HTC Re camera pulls the focus away from smartphones (hands-on)

What were you expecting, a smartwatch?

To go along with its announcement of the selfie-centered Desire Eye smartphone, HTC is taking one of its first steps to becoming more than just a smartphone maker with the Re.

The little periscope-shaped camera (right-angle flashlight and asthma inhaler are also suitable) is designed so that you stop watching and recording life through your smartphone's screen and get in on the experience instead.

At the business end you have an f2.8 lens with an ultrawide 146-degree angle of view with a 1/2.3-inch 16-megapixel CMOS sensor behind it. That sensor is bigger than what you'd find in most smartphones, but average for point-and-shoot cameras and most POV/action cams.

HTC Re: Hands-on with the quirky, connected camera (pictures)

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The vertical tube that bends down from the lens barrel gives you something easy and stable to hold onto unlike trying to shoot with your phone. Your thumb falls naturally on the bend where there is a big shutter release/record button.

Press it once and it captures a 16-megapixel photo (12-megapixel if you opt for a 16:9 format). Press and hold for a couple seconds and it starts recording video at 1080p or 720p at 30 frames per second. Another button in the crook under the lens lets you drop into a slow-motion mode capturing 720p video at 96fps.

Perhaps the coolest part about the Re's design is what's missing, though: a power button.

The body has capacitive touch sensors built into it, so the camera turns on as soon as you pick it up. And really that's one of the biggest advantages to grabbing the Re instead of your phone. There is no unlocking or launching of apps; you just pick it up and press the shutter.

There is no screen, so you'll have to get used to framing shots without one, which is actually easier than it sounds given the wide-angle lens. Still, if you want to see what you're shooting, you can wirelessly connect the Re to your smartphone.

The Re connects to your smartphone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Launch the Re app (which will be available for Android and iOS later this year) and it initiates the connection process via Wi-Fi. Once connected you can control the camera, view and transfer content and change settings. With the app you can also activate a time-lapse mode so you can take a series of photos over a period of time (you set the frequency and length of time) and turn them into a movie.

When the camera is not in use, but still in range of your phone, Bluetooth is used as a low-power way to keep a connection between it and the Re.

As for mounting options, there's a standard 1/4-20 tripod mount on the bottom so really no problems there. However, an HTC representative I spoke with said while there won't be a large ecosystem of mounts available at launch, there will be a few such as a bike handlebar mount specifically designed for the Re.

Along with the tripod mount on the bottom you'll find a Micro-USB port and a microSD card slot for storage. An 8GB card is included, but the camera supports cards up to 128GB.

Though HTC pitches the Re more as a lifestyle cam like Polaroid's Cube than a rugged action cam for extreme sports, the body is waterproof to 1 meter (3.3 feet) for up to 30 minutes without an additional housing.

That means capturing that time-lapse of a passing thunderstorm or a splash in the pool should be no problem. There will also be a rubber cap that screws into its tripod mount, allowing you to dive even deeper with it.

According to HTC, battery life is about an hour and a half for 1080p video capture and more than 1,000 stills. That's probably not while using Wi-Fi, but the idea is that you take it out of your pocket, shoot a short clip or snap a couple photos and move on.

The HTC Re camera will be coming to the US first in late October/early November and the UK in November. It'll cost $199 and somewhere around £160-£170 in the UK. Pricing and availability is unknown for Australia, but the price converts to about AU$226.