"The Nokia Observation Camera will be available in the middle of this year in key markets in Asia-Pacific where MMS service is present," Frazer Neo-Macken, manager at Nokia Communications, Asia Pacific.
MMS (Multimedia messaging) is a service found in Asia and Europe that allows images, text and sound to be sent and received on mobile handsets.
"We cannot disclose any information as our discussions are still ongoing with the MMS service providers, though they have shown keen interest in this product," he added.
He declined to name a price though other sources have put the figure at between US$400 to US$800.
The Observation Camera not only takes snapshots at regular intervals, but it can also be triggered to snap, through a text message sent from a user.
It also has motion detectors, so that it will take pictures and send them if it detects movement. And by placing a call to the camera, users can listen to what the camera's microphones pick up.
The camera will also alert the owner if the temperature rises or drops to a predetermined level.
"Great skiing? Pipes in danger of freezing? Find out," according to Nokia's Web site.
In addition to security, Nokia suggests that hotels and restaurants install the camera for general use by its customers.
"How busy is your restaurant? How's the weather at your resort? How about parking? Shouldn't your customers be the first to know?" says the Web site.
The camera can snap images in three resolutions: 640 by 480, 320 by 240 and 160 by 120 pixels, compressed in JPEG format. It operates on the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) platform and rides on the high-speed GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) cellular data network.
