Smile, you’re on internet camera!

Computer systems specialist Randy McClary wanted to keep an eye on his baby while he was away, but nothing seemed to work.

His wife would shoot pictures of eight-month-old Samantha Ann from a camera on their PC and e-mail it to him while he was traveling. The images proved too cumbersome to download to his Toshiba 335 CDS laptop, even at a relatively fast 33.3 bps connection.

Then he found the FoneCam, a new remote digital camera with a self-contained modem. Bingo.

“I can dial in any time see what she’s doing now,” he says. “It works really well, and I use it often, because I’m on the road four days out of the week. When I can’t be there, this is kind of my ‘cyber’ way of putting her to sleep.”

The FoneCam is among several new video products that are finding favor with travelers.

Until now, most cameras were slow, low-res contraptions that depended on a PC to work. Today’s technology is untethering the camera from the computer. And the ones that remain PC-dependent are offering better picture quality, full motion and come bundled with thoughtfully-scripted software.

At least that’s the case with the Kritter, a full-motion digital video camera that attaches to your laptop screen. The egg-size device plugs in to your portable through a standard card slot and readily connects to the Internet for videoconferencing.

I took a closer look at the Kritter and FoneCam and concluded that they represented far and away the best solutions in their category for travelers – although that’s not saying much. Because even though these components are evolving at a considerable speed, it seems the demands that mobile professionals make on the technology continues to outpace what’s offered.

Take bandwidth, for example.

I know you can’t blame the lack of line speed on these developers – not entirely, at least – but it sure makes these cameras look as if they shot the outtakes from “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

Videoconferencing with Kritter was particularly frustrating. Not only did the full-motion render like slow-motion on my PowerBook, but the overall jerkiness of the images I received gave the experience a surreal quality. The FoneCam, meanwhile, which comes equipped with a 14.4 kbps modem, had me abandoning the hope of 30 frames per second entirely.

Travelers need a solution that looks professional. Whether it’s a remote camera, like the FoneCam, or an attachable camera, such as the Kritter, I think developers ought to tackle connection speeds before we trade our collective copies of Outlook and Eudora for CU-SeeMe.

In the user-friendliness category, both cameras shine. The FoneCam took only a couple of minutes to assemble. There were few cables to connect, and the software loaded right up without any fuss.

My only complaint is that once it’s turned on, it seems to interfere with other electronic devices. You have to unplug everything or move the radio if you want to receive a clear signal, for example.

Kritter is a cinch to set up, too. I made the mistake of sliding the card connection into the wrong slot and then had some trouble dropping the software extensions into the right folder on my computer’s desktop, but all in all, it took about the same amount of time to get running as FoneCam.

It may seem obvious to you, but it’s worth repeating: the portable camera’s greatest strength is its portability. I really liked the way Kritter could practically fit inside my pocket. It also looks cool, like one of the video game space aliens on Starcraft. The “claws” on the camera latch on to the top of the screen with surprising ease. FoneCam, on the other hand, is only a marginal camera if it’s used strictly with a PC. But because the gadget works remotely – which is to say, you can dial-in to the camera and then capture its images – it is truly a one-of-a-kind peripheral. If its developer could add an IP address and full-motion to future versions, the FoneCam would probably make an absolute category-killer.

The cameras aren’t without their flaws.

I’ve already mentioned the FoneCam’s propensity for interfering with my radio. Kritter froze my notebook up so many times that I finally unplugged the darned thing. I suspect my computer doesn’t have enough memory for the task, although a warning to that effect would have been nice. For me, the other drawback is the price. FoneCam will set you back by $400, while Kritter costs about $250. I’ll probably wait for a few more generations of these cameras before I buy one.

One other thing to ponder: It’s fine to keep an eye on your baby daughter, as McClary does. But I can also imagine all kinds of other, less appropriate, ways of using this technology. Ways that would probably inspire George Orwell. Imagine your supervisor insisting on a FoneCam in your office. Or your IT department mandating a Kritter on ever laptop. Scary, isn’t it?

It isn’t far-fetched. I’ve worked in offices where I wouldn’t put it past my power-hungry micromanaging supervisors to abuse these gadgets.

Maybe the infant state of this industry is a good thing after all.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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