SMALL is the way to go and the latest product to capture attention is the i-Ball, a nifty made-in-Singapore video camera, which is only as wide as a 50-cent coin.
Going on sale today, it makes filming much easier and more imperceptible.
Its size and features could lend the device extremely well to meeting various lifestyle and security needs, although it has sparked concerns about its potential for abuse.
The 50g product is made by home-grown company Trek 2000, which invented the thumbdrive in 1999.
The 2-megapixel video camera, which costs $119, can wirelessly stream live videos it records, with audio, to a computer or smartphone at a distance of up to 20m away.
As many as seven computers or phones can be connected to one i-Ball to receive video signals from it.
It has battery life of 11/2 hours and supports only video recording on computers, for now. There are plans to release iPhone, Symbian and Windows Phone 7 video-recording apps.
Mr James Aruldoss, president of the Association of Certified Security Agencies, said that if the i-Ball really works, "I can see a lot of social and privacy issues with it, but there could be positive security spin-offs".
Mr James Loh, owner of private investigations firm SG Investigators, also saw the benefits of the i-Ball but cautioned that it could be misused, as it can record videos from a distance and can be easily concealed.
Instead, he sees it as a fun and portable gizmo for youth and young adults to take videos without needing line of sight of what they wish to record.
Furthermore, he believes the i-Ball can be very handy as a security tool. He said several security firms have approached Trek 2000 to evaluate how the gadget could complement their security surveillance work.
Mr Loh of SG Investigators, who also has eight years of security experience, said the i-Ball can be useful for private investigators in garnering audio-visual evidence.
Also, if it could function continuously by plugging to a power supply, the device could be a boon to a security guard who can scan several more areas. "It saves on manpower," he said.
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