Coolest Gadgets

When a single-engine plane crashed into an Upper East Side apartment building on Wednesday, Fox News Channel delivered early video to its viewers from the crash site using a hand-held mobile phone with live streaming video.

Scott Wilder, a Fox cameraman, had been about 20 blocks away on another assignment when the crash occurred. Wilder ran uptown and reported live from the scene using a hand-held Palm Treo Smartphone that uses the existing mobile network to transmit video to the Fox News control room. From there, Fox News sent it out live on TV to supplement other video being shot by local traffic helicopters.

The picture quality from the crash site wasn’t spectacular, but it was live. Wilder was also able to talk to “Studio B” anchor Shepard Smith on the same phone and give a live “man on the street” report to Fox viewers.

As these advanced video phones become more and more popular, we can probably expect a surge of citizen journalism. If YouTube can make anyone an Internet celebrity, a video phone can make anyone a reporter. Right?

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