English | Deutsch In today's consumer electronics market, form factors and functionality are most often developed with the high-tech, male consumer in mind. But user research has identified an increasing trend in webcam purchases amongst the female demographic. Women buyers are highly polarized in their interests, divided between those who seek low-cost, easy-to-use technologies, and those who primarily purchase high-end, premium devices. Logitech, already a leader in the webcam market, recognized the opportunity to better serve its audience by tailoring a new camera towards both the male and female demographics. The company worked closely with frog design to create the Logitech® QuickCam® Ultra Vision™ webcam, a device that balances state-of-the-art technology with an approachable design.
Achieving real communication is always more difficult with distance; emails, telephones, and text messages convey content, but not tone, incapable of sharing the visual cues of facial expressions and gestures. Webcams help bridge this gap, allowing users to communicate more personally and more effectively. Our design needed to improve both the quality of the image and the confidence of the consumer, encouraging new users to adopt the technology as a vital part of their personal communications.
The QuickCam Ultra Vision is the first webcam designed specifically to flatter its user in any light. Even in difficult lighting conditions, such as low light and intense back- or side-lighting, the webcam delivers premium performance, with a patented RightLightTM 2 Technology that adapts the camera’s video settings to capture even the finest details. The QuickCam offers twice the image clarity of other webcams, combining an extra-large, precision-engineered glass lens with a low f-stop setting for maximum effectiveness. And the integrated Right-SoundTM voice technology ensures that the quality of sound matches that of the image captured, promising an accurate presentation of self.
The simple, elegant hardware design makes the camera accessible to the casual user with an intuitive visual language that supports internal functionality. All features - product scale and proportion, display mounting, ergonomics, and audio microphone treatment - were designed to increase both the quality and simplicity of information capture. Each end of the device features a button - one that launches a mirror video window so that users can check their image before engaging in a video call, and another that takes quick snapshots. The camera tilt allows for easy adjustment and rotational control, and the position of the device - as close to the edge of the PC display as possible - provides an ideal "eye-to-eye" webcam experience that makes conversations feel more natural than ever before.
The QuickCam Ultra Vision incorporates the finest materials Logitech has ever assembled in a webcam. Chrome detailing draws attention to the built-in microphone, glass lens housing, and cylindrical shape - the juxtaposition of hard edges and smooth curves striking a careful balance between feminine "perceived value" elements and masculine sensibilities.
The new design has been well received in both the market and the industry press. It earned a 2007 CES Innovation award for excellence in design and engineering, as well as Japan's only industrial design prize, the prestigious 2006 Good Design Award (G-Mark). Guerrino De Luca, president and chief executive officer of Logitech, has expressed great belief in the impact of design on Logitech's market share. De Luca says: "Industrial design has been paramount to the success of Logitech and its products, so it is a tremendous honor to receive these globally recognized awards this year for... products that we believe are very special additions to our portfolio."
