General Imaging, “the worldwide exclusive licensee for GE-branded digital cameras”—that debuted at this year’s PMA convention—signed a contract with Sears and Kmart to be the first retailers to carry the digital cameras, hitting stores this holiday weekend. As a bonus, the stores will get the cameras in some exclusive colors. Yay colors.
Both retailers are getting the entry-level A730 (MSRP: $129.99) in black, while Sears will sell the slightly better A830 ($149.99) in white and the ultra-compact G1 ($199.99) in navy. You’ll be able to pick up an A830 in blue exclusively in Kmart stores.
Here’s the thing: I had a chance to play with these back at PMA and while I was impressed with the designs (very stylish and oh so shiny), once I picked them up, they felt like toys. No weight to them at all. Normally this would be a good thing, but I—like many people—equate solidity and weight with quality. And this of course speaks nothing of their image quality; I have no idea what that’s like.
Of all the ones that are going up for sale, the G1 (above) seems mostly likely to succeed. In a market flooded with budget cameras from established names, General Imaging/GE has to use price and style to differentiate its cameras on the shelf. The G1 is an attractive, slim and reasonably priced 7-megapixel camera.