Stick, angle and shoot! That’s what my new toy name, Podo, does. Let’s forget about selfie sticks and detachable wide angle lens on your front facing camera. Stretching out your arm to get everyone into your mobile screen can be painstaking. This week, I finally received my Podo after waiting for almost a year on Kickstarter and I am excited to share with you on what Podo can do to the world of selfie. Podo is the world’s first restickable camera with wireless capability. I funded this project on Kickstarter because I find it interesting and there are lots future potential for Podo.
Podo is a pocket-sized camera which takes photographs at 8 megapixels and videos at 720p 30fps. It sticks well onto walls, glass surfaces and poles with it’s microsuction pad. Located at it’s freely rotatable back flap, the microsuction pad is not the usual sticky tape we always see. The Podo team often describes this sticky pad to a lizard’s feet. After multiple usages, the microsuction pad will accumulate dust. To maintain it, simply wash it using water and allow it to dry. Besides sticking, Podo also has a strong magnet hidden beneath the pad for better contact on metallic surfaces. So, as long as the surface is flat, Podo sticks.
For the electronics, the Podo has a built-in rechargeable Li-ion 600mAh battery which last 2 hours at full charge. There is a micro USB port for charging, an internal storage memory of 4GB and built-in accelerator sensor installed to handle all the orientations. The 8 LEDs located at the front can serve as an indictor or flash light during low light photography. To wake up the Podo, just tap it.
With it’s freely rotatable back flap design, Podo is able to capture photographs in all angles. Now, you can angle the photographs you love to have, hands free. The Podo weighs about 50 grams and measures 5cm x 5cm x 2.5cm. The perfect pocket sized gadget.
Connecting the Podo to my iPhone is easy. With the Podo app installed, I can adjust the camera and video settings. In order to have a real time photography experience, the Liveview looks distorted on the mobile screen. After capturing a photograph, Podo took about 10 seconds to transfer the photograph into my iPhone using Bluetooth. My boy loves the Podo a lot because he can stick it anywhere he wants and smile.
There are lots of room for improvements for the future development of Podo. The development team of Podo Labs can upgrade the video capability to 1080p and include a larger image sensor size for better low light control. It will be great if the Liveview can be clearer and Podo can be a portable Bluetooth video cam with wide angle lens. I can’t wait to test out more Podo photography with my family.
The Podo is retailing at US$99 and I got it at Kickstarter at US$89.
