Looxcie updates always-on wearable video cam

Anyone inspired the often hilarious adventures of Antoine de Maximy but looking for a somewhat lighter and less cumbersome video camera rig may be interested in the launch of a new version of the Looxcie always-on wearable cam. Version 2 is 20 percent lighter than the original Looxcie and has twice as much onboard storage. Companion apps now offer a choice of capture quality options and the new Looxcie 2 comes with four adjustable earbuds and two earloops.

Just like the original, the new Looxcie 2 can be used as a stand-alone video camera to record whatever happens in front of the wearer (with a 62.1 degree diagonal field of view) without the companion apps and the captured video transferred to a computer via USB. It sports the same f2.8 fixed lens with a 2-inch to infinity depth of focus, a similar battery performance, and the ability to be paired with a mobile phone and used as a Bluetooth headset.

When used with the free LooxcieCam and LooxcieMoments companion apps for Android (2.1 or above) and iOS (4.3 and above) devices, sharing captured moments with friends and family via social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube or via email can be done on-the-fly across mobile networks or Wi-Fi and the shortly-to-be-released LooxcieLive app will allow real-time, as-it-happens streaming to a chosen social network profile. Users also benefit from being able to view what's being captured via the viewfinder window on the smartphone or tablet screen.

Two processors inside the slimline device take care of both video capture and wireless communication, the former available as either 320p (at 15 frames per second and 800 kbps bitrate) or 480p (at 30 frames per second and 3000 kbps bitrate) video quality via the LooxcieMoments app or 480p/30fps/4000 kbps bitrate with the LooxcieCam app. All output is recorded as MPEG-4 video with AAC audio (with sound recorded by dual silicon MEMS microphones which benefit from DSP noise reduction technology).

The new device's 365mAh Lithium Polymer battery offers up to four hours of continuous video recording at the lower resolution or two hours at the higher and, should something of note be worth saving for posterity, pressing the Instant Clip button rewinds the last 30 seconds of footage, then captures and stores the moment as a permanent clip.

The new model's boom is 3.25-inches (84 mm) in length, the device weighs less than an ounce (22 g) and is available now in two storage capacities - one capable of storing ten hours of video (US$199.99) and the other five hours (US$179.99).