While smartphone launches at consumer electronics trade shows tend to get the lion’s share of the attention from mainstream media outlets because of their immense popularity and unmistakable ubiquity, mobile phones are, by no means the only things shown off at such events, contrary to popular perceptions. Concept IoT devices, audio-visual products and new display, imaging and battery technologies are but some of the myriad tech products that are routinely unveiled at these events. Over the past few years, of course, it has become impossible to escape all the buzz surrounding virtual reality as well, so a lot of VR-related devices are also shown off at these events nowadays.
As far as LG Electronics is concerned, while the company introduced its next-generation flagship smartphone at the MWC, that wasn’t the only thing the company unveiled at Barcelona this year. The South Korean consumer electronics company also jumped on the VR bandwagon by launching the LG 360 VR headset at the event. However, along with its own mobile-based head-mounted display (HMD), the South Korean company also introduced a 360-degree camera, named the LG 360 Cam. While the device was unveiled at the MWC last month, it had not yet been made available for purchase commercially. However, that seems all set to change now, with B&H Photo Video starting to take pre-orders for it from today. The camera comes with a price-tag of $199, but T-Mobile has already announced earlier this week that it will be offering the device for free to everybody who pre-orders an LG G5 on its network.
The LG 360 Cam comes with a couple of 13-megapixel sensors, each with a 200-degree wide-angle lens to capture 360-degree images and videos in up to 2K resolution. The device comes with an internal storage capacity of just 4 GB, but does have a microSD card slot for capacity expansion. The LG 360 Cam also comes with three built-in microphones and a 1,200 mAh battery. The device also allows users to directly upload media files to Google Street View and YouTube 360, so it definitely offers an interesting proposition for users wanting a 360-degree handheld camera. The device will face direct competition from the Samsung Gear 360, which was unveiled at the same event in Europe last month, and is expected to be launched commercially later this year.