Q+A CENTER

General Manager of Consumer Imaging Services, Sandra Morris said, "Kodak is committed to developing great products and services that unlock images from the mobile phone and at 3GSM we are showing the full range of innovative technology and connectivity to demonstrate how the industry can help meet increasing consumer demand."

Micron Technology, Inc. (Boise, Idaho) just introduced a family of sensors with a 1.75-μ pixel and resolution that ranges from 1.3-to-5.0-megapixels. All capture VGA-format—or better—video at 30 fps. Joining Micron's previously announced 8.0-megapixel image sensor, they maintain picture quality while shrinking pixels and effectively creating a sleeker form-fit factor for today's ultra-thin camera phones.

Digital still cameras benefit from a 5.0-megapixel CMOS image sensor, the MT9P001, which achieves high resolution acquisition at 15 fps in HDTV formats and surpasses traditional CCD-based cameras' performance. Programmable gain, frame rate, exposure time, image mirroring and viewfinder and snapshot modes are incorporated onto the chip.

Micron also announced a new video sensor targeted at the consumer market. The MT9M002, which operates at 60 fps in 720p format with excellent low-noise attributes, features 2.2-μ DigitalClarity technology, 0.22-inch optical format and additional pixel area for image stabilization. All unite to make the MT9M002 ideally suited for compact, high definition camcorders that can function with smaller and less expensive lenses.

Snapping a picture with a camera phone cues NewBay Software Ltd.'s (Dublin, Ireland) PIXOTA client to display a pop-up prompt with simplified choices for sending the image to a predefined blog/album or to another subscriber. PIXOTA also can transmit several images at a time, making it easier to upload multiple pictures. And, by sending files via HTTP rather than MMS, the problem of maintaining full fidelity is solved. (MMS, the Manufacturing Message Specification standard limits picture size which results in image decimation.) Available for BREW, Java/J2ME and Symbian platforms, NewBay Software as well links to snail-mail service—turning images into physical postcards for delivery to any address in the world—just by entering information into the handset.