Digicam Plugs Into Axim PDA

Dell's Axim now has an eye: The handheld can take photographs with the help of a piggyback camera from Veo.

The Axim, introduced in November, is the third of the personal digital assistant devices now supported by Veo's Photo Traveler line of cameras. These digicams do not work by themselves, but must be plugged into a PDA's CompactFlash slot to take pictures.

The Veo Photo Traveler for Dell Axim is available now, priced at $100--the same price as earlier Veo Photo Travelers for Palm and other Pocket PC handhelds.

Although the Axim is a Pocket PC device, the original Photo Traveler for Pocket PC doesn't work with it. The reason is more physical than logical. Dell's handheld has a deeper CompactFlash slot, and the existing version didn't quite fit into it. The new, longer model does.

Camera as Add-On

Every handheld contains flash memory, an LCD screen, and batteries. If you own one and keep it handy, you own and carry around these, as well. Add a lens, a light-sensitive CMOS chip, and other circuitry to handle chores like white balance and JPEG compression, and you'd have a digital camera.

That's the idea behind the Photo Traveler. By itself, it's an .8-ounce, 2.75-by-1.25-by-1-inch device that doesn't do anything. Plug it into an Axim, Pocket PC, or Palm device and it uses the handheld's LCD and power to become a digital camera that can be used for stills, short video, and teleconferencing.

Since it doesn't have its own memory, the Photo Traveler saves photos to the handheld's internal memory, or to a Secure Digital card if the handheld has the appropriate slot. It cannot save pictures to a CompactFlash card because the camera itself is in that slot. Of course, you could save to the handheld, remove the camera, insert a CompactFlash memory card, and transfer the pictures to the card.

Basic Shots Only

With its 640-by-480 resolution and lack of a flash or zoom lens, the Photo Traveler isn't the right tool if you want good, printable photos of your kids. It's more likely to be used in professions where people need to be mobile and keep a visual record, such as real estate and insurance.

Still, it's not completely lacking in amenities. You can adjust focus and exposure manually or let the camera do it automatically. It offers white balance and color control, and has what Veo describes as a "rugged and stylish carrying case." One particularly interesting feature: You can swivel the lens 180 degrees, enabling you to take a picture of yourself.