The N86 and the Future of Multimedia Storytelling

The biggest challenge of multimedia storytelling is recording student productions and publishing them to the web as efficiently as possible. Efficiently means fast and half of fast means having the right tools. The other half of fast relates to attitude and skill sets, but more about that on another blog.

Nokia has a new cell phone the N86. It is a minor case of déjà vu, as I recently wrote about the JVC GY-HM100U and Canon 5D Mark II. The N86 caught my attention for a similar reason – convergence. The Canon is an SLRD that records HD video while the JVC is an inexpensive professional video camera that records in a codex native to Final Cut Pro providing ease of editing. I won’t belabour the benefits of these products here, but they point the way to a future where professional quality multimedia video is available at a fraction of the current cost and in a pocket sized package. Nokia’s N86 continues the line of technological evolution. What makes the N86 special is its high quality 8 mp camera (with a Carl Zeiss lens). It has been described as a camera with a cell phone attached. It also captures 640×480 video at 30 frames per second, not good enough for the big screen but fine for the internet. With its ability to record audio and some text, it is a powerful multimedia tool the size of a chocolate bar, all for under $500. And the N86 can directly upload content to the internet wherever you are.

There are similar emerging products like the N86 and together they provide a glimpse of the possibilities for multimedia storytelling in the very foreseeable future. Yes I think I have seen the future of multimedia. Now, if I could only do something really useful and see the future of the stock market!