Mesh WiFi vendor Ubiquiti Networks is making a play for the wearable camera market with their new FrontRow lifestyle camera.
Weighing just two ounces, the company say it’s “a new camera technology enabling the effortless capture and sharing of life’s experiences.”
The main camera on the FrontRow is 8-megapixels shooter with a 148 degree field of view and 1080p resolution while the secondary one uses a slightly-smaller 5-megapixel sensor. All told, it comes capable of livestreaming at 720p, and shooting straight video in up to 4K at 30FPS.
Ubiquiti claim that “unlike traditional cameras and smartphones requiring manual operation, FrontRow can operate fully autonomously — allowing one to capture life’s experiences while completely staying in the moment.”
“A subtle interlocking connector provides the flexibility to wear FrontRow using the included stylish lanyard or multi-purpose magnetic clip, or third party chains. Upcoming accessories include a car window mount and flexible coil mount. FrontRow features cameras on both sides of the device. The primary camera features a 140 degree wide-view lens (roughly double that of a typical smartphone) that, combined with FrontRow’s microphone array, allows for more complete capturing of experiences. The device features a speaker for local playback and an easy-access clickable media button that can be used to quickly start and stop many of FrontRow’s capture functions.”
According to them, “FrontRow’s user experience is unlike any camera brought to market. Built around a custom 2-inch circular hi-resolution touch screen, FrontRow’s user interface allows instant live streaming on social networks including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as integration with a variety of popular applications like Dropbox, Spotify, and more.”
More specifically, the company say that the FrontRow has a standby time of up to 48 hours and is capable of capturing in Story Mode (time-lapse capture of experiences) for up to 16 hours and in Live-Streaming Mode for up to 2 hours.
They add that the USB Type-C connector on the wearable allows the device to be charged on the go using other Type-C smartphones, fully doing so within 20 minutes.
Wearables cameras have become a unique growth category of the consumer tech world in recent years, with the relative success of Snap’s Spectacles laying the foundations.
No word yet on local availability and pricing. However, in the US, the FrontRow is available directly through Ubiquiti as well as Amazon for approximately US$400.
