This is going to be a hard sell, although it actually looks to be a pretty neat product. The Ecamm network (which sells legitimate hacks for all manner of Apple camera related gubbins) is hawking a Mac-only Bluetooth webcam. This, you will no doubt realize, goes into a pre-saturated market: every MacBook owner already has a camera sitting, unblinking, above the screen.
But of course, that camera can’t be moved and an external cam can certainly be handy. What’s unique about Ecamm’s BT-1 Wireless Webcam (apart from the superb name) is that it is apparently the "the world’s first Bluetooth webcam", managing to stream H.264 video at 640×480 over a Bluetooth v2.0+EDR connection, along with AAC audio (at 48kHz). Those codec specs will make it clear why this Mac-only.
So, apart from going up against an already full market, why is this a hard sell? The camera is $150, that’s why. $150 for VGA quality. We imagine a lot of that money goes into the H.264 encoding hardware — it certainly didn’t go on design.
But you know what? That low key, black box design suggests some fun uses. I’m sure I could nestle this in a moldy corner of the bathroom and enjoy the show from afar. It’s certainly be cheaper than my usual monthly "adult" outgoings.
Product page [Ecamm via ★]
See Also:
- IPhoneCam: Wireless Video Streaming From iPhone
- MacBook Pros Get Secret Camera Upgrade
- HD Spycam Truly Crushes Employee Morale
- Spy Cam Hides Inside an ID Card
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