Cameras & Camcorders

[Alexandra-BBY Retired: Social Media Specialist]

With things like Skype, FaceTime, and Google Hangouts, it’s easier to keep in touch with friends and family who live out-of-state or even in other countries. In my experience though, the view is rather limited to one or two individuals in the tiny webcam viewfinder, and the quality isn’t always the greatest.  Also, it can be incredibly difficult to work around different time zones and conflicting schedules, so I was excited to hear about the Movi at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

If you haven’t heard about it, the Movi is a hands free, 4K camera that allows you to record or stream video live. You can also edit the content and switch camera angles with its 150-degree view in real time using its iOS smartphone app.  This would be very handy to record life events like your daughter’s piano recital and send footage to family members who couldn’t make the trip for whatever reason. You could even stream it live and make them feel as if they never missed it in the first place.

There are some downsides to it though. Currently, it only works with the iPhone 5 or later running iOS 9 or higher.  It also only has about an hour of battery life, so unless you keep it plugged in using its USB powered 10-foot cable or purchase the Movi Pro (it has 10 hours of battery life), keep an eye on the LED light ring on the top of the device. It will tell you when it’s about to die, as well as let you know if something is wrong with your Wi-Fi connection.

I realize it might seem a little “excessive” to use the Movi as a replacement for Skype and the like, but it would certainly help with my plans to play a cross-country game of Catan with my friend who lives near Seattle. Sadly, we don’t have it available for purchase on BestBuy.com, but hopefully, that’ll change once we get closer to its April release date later this year.