Snap's camera-equipped Spectacles arrive in Europe

PanARMENIAN.Net - Snap defines itself as a camera company. The creators of the widely copied, disappearing content app Snapchat says it is trying to reinvent how the camera works.

To succeed, it needs to build on its Stories format and accompanying augmented reality lenses. The company's first step into camera hardware started last year when it launched video-recording Spectacles in the US.

Snap has now decided it's time to bring the sunglasses to other countries. Through its Snapbots (bright yellow vending machines) the firm has made the glasses available in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Venice, Wired reports.

In London the first Snapbot – more will be added over the Summer – has appeared at the London Eye and is dispensing the £129.99 spectacles. As well as being available at the central London location, the glasses can also be purchased online.

The vending machine will move around, with Snapchat saying they typically stay in one place for a day at a time and the next location will be teased online.

The Spectacles, which were launched in September 2016, have a built-in video camera that records footage in a circular format. This video footage can then be shared with friends on the social network.

Around the time of their launch, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said the sunglasses were intended to be a "toy" and to be a bit of "fun". The company's quarterly earnings indicate it has sold around 90,000 pairs.

Available in blue, red, or black, the glasses start recording when a button on the top left-hand corner is pressed. With a single press of the button, ten seconds of video is recorded but a second tap will allow 30 seconds of footage to be stored. To alert people surrounding you to the potential privacy minefield of recording video, lights on the outside and inside of the device are switched on.

Once captured, video can then be transferred to the Snapchat app via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on an iPhone and just Wi-Fi for Android devices. When the firm launched the glasses it said the "circular video plays full screen on any device, in any orientation". The sunglasses have an 115-degree field of view.

Within the Snapchat app, the video will be stored in the 'Memories' section until you decide to delete it, and videos can be accessed by swiping up from the camera view. The videos captured from the glasses can also be edited, if you need to remove any wobbly footage.

Snap says those people buying the Spectacles from the vending machines will be able to virtually try on the glasses, using the machine's inbuilt video camera.