Qualcomm's 6 Megapixel Camera Chips

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=4&u=/nm/20040513/tc_nm/telecoms_qualcomm_dc' target='_blank'>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=4&u=/nm/20040513/tc_nm/telecoms_qualcomm_dc</a><br /><br /></div>"Mobile phone technology provider Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOM - news) on Wednesday unveiled a new line of chips with ultra-high resolution camera features and said it was making inroads in advanced new markets. In a volley of announcements coinciding with the company's spring Wall Street analyst briefing here, Qualcomm introduced the first of its "7000" series, all-in-one chips that offer up to 6-megapixel cameras and full-motion camcorder recording. Six-million pixel image quality would make cameraphones based on Qualcomm chips competitive with the most advanced digital cameras being sold in consumer markets worldwide."<br /><br />6 MP on a phone? 8O Higher resolution is one thing, but what about the image quality? I've yet to see a photo from a camera that looks decent, regardless of resolution. They all look like they're stuck in the world of 1997 digital cameras, which is not a good thing. Another thing to consider is the storage requirements of a 6 MP JPEG image - you'd need quite a big of memory for it to be practical, and forget about sending that over MMS. Ultimately I think this is moving in the wrong direction - if people could get a high-quality 2 MP image that would make a decent 4x6 print, I think they'd be perfectly content. For those of you that use camera phones, what do you think about this?

[Kris Kumar]

I wonder if the phones with these chipsets will come with interchangeable lens?

:D

[HailFire]

I say the more the better. Bring it!

[Kris Kumar]

I think this camera phone concept is going way overboard..

- Why is Qualcomm focussing on 6MP cameraphone chips, shouldnt that be tackled by Image specialists? Shouldnt it focus on improving and bringing down the cost on Dual Mode (CDMA-GSM) handsets. And try and promote SIM based CDMA phones etc?

- My Canon Digital Rebel has to work hard to write 6MP pictures to the fastest Compact Flash card. SD cards are even slower. And add to that the processing power and battery that will be needed.

- I would like to have a small light phone that is capable of providing excellent data and voice, period.

[Mike Temporale]

Ultimately I think this is moving in the wrong direction - if people could get a high-quality 2 MP image that would make a decent 4x6 print

I would agree. I don't expect my phone to take the place of my camera. I would be happy with a nice resolution like 2 or 3 MP, with a basic zoom and maybe even a flash. If I need more, I'll grab my digital camera and put my phone back in my pocket.

[Jason Dunn]

Someone over on PPCT had an interesting thought - with a 6 MP sensor, all of a sudden you have enough pixels to do digital zooming that doesn't look like complete crap! :-)

[mozart11]

Enough camera's in the phone.

I own the SE Z600 and the Motorola V600. I wish I could buy them without the camera. And I bet most people do too. If either SE Z600 or Motorola V600 were on the shelf of an AT&T store as with camera and without camera, I predict most people would purchase the phone without camera.

Gives us phones with great reception. Leave the camera's to Canon!

[Kris Kumar]

I wish I could buy them without the camera.

Same here...

[Kris Kumar]

Well looks like 6MP may not be that far off. We are half way there.

The first 3.2MP camera phone by Casio, to be launched in Japan..
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/casio-announces-worlds-first-32-megapixel-cameraphone-016263.php
http://www.engadget.com/entry/5833841284105838/