HP's two megapixel wide-angle webcam

Almost lost amid all the other news HP made last week was this humble little webcam, apparently known only as the HP 2-Megapixel Webcam. Though there's certainly nothing flashy about it (which we kinda dig, given some of the other webcams we've seen), it does pack a fairly decent feature set, with a 2-megapixel still resolution, 800 x 600 video at 30 frames per second, face-tracking, and an integrated microphone. Best of all, however, is the wide-angle lens, which'll give you (or the person on the other end) a spacious view of 76 degrees diagonally and 65 degrees horizontally. The cam itself measures 6.1 x 1.9 x 2.9-inches and comes with a handy stand that'll also double as a clip to attach it to a LCD monitor or laptop. No word on price, though it should be out sometime before the holiday season. [Warning: PDF link]

[ChrisJ @ Oct 3rd 2006 9:36AM]

And of course no official (if any) OS X support.

[Peter @ Oct 3rd 2006 10:10AM]

ChrisJ - Yes, damn them for making a product that only works with 95% of the machines out there. What were they thinking?
If you choose an OS that is in the minority, then you have to accept the fact that there will be fewer available peripherals and software.

[craig @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:06PM]

"And of course no official (if any) OS X support."

Why bother since what few macs that don't have iSight built in will get iSights anyway when webcam is desired. iSights that, I might add, do not come with any Windows XP support. Unlike HP's product, Apple's version only supports 5% of the market.

The world doesn't revolve around OS X.

[ChrisJ @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:25PM]

> What were they thinking? If you choose an OS that is in the minority, then you have to accept the fact that there will be fewer available peripherals and software.

Does writing drivers for a webcam is such a time and money consuming task? If HP wants to sell a good quality webcam, why not include OSX and Linux software with it?

> Why bother since what few macs that don't have iSight built in

Well, I still have one.

> will get iSights anyway when webcam is desired

Sorry, looking for an alternative.

> iSights that, I might add, do not come with any Windows XP support.
> Unlike HP's product, Apple's version only supports 5% of the market.

You then have the same right to blame Apple as I to bitch HP.

[craig @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:18PM]

"You then have the same right to blame Apple as I to bitch HP."

You speak as though there's an expectation that HP has failed to live up to. The PC industry is under no obligation to support a minority, closed platform with miniscule market share and who's controlling company makes competitive products that are integrated into their systems. What an option? Buy a PC.

HP supporting OS X would result in essentially no new sales, excluding you apparently. Apple, on the other hand, might benefit by offering Windows drivers, considering that the market is 15x larger and now Apple is capable of running that software on its platform. I think Apple should be blamed far more for the exclusion than HP should.

[stallen @ Oct 3rd 2006 10:54PM]

Looks like a nice webcam with 800 x 600 at 30 fps. Anyone care to comment about the webcam?

[testing @ Nov 10th 2008 11:00AM]

Thank you for telling me how the angle of view is measured:
view of 76 degrees diagonally is 65 degrees horizontally.

you just got yourself a customer