[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Otherwise, just press Next to select the camera. The following screenshot shows my tablet PC with all the reviewed clients installed:

Here, you’ll need to select the right source. As these are named after the name of the given application, they’re very easy to recognize.

2. Available camera applications

Fortunately, there are several solutions for all major mobile operating systems of which, here, I cover three: Windows Mobile, Symbian S60 and BlackBerry. Let’s start with the first.

2.1 Windows Mobile

For Windows Mobile (WinMo), there are two solutions: Ateksoft WebCamera Plus and Warelex Mobiola Web Camera. Of the two, as the time being, I’d go with the first if you need front camera support – the latter doesn’t support front cameras on Windows Mobile (and has HUGE CPU and, consequentially, power usage when in foreground).

2.1.1 Ateksoft WebCamera Plus 2.0

I’ve already reviewed an earlier version of Ateksoft CoolCamera (a predecessor to WebCamera Plus). Version 2.0 of WebCamera Plus introduced a lot of goodies like audio capture (important for computers without a microphone).

Note that, today, CoolCamera is different from WebCamera Plus: it, on some select models, allows for taking videos at a much higher resolution than allowed by the built-in camera applications. (It’s, as opposed to CoolCapture (see below), doesn’t require a desktop component for video compression.) In this respect, it’s pretty much like the old, for seasoned Windows Mobile / Windows CE users, very well-known CECam. Finally, CoolCapture is a desktop-side video / screenshot capturer application.

This is the camera app I recommend the most for WinMo users.

2.1.2 Warelex Mobiola Web Camera 3.1.8

It’s a multiplatform (BlackBerry, Symbian S60v2/3, UIQ2/3; Windows Mobile) title.

Note that the license is attached to a desktop PC– and not a mobile phone. That is, if you’d like to use your phone with more than one PC’s, look for something else. Also see THIS for more info on this.

As with Ateksoft, they also have remote capture tools with image / video capture capabilities and IM support (for the screen only) - but "only" for the BlackBerry (for which, so far, I’ve used a free alternative) and Symbian S60v3/UIQ3; the latest version also working over Wi-Fi. Note that Ateksoft WebCamera Plus is also able to send over the phone / PDA screen contents themselves.

On Windows Mobile, it’s clearly weaker than Ateksoft WebCamera Plus because it, among other things, doesn’t support audio capture (should your desktop / notebook lack a built-in mike) and, even more importantly, front cameras.

2.2 Symbian

2.2.1 Warelex Mobiola Web Camera for S60 3.0.15

This is the one you may want to go for if you don’t mind the price: it’s stable, supports all kinds of connections (including USB) and consumes little power.

2.2.2 WWIGO (webcam wherever I go) beta 1.3

(also see THIS)

It’s a free product, all you need to do is registering on their homepage to access the download. Its support forum is HERE. It’s only able to use Bluetooth (no USB or Wi-Fi, unlike with Mobiola’s title). It didn’t work on either of my two MS BT stack (SP2/SP3) Windows XP’s - it always displayed Filter Initialization Failed – screenshot http://www.winmobiletech.com/072008Webcams/wwigoprob.png[/IMG]]HERE. This is a very common problem and is discussed HERE. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the 1.0 version (for example, the link given HERE is long-dead). Under Vista Ultimate SP1, however, it worked flawlessly on exactly the same HP TC1100 Tablet PC where it refused to do the same under XP Tablet Edition SP3. That is, the benchmarks I’ve made are done under Vista.

The longest thread on it outside the official forums is HERE.

2.2.3 SmartCam 1.2 for S60v2/3

(download HERE)

This is an open-source, Java-based application capable of connecting via Bluetooth only. Unfortunately, while Java does have its merits, in this case it resulted in vastly (about 1.5 times more) increased power usage (because of the higher CPU usage). Furthermore, it just quit on my v21 Nokia N95 after about 30 seconds and is, consequently, pretty much useless. You, on the other hand, may find it stable.

3. Comparison chart

3.1 Windows Mobile

(original HTML table HERE)

3.2 Symbian

(original HTML table HERE)

All Nokia N95 power consumption figures include the about 0.12W power consumption of the backlight.