Lenovo's compact USB webcam

Webcams probably aren't the first thing you think of when you hear the name Lenovo, but if this little foray into the already-crowded space is any indication, we hope it won't be the last we see from them. The specs are fairly run-of-the-mill, with a decent 1.3 megapixel sensor, built-in noise-canceling microphone, and USB 2.0 connectivity -- as is the less-than-original "USB WebCam" name. But the design should be sure to please anyone looking to relive the gadget glory days of the Cold War, with a sliding lens cover inspired by Minox's famous 60s spy camera. The spring clip attachment will also ensure that the cam stays in place no matter how thin your display is. Sadly, it apparently does not double as a weapon of any sort, though you can get your hands on one right now for about eighty bucks.

[Via Design Matters, thanks Richard]

[Raider @ Oct 6th 2006 6:27AM]

At least it "looks" better than most of the other stuff *desktops* they have.

[Dave Pevsner @ Oct 6th 2006 6:41AM]

i want one.

[Eli @ Oct 6th 2006 7:39AM]

Boris?
Vat eez eet, Natasha?
Zis camera lookink just like spyink camera!
Let us buy eet, and use eet to talk to friends back in Russia!

[Ebzy @ Oct 6th 2006 7:42AM]

nice try eli but that wasn't even remotely funny.

although judging by the shape of it i'm sure natasha would use it for many other things

[chbob @ Oct 6th 2006 10:19AM]

Thats a pretty heafty price for a meteocre webcam, but I guess it should be expected considering all the other lenovo products are the same way. Other than that the design looks nice, and seems as though would blend in well as opposed to those big sphere shaped cams.

[lol @ Oct 6th 2006 10:22AM]

This China Brand is Sucks!

[Keith @ Oct 6th 2006 12:41PM]

This is hardly a new area for Lenovo. I'm studying in China now, and Lenovo's got full blown lines of all sorts of gadgetry, from cellphones to computer mice to USB drives. If only they would bring their gadgets stateside...

[Lazarpandar @ Oct 9th 2006 5:25AM]

Noise-canceling microphone?

Wouldn't that completely defeat the purpose of having a microphone if it cancled the noise that went into it?

Ridiculous... Completely ridiculous.

[Prateek Sharma @ Oct 6th 2006 7:31AM]

Dude.. come out of age.. Noise Cancelling microphone DOES NOT cancel out YOUR voice.. It just filters out unwanted background noise (such as noise of a humming fan, etc.)

[Katja @ Dec 3rd 2006 6:52AM]

Does anyone have experience with the sound quality of the built-in mic? I have tried a current Logitech cam with built-in mic, and the sound quality is pretty bad. It does pick up voice even from the other end of the room. But on the other hand it distorts the voice, and makes it sound very unnatural and hard to understand. Has anyone experienced this with Lenovo's cam, or is sound quality good?

[Kyle @ Jan 15th 2007 5:49PM]

I use to own the Quickcam for Notebooks Pro, and I like this camera better. It is much more 'attachment friendly' than the logitech was, and I swear the picture is better (though that doesn't make sense given the spec basically identical). If you need a portable cam for notebooks, I doubt there's a beter one on the market.

[Bob @ Apr 23rd 2007 5:25PM]

Works well, but NOT if you are using Vista - NO Drivers available per IBM 4/6/07. Vista just halts when you pug in the USB connection. I see Lenovo has now pulled it off their 'Products' listing. If you 've got XP - no problem, but it won't work if you're on Vista.

[jazzlover @ Jun 22nd 2007 9:23AM]

I have been able to get partial functionality under Vista. The software installation WAS problematic. But I can get video signal from the camera. I cannot however, get audio to the webcam's mic. I have to use a USB headset.

[anonymous coward @ Oct 6th 2007 1:15AM]

Vista support appears to have been added. Go to

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-66973

and download the necessary driver.