cameraphone
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NYC residents to use cellphones as line of defense
The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has announced a plan to equip the city's 911 centers with the ability to accept cameraphone images from its residents. If you see a dangerous situation, snap a picture, and send it to a 911 operator via MMS or email. Sounds good to us -- but it may not seem as cutting edge as you think. Several months ago we a mighty similar patent, but New York's system has the distinction of being... well, real. We do see a few problems with this: A) Quality of the picture, B) Convenience of taking a picture or placing a call and C) getting the perp to smile for us.[Via Cameraphone Report]
What camera is in the iPhone?
Everyone is speculating about what makes the iPhone tick, but one person is wondering about a feature Steve mentioned but didn't demo: the camera. Al-Manazir is trying to figure out what lens is being used in the iPhone, and with some impressive deductive reasoning has has narrowed it down to Micron and Largan. The only way we'll know for sure if when someone cracks open an iPhone for the first time.
New cameraphone feature to help deter muggers
Living in a large metropolis has its drawbacks and crime is one of them. Chances are pretty good that you know someone who has been a victim of a mugging; if not, you have certainly read about it. In this new age of technology, your cellphone may be your latest line of protection. A new patented system would equip camera phones with a panic button; in times of distress, the camera is pointed up at the assailant and the panic button is pressed. Pertinent information such as your location, the picture of the attacker are stored on a server for later use by the police. Now, if we can just get those pesky muggers stop and say 'cheese' for us. [Via Textually.org]
HP and Flextronics team up to deliver higher quality cameraphones
It's no surprise that cameraphones are emerging as some folks' point-and-shoot of choice, and we've already seen LG and Schneider-Kreuznach team up to deliver higher quality shots from your multi-functional mobile, but now HP and Flextronics are trying the knot in order to allow users to capture photos "with the same high quality they achieve from their digital still cameras." The five-year deal gives Flextronics -- makers of Kyocera, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola handsets -- exclusive use of HP's image processing technology in return for an undisclosed royalty. The same technology used in HP's long-standing lineup of Photosmart digicams will soon be hitting the depths of your pocket, and promises to produce "significantly improved results" over current options, delivering shots that are "good enough to print." Although we're not sure if these forthcoming modules can outsnap the 10-megapixel SCH-B600, we're all well aware by now that megapixels aren't everything.[Via CNET]
Study: for most, all-in-one phones aren't
Hey, isn't the idea of a cameraphone to have the luxury of leaving your big, fat digicam at home? With a smartphone, isn't the PDA supposed to be history? And doesn't that iPod belong in the circular file now that you've picked up that fancy musicphone? According to a newly released study by In-Stat, phones with extra goodness packed in aren't prompting their owners to leave other devices behind. In fact, over half of multimedia phone owners are still toting a dedicated MP3 player, some 75% of smartphone users lug a PDA as well, and a staggering 80% of cameraphone owners "regularly" carry their digital camera. Will the latest generation of superphones like the Nokia N95 start to change attitudes, or is the concept of a true all-in-one device nothing more than a myth?[Via ZDNet]
Samsung's 10 megapixel SCH-B600 cameraphone hits for $950
Man, it sure took 'em long enough but Samsung just pushed the "world's first 10 megapixel mobile phone" onto shelves in Korea. Yeah, it's just the same cameraphone we fondled back at CeBIT in March of this year but hey, our eyes can't help but well with pride at the site of our pup all growed-up and turned out for use in the mean Seoul streets. All the specs are the same -- DMB mobile TV, MP3 player, business card reader, 3x optical zoom, LED autofocus, MMCmicro expansion, TV-out, and EV-DO -- only the price is new: 900,000 won or about $950 US green. Hey, bragging rights don't come cheap.
The N93 and K800 shootout for best camera quality
There's an old saying that the best camera is the one that you have with you, and it's no surprise to see the camera phone phenomenon take off so rapidly within the last half-decade since everyone seems to carry their phone with them. Until recently, the convenience of a camera with your phone has distracted people from the generally low quality output that camphones produce, but now that Sony Ericsson has stuck the CyberShot brand onto the K800, and Nokia has produced the N93, a phone that has a distinctly camcorder style design, consumers are expecting more from their shooters. Luckily for us, Fosfor Gadgets has compared the quality of the pictures from these flagship camera phones so that we don't have to. The verdict is that both have good cameras, but the K800 comes on top thanks to a decent flash, better output (less noise, more detail), and a simpler camera mode (just pull back the lens cover). The N93 has the advantage of a 3x optical zoom where the K800 has none, but the camcorder style design is cumbersome, and the absence of a flash makes it unusable at parties -- which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how much you want to regret in the morning.
LG's 5-megapixel KG920 put through its paces
If you're looking for some serious megapixelage in your phone and you're willing to sacrifice a little pocketability, your options are starting to expand (even if you're not in Japan or Korea): you've got a couple choices from Nokia's stable, Sony Ericsson's K790 / K800 series, and this here KG920 from LG, to name a few. MobileBurn's had the opportunity to put the latter through its battery of tests, and unless you're a diehard LG fan, it looks like the curiously-designed candybar is best skipped. Though picture camera was generally fantastic (as you would hope from a 5-megapixel CCD with autofocus and a xenon flash), the camera controls were sluggish, and the device itself is difficult to hold when snapping pictrues, thanks in no small part to its odd design. Making matters worse, the KG920 packs a dismal 820mAh battery, leaving the multimedia-centric device tied to its charger much of the time -- not to mention it tended to run hot after just a few minutes of active use. Add the miserable 8MB of internal memory, the old, slow LG user interface, and the love-it-or-hate-it keypad, and we're thinking your bucks are best spent elsewhere.
Plethora of BlackBerry "Pearl" 8100g shots via FCC
Yeah, we had it before the FCC did, but if there was some angle of RIM's first cameraphone (or its holsters) you've been dying to check out, look no further than our federal pals to hook you up. As we mentioned before, the 8100g will drop with a curiously-sized 260 x 240 display, 64MB of internal flash with microSD expansion, and quad-band GSM plus EDGE for a reasonable $199 on T-Mobile next month. We're not quite sure yet how we feel about that bright white holster they're showing off, but to each his / her own, eh?
BlackBerry 8100 cameraphone! Stealth revealed!
The stealthy BlackBerry Stealth slinks behind the scenes no more. It's the BlackBerry 8100 and it's got a camera, microSD slot, EDGE data, and media playback functionality -- just like we'd expected (so where's the damn WiFi?). This should be due in November on Cingular (no guarantees), but something tells us to expect an even earlier launch on T-Mo. Perhaps it's the T-Mo branding. We can't tell you much else as of right now, but big ups to Random Asian Dude for the hookup. Click on for a bunch more pics.
ASUS intros 2-megapixel candybar with autofocus
After adding a slider and flip to its stable of autofocus camera phones, ASUS is turning its attention to the candybar form factor, showing the V80 last week. Other than the autofocus 2-megapixel shooter with macro, there's not much to write home about -- though the FM recorder is kinda nifty. Other features include a QR code reader, Bluetooth 1.2, 220 x 176 display, and EDGEless Class 10 GPRS. ASUS is making a big deal about the V80's 16mm thickness, but we're not entirely sure why, considering that Samsung's 9.9mm D830 alleges autofocus capability just the same. No word on availability or pricing, but thanks to quadband GSM, we might just keep an eye out for this sucker stateside.
Starbucks contest features image recognition via MMS
If you're looking for the most high-tech way to win a trip to Costa Rica, we think we've got your answer right here. Starbucks' Summer Pursuit game uses trivia questions sent via SMS to weed out contestants -- nothing too interesting there, but answers can be sent with a reply text or by MMSing a picture of the answer to an email address. Seems a bit dangerous to us, since we're guessing the recognition rate isn't 100% and we Americans sure do like to sue when things don't go our way -- but if it means we can snap a pic of "triple Venti extra-hot sugar-free hazelnut soy latte" instead of typing it in via T9, we're all for it.[Via textually.org]
Nokia N93 gets put through its paces
With S60 3rd Edition, UMTS, a 3.2 megapixel camera with optical zoom, WiFi, miniSD slot, and QVGA display, Nokia's N93 dual-pivot clamshell pretty much does it all -- at the cost of some considerable bulk, that is. Mobile-review had a chance to spend some quality time with the beast, and if you can get past the portly 188 grams of mass in your pocket, they appear to come away liking the device for all that it does. As flimsy as it may look, we're told the stalk connecting the display to the remainder of the phone is rock-solid: "Even if you shake the phone with all your strength, there is no way the halves will move towards each other." Triband GSM plus UMTS 2100 make the N93 a tough sell in the States, but everyone else seeking out a worthy N90 replacement can expect Nokia's latest superphone to drop this month for around €600 ($765).
Mobile Phone Telescope for crappy telephoto photography
We'd almost get excited about this optical 6x attachment if it supported any decent cameraphones, but the compatibility list shows all of three devices: the Nokia 6230 / 6230i and 6680. Granted, the entire back of the phone has to be replaced, but throw us a bone, guys: the 6230 has a VGA camera and the 6230i and 6680 (with its 6682 sibling) don't do much better with 1.3 megapixels. That's alright -- can't be too comfortable in the pocket, anyway.
Robbers use cameraphones to spot potential victims
In an unfortunate flip side to the oft-repeated story of people using cellphones to help catch criminals, it seems that robbers in the Philippines are now using cameraphones to scout out potential victims traveling on mass transit systems. The robbers (artist's rendition seen here) apparently work in pairs, with one snapping a pic of the would-be victim on the train and passing it on to an accomplice waiting at the next stop. When the victim gets off, one of the robbers drapes his arm around the victim's shoulder while the other quietly makes off with the contents of their bag. Police have yet to catch anyone involved in the scheme, however, so they're warning the public to be on the lookout.[Via Reiter's Camera Phone Report]
Pixie Hunt cameraphone scavenger hunt -- the next geocaching?
A small group of developers at Microsoft have created a prototype of a cameraphone scavenger hunt game called Pixie Hunt, and it's now set to debut at O'Reilly's Where 2.0 conference later this month. The game runs on a Windows Mobile 5.0-based smartphone or Pocket PC cameraphone and works in conjunction with Flickr and a group text messaging service, sending out tasks for you to track down and photograph and sharing your progess with other members of the group. The game is also location-aware, with each photo tagged to include lattitude and longitude info, giving you the ability to see other team members on a Virtual Earth map. Unfortunately, the game isn't available to the public just yet, although the developers have promised to make a free download available sooner or later.
Samsung's DMB clamshell with stereo speakers
Fancy that, a cellphone with a built-in camera! We're just playin', Samsung. We know your SCH-B490 does much more than that. Besides the usual category-bending 3.2 megapixel shooter and DMB -- which is becoming downright ho-hum in Korea these days -- the EV-DO twist clamshell throws down internal stereo speakers and a QVGA screen that can be closed facing up or down. It only comes with 67MB flash onboard, but fret not shutterbugs, the MicroSD slot has you covered. We're assuming this bad boy is Korea-only, but if Sprint or Verizon have a secret DMB deal they're not telling us about, sign us up.
Student project can scan your veal and scold you for it
Students at UC Berkeley are working on an experimental system called iBuyRight, which uses a cameraphone to send a picture of a product's UPC barcode to a server to guilt-trip the user on "social, environmental and health issues" related to the product. The idea, the students say, is to empower consumers at the point of sale to make more socially conscious decisions before they buy -- decidedly a different demographic than the conceptually similar Vivid/xobile barcode capture system. Something tells us, though, that if you're already at the Hummer dealer getting ready to sign the paperwork, you're not going to be swayed by a bunch of text messages telling you to buy a Prius. [Via Reiter's Camera Phone Report]
Nokia 6315i musicphone approved by FCC
It looks like Pantech and Nokia have been hanging out again, but this time Nokia will be the one dropping the rebranded handset, an EV-DO-sporting model for Verizon known as the 6315i (and formerly known as the PN-E330). Phone Scoop discovered this recent approval while enjoying the FCC website, and reports back that it features a 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD slot, and Bluetooth, along with dedicated external music controls. We'll let you know when we find out a release date and some pricing info for this fairly feature-filled flip phone.[Via Phone Scoop]
Pantech's SKY IM U-MU110 1GB "Jukebox" clamshell
What do we know about Pantech & Curitel's new SKY IM U-MU110 clamshell (besides the fact that it has a tongue-twister of a model number)? Not much, unfortunately, as AVING is heavy on the images but light on the deets, so all that we can discern about this model -- two megapixel camera, 1GB of memory, EV-DO, external music controls -- comes from pics of the so-called "Jukebox" phone. Besides snapping photos and rocking tunes, pictures seem to indicate that the IM U-MU110 also makes voice calls. No word on such trifles as pricing or release dates/locations, but keep reading for another hot pic...[Via MobileMag]
