We don't usually cover consumer equipment on the Embedded blog, but this greeting card that records and displays video caught our eye for the sheer integration and low cost potential.
ViMeCa from Japanese consultancy DOKE combines a camera, 7in LCD display and battery to make it easy to create and send a personalized custom video at the push of a button without a smartphone or personal computer.
"Now you can reach out and touch someone with a one-of-kind video message without a smartphone or computer," said Kenichi Hiramatsu, CEO of DOKE. "With ViMeCa, you can bring a smile to a grandparent or friend who lives far away or share your creative message with a loved one on a special day."
The greeting card is 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches or A5 envelope size and weighs 8.5 ounces. It includes the built-in camera to record a message and the 7in LCD screen with memory for playback of a message of up to 4 minutes.
It also has an internal battery which can be charged via a supplied USB cable, and a battery charge lasts approximately 70-80 minutes under normal usage. ViMeCa is available now on Amazon for $79.00, so it may not be that 'disposable' but shows the reducing cost of components such as the screen, encoder, decoder and memory. This is even before flexible, low cost OLED displays that wuold bring the cost down further.
Based in Osaka, DOKE's businesses include customer acquisition consulting, development and sales of own branded products, and app/web/system development.
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