The popular Nokia N95 camera phone has been upgraded to 8GB internal memory. Other improvements include a has a sleek black cover, 2.8 inch QVGA display and superior speakers. Dedicated media keys allow users to control video on their mobile just as they would on DVD. The new Nokia N95 8GB ships with the movie Spider-Man 3 in Europe and selected countries in Middle East and Africa region.

The Nokia N95 multimedia computer has been voted the European Media Phone of the Year 2007-2008 by EISA. “It’s no mere mobile phone and no mere status symbol. Pick up a Nokia N95 and you hold in your hands a state-of-the-art communication tool” the EISA jury commented.

The Sony Ericsson K770 Cyber-shot phone is a digital camera, a photo album and an elegant phone all in-one. The K770 features a 3.2 megapixel camera, auto-focus, 3x digital zoom and a 1.9 inch LCD screen. “If you like the idea of having a snapshot camera on your phone, and want shots that look good in your family album, then the K770 is perfect.” says Helene Barnekow, Head of Central Marketing at Sony Ericsson. The Sony K770 will be available in selected markets from Q4 2007.

The Samsung G600 is a slider mobile phone with a 5 megapixel camera. The G600 sports various modes such as panorama or mosaic settings and offers a built-in Power LED flash. “Additional benefits, such as creative shot modes, microSD external memory and the Image Editor will make the Samsung G600 a digital must have.” said Mark Mitchinson, Director of Samsung Mobile UK and Ireland. The Samsung G600 will be available in the UK from August 2007 on all major networks and from all retailers.

Nokia has launched a fully integrated mobile printing service in Europe, allowing users to order photo prints directly from their compatible Nokia Nseries device. All orders are is processed by CeWe Color. The Nokia mobile printing service is available - you just need to download the necessary Nokia XpressPrint application for free.

The Sony Ericsson K850 is a new 5 megapixel camera phone with Auto focus, Xenon flash, BestPic, Photo fix and PictBridge. The Sony Ericsson K850 is also a Tri-Band HSDPA and Quad-Band GPRS/EDGE phone with a colour choice of either Velvet Blue or Luminous Green.  It will be available in selected markets from early Q4 2007.

Samsung has developed a 4Gb MCP (multi-chip package) for mobile phones that removes the need for an external memory card slot. “We’ve now perfected a memory chip that allows handset manufacturers to significantly reduce development time while deploying an extremely robust design that will result in higher performance for smaller phones, with higher storage capacities,” said Jim Elliott, director, flash marketing director, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. The new moviMCP combines a 4GB embedded memory card, which consists of two 16Gb (gigabit) NAND flash chips and a controller, together with a 1Gb mobile DRAM chip to support the processor and a 2Gb NAND flash chip for general handset operations.

Project 95 is a collaboration between Nokia and seasoned traveler Peter Schindler, which will see Schindler travel across China with a Nokia N95. “I am eager to explore the modern lives of Chinese people; their thoughts on life and their expectactions for the future. The Nokia N95 will allow me to share my experiences with people around the world.” said Schindler. Nokia’s “Project 95” will also raise funds for the China Youth Development Fundation.

First announced in August 2006, the Nokia N95 has now started shipping. The N95 offers in-built GPS, 5 megapixel camera, DVD-like quality video capture, Wi-Fi connectivity and a unique two-way slide concept and music player. “The Nokia N95 is set to become the flagship device of a generation and transform the face of mobile technology,” said Andrew Connell, head of multimedia, Nokia UK.  “With its groundbreaking features set, the Nokia N95 takes mobile communication to a new level, meaning users need only one device in their pocket.” The estimated retail price of the Nokia N95 will be around £599 in the UK. The N95 will be released in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2007.

The Sony Ericsson Camera Phone Kit IPK-100 includes a Cyber-shot branded protective case for your phone and a micro tripod. The Camera Phone Kit IPK-100 will be available globally from Q2 2007, price to be announced.

Camera phones become more like traditional still cameras every day, as FotoNation introduces the world’s first red-eye technology for cameras phones. This new technology will feature on the will be available on the Nokia N73, N80 and N93 series of camera phones. “FotoNation’s Red Eye detection and reduction technology has become the defacto standard for embedded implementations of red-eye correction in today’s digital cameras,” said Eran Steinberg, CEO of FotoNation.  “We have optimized the implementation of our red-eye technology over many different DSC platforms. Our most recent port to mobile camera platforms is the logical next step.”

PMA 2007: FotoNation MTP-IP for mobile phones allows users to transfer large photos, movies, and audio files from mobile phones at speeds of up to 10 times faster than Bluetooth. A 3 megapixel cameraphone photo can be transferred to another mobile phone, a computer using Windows Vista, or other device at speeds of 0.3 seconds or less. FotoNation will be demonstrating the MTP-IP for mobile phones technology at PMA using Nokia N80 and N93 phones.

Micron’s new camera phone CMOS sensors have been developed using a tiny 1.75-micron pixel design and range in resolution from 5, 3 and 1.3 megapixels. The new sensors join Micron’s previously announced 8-megapixel image sensor, also developed on the 1.75-micron pixel. Mass production of all three sensors is expected in Summer 2007.

The Samsung F700 is a new mobile phone with a 5 megapixel camera with Auto-Focus. There’s also a 2.78 inch touch-screen LCD, full QWERTY keypad, HTML browser and support for Bluetooth. Price and availability of the Samsung F700 to be announced.

The Sony Ericsson K810/K818 Cyber-shot phone features a 3.2 megapixel camera including auto focus and Xenon flash. New illuminated Camera Icons will allow the user to select advanced camera settings. The Sony Ericsson K550 / K550im is a compact (14mm thin) cameraphone with 2 megapixels with auto focus plus LED photo light.

CES 2007: The Nokia N93i is a compact and stylish digital camcorder and multimedia computer in one. The Nokia N93i offers MPEG-4 VGA video capture at up to 30 frames per second, stereo audio recording and digital stabilization, plus a 3.2 megapixel (2048 x 1536 pixels) camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 3x optical zoom, autofocus and close-up mode. The N93i expected to start shipping during the first quarter of 2007 with an estimated price of approximately 600 euros.

Samsung Press Release

Samsung Develops ¼-inch 3-megapixel CMOS Image Sensor for Ultra Slim Camera Phones

SEOUL, South Korea—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced the world’s first 3-megapixel (M-pixel) CMOS image sensor (CIS) with a 1/4-inch lens aperture that is well suited for ultra slim camera phones. “The rapidly evolving trend of user created content, blogs, and personal web pages is triggering demand for constant access to high-resolution images, bringing the consumer’s attention to high-resolution camera phones,” said Yong-Hee Lee, vice president of Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division. “Our 1.75um-pixel, 1/4-inch lens aperture 3M-pixel CIS is a unique combination of Samsung’s high resolution sensor technology and high speed serial interface that brings digital still camera-level picture quality to mobile handsets.”

HP Press Release

SINGAPORE – Nov. 14, 2006 - Flextronics Components Group, a division of Flextronics (Nasdaq: FLEX), and HP (NYSE: HPQ)(Nasdaq: HPQ) today announced a five-year technology collaboration agreement to help mobile camera phone users capture photos with the same high quality they achieve from their digital still cameras. As part of the agreement, HP will provide an exclusive license of its image processing technology to Flextronics for use in camera modules, in return for a royalty. Originally designed for the award-winning HP Photosmart digital cameras,(1) HP’s image processing technology will correct and enhance digital images in Flextronics- designed and manufactured camera modules.

DPNow have just reviewed the Nokia N73, a cameraphone with a large 2.4 inch display, 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus and support for Internet communities like Flickr.

”...the N73 has plenty of image sharpness to offer, though in difficult lighting we did find that pictures could look a little washed out, partly because of a tendency to over-expose. Although you can compensate using the exposure bias option, the tiny camera’s limited dynamic range will mean you will often have to trade dark shadows with preserved highlights or vice-versa. But as camera phones go, the N73 is clearly above average and printed image quality at 6x4 inches (15x10cm) is hard to distinguish from dedicated point and shoot digital cameras.”

Website: DPNow - Nokia N73 Review

Micron Technology Press Release

Micron challenges college students to a Camera phone Photography and Video contest.

BOISE, Idaho, October 25, 2006 – Micron Technology, Inc., is challenging college students to discover the photography potential of today’s camera phones. Micron is sponsoring a competition, dubbed the Micron Mobile Theater Contest, where participating students will capture the extraordinary, inspirational, and intriguing in single-frame shots and continuous video, using mobile phones designed with Micron memory and image sensors. “We are encouraging these students to use their imagination and creativity to maximize the mobile imaging innovations designed into today’s camera phones,” said Bob Gove, vice president of Micron’s imaging group. “As the camera phone imaging leader, we are advancing the picture quality of today’s camera-equipped mobile phones. While the contest is designed to demonstrate the photographic and video capabilities of today’s mobile phones, it also provides a unique perspective to how our technology impacts camera phone imaging.”