Google unfurled fresh phones, speakers, laptops and other familiar consumer devices on Wednesday.
The surprise was a new gadget that echoes the company’s earlier controversial stab at futuristic hardware.
Google announced a $249 device called Google Clips, a small, lightweight camera that pairs with its Pixel smartphones, at an event in San Francisco. It can be clipped to tables, chairs or a mantle and snaps pictures to be stored in the Google Photos app.
The company said it uses machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to automatically recognise and take pictures of subjects that are important to users.
It’s designed to work a bit like Google Glass, the infamous head-mounted device that caused a backlash because wearers could take photos without people noticing. Google said on Wednesday that the Clips device has an indicator light so people nearby know when it’s in use.
GoPro shares fell as much as 6.9 per cent on concern about a big, new competitor in the market for action cameras.
Google is packaging some of its popular, free web services with the Clips device - a strategy the company uses with all its new in-house hardware.
Images collected with the Clips camera are stored free on the Google Photos app, and there’s no limit to how many snaps can be saved. Users can then make movies from the pictures and set them to music, Google said.
- (Bloomberg)
