SEEK THERMAL unveils $199 thermal camera for android phones

[jeff5may]

Seek Thermal has begun shipping these units at $199, and they actually work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbbkvwJRwxs

Buy one here:

Seek Thermal Camera Android

Check out the seek:

Hands-On With The $199 Seek Thermal Smartphone Infrared Camera (Yes, Really Actually): This Is Amazing

This product has put to death a good amount of start-up companies attempting to realize the same type of product. They are just too doggone cheap for others to compete with.

To wit: a recent post by John McGrath, the man behind the mu-optics camera:

"Hello everyone,

Our apologies for the silence of late. Most of you have heard about Seek Thermal's entry into the market. Needless to say, it's quite the game changer. We've been working towards a response to this new market reality.

The arrival into the market of a camera with higher resolution than the sensors available to us and a sell price well below our cost of goods, with thirty million in the bank as a result of a patent settlement with FLIR and backed by companies such as Raytheon and Freescale Semiconductor has left us very challenged in bringing our camera to market. While it is true that Mu Optics has a number of residual advantages; with WiFi and transferring all the thermal data with the stills and videos being the main ones: it is still a Herculean task for us to get to market given this well-funded competitor.

Regretfully, just as our camera was ready for production, we're now finding it impossible to obtain financing for production. Financing for production has effectively vaporized as venture capital looks at the new competitive landscape and question wether we can be profitable and competitive. I understand their concerns; despite all recent efforts to redesign the camera utilizing more cost effective components (the most difficult item has been in further in reducing our costs has been the microbolometer), we still can't get our cost to manufacture a camera below $210. At that cost we believe that we would be competitive with FLIR's offerings. However, with mark-up, we're well above the retail cost of Seek Thermal's camera. Their strategy; that of minimal feature-set/ minimal cost/ high volume which has sent shockwaves through the industry.

I can't confirm when, or if, we'll make it to production. It would only be fair to say that, baring a miracle, that we are shutting down operations.

Despite the opinion of a handful of naysayers, our intent has always been earnest. We just didn't see Seek Thermal waiting in the wings, operating in stealth mode right up till their market entry. Our lack of communications was simply my paranoid belief that others were coming and I refused to share information about our camera that I believed to be detrimental to our timing into the market and the proprietary design of our camera. I never anticipated someone so deeply funded entering the market. I admit to mistakes along the way, without which we may have gotten to market quicker, and grab some market share before having to deal with Seek. "

If you've got to have one to play with, I would hurry up and get one in my hands now. Seek has seemed to have cornered the bottom end of the market with this product, so who knows what will happen after they sell out? As with most bleeding-edge products, they may up the price if people like them. Then again, the products may not perform well over the long term. But for a product priced so low, it may very well be worth the risk.

Either way, I'd sure love to get one for Christmas this year!