Best Inventions 2005: Focus Points

DENNIS GALANTE FOR TIME

Cheap Movies
Inventor: Pure Digital Technologies
Availability: Now, at CVS and Rite Aid; $30 plus $13 for processing
Now you can immortalize special moments without hauling out the heavy hardware. The One-Time-Use Video Camcorder is compact and easy to handle, with enough bells and whistles to give you your money's worth—like the bright 1.4-in. LCD color screen and the playback button that lets you view the last bit you captured and delete it if it's rubbish. The casing is sturdy for a throwaway; the sound and video quality are perfectly acceptable (if a tad grainy at times). Once you have shot the full 20 minutes, you return the device to the store to have the footage burned to a DVD. The camera is then recycled.
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