CES 2010: Kodak to Launch Waterproof Pocket Camcorder

At Kodak’s CES booth this year, one of the more fascinating cameras on display will be the PlaySport Zx3. The pocket camcorder is designed for those who live an active outdoors lifestyle. The camcorder shares it’s space with other such mobile-like devices such as Creative’s Vado HD , is however designed to be extremely durable for those adventurers looking at gaining a more rugged experience out of their gadgets.

The PlaySport Zx3’s shell is waterproof up to 10 ft. (3 meters) and will also feature -

• Full 1080p HD video recording capability with electronic image stabilization
• 5-megapixel HD quality stills (16:9)
• A 2-inch color display
• Smart face-tracking technology
• SD/SDHC card slot expandable up to 32GB (no internal memory)
• Rechargeable lithium ion battery with in-camera charging
• HDMI cable output

The camcorder is fully compatible with both Mac and PC and also comes with built-in software that will allow users to edit and upload files directly to the web to sites like YouTube and Facebook. It’s due to be launched officially in April of this year and will retail at about $149.99 USD which literally translates to about Rs. 6,825, though it’s highly unlikely to launch in India with that price tag.

I estimate it to be somewhere in the Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 range but would be very pleasantly surprised if it made here at a lower cost.