View Full Version : Do you wish the Lifedrive had a built-in camera?
Brjlk
08-19-2005, 08:22 AM
Considering the large capacity of the drive, the camera would have been a very useful feature for me. Shoot & view instantly on the large screen without need to transfer files (say from the camera phone to the LD)
How about you?
John
Absolutely NOT!!! That was one of the things that drove me away from the Sony Clies. I don't need an absolutely rotten digital camera with no zoom with a $700 price tag. My employer forbids cameras in the building at all times, and this would have made the Life Drive useless to me. I'm very glad that Palm took a stand against un-necessary features. I only wish the same were true of Cellphone manufacturers.
Absolutely NOT!!! That was one of the things that drove me away from the Sony Clies. I don't need an absolutely rotten digital camera with no zoom with a $700 price tag. My employer forbids cameras in the building at all times, and this would have made the Life Drive useless to me. I'm very glad that Palm took a stand against un-necessary features. I only wish the same were true of Cellphone manufacturers.
I agree, theyll be putting cameras on toasters and microwave ovens next....Im sick of crappy digital cameras on seemingly every gadget that is made these days. People's instatiable desire to take low res pictures of everything and bore their friends senseless with them, either in person, or by picture sms, never ceases to amaze. I'm sure they are of use in certain professional situations but I certainly wont buy a pda with a buit-in camera, use the space for more battery....
T-Man
08-19-2005, 10:08 AM
I personally, would love to have a camera in mine, but like Jomo said, theres no cameras aloud where he/she works. So I think there ahould be 2 versions without a big differeance in price. :)
Timm
I personally, would love to have a camera in mine, but like Jomo said, theres no cameras aloud where he/she works. So I think there ahould be 2 versions without a big differeance in price. :)
Timm
...but presumably a real difference in size!!!
Jeff Kirvin
08-19-2005, 10:14 AM
NO! I'd much rather have a cool sleek Kodak 5MP camera and transfer the pics from its SD card to the LD via Camera Companion. I don't need a craptastic 1.3MP with no optical zoom for any serious photo work.
T-Man
08-19-2005, 10:22 AM
Thats what Camera Companion id for...I guess....
I cant belive M$ owns iPods menu system!(Listening to Podcast nw :))
Cyker
08-19-2005, 10:24 AM
I must admit, I was never a huge fan of cameras on PDAs, but having one on my TH55 has made me warm to it a little.
Every so often, it comes in handy where I can take a piccy of something that I otherwise wouldn't have, since I don't usually carry a camera everywhere.
That said, it is far from essential, and since 90% phones have cameras which are much better than PDA cameras it's not a big loss.
In perspective, if I had a choice between a TH55 with a camera or an extra 32MB of RAM, I'd take the RAM.
If I had a choice between a TH55 with no camera and a TH55 with a camera, I'd probably take the camera version ;)
LifeDriver
08-19-2005, 10:47 AM
No.
My cellphone has a camera, I can take pictures with it and transfer it to my LD via Bluetooth.
No need for a camera. Plus my wife's regular camera uses SD so I can use camera companion for that.
Brjlk
08-19-2005, 02:02 PM
I personally, would love to have a camera in mine, but like Jomo said, theres no cameras aloud where he/she works. So I think there ahould be 2 versions without a big differeance in price. :)
Timm
I have a 5mp Nikon Coolpix digicam and a Sony Clie NX70V which I intend to replace with a LD or T5. For high quality photos, I take my Coolpix. I use my Clie mostly to take pictures of sites I have to design a building on. For that I don't need high resolution photos.
Sometimes I bring my Coolpix with me at work, but that's quite bulky. So I find my Clie handy, as I always have a camera with me. BTW I have no camera phone.
I think your idea of 2 versions, 2 prices would be the perfect solution.
John
T-Man
08-19-2005, 02:06 PM
Yeah, some want, others dont...
Brjlk
08-20-2005, 12:04 AM
NO! I'd much rather have a cool sleek Kodak 5MP camera and transfer the pics from its SD card to the LD via Camera Companion. .
My camera uses CF card. So, is it possible to download pics directly from camera to LD with some cable? Or is there some CF/SD adapter available?
4Gigs is quite a lot (larger capacity coming in the future) and can be useful to store my pics when I am abroad.
John
Michael Quach
08-20-2005, 08:10 AM
Professionally, I found the Clie cameras invaluable. Granted, not for good photos that you want to show off, but if I needed to take a picture of a weird rash, or take videos of something like seizures (I've done this), I don't have to run to my office and find a digital camera.
Vacation picture taking, on the other hand, stand alone camera wins hands down.
No. Anybody that used these things at work doesn't either; you can't bring any cameras into most industrial plant and certainly any DOD shops. My guess is that is why palm avoids cameras on the high end; they acutally sell these things to people who use them for work. Voice record is another issue; in some of the plants I visit that is a no-no as well.
I liked having the camera on my TH55 - really miss it with my LifeDrive. Nothing hiRez, but a quick snap shot, edit it and email it off was nice and easy. All in one device. There are always things in life that are fun to take pics of and add to the archive.
Sure, I could just snap a picture with my Razor and bluetooth it to the PDA, but that takes time, a few extra steps, an extra device, yadda yadda. Not to mention the low quality of most phone cameras.
The LD really doesn't need to be any larger to have a camera in it, how much room does a camera take anymore?!
I can see how most folks do not find this a need and thus Palm wont be adding it into their bigger memory devices anytime soon. But for some of us, it is a nice feature we really find handy since we live with a Palm in hand all the time.
T-Man
08-23-2005, 10:40 AM
I hate not having a cam in my LD. I always like to have one on handy 'cause you never know what will happen. And I'm not taking an HP or even a Zire 72 around + my LifeDrive either. We'll see what the next Palms will hold, 'cause I'm either getting the XX/T7 (very doubtful as it will be of some downgrade from the LD) or wait til Spring and see what the next Mobile Manager is like...
forcemaker
01-27-2006, 09:18 AM
Well, I owned the Sony Clie PEG-TH55 and loved the chance to take a fast shot everytime I saw something "interesting" ;-) I am missing this with my LifeDrive.
... Well, if there was some kind of SD/MMC card slot camera, I'd be thinking of buying it. The almost 4GB of available data storage space would be lovely connected with such a camera, taking still and moving pictures.
I know the disadvantages of these cheap cameras compaired to "real" ones... but still it would be fun ;-)
IF you know a SD/MMC card camera solution, shout it out, please! ;-)
- forcemaker
joma104
01-27-2006, 11:59 AM
No. My workplace has also banned cameras on site. Plus, the screen on the LifeDrive is so good, you'd see all the imperfections and aberrations a teeny tiny CCD camera would have. There are plenty of ways to get photos quickly onto the LD (Bluetooth, email, SD card)....and I think the LD is quite wide enough as it is without squeezing a camera in there too!
FrankG
01-27-2006, 09:26 PM
Well, I owned the Sony Clie PEG-TH55 and loved the chance to take a fast shot everytime I saw something "interesting" ;-) I am missing this with my LifeDrive.
... Well, if there was some kind of SD/MMC card slot camera, I'd be thinking of buying it. The almost 4GB of available data storage space would be lovely connected with such a camera, taking still and moving pictures.
I know the disadvantages of these cheap cameras compaired to "real" ones... but still it would be fun ;-)
IF you know a SD/MMC card camera solution, shout it out, please! ;-)
- forcemaker
I bought one for ~40 USD. It takes like 320x480 semi-useful pictures but does the job. Somewhere I have information on the make / model, etc. but can't find it now. :( The software on the LifeDrive is called "ViewTake" by Specter Computer Co. LTD. If I can unearth more useful information, I'll update this.
>> Update: The camera is a Micro Innovations SDIO camera.
Frank
forcemaker
02-03-2006, 03:06 PM
About places where cameras have been banned: with such a detachable camera You could go to those places just by removing it from the device. You still have full functionality of Your PDA. You couldn't do this with a integrated mobile phone camera or like the Sony Clie PEG-TH55.
About the camera itself: I found these places where You can buy such a thing, or at least get infos about. Follow the light, ahm, the links: ...
Link 1 (http://www.expansys.de/product.asp?code=111190)
Link 2 (http://www.expansys.de/product.asp?code=SDC-01)
Link 3 (http://www.expansys.de/product.asp?code=121109)
Link 4 (http://www.tecsys.de/pda_zubehoer.htm)
Link 5 (http://www.dantotec.de/shop/sdkamera-spectec-sdc001a-fuer-pdas-mit-sdslot-sdio-sonderaktion-p-10887.html)
Some of the cameras allow to take videos, but with sound only while using a Windows Mobile device. Technically, a PalmOS program could access the camera via SD/MMC slot and the sound with the built-in microphone (which is included in many devices). Well, I am not sure, if I will invest this amount of money for such a "gag gadget"... but I am also sure there won't be such an offer for too long.
Greetings, forcemaker
JAmerican
02-04-2006, 05:18 PM
Wow, I have built-in camera on my UX and love it. Its only .3MP but its great for fun little video recordings and pictures as well as quick shot things such as when your at a track meet and someone is going to pole vault or high jump (which is something I used my camera for and it helped the person recognize their faults). The guys with Treos often say I don't like carrying multiple devices or charging multiple devices (like a phone and a PDA) well, what about a camera. A camera needs to be charged as well. For me, I find carrying a small cell phone to a large camera is way better and having a camera in your PDA so that you can send pictures over the internet via BT/WiFi is great.
I agree w/ T-Man, they should have had 2 versions just like they have a Treo with and without a camera. That simple.
BTW, most of the devices before the TH had rotatable cameras so that they are hidden, which I love because your camera is protected as well as you can take your favorite PDA anywhere.
JAmerican
SonyStyle
02-04-2006, 10:57 PM
one of the reasons why i dont buy high end palms =no camera. i expect a camera at that price tag. i understand the thing about no camera in thr workplace but why does a treo have a camera?
lbugnion
02-05-2006, 03:10 AM
one of the reasons why i dont buy high end palms =no camera. i expect a camera at that price tag. i understand the thing about no camera in thr workplace but why does a treo have a camera?
I'd hate to have a camera on my LD. I have one on my phone anyway, so why put cameras everywhere? Anyway, if I really want to take pictures, I take my Sony 5MP.
Laurent
vBulletin v3.0.3, Copyright ©2000-2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.