Home Security with a Camera Phone

We do not want to easily trust anyone especially new people we meet. They can be criminals who may be watching all our moves while befriending us. Leaving our kids at home while we are working can be something to worry about. Home security is really important and that is the reason why security gadgets such as IP cameras are used by many homes and offices.

Network IP cameras are very useful when it comes to keeping our homes secured. But did you know that IP cameras can become handy with your cellphones? Yes, with your Android phone, you can use a webcam and connect it to its WiFi connection for streaming video. With the remote view capability of the IP camera connection capabilities of Android, you will be able to watch what is happening inside your house or wherever you want to plant the webcam.

To activate the IP settings of your Android phone, the first thing to do is to install the application and then start configuring the settings such as log-in and password, image quality, resolution, etc. Next, you have to look for a web browser or a client that can play streaming video, VLC for example. What you have to do with the browser or client is to load up the URL that the application will give you after configuring it.

The video output that you will receive is clear enough to be seen though the still shots can be a bit blurry. But what’s beneficial is its capability to be accessed remotely and it does not require any complicated requirements to set and it is FREE. This home security capability only requires the Android OS 2.2+ that can be downloaded in the Android Marketplace. Enjoy!
Photo credits: Gizmodo.com

Nokia N8 – Not That OVI Trend Worthy?

Nokia N8 is the latest offering for the N-Series fans. With this brand new phone from Nokia which is mediocre when it comes to OVI apps, will it be worthy for the competition? Let us hear from some of our friends who gave their crunchy reviews:

Gizmodo

The phone—sorry, multimedia computer—has three homescreens, all of which can be customized with various widgets. These screens work well, load quickly, and look purdy on the N8's bright 3.5-inch OLED display. But Symbian's user interface, even in its fancy new clothes, can still be challenging. Euphemism alert! The main reason, though, that the Slashies think Nokia's latest will make nary a ripple when dropped in the US Pond, is that there are piteously few apps in the OVI store—a must in today's crazy competitive smartphone market.

Know Your Mobile

The Nokia N8, while being something of a departure from Nokia’s usual design, is still very much a ‘Nokia’ device in terms of aesthetics. The handset features a unibody design made from Anodised Aluminium, which gives it a solid, durable, feel in the hand.

The Nokia N8 also features a non-removable battery, like the iPhone, and two side slots for both your SIM and microSD cards, which are located on the device’s left side. On the right, there’s a volume rocker, lock switch and the camera activation button. The top of the device features a 3.5mm jack slot, HDMI port and the power button.

TechWorld

I'm just going to come right out and say it: I really dislike Symbian's typography. The boxy, small text just looks so late 1990s to me and simply isn't easy on the eyes. When Nokia announced the Symbian S^3 revamp, I had hoped for cleaner, more modern-looking typography and aesthetically-pleasing icons. S^3 more or less looks the same as the previous version with some tweaks and added features here and there. The software also felt a bit slow, but according to Nokia, these particular demo review units were loaded with preproduction software. That's a relief, seeing as both the browser and social networking client crashed on me during my hands-on time.

YugaTech

This could be the most capable cameraphone Nokia has ever built. Nokia N8 uses a 1/2 inch (1/1.9″) CMOS sensor 30% larger than most compact digital cameras with a maximum shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second (aperture F2.8; focal length 5.4). Video recoding can go up to 720p HD @ 25fps.

That large storage option (16GB internal + up to 32GB external) should be enough for doing all that HD video recording and large photo file size. The AMOLED capacitive touch screen should make video playback really nice and crisp although the 1200mAh battery seemed a little lacking for all that juice-guzzling features (a number of earlier Nokia handsets have 1500mAh batteries already).

ITPro

The first thing you’ll notice is that the S60 operating system has been scrapped in favour of Nokia’s newest platform, Symbian^3. It’s an evolution of S60, but brings in elements of the Maemo UI so it is much more usable. We found it to be pretty stable, especially considering our N8 is a pre-production sample. Symbian^3 is very similar to other touchscreen operating systems. There are three homescreens and each can hold up to 24 widgets, bookmarks and shortcuts.
Apps are downloaded from Nokia’s Ovi Store, but it still needs a lot of work - the selection available is limited in comparison to Android, but this isn’t surprising considering Android has been around for a couple of years and the N8 is the first Symbian^3 device. Apps developed for S60 5th Edition should be compatible with Symbian^3.

Photo credits: Slashgear via Gizmodo

Pentax NB100 – Functional Camera and Lego in One!

Getting a new camera nowadays is getting more and more exciting. Aside from the powerful lenses and high quality photos created by these cameras, you can even get the craziest model designs. The new offering, Pentax NB1000, will make your Lego fascination come alive with actual design functionality. This powerful 14.1 megapixel camera equipped with 4x optical zoom and 720p video recording capability also have a front face Lego board where you can actually attached the Lego-like piece that comes with it.

The blocks used in this camera is not actually a Lego brand but it is similar to the concept of the famous toy. These pieces are actually called Nanoblocks which is based on the DiaBlock trademark toy from Japan which has the same principle of enhancing the creativity and ingenuity of the user. In this camera, you will be able to mount the small bricks to create whatever you want your camera front to look like. This can actually become functional when it comes to the way that you want your grip to become more comfortable and secured. The bottomline is that NB1000 will not only let you take cool pictures, it can also be fun to have.

NB1000 is set to be released this year with an affordable price of $240. This model is available in two cool colors – safari green and monochromatic white.

Photo credits: Design Boom

Nikon’s First Professional Point-and-shoot Camera

To camera geeks and photography enthusiasts like me, this must be one of the most anticipated models you have been looking forward to have – the Nikon P7000. With all the confusion and bizarreness on certain features of the former model, this new release is far too better especially when talking about performance. This Nikon point-and-shoot camera can be the ultimate compact camera that I have right now.

With all the professional point-and-shoot cameras emerging in the market today, Nikon’s P7000 is comparable to Canon’s G-Series cameras. In fact, it is closely similar looking with the G11 more than the P6000, the model prior to the newest one. Like the G11, this model has the trick of having low-light performance by dropping megapixels. In comparison with the P6000, the P7000 is built with 10MP CCD sensor while the former had 14.2MP sensor minus some features such as geotagging, built-in GPS, and the Ethernet jack. The sensor performance of this camera is uniquely great wherein it has an ISO range that can be expanded up to 12,800, which makes it more reliable to use.

Now let’s talk about prints. When it comes to photo printing, the P7000 outshines G11. We can rather compare its photo quality with Lumix LX5 by Panasonic.

P7000 has an amazing video recorder partnered with a stereo microphone input which shoots 720p vid at 24fps. The lens is more flexible than having straight speed having 7.1x zoom 28-200 mm F2.8 to 5.6 attributes. According to Nikon, this model can offer “large optical viewfinder with diopter adjustment dial.”

The camera is full of fiddly dials, manual controls, bracketing, and the ability to shoot RAW which is Mac-compatible. Parting with your $500 when it comes out next month will truly be worth it.

Photo Credits: Nikon via Gizmodo