Sanyo upgrades pocket HD camera

POSSIBLY MY FAVORITE gizmo from last year's CES was the Sanyo Xacti HD1. This year, Sanyo announced the successor, the Xacti VPC-HD2 and I want one.

As you can clearly see, it is pretty much the exact same body as the last version, if there are any changes you would not notice them unless you had them side by side. The real upgrades are under the skin. The sensor is upgraded, the HD version will now take 7.1MP still photos in addition to 720p HD movies. This is a huge change from the lower rez stills on the HD1.

It is also claimed to work in three-quarters of the light necessary to illuminate its predecessor, so the versatility is increased quite a bit. Sanyo upgraded the screen too. It is brighter and faster. On top of it all, it now accepts SD-HC cards for up to 8GB of storage. At 21min/GB, this means you can store several hours on a SD card.

The docking station was not left alone either, Sanyo put HDMI onto it so you can play directly to a screen from the camera. Other new accessories include a holster case that looks to actually be functional instead of the usual awkward fashion accessory.

While it may not look like much, this is a big upgrade for the Xacti VPC line. The devil is in the detail and Sanyo got them right the first time. Now it is making them even better. µ