Laptop users, being high on portability and convenience are constantly looking to enhance their computing experience. One of the biggest advantages that a laptop offers is the ability to communicate and work while on the run, one can practically work while traveling and be well networked at the same time. As far as communication is concerned, the added dimension of video conferencing and chat is pretty much common these days; users prefer to make the best use of technology and use it to their advantage. Being able to video conference with a client or for that matter with friends and relatives, while traveling or while being away from office is certainly a great option to have. This is where notebook Webcams take over, they provide a fine match of portability and convenience for the mobile user.

The WebCam Notebook from Creative is a specially designed Webcam for notebook computers. Having tested quite a few digital cameras from Creative, one can realize the efforts made by them to become a dominant player in the camera market. Creative is looking to rise to the occasion and match up with Logitech in terms of the range of products it can offer the cam market. What needs to be found out is whether Creative is also matching up with Logitech in terms of quality. Considering the local market, Logitech and Creative are the two major brands today, offering multiple products in the Webcam category. Let's hook the cam and find out what Creative has on offer for the laptop users.





Looks and Features
The looks are in-sync in terms of portability and style. Measuring only 60 mm in length and 17 mm in height (without the clip), the size and design of the product compliment the laptops very well. The Creative Webcam NoteBook has a horizontal pitch of 45 degrees downward and a vertical panning angle of 270 degrees that lets you capture the image of something happening in front of you rather than capturing yourself.

This USB Webcam employs a CMOS colour sensor that enables still images captures of 640 x 480 pixel resolutions and live video up to 640 x 480 pixel resolutions at 15 fps. The resolution is certainly the high point of the Webcam, 640 x 480 pixels is a much better resolution for online conferencing and video chat, provided the user has enough bandwidth to transfer video at that resolution. The image capture resolution is also decent enough for sending pictures through email and also using them for Web pages.

Performance
The set-up is a quick two-step process of hooking the Webcam to the USB port and installing the drivers that came bundled with the product. A basic wizard helps the user to fine tune the video quality and provides video correction in case of banding if any. The clip-on design is perfect for the laptop screen and should fit most laptops. The CMOS sensor certainly will have its limitations in terms of effectiveness in lowlight conditions and the ability to display bright colours. The absence of a microphone is difficult to understand, a microphone would have made the offer more complete, allowing capture of video clips with sound.

Video quality is good in terms of colours but it's grainy in even the slightest lowlight condition, so the first requisite would be ample light to avoid the grainy video. The pictures clicked were rather soft and again with visible grains. In terms of the FPS (frames per second) this Webcam does well, at 640 x 480 pixels the camera easily captures 20 FPS and above, which is sufficient enough at that resolution. The lag in movements is almost unnoticeable, thanks to the good frame rate. ArcSoft Photo Impression and ArcSoft Multimedia Email software bundled with the camera are a treat for video editing and adding clips to the email. A nice carrying case is provided for ease of convenience.

Conclusion
To put it in a nutshell, the WebCam Notebook gives a high resolution, great portability and adequate styling. If only a CCD lens was used instead of CMOS, the grainy video quality could have been avoided and the colours also would have been brighter. At a price tag of Rs. 4,199/- the product scores well on aesthetics and build quality delivering satisfactory video quality, provided the light conditions are good.

Test Unit Sourced From: Creative Labs, India.