Dropcam, set up in 2009, offers cameras with capabilities including night vision and motion and sound sensing, which send the video in encrypted form via Wi-Fi to cloud storage.
The first area of attack is digital photography, focusing on how HP offers cameras, personal computers and printers that are built to work together.
For instance, you may want a facility that has a computer center, while your friends may be more interested in finding a school that offers cameras.
The company, which has grown four times faster than the industry over the past five years and has seen its stock nearly double this year, doesn't offer camera phones and doesn't plan to.
Across the street and one block downtown sits Hi-Tech Electronics, one of those blindingly lighted gadget emporiums that offer cameras, VCR's and other assorted electronics.
Some offer cameras hidden in cola cans, bricks or children's carseats, while one manufacturer turns cars or vans into surveillance control centres.
Jess Lee, the chief executive of InVisage, said the company's lab tests had convinced him that within two years cellphone companies would be able to offer cameras that work about four times better than today's cameras, particularly in low light.
Two gadgets offer cameras hidden until activated, which offer a fresh take on design and additional privacy.
However, unlike "pure" ICS, which offers a camera icon on the lock screen (choose it and you go straight to the camera), Samsung complicates things.
The online consumer version, while simple to use, offers less camera control and produces a slightly cruder image.
