Intel Press Release

Intel Unleashes The PC Camera

Intel® Pocket PC Camera Detaches To Go Where The Photos Are

HILLSBORO, Ore., Aug. 15, 2000 - Intel Corporation is unleashing the PC camera to offer users the capability to shoot Internet-ready photos and record video at, and away from, the PC.

The Intel® Pocket PC Camera is an inexpensive and easy-to-use product that includes a detachable PC Camera that can be taken to backyard barbecues, summer softball games and family vacations. The package comes with a software suite so that when the digital PC Camera is reattached to its PC, consumers can make video phone calls, create personal Web pages, send e-mail postcards, create PC movies, edit photos and play PC Camera games. The Intel Pocket PC Camera is available at $149 manufacturer's suggested retail price.

"Unleashing the PC Camera gives consumers more freedom and flexibility to take snapshots and video anywhere and share them with family and friends over the Internet within minutes," said Don Whiteside, general manager of the Intel Connected Products Division. "When tethered to a PC, the Intel Pocket PC Camera becomes a video phone that lets friends and family easily connect so they can see each other more often."

The eight-ounce Intel Pocket PC Camera is a high-quality VGA camera with a CCD sensor for enhanced low-light performance, and a four-element lens with a 50-degree field of view. When connected to a PC through the supplied USB cable and monitor cradle, the Intel Pocket PC Camera provides unlimited video capture and still image snapshot capabilities. When untethered, the camera's built-in 8 MB of memory can capture a combination of 128 Internet-ready VGA quality (640x480) images or two minutes of video. An auto setting lets users capture five shots in two seconds, and a self-timer lets everyone get in the picture. Batteries, a carrying case, and wrist strap are included.

Package Includes Comprehensive Intel™ Create & Share™ Software
The Intel Pocket PC Camera comes with the comprehensive Intel® Create & Share™ Software. The software suite includes Microsoft Windows Netmeeting**, an easy-to-use video phone software that lets users make video phone calls over dial-up and broadband Internet connections, including cable and digital subscriber lines (DSL).** Now, distant friends and loved ones can see and talk to each other easily and more often.

The Intel® Create & Share™ Software also features:

  • Intel® E-mail Postcard that can be used to personalize e-mail with video, snapshots and sound;
  • Intel Video E-mail that makes sending a video e-mail quick and easy;
  • Intel® Auto Snapshot that brings Webcam features to consumers by letting them take motion-triggered or time-interval pictures that can be saved to a disk, posted to personal home pages or sent through e-mail automatically;
  • Intel® Movie Builder software to create movies or presentations complete with video, still images, titles and transitions;
  • Intel® Home Page Builder to make personal Web pages with just a few mouse clicks;
  • Intel® Picture Manager to quickly review and save photos from the Intel Pocket PC Camera;
  • PC Camera games, developed by Reality Fusion*, that show contestants on their computer screens interacting with virtual objects, such as basketballs or bubbles; and
  • MGI Photosuite SE software that offers enhanced picture editing and creativity capabilities.

As an added value, the Intel Pocket PC Camera will include the Intel® Bonus CD in selected North American retail packages this fall. Designed for friendly navigation, the Bonus CD contains a suite of creative Web-based services that allow PC camera owners to publish and broadcast their personal video clips and photos on the Web and more. All of the services are free and have been optimized to work with the entire family of Intel PC Cameras.

According to an industry forecast by InfoTrends Research Group, the North American market for PC Cameras will reach 38 million units by 2003, when more than 50 percent of PCs will include a PC Camera as an essential input device, much like a mouse.

System Requirements
The Intel Pocket PC Camera comes in an easy-to-install plug-and-play Universal Serial Bus (USB) version. Minimum system requirements include desktop or notebook PC with Intel® Pentium® processor with MMX™ technology at 166 MHz or an Intel® Celeron™ processor, Windows** 98, 98SE or Millennium Edition, Windows** compatible sound card with speakers and microphone, 32 MB RAM and Internet access.

The Intel Pocket PC Camera is available nationwide at most computer stores and online retailers. More information is available at www.intel.com/PCcamera.

The Intel Pocket PC Camera is one of four products in Intel's award-winning line of PC Cameras. To meet a broad range of customer requirements, Intel offers the Intel® Easy PC Camera priced at $49 MSRP, the Intel® PC Camera priced at $79 MSRP, and the Intel® PC Camera Pro Pack, priced at $99 after manufacturer's rebate.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.