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cameraphones posts

Aptina producing cellphone image sensor that shoots HD video

by Laura June posted Nov 22nd 2008 @ 2:18AM

It sounds like your camera phone's video capabilities may get exponentially more awesome in the near future. Aptina -- a division of Micron that manufactures one out of every three sensors for mobile phone cameras -- has announced the high resolution 5 megapixel MT9P013. There are better sensors out there already, but this one will also be able to record 720p HD video at 60 frames per second, and 5-megapixel video at 15fps. The sensor is going into production in January of 2009, according to Aptina, so it shouldn't be too long before we start seeing much better quality amateur films out there in the world.

[Via SlashGear]

OmniVision brings out 5 megapixel auto-focus shooter module for mobiles

by Brian White posted Feb 13th 2007 @ 11:37PM

The day when digicams in wireless handsets start catching up in the megapixel race to standalone digital cameras is rapidly coming to an end we think. This week at 3GSM, OmniVision Technologies -- almost a year to the day after announcing a 2 megapixel mobile camera sensor -- announced the details of a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera module for, you guessed it, our beloved mobiles. The new 5 megapixel shooter is a CMOS model that has auto-focus (instead of the normal fixed focus in most cellphone digicams) and it should see the setting of a new standard as customers come to expect better and larger image quality from those tiny cams inside those tiny handsets. According to OmniVision, "the module is already in mass production and in development with customers, and we expect to be shipping soon." Are you ready for that 2592 x 1944 rez in that spiffy new handset? Your day may come soon.

Tears are shed on the cameraphone's history

by Brian White posted Feb 7th 2007 @ 3:17AM

We actually shed a few tears in reading a recent feature about the all-too-recent history of the ubiquitous cameraphone. Yes -- it's hard to find even a mid-tier wireless handset these days without a simple VGA sensor on board, even though most entry-level cellys don't have any cam at all. Where have we come from the days of the Sony Ericsson T610 to the Sanyo SCP-5300 -- remember those early cameraphones? Image quality has steadily (but slowly) improved and now your camera (at least one of them) is with you at all times -- and all facets of life are instantly photographable and can be pumped to the net right from the handset. Good times.

Miniature telephoto lenses coming to cameraphones

by Brian White posted Feb 6th 2007 @ 10:50PM

We all wish those super-small, Zoolander-ish camera lenses in all those wireless handsets these days had advanced capabilities like a true optical zoom and other optical sensor features normally found in standalone digicams. There are a precious few (and huge) phones with built-in optical zoom digicams, but how about having something Ultra-esque with these nice optic features? And, of course, better imagers and end-user image quality? Think new-miniature-lens-system and you'll be close, as California engineers may have just that to get out mobile image butts in gear soon. How did they do it? Would you believe an origami-like folding of the telephoto lends with an intricate mirror system akin to some 2006-era Sony standalone slim digicams? Slim cellphone users with the need to utmost image quality and optical zoom need this, like, yesterday.

[Thanks, Patrick A.]

Vodafone Japan announces summer lineup

by Evan Blass posted May 22nd 2006 @ 11:48AM

New Softbank property Vodafone K.K. has announced four new 3G handsets -- along with the 2G Toshiba V304T "simplephone" -- that will be released this summer in Japan, including Sharp's 905SH clamshell with a 2 megapixel camera and One Seg digital TV reception. Also seen before was Voda's version of Nokia's N71, dubbed the 804NK, which sports those same multimedia and smartphone features along with obvious addition of bilingual menus. Like the three models mentioned previously, the Toshiba 705T and Sharp 705SH SLIMIA also sport clamshell designs, with the Tosh featuring external music controls and the Sharp (pictured) rocking dual cameras. Additionally, a sixth model, Sharp's 2G V403SH (also a flip phone), was announced as getting a summer makeover, and will now come in your choice of cloth beige or cloth blue.

YouTube enables uploading from cellphones

by Evan Blass posted May 10th 2006 @ 5:07PM

If you're a fan of watching shakey videos of teenagers fighting each other and illegally racing cars, then you'll be pleased to learn that YouTube has just launched a new service allowing members to upload videos directly from their cellphones. Compatible with all four major carriers, the upload service requires users to set up a mobile profile in order to generate a unique email address that all videos must be sent to for posting. What a great world we live in, where you can happy slap a stranger in the street and almost immediately broadcast your crime to millions of eager voyeurs.

[Via jkOnTheRun]