Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
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A ROUND-UP OF THE LATEST NEWS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
THIRD TIME LUCKY FOR SNAP’S SPECS?
THE questions on everyone’s lips when Snapchat revealed its first version of Spectacles – sunglasses with built-in cameras – three years ago was: Why? Who would want to go around wearing those?
Not many, was the answer to that question, as the company was reportedly left with boxes full of the gadgets unsold.
It was baffling, then, when Snapchat came out with a second version of Spectacles, which did not convince many people, either.
So it remains something of a mystery as to why Spectacles 3, below, made their debut last week.
Even stranger was the fact that the price has more than doubled from the first version this time around. A pair of Spectacles 3 will cost you £330.
This time around we have a pair of HD cameras mounted on either of the specs and they work in tandem to create what Snapchat is referring to as 3D images – the photos are combined to produce an image that can shift perspective slightly to create an illusion of depth.
They capture HD video with good quality audio and everything is synched wirelessly to your smartphone, from where you can share.
The build quality and design are a step up this time around, too, with steel frames and, it has to be said, as elegant a look as specs with built-in cameras could have.
Snapchat is pitching them as having a limited release, and is damping down sales expectations. Which is sensible enough.
As to the original question, why? It makes sense to think of Spectacles as a statement of Snapchat’s intent, rather than a product it expects to sell bucketloads of.
In its description of itself, Snap says it is a “camera company”. It would be weird, then, if it didn’t sell at least one camera…
■ SPECTACLES 3 will ship in the autumn and are available to pre-order now at Spectacles.com