Jason Dunn
10-09-2003, 02:58 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112797,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112797,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"Casio Computer has become the first cellular telephone maker to announce a handset that can capture still images at 2-megapixel resolution...The higher-quality image sensor on the phone means it can produce images of up to 1,600 pixels by 1,200 pixels resolution (UXGA), Casio said in a statement. That's higher resolution than the 1,280-pixel by 960-pixel (SVGA) managed by most of the latest models from competitors such as Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Electric, and Sony.<br /><br />Other camera-like functions include auto focus, a digital 10 X zoom, digital movie function, and a number of picture taking modes, such as "close-up," "evening," or "portrait." Images can be stored in the telephone, which has a 12.8MB memory area for users, or on a Secure Digital memory card. The built-in storage is enough space for 32 images taken at the highest resolution, said Casio. Images can be moved to PCs or other devices via a USB connection or the SD card."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/112797-n_100703_camphone.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />It's not in a Windows Mobile Smartphone, but it's nice to see the continued evolution of integrated cameras. I'll be interested to see what sort of image quality this image sensor from Canon will produce - thus far every image I've seen from the cheesy CMOS sensors used today has been quite bad. I'd be thrilled with a crisp 640 x 480 resolution free of excessive digital noise instead of the messy images we normally get. Higher-quality CMOS sensors are certainly available, but it's a matter of cost and power consumption. This Casio phone looks like a step in the right direction. And considering the high quality of their E-125 and EM-500 Pocket PCs, I think their phones would be highly reliable. Go Casio!