GE finally decided to get in on this whole "digital imaging" thing that the kids are all talking about, and bring out a whole line of consumer point-and-shoots. First announced last month, the cameras all have the whiz-bang features that one would expect, like image stabilization, face recognition, up to 12MP sensors and big bright LCDs on the back. The shocking thing about them is that they don't seem to really bring anything new to the table, besides the GE logo. They aren't really fast on the bootup; they're not bulky, but they're not the smallest cameras in the world, either.

What is the point of entering an already-saturated market with a product that fails to astound or even impress? Unless those image sensors are doing something really special, GE will have to work hard to sell these. Oh, and they had a little lunchbox-style 4x6 printer, which also seems adequate. The only word on pricing they'd give us is they'll be "competitive." See cams and printer, with specs for each, in the gallery below. – Curtis Joe Walker

8:48 AM on Fri Mar 9 2007
By Charlie White
1,463 views
8 comments

Comments

rbf2000 at 09:04 AM on 03/09/07
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Aren't these cameras being manufacturered by somebody else and just being rebranded to GE?
med at 09:15 AM on 03/09/07
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let me be the first to say

*gag*

I agree with the post, nothing special, and no reason to enter such a saturated market just for the sake of introducing a new brand.
med at 09:17 AM on 03/09/07
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smells kind of like samsung or olympus though...
CafeRacer1200 at 09:28 AM on 03/09/07
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"GE. We bring the good things of yesterday to life."
911 at 09:35 AM on 03/09/07
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aww this is so they can be recognized as digital electronics purveyors, instead of just icebox makers. Must mean they are on to something bigger and better down the line.
Bauhaus at 10:20 AM on 03/09/07
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@jcase757: Here's the full story, from Business Week:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2007/tc2...
I assumed that Thomson Consumer Electronics (which builds GE and RCA televisions) was behind this, but apparently GE's backing some other company.
middy at 11:13 AM on 03/09/07
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More competitors in a saturated market = more innovation and lower prices. So maybe it bruises your poor little anti-bourgeois aesthetic sensibilities. Get over it. Don't want a GE camera? Pretend they don't exist.
Mike Panic at 11:07 AM on 03/10/07
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Who would have thought that the calculator and watch company of Casio would have a force in the digital camera market 5 years ago, today they do. Anything is possible, however I am starting to wonder where the bottom is. If you look hard enough you can find a decent 7mp p&s with your now standard 3x or 4x optical zoom for under $200 and a 2gb SD card for under $30. The LCD screens are as big as they are going to get, there is barely any room on a camera to hold it anymore and they are about as thin as one could hope to get them.

Image stabilization is coming to more p&s cameras as well as higher iso with better noise reduction but something else is going to be needed to push this segment of the industry forward. As it stands, there are too many 6-8mp 3-5x point and shoots that don't offer anything unique, the only ones that really stand out are the Olympus model that is waterproof to 10' and drop resistent and a few of the larger p&s cameras offered by Kodak and Canon with 10-12x optical zooms.