.KEYWORD eyemodule
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Eyemodule turns your Visor into a digital camera
.OTHER
.SUMMARY A picture’s worth a thousand words, but is the new eyemodule digital camera for your Handspring Visor worth 150 bucks? Decide for yourself after you read Craig Bobchin’s review of the new device that allows you to snap digital photos with your PDA.
.AUTHOR Craig M. Bobchin
The new eyemodule digital camera is one of the most anticipated Springboards ever for the Handspring Visor, and anyone wanting to be the new cool geek on the block is sure to want to grab it up and start snapping digital photos. However, while it’s easy to install and fun to play with, the eyemodule is not without its flaws.
.H1 The hardware
The camera itself is just slightly longer than the normal Springboard. It adds about 15mm to the total length of the Visor with no additional thickness. It’s likely that you won’t notice any additional weight from the eyemodule either.
.CALLOUT The eyemodule is a true plug and play Springboard.
Figure A shows a picture of the eyemodule connected to the Visor. In the inset, you can see the eyemodule itself. You’ll notice a fixed focus lens with a button next to it. The button controls the shutter. Simply press it when you’re ready to snap your picture.
.FIGPAIR A The eyemodule adds very little extra weight or bulk to the Visor.
.H1 Using the eyemodule
The eyemodule is a true plug and play Springboard. When you first plug the camera into the Visor, it loads all the software necessary to run the module. This includes the viewing software. In fact, the eyemodule program is launched when the eyemodule is inserted. Once the eyemodule program starts, you’ll see whatever the camera lens is pointed at on the Visor’s screen. As you move the Visor, you’ll see the image on the screen change.
The on-screen image is of decent quality, but in low light situations it may be hard to make out. At the same time you see the image, you will see the menu choices that control how you operate the camera. At the top right of the screen you’ll find a series of dots. These determine what type of image you are taking. Three dots represent the 320×240 pixel color image, two dots represent the 320×240 pixel black and white image, and one dot represents the 160×120 pixel black and white image. By tapping with the stylus on these dots, you can change the resolution.
.H1 Memory requirements
Based on information found on the eyemodule Web site at http://www.eyemodule.com/splash.htm, you can expect the following capacity from your Visor. If your Visor Deluxe handheld has 5MB of free memory, it will be able to hold:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Over 500 small black and white images at 9K each;
.BULLET Over 125 large black and white images at 37K each;
.BULLET Over 25 large color images at 187K each.
.END_LIST
The eyemodule software, which is 48K in size, is figured into the above estimates. If you have the 8MB Flash module, you can move those pictures into the flash RAM and then free up your base RAM to take more photos.
.H1 On screen options
Along the bottom of the screen are four icons: a camera, an open rectangle representing a screen, a list icon, and an icon that kind of looks like two keys that when selected will bring up the Preferences screen. Selecting one of these icons will bring up the associated function. For example, if you tap the View icon, you will see the last image that you captured. Pressing the Visor’s scroll buttons while in this mode will switch you between images. Selecting the Image List, shown in Figure B, will bring up a list of all the images on the Visor along with their resolution. The Preferences icon will enable you to set a default resolution, category, and whether or not you want to be prompted to save an image.
.FIG B The Image List catalogues all the images stored on your Visor along with the time they were created and their resolution.
.H1 Crash problems
So how well does the eyemodule work? I had it up and running and my first three images stored in about five minutes. It’s really that easy. I had no problems with the unit till it came time to remove it from my Visor.
When I removed the eyemodule from my Visor, I wound up with either a Datamgr or Filemgr crash. This happened around 45% of the time. Most of the time, I was able to do a soft reset and not lose any data. However, one time I had to do a hard reset. Thankfully, I’m religious about backing up my Visor to the back-up module.
.CALLOUT You may want to disable your hacks before using the eyemodule.
I then tried using the eyemodule on a clean Visor and had absolutely no problems. I reloaded all my applications and had no problems. Then I reinstalled Hackmaster and all of my hacks. Bingo! Crash goes the Visor. I deactivated all the hacks and the eyemodule worked fine. I have not set about trying to determine which hack causes the crash, but a word of warning is in order here. You may want to disable your hacks before using the eyemodule.
.H1 Picture quality
By now you are probably asking yourself, "So how do the pictures look?" To be honest, I wasn’t too impressed with them. They are grainy, out of focus, and in the larger size images, object edges have a zippered look. To compare the three resolutions, I took three pictures. All of them were taken of the same subject at the same time from the same location. All that changed was the resolution of the shots. Figure C shows the room in 160×120 pixel black and white.
.FIG C Here’s a room photographed in the 160×120 pixel black and white resolution.
Figure D shows the same room in the 320×240 pixel black and white resolution.
.FIGPAIR D Here’s the room photographed in 320×240 pixel black and white resolution.
Finally, Figure E shows the room in the 320×240 color resolution.
.FIGPAIR E Here’s the room photographed in 320×240 color resolution.
In these examples, you can see the grainy quality of the image. Nighttime and low light pictures are even worse.
.H1 Positives
There are several nice features on the eyemodule I did like. For example, you can set a timer and capture a single image, or you can capture a series of images on a timed basis. I could think of several uses for this. Another feature I liked is the fact that you can beam an image to any other Palm device, even if it doesn’t support the camera itself. Eyemodule allows you to beam the viewing software along with the image. You can also attach notes to an image, which allows you to keep track of what each picture is.
Performing a HotSync of the images to my laptop worked flawlessly, and the bundled MediaCenter photo editing software is decent. However, if you have any other photo editing software, the packaged MediaCenter is redundant.
.H1 Battery drain
Besides the poor image quality, there is one other area you might want to be aware of if you use the eyemodule a lot; it eats batteries. You’ll go through them so fast, you’d better buy stock in a battery company. When the Visor is off and the eyemodule is installed, it has no effect on your batteries. However, if you have both the Visor and the eyemodule camera program on, you’d better beware. This can drain your Energizers in a flash. During my testing, I noticed that I went through twice as many batteries as I did before I started using the eyemodule.
.H1 Conclusion
I really wanted to like this product, but I was reminded of the old saying, "It’s not amazing how poorly the pig sings, but that it sings at all." This sums up my feelings about the eyemodule. I’m not totally down on the eyemodule, however. I love the idea, and I even like the product. I’m just not sure it’s ready for prime time yet. I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt as it’s a first release and doubtless will get better in future versions. For now, however, if you want the latest and greatest in cool geek toys, save that $150 towards a real digital camera.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on the eyemodule, visit http://www.eyemodule.com/splash.htm.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Craig Bobchin is a consultant who has been using Palm devices since 1996. He is the author of over 150 articles on all facets of computing. Craig can be reached at Cbobchin@csi.com.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?13@@.ee6e32f
