Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse for the SiPix Blink Digital Camera.

In last week’s Gadget Warehouse segment, we talked about the Casio QV-10 digital camera, introduced in 1996. It was said to be the first under $1,000 consumer digital camera. The introduction price was a “low” $650. For that price you got a camera with a whopping 2 MB of non-removable memory. It had no flash, and it offered a resolution of 320 X 240. Some 15+ years ago this camera was the "gee wiz" talk of all my friends. People loved seeing their digital image on the  QV-10’s 1.8” LCD color screen. This week we move up six years to 2002 when the the Si-Tex Blink digital camera came on the market. This was a very basic focus free no zoom fit-in-your-pocket digital camera. It has a suggested retail price of $59.95, but could easily be found at a street price of $39.95. For $40 it wasn’t a bad deal. Especially when you compare it to the digital camera from Casio six years earlier that sold for about 15 times the price! ($40 vs. $600+) The specs are way better too. 640 X 480 resolution photos vs. 320 X 240 for the Casio. Neither camera had flash, but the Casio did have a 1.8” color LCD screen for framing shots. None on the Si-Tex, you framed your subject via viewfinder. The Casio only had 2MG of memory, whereas the Blink had 8MG. Using the USB cable you’re your computer, The Blink could even function as a web-cam as long as you were in a brightly lit area. As I recall photos taken with the Blink were fine for emails, and maybe wallet-sized blow-ups. But hey, we’re taking about a camera that cost $40! Power was supplied with a single AAA battery. A problem with the 1^st Blink, that was solved shortly after with the Blink II, was that you lost your shots when you replaced the battery, so you had to download them to your computer quickly. When I put a new AAA in my Blink it still turns out and I can go through the basic info menu on the tiny black & white LCD screen. It includes a photos taken counter, Hi / Low resolution, and some other info represented by dots that I can’t figure out. The instruction book was lost long ago. I just heard it beep, so it has auto shut-off too. I wanted to see what kind of photos it took, but I can’t find the cable that came with the Blink either. And I don’t recognize the video out fitting on the camera. This was before micro & mini USB cables that are pretty standard now. Doesn’t matter, I have no plans to use it to take photos anymore, but as a camera oddity, it’s still current!

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1344