Dec 2, 2010 20:01 GMT  ·  By

If you don’t have a webcam for your desktop PC or laptop, or simply don't want to carry one around while you're on the go, DroidCam can help you turn your Android smartphone into a webcam. Created by Dev47Apps, DroidCam 2.0 is a work in progress and has been dubbed as Beta, as it is expected to have a few errors.

Still, the developers made a lot of progress since last month, when the first release was launched. The application has been tested on desktop PCs running XP 32-bit, Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.

DroidCam 2.0 is a Windows client program that must be installed on the desktop computer or laptop that you wish to use with your Android phone. The other part of the software must be downloaded from the Android Market and installed on the smartphone.

The software is only compatible with smartphones running Android 2.0 or higher, so if you have an older mobile platform, the application will not show on Android Market.

After downloading and installing the Windows client of the DroidCam v2.0 Beta application, open up a chat program that you intend to use with your webcam and select DroidCam as a Webcam and as a microphone. You can do that by checking the chat program's audio and audio settings.

Then simply start the application from Start / Menu / DroidCam and you will get a message displayed on your screen saying “Waiting for a device”.

Now is the time to install the other part of the software on your smartphone. Search the Android Market and you will find DroidCam 2.1 Beta, as the application has just been updated.

After the installation is over, make sure that you have WiFi enabled and that the phone is connected to your home network.

Start DroidCam app from the phone and click “Connect”. A list of saved IP addresses (if any) will be immediately displayed on the screen.

Tap on “Add New”, enter a description and the IP address of your computer.

Save and tap on it to connect. If everything is order, you will notice a “Connected” message displayed on the computer.

Start the chat program and you should be able to see the live video feed transmitted by the phone.

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