Nokia camera sends a cell message
Source: CNet News
A wall-mounted surveillance camera that can send images directly to a cell phone will be available in the United States this summer, according to maker Nokia.
The Observation Camera will launch in July, executives for the Finnish phone giant said Tuesday. The sub-$500 device is among the first to use so-called machine-to-machine (M2M) technology, which lets machines use cellular telephone networks to communicate with computer systems or other machines.
M2M has attracted some big-name supporters, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Intel, which are all trying to capture a bigger slice of the emerging market for wireless monitoring gear.
Wireless Data Research Group expects worldwide sales of such devices to blossom to $28 billion a year by 2007, as companies rip out the wiring now needed to accomplish the same tasks.
But for now, devices and buyers remain few and far between. Nokia has released just one other product, a GSM connectivity terminal. Meanwhile, customers for M2M gear are limited mainly to security firms or large manufacturing plants, said Michael Lang, president of wireless equipment provider Airdesk, which plans to sell the new Nokia-made cameras in the United States.
