IMX135
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Lenovo's Vibe Z unveiled with Snapdragon 800, dual-SIM tray and Samsung-inspired flip cover
Lenovo's been using a lot of MediaTek chipsets for its phones of late, but don't worry, it hasn't forgotten to share some love with Qualcomm. What we have here is the Vibe Z aka K910, which is a Snapdragon 800 cousin of the MT6589T-powered Vibe X, but with the same anti-fingerprint finish on the back. By comparison, the former is bigger and 1mm thicker (at 7.9mm), but it does pack a 5.5-inch full HD IPS display, a dual-SIM tray, a 13-megapixel f/1.8 main camera (with dual-LED flash) and a 5-megapixel wide-angle front imager. For the Sony IMX135-powered main camera, Lenovo says it's capable of shooting up to 10 stills per half second, plus its proprietary low-light algorithm apparently produces notably brighter pictures with effective noise reduction. We'll believe it when we see it. While no battery size is mentioned just yet, Lenovo claims a lab-tested standby time of 278.5 hours for the WCDMA + GSM model. There will also be a CDMA2000 + GSM model for China Telecom users, as well as an LTE + GSM flavor for the international market. Interestingly, the company is offering an S View Cover-like flip case for the Vibe Z, but it comes with the added trackpad that lets you receive or reject calls in the usual spot, instead of having to poke inside the window. We doubt Samsung is going to be happy about this, though LG, Pantech and some others have borrowed this idea before. Lenovo China's website says it will soon be taking pre-orders for its latest Android device, but you'll have to stay tuned for the pricing and availability for the rest of the world.
Sony's stacked Exmor RS phone camera sensors detuned over quality worries
Sony would still like you to get excited about its upcoming Exmor RS stacked CMOS image sensors -- just not too excited. Both the 8-megapixel IMX134 and 13-megapixel IMX135 are scaling back from their original RGBW (red, green, blue, white) coding to an ordinary RGB over concerns that they aren't meeting Sony's "image quality standards" as originally designed. Consequently, either sensor will be less sensitive to light and diminish some of that high dynamic range magic. The company also doesn't want to get our hopes up for a quick arrival on shelves and clarifies that there's a phased launch starting in January. Mobile shutterbugs may be crestfallen knowing that Sony won't have the best possible camera sensor in future Xperia phones, but the honesty at least guarantees that the company gets a timely return on its $994 million investment.
Sony announces new Exmor RS cameraphone sensor: upgraded signal processing, HDR video recording
That camera sensor in your smartphone is very likely to be a Sony-made module which means it's worth keeping an eye on the company's latest sensor developments. Your next phone could be packing one of its latest Exmor RS camera modules, a stacked CMOS image sensor that's currently being readied for future smartphones and tablets. At the moment, three components fall under the new RS label, with two eight-megapixel sensors (one with new camera signal processing tech) and a top-drawer 13-megapixel module. Alongside the new sensors, Sony's crafted new f/2.2 lenses alongside a refreshed auto-focus module and all of them will be capable of HDR video recording. The company's now working on improving sensor behavior, image quality and keeping it all tiny enough for that next pricey phone contract. The first products are expected to arrive in October, so we may not see it in Sony's very next tablet, but development could be done in time for next year's effort -- and help validate the manufacturer's imaging investment.
