Review: Ipevo USB PoV Webcam

Ipevo was generous enough to lend us one of their movable PoV cams that we first told you about it back in December. The $39.99 priced camera came intact with a CD, mounting pieces that are mostly easy to attach, and almost everything we needed to test it out. Unfortunately, the extended instructions were on the CD, so it was a back and forth effort. Our full review after the jump.

(Thanks, Caroline)

The USB 1.1/2.0 PoV works like a regular webcam/omni-directional microphone and has several attachments to clip it to laptop or desk, although we never could get that third piece of stand to hook up with the device. It can also be a security monitor if you have Skype when you are away from home. Although you don’t need the service to use the PoV, they claim it will provide, “enhanced shoot and send.”

The cam can also take still pics with point and shoot. We got that to work eventually, albeit only once. There is a button atop it to put it in camera mode, and a green LED light for an on/off indication. The PoV has two magnification settings to send regular or mini images to others with an auto-focus and the quality of the images is generally good. After you take shots, you can upload them and set up a file for either personal or public use.

To be fair, we had a few problems installing and using the PoV. Our older computer kept saying that we already had a cam in operation and wanted us to turn it off. So we took it to another computer that is new, updated, and has Windows XP Professional. We got the screen up, but when we tried to connect the cam to Yahoo IM to test it, it said it was not hooked up. Go figure.

We also got a warning that there was a virus involved somewhere. That was enough for us. Don’t get us wrong. We love the idea of a lightweight webcam that does more than just sit there. And we are sure that their kind people would have been glad to walk us through the process, but we think that Ipevo needed to take another look at their basic design, instructions, and usage before they unleashed it on the world in general.

 

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