LG, a major player in the cameraphone megapixel wars, is aiming to knock out the competition via a one-two punch of the
KC920 Renoir and the newly official
KC780. That latter phone still lacks a cute nickname, but now has a few official specs to go along with its resolution. Just 13.9mm thick, it sports a 2.4-inch LCD on the front and an
unsurprisingly Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens on the back, the latter augmented by some advanced "face-enhancing features" like smile detection and Beauty Mode to digitally smooth blemishes. It should perform decently in low light, courtesy of an ISO 1600 shooting mode and built-in image stabilization; good things both because we don't expect that tiny flash will brighten any room. The phone records videos at 640 x 480, and interestingly, it can act as a wireless Bluetooth webcam for a PC. Price is unconfirmed, but European release is coming next month ahead of a worldwide launch "later."
[Via
Engadget Spanish]
posted Oct 9th 2008 2:03PM
it's also a phone!
No it's not....
And a very useful one!
Every time I read about another 5-8 megapixel phone I look at my iphone and cry...
I have always wondered why cell phones with cameras cant be used as webcams.
I have also wondered why front facing cameras cant be used as webcam on msn messenger on the phone, when I am using Wi Fi atleast...
It's funny because all the knockoff chinese phones ("Nokir N95", "iFOE" etc) have this feature
Also is it just me or is this the first LG phone that actually looks really good and not horribly cheap and messy
Most phones can do it with third party software. But its nice to see it supported standard, technically its not a difficult feature to add when you consider all phones have a camera and Bluetooth.
"Beauty Mode"
That's such a Japanese sounding feature
Despite LG being based in Seoul, I might add
I wish my girlfriend had such a switch...
mine didn't need one
Unless you can videoconference, cameras are pretty much the least used feature on phones. I think a 2mp camera is sufficient and they should use the remaining resources to make a better phone!
Strange, cameras as one of the most used feature here in nothern europe at least. I know of people that only uses their cellphones for photography. the higher end nokias and sony ericssons do take fairly good photos for a cellphone.
Don't you think there might be a good reason for that, Slick? Such as all camera phones take terrible pictures? If they took better pictures and they were easy to transfer to PC, I would bet the camera feature would skyrocket in use.
pointless. yawn!
Shame about the lense...
Decent low light performance at ISO 1600 on a sensor that kind of size? I'm not the kind to pass judgement before its reviewed but the thought of such a thing is laughable.
I know megapixels sell phones, but if one manufacturer would just take the initative to actually make a decent 5mp sensor on a phone it would put these models to shame.
ISO1600? Yikes!
You just did.
If I were ever to get a cellular phone, THAT would be it — the KC780. DO fricken WANT. :D
Actually, the phone is capable of capturing video at higher resolution than stated in the article. The real resolution is D1 (which is higher than 640x480).
Here's the press release: http://www.lge.com/about/press_release/detail/20938_1.jhtml
And here's the definition of the term "D1": http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/d1.cfm
damn now THAT is a phone. not sure that is is necessary by any means but def cool
Has LG fixed their UIs yet?