Memoto asks: Why carry a camera when you can just wear one?

 

 

The Swedish company Memoto has ingeniously come up with a way to avoid those nasty fingerprints on LCDs, the need for pupil-shrinking covers and skins and -- most importantly of all -- anticipating the right moment to snap the shutter.

The no-hands Memoto wearable camera automatically "captures every moment of your life in photo keyframes." You can review your day any time on the company's Web service or using its mobile app.

The camera is about the size of a postage stamp and hangs onto to your clothing with a small stainless steel clip. It includes a GPS radio and an accelerometer so it knows where it is and whether you're still moving in an upright position.

That's all it needs to deliver the goods:

• Automatic photo capture every 30 seconds
• Five-megapixel resolution images
• Log GPS position and timestamp
• Built-in rechargeable battery which lasts up to two days
• LED battery life indicator
• Micro-USB port for charging and connecting to computer
• Built-in accelerometer ensures that pictures are correctly oriented regardless of how it's worn
• 36x36x9mm dimensions

Memoto CEO Martin Källström explains, "With Memoto, you can effortlessly travel back in time to that moment when you met the love of your life, the day your daughter took her first step, or that night you laughed the night away with friends."

But you'll have to wait until "early 2013" to, um, get your hands on one. By then, Källström said, the little camera than doesn't blink will be available in graphite gray, arctic white or memoto orange for $279. If you want to invest, there's a Kickstarter project that will give you a camera with a year's subscription to the Web service for $199.