Tag Archives: Indiegogo

Alice Camera and why the Future is Bright!

Alice Camera

The Alice Camera, launched to great success this month has to be the most hopeful product for the future of cameras that we have seen lately. It marries the Sony IMX294, a 10.7 megapixel 4/3 sensor with a custom chipset including the Edge TPU chip from Google for AI and an FPGA for calculations.  The result is a camera body with the same sensor as the GH5s which is a killer low light camera capable of excellent 4k footage and images with super low noise.

Then the camera back is attached to your Android or Apple smartphone to gain an interface and software to control it. The camera is capable of using the latest research for computational photography including HDR with multiple exposures merging, tracking, night mode, averaging of pixels, and as an open-source architecture, you can add features by other coders or your own to make the camera increase the feature set. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Ono U1 Resurfaces Attends GSMA Mobile WC!

Ono U1 U1 Labs

The Ono U1 Smartphone is showing signs of life again after almost completely disappearing from existence.   The team has posted a Facebook update that shows their upcoming participation in the GSMA Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2016 June 29th to July 1st.

As to what they will present we are not sure; there are questions on the post by interested people about the 480fps frame rate capability on the Ono U1 already and so far no answers have been posted, but that could change.  We may actually see a phone by then and if high frame rates are included it will be a welcome surprise.

What happened to U1 Labs and the Ono U1?

During 2015 and earlier this year the Ono U1 phone with 480fps Full HD capability was supposed to ship to early backers or what they called “Pioneers” but this did not materialize from what we could pull from released information that the software ROM inside the device was not finalized for a variety of reasons. The hardware was supposed to be complete but other than renders and low res images we couldn’t see a finalized product would look like in the hand.  We did see earbuds and a demo of the rom in action on a prototype device.

What is a positive is they U1 labs by missing the deadline decided to return all the Paypal payments from Pioneers in their entirety including our payment which was processed withing the Paypal guidelines.  They also expressed their commitment to continue the phone and make it available to backers at some point.  We still do not know at what price and or if at a free charge for the refunded customers is an option but we still think this is unlikely. Charging for the phone even at a reduced rate makes more business sense especially for a startup company. We will have to wait and see.

The 480fps mode in 1080p FHD is a feature of the Mediatek Helios X10 and X20 SoCs and the Ono U1 was supposed to exploit it as a highlight of the product.

We were promised a review unit whatever the case may be and that could happen this year if they are indeed releasing the product.

We wish them luck and while many will doubt them; there is no shame in returning the money to backers if they did not perform, this speaks well for U1 Labs and they should be given the benefit of the doubt.  We hope they do release a product this year and increase their communication with prospective customers. Hopefully with slow motion features.

Do your due diligence and remember to weight all options before buying anything online. We do not expressively recommend buying any product on HSC and we only inform on their development. Any purchase is your sole decision.

The Facebook post for MWC SHanghai is bellow by U1 Labs:

U1Labs

“Hi All, We have some good news, U1 Labs will be part of the GSMA Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2016!

It would be our first public appearance as a brand. So do come and show some support and catch a glimpse of our phone. Details are as below ;

Dates : 29th June – 1st July 2016

Venue :
SHANGHAI NEW INTERNATIONAL EXPO CENTRE (SNIEC)
Entrance Hall 3 (North) – Booth A30
2345 Longyang Road Pudong District, Shanghai
People’s Republic of China
(located at Fangdian Road, near Huamu Road, beside Kerry Parkside)”

End of Facebook Post!

Mokacam GoPro Alternative Few Hrs Left!

MokacamSmall

The GoPro Like competitor project Mokacam on indiegogo has reached their goal 13x over or 1329% with over 660k USD by their backers. The project is just hours away from closing funding and a few of their offer kits are still available.  If for anything it is a very cheap way to get into 4k at 15fps on a small GoPro like camera for under $200 USD with options for a tilt screen, pluggable magnetic batteries and even a portable electronic gimble for the tiny wonder of a camera.

What jumps out is how good the image quality is and all the surmounted obstacles that the team successfully accomplished to get the camera  ready for production.   It is not as strong in the frame rates as the GoPro Hero 4 black as it is only 15fps at 4k but it is not it’s function to eclipse that camera but to offer an alternative at a very low cost. It also offers a 1080p 60, 120fps 720p mode and a 240fps VGA mode hence why we are covering it as a high speed camera.

As you can see the real strength of the camera is it’s price at just $169 it is well below the Session 4 from GoPro even at their discounted price of $199.   It has a 16MP Sony sensor with pretty good resolution. We don’t expect it to be great in low light but it is great for daylight and should do well for lower light ambient to a degree as seen on the video below.

They also have what they claim a 60 meter waterproof case vs the GoPro’s 40 meter.  As to the actual performance it will be up to divers to test that claim.

With only 6 or 7 hours left in their campaign they have had great success, if you need a GoPro alternative on the cheap with a smaller footprint and more than enough features then this may be the camera for you.

Congratulations Mokacam team on your success bringing this product to life!

To get a bundle and or more info you can visit the Mokacam indiegogo page here!

All images and video courtesy of the Mokacam project! All rights belong to Mokacam.

Ono U1 Resurfaces on Indiegogo but Why?

The Ono U1 Beast smartphone by U1 Labs has yet to see the light of day as a shipping product. There have been several setbacks to the project but they seem to still keep the flame alive by having the hardware finished and polishing the software constantly to get to a ship ready state.

The latest info pushes for a February release of a slow motion video sample at the spec of 480fps. This will be a real video and not an interpolated sample like the one released before which used the Android camera to deliver slow motion video based on standard frame rate footage.   Now the talk in the forums is when will backers and early buyers get the phone if at all. The handset was supposed to be in the hands of backers in late 2015 especially taking in mind the holidays as a Christmas present.  That did not materialize as expected due to software delays.  However the company honored early backers with refunds for the entire amount. These early backers will still get the phone with no out of money cost. This would be a great thing for backers but this put stresses on the actual company making the necessary revenue unless they have investors footing the bill.

“U1 The World’s First 480FPS Smartphone” 

Slogan displayed by U1 Labs”

If Ono U1 launches and keeps their promise to “Pioneers” it seems the company after all could emerge stronger and create a long lasting brand image for the future with even more refined products.

The latest foray into sales and getting the word out there seems to be the Indiegogo campaign that shows the handset and a price of  $359 USD which is the price they are selling it at their own site.  This is in our view a publicity vehicle to get the word out about their phone and get more sales before actual launch.

U1 Labs Shows a Preview Video of the Ono U1 Beast Phone. Slow Motion is interpolated in the samples shown:

Will the phone ship in Q1 2016? We certainly hope so and that the 480fps 1080p spec is all that we have been waiting for. Creating a smartphone startup is no easy task and many have tried and failed.  Few have gotten to the point U1 Labs has reached but it is still no guarantee they will succeed.

In any case we are eager to see working hardware and being able to review the Beast Ono U1 Phone and it’s slow motion capability soon. We feel that if the phone is capable of delivering those frame rates it will be a huge selling point and make the launch successful. That feature is the main one touted and the most talked about since the project started. It is the feature that sets the phone apart from the competition.   If they deliver they will have a change to reach a broader market but if the spec is not delivered they could have a backlash.

We wish U1 Labs luck and success going forward with the shipment of the Ono U1 Beast!

Disclaimer:  We are not affiliated partners or sales associates of U1 Labs. If you buy a handset from U1 Labs it is your decision alone whatever the outcome.  We are a news site that covers slow motion devices and any and all inquiries on the Ono U1 should be made to U1 Labs directly.

More info on the Ono U1 at their Facebook Blog Here!