RCA intros Lyra, Small Wonder cam, Wi-Fi radio

RCA has finished the week with three new devices all meant to modernize the company's line. The Lyra name is being revived with the Lyra Slider, a basic portable media player that uses the same concept as behind slider phones to shrink the size of the device without sacrificing controls. The black and chrome look improves on earlier designs and is matched by a handful of extras that include FM radio and voice recording. RCA is counting on pricing as it ships 4GB and 8GB versions later in the fall for $80 and $100 respectively.

Continuing a more recent series, the Small Wonder EZ300HD is RCA's first HD pocket camcorder and records widescreen 720p video in H.264 that both fits as much as an hour of full-resolution video into the built-in 2GB of storage and simplifies editing and uploading for Macs and YouTube users. It accordingly comes with its own built-in file manager software that can bypass the computer almost entirely to post raw YouTube clips, and optionally shoots in a YouTube-native resolution that extends the maximum storage to six hours of video.

The camera is also slightly unique among ultra-simple cameras in its use of a swivel-out viewfinder and the addition of an SDHC card slot that supports up to 16GB of storage (eight hours) of extra HD footage. RCA also expects a fall ship date and will offer the EZ300HD for $160.

Last on tap is the Infinite Radio, also known as the RIR205. The countertop radio earns its name through support both for usual AM/FM broadcasts as well as direct Internet streaming over Wi-Fi from a catalog of "thousands" of stations. RCA has also struck a deal to receive Slacker's channels over its free service and lets users tag songs to remember song preferences and customize the stream, which is cached on 512MB of built-in memory. WeatherBug radio is also special to the radio, which will be ready soon for $150.

Filed under: gadgets, digital imaging, audio
Other story tags: RCA, Lyra, Small Wonder, Infinite Radio