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Logitech webcam for Skype

Fremont, Calif. — Skype and Logitech today announced a collaboration to deliver free VGA-quality, 30 fps video calls on the Internet, dubbed High Quality Video on Skype.

Sure, video chatting via applications like Yahoo! Messenger has been around quite awhile. But Skype has partnered with Logitech to produce a new line of webcams specifically tailored for videocalls via Skype. High Quality Video on Skype is available with the following Logitech Web cams: the QuickCam Pro 9000, the QuickCam Pro for notebooks and the QuickCam Orbit AF.

Callers need a broadband connection, a PC with a dual-core processor, a free Skype 3.6 for Windows download and one of three Logitech QuickCam Web cam models. The cams come with a redesigned set of drivers in the QuickCam software optimized to bring VGA-quality video calls (640 by 480 pixels) at up to 30 fps to users with a 384kbps connection or higher. The result, the companies said, are significantly sharper, smoother video calls in full-screen mode.

All three cams offer a Carl Zeiss lens and an autofocus system that refocuses images in less than three seconds and allows for extreme close-ups, down to 4 inches from the camera lens.

The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 and QuickCam Pro for Notebooks Web cams are available now worldwide for a suggested retail of $99.99. The QuickCam Orbit AF is $129.

Tags: Logitech, webcam, Skype, Carl Zeiss lenss, Logitech QuickCam, QuickCam Pro 9000, QuickCam Pro, QuickCam Orbit AF