Sanyo officially joined the Panasonic group as of December 21st, 2009. This decision was “due to the rapid decline of the global economy,” according to Sanyo North America president Masami Murata. “This alliance will maximize and optimize Sanyo’s corporate value and will open the way for our company to realize further business development.” Sanyo will maintain its listing of common stock, the “SANYO” brand name, and its business identity.
Sanyo North America has a consumer solutions division, which develops Eneloop rechargeable batteries, sound recorders, Xacti camcorders, and various other consumer electronics devices.
New Xacti “Dual Cameras”
Sanyo is targeting a market that sits in between conventional camcorders and pocket camcorders. It’s focusing on flash-based camcorders that shoot high definition video. Sanyo actually produced the first flash memory camcorder in 2003 and the first HD flash memory camcorder in 2006. In 2009 it released the first full HD 1080p camcorder that shoots at 60 frames per second.
This year it’s announcing a pair of full HD flash memory camcorders – the VPC-CS1 and the VPC-SH1 (shown below).
VPC-CS1: $300 MSRP, available in February
Looks really nice. Very thin but still features a flip-out LCD and full HD recording (1920×1080). Will feature compatibility with Apple’s iFrame video format.
- 1.06” thick
- “Smallest, lightest full HD camcorder with optical zoom” – 10x optical zoom
- Sound zoom feature for positional sound recording
- MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec
- Eye-Fi compatibility – camera automatically recognizes Eye-Fi cards
VPC-SH1: $400 MSRP, available in February
Small, full HD recording with 30x optical zoom. Features a 35mm wide-angle lens and takes 10-megapixel still photos. Also compatible with Apple’s iFrame video format.
- 1920×1080 (60i)
- 35mm wide-angle lens for photos (10 megapixel) and videos
- Available in black and red
- Top-mounted record button (located above lens), along with standard record button on back
- Sound zoom feature for positional sound recording
- MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec
- Eye-Fi compatibility – camera automatically recognizes Eye-Fi cards
ICR-XPS01 Sound Recorder: Starting at $150, available in March
Linear PCM and MP3 recording. Doubles as an MP3 player, too, with playlist functionality.
- 2GB microSD card included
- Background noise reduction
- FM tuner
There’s a $200 kit available that includes the sound recorder and includes a cradle with built-in 2W speakers.
