Monday, September 8, 2003
The Veo Pocket Traveler - When You Just Gotta' Take a Picture!
Posted by Anthony Caruana in "HARDWARE" @ 09:30 AM
Sometimes, I've just got to get something because it looks so cool. The Veo Pocket Traveler is a really cool looking device. This Compact Flash digital camera integrates beautifully with my iPAQ 2210. Its design is slick and it looks like it was made to match up with my iPAQ perfectly. But does it perform as well as it looks? Read on to find out.
The Veo Pocket Traveler for Pocket PC is a Type 2 Compact flash camera. It allows you to take reasonable quality photographs quickly and easily from your Pocket PC. With a maximum resolution of 640 by 480 it's certainly not at the high end of the photograhic technology spectrum. However, it is handy for a quick snap and could be of great value for some remote workers. With my iPAQ 2210 I was able to quickly snap a photo, attach it to an email and send it to colleague in just a few seconds.
So, What's in Package?
When the camera arrived the first thing that impressed me was the slick little capsule that ships with it. This is a solid aluminium case with a impact absorbing rubber inlay. I'm pretty confident that the camera is well protected when not in use. It should look after the camera nicely when it is thrown into your accessory bag.
Figures 1a and 1b: The very cool Veo Pocket Traveler Capsule
The Tale of the Tape
So, what are the specs?
The desktop application, Veo Creative Studio, lets you create movies by stringing together avi files (either recorded by the Pocket Traveler or from other sources) as well as create e-cards, design web pages and transfer photos either to or from your PDA. It's a nice application and can be downloaded from the Veo web site (it's about 225 MB).
So, what About the Camera?
The camera itself seems pretty solid. The camera sits on a Type 2 CF interface and protrudes from my iPAQ 2210 by about 3 cm when inserted. So, it doesn't add much bulk to the iPAQ.
Figure 2: The Veo Pocket Traveler in my iPAQ 2210
When it's inserted the lens is pointing back towards you as you face the Pocekt PC's screen. However, the lens is on a pivot. This means you can use your Pocket PC screen as the view finder for taking photos or use the Pocket Traveler as a video conference camera.
Figure 3a: The Veo Pocket Traveler with the lens in the "default" position
Figures 3b and 3c: The Veo Pocket Traveler with the lens pivoted to the alternate position
What Buttons do I Push?
Using the Pocket Traveler is pretty simple. Once you put the camera into your Type 2 CF slot (it's a snug fit) all you need to do is launch the Photo Traveler software in the Programs folder on your Pocket PC. As soon as you start the software the camera is active.
Figure 4: The Veo Pocket Traveler Pocket PC Software Interface
The capture button takes the photo. There's even a "shutter" sound effect to complete the real camera effect!
You can adjust plenty of settings through the software as well such as image brightness, lighting conditions and image resolution. The software also lets you choose between still pictures and video capture. Video capture (in avi format) is limited to a resolution of 320 by 240.
Figure 5a and 5b: Pocket Traveler Software Settings
You can focus on near and distant objects by turing the focus ring around the camera lens. This is easy to do but not very precise. This means it might take a few attempts to get your shots just right.
But are the Pictures Any Good?
Well, this is the big question with any camera. The Pocket Traveler takes reasonable photos given its limitations. Given that it has no flash it does a fair job if you use the controls that the Pocket PC software provides. Couple this with some decent image editing software on your PC and you can get some reasonable snaps. But I wouldn't use this as my main camera. Rather, I think I'll get the most use from this camera when I'm at work and need to take a quick snap.
The Desktop Software
The Veo Pocket Traveler ships with some nice utility software for the desktop. The Creative Studio - Veo Traveler suite lets you combine video clips into a movie a swell as providing you with a photo gallery, greeting card creator, homepage creator and a utility for sychronising photos from your Pocket PC to your PC.
Figure 6: Pocket Traveler Desktop Software
For the Developers
Veo have made available through their web site an SDK for the Pocket Traveler. This would allow developers to use the camera within their applications. This could have great potential in some sales force automation applications and for remote sevice people.
What about an SD Model?
Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that there is an SDIO model avaialble. :D The bad news is that it's only for the Palm OS :( . However, Veo are working on an SDIO model for the Pocket PC :D
Gotchas
Overall, the Veo Pocket Traveler for the Pocket PC s a pretty reasonable unit. However, there are some limitations with the device.
You can purchase The Veo Pocket Traveler from Mobile Planet for $99.99 USD. [Affiliate]
Specifications
The Veo Pocket Traveler for the Pocket PC is listed as having the following device compatibility
I like the Veo Pocket Traveler. It looks good and does what it is designed to do very easily. Although the image quality does not make this suitable to be my main camera, it is good enough for a quick snap. Is it worth the $100 USD? Well, I'm not sure I'd drop that much folding stuff on it. But, now that I have it I'd recommend it.
Author's Note: I received my Veo Pocket Traveler free of charge as part of a promotion HP were running in Australia with the launch of the iPAQ 2210
The Veo Pocket Traveler for Pocket PC is a Type 2 Compact flash camera. It allows you to take reasonable quality photographs quickly and easily from your Pocket PC. With a maximum resolution of 640 by 480 it's certainly not at the high end of the photograhic technology spectrum. However, it is handy for a quick snap and could be of great value for some remote workers. With my iPAQ 2210 I was able to quickly snap a photo, attach it to an email and send it to colleague in just a few seconds.
So, What's in Package?
When the camera arrived the first thing that impressed me was the slick little capsule that ships with it. This is a solid aluminium case with a impact absorbing rubber inlay. I'm pretty confident that the camera is well protected when not in use. It should look after the camera nicely when it is thrown into your accessory bag.
Figures 1a and 1b: The very cool Veo Pocket Traveler Capsule
The Tale of the Tape
So, what are the specs?
- 640x480 digital resolution
- Takes still photos and video clips
- Adjustable self timer
- Captures standard JPEG pictures
- Automatic exposure, white balance and color control
- CF Type 2 Expansion Slot
- Swivel lens with adjustable focus
- Weighs less than 1 oz
The desktop application, Veo Creative Studio, lets you create movies by stringing together avi files (either recorded by the Pocket Traveler or from other sources) as well as create e-cards, design web pages and transfer photos either to or from your PDA. It's a nice application and can be downloaded from the Veo web site (it's about 225 MB).
So, what About the Camera?
The camera itself seems pretty solid. The camera sits on a Type 2 CF interface and protrudes from my iPAQ 2210 by about 3 cm when inserted. So, it doesn't add much bulk to the iPAQ.
Figure 2: The Veo Pocket Traveler in my iPAQ 2210
When it's inserted the lens is pointing back towards you as you face the Pocekt PC's screen. However, the lens is on a pivot. This means you can use your Pocket PC screen as the view finder for taking photos or use the Pocket Traveler as a video conference camera.
Figure 3a: The Veo Pocket Traveler with the lens in the "default" position
Figures 3b and 3c: The Veo Pocket Traveler with the lens pivoted to the alternate position
What Buttons do I Push?
Using the Pocket Traveler is pretty simple. Once you put the camera into your Type 2 CF slot (it's a snug fit) all you need to do is launch the Photo Traveler software in the Programs folder on your Pocket PC. As soon as you start the software the camera is active.
Figure 4: The Veo Pocket Traveler Pocket PC Software Interface
The capture button takes the photo. There's even a "shutter" sound effect to complete the real camera effect!
You can adjust plenty of settings through the software as well such as image brightness, lighting conditions and image resolution. The software also lets you choose between still pictures and video capture. Video capture (in avi format) is limited to a resolution of 320 by 240.
Figure 5a and 5b: Pocket Traveler Software Settings
You can focus on near and distant objects by turing the focus ring around the camera lens. This is easy to do but not very precise. This means it might take a few attempts to get your shots just right.
But are the Pictures Any Good?
Well, this is the big question with any camera. The Pocket Traveler takes reasonable photos given its limitations. Given that it has no flash it does a fair job if you use the controls that the Pocket PC software provides. Couple this with some decent image editing software on your PC and you can get some reasonable snaps. But I wouldn't use this as my main camera. Rather, I think I'll get the most use from this camera when I'm at work and need to take a quick snap.
The Desktop Software
The Veo Pocket Traveler ships with some nice utility software for the desktop. The Creative Studio - Veo Traveler suite lets you combine video clips into a movie a swell as providing you with a photo gallery, greeting card creator, homepage creator and a utility for sychronising photos from your Pocket PC to your PC.
Figure 6: Pocket Traveler Desktop Software
For the Developers
Veo have made available through their web site an SDK for the Pocket Traveler. This would allow developers to use the camera within their applications. This could have great potential in some sales force automation applications and for remote sevice people.
What about an SD Model?
Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that there is an SDIO model avaialble. :D The bad news is that it's only for the Palm OS :( . However, Veo are working on an SDIO model for the Pocket PC :D
Gotchas
Overall, the Veo Pocket Traveler for the Pocket PC s a pretty reasonable unit. However, there are some limitations with the device.
- Picture quality is pretty limited. This is not the device to buy if you are after high resolutoin, high quality pictures
- The software allows you to set the target directory for photos. However, this setting is not persistent when you shut the application down
- The lack of an internal flash, while keeping the size of the unit compact, make a real difference to image quality
- The focus ring lacks any indication of how far around you need to turn it for objects at different distances
- I'm not sure how robust the swivel is. I plan to treat mine very gently.
You can purchase The Veo Pocket Traveler from Mobile Planet for $99.99 USD. [Affiliate]
Specifications
The Veo Pocket Traveler for the Pocket PC is listed as having the following device compatibility
- iPAQ 36xx, 37xx, 38xx, 39xx (with CF card extension pack)
- iPAQ h2215 (Requires latest Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PCs (Pocket PC 2003) driver from the Veo webpage.
- HP5550, HP5150 and HP3970
- Toshiba e570, e740
- Dell Axim X5
- Microsoft® 98/ME/2000/XP with Pentium® 166 MHz (or higher)
- 200 MB Available Hard Disk Space
- 32 MB RAM or Better
- Pocket PC Handheld with ActiveSync Cradle
- 800 x 600 Display with 16-Bit Color
- 4x CD-ROM or better
I like the Veo Pocket Traveler. It looks good and does what it is designed to do very easily. Although the image quality does not make this suitable to be my main camera, it is good enough for a quick snap. Is it worth the $100 USD? Well, I'm not sure I'd drop that much folding stuff on it. But, now that I have it I'd recommend it.
Author's Note: I received my Veo Pocket Traveler free of charge as part of a promotion HP were running in Australia with the launch of the iPAQ 2210
