FlipStart UMPC gets a parasitic camera
An interesting idea whose time has not yet come.
(Credit:
FlipStart)
Remember that nauseating scene in Total Recall when the secretive rebel leader reveals himself as a mutant growing out of his brother's stomach? That was the first thing we thought of upon seeing this hybrid camera stuck onto the lid of Vulcan's FlipStart ultramobile PC.
The FlipStart "Snap Camera" is a $150 shooter that snaps onto the lid of the UMPC and takes images "up to" 5 megapixels, as well as VGA-quality video, according to the company. It connects wirelessly to the computer, which uses its screen as a viewfinder for its parasitic friend, and thereby make it a bit easier and faster to save, edit and email photos.
There's just one catch: Who wants to lug around a UMPC just to take pictures? The camera itself weighs only 1.8 ounces, but the combined Frankensteinian contraption doesn't exactly make for easy storage, let alone an attractive design.
