Kodak MC3 Moveable Media System from 2001 was Every little thing However a Smartphone

The Kodak MC3 debuted in 2001 as a compact little field that couldn’t choose which hat to put on. Kodak marketed it because the MC3 Moveable Multimedia System, which precisely characterised the system’s lofty however quite erratic function. This tiny field contained digital photographs, brief video clips, and MP3 tracks, multi function neat little package deal, years earlier than solely probably the most daring gadget customers would even contemplate merging these capabilities.

It price roughly $229 ($417 in the present day), a excessive value that they finally decreased to make it extra interesting to most of the people. It got here with a 16MB CompactFlash card to get you began, however many homeowners shortly upgraded to a a lot bigger 64MB or 128MB model, which was actually useful given how restricted these reminiscence playing cards had been.

The MC3 measured round 4.1 by 2.6 inches and weighed about 5.5 ounces with batteries, or extra particularly, three tiny AAA batteries. These had been those who saved the present going, whether or not you had been taking footage, viewing movies, or listening to music.

A comparatively easy fixed-focus lens was mounted on the entrance of the MC3, with a focal size just like 37mm on a movie digital camera and an f/2.8 aperture to match. The nonetheless photos it shot had been 640 by 480, VGA commonplace, which was first rate but additionally meant you’d shortly refill that small reminiscence card, and sure, the photographs had been nonetheless discernible, only a contact low-resolution. The colour LCD measured 1.6 inches throughout, which was simply large enough on the time, and it featured reflective expertise that functioned effectively in robust sunshine however virtually utterly disappeared in darkish settings or when seen from an uncommon angle. No backlight meant longer battery life, which was nice, nevertheless it additionally meant you needed to be prepared to border these images or consider them in vivid mild.

Video recording was a little bit of a low-effort affair, capturing 320 by 240 pixels at a really modest 20 frames per second in QuickTime MOV information, with H.263 compression and primary mono sound. Clips had been fairly transient, lasting just a few seconds on smaller playing cards, however they could possibly be stretched out to roughly 4 minutes in case you had a a lot bigger 64MB card to play with. Don’t count on high-quality photos; publicity shifts had been abrupt and sluggish to reply, and low-light circumstances triggered a slew of undesirable noise. To look at your clips, you can both use the MC3’s personal small display screen, or (in case you’d splurged on an AV cable) plug it as much as an NTSC or PAL tv for a significantly bigger viewing expertise.

Music playback from regular MP3 information was easy, utilizing both the top-mounted headphone port or the built-in mono speaker, nevertheless the sound was a bit of weak and harsh. Quantity controls had been conveniently positioned for speedy changes, eliminating the necessity to take away the system out of your pocket. Storage was a little bit of a problem as a result of it relied utterly on smaller CompactFlash Kind I playing cards formatted in FAT16, which meant that bigger up to date playing cards regularly wouldn’t work. To make issues worse, information should be within the root listing to ensure that the participant to seek out them reliably.

The controls are tucked away within the again, whereas a 4-way slider dealt with enterprise for toggling between digital camera stills, film seize, video playback, and music modes. The interface was accomplished with a tiny set of shutter launch, menu, and playback controls. It additionally contained a helpful USB connector for simple file transfers, in addition to an AV jack that doubled as video out and stereo line audio, supplied you had the correct cable.
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