In this installment of Mobile Canuck’s “Kickstarter Spotlight” I cover the “Podo” stick up Bluetooth camera.
Spend 20 minutes on Kickstarter and you will be blown away by the sheer quantity of campaigns seeking funding. It is enough to make your head spin. Each week I am trying to find one or two campaigns that will be of interest and fit in with the overall theme at MobileCanuck.
This week, I saw Tech Crunch call out the Podo on kickstarter so I thought I would give it a closer look.
What is the Podo Camera?
Well, as mentioned above, the Podo camera is a stickup Bluetooth enabled camera. It can be stuck to pretty much any surface using its micro-adhesive pad and is controlled via the Podo smartphone app. The micro-adhesive pad can be cleaned to restore its abilities by being washed under cold water, but Podo says they will replace pads that lose their grip during the first 6 months of use.
This isn’t Podo’s first stick up camera actually. In 2015 they released the first version of the Podo, which was also very successful, however, was limited by the quality of the camera tech used at the time.
In the “sequel” version of the Podo camera they went with an all new camera sporting a 5.0MP sensor with 2.2µm pixels size. This should allow for better performance in low light situations.
Their new camera sensor is also a wider angle lens, at 90 degrees, which is great for capturing more of your surroundings.
The Podo camera app syncs the video feed directly to your smartphone, and with the release of the new camera, the app has been updated to allow for a simultaneous connection of up to 6 Podo cameras. This could allows you to create a “multi-camera lime lapse or a 360 degree photo-booth.”
In addition to the 5MP sensor, the Podo can capture video at 720p @ 30fps, but the audio feed is actually captured by your phones mic due to the lack of an on-board mic.
The Bluetooth functionality of the Podo is 2 fold. Primarily is uses Bluetooth 4.2 LE (low energy) keeping the device connected much like your smartwatch. However, when opening the Podo app, the Podo will switch to a classic Bluetooth connection allowing you to view the camera feed in real time.
Other features found on the new Podo are:
- Full rotatable hinge, allowing for any shooting angle you desire.
- On-board accelerometer to auto re-orient your shots.
- LED ring to alert of the Podo’s connection status.
- Countdown timer.
- 8GB of on-board storage.
- Li-ion batter that last “1,000 photos or 2 weeks” on a single charge.
The Podo is currently being offered on Kickstarter for $49 for those who elect to back the project. For more info and to back Podo check out their campaign page.
GadgetSyrup 