Korean company Samsung of their newest 1/4" SoC image sensor built specifically for web cams. The 1.2MP sensor - expected to be shipping in products in quantity by mid-2009 promises to be the first to produce High-Definition 720p-quality video (at 30 FPS) and able to stream 640x480 VGA video at 60 FPS. Improved light sensitivity of webcam video capture is achieved through an innovative 2x2 pixel processing/grouping technique called 'binning'.

There's a huge market potential here. Few webcam companies other than Logitech use state of the art sensors such as in their PRO webcam line. The sub $50 webcam market is rife with not only cheap sensors - but low quality plastic or glass lenses at best. From personal webcam chats to the talking heads on YouTube -- there's hope some of the blurry, off-color and downright LOUSY webcam images we've been inflicting on each other may suddenly get ALOT better in the year ahead.

Tags: technology, webcam resolution, gadgets, webcam light sensitivity, webcam color balance, HD webcam, high definition webcam

Logitech's top-of-the-line Apple Macintosh compatible USB Video Class webcam - the UVC Compliant Logitech Quick Cam Vision Pro experienced a price drop of $20 literally overnight at AMAZON.COM - bringing the Street-Price under $100. This is absolutely the best webcam we've ever tested: It's frame-rates, light-management, hardware-based autofocus and microphone is superb. Before you decide to buy a cheap UVC compatible webcam - consider the long-term value of the world-class image quality Logtech delivers. Don’t be fooled by the branding or marketing. This Mac-branded webcam performs great with DRIVERLESS simplicity on Windows 7, Vista and *nix operating systems as well.

Tags: Apple, technology, gadgets, webcams, Logitech