Just this week I was contemplating purchasing a webcam to communicate with clients through Skype. I have been working from home recently and find that it takes too much time to email instructions on using WordPress for example. Now I must note that I’m deaf so the video call conference will still have the person I’m conferencing with to type the messages. But having a face to face meeting will help both sides understand each other better as we humans also depend on facial expression to interpret the meaning of what is being said.

As someone who also depends on lipreading I can imagine that having a HD quality picture of the person I’m communicating with would make it possible to follow the what the person is saying as if we where having a talk face to face instead of through a video conference call. Think about people who communicate through gesture language it would be effortless at the max resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels.

The only downside right now is that HD enabled webcams are just starting to make way on the market and are still expensive considering all the cheaper options of non-HD webcams. It will be a while before HD web cams with embedded H.264 codec chip and processing are widely available at different price ranges. As for a fast computer almost all being sold today are fast enough to handle High Definition video calls over broadband, so it’s a question of time and willingness by the user to be able to video conference in HD quality.

I’m excited about these communication advancements that are breaking down barriers more and more with each new technique and development. And currently I’m willing to wait for this new generation of webcams to be available so I can buy one.

Highlights of the TouchCam N1 are the following:

• Skype Certified
• HD 720P
• H.264
• Dual Mics
• Wide Angle
• Auto Focus
• USB connection

The TouchCam N1 is scheduled to go for sale later this month for the price of 129 dollars. See the product page for more details.

I am aware of how useful the iSight Mac webcam is, I believe Mac computers pioneered the embedded webcam feature on notebook computers that it has now become a standard. If a notebook computer doesn’t have a built-in webcam, it usually is ignored! Beats the hell out of occupying a USB slot and dangling your webcam on to of your notebook lid.

Happy as I am there are times, though, that the iSight just doesn’t fit in certain video situation. Like if I’m on a video conference and would like to share my surroundings to my chatmate I’d pick up my Macbook and swivel it like a monkey with my hands up. LOL!

Good thing there is now the BT-1 Bluetooth Webcam. This webcam was built to pair up with your Mac computer. And no cables, honey, it operates on blue tooth with about a 10-feet radius from your laptop. That means you can stand up and carry your wallet-size BT-1 bluetooth webcam around. Great job!

Here are the product features:

- 640×480 H.264 video and 48 kHz AAC stereo audio
- Compact 2″ x 2½” x 5/8″ design
- 4 hour talk time
- Compatible with iChat, Skype and more
- 10 – 30 foot wireless range
- Standard tripod mounting screw
- Includes a flexible mini-tripod and USB charging cable.
- Requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or newer and Bluetooth v2.0+EDR or better.

My only wish… colors! I hope when this product hits the shelves it will come in say… colors compatible to the iPods colors? That would be really swell now, wouldn’t it? :)

Price is set at about US$150 and seen to be released late Q1 of 2009.