It may not be available until January, putting it safely out of reach of any Christmas present-buying cash that might be burning a hole in your Levi's, but the USR9640 webcam looks like it's packs a lot into a very small space.

I did a fairly thorough roundup of Skype-certified webcams not so long ago, and mentioned a few things to look out for in a cam.

The list of features on this cam compares very favourably with existing Skype cams:

• A genuine 1.3 megapixel resolution (some cameras achieve this resolution only through software jiggery-pokery, so nice to see a full 1.3mp)
• Auto-focus
• A digital zoom
• Full 70 degree viewing angle, and
• A headset thrown in

But perhaps most remarkable is the RRP: Just 40 of your United States dollars will buy you this little fella.

As I mentioned in my article it's always good to try to have a go with any cam before buying to get an idea on how it performs as they do vary quite a bit, but on the basis of the spec this is looking interesting. No word on whether this is Mac compatible or PC-only or whether it has a CCD or CMOS sensor; once I hear more I will, of course, let you know.