ZeroDefect

I recently bought a Nokia E61i smartphone for myself because it has almost all the features I was looking for (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, Camera, Blackberry, 3G and so on) and comes with a reasonable price tag. I knew that the phone could also be used as a webcam and a Google search pointed me to this software called SmartCam - a free, open source software that turns a Symbian Series 60 phone with bluetooth and camera into a handy webcam ready to use with my PC. And this was exactly what I wanted - a free, open source application! I had a few initial glitches in setting up and getting this software to work with my E61i, but once I managed to figure out a few little workarounds, it worked like a charm! So, if you too have a Nokia camera phone, you actually have two things - a mobile phone and a webcam! Here are a few questions that I found answers for in my ‘adventure’.

1. I understand that the software is nice and free, but it only works on a bluetooth connection. My PC/Laptop does not have Bluetooth. What should I do?

Its simple. Purchase a Bluetooth-USB dongle for about USD 8-10. Walk into a computer store and look for one - dont ask them what you want because they might not be aware that they actually have something like this in stock! This happened to me

A word of caution though. Don’t use the driver that came with the dongle to set it up on Windows. Let your Operating System recognize the dongle and install the native Windows drivers for the bluetooth stack. My dongle came with IVT BlueSoleil drivers and I had trouble in using that with my phone.

Once Windows completes the installation of Bluetooth drivers, you will see a blue little icon in the taskbar  indicating that your bluetooth is up and running. Right click and you could change a few settings if needed. Download and install SmartCam on your PC.  

2. The drivers and the dongle are in place. I click the SmartCam.exe to launch the application and the application launches, but nothing happens after that. What do I do next?

You need to install an application on your phone too. Browse to the installation folder and you should see three files - jSmartCam, SmartCamS602ndEd and SmartCamS603rdEd. Determine which version of Symbian 60 your phone uses (Google for your model to find out) and install the appropriate application. SmartCam also supports Java, so if your phone has Java,  you could try installing the jSmartCam.

Another note of caution, if your phone has both Java and Symbian 60, like my E61i, install the Symbian file. If you get an application installation error while trying to install any of these, browse to Menu -> Tools -> App. mgr and select Options -> Settings on your phone. Change Software Installation to “All” and Online certif. check to “Off”. Try reinstalling the application on your phone and start the applications on your phone and the PC. You now have a webcam ready! Use it with Yahoo, MSN or Skype…

3. When I use the Java application jSmartCam, I get repeated popups asking me for permission to use my camera, video player, audio applications blah, blah…

There is a solution here

4. Only Nokia phones? What about the others?

Some Java phones could work. But sorry Windows mobile folks! This does not work on your phones. But then, what can actually ‘work’ with anything that is remotely connected to Microsoft!

The comments section is now wide open for attack! A “Thanks” would be good.. still waiting for that first comment on my Blog