Teleport is a budget, clip-on camera that you connect to your smartphone to record stereoscopic 3D virtual reality video. And the device's Indiegogo campaign blew past its (modest) goal of $10,000 in its first five days.
That's probably because the company behind it, Autonomous, just dropped an awesome Cyber Monday deal that gets you the VR camera, a Teleport headset, and a Cardboard VR viewer for just $49. The deal lasts all this week and there's still over 100 left to claim at that price. Once it runs out, the price of the camera rises to $89, still pretty cheap.
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The camera is a thin, long device that looks about as big as a breadstick. It features two 720p lens modules set far enough apart to reproduce the familiar stereoscopic video of virtual reality.
Considering how sparse the technical details are on this device, the Teleport is selling incredibly well. Probably because that price is so low for people to take a punt.
We spoke with Justin Lucas, a director at Autonomous, to get a better understanding of how the camera works.
Users clip the camera to the backside of a smartphone. Then, using the included microUSB cable (not pictured), connect the camera to the smartphone. Open the companion app and then, boom - record the world around you in stereoscopy.
The company decided to go with direct USB connection instead of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth because of bandwidth issues. The good news is that getting videos onto your smartphone will be faster. Unfortunately, this means that the camera won't be able to play nice with iOS. It's Android only.
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You can view content created with the Teleport VR camera on any smartphone and you'll be able to watch videos using any virtual reality viewer or headset.
If you don't already own a VR viewer, you can get one with the Cyber Monday sale pack, which includes the Teleport VR camera, a full VR headset compatible with smartphones, plus a basic cardboard VR viewer similar to Google's original model. All three products normally cost about $130 in total, but are on sale for only $49 through the end of this week.
The campaign still has nearly two months to go on Indiegogo. The first 200 backers will (hopefully) get their cameras before Christmas as shipping is set for December 2015. However, the rest of the backers will have to wait until January 2016.
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