Apple has enabled owners of its older 2G and 3G handsets to record video by admitting the new iVideoCamera app to the iTunes store. [as well as the UStream Broadcaster app for 3G handsets - update at foot of post]
Users can now legitimately record, share and save videos without having to ‘jailbreak‘ their handsets.
As reported on the Apple Blog, the app comes in at only 99 cents in the US store, and has similar entry-level pricing in other iTunes stores around the world.
Adding this third party application to an iPhone 2G or 3G handset means that there is even less incentive to move up to the 3GS model and may prompt those coming up to the end of their contracts to wait and see what iPhone news Apple has to announce in the spring before committing to an upgrade path.
Beware though, there are some significant limits to the app, and it is not helped by the camera installed in 2G and 3G iPhones. The app itself can only capture video at a maximum of three frames per second… far behind the 30 frames per second capacity of the 3GS. Quality is, therefore, limited as is the resolution which comes in at 160 x 213, compared to 640 x 480 on the 3GS.
On the upside, whilst there is no opportunity to share on Twitter yet, videos can be quickly uploaded to YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo from within the app itself.
Development team Laan Labs, creators of the iVideoCamera app, promise improved frame rates and quality in forthcoming releases.
UPDATE: The UStream Broadcaster app is another newcomer to the store and is available free. The app enables live streaming of video from 3G handsets or better over 3G and WiFi. Sadly, there’s no support for 2G iPhones, but 3G owners can enjoy live chat whilst broadcasting, as well as the ability to share on Twitter when going live.
Hat-tip to @technicalfault for the heads-up on UStream.
160 x 213 and 3fps? I would not call that video. Sounds more like animated thumbnails.
But at least its a start! :)
Apple doet eindelijk een beetje mee voor de iPhone, werd tijd. Andere hebben dat al een tijdje.
(had ik erbij moeten zetten dat ik dit stukje geknipt en geplakt heb van het stukje over het mogelijk maken van knippen en plakken op de iPhone? :)
Awesome, bought it, love it, and it works better than expected. Video quality not amazing, but w/e!
It’s crap, but its fun crap!
Hmmmm….audio and video don’t seem super synced. May be bad enough that it’s not worth using, not sure yet. Good catch though!
Makes me wonder why 12 Seconds didn’t try for a more video-like app for 2G/3G in the first place.
So, this has got to be just taking snapshots as fast as it can and recording audio, right?
At least they finally gave the early adopters video capabilities.
Hmm, te jail broken apps work much better.
RT
http://www.total-privacy.es.tc
USTREAM Broadcaster app works just fine on my 2g phone. You can record to the phone or live broadcast it. Like any digital video camera, it works best in good lighting (outside). Interior shots are prone to blur if the subject is moving at all.
@heavygiant
http://smart-hand.appspot.com
Eigenlijk best leuk 3fps, houwe zo
THREE FRAMES PER SECOND?
I can use regular ol’ Camera for that.
Why it only does a low res 3 FPS:
Because these apps are hooking into the API in the iPhone that shows the still camera preview display and recording that.
Just jailbreak the thing and you can get real video, at a much higher quality. FPS is still a bit limited, but 15 > 3.
Thanks for the update re 2G Kevin.