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If a picture were ever worth a thousand words, it is certainly the one above, which tells the whole story of the Mobiola Web Camera application. This is an amazing program that will turn your pocket pal into a PC Web camera. It connects via USB, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

It addition to the normal Webcam functions, it also offers screen captures that can be displayed on the PC monitor, saved to file, or transmitted with instant messaging. Needless to say, saved files may be shared with MMS, email, and in social networks as well.

The instant message icons on the right side of the graphic above show the various networks that Mobiola Web Cam supports. It also supports AOL, by the way.

After installing the program, an icon will appear on your PC desktop as well as in the program folder on your Pocket PC. You will have to click on both icons to set things in motion. On the PPC, you must select how you want to connect: Active Sync, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. On the PC screen the following screen appears upon sync onnection:

As soon as a connection occurs, the left panel expands and houses the video as depicted in the following shot:

As you can see, the clarity is not the greatest, although it looks much better on the screen than in this capture. There are some controls with various settings, but they do not seem to make much difference.

Below is a screen capture of the opening Mobiola screen on a Pocket PC.

Conclusions

Mobiola Web Cam is a useful application that allows video display, capture, and transmission from a mobile phone. You will need some kind of cradle or mounting system for your handheld device. My solution was a $.99 metal business card holder from Staples. I may experiment with a swivel neck mount meant for car use.

While the quality could be better, it is certainly sufficient for Web teleconferencing, screen captures, and MMS. Proper lighting helps a great deal.

At any rate, it is a practical use of the camera on your handset. Why pay $69 or so for a Web cam when you already have one? Mobiola will only set you back $19.95, which is a good investment. Try it for free or buy it from www.mobiola.com. While you are visiting the Mobiola site, check out some of their other products, which I trust you will find equally useful and creative.

Tim Hillebrand (105 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook