Sony Throws High-Definition Video into the Palm of Your Hand (Video)

Everyone loves being the world’s fastest, world’s thinnest, or world’s toughest something. It’s quite the feat until your closest competitor comes up with something faster, thinner, and tougher. Sony better enjoy the limelight with their world’s smallest 1080i camcorder — the HDR-TG1/TG3E — while they can, because someone is bound to come along and usurp them.

The pocket-sized HD camcorder from Sony comes with a 4.0 megapixel CMOS sensor, 10x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optical zoom lens, 2.7-inch touchscren display that swivels out for optimal viewing, and a BIONZ processing engine. Most controls are handled by a handy wheel where your thumb would be. The form factor is similar to that of the Sanyo Xacti line.

No word on pricing, but the tentative launch date is being set for some time next month. Early tests are saying that the image quality is “fabulous”, even on a 50-inch plasma.