By Raul

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Software

The PalmPix comes with a CD-ROM that contains the necessary programs to interface the PalmPix with the Palm desktop. Installation is automatic and easy; integration into Palm desktop is easy -- your pictures are downloaded from the Palm in a normal hotsync. For mine, it comes right after Avantgo updates its Web pages. The installer also contains the Palm-side image capture/management software. It is installed in a normal hotsync.

The software is easy to use and first-rate. I have not experienced any crashes due to the software on either the Palm or my PC. Image file saving paths and preferred file format can be set through the Hotsync > Custom menu on your Palm desktop. You can also choose whether to delete the files automatically off your Palm upon downloading and set file overwrite preferences.

As of this writing, Kodak has released an update of its Palm-side capture software which makes a few imaging and interface changes.

Get it on

The PalmPix camera snaps to the bottom of the Palm using plastic tangs that grab onto the standard peripheral slots on either side of the PDA. The fit is quite snug at first. After about 350 shots, it has loosened somewhat, but is still solid. Neither the tangs on the PalmPix side nor the slots on the Palm side show visible wear. Note that the PalmPix must be snapped onto the Palm with the Palm cover open or ajar, but once it is installed the cover can close completely just fine. Other Palm peripherals such as the 3COM Palm modem have this quick as well, and it is a result of the design of the attachment method.

Run the program

After installation, the user runs the PalmPix program on the Palm. The picture manager screen comes up. Stored pictures are listed, along with a shots-left counter, an icon indicating timer status and an icon indicating high- or low-res mode. The viewfinder is activated by pressing the datebook button. The image preview is updated constantly, but lags behind real-time by a fraction of a second. If you are going to do anything other than absolute still shooting, you can't use the viewfinder to monitor the action. The preview is in black-and-white and very coarse in resolution, although upon snapping the photo (by another press on the datebook button), the b/w preview sharpens up a bit to show the final captured image.

While in preview/viewfinder mode, a small battery monitor graphically indicates the status of the PalmPix batteries. Tapping this icon cancels the viewfinder and returns to the image manager mode. The preview mode will also cancel itself if no image is snapped within a minute or two. In the latest incarnation of the capture software, timer and resolution status indicators are also displayed in preview mode.

Shoot it!

The actual "snap" lags behind the button push by about a quarter-second. An audible "click/beep" lets you know the image is shot. Setting the timer gives you 10 seconds from the time the photo button is pressed until the camera actually takes the shot. During this time, the Palm emits a series of clicks, and a series of quicker ones just before the picture is shot, at which time the normal "click/beep" is heard.

It takes roughly 10 seconds for a high-res image to be transferred to and stored on your Palm. During this time, a bar graph indicates save progress, and a trash can icon allows cancellation of the save at any time. Each image, in JPEG format, is about 100k, so shots left depends on your free memory. Due to the relatively long period of time for saving, it is difficult to capture several shots in succession. The high-res mode is really the only useful mode on this camera -- the low-res quality is too poor to do much of anything practical with. The zoom function is similarly useless.

Check it out

Once the image is saved, you are dumped back into image manager mode, and a new photo is added to the list. The default name for the photo is a six-digit number, which corresponds to the number of pictures the camera has taken since installation of the software on the Palm. The date and time the photo was taken is also listed. Tapping on the photo will bring up a preview, in 256 colors if you have a Palm IIIc. From this preview screen, the "Details ..." button allows re-naming of the file, categorization, privacy setting or deletion.

The menus in the main manager mode will allow beaming or deletion of images, as well as customization of just which images will be uploaded to your desktop PC at the next hotsync.