Coby Enters Camcorder Market

Bad economy got you down? Well, Coby is counting on it. The low cost electronics maker is about to introduce their first camcorder products with bottom basement prices.

They're said to have three new models due at the end of July. The top-of-the-line (if you will) is the CAM5000 SnappHD. It records 720p HD video at 30fps, a 4x digital zoom, a 2-inch LCD, and 128MB of internal memory with an SD/SDHC card slot for adding capacity. At $100, it's considerably less expensive than products from Pure Digital and Kodak, but that price is a bit deceiving. The 128MB worth of internal memory won't store more than a few seconds of HD video so you'll have to buy a memory card as well.

Rounding out the trio is the $60 CAM4000 with VGA resolution, a 2.4-inch LCD and 32MB of internal memory with an SD/SDHC card slot. The CAM3000 is another VGA camcorder with a 4x digital zoom and 32MB of internal memory. With a price tag of $40, this seems better suited as a gift for a teenager rather than a camcorder you'd bring with you on your European vacation.