RE camera by HTC - First look

RE and my trusty all weather Lumix DMC-FT5

I read about this product name RE by HTC at the usual electronic sites like Engadget and Gizmodo sometime last year.  It reminded me of an asthma inhaler and also the archetype form of the SAF L torch. Seriously. Have a look. 

This what we use in the Army 

This is what you use when u have asthma

I laughed it off and felt the company was trying too hard to come up with another innovative product esp. with their dismal performance in the smartphone space. 
OMFG... What the hell were they thinking? 

RE in this smarty stylo packaging

And then during the Dec holidays in Taiwan, I got a first hand experience of seeing this device in action by Marcus. It was quite a nice camera. 

Mega wife by Marcus using RE during our Taiwan Dec Trip

Now, it's not going to replace ur DSLR and point and shoot camera but will complement it. What I thought had worked very well was how fast you can draw it out and take the image. Take in very different angles, low down on the ground or above the head.  A selfie, Wefie, taking your breakfast or just some random spot/moment u like to capture. 
The diminutive size is really an asset. Its definitely fit the gap between GoPro and a small fast compact. I also like it because the battery life is a lot longer than Gopro and its weatherproof as a default. 
I have not had time to try this in detail but this is how it looks as I took it out from the packaging.  

This is what you get. The camera, Mini USB cable, Lanyard and a plastic cap to screw lanyard... and instruction manual

Looks simple enough

Here's some additional shots. 
I had some fuzzing around to connect to my iPhone but not too tough to make it work. More in depth feedback in the coming weeks. 
If you can't wait, do check out Desmond photos taken in our sunday Lovecyclingsg ride.