HTC unveiled two new but similar products with the Desire Eye mobile phone and the Re, a very simplistic camera.
The HTC Desire Eye has Android's KitKat software with a 5.2-inch full HD display. It also has a large lens on the front of it, resembling that of a small eye. The front-facing and back cameras are 13 Megapixels, which is very high amount for a front-facing camera. Most front-facing cameras for cellular phones are not even above 10 Megapixels. Most phones also don't have a dual LED flash on the front, which means that the target audience for this phone are those that enjoy taking "selfies" on a regular basis.
In fact, the Desire Eye has "Eye Experience" software that allows users to take a selfie by steadying the device and saying "cheese". This "Eye Experience" will be available as an update on the HTC One phones, and also includes an interesting feature where a user can start a video by saying "action". The purpose of these features is so the user uses the buttons as little as possible to get a good video or still photo.
Related: HTC's Nexus 9 Release Rumors and Launch Date Speculation
As for the Re, HTC's new camera is shaped like a right-angle flashlight, with absolutely no viewfinder. The Re does have the ability to wirelessly connect to a smartphone if the user wants to see how his or her pictures turned out. It has a central focus with very little buttons, and it is capable of taking 16 Megapixel photos and 1,080-pixel HD videos. It also has an f2.8 lens with an ultrawide 146-degree angle of view.
The most outstanding feature of the Re is that there is no power button. The Re camera will turn on as the user gets it in position, thanks to the help of touch sensors included within. For those that want to mount the Re on a tripod, it has the threaded ¼-20 hole that is a standard for most camera mounts, and more mounts will soon be made available for consumers. There is a microSD slot to store the pictures, and the Re can support cards that go up to 128GB.
The Re is also waterproof for up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. The battery life should be an hour and a half for 1080p video capture or 1,000 still shots.
The HTC Re camera should be available sometime in late October or early November and cost about $199 US dollars. The Desire Eye should be available from AT&T later this year, with a price that has yet to be determined.
