I remember watching a demonstration of a video phone years ago, only to find that the quality was so poor, the demonstrator may as well have been talking to a bunch of pixels. How times have changed.

Now, thanks to the emergence of VoIP services such as Skype, and affordable-for-all webcams such as the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, video chat is finally a very real option.

Perfect For All Occasions

The Pro 9000 has at its core a 2-megapixel image sensor. Combined with smooth-tracking autofocus, Carl Zeiss optics, and RightLight and RightSound technologies, this means you’re almost guaranteed a good result, whatever the situation the webcam is being used in.

While perfect for use on Skype and instant messaging service such as Windows Live Messenger and AIM, the Pro 9000 also comes with HD capabilities.

We’ve recently spoken quite a bit about webcams: the technology involved, video conferencing, video blogging, and what are the best currently on the market.

But most of the attention has been on webcams designed for use with PCs and laptops, but not for Apple Macs. Now it’s time to redress the balance.

The Ecamm Network iMage USB Webcam for Mac and Windows, does, by definition of its title, work on both Macs and Windows-based PCs, but by design and usability, it definitely owes more to the Apple products.

Horrible Design

However, while all of the variations of the Apple Mac, and most other Apple products, are nicely designed, with smooth lines, and a refreshingly simple layout, the iMage looks horrible.

Instant messaging has been with us for many years now, with clients such as MSN Messenger, Skype, Yahoo and AIM amongst the most popular.

Things have moved on a bit since the days of good old fashioned text chats though, and video is now all the rage. Lucky then that there are some brilliant, yet affordable webcams on the market made for just that purpose.

Microsoft Lifecam VX-3000

The Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 is one such contender, and comes from a brand you can trust (assuming you haven’t suffered an Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death of course) in Microsoft.

These cameras are currently being sold on Amazon either separately or as a pair, with the idea of the twin pack being to enable friends and family members to each own one and be able to stay in contact wherever they are around the world.