live view of the camera output on your phone


• Use your phone as a remote control


• Works with Zoe to create after effects and highlight reels

You’ll see a complete showcase of the HTC RE’s features in our hands-on video and full review, but perhaps what the HTC RE does best is get out of the way.

“Step out from behind the viewfinder and focus on the moment, not on your camera… – ”

But… how do you carry it?

Not hold it- holding it is very comfortable and feels great. Nice and light. Nice shape. Really good feel.

I’m talking about carrying it. Taking it with you. Nobody will want to hold it in their hand 24/7 and putting it in your pocket could expose the lens to scratches. Thankfully this isn’t something that HTC overlooked.

The HTC RE Travel Pack will include a lens cover and a lanyard, allowing you to put it in your pocket or around your neck for super quick and convenient access. The lanyard could be particularly interesting to use while recording, but if the RE is a success, better “action” accessories could come next.

Another nice inclusion comes just below the MicroUSB port, where you’ll find an ISO standard tripod mount (1/4 inch tripod connection), further extending the HTC RE’s flexibility.

How long will the battery last?

The battery is only 820 mAh but with no viewfinder sucking up energy, the HTC RE is capable of taking 1,200 16MP photos or recording 100 minutes of continuos Full HD video. If you need more than that… you’re probably astalkerish paparazzi creeper guy that needs to chill out.

There’s no power button, either, and that’s a good thing. It’s because the HTC RE has a grip sensor that knows when you’re holding it and ready to rock/shoot/record, automatically activating it from its cozy sleep. Of course if you want to use it without holding it, you can remotely operate the camera with a phone that’s Android 4.3 and above or iOS 7 and above. Pretty nifty.

If you leave it on your nightstand and don’t use it you can expect the battery to last up to 2 months.

Warning: Underwater shots!

Be careful with this suggestion! Rarely do companies promote underwater use of electronics unless their device is extremely waterproof, more often calling these devices water resistant to prevent accidental damage.

Here is how you can plan to use the HTC RE in water:

• 1 meter under water for up to 30 minutes without MicroUSB cap (IP57)


• 3 meters for up to 2 hours with MicroSB cap snugly attached (IP58)

And even then, I wouldn’t be as daring as the above conditions suggest you can be. Sure, hold it near the surface of a swimming pool to get a shot or two, but be careful- one slip of the fingers in the deep end and you’re $200 in the red. Don’t forget that elements like salt water aren’t included in these ratings either.

If you’re looking for use in extreme conditions, buy a GoPro. If you’re looking for more casual use the HTC RE is for you. Which has us wondering… what ever happened to those Flip cams?

Is the HTC RE worth buying?

This is the ultimate question:  the device will become available this holiday season for $199 at the following locations:

• HTC’s website


• Best Buy (blue color exclusive)


• Amazon


• AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon

Whether it’s worth buying depends on mostly one thing: how do the pictures turn out? That’s something we’ll most definitely test in a full review, so stay tuned.

In the meantime the HTC RE looks like a promising product in a totally new territory. It’s exciting. It’s different. It identifies a whole in the market and fills a need. We’re hoping it lives up to the expectations because this thing has a chance to really rock… and we’d like to see even more innovation from HTC.

Head on over to our HTC RE Forums to discuss with other tech enthusiasts on Android Forums!

Sample video:

more info...

HTC aims for the Mona Lisa of #selfies with HTC Desire Eye and its 13MP front camera

“Watch out, Mona Lisa… you’ve got some competition.”

HTC has been studying consumer behavior and they’ve noticed something about you: you’ve been taking an awful lot of selfies. Unfortunately, even on today’s newest flagship phones, front facing cameras are severely limited in capabilities compared to their rear facing counterparts. The megapixels are usually capped at about 5, there’s no flash, lowlight quality is hideous, and unless you’re in the most amiable of photographic conditions the final product is often mediocre at best. Why should consumers have to make such a huge compromise on an activity that takes up a good portion of their phone’s use?

According to HTC product managers, you shouldn’t have to compromise. And with the newly announced HTC Desire Eye smartphone, you won’t have to: it makes selfie compromising a thing of the past by stuffing two 13MP cameras into the device (one front and one rear). It doesn’t stop there, though: both front and rear cameras have dual LED flash.

That’s right. The HTC Desire Eye has a 13MP front facing camera with Dual LED Flash. Watch out, Mona Lisa… you’ve got some competition. Beautiful 13MP selfie-galore is on the way.

Other key HTC Desire Eye specs:

• 5.2-inch screen


• 2.3GHz Quadcore processor (Snapdragon 801)


• 2GB RAM


• 16GB onboard memory


• MicroSD slot


• Zero Gap Construction


• Front camera: 22 millimeter SLR equivalent


• Rear camera: 28 millimeter SLR equivalent


• 2400 mAh battery

See the full HTC Desire Eye spec sheet

In case you’re wondering, the 22mm equivalent vs the 28mm equivalent is deliberate decision that will help capture more people in one photo by having a wider field of view.

Beyond the Megapixels

Putting such a powerful camera on the front of a smartphone is a pleasant departure from the norm, but the Desire Eye doesn’t only aim at being a camera beast in the hardware department. HTC is investing a lot of time and energy into creating a more complete photography experience that includes software features and services, too.

Some simple ones you’ll find both familiar and helpful:

• An auto-selfie mode will snap a picture when it detects subjects are smiling.


• Voice commands like “say cheese” and “rolling” will trigger the shutter and video recording.


• Split capture mode functions like the popular app Front Back.


• Crop Me In lets you copy yourself in one picture and paste it in another


• Others include: Face Tracking, Screen Share, Face Fusion, Live Makeup, Photo Booth

The most gimmicky feature might be my favorite: it’s called “crop me in” but it would more appropriately be named “photobomb”. As you can probably guess it cuts you out of a selfie, then allowing you to insert yourself in another picture. Our friends on Google+ might be reminded of a similar featured from a few months back when David Hasselhoff photobombed everyone auto-awesome style for April Fools.

These features (and more) will debut with the Desire Eye as part of the “Eye Experience” but they’re indicative of a bigger HTC shift towards enabling consumer tech experiences beyond traditional smartphones. You should not only expect the Eye Experience to roll out to other HTC smartphones, but also other devices (both Android and iOS) and other product categories. HTC seems set on identifying and fulfilling unmet needs, something the Desire Eye certainly achieves.

Zoe camera

One piece of software that illustrates this shift is HTC’s Zoe camera. In addition to becoming compatible with all Android devices with Android 4.3 and up, HTC will also offer an iOS client starting next year.

What’s new in Zoe camera on the Desire Eye? It’s got a collaborative feature that could be pretty impressive. We’ve seen phone manufacturers and social networks explore the concept of grouping together media by location and relationships and automatically generating highlight reels; now HTC is bringing similar functionality to Zoe. Imagine friends at a baseball game all pooling their resources together, all easily able to gain access to eachother’s pics and mash their collective media into a short, compelling clip that tells a story. And get this: you can collaborate with an unlimited number of people, including strangers.

One small addition that Instagrammers will appreciate is the ability to automatically share to Instagram, something that’s been missed in Zoe to date.

What about Boom Sound?

My first reaction to seeing the “we don’t compromise” 13MP front camera was, “but what about Boom Sound”? It was (and still is) one of my favorite features on the HTC One M8 (among other devices). Given the engineering required to pack the camera tech into that tiny frame and seeing the absence of the huge speaker grills, I assumed Boom Sound was the compromise.

That was not the case: smaller speaker grills, yes, but Boom Sound is alive and well on the top and bottom of the HTC Desire Eye. Cranking the volume up still yields beautifully crisp, clear, and loud audio. Yahtzee!

Rock Solid, Rock On

The Desire Eye was manufactured with a shock injection molding process that creates a device with:

• Optimal structural integrity (rock solid)


• A pretty awesome 2 color/material design (rock on)

Structural integrity has been a hot topic lately, so you’ll feel safe knowing that the Desire Eye “won’t warp and creek” from regular wear and tear or create gaps and crevices over time that will catch hair and dust and other unpleasant things. And no, this is not a warrant or license to start trying to bend it in half like an idiot.

Pricing & Availability

Perhaps the most disappointing feature of the HTC Desire Eye is that – at least for now – it’s an AT&T exclusive. Pricing and availability remain to be seen, but HTC representatives described it as the “flagship of the Desire phones” which means considerably more affordable than the HTC One M8 but the most expensive of the Desire phones.

At the moment the only secondary color for the Desire Eye will be the red pictured above but, if we had to guess, other colors will soon follow-namely blue and white. Expect the phone to launch in time for the holidays.

HTC Desire Eye Pictures

Click to view slideshow.

HTC Desire Eye Forums

Questions about the Desire Eye? Planning on getting one? Can’t decide? Head on over to our HTC Desire Eye Forums to discuss with other Android enthusiasts, courtesy of Android Forums.

There you have it, the HTC selfie machine makes no compromises. But be warned: avoiding compromising selfies themselvies is still up to yousies.

more info...

HTC RE vs. GoPro: which is the better portable camera?

HTC’s newly announced RE camera takes on a new market for the company — a market that has seen surprisingly little competition in recent years. Since the Flip camera faded out in large part thanks to the rise in smartphone video capture quality, the GoPro line has become a go-to option for folks seeking an affordable, portable, and durable camera. We take a look at how GoPro’s $199 Hero3 stacks up against the similarly priced HTC RE.

 

Image Quality

Image quality, above all, is generally the benchmark by which we rate and compare the ultimate usefulness of a camera. Throw in all the bells and whistles that you want, but if the photo and video produced by any one particular device doesn’t impress, it might as well be a paperweight. The good news is that both the HTC RE and GoPro Hero3 are capable of some excellent shots.

The HTC RE would appear to be the better of the two on paper. It features a 16MP 1/2.3” CMOS sensor with an ultra wide-angle lens and f/2.8 aperture. The Hero3 likewise sports an ultra wide-angle lens with f/2.8 aperture, but it sports a resolution of 5MP. The gulf between the these cameras, however, is not as wide as the megapixel count would suggest.

The GoPro line has been lauded for the high quality photos and video it is capable of producing. There is a reason that Hero series cameras have become the go-to option for professional production crews looking to capture great action shots in the most treacherous of situations. Though we haven’t had much time toying with HTC’s offering, the early results are impressive in their own right. It’s safe to say where still photography is concerned, the RE might have a step up. Video isn’t as easy a call.

Shooting Modes

Both the GoPro Hero3 and HTC RE benefit from multiple modes for snapping photos and shooting video. The Hero3 ultimately offers slightly more in the way of options.

HTC RE users will benefit from 1080p video at 30fps along with 4x slow motion video at 720p. The RE also features time-lapse recording capabilities. The Hero3 offers 1080p video at 30fps, but also provides the more “cinematic” option of 25fps. The GoPro can also be switched to 960p at the same frame rates or dropped to 720p and WVGA resolutions with frame rate options increasing to include 50fps and 60fps. In addition, the Hero3 offers burst photo mode as well as its own time lapse function with various capture intervals.

Design & Durability

You won’t confuse the HTC RE for a GoPro. The two feature drastically different design. The RE looks like a mini periscope, a tubular body with its lens positioned at a curved end. Its measurements can be roughly transcribed as 96.7 mm tall and 26.5 mm wide with a total weight of 65.6 grams. The RE is plenty portable and designed to fit comfortable in the grip of your fist.

The GoPro, on the other hand, carries a more traditional camera form factor, though miniaturized. It measures 60.9 x 58.4 x 40.6 mm and weighs 74 grams naked. Throw on the included waterproof, dust-proof housing and things increase to 136 grams. It’s hard to compare the Hero3 to the RE in terms of form factor, but let’s just say both are extremely compact and lightweight and easily tossed in a bag or purse (the RE might be slightly more pocketable).

As for durability, the RE is waterproof up to one meter for 30 minutes right out of the box (IP57). The GoPro Hero3 isn’t inherently waterproof, but throw on its form-fitted case and the RE can’t come close in terms of water and dust resistance. With camera housing properly attached, the Hero3 can travel to depths of 131 feet with no time restrictions. The RE seems a little more geared to the casual user whereas the GoPro appeals to a slightly more extreme crowd.

Storage, Connectivity, & Battery

Both cameras operate off of microSD storage. The GoPro Hero3 can support media up to 64GB. The HTC RE will work with cards with capacities reaching 128GB and comes with an included 8GB card. The edge here obviously goes to the RE.

Both devices sport micro USB and WiFi connectivity. The HTE RE also gets Bluetooth LE (4.0) while the GoPro features a microHDMI port. Both devices are capable of connecting with Android and iOS devices (the RE relies on BLE while the GoPro works with WiFi) for sharing photos and videos as well as providing a remote viewfinder and camera controls.

The Hero3 gets the edge when it comes to battery life. The GoPro device ships with a rechargeable 1050mAH battery estimated to provide over two hours of continue full HD recording at 30fps. The RE boasts an 820mAH power cell capable of producing about an hour and half’s worth of 1080p, 30fps video recording.

Accessories & Options

The HTC RE is a new device and a new venture from HTC; it features few accessories beyond a wrist lanyard to keep the camera secured to your person. The GoPro Hero series is the exact opposite with a thriving ecosystem offering mounts and attachments for almost any activity you can think of filming, including cycling, skydiving, and even playing the guitar.

For the purpose of our comparison we have been looking at the $199 GoPro Hero3 due to the pricing coming in at equal to that of the HTC RE. Those broadening their horizons will find that GoPro offers a variety of cameras to choose from including the new Hero4, geared toward the professional crowd, and the Hero, an entry-level camera boasting many of the same features as the Hero3 for $70 less.

So which would you choose for your on-the-go video needs? Let us know in the poll below.

more info...

HTC RE camera is official, pre-order now for $200 [VIDEO]

During HTC’s Double Exposure event in NYC, HTC President of Americas Jason Mackenzie took the stage to officially unveil the HTC RE camera. A sort of GoPro video for the everyday man, the camera will allow you to film all of life’s precious moments and easily transfer them to your smartphone via a handy app. You can pre-order the RE Camera for $200 right now via its new website in 4 colors: orange, teal, white, or navy blue. Make sure to check out our full hands-on post here.

[Pre-order: HTC RE]

more info...