New Wrist Camera Watches featuring 25,000 pixel color CMOS sensor added to the Casio Wrist Technology Line-up

LAS VEGAS, NV, June 1, 2001—Casio, Inc., Dover, N.J., in conjunction with its parent company, Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, announced today at the JCK Show in Las Vegas, NV, two new wrist camera watches that can transfer images to a PC in full color. The new WQV3D-8 (metal band) and the WQV3-1 (resin band) will be added to the Casio Wrist Technology line-up, which include wrist-type wearable digital cameras, global positioning watches and wrist remote watches.

The new WQV3D-8 ($269 suggested retail – metal band) and WQV3-1 ($249 suggested retail – resin band) Wrist Camera models will be available in September. A new 25,000-pixel color CMOS sensor makes it possible to capture up to 80 full digital images that can be transferred to a computer, displayed in full color, or e-mailed to friends or family on the web.

The first Casio Wrist Camera watch hit the market in September 2000, packing a CMOS monochrome image sensor into a super compact and lightweight configuration. Its ability to snap monochrome digital images any place and anytime, made the Wrist Camera watch a popular hit the world over. Since then, there has been a demand for a new version capable of recording images in color.

"Casio remains firmly committed to the expansion of "Wrist Technology" timepieces and the new Wrist Camera watches are an integral part of this expansion, " said John Clough, executive vice president of Casio, Inc.’s Timepiece Division. He said that digital images are an important part of our daily lives, and future plans call for the development of new models and services provided over the Internet. "Casio has been a leader in introducing new technology into the digital watch category and will continue to develop unique, user friendly watches that do more than just tell time," continued Clough.

A built-in 16-grayscale monochrome LCD panel acts as both the viewfinder and an on-the-spot playback monitor. Enough memory capacity is provided to store up to 80 images and infrared data communication. These Wrist Camera watches also feature 5 alarms which can be set up to display a specific digital image when each alarm time is reached. Images can be transferred to a computer and viewed by using the Wrist Camera internal software which enables the image to be viewed in 16.77 million colors on your PC. A library of images can be stored onto your desktop, transferred back to a Wrist Camera, or e-mailed to friends.

Main Features

Wrist-type wearable color digital camera
The super compact, lightweight configuration of the Casio Wrist Camera means it is always on your wrist, whenever that magic moment presents itself. You can send images to your friends, family, and colleagues, opening up a totally new world of digital communication.

25,000-pixel color CMOS sensor
Color image recording is made possible by a 25,000-pixel (144 x 176 pixels) color CMOS sensor. You can use IR data communication to transfer images to a computer where you can display them using 16.77 million colors.

16-grayscale monochrome STN LCD monitor screen
The 120 x 120-dot LCD serves as a viewfinder when recording images and as a monitor screen for on-the-spot viewing of images.

Image data transfer with a personal computer
The Wrist Camera comes complete with infrared data communication capabilities. Simply connect the IR adapter to your computer and install the bundled link software and you can transfer images to your computer for editing, touch up, and long-term storage. When necessary, you can transfer images back to the Wrist Camera. You can even use Wrist Camera images to create your own, original screen saver.

Image exchange with another Wrist Camera
Images can be transferred between two Wrist Cameras quickly and easily using IR data exchange.

Memory storage for up to 80 images
1MB of built-in memory provides enough storage for up to 80 images (JPEG compressed). Images can be recorded and deleted as many times as you want. An Auto Date feature automatically records the date (year, month, day) and time (hour, minutes) you record the image along with the image data.

Visual Data Bank for storage of phone numbers with portraits
After you record an image you can input up to 24 characters (12 characters in the upper line, 12 characters in the lower line) of memo text. A simple operation inputs alpha characters or numbers, so you can record a person’s portrait and then input their name and telephone number. A Thumbnail Screen allows display of up to 16 images on a single screen.

User-friendly features and functions

• An Auto Power Save feature automatically turns power off whenever it detects that the Wrist Camera is not being worn on the wrist, which minimizes battery consumption.
• The press of a button records an image (except in the Visual Databank Mode orCommunication Mode), which means that recording is quick and easy.
• Three recording modes (OUT, IN, DUSK) let you instantly configure the Wrist Camera to suit current shooting conditions.
• A Record Timer allows you select either two seconds or 10 seconds before the shutter is released.