HTC planning sucessor to the RE camera for 2015

HTC’s odd looking little RE camera may have not long landed on consumer shelves in the US, but a successor is already in the works. Jack Tong, president of HTCNorth Asia, has stated that a next generation RE will go on sale at some point next year, although an exact date was not announced.

Details regarding improvements or new features for the second generation camera have not been given. However, HTCstates that it wants the action camera to become a standalone product line. One that can compete on its own in the mass consumer market, rather than being targeted as a smartphone accessory.

If you missed it, the current RE is a small hand-held shooter with a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, designed to accompany your smartphone, although it can work as a standalone camera too. It can capture full HD, slow-motion, and time lapse video with its 146 degree wide angle lens.

The original RE action camera is set to go on sale in Taiwan for NT$5,990 (US$193) on Wednesday. HTCestimates that it will sell around 400,000 units in Taiwan, which works out to 5 percent of current smartphone owners. The company considers this quite a low threshold, but it hasn’t released any US sales figures for us to judge potential demand by.

HTC’s RE is an interesting gambit designed to help the company diversify away from the increasingly price competitive smartphone market. The RE may be a little pricey, but we still quite like it.