360 Camera News and Info

Cameo360: a 4K camera that is a rebadged Nico360?

This is the Cameo360, a 360 camera, claimed to be the world’s smallest dual lens 4K 360 camera.  The specs look nice enough but the astonishing thing is how similar it is to a previous crowdfunded camera called the Nico360.  What’s going on?!?

The Cameo360 is a 360 camera that is supposedly the world’s smallest dual lens 4K 360 camera.  Its features include:
– 4K video
– 24mp photo resolution
– in-camera stitching
– water resistant case
– live streaming
– electronic stabilization

Here is a video about it:

The Cameo360 is on Kickstarter here for an early bird pricing of $175 compared to a planned MSRP of $269 (ending on April 20).  Delivery is promised for August 2017.

The strange thing is that the Cameo360 looks a lot like the Nico360.

The Nico360 also offered identical specifications:

– 1440p video (later upgraded to 4K video when they hit a stretch goal).
– 24mp photo resolution
– in-camera stitching
– water resistant case
– live streaming
– electronic stabilization

Here are the two cameras side by side:

And here’s a photo of the factory for Cameo360:

And here’s a photo of the factory for Nico360 posted in an update here:

So what’s really going on?

I don’t know, so from this point it’s just my speculation:

1.  Paying it backward.
Nico360 has been delayed.  Originally promised for October, it seems like it will still take a while longer to be produced.

Meanwhile, one difference between the two cameras is the price.  The Nico360 was originally offered at $99 whereas the Cameo360 is offered at $175 early bird pricing.  That price difference MAY mean that Nico360 figured out that the price it offered is too low so it needs to sell more units at a higher price to fund the cameras promised to the Nico360 crowdfunding campaign.

This is similar to what’s going on with Panono, where they are selling units now at around $2,000, even though they haven’t delivered all the cameras promised to their crowdfunding backers at under $600 (as long ago as 2013).  Their plan is to use the funds from the new buyers (at a higher price) to fund production for the crowdfunded units (as well as the retail-ordered units).

2.  Licensing deal: Another possibility is that Nico360 is licensing their camera to Cameo360 in order to generate additional funds.

3.  Subterfuge: Yet another possibility is that the Nico360 factory is selling the design to Cameo360 without Nico360’s authorization.

4. Rebranded: Another possibility is that Nico360’s design wasn’t novel and there was already an existing camera that they simply branded as their own, and Cameo360 is also doing the same.

Anyhow, like I said I’m just speculating.  How about you?  What do you think is going on?  Post your thoughts in the comments!

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Mic Ty

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  • The answer is no 3 – subterfuge!

    Perhaps show this to Nico and see what they say. I did some work for an importer from China who said they could go to a factory in China and make an order. That order might not even get made at the factory and it might not even have the specs or look like what they ordered. But they have to pay it all in advance. The interpreter, is actually a middle man, not just interpreting.

  • Hi Mic Ty,

    We would like to address your comments and speculation. First, CAMEO360 is a completely separate company from Nico. Second, you made good educated speculations, and many of those strategies help on cutting cost and time with R&D and development. Allow our team to address your speculation and hopefully there will be no mix messages.

    The features for CAMEO360 and final design will be different from Nico. There will be many different features that will ONLY be offered with the pairing of the CAMEO360 and the Flicksee App. The Flicksee App is a new social media platform that will have the unique features for the CAMEO360 that raises the benchmark of content creation, sharing, and convenience.

    It is very unfortunate many creators focus heavily on development and many fail to balance development, customer relation, and prompt delivery time which result in loss of confidence from many early backers and future backers. We would like to change that perspective and we are happy to share that we are ahead of schedule of both the development of the Flicksee App and the features only available for the CAMEO360. We worked together with Primesom the makers of Nico from the inception of the design stage. The Primesom team carry the same ideas to develop something unique, simple, and convenient that is similar to what we wanted to achieve. Feel free to contact us anytime if there are any questions or comments.

    Best Regards,

    Valerie
    Customer Relations, Flick Labs Team

    • Hi Valerie. Thank you very much for responding to my post and explaining to our readers. I see that you’re in L.A. as well. Can I visit your office to look at the camera?

      Best regards,
      Mic

      • Hi Mic Ty,

        Yes that will not be an issue in the next couple of months when we move to a bigger office where our team will finally be in one roof 🙂 I am glad to clarify to your readers we want to make sure we are transparent, and we want to make sure we are sending the right message to everyone. We do understand we can not make everyone happy, but we will do our best. Our home is in LA and we intend to make an impact in LA.

        Our final design will be done ahead of time in the next 6 to 7 weeks and we will be ready to do final testing in public with our sponsors. We will be reserving a few spots only for exclusive publication to see the Flicksee App and the CAMEO360 in action. We are in Kickstarter as we speak for the next 8 days to get to our goal. Your support will be highly appreciated.

        Your Welcome to send us an email: support@cameocamera.com for details and to keep you in the loop. You are also welcome to reach out to our PR team: Scott email: scott@prmedianow.com or http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/03/prweb14146918.htm. We have also been published published in over 50 publications around the world in 6 different languages. Some of the known publications are International Business Times, Digital Trends, Yahoo Tech, and SlashGear.

        Best Regards,

        Valerie

  • How about an update to this, did you visit them and see the CAMEO360. Has Valerie Customer Relations, Flick Labs Team contacted you to visit. Strange the Nico360 ( Primesom) team have not responded to this. Then again they have not update backers in the last two months on Indiegogo. I think it’s time for future investor’s to buy a 360 camera of the shelf.

  • Roland Nguyen and Phuong (Amelia) Nguyen have been associated with several unfulfilled projects

    THE TIMELINE OF WHAT HAS BEEN UNCOVERED SO FAR

    APRIL 2017

    Roland Nguyen & Amelia Nguyen’s (along with 5 other Creators listed) Cameo360 campaign on Kickstarter is funded by 136 backers for $36,000

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flicksee/cameo360-the-worlds-smallest-dual-lens-360o-4k-cam?fbclid=IwAR11dVz02fYaFSaM1ZHADKsDl71siOVfZRTUhjj-VRpuv12gRiGSVQ3uDfU

    This project remains unfulfilled and the creators have not provided an update since Feb 2018. The campaign bears a strong resemblance to the also unfulfilled project Nico360, which as was confirmed to be an associated project as per Roland’s final Cameo 360 update.

    https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-world-s-smallest-360-camera-nico360#/

    This appears to be in violation of Kickstarter terms and conditions, where projects should be suspended where “The creator is repackaging a previously-created product, without adding anything new or aiming to iterate on the idea in any way.”

    https://help.kickstarter.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005139813-Why-would-a-project-be-suspended-?fbclid=IwAR0zVMpU-wb44KhnYPOTF0u3KqoKrFUSJj_qytAHDxLf7ChURxERWrijE2o

    FEBRUARY 2018

    A campaign associated with Amelia Nguyen on Kickstarter, the Plus+ Jacket, is cancelled on Kickstarter after a backer from the Cameo360 makes the connection between the two projects and warns other backers of the likelihood of a scam.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/751607797/plus-jacket-the-only-3-in-1-jacket-w-smart-pocket-0/comments

    The creators behind the Plus+ project post messages trying to distance themselves from Roland Nguyen (which given Amelia’s continuing association with Roland Nguyen, appear to be false).

    In response Roland posts the final update (#17) on the Cameo360 project, promising refund to all backers.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flicksee/cameo360-the-worlds-smallest-dual-lens-360o-4k-cam/posts/2117991

    Roland posts no further updates to the Cameo360 project, and no backers receive refunds.

    Amelia’s association with the Plus+ Jacket campaign appears to be in violation of Kickstarter Terms and Conditions, in which campaigns should be suspended where “The creator has outstanding fulfillment issues related to a previously successful crowdfunding campaign”

    https://help.kickstarter.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005139813-Why-would-a-project-be-suspended-?fbclid=IwAR0zVMpU-wb44KhnYPOTF0u3KqoKrFUSJj_qytAHDxLf7ChURxERWrijE2o

    APRIL 2018

    The cancelled Plus+ Jacket Kickstarter campaign is relaunched on Indiegogo

    https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/plus-the-best-3-in-1-versatile-utility-jacket?fbclid=IwAR0W6IlFVzv6RUp3sVjcGsjM08877oQJ_ZRJJ5rgWr0Ma0q_1863nr17L1o#/

    The project had 328 backers and raised $60,000. The creators do not disclose their association with the unfulfilled Cameo360 campaign.

    No updates have been posted to the project since November 2018. No jackets have been provided to backers, with no explanation provided. All websites and social media accounts associated with Plus+ Jacket have been taken down.

    DECEMBER 2018

    The Reviv Blanket campaign is funded on Kickstarter by 6,795 backers, raising $1.2million.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/revivblanket/reviv-the-affordable-and-eco-friendly-weighted-bla

    The creators listed for this project are Nicholas Bennett, Ken Nguyen, Alice Chau, Shawn Wang and Krysten Gomez. They stated repeatedly in their earlier comments prior to the campaign being funded that this is their first campaign on Kickstarter, and make no mention of their association with Roland and Amelia Nguyen and their existing project obligations relating to the Cameo360 and Plus+ Jacket projects.

    JULY 2019

    A small batch of blankets (despite the creators stating that all blankets are in the process of being shipped) are shipped to backers. The shipping notifications show the blankets are being shipped by Lux Design Concepts Inc, a company registered in Wyoming, with both Roland Nguyen and Phuong (Amelia) Nguyen listed as the only company directors (not a Nicholas Bennett in sight). Backers have provided screenshots of both the email notifications they received, and the packing slip tying Lux Design Concepts to the Reviv Blanket project.

    https://wyobiz.wy.gov/business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=186219043173047057008184076032161135077075062107&fbclid=IwAR2N0yBqrzZBFu4_X81sMaH1Iq6VAoCaFurWq9ECFssaZkv2pPzsEbON2C0

    Multiple backers report the discrepancy between the public creators of the Reviv Blanket campaign and the actual people behind the Reviv Blanket company to both Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The Reviv Blanket campaign on Indiegogo is still live and accepting funds. However both Kickstarter and Indiegogo repeatedly decline to investigate this further, despite that these campaigns are not only violating Kickstarter and Indiegogo terms and conditions, and that both Kickstarter and Indiegogo platforms are being used to defraud and deceive users with the purpose of illegally obtaining funds.

    DECEMBER 2019

    A user on a Twitter claims to be the factory that manufactured the Reviv Blankets, stating the blankets have been abandoned by Reviv and not paid for.

    Indiegogo finally closes the Reviv campaign, with no explanation provided to backers.

    Reviv completely miss the oft quoted delivery date that “all blankets would be delivered by the end of the year” with inadequate communication about why this is so, and no acknowledgement that no backer has reported receiving a blanket since August 2019.