Thanks to LG’s Google phone, and to the Google Mini and Search Appliance, people are getting used to the idea of Google-branded hardware.
But YouTube cameras?
Those are (sort of) what will result from a new deal between Casio and the video-sharing site.
“The agreement has come in the form of two new Casio digital cameras, the EX-S880 and EX-Z77, which incorporate a branded YouTube Best Shot mode,” reports Reg Hardware’s James Sherwood. “This allows web-savvy happy-snappers to shoot and save movies on either camera at the optimum size and quality for transfer to YouTube.”
Unfortunately, “the optimum size and quality,” by YouTube’s standards, isn’t great.
“After all, the contents on the video-sharing site is not exactly known for its sterling resolution quality,” notes an On the Radar report from CNET Asia, and “this specificity will not please Casio users who are already using other video-sharing sites like Revver or Yahoo Video.”
On the bright side, the new cameras should please users in other respects – Casio’s Exilim products have already won a great many fans.
Reports indicate that the YouTube Best Shot feature will be expanded to other cameras in Casio’s lineup, as well, so people who are shopping outside the 7.2-8.1 megapixel range (offered by the Z77 and the S880, respectively) should have the option of acquiring it.
(A note: the pricing of the two new cameras remains up in the air; some sources have stated that “pricing remains unavailable,” while others have posted numbers as high as $500. I’m wagering that Mobile Whack has it right, however, with its association of $230 with the Z77 and $300 with the S880.)
Of course, it remains to be seen if the YouTube-Casio deal will actually benefit either company, but this development still represents another interesting step in Google’s ongoing diversification.
And as James Sherwood pointed out, “[H]ey, Google needs to recoup some of its $1.65bn.”
The Casio EX-S880 and EX-Z77 should become available later this year.
