If you want to fit more than 86 shots (I counted 'em) in the 16MB of internal flash memory, you can switch to 1280 x 960 mode. There's also a "hardware enhanced" 2048 x 1536 mode available, though you might want to use the SD/MMC expansion slot if you choose that mode.

It appears that there is more internal memory than Gateway's admitting. After I filled up the camera, I hooked it up to my WinXP PC which reported 29.8MB of files in the camera!

Gateway's product description does a good job of listing the camera's features, so I'll offer up my list of discoveries - also known as the things the spec sheet doesn't tell you:

Main operating modes (playback, photo and movie / webcam) are set via a switch on the camera top. The switch is pretty stiff, so hard to change with just one hand.

The user interface is a little clunky, but pretty intuitive, requiring slow navigation through a series of menus to change settings. The biggest pain was having to navigate the menus to turn the flash on and off.

Without flash, it takes 4-5 seconds between shots for picture processing and storage.

Speaking of flash, it seemed to drain the batteries very quickly. This would cause it to be automatically disabled, which seemed to bring the batteries back to life again.

The "video clip" mode produces a file complete with sound! should play fine if you have a PC with Windows Media player or anything else that can play an AVI format file. Note there's no speaker or earphone jack for in-camera sound playback.

When attached to my PC running WinXP via the supplied mini-to-normal USB cable and set to playback or photo mode, the camera looked like a flash memory device and opened right up in Windows explorer without having to load any drivers. When set to movie mode, the camera invoked the webcam driver - supplied on the install CD along with a little PC Camera application. I also found it picks up power from the USB port - a nice touch for webcam use.

The Verdict

It's a keeper! It does require some practice to get a feel for when to flip the Macro / Normal focus switch, but is otherwise easy to use. My one wish is that Gateway had thrown in a little carrying case, since although the lens is protected with a sliding cover, the rear LCD is wide open for scratches and abuse. (I solved that problem a short time later by stealing the little carry sack from a Targus Mini USB Travel mouse.) Autofocus would have been great too, but not really expected at this price point.

It's amazing to me that the anonymous Taiwanese ODM that produces this camera for Gateway can put so much into it and make enough profit so that Gateway can sell it for $130 and still have some margin left. Although the $30 rebate that I got mine with has expired, it's still a hell of a buy!