THE NEXT GENERATION IN CAMERA PHONES

There have been some major developments in the mobile phone arena over the last year. Handsets now resemble a mobile office rather than just a simple device that allows you to make phonecalls and send texts, BlackBerry has brought its new Bold device to the market and the much-hyped Apple iPhone has flown out of the shops quicker than anyone could have predicted. But perhaps the biggest innovation in the mobile market has been the introduction of the latest generation in camera phones.

Camera phones have come a long way since they were first introduced commercially as a handset feature back in 2000 by Japanese company, Sharp Corporation. Despite the picture quality not being particularly clear because of the low pixel resolution, by 2003 more than 30 million people in Japan alone had bought into the camera phone phenomenon.

Fast forward five years and two of the most advanced on the market now are the Sony Ericsson C905i and the Samsung i8510, also known as the Samsung Innov8. With an 8 megapixel camera, this new breed of smartphone is one of THE must-have gadgets this Christmas. The manufacturer claims they are able to pass the ‘wedding day test’ – basically, you can take them to a wedding and the pictures you take on them will be just as good as those you can shoot on your digital camera. That is quite a claim, so to put it to the test ahead of the handsets going on sale in the Isle of Man, Sure has enlisted the help of acclaimed photographer, Tim Moolman.

The brief given to Tim by Sure was to take the first 8 megapixel camera to go on sale here and capture life in the Isle of Man over the course of a weekend. When the idea was initially put to him, he was confident it would not match the quality of a digital camera. However, as the pictures demonstrate, the Samsung i8510 and the Sony Ericsson C905i have silenced even their toughest critic!

“I’m really amazed by the quality of the pictures, and genuinely very shocked,” said Tim. “I never thought a camera on a mobile phone would ever be able to compete with some of the digital cameras on the market today, but it seems they can!”

Tim took a variety of photos which required both the flash and night-vision mode, including some spectacular shots of the firework display over Douglas Bay. The cameras have autofocus and a dual LED flash, an image stabiliser, panoramic stitching and face detection which are features taken straight from a traditional digital camera range, and Tim was very impressed with them: “I especially like the panoramic feature which works quickly, and seamlessly stitched the photos together. The red eye function along with the flash makes this really stand out from the old generation of camera phones.”

Although it cannot be demonstrated in a magazine feature, the Samsung i8510 handset has a video quality to match, recording VGA resolution video at 30 frames per second, or QVGA resolution at 120 frames per second. Another first is that is also has built-in video editing!

Camera phones have many advantages to modern life – most handsets are so compact that they fit into the smallest of handbags or pockets, eliminating the need to take a separate digital camera out with you. They also have business advantages – images that need to be seen by colleagues in another office can be transmitted instantly. Journalists and eye-witnesses can capture events unfolding in front of them, and send them for instant publication. They are now seen as a key investment for managers when looking at the communications needs of their team members.

Four handsets with 8 megapixel cameras will be on the market with Sure in the Isle of Man during November, and Marketing Manager, Julie Heselton, expects them to be really popular: “Mobile phones aren’t just a device to make calls from now – consumers are demanding more and more from their handsets, including the ability to take great photos to capture life on the go.

“It’s really amazing to see how far camera phones have come since they first came to the market and I think, like Tim, both business and general consumers will be really impressed with them. This facility also complements other impressive handset features now, like the ability to download music and other content, and the ability to do work and access your desktop PC on the go.

“It’s a great time to be buying a mobile phone at the moment because prices have come down considerably, and you get so much value for your money. This is especially important in the current economic climate. Mobile phones are no longer a luxury accessory – they are a necessity now. Who knows how impressive the handsets on the market this time next year will be?”