Tech Primer

Camera phones

Which was the first camera phone?

In 2000, Sharp Corporation launched the first mobile phone, the J-SH04, in Japan. The phone with an in-built camera allowed sharing (sending and receiving) of images via e-mail. This model sported a CMOS image sensor with 110,000 pixel resolution that reduced power consumption. Other features included a speaker phone, a Super Twisted Nematic (STN) colour display, facility to store 500 numbers in the phonebook and one-touch Web access.

How is a phone camera different from a digicam?

The image quality of the camera in a phone is determined in the same way that it is in any digicam, in terms of resolution. The number of pixels the image sensor of a camera uses to split and re-assemble the picture is defined as its “resolution”. While professional digital cameras have 6 or more megapixels (MP), phone cameras top out at about 2 MP right now. Even a 6 megapixel specification does not match the 20 million pixels in 35mm film and 120 million which can be perceived by the human eye. Another vital technology used in a digital camera is lenses. Some cameras use fixed focal length lens while others use a optical zoom lens. Zoom lenses are in demand as they have the power to adjust the distance between the image without moving from the place, a person using a camera with a fixed lens will have to change his position to frame the object. Then there’s digital zoom, which offers inferior image quality as it crops images resulting in a decreased resolution. That’s true of digicams as well. The new 2 megapixel phone cameras have automatic integrated focus and real-time JPEG compression.

How does MMS tie into phone camera technology?

Cameras are either built-in or attached on to a phone. Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) or picture messages can be transmitted from a mobile phone to another. MMS was originally developed within the Third-Generation Partnership Program (3GPP), a standards organisation focussed on standards for UMTS/GSM networks. MMS attachments may include animations, greeting cards, short video clips, audio files, presentations, polyphonic ring tones or small programs (JAVA applets). If the user does not wish to transmit an MMS over the network, a memory card can be removed and wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and infrared can be used to exchange MMS messages.

Where is the technology headed?

Nokia is pitching an automatic snap feature with its PT-6 wherein the remote camera can detect movement to click pictures in a warehouse, office or home. Beyond that, we expect phone cams of 3 and 4 megapixels to hit the market in 2006. Features such as a flash have already made their appearance and expect more features of standalone digicams to be incorporated in phones.

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—Garima Grover