Handspring recently announced the new eyemodule2 digital camera, which is manufactured by third-party developer IDEO.
Compatible with all Handspring Visor handhelds, including the recently introduced Visor Prism and Visor Platinum, the eyemodule2 is a full-color, VGA-resolution digital camera module that snap’s into a Visor’s Springboard expansion slot. The eyemodule2 does not require batteries, like the original eyemodule, which is still available at a price of $149, but the new camera captures both digital photos and short video clips, which are saved as QuickTime files.
Digital still images and video clips can be captured using a single- or multiple-image timer, viewed on the Visor’s screen, labeled and beamed to other Palm OS devices. Other features of the eyemodule2 include sizing in capture mode, thumbnail views, sorting, batch-editing, and slideshows. The device also allows thumbnail images to be added to eyecontact address book entries.
The eyemodule2 is currently available online and in retail locations for an MSRP of $199.95. Those purchasing the eyemodule2 will also receive ACD Systems ACDSee 1.5 for the Mac.
ACDSee 1.5 brings offers a wide range of flexibility once images are uploaded to a desktop Mac. The program, which normally sells for $30, uses an intuitive contact sheet display of thumbnail images. Individual images can be opened by right clicking on a thumbnail, or selecting multiple photos (or all the images on the page) automatically launches a slide show presentation.
Although ACDSee does not offer editing tools, the program can rename, rotate, export to images to different file formats (TIFF, JPEG, GIF, and Photoshop), and play video clips (Motion JPEG, MPEG, AVI and MOV) and sound files (WAV, MP3 and AIFF) using QuickTime. ACDSee can also play multiple video and sound files in sequence, as well as display QuickTime VR files.
But perhaps one of the most interesting features in ACDSee is its ability to quickly and easily create HTML pages containing thumbnail images and links to either larger thumbnails or the full-size images.