Symbian in Motion

Have you ever wished that you had an app on your S60 3rd device that would give you webcam capabilities and integrate quickly and easily with YouTube or your blog? I know a lot of people who have craved such an app for a very long time. Well the wait is over thanks to ComVu!

PocketCaster facilitates live video streaming from your mobile device and is capable of streaming content to several webcast pages, blogs, and social networking sites via GPRS, EDGE, 3G, or WLAN. Capable of streaming live video and video files already on your device/MMC, PocketCaster provides an all-inclusive webcam service - FOR FREE (at least for the time being)!

The configuration details and external webcast site integration is all done through the ComVu website once you’ve registered for an account. Your account is fully accessible from your PC/Mac and your S60 3rd browser by the way. Starting a new webcast on your device is quite simple. The Options button gives you access to the Video Info section where you can input your webcast data such as Title, Author, and Tags.

Then the setup section gives you access to a variety of options including the ability to select whether you would like to stream from live video or a saved video already on your device/MMC.

Steaming live video is a breeze with PocketCaster. Just make sure that “Webcast from file” is set to ‘no’ within the app setup. Then from the home screen click on Options -> Start. Guess what? You’re webcasting!

PocketCaster also has a My Account section that provides several direct links to various pages within your web account. The app interfaces directly with your S60 3rd browser and as long as you don’t clear your cookies you’ll be able to go directly to the relevant webpages without having to log in.

If you don’t have a blog or YouTube account, no need to worry. Your free PocketCaster account also comes with a free webcast page that you can link your friends to whenever you want them to see your live webcasts. ComVu webcast pages can be accessed from any computer or mobile phone with an internet connection.

I have to say that I am very impressed with PocketCaster. A LOT of people have been waiting for an app like this and I think that PocketCaster is even more feature-rich than many would expect - especially from a free service. You should definitely sign up and give it a try yourself. After playing with it for a few days, my only complaint is that there is currently no interface with Wordpress blogs. Rather than show a demo video here via YouTube, maybe Ricky will read this post and give us a little demo on his blog (typepad is fully supported by PocketCaster).

;)

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One of the more unique applications that I’ve come across recently is an interesting little app by bit-side GmbH, developer of various mobile and PC applications. PanoMan is an intelligent app that allows you to use your camera-equipped S60 3rd device to take panoramic photos. Using what bit-side refers to as an “innovative, fully automatic stitching-algorithm,” it allows the user to rotate in place while it captures their surroundings. We’re not simply talking about wide angle here - we’re talking up to 360º panoramic images!

The app opens to a stylish and professional looking interface with a view finder window at the center. Pressing the joystick up/down allows you to scroll through the few available settings - resolution (2200×240 or 1280×120) and storage (phone memory or card memory). “Trigger” starts and stops the image capture function. PanoMan also comes equipped with its own image browser which allows you to browse through your image gallery and even send pics via bluetooth, infrared, or MMS.

Operation is very simple. Once the desired resolution is selected, just line up the beginning of your shot and select Trigger with the center joystick key. As you rotate you can watch in the viewfinder as PanoMan stitches frames together until you press the center joystick key again to end the capture. After a few seconds of work your finished product is displayed and you can choose to save or discard your new panorama.
In terms of use and image quality I’ve had mixed results. It takes a few tries to learn how fast to rotate to get the best quality. In poorly lit rooms or cloudy weather I’ve had a great deal of difficulty producing an image that isn’t blurry. This is certainly due in part to the camera itself.

On sunny days I’ve had very good results. Usually I take each picture several times and rotate at different speeds to ensure that one of them will come out well (it’s impossible to tell until you transfer the picture to your PC). The example below was taken outside of my office building and represents just under 180º of rotation. You’ll notice some light areas in front of the tree due to the sun.

(click on image for full view)
Here is another example, this time of a vertical panorama.

(click on image for full view)

PanoMan is great for sunny landscape shots and panoramas of open areas. I should mention that it is quite heavy on your processor though so for best results make sure that all other apps are closed. I’ve found that PanoMan operates very smoothly with at least 12MB - 13MB of free RAM. I would certainly recommend that you download the PanoMan demo version and have some fun. The full version is very affordable and can be found on handango. Try having a friend stand about three or four yards/meters away and then use PanoMan to follow them as they circle you for some interesting results.

;)

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