Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 91

Check out http://www.kodak.com/US/en/digital/cameras/mc3/.

At $350 Canadian (according to a London Drugs flyer) that's about $225 US--a little more than the price of the new EyeModule (and a hell of a lot more functional!), and certainly a lot less than the price of EM and any MP3 Springboard module of your choice.

I dunno if the Innogear folks and their ilk are going to be able to survive at this rate.

Whaddaya think?

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

This does make for an interesting device... I know my kids would want one!

According to this US prices range from $199.95 for the MC3 itself to 349.95 for the Premiere Bundle which comes with ear buds and a 96mb CF card.

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 91

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkEagle
US prices range from $199.95 for the MC3 itself to 349.95 for the Premiere Bundle which comes with ear buds and a 96mb CF card.

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Manchester, England
Posts: 83

no ir thou......

If it had an IrDA port, it'll be the ultimate combination:

Palm+mc3+cellphone=what else do you want?

use CF to move stuff around would be some pain.....

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Champaign, IL
Posts: 200

Fuji had something like this before too, but I think it was fairly expensive, didn't do video and didn't take off. The redeeming features of SB modules are they're a little smaller; the mc3 is listed at 7oz w/batteries, and "0.9-1.5 inches" thick. Still sounds like a nice combo, especially since my digital camera was $300 alone, no video or MP3!

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

It says that you need a special kind of CF card to work with this reader, and lists specific adaptors that you need to use. If this isn't compatible with other CF devices (like my HP Jornada or existing CF reader) it's a lot less attractive. What exactly are the restrictions on the CF cards they're talking about, anyone know?

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

quote:

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Originally posted by argent
It says that you need a special kind of CF card to work with this reader...

...What exactly are the restrictions on the CF cards they're talking about, anyone know?

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

If I didn't have a Prism, then I would be all over that, but I want something that works with my existing device, not a reason to go out and buy another device.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 17

Not so great

I agree that the mc3 doesn't look like a good reason to buy a new device. The Quicktime video is a nice feature, but it's only a 640 X 480 digital camera. You can buy one of those for $40 these days. Pick up a cheap MP3 player (after all, what does Kodak know about digital audio?) for $80 and a roll of duct tape to make it one portable unit, and it's not looking like such a great value anymore, huh?

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 3

mc3 compared to EM2 and SG module

Hey Redtideguy,

When I look at this as an alternative to the Eyemodule 2 and the Soundsgood module combo (best price about $349.00), it looks appealing, primarily because of the external CF memory card. I haven't heard anything about the quality of the output (sound, video or still pics), which is what really counts anyway.

Regarding the duct tape: it may be a bit unsitely, but I would never question the use of duct tape as a viable solution. What kinda guy would I be, for crisssakes!

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Redwood City, CA USA
Posts: 162

I read a review in one of the local papers (San Jose Mercury) that didn't like the MC3. I only glanced through the article, but basically, it said the device did a lot of things, but didn't do any of them well. In other words, Kodak made too many compromises to make an all-in-one device. I'm sorry I didn't read the article in detail, but I remember that one of the compromises mentioned was the relatively low resolution of the digital camera.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 17

Duct tape appreciation

Henry328,

You make a good point, but I have to say that the main reason that SoundsGood (and MiniJam, and every other SpringBoard) and EM2 cost so much is that they are small and they integrate with the the Visor. Once Kodak decided to make a standalone unit that (although small) is not tiny, the cost should have come down considerably. It's really just a cheap MP3 player, a cheap digital camera, and some Quicktime software. Gimme enough time and enough duct tape, and you might be able to buy the Redtideguy2000 with the same features for $99.99. I'll offer you the first one, of course, Henry328.

I also noted that the video can only be 320 X 240, 20 frames per second, and that isn't all that great. It looks like the article that rtalain read is right: Jack of all trades, master of none.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 308

This dose look like a cool thing, but the immage quality sucks for a standalone camera. More of a toy than anything else.

sam

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 91

quote:

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Originally posted by Celchu19
This dose look like a cool thing, but the immage quality sucks for a standalone camera. More of a toy than anything else.

sam

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 308

quote:

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Originally posted by VancouverCanuck


LOL Well, then so's the EyeModule, and IMHO an inferior one--battery drain, memory, and so on. For me, I couldn't justify spending the cash on an EM and an MP3 module with this relatively cheap thing available. (So what if it doesn't interact with the Visor?) Further for us Canadians, there's the ridiculous duty that needs to be paid on products from the US. And the MC3 is already available in my neighbourhood.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 91

quote:

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Originally posted by Celchu19


But the eyemodule has an excuuse this one doesn't

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Sorry, I'm not understanding. Why excuse the Visor modules from discussions of quality? And as long as the MC3 price is so low, I'm not sure it needs to justify anything. You could do a lot worse with $250 US.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

Canuck...I think he meant the excuse was that it worked directly with the Handspring.

just a guess.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Chicago
Posts: 31

Hey guys,
I actually got to see and mess with one for a short time. It is a definite toy, picture quality is terrible, video imaging is worse than a bad hangover, and who needs a mp3 player that looks like an eggplant. Quality overall is very poor, it is all plastic and the lcd screen is a joke without a spotlight over it. Hope this helps people out.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 308

quote:

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Originally posted by 318ti
Hey guys,
I actually got to see and mess with one for a short time. It is a definite toy, picture quality is terrible, video imaging is worse than a bad hangover, and who needs a mp3 player that looks like an eggplant. Quality overall is very poor, it is all plastic and the lcd screen is a joke without a spotlight over it. Hope this helps people out.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 268

If the mc3 had at least 1 megapixels, then maybe it would really be worth it. It would be really cool with these modifications:

1) 1 megapixel quality for still pictures
2) 2x zoom
3) flash
4) voice recorder (you could use the movie recorder to record just voice, but takes up too much mem)


What i really like about the mc3:

1) you can preview song title, artist, and album on the mp3 player (presumably on the 1.6" LCD screen)