Blink II: Tiny Digicam With A Price To Match SiPix has always brought us innovative cameras to check out, and we recently got our hands around (literally) the Blink II. At under $40, this is a four-way camera that allows you to take VGA (480x640) snaps, run streaming video (up to 160 seconds in low res mode, VGA), use it as a PC camera and also set it up for whats a liberal interpretation of video conferencing. The camera has internal memory only that can handle up to 70 images in its highest resolution VGA mode. Theres no complication to operating it. You get autoexposure and white balance as well as fixed focus. It uses a single AAA battery and all you need do is turn it on and toggle through the options to get it to go. With your $40 you get the camera, a battery, a cradle of sorts and ArcSoft photoImpression and videoImpression. Downloading is a single click away and you can use any Twain compliant software (which the ArcSoft products are) to get your images into the computer. It also acts as a mass storage device so you can simply drag and drop files from the patched camera (USB). We just hooked the camera up via supplied USB (after loading the software) and getting images to the hard drive couldnt be easier. Theres no LCD for preview and the framing rate is 5 frames per second, which can be fun but is hardly live action. We gave it a whirl and got some fun video images and snapshots. Resolution and picture quality was better than expected, but theres no comparing it to a regular digicam for quality and results. But hey, for $40 you get a carry-anywhere camera thats worth the price as a conversation piece alone. And it sure doesnt make a dent in your pocket, or purse. And dont worry too much about size and weight. Its 2.2 square and a bit more than a 1/2 thick, and weighs all of 1.5 oz (without batteries.) Contact: www.sipixdigital.com.