Japanese electronics maker Casio said on Wednesday it will launch a series of digital cameras specially designed for YouTube, the blockbuster video-sharing website.
The new Exilim series has four models, all installed with a function to shoot and save videos in the best form to upload on YouTube, the company said.
Casio is one of six Japanese companies that are forming partnerships with the internet site, which enjoys a rapidly growing fan base but has repeatedly locked horns with copyright holders.
”We have improved the video-filming function of our digital cameras since 2005, but unfortunately such functions were always considered to be something extra,” said Casio spokesperson Nobutaka Ishii.
”Unlike video cameras, which are used to take longer footage, digital cameras are useful to take shorter snap videos,” he said. ”We believe YouTube is a good tool to expand the ways in which people enjoy the videos they take.”
Casio plans to launch the YouTube-compatible series on September 14, which will be followed by more models until next month, the company said.
YouTube, launched a little more than two years ago after a dinner-party chat by young founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, has seen phenomenal growth with websites designed for many countries including Japan.
United States internet giant Google, which owns YouTube, said last month it was tying up with Japanese firms including Casio, satellite broadcaster Sky PerfecTV and quickly growing social networking service Mixi. — Sapa-AFP