Hardware

Dropcam’s is rightly proud of the HD: its first-gen hardware, the Echo, was designed externally, but the company brought development in-house for this new model. The end result is something that looks far more consumer-friendly than the blocky white Echo. The Dropcam HD itself is a small glossy black puck that slots into a detachable metal stand with a posable base: together, they’re 4.5-inches high and about 3.15-inches across.

The hinged base is stiff enough to stay at whatever angle you set it to, and you can tilt the Dropcam HD itself in the stand to fine-tune things. Power is courtesy of a compact AC brick with a long microUSB cable up to the camera itself; unlike the previous Dropcam models, there’s no ethernet option, only WiFi b/g/n, though that’s no great loss for the consumer market. A rubber foot for the stand has a clip to keep the power cable in place.

Setup requires plugging the Dropcam HD into your computer via USB, creating an account through Dropcam’s site and punching in your WiFi network credentials. After that, it automatically logs on overtime it’s powered up. There’s a 12-LED infrared light array around the lens, for nighttime use, along with a speaker and a microphone.

Service

Part of the easy setup of the Dropcam Echo is the absence of any local software to install: everything is accessed – and stored – in the cloud. The company offer several tiers of service: the free “Basic” package allows you to log in and view live streaming video, either through the regular browser or the iOS app, but no recording functionality. There are also email and mobile (iPhone-only) alerts triggered by the sound and motion sensors. For $9.95 per month and the “Plus” package you get live streaming together with seven days of archive access (and the ability to download select clips or photos to your own computer).

Finally, the “Pro” plan offers 30 days of online recording for $29.95. It’s worth noting that the subscription fees increase per camera you add: $4.95 per extra for the Plus plan or $14.95 per month for the Pro plan. If you have, say, three cameras and want a month’s historic access to the footage each records, you’re looking at almost $60 per month. The Android and iPhone apps themselves are free and work with all tiers of service, though there’s no iPad-specific version. If you have a device with Flash support in the browser, you can log into the Dropcam site and stream video that way instead.

Performance

Where the original Dropcam was limited to QVGA 320 x 240 resolution video, and only offered streaming two-way audio on a more expensive model, the Dropcam HD promises both 720p HD footage and sound as standard.

Unfortunately video quality is only average, suffering particularly in low-light, though it’s reasonably smooth thanks to the 30fps refresh rate. Audio quality is fair, and the microphone is actually quite sensitive, though we noticed a significant amount of crackling both through the desktop UI and the mobile apps. The speaker – used for two-way audio – is small and subsequently suffers very low volume, and there’s no audio output for plugging in a more vocal system. With observed a roughly 2-3 second delay on audio.

Desktop

iPhone 4S

Galaxy Nexus

Motion and audio detection are both very sensitive, and lack controls to adjust exactly what they’ll respond to. Each will mark the online timeline (in the Plus and Pro subscription packages) to indicate when noise or movement was spotted; both packages, plus the Free plan, can optionally send out an alert to let you know something has happened. Their effectiveness is generally down to where the camera is positioned, and if you have pets you can expect plenty of false alarms.

Still, the automatic flagging makes reviewing footage a lot more straightforward than scrubbing through the entire timeline, and you can request a download clip of any section that comes through in MP4 format with audio.

Wrap-Up

Setup, convenience and – if you opt for a subscription – functionality can’t be criticized in the Dropcam HD. The camera is compact, discrete and easy to place, especially if you use only the puck central section, which blends reasonably well into the shadows, and the desktop UI and mobile apps are straightforward to use.

Although the subscription-free option is welcome, we can’t really recommend it for any but the most casual of users. Even with the real-time movement alerts, you’ll probably struggle to access the webcam feed quickly enough to see what has been happening; that’s when the online DVR feature comes in most useful.

That said, the $149 starting price for the Dropcam HD is just that: a starting figure after which you have to take into account subscription fees. Dropcam offers a year’s access to the Plus plan for $99.95 if you pay upfront; still, scale up to a few cameras spread about the house, as many home surveillance enthusiasts would prefer, and you’re looking at a few hundred dollars each year. Contrast that with Logitech’s Alert camera system, which offers local DVR-style storage on your home network (and premium remote access to recordings for $80 per year, per system).

The Dropcam service is certainly easy to use, and there are handy sharing features, which allow you to send clips and images to others – great for showing grandparents what the baby is up to – but it’s an expensive way of doing things. In the end, you pay for the privilege of Dropcam’s simplicity.
-dropcam HD

Logitech is offering new tech to help alleviate some of the issues with video conferencing that made for low quality and prevented slower legacy computers from participating. The new tech has easier installation, and the webcams have a lower processor overhead so the machines using the cameras will run smoother. Logitech is also leaning on the UVC standard it developed with the USB-IF to allow for plug and play driverless installation for its webcams.

The webcams have H.264 hardware inside that allow the cameras to handle the encoding and compression of the video rather than relying on the attached computer. This means that many businesses will be able to roll out video conferencing with less cost since legacy computers won’t need to be replaced. The webcams also capture the video natively in H.264, so there is no need for extra compression. Logitech webcams also work with Skype to offer true 1080p conferencing at 30fps for lifelike video and high-quality audio.

The webcam supports night vision and two-way audio, and footage can be streamed to a desktop browser, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Alternatively you can scroll back through up to thirty days of cloud-stored archive footage, though you’ll need to sign up to a service plan for that; they start at $9.95 a month for 7 days of archive access, or $29.95 for the full month.

A free plan allows you to simply view what’s going on there and then, complete with alerts if the camera spots any movement. The Dropcam HD WiFi camera is priced at $149 and is up for pre-order today; the company tells us that it will begin shipping on January 31.

Unlike the TP-LINK TL-SC4171G we reviewed recently, the SmartCam doesn’t offer motorized pan/tilt for scoping out the room. There’s still nighttime illumination, however, thanks to infrared LEDs, along with audio and motion detection and – for those nude refrigerator raids you’d rather nobody find out about – a privacy button.

Video is streamed at either 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 and at up to 30fps, and there’s two-way audio support too. Up to five viewers can access the camera at any one time, and you can set the SmartCam to automatically begin recording and uploading clips, when triggered with movement/sound, to a secure YouTube account with a push notification sent out to alert you.

The Samsung SmartCam is set to go on sale in March, priced at $149.

The unit can be used free-standing or fixed to the wall with the bundled bracket, while the lens itself can be tilted between 0 and 150 degrees. There’s an integrated microphone and speaker, for two-way audio – ideal for remotely chiding your child – along with IR LEDs for keeping an eye on them when the lights go out.

If movement or sound is spotted, the camera can be set to automatically begin recording and upload the footage to a password-protected YouTube account; meanwhile a notification is sent out to the owner. Free Android and iOS apps are available, and setup is apparently the work of seconds thanks to WPS WiFi pairing and simple account setup through Samsung’s online portal.

The Samsung WiFI Video Baby Monitor will go on sale in March, priced at $149.

Samsung throws in a QWERTY remote control for operating the inTouch, navigating its menu and your Skype contacts list, and searching for URLs and YouTube videos. Still image recording is supported, and there’s weather information and Google News too.

A USB port allows you to hook up a digital camera or memory card, and view photos stored on that too; alternatively you can upload them, through the inTouch, to YouTube, Flickr and other sites. Connectivity with a TV is via a single HDMI cable.

The Samsung inTouch SNH-5010N will go on sale in March, priced at $199.99. Considering how much Cisco was asking for its Umi system, that seems like something of a bargain to us.

If you’re using Windows Live Messenger you only get 720p video support, though standalone 1080p video clips and interpolated 15-megapixel stills are possible. Logitech’s accompanying software suite supports H.264 video compression and one-click YouTube and Facebook upload, for sharing so straightforward you can have clips online before your hangover has even lifted.

A particularly flexible mounting clip supports tripod screws, or mounts on top of laptop screens, low-profile desk monitors or traditional CRTs, if you’re rocking that old-school setup still. Hook-up is via USB 2.0.

The Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 is up for pre-order now, priced at $99.99. It’s at times like these you can see why Cisco’s Umi really didn’t stand a chance.

Hardware

With an RRP of $269/£190 (street price closer to $213/£156) the TL-SC4171G is certainly not the cheapest IP camera around. Still, you do get a few extras: integrated WiFi b/g for a start, alongside the regular 10/100 ethernet, as well as pan/tilt support for remotely controlling the view. 4.4-inches tall, the lens assembly resembles a glossy white plastic tennis ball; TP-LINK throw a wall mounting kit in the box, or you can simply stand the camera on a window-ledge.

Aside from networking, connectivity includes a 3.5mm input for an external microphone or line-in audio, a 3.5mm output for external audio, and a terminal block for wiring up an optional alarm input and an optional output. The 0.3-megapixel (640 x 480) f2.0 CMOS sensor has a 48-degree horizontal, 36-degree vertical lens and is surrounded by a ring of twelve infrared LEDs that automatically turn on in low-light situations. There’s also an integrated microphone.

As for the pan/tilt base, the TL-SC4171G can rotate 354-degrees and tilt 125-degrees. There’s no optical zoom, but a 10x digital zoom is supported in the browser-based viewer; still, when you’re dealing with 640 x 480 resolution to begin with, blowing that picture up has an obvious loss of detail.

Performance

Setup is straightforward: plug in the AC adapter and the supplied ethernet cable to your router. PowerLine networking would be a neat addition, but WiFi is probably of more use to most. TP-LINK supplies an “Intelligent IP Installer” app on CD to locate the camera on the network, but you can also check what IP address your router has assigned and punch that into a browser instead. The web-based settings page isn’t exactly the height of UI design, but it’s functional: getting WiFi working is a simple matter of scanning for your network and then punching in the access code.

From then on, accessing the webcam from within your home network is straightforward. You can set up user accounts or simply use the main admin account, and your first view in the browser is a live feed from the camera. Unfortunately not all browsers support audio, in fact you’ll likely need Internet Explorer which leaves Mac users in the cold. The bundled Windows IP camera surveillance software can bypass that restriction, however, and supports views from up to 16 cameras.

Motion control is via a cluster of directional buttons; you can also set a default view that’s automatically returned to with a click of the center button. Multiple preset views can also be set, as well as a “patrol” pattern, where the camera sweeps its gaze through a preconfigured route. There are also various warning options, including automatic video recording either on a set schedule or when movement is observed, and can fire off an email to a preset address when that happens.

Setting up remote access proved trickier, requiring some tweaking with our router and the IP and port settings in the camera itself. Once we’d managed that, however, we could log in from our smartphone remotely and stream audio and video across a 3G connection. Smoothness obviously depends on the speed of your connection, but we had no problems. Alternatively there are various third-party IP camera apps available for most big smartphone platforms.

Image quality is limited to VGA because of the sensor, using either MPEG4 30fps or H.264 15fps codecs. Still, reasonable detail if you avoid using the digital zoom. Colors are muted in natural lighting. The IR array can be set to automatically turn on in low-light conditions or triggered manually: TP-LINK say it has a 10m range, though we found the usable range was more like half that. There’s also an audible click as the low-light system turns on, which can be distracting if you’re near the camera.

Wrap-Up

Webcams are cheap, and so it’s easy to dismiss the TP-LINK TL-SC4171G as too expensive. For a wirelessly-enabled, motorized IP camera, however, it’s something of a bargain. The low resolution means this isn’t the webcam you’d choose to stream your next video webcast, but the range of monitoring tools, motion alerts, remote access and other surveillance-centric abilities make it a capable addition to a home or office security setup.

The sensor in the camera is a 3MP unit good for shooting video in 1280 x 720 resolution at up to 30fps. The camera has fixed focus on the lens and has sharper images that are always in focus. It connects to a Mac or PC with a single USB port. Naturally, the bandwidth of your web connection will determine if you can stream HD video.

The camera hooks to your computer via a universal clip and is adjustable. The camera can angle up or down though a range of 130 degrees. The universal clips can attach the camera to a notebook, larger desktop LCD and can be used to make the webcam freestanding. The camera uses interpolation to reach 8MP resolution.

According to Mobotix, the camera is having to cope with minus 30-degree Centigrade temperatures, and is only operational between 6am and 6pm Nepalese time because of the sunlight requirement. Footage is transmitted wirelessly to the nearby laboratory and observatory, before being shuttled off to Italian research labs to be analyzed.

While giving the lazy an easy way of checking out Everest’s West Ridge, as well as the north and southwest faces of the mountain, the webcam has more scientific ambitions too. Researchers hope to use it to track evidence of climate change and global warming, pairing it with temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, sunlight and precipitation data from the 8,000m high weather station near the top of Everest itself.

You can access the streaming feed here; it’s updated every 5 minutes.

[via Gizmag]

Strange, isn’t it, that such a reality has come to pass. It was barely science fiction when this couple of kids were first thinking about using a telephone, speaking now through video that, due to the awesome “viral” tradition of the internet, has seen thousands and millions of viewers in only a few days. “Why won’t it take a picture?” says Esther Huffman, attempting to make her and her husband’s computer activate a still-image function by mistake. It reminds your humble narrator of the slew of “falling asleep” videos on the tube, seeing something so candid and so very innocent being captured here in the tiniest of cams.

They use the opportunity, or Mr. Huffman does at least, to poke at his face and lament “I’m so sad, Esther, I’m so sad. Look at all the wrinkles up there, the cracks in my head – I could be Mrs Doubtfire.” Mrs. Huffman responds with a lovely giggle that, if I may be so bold, echoes through the few short loving years they’ve enjoyed one another – they only having been married, believe it or not, just 7 and a half years thus far, or so they tell their interviewers below. They continue to attempt taking a photo, and sure enough Mrs. Huffman does note that she’s done it before, good golly, but Mr. Huffman just isn’t sure “I don’t know dear – *BELCH* – pardon me”.

Mr. Huffman notes how pretty his wife’s hair is, how she aught to drop her dress a little bit, maybe that’d work, but “I don’t know what I’m recording, shucks,” notes Mrs. Huffman, “Maybe it just recorded us,” realizes Mr. Huffman.

Truly it did, Mr. Huffman, truly it did.

ABC affiliate KATU caught up with the couple just yesterday and asked them what they thought of the video being quite the sensation. As it happens, they’re pretty much alright with the whole thing.

“When I was 8 years old, my uncle paid me five cents if I’d make a monkey face and I’ve been working on it all these years. I never knew it’d make me famous. He’s up in heaven and he’d be amazed at what’s going on right here, right now.” – Bruce Huffman, Internet Sensation

The video itself was uploaded by their granddaughter who was also the one they were speaking about in the video, she having taught them the ways of the CPU. Well done, young lady! You’ve made quite a lot of people have a fabulous afternoon!

[via KATU]

In fact, the camera can rotate 360-degrees, and Logitech supplies a three foot USB extension cable (along with the three foot fixed cable on the webcam itself) so if you can’t find a good angle then you probably need to go to a yoga class. Both PC and Mac are supported, there’s integrated autofocus that’s good for objects up to 10cm from the lens, and up to 8-megapixel interpolated stills.

Various apps are bundled, including face-recognition login, video editing software, video effects and Logitech’s own Vid HD conferencing app. The Logitech HD Webcam C615 is on sale in the US now, priced at $79.99, and will drop in Europe and Asia come September 2011.

Above – Logitech TV Cam for Skype

Webcams used to be an extremely novel idea. You could plug in a huge looking camera into your laptop, and suddenly, someone thousands of miles away could see a small, blurry picture of you! Thankfully, the technology has improved by leaps and bounds, and as the technology got better, the price came down as well. If you do a quick search for webcams on Amazon you can find one for as cheap as six dollars. It even has night vision!

Granted, that night vision might not be too great. If you’re willing to invest a little more into connecting with friends and family, I would suggest Microsoft’s 720p webcam. For just under 50 dollars, you’ll get a great little camera, with more than enough resolution to see those grandkids in full detail. Now that you’re set up with a great camera, you’ll need a way to connect with those you want to see.

One of the easiest and widely used ways to use your webcam would be Skype. After a quick and easy install from skype.com on both computers, you’re ready to chat away. The best part about video chat on skype? It’s completely free! That’s right, you can chat with who you want, for as long as you want, and it won’t cost you a dime. With such great bargains on webcams, and a program that lets you use it for absolutely free, it’s hard to pass up that kind of opportunity.

So go ahead and get your dad a webcam for father’s day (you did know that’s coming up right?). Sure you might have to walk him through installing Skype, but that would take a half hour at most, even if it was a blind rabbit on the other end. Just make sure that once you get everything set up, the most important part is to use it! Your parent’s probably won’t appreciate a lame piece of plastic that plugs into their computer, but they will love and cherish a weekly conversation. Sure beats a txt message! Just remember to start clearing off a space for that “Child of the Year” award you’re going to get.

Footage can be reviewed instantly on the PND itself, or copied over to a computer for archiving. As well as GPS position there’s speed and direction data, which could be handy if you’re in an accident. Garmin has also packed in its usual feature set, so you get text-to-speech, Bluetooth use as a handsfree kit, speed camera warnings, optional real-time traffic updates, various preloaded POIs and space for up to 100 saved routes and 1,000 user POIs.

Right now the Garmin nuvi 2565RT is only available in Taiwan, but the plan is to roll it out in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. If it’s a sales success there, it’ll get a US and European release. No word on pricing at this stage.

The TV Cam has a 78-degree wide-angle lens, Carl Zeiss optics and auto-focus. Logitech reckons the webcam can focus on objects as close as 7cm away. There are dual-microphones with automatic noise reduction, along with echo cancellation and an 11m cable in all – the regular 5m and a bundled 6m USB extension.

If this all sounds familiar, it’s because Logitech already offers a very similar – and outwardly pretty much identical – webcam for the Revue Google TV box. That’s based on the C910 HD webcam. The new TV Cam will be available this month.

Footage is streamed in Motion JPEG format at 20fps, and D-Link reckons setup can be as straightforward as hooking up power, connecting to WiFi and then logging on to the company’s website to view the resulting stream. A built-in microphone streams audio as well.

Alternatively, the D-ViewCam app throws in alerts for motion-detection from up to 32 different cameras, local storage to a NAS, notifications and recording schedules. It’s available now, priced at $149.99.

Press Release:

New D-Link® Wireless N Network Camera Offers Infrared Illumination for Viewing Live Video Streams at Night

mydlink™-Enabled IP Camera Now Available with Remote Viewing from a PC or Mobile Device

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. – April 4, 2011 – Giving people the ability to check in on what matters most for the ultimate peace of mind, D-Link® today announced that it’s mydlink™-enabled Wireless N Day/Night Network Camera (DCS-932L) is now available. With a built-in CPU and web server, the DCS-932L offers a complete day and night monitoring system for homes and small offices. Featuring simple installation and an intuitive web-based interface, consumers can easily integrate the DCS-932L into an existing network and view the streaming video from a PC, notebook, Apple iPhone®, Apple iPad®, or Android™ phone or tablet.

Unlike traditional USB-connected webcams, mydlink-enabled cameras feature built-in CPUs and web servers for high-quality live streaming video sent directly to the network without a PC. The compact DCS-932L offers 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity, Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ (WPS) for simple three step installation, Motion JPEG, and 20 frames per second (fps) streaming, as well as new infrared illumination technology for night viewing. This new infrared technology enables users to monitor a home or small office at up to 16 feet away from the camera, enabling around the clock surveillance of children, sleeping babies, pets, homebound relatives, valued possessions, and more.

“With D-Link’s new day/night network camera, consumers can quickly, easily and affordably add networked surveillance to their home or small office,” said Daniel Kelley, associate vice president of consumer marketing, D-Link North America. “The addition of infrared technology to the mydlink camera line gives consumers peace of mind knowing that their loved ones and cherished belongings can be easily monitored from a remote location via PC, notebook or smart phone 24 hours a day.”

Equipped with mydlink for on-the-go viewing, users can remotely view the DCS-932L’s live video stream from a PC or notebook. And with the free mydlink app (available from the Apple App Store or the Android Market Place), consumers can watch real-time video directly on their iPhone, Android phone or Android tablet. Or, use the Apple iPhone App to view video on an iPad. In addition, mydlink allows for a quick and simple set-up and installation right out of the box; just follow the easy three step set-up process, rather than having to configure each camera for specific routers.

The VGA (640×480) resolution DCS-932L also comes with D-ViewCam™ camera management software for Windows PCs, which allows consumers to record video from any mydlink camera to a local hard drive. It also lets consumers set trigger motion detection, recording schedules and e-mail alert notifications for up to 32 cameras.

Availability and Pricing
The DCS-932L Wireless N Network Camera is now available with an MSRP of $149.99 throughout D-Link’s vast network of e-tail outlets in North America, and at the company’s online store, http://www.dlinkshop.com.

Video demo after the cut

Inside is a 1.8GHz dual-core Atom CPU paired with NVIDIA Ion 2 graphics, a 500GB hard-drive, WiFi b/g/n, ethernet, three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, digital audio outputs, Blu-ray,  and more, running Ubuntu with some custom robotics tools preloaded. Hooked up to a display, keyboard and mouse, and you can use REETI as your regular desktop.

Your normal PC probably doesn’t have cheeks that light up in various colors depending on mood, a head that can turn and track people in 3D (or be remotely controlled by an iPad app), or respond and track sound and key commands. REETI is also capable of reading out RSS, Facebook, Twitter and other sources, or acting as a robotic receptionist to welcome people to your business.

It reminds us of a far more complex Nabaztag, but then Robopec is positioning REETI as an open-source development platform rather than just a simply entertainment device. No word on pricing at this stage.

[youtube P3R45YbEM2M]

[via Plastic Pals]

This is big news, this and everything else HP has announced for webOS today, it’s all amazingly big for a company some folks have been calling dead for months. Video calling may seem like old hat for those of you who’ve been using it on your Android and iOS devices for a while now, but the ability to switch so easily from a phone call to a video call is not only a big advancement for webOS devices, but for the brand and our collective expectations of a mobile OS as well.

Have a look at a couple images from this part of the presentation below, then check out the rest of our coverage of the event by finding the webOS 3.0 tag! And don’t forget, that front facing camera is a 1.3-megapixel webcam, so it’s not going to be the most amazing quality you’ve ever seen in your life, but it’ll hold up against Apple and Android just fine.

“A Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp’s Daily online paper in New York on Wednesday. A source with knowledge of the device confirmed its existence, adding that the final release model could have other features. News Corp and Apple declined to comment.” Reuters

In fact, whether true or otherwise, it tells us little about the next-gen iPad. We’ve already heard – and it seems pretty much a lock-in, given Apple’s drive for Face Time support – that the iPad 2 will have a front-facing camera for video calls, and beyond that there’s nothing extra from their “eyewitness.”

It’s also unclear how, exactly, a webcam could be confirmed; there doesn’t appear to be much possibility of a distant glance, given Apple’s cameras are generally discretely hidden under glass. So, it would have to be specifically pointed out or the eyewitness catch sight of a live video conversation going on while the iPad 2 was demonstrated.

Either of those things taking place in a room surrounded by press attending the News Corp event seems unlikely, given the absence of supporting photos or video. The conspiracist’s theory is that Apple could have slipped out a tidbit to Reuters in an attempt to elbow in on Google’s Android 3.0 Honeycomb coverage and keep the iPad 2 in the headlines.

There’s also a new high definition zoom for the 5-megapixel onboard camera, and support for WiFi b/g/n. Anybots reckons battery life is up to eight hours, and they can shuttle around at up to 3.5mph.

Collision avoidance and a collapsable design make for easier transportation, and the whole thing is controlled by a regular Mac (with PC support due in March). Yours for $15,000.

Press Release:

Anybots Starts Shipping Business Robots

Anybots Ship with a Slew of New Features, Business Travel Changes Forever

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., February 1, 2011 – 8:00 a.m. PT

News Facts:
· Anybots, maker of telepresence business robots, today announced that it has begun shipping product.

· Customers who pre-ordered an Anybot will begin receiving their orders this week. Customers who order today will begin receiving their units in March. To order an Anybot, go to www.anybots.com/#buy.

· The Anybot is the first professional-quality telepresence robot to allow you to work remotely through a simple web interface.

· Here’s how it works:

o You are sitting on your sofa, enjoying your morning coffee.

o At the same time, you can be the eyes and ears on the ground at a remote office or factory via an Anybot.

o You control the Anybot from anywhere in the world via the web, letting you work effectively and personally without ever having to step on an airplane.

o You can leap into an Anybot in just one-click of the mouse and immediately be interacting with your team.

o And, when you are done, you can jump out and be back on the couch enjoying your coffee in no time. Meanwhile, another colleague located somewhere else around the globe, can leap into the Anybot for a meeting at the office.

· The Anybots telepresence business robot will ship with new features:

o High definition zoom

o Seamless roaming on wireless

o Two-way streaming video

o Touch screen enabled Wi-Fi configuration

· Anybots also feature:

o High quality audio and clear, stabilized-video (five megapixel high-resolution video camera) for a great interactive experience

o Two wheels so it can run at 3.5 mph to keep up with groups of people and provide a safe way to get around that prevents damage to walls and other objects

o Collision avoidance technology that guides the Anybot around obstacles, such as doors

o A lightweight design (35 pounds) to be easily pushed, carried or adjusted to fit in a car seat

o A professional and friendly appearance so people pay attention and take you seriously

o Easy and inexpensive installation, all you need is Wi-Fi and a computer (currently available on the Mac and PC-compatible by March)

o The ability to sit in a corner when idle and charge

o Sharing capabilities so it can be used by company users at a time

o Eight hours of battery life and support for 802.11n Wi-Fi

Quotes:
Attributable to Trevor Blackwell, Founder & CEO, Anybots
After years of work and months of beta testing, we’re looking forward to seeing the various uses the market comes up with for Anybots. Beyond just letting you be in two places at once – which changes the world of the business traveler – we’re seeing a lot of use with industry verticals. Everyone from a cookie manufacturer looking to manage remote factories to a CEO who simply can’t make it to every meeting in person – teleporting via an Anybot has already given these people a new perspective on work.

Attributable to Phil Libin, Founder & CEO, Evernote
After a few months of beta testing for Anybots, I’m completely in love with it. At first I thought the bot would pay for itself if it could just replace one international trip, but now I realize that the real value is letting me preserve spontaneous interactions at the office even when I’m thousands of miles away. I can jump into the bot at any time and work casually with my team. There’s no need to schedule formal meetings or herd everyone around a speaker phone. It’s easy to use and it keeps me connected. And it’s got a laser beam attached to its head – which, let’s be honest, is just good product design.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the C910 any cheaper, and its $99.99 price tag is still pretty hefty for a webcam. It’s also worth noting that some of Logitech’s bundled apps, such as the face-recognition auto login and the Video Effects app will only work on Windows machines, though of course Photo Booth offers similar functionality to the latter.

The iClops has an autofocus lens, pivoting mount and can take 2.1-megapixel stills or shoot VGA-quality video; it can stream video at 15fps, and has a built-in microphone.  There’ll be a companion video recording app in the App Store when the iClops arrives in March 2011 for around $130, though it’s not yet clear whether Face Time will be supported.  Scosche also apparently plans to run a competition to name the iClops.

Meanwhile the Optoma Neo-i pico-projector is a desktop iPhone/iPod dock with stereo 8W speakers and a 50 lumens projector on the back capable of 854 x 480 16:9 aspect video.  There’s also HDMI, VGA and composite inputs, for using the Neo-i with external sources, together with an audio output and an optional $40 iPad connector kit.  There’s also talk of potential battery power, though we won’t know for sure until its official debut later this month, priced at around $450.

[via PicoProjector-Info]

Video demo after the cut

Production decisions – on plastics, glass and other materials – will spawn another set of prototypes in time for a second opinion on October 22nd, followed by a final, third decision in November.  Then mass production will begin.

Meanwhile, Notion Ink has confirmed that Adam will have 1GB of DDRII 667MHz memory, double what’s inside the Samsung Galaxy Tab and four-times what’s inside the iPad.  That, in combination with the new intelligent process handling in Eden, should make for an interesting user-experience that could be faster than any other slate we’ve seen.

[via Android Community]

As to why the Cius is roughly double the price of an iPad, Cisco is highlighting their enterprise integration and pointing out that the comparison isn’t really fair.  ”Cius is not a consumer device so it’s not an equivalent comparison” the FAQ suggests, rather “Cisco Cius is the first-of-its- kind mobile collaboration device.”  It’ll run Android 2.2 and Cisco say they’ll be keeping up with Google’s updates, however system admins will be able to lock down Android Market access.

[via Android Community]

From Around the Web

Tony Bates Named CEO of Skype: In their inevitable movement to becoming a public company, Skype today announced that they would be appointing a brand new body for the CEO position. A few minutes after the initial announcement it was confirmed that a senior VP at Cisco had been named. His name is Tony Bates, and he will be making his way to the Luxembourg, where Skype is headquartered. He will officially begin his CEO duties at the end of October. The speculation about Bates presence at the top of the ladder for Skype are focused on the enterprise, where he made a huge dent while working with Cisco. However, with Skype still trying to find its place in the mobile industry, in a bigger way, there’s a chance that the corporation will try some big things after Bates officially sits in the chair long enough. [via TechCrunch]

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According to MIT, Poh managed to make his camera “learn” how to study someone’s face, and then measure “slight variations in brightness produced by the flow of blood through blood vessels in the face.” In the design stage, this was the step that caused Poh the most trouble, but as soon as he figured out how to account for variations in lighting and image quality, everything else came together.

And, while it may seem like a gimmick, it isn’t. According to tests, the webcam was able to come to the same results as FDA-approved pieces of technology. It only gets better when Poh reveals that he has only used technology you can find in most homes, and hasn’t been working with some government grants using never before seen tech. The result, of course, is the possibility that this system could easily be installed in homes, or hospitals, or anywhere else for that matter pretty easily.

Poh believes that this new webcam-based system would be a lot more preferable to patients, where putting on sensors may not be the route they want to go. Something as simple as a webcam, put anywhere, could mean that patients all over the world are a lot more comfortable when they go into the doctor’s office. But, Poh believes that this technology could be used to expand on this idea, and even tell when you’re lying about something, or nervous. Check out the video below to see how the webcam would work installed in your normal bathroom mirror.

[via Fast Company]

A Cisco event is scheduled for next week, promising “a new Cisco consumer experience”; the company’s PR has declined to comment on whether the star of the event will be the unnamed telepresence gadget.  It’s unclear whether it will be a standalone video phone, like the ASUS AiGuru SV1T Skype videophone or something that plugs into an existing display – such as an HDTV – as we’ve seen offered from Panasonic and others.

More interestingly, perhaps, it could be a consumer version of the Cisco Cius, a 7-inch enterprise-centric tablet that runs Android and is targeted at mobile video calls.  That’s expected to begin shipping to enterprise customers in Q1 2011.

Apparently Giovannoni wasn’t satisfied merely designing the not-especially-bag-friendly casing of the alessiTab, but instead completely overhauled the interface too.  It comes preloaded with various widgets – for news, weather, recipes and acting as a digital photo frame – and an internet radio app, but it seems there won’t be Android Market access.  Instead Alessi claims they’ve picked a carefully curated set of software experiences that should suit the home market the alessiTab finds itself in.

There’s also IPTV support, video and audio playback, plus a webcam, microphone and speakers for using the alessiTab as a videophone.  Connectivity includes USB and an SD card slot.  It’ll arrive in Italy in November, priced at €399 ($532).

That 4GB is good for up to five hours of footage (stored in MP4 format at 800kbps) though the battery is only sufficient for four hours video use; it’ll last for up to 10hrs if you only need it as a headset.  Interestingly, while you can manually start and end recording using the Android app as a viewfinder and editing station – and then transfer those clips via USB to your computer – the Looxcie is actually constantly buffering the last thirty seconds of footage.

Press the Instant Clip button on the headset itself, and the most recent video is sent wirelessly to your Android phone (running the Looxcie app) so you can save and/or upload it.  If you hold down the button, the clip is automatically uploaded with no other user intervention (handy if you’re driving).  The Looxcie app will initially only be for Android 2.x devices, but it seems they’re planning at least an iOS version too.

It’s all very geeky, but since plenty of people are already past the embarrassment point of wearing a regular Bluetooth headset, perhaps they won’t mind an all-seeing eye as well.  The Looxcie is listed – though not currently available to buy – at Amazon for $199.99.

[via GottaBeMobile]

The camera has a sensor that is twice as large as the sensor on 720p webcams and can adapt to changing light conditions for optimum performance. The camera is also fully compatible with video chat for Windows Live Messenger 11. The camera has a swivel mount that lets it pan 360-degrees for optimum placement and an elongated hood.

Other features include TrueColor technology to make colors accurate and lifelike in different lighting conditions. Microsoft also uses ClearFrame technology that helps provide smooth video in low light. The LifeCam Studio will sell for $99.99, can be ordered on BestBuy.com now, and will hit stores later this month.

On the surface of it, the Spy Video TRAKR is a decent kid’s toy with a sensibly designed remote control – complete with an LCD screen so you can watch what the webcam is seeing – and infrared lighting for those nighttime raids on your siblings.  Unfortunately, while the app store – for downloading games and other add-ons – is running, the App Builder tool isn’t; apparently the software will be ready in October.

For the hackers among us, though, it’s Wild Planet’s liberal scattering of URLs, controls and other tinker-handy things that makes the TRAKR a keeper.  Open the casing and Wild Planet has printed a link to trakrhakr.com, a site for “official unofficial” modding, and you can write your own software in C to run on the ARM9 CPU.  Hack A Day are promising a full breakdown soon; the Spy Video TRAKR is apparently already in stores.

The FBI later came in to investigate the issue and determine if there were any criminal issues in the case such as wire tapping. The story is apparently at an end, at least with the criminal investigation with the announcement that no charges will be filed in connection with the investigation.

US Attorney Zane David Memeger has announced that the investigators found no evidence that the Lower Merion School district employees who activated the tracking software and took the thousands of webcam and screenshot images had criminal intent. The district admitted to capturing a total of 56,000 screen shots and webcam images to locate missing laptops. A civil suit in the matter is still pending.

Where Adam initially was expected to ship with WiFi b/g, that’s now been replaced with WiFi b/g/n. Perhaps better still, rather than A-GPS, all versions of the slate – irrespective of wireless connectivity – will have true GPS. That’s been a key complaint about the non-3G iPad, and something we’re pleased to see Notion Ink address.  However, a trusted source we’ve spoken to who recently left the company tells us that the rotating camera has also been finessed, increasing its play from 180- to 185-degrees.  That might not sound like much, but it’s enough to ensure that while typing on Adam as it’s flat on a table, the camera can still see the user rather than just the ceiling.  There’s also apparently support for debugging, OS upgrades and more via a miniUSB port.

The software engineers weren’t idle either. While Notion Ink originally expected their custom UI to debut on the second-generation Adam slate, the delay allowed them to complete it in time for the first model. We had hoped to show you screenshots, but the company is still working on securing patents; they can’t publicly reveal them until that process is complete.

Thanks to our source, though, what we can tell you is that Adam will come with a content store called Genesis, described to us as “a high end variant on iTunes”.  Genesis integrates the Application Store, Content Store, Media Player, Book Indexer and “a lot more”; there’ll be “millions” of ebook titles at rates said to be priced “aggressively”.  Meanwhile there will be a lot of preloaded applications, counterparts of many of which (from third-parties) can be found on the iPad.  That will include a drawing and sketching tool that’s said to be “beautiful”, Notion Ink’s special next-generation email system which “can be used by an organization to secure, save and transmit data using their own servers” and a unique identification number coded to each Adam which can be used to track it worldwide.

The tablet will also come with Unreal Engine Support, preloaded with a few games titles (that are yet to be launched) from NVIDIA.  Meanwhile, Notion Ink has around 90 major US developers and 17 in India registered – in total around 340 accounts – looking to create software for Adam; our source says the company has not yet shared their SDK, but that the third-party devs are aware of the UI designs and multitasking concepts they’ll need to incorporate.

As for that multitasking, we’re told that it takes great advantage of Android’s theoretical ability to run limitless numbers of apps simultaneously, held back only by CPU and memory.  Rather than the “menu key long press” used to trigger the app switcher on current Android phones, Notion Ink has supposedly come up with a system that allows interaction with all apps at the same time.  Meanwhile there’ll be Android Market access, together with a complete office suite with a custom skin to suit tablet use, rather than the third-party office apps currently available for Android.

Four versions of Adam will be launched: each will use NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, but there will be Pixel Qi and LCD models and a choice of WiFi-only or WiFi and 3G. The company has confirmed that all will come in under the cost of a basic iPad; our source tells us that the LCD version will cost $399 for the WiFi-only and $449 for the 3G model, while the Pixel Qi version will cost $449 for the WiFi-only and $498 for the 3G model.  We’ve also heard that, if Notion Ink can clinch a last minute deal they’re working on, a further $25 could be shaved from each of those figures, plus there will be special discounts for universities and students.  [Update: Notion Ink CEO Rohan Shravan has confirmed the pricing we heard]

Notion Ink Adam prototype demo:

As for launch dates themselves, it’s very much dependent on FCC certification. With manufacturing set to begin in early November, Notion Ink plan to submit Adam to the FCC either that month or early December; their testing can take anything between two weeks and twelve weeks, meaning there’s a November 2010 to January 2011 window in which the tablet could be launched. If approval is secured in November, they tell us, they’ll be shipping Adam by air to hit US shelves as soon as possible. If approval doesn’t come through until January, however, then the retail launch will be at CES 2011, a year after the first prototype made its debut.

Although Notion Ink expect to release Adam in the US first, their Indian launch will only be 1-2 weeks later. After that, they’ll look to other countries; the exact details are unknown, but given the online ordering system we’re assuming that as long as there is a means to ship Adam, you’ll be able to order it. Previously Notion Ink has said they’ll be able to feasibly produce 100,000 units per month, should there be the demand for it.

Meanwhile, as Adam approaches the virtual shelves, Notion Ink has unsurprisingly been looking at their subsequent models. Adam 2 is expected to use NVIDIA’s as-yet-unannounced Tegra 3 chipset and run Android 3.0 Gingerbread; with the SoC itself yet to be confirmed, there’s only a vague launch window of Q2 to Q3 2011 when Adam 2 could debut. Google is yet to confirm requirements for Gingerbread, but Notion Ink tells us that they’re doing as much as they can to ensure first-gen Adam owners can upgrade.

The eagle-eyed may have spotted the company’s second sequel on the timeline, currently known as the Notion Ink Eve. Unfortunately they won’t be drawn on what exactly Eve is, beyond saying it’s “a completely new concept”. We’ve heard rumors of a Notion Ink smartphone – their experience with Android and existing team of developers would put them in a strong position in terms of the software, certainly – but we’ll have to wait a while before we find out for sure what Eve is.

You can find more information on Adam at the company’s official blog.

Meanwhile the software bundled with the Y-Cam does a few things that Logitech demand you pay for; as well as setting up motion detection, email alerts and more, you can view live video or access saved content without paying an extra fee.  If you haven’t got an iPhone or Android device, the Y-Cam can output either an MPEG4 or MJPEG feed, which should be more flexible.

Twelve IR LEDs allow for low-light and nighttime viewing, and power-over-ethernet (PoE) cuts down on the cables.  The Y-Cam Bullet is available now, priced at £295 ($470).

Press Release:

Y-Cam Bullet Launches with a Bang

New “prosumer” addition to the Y-cam IP camera range provides high quality day and night pictures for round-the-clock surveillance indoors and out

London, 04 August July 2010: Y-cam Solutions Ltd, a leading UK based manufacturer of innovative IP network cameras and solutions, today announced the launch of Y-cam Bullet, a weatherproof network camera which allows you to view and hear footage in real-time, from anywhere in the world, via any internet-enabled computer or phone.

Y-cam Bullet has a number of professional grade features which make this device ideal for domestic, industrial or business applications. A two-way audio feature allows you to remotely talk to anyone at your camera’s site, as well as being able to listen in to what’s going on through the camera’s built-in microphone. The device also comes with Power over Ethernet allowing you to transmit data and power over a single cable, and a Digital I/O for systems integration.

Y-cam Bullet is a new addition to Y-cam’s range of hugely popular IP cameras, and is the company’s first device that can be used outdoors as well as indoors, with an IP66 weatherproof casing designed to withstand wet and cold. Quick and simple to get up and running, the device is ideal for keeping an eye on your property or office while you are away.

Additional features include infrared night vision which uses 12 infrared LEDs to provide high levels of “invisible” light in dark environments, and an Infrared Cut Filter to produce true day and night images. Infrared light is filtered during the day and during night time operation the filter is removed to allow the camera to make full use of its night vision capabilities. Producing video up to a maximum frame rate of 30fps displayed at up to 640×480 resolution, the Y-cam Bullet ensures clear and smooth images whenever you are viewing.

The high-performance Y-cam Bullet also allows you to record direct to a microSD card on the device, allowing for on-camera recording and access to past footage through the web interface, so you can review old footage from anywhere.

In addition to the professional grade enhancements, the Bullet has all the standard features that Y-cam has become renowned for, including motion detection, email and FTP alerts, live streaming to mobile phones, secure encrypted wireless connectivity and password protection which means only those authorised can access the camera.

Devin Chawda, Managing Director of Y-cam Solutions Ltd, commented: “The Y-cam Bullet is a compelling addition to our range of IP cameras, designed to appeal to business and domestic users who want a flexible video monitoring solution that can be used in a wide range of environments and situations. The Bullet is an easy-to-use and feature-rich device that can be used by anyone, from large scale industrial applications to home office installations, delivering real peace of mind to people looking for clear footage night and day, inside or out.”

Y-cam offer free NVR Software for PC called MultiLive, allowing you to view up to 36 cameras. The company also provide MultiLive for iPhone and Android, which are free apps for simple viewing of your camera on the devices.

Y-cam Bullet is compatible with both PC and Apple Mac computers across multiple web browsers. The device is currently available from approved Y-cam retailers for a recommended retail price of £295.

For further information, please visit: www.y-cam.com/y-cam-bullet

Video demo after the cut

The Logitech Alert 750i is the internal system, priced at $299.99 for the master kit, and uses HomePlug powerline adapters so you don’t need to run cables between your computer and the camera.  The bundled software allows you to section up the camera’s view into 16 zones, each of which can be selectively monitored for movement; when sensed, the camera begins recording – with both audio and 15fps video, to both an included 2GB microSD card and to your PC for eventual offsite backup – and can optionally send an alert to you via email.

As for the Logitech Alert 750e, that’s $349.99, weatherproof and has IR lights for night vision, handy for keeping an eye on your garden or garage.  Otherwise both systems work the same, and you can optionally add extra cameras to cover more areas; Logitech offer indoor and outdoor models, together with a camera hidden in a desk clock.

Video demo after the cut

In the air, the Hawk Eye can shoot up to five minutes of 320 x 240 video or snap hundreds of VGA-quality images.  Back on the ground, a USB port allows you to offload that content to your PC or Mac; unfortunately, there’s no live streaming of video back to the remote control, as on the AR.Drone, but then the Parrot quadricopter doesn’t offer recording.

To be fair, you’re paying less because it’s a much less complex R/C toy: the controller uses infrared, so needs line-of-sight unlike the AR.Drone’s fancy self-hosted WiFi network, and while dual-rotor indoor helicopters are relatively straightforward to fly, they aren’t anywhere near as easy as the Parrot is.  Still, if you’ve always wanted to spy on people, and have a kid’s budget rather than the $300 Parrot are asking, Air Hogs could have a winner on their hands.

[via OhGizmo!]

If you’re more interested in the tech, meanwhile, than the perks, then you’ll probably want to know that the Anybots QB has a 5-megapixel camera paired with an LCD display, and can trundle at up to 3.5mph around your office allowing staff working remotely to virtually attend and interact with those on-site.  Connecting via WiFi b/g and a straightforward online UI, the Anybots QB has a battery good for up to eight hours use (which just so happens to be a working day).

At launch the control client will be PC ready, with a Mac version in beta, and there’s two-way audio together with a retractable “neck” to make transportation a little easier.  Anybots reckons it’ll be great for obsessive CEOs wanting to check what’s happening at the office while on holiday, as a “virtual receptionist” or as a way to let clients check in on the progress of their project.  Whether that’s worth $15k is up to you.

Press Release:

Making Business Travel Obsolete: Anybots Arrive in November
Anybots Accepting Orders for “100 Club”

News Facts:

· Anybots, maker of telepresence robots, is now taking pre-orders for Anybots QB, the first professional-quality mobile avatar robot.
· This telepresence avatar allows anyone to be in two places at once through a simple web interface.
· The first 100 Anybots pre-ordered will be part of the “100 Club” – owners will:
o Have access to the first 100 Anybots’ serial numbers
o Be invited to a reception at Anybots headquarters
o Get VIP Anybots test drives for themselves and five friends
o Have access to on-going perks as Anybots rolls out additional products and services
o Receive their Anybots starting in November 2010 in the order they were reserved
· Additional pre-orders, beyond the “100 Club,” will be fulfilled in 2011 in the order received.
· Each Anybots QB costs $15,000 – 10 percent, $1,500, will be due upon pre-order with the balance due at time of shipping.
· To be the one of the first hundred people to own an Anybot, go to www.anybots.com/preorder.

Anybots in Use:
· CEO Staying Connected – Trevor, the Anybots CEO, took a well-deserved trip to Hawaii and extended his time there because he could jump into his Anybot. With the use of a laptop and headset he was “in the office” while enjoying Hawaii’s beach paradise.
· Receptionist Working from Home – Suzanne is the Anybots receptionist but lives more than 60 miles away from the office. Instead of waking up at the crack of dawn and dealing with the brutal morning commute, Suzanne teleports into her Anybot avatar to greet company visitors and manage office activities from the comfort of her home. The Anybots team relies on Suzanne as their “virtual receptionist” to provide a friendly atmosphere to those who enter.
· Anytime, Anywhere Factory Tours – A manufacturer for the semiconductor industry used an Anybot to give factory tours while at a recent trade-show. This manufacturer also allows their customers to view inventory, witness factory operations, and attend to problems by jumping into the Anybot with one click. With an Anybot, factory staff feel less like they’re being spied (as with traditional mounted surveillance cameras), and feel more like their customer is on the floor with them.
· Luminary in Two Places at Once – Stephen Wolfram attended a conference across the country when long-distance travel was not an option based on commitments at home. Attendees felt his professional but friendly robotics presence as he glided around the stage – and, with the high-quality, low-latency audio, Stephen could have real-time conversations with attendees.

Quotes:

· Attributable to Trevor Blackwell, Founder & CEO, Anybots
Anyone who has ever wished they could be two places at once will appreciate the Anybots avatar experience. Turning the headache of a busy travel schedule into a one-click commute will change the way work and collaboration happens. The Anybots team and our early beta customers have all found teleporting into a location to be such a convenient and enjoyable experience – it’ll be fun to see how the rest of the world uses the product.

· Attributable to Bob Christopher, President & COO, Anybots
Mobile telepresence avatars are ideal for office environments – you can physically be there but do it from anywhere with an internet connection. It’s no wonder that the most innovative companies – from the Fortune 100 to cutting-edge startups – are evaluating telepresence avatars for collaborating and communication.

· Attributable to Stephen Wolfram, Founder & CEO, Wolfram Research
I’ve been doing videoconferencing for years, but the mobility of “being a robot” was interesting. It was surprisingly useful to be able to wander around an office as an Anybot. And attending a reception as a robot, people seemed to get used to “me” surprisingly quickly.

About Anybots Telepresence Robot:

The Highlights:
High quality audio and clear, stabilized-video for a great interactive experience
Runs on two wheels at 3.5 mph to keep up with groups of people
Anybots are very safe, its two wheel drive prevents it from damaging walls or other objects
Collision avoidance technology guides the Anybot around obstacles, such as doors
Lightweight (35 pounds) to be easily pushed, carried or adjusted to fit in a car seat
Professional and friendly appearance so people pay attention and take you seriously
No expensive installation, just Wi-Fi and a computer
Able to stand in a corner when idle and charging
Can be shared among several company users at a time

The Basics:
Eight hours of battery life
Supports 802.11g Wi-Fi
Mac-ready for beta testing and will be PC-ready at ship date
Five megapixel high-resolution video camera
3.5 mph normal cruise speed

ABOUT ANYBOTS:
Anybots is a telerobotics company that offers a one-click way to work with others from anywhere. With Anybots, users are no longer geographically constrained and can jump from place to place with a click of the mouse. With Anybots’ web-based interface, collaboration can happen at light speed without the cost and wasted time of business travel. Anybots can also be personalized to match the people they represent. Anybots was founded in 2001 by Trevor Blackwell, PhD, and is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information, please visit www.anybots.com.

The camera is called the Panasonic HM-TA1 and it is available in black, red, gray, and purple colors. The camera is designed to make uploading video to sharing sites like YouTube and Facebook a snap. The camera also supports Apple iFrame video format for Mac users. The cam has electric image stabilization and 4x digital zoom.

The camera is small and compact measuring in at 2.09″ W x 0.70″ D x 4.09″ H and it weighs a quarter of a pound with the battery and SD card inside. The camcorder ships with a wrist strap and has easy to use individual buttons for record, power, plat, LED on/off, and still photos. Other features include support for SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards and it has a 2-inch LCD and integrated USB port. The TA1 will ship in August for $169.95.

Connectivity, meanwhile, uses a single cable that makes hooking up your MacBook Pro more straightforward.  That packs a pass-through power connection for your notebook, together with a Mini DisplayPort (for audio and video) and a USB port to hook up the new Cinema Display’s three port USB 2.0 hub.

As for hard specs, Apple are quoting a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 375 cd/m2 brightness and 12ms response time.  The new Apple 27-inch LED Cinema Display will go on sale in September, priced at $999.

Press Release:

Apple Unveils New 27-inch LED Cinema Display

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today unveiled a new 27-inch LED Cinema Display with stunning 2560 x 1440 resolution and 60 percent more screen real estate than the 24-inch LED Cinema Display. Featuring a built-in iSight® video camera, microphone and speakers, powered USB 2.0 hub, and universal MagSafe® connector, the new LED Cinema Display is an ideal companion for the MacBook® family or a Mac® desktop, and is available for $999.

“With built-in MagSafe charging, iSight camera, speakers, and USB ports, the LED Cinema Display is ideal for MacBook and MacBook Pro users,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With its massive 2560 x 1440 resolution, the new 27-inch LED Cinema Display is a perfect fit with our powerful new Mac Pro, and it gives iMac users an easy way to double their screen real estate.”

The new, larger 27-inch LED Cinema Display features a beautiful 16:9 edge-to-edge glass display on an aluminum stand with an adjustable hinge that makes tilting the display almost effortless. The LED Cinema Display has vivid colors and exceptionally high contrast and uses a premium display technology called in-plane switching (IPS) to provide a brilliant image across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle.

Designed as a companion for any Mac notebook or desktop, the 27-inch display includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, an integrated MagSafe charger to keep Mac notebooks charged, built-in Mini DisplayPort connectivity for video and audio input and a powered three-port USB 2.0 hub so customers can charge their iPhone® or iPod® even when they take their MacBook with them.

The new LED Cinema Display now includes a new ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the display brightness based on external lighting conditions and uses only as much energy as necessary to provide an optimum viewing experience. Made with mercury-free LED technology, arsenic-free glass and highly recyclable materials, the LED Cinema Display meets stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.* The new display contains no brominated flame retardants and all cables and components are PVC-free.

Pricing & Availability

The new LED Cinema Display will be available in September through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $999 (US). The LED Cinema Display requires a Mac with Mini DisplayPort.

*EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Meanwhile Chet envisages a pass-through dock connector on the bottom that would allow users to recharge and sync their iPad without having to remove it from the case.  Unfortunately, the fly in the ointment is that the iPad doesn’t officially support external camera accessories – though we have seen one from a third-party – and lacks the software support, too.  Still, that’s surely nothing that could stand in the way of the jailbreak community.

[via Yanko Design]