30fps – Backerjack

Step up your selfie game with the connected Podo stick and shoot camera

Walk down any street, waltz into any restaurant, or take up a teaching job in Asia. In each scenario, there will undoubtedly be groups of people taking selfies with oversized smartphones or tablets. The selfie craze has gotten to the point where smartphone makers are specifically touting selfie-friendly features as a way to address what everyone already knows: it can be pretty awkward to take a kick-ass selfie.

Enter the Podo, an 8 megapixel Bluetooth camera designed to be attached and re-attached to most flat surfaces to facilitate easier selfies. Its makers appropriately tout it as a “stick-anywhere camera.” Clearly, versatility is one of its strengths.

The 4GB Podo has three major modes: a photo mode for single shots, double exposures, and burst shots, a video mode capable of recording 720p video at 30fps, and an auto mode that captures content based on custom time intervals for things like time lapse videos. An embedded accelerometer is included which serves to ensure that photo orientation is always correct, thereby making photos social media friendly from the start. The device can be synced up to a companion mobile app with support for both iOS and Android.

An individual Podo costs $89 with an estimated delivery date of August 2015. The campaign is looking for $50,000 in funding by April 20.

Selfies haven’t been the same since the selfie stick, and Podo is poised to shake things up yet again. Not having to rely on the length of an arm or the kindness of a stranger, along with eight LEDs for night shots, really makes the Podo a stand-out in the selfie accessories category.

Many inventors and companies alike are catching onto the smartphone’s potential as an intermediary between the people who use them and the microscopic world alien to us. Smartphones can add a new dimension to a microscope, freeing us from the shackles of bulky, cumbersome equipment and letting us wander into the world and discover nature as it was truly intended — provided, of course, we have the right tools to do so. Luckily, Little Occhio is aiming to be that tool.

This product is a portable micro-cam that lets users see the world around them, wherever they happen to be. Users can then share what they see with an app that transmits photos and videos at 30fps to up to 10 smart devices at range of up to 50ft, making Little Occhio equally versatile for families and classrooms alike. The app also acts as a control, letting you focus the camera among other adjustments. It does this with its own built-in Ad-Hoc Wi-fi mode, generating its own connection so that smart devices in the vicinity can connect. In addition, LED lights are prominently featured as a way to continue discovering more as night sets in so long as the built-in rechargeable battery is powered enough to keep going.

The Little Occhio has promise, despite its $145 price tag. The upside to the price, though, are the included sharing features which trump other similar products like the Microscobe and the Micro Phone Lens. The company is looking for a cool $35,000 to start manufacturing — let’s hope it goes off without a hitch.