Veo Announces 1.3MP Camera for Tungstens

>>I'm tring to figure out which Tungsten doesn't it doesn't work with... I assume it doesn't work with the T|W, but who knows what other handhelds.

I'd guess that the one Tungsten it does not support is the Tungsten W - its an OS 4 device and they would probably not write a driver for OS 4 just to support this device that does sell nearly the number of units as the others.

What's the deal? Want that huge monitor.

"One hour martinizing! Who is this guy martin anyhow?"

I believe that Palm dropped their plans for a version of this in order to sell more Palm Zire 91s (or whatever the next Zire camera model is called). I expect them to do a close approximation of the NX 80 features, HVGA, 200+ MZ ARM, 32-64 MB RAM, like that. I would not expect a keyboard of flip--twist screen. But, who can say for sure.

Anyway, Palm has sold tons of Zire 71s with mediocre cameras. They can sell tons more of these with mediocre+ built-in cameras and the packaging, distribution and other cost are lower. One CD to burn vs. 2, economies like that. And the bottom line is that customers expect less of a built-in camera than they do of an add-on.

"It's intersting that palmOne themselves were going to offer a branded version of this camera - but decided not to because of the previous failures of these sorts of cameras (Kodak, Veo), and because the quality of this one just ain't all that great..."

PalmOne never said anything about the quality of this unit when they announced they wouldn't rebrand it. I don't know where you got such an impression unless you just made an assumption, which you then mistakenly presented as fact. There could be any number of reasons for PalmOne and Veo to have made such a decision. One I can think of off the top of my head is that if Veo is going to sell this anyway, and it complements PalmOne's product line, why would PalmOne want or need to "compete" with Veo on this issue? It seems both companies would be losers if they did this. Additionally, PalmOne has other more important things to worry about such as tweaking OS6 to work with their upcoming and existing product lines, and (hopefully) figuring out how to include an second SD slot into one of their handhelds so that stuff like this will actually be of some use.

_________________
Sean

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

Someone bought this camera (if you can call it a camera) and left a feedback on Amazon.
Maybe the person was baised, maybe not but his comment on the camera was NOT very flattering.
I think it's back to the drawning board for Veo or Palm. I for one would LOVE to see a decent MP camera being offered as an add-on, for all the Tungsten and Palm-unit-minus-camera lovers.

I have the previous Veo SD camera, and this one actually looks larger. It's still quite small, but with many budget ultracompact digital camera's coming down in price and size, it seems like one would be better off getting a small digital camera with flash and accoutrements. Getting a decent lens and flash can make a big difference for "casual" pictures.

Dual slots would be the way to go. Fortunately, the higher end devices have enough RAM nowadays. With the existing Veo (hey, it was free), a T3 with the RAM half full can take 177 pics at 640x480. Change to the lower res of 320x240 and you can take over 700 pics, which is more than most inexpensive cameras. Of course, the quality is not as good with the original Veo, but we will have to see how the new one does. Video with audio? Now we REALLY need dual slots!

"And may I interest you in touching my slim new Zodiac2?"

Sure! Just mail it to me an I'll send it right back... in a few years!

The Zodiac2 would be the perfect device for this camera, hope they allow saving pics directly to card, which would make it even better.

"Yeah if it wasn't for the analog stick problem, the headphone jack problem, the lousy support, and the lack of any kind of response from Tapwave on these issues (such as a simple we are working on a fix for these problems) the Zodiac would be a great device. However, if these issues do not get fixed (which is the feeling one gets from Tapwave) the Zodiac makes a really nice paperweight."

Are you personally experiencing any of the above mentioned problems??? If not, why in the world are you bringing them up? If you are, why haven't you sent your Zodiac back for replacment? Tapwave has been replacing ANY and EVERY Zodiac with any type of issue that has been brought up. They have released a notice that they are looking at the returned units and trying to determine what the problem is before they can take action to correct it. I have had my Zodiac since November 19th and (knocks on wood) I have had ZERO problems with it - this is the case with VAST majority of the user base out there.

It really frustrates me when people start talking about shortcomings and never bother to elaborate on them... Perhaps you should visit http://www.zodiacgamer.com and read on about the current developments...

Back on the subject - I found the Veo 130C Camera for $78 shipped but it does not mention anything about PalmOS. I can't find this company's web site to check if drivers are available on there or if they will ONLY be shipped in a certain packages labeled for PALM OS use. I have tried the HP version of what looks to be the same camera and my Zodiac basically comes up with an error message that there's no software to run this card...

I still have my sharp Wizard OZ-7000 in my desk...

So you have had 3 units replaced and are saying that they have bad support. I don't see how their SUPPORT is bad. Sounds to me like Tapwave is trying to get the problem resolved. A company who's support is crap wouldn't even acknowledge your existence, instead Tapwave has attempted to resolve the problem by replacing your Zodiac. The problem is in manufacturing and I hate to say it but it sounds to me like bad luck on your part. There are faulty units out there, it's just that you have struck on 3 of them (so far ;) ). Hopefully your next unit will be good and you will be able to enjoy it the way I enjoy mine. The process of you sending your bad unit back before they can send you a replacmenet is just that - a process which a young company has adopted. Most companies which do advanced exchange normally take down a credit card number to ensure that the bad unit is returned - Tapwave has not taken this approach yet, however it is possible they will. As for the 30% with the joystic problem - I don't buy that for a second. More like 10% that are experiencing the actual joystick problem, like what you have described, the rest just feel like it's a problem but then re-calibrate it and it works fine. I'd say that for a start-up company they DO have multiple issues to address, however this takes time and patience on the part of the EARLY ADOPTERS. If you rushed out and bought the very first one off the line - you HAVE to be prepared that it MIGHT have issues.

I still have my sharp Wizard OZ-7000 in my desk...

You may need a macro mode.

"One hour martinizing! Who is this guy martin anyhow?"

"Having said all that, my understanding is that the quality of the pictures this thing takes still sucks. The number of megapixels is only one small part of what goes into making a decent photo. It's a numbers game, like touting megahertz or RAM size. Looks good on paper, but doesn't give the whole picture (no pun intended)."

How can ANYONE attest to the quality of this thing when it...hasn't....been....released....yet. Once again, I'm withholding judgement until I see the final product in action.

_________________
Sean

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

"As if they just started furiously coding those Palm OS drivers after they released this for the PPC."

I have no inside info, but it's my opinion that they were pressured by MS to release the PPC version first. It does not make sense for them to work more agressively for the smaller market unless there was some type of influence there.

This piece of crap peripheral has been out and tested for several months.

but hey, maybe it will look good on palm. (and maybe SD WiFi will have better range on palm too. lol)

PS. the camera released is delayed till Feb. (see brighthand)