Samsung have announced the worlds smallest 8 megapixel CMOS camera module. It is little at 28mm (height) × 15.3mm (width) × 8.5mm (thickness), making it great for small phones with higher megapixel shooting (and the fast burn of memory storage).
It isn’t just a megapixel upgrade either. It features anti-shake, a 1-cm macro, and face tracking technology.
Before you get to excited, I would like to take you away from your hires image fantasies and remind you that the camera is only as good as its lens. It isn’t a liquid lens, like so many scientists have promised us (works similar to the human eye), and it still won’t feature optical zoom.
Expect to see these in your more expensive camera phones by the end of this year, and in most camera phones next year. It won’t kill the digital camera market (like it did the PDA market), but it will make those emergency shots (like when you see a yeti) look that little bit sweeter.
For more info, click over to Engadget.
WiFi is something that on paper is fantastic, but in practice is less fun then being hit around with a hammer. It is slow as all hell, it gets interference from my underpants in the right weather conditions, and beats my phone battery like it had a bad childhood. As usual the Australian are here to rescue us from our wireless nightmares with a technology they call GiFi.
The promise of GiFi is high, with it offering data speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second over a 10 meter distance. It does all that and still manages to use only 2 watts of electricity. It isn’t expensive either, with the researchers at Melbourne University believing it will cost as little as $10 to add the component to your device. The price is kept down due to the chip being designed using existing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, and measuring 5mm (add 1mm for the antenna). Ohh, did I mention it used the 60Ghz range, which just so happens no other device uses.
The technology won’t be ready for consumers till 2009, and could exist in any magnitude of consumer device, from cell phone to television. 2009 is going to be the big year for wireless USB, but with a little help from the aussies, we may see a new format war starting.
For more info, transfer over to PMPToday.
Sony have announced their 35mm equivalent, 25 megapixel (24.81 effective megapixels) CMOS camera sensor. It doesn’t just give you a high megapixel image, it also does it at all-pixel scan time of 6.3 frames per second with 12-bit colour. Don’t expect it to be seen in a camera any time soon though, with an estimated mass production within this year (which could mean December).
For more info, click over to Gizmodo.
Everyone wants their HD (High Definition) video camera, but if you are still using an analogue hi8 camera of old, which you picked up in a repair shop for $50, then Aiptek may give you back some of your street cred (like you had any). The Aiptek A-HD 720P may not give you the most high quality of video, but to get HD for under $US150 can’t be a bad thing at all.
What you do get for that price is a CMOS run 5 Megapixel camcorder, with the ability to video at 720P (1280 x 720). It features 2.4″ swivel LCD, HDTV component output, re deye reduction, SD Slot (no tapes or HDD sorry), 2X digital zoom (yucky) and can be charged through USB (and AC adapter). It records in H.264 Video @30fps and can apparently work as a PVR (personal video recorder), making it capable of connecting to TV/VCR/DVD player to record video, pictures and audio.
It isn’t the end all of budget video cameras, and I would seriously recommend spending a little more cash and getting something a hell of a lot better. I must say though, with Christmas coming up, a $150 stocking filler for the kids may come in handy (because they will break it the next day).
For more info, click over to the ChipChick Blog.