My cameraphone rant

[Guest RobPowell]

I love mobile phones, I love new technology. I want advances in science and technology to make our lives better.

But, why does every new phone have a camera on it??! Okay, phone companies want more revenue, I have no problems with that, but I have a problem. A big problem.

I work on a site where I need UK security clearance, and we are not allowed camera phones on site. I am sure this applies to most if not all military bases, and MoD sites, and anyone that deals with them. This is for UK security reasons.

I am not allowed a camera phone, and what does this mean? I means when I want to upgrade next year, I won't be able to, because all of the phones that I would consider half decent all have a built in camera. I am very reluctant to get a compass and stab the camera out as that's just plain ugly. I know people don't like clip on cameras as they lose them and are expensive.

People are bringing camera phones onsite, but are smuggling them on so they don't get caught and have the phone confiscated. This is wrong.

Ugly cheap phone city, here I come! :) :P

[Guest squall]

Im in the same boat, prob working at many off the same sites as you. My solution is to have mpx200 for work and various other phones for outside work.

[Guest zeta101]

can you not have a work phone and a personal phone(for at home and weekends)? i if you work at a place such as that then i doubt u can spend your time messing around with your phone? so it doesnt matter if you have an old phone at work?

[Guest RobPowell]

yup the mpx200 is great. There was a silver lining to this...

I have always loved nokia phones and tried changing, but hated semens phones, and previous moto phones. I gave the mpx200 a try, and apart from battery life I was well chuffed!! But, I may be stuck with it for a couple of years to come at this rate.

What really narks me off tho, is that camera phones are banned, yet I have a 512mb memory stick that can connect to most of the site PCs and get data off, yet a camera phone is not allowed. Bizarre!!

[Guest RobPowell]

zeta, I really don't want 2 phones, as I either don't want to keep changing sims around, nor do I want 2 contracts. I know I could get PAYG, but I want just 1 number.

I am a sys admin and have times when I have no time to do anything, but other times that I am waiting for the system to process data, then I have a lot of time on my hands. Also if there's no work in, I sit at my desk and play with my phone, so it gets more use than most at work.

...and lets face it, who really wants a single colour 3310 on their desk??! LOL

[Guest Monolithix [MVP]]

I have a similar problem too. To be honest though i imagine it will sort itself out in the same way mobile phones in general have on MoD sites. Keep them off in sensitive areas (eg inside buildings). The rules are becoming more lax for my site over mobile use, i imagine phones with camera's will follow suit (as in, you'll be allowed to have a camera, just not to use it :)).

[Guest RobPowell]

My company builds helicopters, the majority of which are military. They aren't keen on people having camera phones, on or off, near machines that provide a defence solution to the UK and allies!!

But, hopefully they will become more lax, that way people would be more willing to be honest. If there were areas where you had to turn phones off, then people would happily flash their phone to a security guy with it turned off, or hand it in whilst in that area.

But, this is my rant, not needing a solution, just want it off my chest :)

edit: if I win that new cameraphone I may have to change my mind and smuggle away hehehehe

[Guest squall]

defence contractors tend to be more strict than MoD site, as they are more concerned with there competitors stealing there designs

[Guest Will]

simple low tech approach, don't these companies have 'security seals' or somesuch sticker they could stick over the camera. (like the ones that say void if you remove em.

to do this would mean you are not 'sidestepping' the security, and you are being proactive..

just my thoughts on it?

Will

[Guest RobPowell]

People will be unhappy having to get those every morning, then there's the cost of purchasing the stickers etc. As people aren't checked on the way out, people would get in, take it off, and not replace it til the morning. Good thought though :)

Best proactive way would be to have green and red areas, green being good to go, red being cameras turned off, or handed in for safe keeping. If they slackened the rules and put in regulations, people would ahere rather than try to do it sneakily.

It's like M$, if they charged £50 for office, they'd sell 10 times as many copies cause people would actually buy it!! It's like OS'es, I bet 60% of people here or more don't have a legit copy due to the high cost. If it were £40 most if not all would buy it.

[/rant]

[Guest Will]

ah i see you still want to use the camera out of hours. i was imagining a sticker that you stick on, and never remove..

Will

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

What about a ROM where the camera was disabled and the required software literally wasn't on there?

Would that be acceptable?

P

Posted from my SmartPhone!

[Guest RobPowell]

Paul, the average security guy is an ex choc-head. He will be lucky to get a quid an hour over minimum wage. They are not that bright.

Can you image the pain of having to demonstrate the phone has a non operational camera EVERY morning? LOL

Ohh the pain the pain!!

This is a great solution for techies, not for security guards!! but great thought tho

[Guest midnight]

unfortunately, the way its going, you sinply will not be able to buy a phone without a camera on it, that simple.

[Guest RobPowell]

Does it not bother manufacturers that they will be alienating quite a lot of people though midnight?

Probably not, because lets face it, most people will use camera phones when they shouldn't be on sites like mine.

Wow, some big names on thread, I feel honoured that my drivvel is listened to LOL

I find it amusing seeing as MMS isn't as popular as they'd like. What res is the new 220? 1.2MPix? Getting there at last!!!

[Guest Monolithix [MVP]]

Shame about the crappy lens though :) There are still a lot of phones available without camera's thinking about it. If you need a mobile at work desperately then use a company provided one, mine stays off and locked in my drawer expect maybe if i take it to the canteen at lunch. It doesn't have a camera (e100).

[Guest RobPowell]

company provided one is a pants single colour bluetooth nokia

Where's the icon of a majorly puking smiley when you need one?!

[Guest RobPowell]

woah, thought I did something wrong, forum just went bright orange LOL

[Guest Monolithix [MVP]]

Welcome to the world of the C500!

Back On topic... do you need any more from a corparate mobile?

[Guest RobPowell]

hell yeah, if you read one of my earlier posts it was cause I often have a lot of downtime with idle fingers.

I barely make calls at work, I have a land line for that. Pah, you think I have the mpx200 for making voice calls inside some server rooms? hehehe reception is bad enough outside of our building!!

Actually funniest part is when I work at Blandford camp, the army training school for communications, and most phones on most networks are lucky if they can get a signal to text let alone voice comms LOL

[Guest pwest13]

Just to dawdle off topic 4 a second, how come we didnt have a 8390 Launch?

[Guest pwest13]

:)

[Guest Monolithix [MVP]]

We have similar issues here Rob, being in the middle of no-where :)

One problem we had in a small hub room was all of the building network cabling coming down in bunches along each wall, made a fairly effective faradays cage and had no hope of keeping phone signal!

[Guest Twain]

I work for the MoD and am able to take my phone on site and it has a camera, quite a few forms to fill out, depends who you work for of course but I had to fill in a non-work camera form, doesnt matter if its built into a phone a form for a stand-alone camera covered it, also be aware if you hav a pda or bluetooth enabled phone you need to declare this as well as it classes as a personal computing device so more forms are needed, wish i'd not bought an xda2 now, so many forms!!!

[Guest Monolithix [MVP]]

The basic rule on my site is any device capable of transmitting is not allowed, this ranges from mobile phones to RC cars to bluetooth devices... Some useage of phones is being relaxed, eg inside some buildings and at least 1m away from all others...