Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

While it’s passed off as commemorating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars we all know this nifty R2D2 webcam is just one of an infinite number of tie-ins from the Lucasfilm marketing machine, but you won’t hear me complaining. And while the 628×528 pixel resolution of the webcam is nothing great it’s the other features that make this mini R2D2 very tempting.

First of all it’s wireless which means it doesn’t need to be tethered to your PC with a USB cable. This is particularly important since R2D2 can also be controlled remotely with either an included lightsaber-shaped remote or from a web-enabled PC anywhere in the world. So if the droid is not giving you the angle you’re looking for you can steer him around your desk and if you get too close to the edge a sensor located on the underside of the front leg will stop R2D2 from falling off. On top of that the lightsaber remote also functions as a Skype handset for those times when you need to place an important call for help to Obi-Wan.

At $349.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer you can probably find a higher quality webcam for a lot cheaper elsewhere but if you’re a Star Wars fan you’ve probably already got your credit card out.

[ The R2-D2 Wireless Web Camera ]