JVC's initial Picsio minicamcorder offering, the GC-FM1, was fairly weak and with so many other options available to consumers, it left us wondering "why bother?" Well, JVC's back with two new models that are at the very least competitive with those from Kodak, Flip, Sony, Sanyo, and Samsung. One of them is even waterproof to 10 feet.
The GC-WP10 features a 3-inch touch screen (JVC claims it can be used with gloves on, too); records at four resolutions including 1,080p at 30 frames per second and 720p at 60 fps; captures 5-megapixel stills; has electronic image stabilization and a 4x digital zoom; stores to SD/SDHC/SDXC cards and supports Eye-Fi SD cards for wireless transfers to a computer; and built-in stereo mic, Mini-HDMI port, and headphone jack. Video is recorded in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, photos in JPEG, and it can be used to capture stereo audio in MP3.
The GC-FM2 shares many of the WP10's specs, but isn't waterproof, doesn't have a stereo mic with MP3 recording, and there's no headphone output. However, it does have a built-in USB connector, which is missing from the WP10 (likely because of size and waterproofing requirements). Both do have new embedded sharing software, though. We hope it's better than what was on the FM1.
The JVC Picsio GC-FM2 will be available in early September for $179.95. The JVC Picsio GC-WP10 will be available in late September for $199.95. Assuming they're sold for $10-$20 less than those prices, they'll be competitively priced. Hit JVC's site for more specs and a selection of silly product marketing videos.