Good news for Snapchat fans: Snap, Inc.
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The Los Angeles company, valued at $18 billion by investors this year, said it will change its name to Snap Inc., reflecting its larger ambitions.
Messaging app firm Snapchat has announced its first gadget – sunglasses with a built-in camera.
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has announced that the company has developed new video-enabled sunglasses, called Spectacles, and will subsequently be rebranding under the new corporate parent name of Snap Inc.
Business Insider says the glasses record up to 10 seconds of footage at a time – so the same as Snapchat now does.
Describing the latest app on its website, a Snapchat statement said: “Spectacles connect directly to Snapchat via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and transfer your memories directly into the app in our brand new circular video format”. This lens is created to facilitate filming video content that simulates the human eye by means of a circular format, rather than the rectangular or square one we have become used to. We were walking through the woods, stepping over logs, looking up at the attractive trees.
Which of these celebrity Snapchatters will be spotted wearing them first, on the other hand, still remains to be seen.
“I could see my own memory, through my own eyes-it was unbelievable”.
And even if you’re not a Snapchat aficionado, you have to admit that these things look pretty cool.
Spectacles will remind many of Google Glass, an ill-fated attempt by the search giant to create smart glasses. “It was the closest I’d ever come to feeling like I was there again”.
Battery life should last you for a day, and each pair will come with a charging case..
The idea, the company says, is to expand how users interact with Snapchat.
The tiny wireless camera built into the sunglasses will be capable of recording “a day’s worth of Snaps on a single charge”, according to the Spectacles announcement.
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Taking video without having to hold a camera or phone is what allows Spectacles to offer first-person-like video. The Wall Street Journal reports they’ll be out this fall. A reasonable assumption is that if they do go on the market soon, they will top this year’s Christmas wish list for many young people.
