Tiny Panasonic video camera has big memory

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By Kuriko Miyake

(IDG) -- Matsushita Electric Industrial unveiled a mobile phone-size digital still camera with video and voice recording and Secure Digital audio player functions, the company announced on Tuesday.

The SV-AV10 D-Snap measures 1.1 by 1.9 by 3.4 inches and weighs 3.5 ounces, a similar size to a mobile phone, according to a statement from Matsushita, better known for its brand name Panasonic. The camera has a 2-inch LCD panel that can be folded down to the device for carrying around, it says.

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It allows users to record either digital still images with a 640-by-480-pixel resolution at fine mode or moving images with 320-by-240-pixel resolution in MPEG4 format, the statement says.

The rechargeable battery will last for an hour when recording MPEG4 video, according to Koji Ohno, a spokesperson for Matsushita.

The recording medium is an SD card, which also allows for voice recording and music playback with Advanced Audio Coding, one of the coding formats that is adopted by SD cards, Ohno says.

The product takes a 512MB SD card, which is expected to appear on the market around the time the SV-AV10 camera launches on January 20, Ohno says. With the 512MB card, the camera can store up to 3520 still images at fine mode and 14,080 at normal mode, he says.

The company expects the device to be more entertainment/communication tool than quality image recorder, and is targeting it at young people who would carry the product to play around with it, he says.

The company will also launch a mobile printer on January 20. The SV-P10 prints images recorded SD cards, the statement says.

No suggested retail prices have been set for the products, although the camera is expected to be priced around $353, Ohno says. The company has no plan for sales outside Japan, he says.